SHAAAUGHT!!!

I went to that Chats show too. I didn't realize they already had such a decent following in North America.

I don't know. When the Sabres were known as the "the hardest working team in hockey" it wasn't a ruse, it was a culture created by the coach and FO. I think holding each other accountable for on-ice performance is also a part of culture. It's definitely a characteristic that has been missing from this team for several years.

Rivet and Peters spent a lot of time talking about a Flames-Sabres trade a couple months ago that would send Kadri and Weeger to Buffalo and Krebs, Power, and another piece to Calgary. A trade like this makes a lot of sense (vs a trade for Kadri only) as Weeger is exactly the type of defensemen the Sabres need in the line-up, he's signed to an 8 year $6.25AAV deal, and he wants to play in Buffalo. Weegar is Rivet's cousin so I take Rivets statement about wanting to play in Buffalo at face value. Kadri is an overpay but also would do great in a 3rd line vet role that can move around the lineup as needed.

Doesn’t hurt at all. If he wants to be a passenger we don’t need him on this team. He was slotted for top 6 minutes here. If he wanted to sign the same contract and work his ass off for a 8x8+ I’d have been thrilled to have him, even if he signed his next deal with a different team 2 years from now. His loss.

This is a great article. Thanks for posting. I didn’t realize Muel has that kind of foot speed. I know he take a lot of heat on this board, but he’s a solid complementary piece to Dahlin and Power. I’m guessing those two don’t have the bursts and higher top speed because they are playing so many minutes a night.

If they really cared about lives they’d pay an officer to sit there with his car to immediately stop and address a speeder. This seems like another money grab and an appeasement to insurance companies.

I’ll take that bet all day. The guys picking up those PP minutes and OFZ starts will like this move. The only message from the organization this sends is “if you want ice time on this team you better play both sides of the puck and you better hate losing.” The Sabres players aren’t sitting around dejected after this trade saying “who’s gonna score those goals now?” No they are saying “if I get a shot at the PP or top 6 minutes I’m gonna do everything I can to keep it or else Ruff is going to try someone else”

I gotta say this is pretty amazing. Very rarely people online take criticism, apologize, and then course correct. Well done Rasmus_.

He’s one Martin Necas away from having a very good July 1st. My hope is he’s working to put a RFA trade & sign package together including Necas and Joker.

I initially read this thread as "do we want Al Rick," like Albert Rick. Was curious who this potential piece of the puzzle was. Turns out Albert Rick has a very similar game to Taro Tsujimoto.

I like it but the clock is running. It would probably take some time to pull off, but based on the timing of the Skinner buyout rumors KA could have been using the media chatter to see who was interested… Is he really that clever though?

Me getting my hopes up that KA is actually using the draft picks this year to replace the prospects in our system he plans to trade for proven NHL talent with term left so the Sabres can let this draft class properly develop while being a playoff contender this season

Saw this thread earlier and just got a chance to watch Adams talk about Skinner. My takeaway: 1) KA touches his eyebrow when getting ready to lie, or say something uncomfortable (hard to discern from a small sample size, but my bet is uncomfortable) 2) KA is shopping Skinner and is trying to get his agent to talk Skinner into accepting a move: KA said there was honest communication, he’s easy to communicate with, he’s an elite scorer, respect for player and management All signs point to buy out or trade, but if he’s spending this much time trying to move him the Sabres might be worried about that 6.5M cap hit in year 3, or the optics of paying Skinner for another 6 years. I hope my assumptions are right and KA is working hard to move Skinner’s contract in a way that minimizes the long term impact to their cap. It’s also fun to think how much of this is because Ruff is there and doesn’t want him on the team.

Still an option, and actually a better option for Buffalo. SJ is not a near term contender and needs to hit the cap floor so they are likely willing to listen to offers and actually want to retain salary on Goodrows contract.

Rayzer maybe, but Peters and Ruff are not buddy-buddy based on comments by him on AfterTheWhistle. This is why I’m hopeful Ruff already knows what this team needs and will make sure Adams knows too.

Boone Jenner and Carrier would be great in that role, but I’d be a bit concerned with the injury history of both and the cap hit of Jenner. Columbus would have to keep some of that salary. Carrier might be a good pickup and inexpensive 1yr contract, even if he only played 40-60 games. He’d be an upgrade over Jost or Robinson for the 40 games each they played this season.

At the press conference today Lindy made a point to talk about key members on the team that know and embrace their role, like Rayzer and Peters did during their time here. This has been a major deficiency in the Sabres roster for years. That said, who should the Sabres target that would be effective in this role and that would actually want to play here? For me, they should be looking at lower cost options like a Kurtis MacDermid. He knows his role (5min a game, playing heavy, will fight anyone in the league), is 30 years old, and has never made more than $1M a year. He won’t take minutes away from anyone, adds much needed toughness, knows what Ruff wants and is willing to do it, and would be willing to sign a cap friendly deal (I’m thinking $3.5/3years ($1.17M AAV)).

Whether you’re elated or deflated about this hiring, I can’t wait to see how Lindy handles Skinner, and what Jeff Skinner shows up for the Sabres next year…

The emergence of Benson makes Krebs redundant on this roster. We only need 1 playmaking, undersized fire plug bouncing in between the middle 6. We don’t need that type of player on the 4th line. I’d like to see him packaged to address grit and toughness for the bottom 6z

Me seeing this announcement and completely unable to contain my joy

Goalies are fickle so I never would go over 4 years, but he’s proven he can handle the starting role given a proper 2 goalie rotation. I’d be fine with, and expect him to be, 4x4

I've seen Joker skate away from too many situations where he should have stood up for himself or his team. Last year he literally flinched when he thought someone was going to grab him. Joker and Bryson are two of the most cowardly defensemen I can remember on this team. Even Soupy would mix it up when he had too.

They did have some really good games early this year (the home game against the Avs was amazing), but followed it up with so many terrible efforts. I think it may be a stretch to blame uncommitted player efforts on a 3 goalie rotation… KO is an amazing human being, and a solid hockey player, but he was not the leader this team needed. If he was, Eichel would have never aligned himself with Kane, and KO would have been named captain years before he was…

Has Donny finally figured it out, or is this dumb luck because Kyle and EJ are gone so he has to use different skaters. The line combos and ice time per player indicate he’s reassessed his players, at least Skinner…

Spot on. I only watched the 10minute summary of this game but I was mad when UPL was run over and no one even pushed the guy around. UPL as a starter, in a proper 2 goalie rotation, has proven himself after the new year. He is the main reason the Sabres have been competitive in these games lately. BB4 is doing exactly what I expected him to do and is looking good doing it. I had a bit of a chuckle this afternoon thinking about all the posters upset about the straight up Mitts-BB4 trade. We finally have a solid top 4 D (yes they aren’t perfect right now, but they should only get better) and people still were upset about trading a perennial 15g/season 2nd/3rd line center that was sub-50% on draws. BB4 is the real deal, hopefully he stays healthy.