Mango

Not to beat a dead horse, but to me that response pairs with his unwillingness to sign more than a 4-5 year extension without the franchise delivering.

I guess the inverse is that Buffalo won’t fill a hockey arena? That doesn’t hold up historically. I don’t think it’s an excuse; I think it is a reality. I don’t think Buffalo is permanently over hockey. https://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendance/att_graph.php?tmi=5054

I think the second line to end the season with Greenway Cozens and Tage was a solid line. Much more complete than the full kiddo line. EDIT: To add on, I think he was our best defensive forward as a whole. I don’t need him to throw his body around, the team needs somebody with Tage to account for his bad play in our own end. I thought Greenway was slow and laborious for a good part of last year. If he can find some explosiveness and play with some more speed, I think he can be a good line mate for a star who right now has a knack for being all offense.

I think he’s a good line mate for Tage. I am curious what this year looks like for him. If he can become a bit more explosive that could be a good second line with either JJP or Cozens. Re: Tommers, sometimes I don’t think he’s good enough in our own zone and has a too many head scratchers for a 1C. Or at least an heir apparent 1C. Don’t get me wrong, Tage Thompson is a talent. But a guy like Greenway can accidentally find himself on the second line by helping a guy like Tage be a complete player.

I know he scored earlier, but he wasn’t good tonight. A lot of head scratchers.

I was not a huge fan of Greenway last year, but I thought he got better as the season progressed and looked good when paired with Cozen and Thompson. Obviously those guys are studs. Theres some rumor that Greenway could have some more juice this year. If he can be a Tuch-lite, I think there is a place for him in the top 6 and can provide some additional balance. Curious to see this one play out

You were fairly close. I’m interested to see the top 3 forward lines.

They were one of the top first lines in the league last year with Tage at C. I totally get not moving it around. But I actually really liked Thompson on the wing with Greenway and Cozens at C. I say that not liking Greenways game last year. If he can be an Alex Tuch lite on the left side this year, that’s a formidable line.

I am not watching this one. It feels like defense and goaltending are still a major issue with an emphasis on goaltending but not in a good way. I was thinking that maybe KA has held out on moving VO to get through the Quinn injury. At that point he may be prepared to package him for a goaltender. Im high on Levi and this roster but if this defense still blows without any systemic adjustments, and UPL/Comrie are still miserable options I’m gonna be pissssed!

Oh, duh… I was only thinking of players that dressed last night.

I feel like an idiot, who is EJ?

I honestly loved our lines to finish the season. I thought our top line with Mitts at center was as good or better as anything they did previously. Tommers made the second line better. Mixing in Greenway, Jost, and Krebs around the line up helped provide some physicality that lets guys like Cozens and Peterka shine a bit brighter. I would like to see more of it, at least situationally. Just my $0.02 carry over from last year.

Last night was exciting. But after a full day I think the kid gets a few call ups, but likely isn't ready for an 82 game season. I am curious how he looks when guys start playing a much more physical game as the preseason progresses. He was good tonight, but it will be different when other full grown men are fighting for the back end of their careers and to stay on a roster to provide for their families. The real bummer is the rules about the AHL, not necessarily whether he makes the Sabres or not. He should be playing in Rochester.

I think maybe he gets a few games early to get a feel for playing with grown men at that size, speed, and intensity. Then sent back to juniors with a check list of things to improve upon and maybe hit the weight room. Then we see him again later in the season.

It’s a preseason game but he isn’t just skilled he’s playing with a lot of confidence. After that breakaway I was like “well, maybe…” It all feels like a risk for a franchise in the middle of a 12 year drought who might be starting a rookie goaltender in 50+ games this year and a million other young players. I think he might make the roster. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about it.

My biggest negative is these terrible Boston announcers. They sound like they pulled them out of the Harp pre game and offered them the mic.

Another plus one for me on the first so far is the PK. But tough to tell, I’ve seen our prospects against some real Boston players and it wasn’t great either. I think I’ve seen Tommers and Skinner on both PK’s so far.

I don’t follow much/any of the juniors. But the kid is always in the right place and/or getting the puck to the right place. I’d be shocked if he didn’t get a few call ups this year for a little spot duty.

I don't know that this is wholly true. Yes it is hockey/sport. But this is also a profession. As a senior at what I do; I understand somebody being hesitant to sign an 8 year deal when executive leadership in my division has seen quarter over quarter loses for nearly a decade. Yes, I would be happy to be apart of a team that had the first ever year of profit (1 winning season out of 4), but I am not sure I would sign away the next 10 years when there has still been speculation that the owner might sell the company off. Or at least I would give it some serious thought. If you look at the Allen game as an individual, sure it is just a thing that happened/happens. But when you look at the history of the Sabres, ... - wait the offense struggled more often than it should last year. - They were fairly flat in the playoffs. Their star WR threw two temper tantrums (playoffs and OTA's). - The expectations around this season. - The verbalization that that the QB was never more locked in than he is this year, only to be....well....not locked in.... - The team president is incapacitated for the foreseeable future and was removed. - The team owner was quoted as saying some not great stuff (albeit allegations) Dahlin may fully buy into Adams and Donnie. He probably does. But the Pegula run Sabres have created a situation where there is a lot more to it than that. I am not saying that Dahlin shouldn't sign. I am not saying he won't. But if it were me I would weigh the entire state of the Pegula Sabres/sports enterprise before I sign on the dotted line.

Some speculation on the inter webs that it’s so Dahlin can maximize his value. I would guess that it’s actually so he has control of his career. The Pegula owned Sabres have put together maybe the worst decade of hockey the league has ever seen. It’s been historically bad. Pegula’s life is a mess at the moment. His wife is….. He’s been alleged to have said some terribly racist stuff. There’s been rumors for years he might sell the team. The Bills have a feeling that they might on ravel. If you’re Rasmus Dahlin, why the fork would you tie yourself to this franchise for a decade right now? Just my $0.02

I don’t think this has anything to do with public figure standard. Not a lawyer. (Unsure if you are either) But it seems like if I were to equate this to normal work it would be me hearing a terrible quote from an executive at work. My colleague says he heard something very similar from another executive. I file an official complaint. And instead of my employer looking into it, they ignore it and lose my job. Which seems to be the essence in this case. I would think I have every right to quote my initial complaint to my employer in a court. EDIT: I think you misread your post and we are saying similar things. There is no possible deflation suit as this is protected language. If that’s what you’re saying then sorry for being a total idiot.

The statement around Pegula is that it was reported to the league and the league didn’t do their due diligence and instead did not extend the employees (Trotter) despite previous promises otherwise. There is no defamation suit to be had because Trotter will say, “I don’t know if he said it. Neither does the league because they swept my official complaint under the rug rather than doing their due diligence. And when I tried to follow up I was blown off and then lost the contract I was promised”.

The pressure chamber for the Bills has been so heavy that one thing I love about the Sabres right now is that there is none. It’s a lot of fun. After the Monday Night game I am really looking forward to hockey.

Just for some clarification, the suit isn’t actually about Terry. There is almost a guarantee that there is no defamation suit coming. Basically Trotter reported what he heard about Pegula through a colleague and what he heard from Jerry Jones first hand to the league. He heard nothing. Nobody every called him or his source on the Pegula quote to verify despite Trotters multiple proactive attempts to follow up on his own. Trotter then started asking Goodell about various DEI initiatives publicly. Trotter then did not have his contract renewed after he was insured it would be. He is asserting that his complaints and follow up to the league are part of why he isn’t employed, and that the league didn’t do their due diligence because they never interviewed anybody about the complaints. Assuming Terry didn’t say this (for the sake of this post) and Trotter is correct here Pegula’s name is being dragged through the mud because of the League’s ineptitude, not Trotter. Whether or not Pegula said it isn’t terribly relevant to the case because the league barely looked into it. But if he did he can GTFO out of my town.

Don't mind me, I will just be over here in the corner being an absolute idiot. Cheesus. hahaha