dudacek

It’s an interesting thing to watch play out. The underlying principle is “go-for-it” so I doubt we will ever see a Granato team adopt a “shut-em-down” no-risk New Jersey Devils philosophy. If they succeed it will be like Tampa and PIttsburgh - they didn’t change their style, they just got smarter and more diligent within it.

He’s answered it. Many times, actually. It is his opinion that it is much easier to teach defence than offence and more important that these young players learn how to break down structure offensively and feel confident that they can create against anyone. His supporting argument is look how much better Dahlin/Tage/Skinner etcetera are than they were following the safety-first principles of Ralph Krueger.

Generally agree with your overarching point. But I remain confident that Krebs is part of the long-term core. He will be a valuable 3C as soon as next year and has upside beyond that. I am surprised how quickly the shine came off him given the Granato/Adams track record of developing young talent. He’s 21. Think of where Cozens was 90-odd games into his career and how far he’s come since.

Remember when our 4th line was Bjork/Eakin/Hayden, Mark Jankowski and Drake Caggiula were regular options and Hinostroza and Asplund were usually in our top nine? And now none of them can crack the roster? That was last year.

I felt that a lot of the Sabre issues early were more due to their incompetence than the Stars' forecheck. The passing was way off and they just weren't executing the plays they usually execute routinely. Donnie was worried pre-game that the fact they had the day off was going to hurt their start but he thought that overall they needed the rest more than the warm-up. Fortunately, Anderson weathered the early issues and it ultimately proved to be the right call.

I guess it has to be "vote against the Penguins" until it's not. No OT, please and thank you.

Play. I have fully bought in to the learn by doing mantra — because it's working.

How are you defining "when it counts"? If it's "when the game is on the line in the 3rd this season", they are 16-0-2. If it's "during the last game that means something" no Buffalo team ever has.

I don't listen to the game on the radio. On TV, Dan provides the requisite level of excitement for an exciting team. I'm enjoying his work. Mule had a rough one last.

@Thorny paid extra attention to Quinn’s positioning tonight. Like I thought, he typically lined up as a left winger for faceoffs and manned the left boards for breakouts and defensive zone coverage. As @Taro T pointed out, he also typically changed for right wingers Okposo and Tuch 🤷

Bring the bug spray. I’ve really liked what this kid is turning into. Even if the offence doesn’t come (I think there’s more there) he’s just been a dog on a bone. Hasn’t even played 100 NHL games yet. Looking forward to seeing where he is after 200. Not against adding, but I don’t think this team needs any upgrades to make the playoffs. Right now they are on a 17/8/3 run over the past 2 months with the current roster. Keep that up and that gets us 99 points. He won a lot of board battles, set up a goal, was +1, had zero giveaways, 1 takeaway, backchecked and forechecked hard, and dominated shot share at nearly 70 per cent on the road against a very good hockey team. It doesn’t really sound like you were watching in a “happy to to be proven wrong” way. Because if you were, there was lots to like about his game tonight. Has been for a few weeks now.

Eichel for Tuch and Krebs was certainly out there.

I think what’s slipping a little through the cracks is the Sabres philosophy of building from within is not likely to change next season, or any season. This is an organization that believes it’s current pattern is not only the path to becoming good, it is also the path to staying good. I don’t really expect them to start making a habit of big-name win-now trades or signings this summer or ever. What I am curious about is whether Adams will eventually be willing to move on from “his guys” the way Darcy wasn’t and Punch wasn’t.

For the record, I don’t care if Comrie gets the backup starts over Anderson, I just want UPL to continue getting most of the starts until he starts costing us games. I would imagine Comrie gets Winnipeg, UPL gets Stl and Min. Probably how I would have done it too, given the compressed schedule.

It’s been a month, but he’s only played 3 games. His last 2 starts were stinkers against bad Chicago and Philadelphia teams.

We know Comrie can be a backup. He was maybe the best backup in the league last year in Winnipeg. We need to know is UPL is a starter and the best way to do that is by letting him keep the crease. If you're giving up on the playoffs 2 games back with with 35 games to go, well, I'm glad you're not running the Sabres. For years, we've been wanting games to mean something in the new year. They still do.

UPL and Comrie are both on 1-way contracts next year. Anderson is not coming back and they aren't bringing in another NHL goalie unless neither backstops the Sabres to wins. Right now UPL is doing that. If it continues, he opens next season as the #1. If he doesn't Comrie gets his shot. We already know Comrie can be a backup.

I'm curious when their bluff is going to be called. No one is paying a Jack Eichel price for Jeff Chychrun. if they were it would have happened. The question is more how long is Arizona willing to wait before taking something less. I only recall one defenceman in recent memory getting that much and Chychrun is not elite. Dougie Hamilton got a mid-first and 2 2nds. Hampus Lindholm got a late 1st, 2 2nds and a B prospect. Each is better than Chychrun The exception was Seth Jones, who got essentially a top 10 pick, a mid-first and a decent prospect. The only reason they got that high pick was because the deal blew up in Chicago's face, and Jones was more highly regarded than Chychrun at the time of the trade.

They've blown 2 points when leading after 2. That's it. Columbus has yet to blow any — largely because they've only been leading 7 times after 2. Five teams have squandered a single point. Then come the Sabres. Perception doesn't match reality. it's not Ken Daneyko's NHL any more and the Sabres protect leads better than most.

We need the win and we need to try. It'snot like we're going to have any other combo than Comrie/UPL to start next season anyway.

Always wondered why nobody ever slapped that moniker on Tage

You want to address the Sabres biggest needs in one fell swoop? Without blowing up our cap, or bringing in guys who don’t fit our window? Matt Savoie, Unprotected 2023 1st, 1 of Mitts, Olofsson, Jokiharju, plus Eric Portillo and either Asplund or a prospect of similar value for Chychrun, Lawson Crouse This assumes the Coyotes focus is maximizing low cost future assets while tanking until their new arena is built. Coyotes aren’t going to get a better asset than Savoie, or a better first than ours to meet their Chychrun demand. The price they pay for 2 premium assets is Crouse. The other 3 pieces should have enough value to make up the difference. We add Bishop if they need to take on fake salary under the cap. I think, given what we know about each franchise’s mindset, the deal has merit for both sides. Thoughts?

I posted most of that infor elsewhere on the site yesterday. Off the top of my head: Cozens, Asplund, Clague and Jost RFAs this summer, Okposo Girgs Anderson Hinostroza UFAs Dahlin, Power, Mitts, Joki, Bryson, UPL RFAs the following off-season, Boosh, Olofsson, Comrie UFAs Tuch is at least 3 years away from needing a new deal.

Tuch would be getting 8 or 9 if he was signing a deal this summer. The fact that he's outplaying his contract shouldn't and won't matter to Cozens agent. Agreed and he will get less. That said, Hughes signed his deal a year and a half ago, coming off seasons of 21 and 31 points. He fnished that year, his 3rd with 56 points in 49 games. Cozens will be coming off his 2nd and 3rd seasons of 37 and 70-ish points and is the same draft as Hughes. His agent will definitely be using Hughes as a comparable to start negotiations. You can find comparables up thread. Forwards with similar age and pedigree and worse production are all signing long-term for at least $7 million.

I'd offer Jost a choice: 1 year on his QA, which is more than he's worth, but something we can easily afford, or term (2 or 3 years) for a pay cut. Girgs, I'd have to do a deeper dive into comparables, but memory tells me he's slightly overpaid. 2 years, $2 million AAV sounds ballpark off the top of my head. Gives him a bit of premium based on his on his status as assistant captain.