dudacek

I agree with the first half of this post. Since four of the past five college players who stayed in college long enough to go to free agency ended up signing with the Sabres anyway, why do you believe the 2nd half? Particularly when just 3 months ago Johnson is on record as saying he was happy with the organization and there has been no indication that’s changed.

I like the fact they are using the stretch to try new things. Ive been hoping to see Tuch/Mitts since we added Alex, and I like Okposo/Cozens and think Asplund will make that combo hard to play against. I see VO as a guy who thrives on structure and Skinner on chaos, so I have my doubts there, but that line is 3 talented guys playing well, so why not give it a look?

You’re not wrong, particularly in comparison to the Leafs. Yet they also gave up a ridiculous amount of Grade A scoring chances. A ridiculous amount. The 1st 2 Tarasenko goals were well-earned, where the Blues created glorious scoring chances and buried them. I’m not sure how many other Grade A ES chances they had? 6? 8? To my eye we had significantly more. Butcher off the post, Olofsson all alone between the legs and wide, Krebs over the net on a breakaway, Asplund on a breakaway, Thompson twice from between the circles, Skinner poking it through beaten by the whistle, Tuch multiple times… It felt like they went 2 for 8 and we went 1 for 15 on glorious chances where the offence beat the defence. They scored 2 PP goals on penalties that aren’t always called penalties, a lucky bounce off Tuch’s skate and an empty netter. We got the Asplund deflection. So, 15–8 Buffalo on even strength chance generation 2-1 St. Louis on execution And 4-1 St. Louis on “hockey randomness.” Not making excuses, it’s just hockey. There’s no guarantee you can control it, you can only tilt the odds in your favour. It’s a chaotic, unpredictable game.

If Johnson is in the fence, that’s not going to tilt him toward Buffalo. (Unless of course Knies is an absolute prick like every other person associated with the Maple Leafs 😜 )

I’m I getting spoiled by recent improvements, or is Butcher Fitz among the most scary combos we’ve seen on the blueline since the prime of Messy Ballls?

I really think he is a low-key flat-personality hockey nerd. (Kinda like Crosby and McDavid)

This is interesting. The last two Sabres draft picks to stay in college long enough to qualify for free agency did not exercise that option and instead signed with the Sabres anyway. They were Linus Weissbach and Casey Fitzgerald. The one previous to those two may have been Will Borgen, who may have also been able to walk after 3 years because he was drafted at 19. Not certain on that one. Prior to Borgen, Sean Malone did 4 years in Harvard and still signed with the Sabres. It seems to me Cal Petersen was more the exception than the rule.

I can’t claim credit for that one, although I certainly have ripped it off to apply to other players over the years. 😁

I know scoring is up considerably this year. Curious if anyone knows if save percentages are down as a result. Like is a .910 this year equivalent to a .920 3 years ago?

No suggestion of that in the interview. The implication I took out of it was that the organization as a whole did not like McAvoy enough to invest #8 in him. Forton does mention discussion of trading down and taking him.

I think it's weird they dress Butcher when Pysyk and Miller are available. I wonder if they are being nice and trying to give will a shot to showcase himself for another contract? The other 2 will get offers. Not so sure about Butcher.

Adams and Granato haven't been shy about saying this season is about evaluating which "older developing players" they will be moving forward with. I'd say Murray, along with Ruotsalainen and Anders Bjork, failed their evaluation. Pretty sure Tage, Samuelsson, Jokiharju and Dahlin passed with flying colours. I'm not entirely sure where they are going to go with Mitts, VO, Asplund, Bryson, Fitzpatrick and UPL.

The McAvoy part was great. For those not listening, Duff and Biron asked him about his biggest regret at the draft table. Forton was a Sabres college scout during that draft who absolutely loved McAvoy, who the industry had pegged as a mid-1st player. He implies the sabres weren't really considering him in the 5-10 range and he really regrets not pushing harder for him at 8. He also says the team lacked cross-league scouts to compare players in different leagues. He also implies that the current regime has made changes to the way it does its business in order to empower the local scouts to speak up and to better compare players at different levels. He said he passed McAvoy on the concourse on draft day as he was heading up to the Bruins box and McAvoy said "Jerry, I really thought you guys were going to take me." Forton said he felt sick to his stomach. Forton comes across well. Looking forward to his preview of the coming draft.

10 goals and 20 assists are good totals for a checking specialist.

Johnson and Levi don’t sound like players who don’t want to come to Buffalo, whether it’s now, or later. Portillo hasn’t said anything that we are aware of, and that, plus his circumstances, makes his situation more troubling.

I don’t have the explanation handy, but there has been plenty of media reporting on this specifically addressing his situation and clarifying some misconceptions: Portillo can become a free agent next year if he decides to leave school early.

Looked to me like Donnie slid Cozens into that role after Krebs' terrible giveaway. it was the type of move we haven't seen Donnie make too often and it makes sense if he's rolling 3 lines. Cozens (and Asplund) also got PK time last night, something I think is a good idea as we start looking ahead to next year; they have good PK skill sets. Semi-related, Hinostroza and Hayden combined for maybe 15 minutes of ice time last night. Donnie almost always gives every one at least 10 minutes. Again, maybe an indication of wanting to maximize opportunities for the younger guys. And, welcome!

It will be interesting to see how the Ullmark situation affects how Adams handles this. It seems Adams did not trade Ullmark because he believed he would be able to re-sign him. (I'm not saying Ullmark misled him). If Portillo sends similar signals does he trust them again?

We might be saying the same thing in different ways, but I just don’t see many teams with 2nd lines as good as the Tall and Skinny line. How many lines have 2 30 goal scorers? I doubt there’s a half-dozen. There are only 35 30-goal scorers in the entire league.

I think we’ve evolved to the point where the Tage line is an average NHL 1st line, Mitts/VO and Girgs/KO are good NHL 3rd lines, and Cozens/Krebs is an excellent 4th line. Which is a huge leap forward from having good 1st and 4th lines and bad 2nd and 3rd lines. We no longer have lengthy stretches in the game where we are putting out a line that is getting seriously overmatched.

Against his peers, Power is frequently pinching and joining the rush. But not in a way that ever seemed to result in leaving his team exposed. I suspect you’re going to see it more often as he gets more comfortable.

And only one (Chicago) was against a "bad" team. The other 2 were the Jets and Canucks, who were in the playoff race when we faced them.

Say what you will about +/-, but -20 in 30 games — in 3rd-pairing minutes on a team that has been playing pretty well over that stretch — tells the tale for me on Fitzgerald. Too bad, because I love his fearless approach.

Can we agree that the Sabres PP looked god-awful last night and most of this recent stretch? Constantly failing to penetrate the zone and getting forced back in endless circling? Looks can be deceiving. They were 2 for 4 and are on a 10 for 26 run. It’s like if they ever do manage to generate a chance it goes in.

From my viewings, Power’s game is not Dahlin’s; he’s not a dazzler, he’s all about poise. It’s like the game unfolds more slowly for him. His style like an adult playing with 12 year olds: composed and always in control. The adult doesn’t knock the kids over, or stick handle around them, he uses his brain in order to diagnose where the play is going and stay 2 steps ahead and his body to buy time and space in those instances where he’s pressured. That you could see those qualities in the circumstances of yesterday is impressive. Because it is going to to take 200 games before NHL speed is natural and expected for him. If he becomes dominant it’s not going to be like Bobby Orr, it’s going to be like Nick Lidstrom: a giant comfort blanket for his coach and his teammates. Think of him as the ice to Dahlin’s fire.