dudacek

Portillo has played just 98 games over the past 4 years. “Need” might be too strong a word, but he definitely could benefit from more development, especially if Michigan has a talent drain and he is forced to be more of a difference-maker as a result.

There’s only 2 nets to develop 3 prospects. Each of them and UPL needs to play. This is the way to go, IMO, assuming there are no flight risks.

Did anyone catch Ray Ferraro’s segment on the Instigators yesterday? It was one of the most positive, yet well-informed takes on the state of the Sabres I have heard from a national analyst in a long time. (Full disclosure, he’s Donnie’s brother-in-law) They asked him if he could name three reasons or players coming that should make fans feel optimistic. He named 7 or 8. Said goalie is the biggest issue and we need to get a veteran bridge because Portillo and Levi have got it coming, and UPL is here too. Said we are going to love Power, and the size and skill with him, Ras and Mule gives us a ridiculous left side. He says Quinn is going to score goals in the NHL, Peterka is an engine, and the top 6 in this draft are difference-makers. Didn’t mention them here, but I’ve also heard him sing the praises of Cozens and Krebs in the past. He said it won’t all come at once, but it is coming and it may be sooner than we think. https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/hosts/the-instigators (3/4 of the way through the 3/10 segment)

And by “win the lottery” they mean “move up”. Im pretty sure if the last-place team ends of picking 1st it’s not considered a “win” for the purposes of the 5-year rule.

This is why I don’t sweat Donnie’s use of Eakin too much now, but I will later. We talk a lot about player development being his priority, but that includes off the ice as well and I like seeing signs that is happening.

Fans are supposed to make life tough on opposing players. Looks like they did.

Thanks for this. It’s really gotten lost in this thread. Anderson played his ass off. His teammates were clearly was so happy for him. I’m struggling to recall the last moment a group of Sabres looked/felt like a team in the way like they did at the end of that game. We’ve spilled so many pixels on here moaning about culture, and about how it needs to change before the results do. Maybe it’s actually happening.

Nights like that can help a city fall in love with its team again.

You know, that's one of the plusses of the Joki/Dahlin combo. In addition to Dahlin becoming elite at beating the pressure, Henri is a no slouch on his own; he can be a good outlet for Ras and doesn't defer, or need to defer, to him.

What are you saying, that the Amerks are empty right now because the Sabres should have more than 14 guys on pro contracts from the 2016-20 drafts? With 4 picks still in college (Costantini, Huglen, Johnson, Portilo) likely to get offers? Who does that? Except for late-signing Euro and college players, pre-2016 players are past their ELC and are generally NHLers or have moved on.

Not buying this. It's not drafting, it's health. Completely healthy the Sabres have 10 drafted prospects on the Amerks, plus Krebs Quinn Krebs Peterka Murray Rousek Weissbach Pekar Samuelsson Fitzgerald Laaksonen UPL An AHL team featuring 10 drafted prospects is on the high side for most NHL systems.

The Florida Panthers have invested Dennis Malgin, Cliff Pu, 2 1sts, 2 2nds, 2 3rds, a 7th and cap space to get Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell, Markus Nuutivara, Brandon Montour, Mason Marchment, Frank Vatrano, Antony Duclair, Carter Verhaege, Gustav Forsling, Radko Gudas and Sergei Bobrovsky. That's 1/2 of one the best teams in the league for roughly Isak Rosen Ryan Johnson Aleksandr Kisakov, Prohkor Poltapov and scraps. Except for Bobrovsky, none of those moves emptied the vault — cash or assets. Identify some good, undervalued players that fit our holes and go get them.

Has Miroshnichenko now become a huge gamble? The sort of gamble that might appeal more to a team with 3 picks likely between 20 and 40?

Had to look that one up. Dont often stumble into a Sabre I’ve never heard of. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=4253

Friedman raises the possibility than squashes it. A lot of feedback to our podcast bit about Shea Weber’s contract and whether or not it would make sense for Minnesota. The answer, according to several capologists consulted for this blog, is no — and don’t expect the Wild to do it. “You do not want to be in long-term injury, over the cap, for years and years,” one said. “There’s nothing good about that.” It prevents you from accruing space, robs you of flexibility. (I didn’t realize you can’t trade for a player on LTIR without activating him first. That would be problematic for most.) There is also the question of whether or not Minnesota could put together a full roster before putting Weber’s contract on long-term at the start of the season. So, what seemed like a creative idea was anything but that. But.... Don’t be surprised, however, if Weber’s $7.6 million cap hit for the next four seasons is traded to a team looking to hit the floor. It’s $6 million of actual cash, total.

2012 was McCabe, I believe. 2015 Guhle.

Along with Lemieux and Cornel

i'm hoping they are trying to sell. From Sam Ventura's mouth, they are tasked with providing info to the coaching staff, the coaches decide how to use it. I'm curious what Ventura's info says about Cody. It's pretty clear the NHL teams use numbers and criteria that are different than what the public sees. In Eakin's case, the eye test certainly tells you enough, IMO.

Olofsson for Max Comtois, straight across hockey trade.

Falling down the fringes of the standiings In serious disorder An unmitigated horror In between the Blackhawks And where Coyotes roam Watch the play, it all seems so one-sided Giveaways provided Results seem pre-decided We get detached and all divided As they get trapped inside their zone Nowhere is the dreamer Or the hopeful so alone Sabres fans On the internet Trying to forget You get numb or you get out Sabres fans From the basement bars Calling WGR Be numb or be cast out Any big win might help to smooth The unattractive truth But the Sabres have no charms to soothe The hopeless dreams of you Drawn like moths, we drift into Sabrespace The timeless old attraction Trying to find some passion Arguing about Granato's night Just to feel we have some might Some would trade the kids for aging stopgaps Or lose the race to tank To wash off that Sabre stank And start to dream of someone To end this hopeless blight Somewhere out of a memory Where RJ screams "Now do you believe?"

The 2021 Russian haul was 3 years away from Buffalo at the earliest without this. We're a long way away from knowing how, or if, this will affect them.

I think Krebs is a poster child for Donnie's "be fearless and I will forgive your mistakes" mantra. Cozens makes as many turnovers IMO, but skating the puck into defenders tends to be less glaring and more forgiving than blind high-risk passes. Granato seems to think the balance will tilt to the positive over time. Just because it worked for Dahlin and Thompson doesn't mean it will work for everyone, But Krebs is more than two full seasons behind those two and Cozens isn't much further ahead. it's hard to watch sometimes.

i think my point stands: I'm not comparing how the teams finished so much as I am what they looked like when the season started. With the exception of Olofsson, nearly every turd in the box Donnie was handed has met or beat expectations, some of them significantly.

I think you're basically saying "whatever, Granato's taking a 65-point team to 65 points." I'm saying i don't know that this was a 65-point team Let's compare the Oct. 1 2021 roster with Oct. 1 2013 rosters and how they projected at the time without the benefit of hindsight. Hodgson Mittelstadt Moulson Skinner Ennis Olofsson Leino Okposo Girgensons Cozens Stafford Thompson Foligno Hinostroza Ott Caggiula Flynn Asplund D'agostini Bjork Mcormick Ruotsalainen Scott Hayden Ellis Eakin Myers Dahlin Ehrhoff Miller Tallinder-Butcher Pysyk Jokiharju Weber Hagg McBain Bryson Ristolainen Samuelsson Miller Anderson Enroth Tokarski Is the Sabres starting roster this year appreciably any better than the team that put up 52 points a decade ago? I'd say the skaters look pretty close given where they all were at that moment in time, but the goalies should have given the 1st tank team a 10-point advantage. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000332013.html https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000332021.html

I think that's like saying Jack Eichel isn't a good leader because the Sabres never made the playoffs when he was captain. And *****, spoilers