LGR4GM

I'm trying to care that Matt Pegula is hanging around but I just don't. Wake me up when he tells Adams to sign Chara or something.

Then to be perfectly blunt it is a dumb ***** term. I don't think that is why or what Adams thinks at all. What hole on this team could Adams have filled in free agency? Goaltending is it and he acquired one. Wasting money because we have money doesn't mean the team is better. We spent half a decade at the top of the cap for nothing. Money spending does not equal wins.

10000000000000000% disagree that the culture is changing slowly. It changed. This is a different team culture than what we went into last year with.

I think it took almost 50 games last year to establish it. Again, a lot of people view the Sabres as the team that had the record they did last year and not as the team that played the final 28 games. Tanking is deliberately selling off assets to ensure you finish as low in the standings as possible. Soft tanking would imply selling some assets but not going all in. What assets did Buffalo sell or what action did they take to ensure they finish last or bottom 5 in the rankings?

I don't believe for 1 second that the eastern conference playoff will be the exact same teams as last year.

This implies that any team that doesn't sell out the future to ice the best team they possibly can is soft tanking. Again it is a bad definition and way to discuss a very real idea.

He is in Sweden about to start his Allsveskan season with Djurgardens

Adams talked about this in his presser today. He went to the med staff, sports training staff, and coaches to understand the types of injuries the team was having and to develop a plan to mitigate them and communicate between the 3 groups better to try and produce better outcomes.

Not only that but Miami's defense gives up the most yards per play in the entire league right now. At least that is what Sal said on wgr just a bit ago.

I am starting to think that Östlund was the key to the Lekkerimaki Östlund Ohgren line

I see it as being Krebs- Mitts - Okposo as a line. Gives you a little of a security blanket who is good in corners and can shoot with Okposo. Krebs and Mitts can bounce between the center spot and work on parts of their game. That's my 2nd/3rd line right now (I think they will be interchangeable). Skinner - Tage - Olofsson Quinn - Cozens - Tuch Krebs - Mitts - Okposo Zemgus - Asplund - JJP

JJP will start a little slow but by the end we won't have any doubts. Even if he gets sent back to Rochester for 1 more year, there is a bonafide NHL player in the making here.

I fully know this prediction won't be right and I fully expect many of you to disagree but I like our team and finally see a way for us to win consistently. Owen Power is going to be really good and will be a difference maker. I should have ranked him higher. Is part of all of this hopium? yup but hey, why not be hopeful right now?

I think the Sabres can make the playoffs and I don't by the crap analysis going on in the public sphere that we are worse than the Flyers and are a bottom 5 team. As such I was asked how I get the Sabres into the players so I will guesstimate the Eastern Conference standings and I encourage others to add their own. Carolina Hurricanes, they return a veteran team with good defense that also have excellent young talent that keeps pushing this roster forward. Their goaltending is pretty decent and I think Brind'Amour is a good coach. Only weakness might be a lack of true all star power on the defense. Tampa Bay Lightning, they also return a veteran team and a good defense which features a couple of all stars. Their goaltending is solid but they drop below Carolina because of age and a little bit of a depth issue especially after years of being at the top. Solid team though that can roll multiple lines and beat you. My concern would be injury as this team is good but the depth runs out quickly. Still, until they prove the window closed, we have to assume they bring the same level every night. Florida Panthers, the dumbest thing they did was fire their coach. They lost because of some poor luck and some hot goaltending opposition. I think they take a step back this year because of the coaching change and I think they will still be a very dangerous team. Lots of forward depth but with slightly less defensive depth, they can really come at you with multiple lines. New York Rangers, I actually don't love the rangers but their goaltending is the best in the world so that is going to save them at times just like it did in the playoffs. I think they have some young talent that can really shine a bit more this year but if the goaltending doesn't hold out, this team is in trouble. Vincent Trochek is a bit of a gamble so it will be interesting to see how that pays off and their defense is good with Fox, Miller, and Schneider so that should really keep them as a top playoff team. Toronto Maple Leafs, blow leafs blow is the motto of a team that hasn't won a playoff round since... uhhh... many years ago. I think their goaltending probably got worse and their defense has already been suspect so unless they can score 5 goals a game they have some issues at hand including signing Rasmus Sandin to a new deal. Really like their forwards and they can score a ton but that defense is Achilles's heel. Maybe a couple of the young defenders make the team and solidify it but the goaltending is yikes. Pittsburgh Penguins, they are getting old and they haven't drafted well in years and years. However they have Crosby and Letang still so it is hard to count them out. If their goaltending doesn't holdup however, they will be in big trouble because they simply do not have the firepower to boat race teams anymore. Still I will believe in Crosby until he proves otherwise. Buffalo Sabres, well here we are. Hey look at us, look at us, who would have thought? I believe in Comrie because the analytics believe in him. That is the major key to this team, the goalie. When we had even mediocre goalie play last year we won games. The defense is much improved and Owen Power might already be the best defender on the team, sorry Rasmus. That said Dahlin and Samuelsson is a force and if Dahlin improves his defense even mildly, dear lord. I think Boosh is a great player to put with Power and will help him a lot. I have some concern over that bottom pair of Bryson and Joker but maybe with better usage they will be okay. The forwards I am starting to love though and I think coupled with our improved GT, they push us into the playoffs. Tage will be good and Skinner will hold his play. Tuch has more to give I think. Olofsson fully healthy all year will be a revelation. Quinn and JJP are going to be a little off in October but by the time we hit Christmas look out. If Cozens and Mitts can both take a step this is a truly deep forward group capable of rolling 4 lines. Okposo will be a 20g scorer again and won't spend that much time on the 4th line, you watch. I think this team is poised to take the step and I think the speed they will bring will overwhelm teams like Washington, the NYI, Pittsburgh, and the Bruins. Ottawa Senators, a team that in many ways is like Buffalo where there is a lot of younger talent but a good mix of veterans too. I think Giroux is underrated and I love Debrincat. Both these additions really bolster their young forwards which feature Tkachuk, Stutuzle, and Josh Norris. Couple that with decent defense and I think improved goaltending and they could do something this year. Their offseason moves seem smart and targets versus the panicked flailing that other teams seem to engage in. Boston Bruins, they are getting older and slower. Their drafts haven't looked great in several years and that ripple is finally starting to catchup to them. No idea how they will deal with having two 1b netminders but they do have decent goaltending. I think their defense is solid and that might save them from falling out the playoff picture as long as Bergeron holds up. That said they have major injuries to start the season so I think they slide and have to claw back into the playoffs. Columbus Blue Jackets, this one was hard because I thin the blue jackets had a fantastic offseason but they aren't quite there yet. My issue for them lies in their center core and even though I love Sillinger, it just seems a little weak and I don't think Gudreau will be enough to overcome that. Their defense is young and improving and they will be battling with Buffalo, Boston, Ottawa for that final playoff spot very late into the season. I hope Jiricek gets called up at some point though because I love that guy. Washington Capitals, they ditched their goalies and are running it back with Kemper (he did just win a cup). It is a top heavy team that wasn't all that threatening last year and Backstrom is injured which leaves a thinner forward group that can't afford any more injuries. On defense they are going to be older and slower than much of the east and that will get exploited leading them to missing the playoffs. New York Islanders, the only thing holding this disaster together was the coach IMPO. I think Lou has lost his way and his arcane rules and micromanagement of ppl is long since lost its charm. Couple that with a roster that lacks a lot of game breaking star power or even goal scoring and I start to wonder how the Islanders do in a world where Ottawa and Buffalo, along with teams like Detroit and Columbus are improving. The Islanders changed goalies and did nothing else this year but with a new coach they will be better? I don't buy it. New Jersey Devils, Lindy Ruff is going to get fired and there is an assistant that will be taking his place. I want to like the Devils and I will put them above the Wings but outside of their excellent top line, I just don't see the forward depth yet. Further they need Nemec and Hughes (still in college) to really complete a blue line that revolves around Dougie Hamilton. I think this year in particular they face some adversity as Nemec learns the NA game. Detroit Redwings, I don't believe in the bandaids and ufa splashes they made to in an attempt to fix this roster. They are where Buffalo was in 2020 with some talent but way too many JAGS filling key roles. Maybe I will be wrong and their new goaltending tandem can lift them up but I think this is a team that is about 2 lines deep with suspect defense (seider is great) that just won't have the horses to stay relevant all season. I am lower on them than most ppl. Philadelphia Flyers, this team makes no sense and is a dumpster fire. Their top center is... checks notes... Kevin Hayes. Wait that can't be right, oh ***** it is. They do have some talent with Konecny who I really like and Farabee but this is a paper thin forward group. When Deslauriers is your 7th highest paid forward, I have concerns for you. The defense might be okay as Deangelo is a good defender but Risto will still be force fed minutes he can't handle and outside of their top pair, their defense is a lot of meh. I don't believe in the Carter Hart resurrections but maybe. With Couturier out long term this team just is starting out bad and I expect them to start selling assets at some point to try and get that sweet sweet Bedard pick. Montreal Canadiens, quick I need a team with massive amounts of players on IR, no goaltending, and a defense that makes me cringe. The forwards might be okay but that defense is not. The goaltending will ultimately sink this team though as the constant hemming into their zone will overwhelm what is best described as subpar goaltending. The fowards are gonna need to score 4 or 5 a night to win and there isn't enough talent there. What is going to be really sad is Juraj Slafskovsky being fed to the wolves. He is talented but I agree with other assessments that the processing and pace of play isn't there which will result in lots of frustration for fans. Sorry kid but you can't just power to the net or through everyone anymore, there are NHL guys on just about every team as big and strong as you. That concludes my rundown and after looking at all the rosters, the east is going to be a lot closer than it was last year. Lots of teams either improved internally or went out and pulled talent from the west. I fully expect one team to completely destroy my standings and that wildcard team is.... Columbus. Either way I think we have some tiers of teams. There are the top 3, a middle 3, the playoff hunt 5, the could of been in the hunt but nope 3, and the bottom 2 dumpster fires.

We haven't seen Krebs successfully handle a winger role yet. I'm really hoping he makes a jump.

I have no interest in trading Zemgus this season.

I fully believe Comrie was a top target. Idk about Boosh but maybe. Okposo is the captain of this team. No doubt for me now.

Will do

I'll post it tomorrow. Want to think on it.

If I'm honest, yes. I think team will compete for a playoff spot. Youth is how we're better. Youth and year 2 of Granato. Again, we'll see what happens.

He had a 2nd assist in 14 min of toi

Sorry, I'm just sick of using the term Tank to mean any variety of things from actually selling assets so you lose to not pissing away money in ufa. It irks me, a tank is a very specific thing. I guess we'll find out.

Actually I needed to add something. So you claim they are tanking and that is 100% false based on literal facts. But let's examine the next part. You express the opinion that the lineup is the same as last year (just a little different). Let us take a peak shall we? Eakin, 69 games and gone. Pysyk, 68 games and gone. Hayden 55 games and gone. Hagg 48 games and gone. Miller 38 games and gone. Butcher, 37 games and gone. Jankowski, 19 games and gone. Caggiula, 18 games and gone. Ruotsalainen, 18 games and gone. So that is 9 players that played a majority or at least a chunk of games for Buffalo who aren't on the roster. Just a little different: with Power replacing Pysyk... I mean yea sure if you think the 1st overall pick from 2021 is about the same as... checks notes... Mark Pysyk. What about Cody Eakin, let's give his games to Jack Quinn... I will be shocked if there is any difference there with Quinn probably only getting... checks notes again... 12 points. How about Hayden replaced by JJP, no way JJP can get much better than haydens 4 pts, I mean who realistically thinks he will get much more than that? Hagg, idk how Lybushkin can replace Hagg and his 8 whopping points and poor defensive metrics. We didn't even talk about Tuch or Krebs playing only parts of last year in Buffalo. They basically replace Caggilula and Ruotsalianen. So if you are saying that Eakin, Pysyk, Hagg, Hayden, Caggiula, and Ruostsalianen are the same or only slightly lesser than Power, Quinn, Tuch, Krebs, Peterka, Lybushkin, then yes the lineup is only a little different than what we did for a chunk of last year. Just a tiny amount, in fact I would argue it is almost exactly the same lineup. I mean no way Owen Power is going to be better than Pysyk or Hagg, they are basically the same. Eakin and Tuch, most teams view them as equals. Quinn and Caggiula, probably need a sweetner if you wanted to make that trade but they are almost identical. Because as you say " I don't think the line up will be a whole lot different than last year. Just a little" I get the impression your definition of a little is very different than mine. I didn't even get to the difference between Comrie and Tokarski or Dell. A lot did change. That's the intriguing part.

THEY ARE NOT TANKING. Words have meaning. You don't just call everything tanking because they didn't do what you wanted in the offseason. You mean the lineup at the end of the year that was on a 105pt pace... oh no the horror. Also you forgot Lybushkin and Comrie.