LGR4GM

Right here

I do think it is worth noting that Michael Misa does not have NHL drafted linemates. Joey Willis a 4th rounder is it and Zayne Parekh on defense. I only mention it because Misa basically has to generate and convert things roughly on his own-ish. Obviously he isn't alone but I just mean the talent around him is a bit lesser than Hagens or Martone. Misa has 66pts and the next closest player has 47. Martone has 56 with his linemates having 52 and 48.

Who wants to join a team that the owner refuse to spend to the cap and hasn't made the playoffs in 14 years? Terry made the franchise into a franchise no one wants to come to. He did that. Terry and Adams were the drivers of not letting Eichel get surgery and trading him. Terry pushed for the Skinner contract to be 8 years and get done regardless. Terry wanted Leino and Ehrhoff. Terry has hired the GM and refuses to fire him. Terry hired Barf Krueger. Terry has refused to allow trades that increase actual money spent which is why Adams has never taken cap dumps. Terry wanted Ruff as coach. Terry wanted to keep all the assistants cuz they were under contract. Terry did EEE. Terry sits in draft meetings and offers his opinions which considering how this org runs, I am guessing hold a ton of weight. You'd have to be a naive child to think that the big boss offering opinions just gets ignored when he's shown he fires ppl who won't do what he wants, Jason Botterill was literally fired for declining to do what Terry wanted. The list goes on and on and on and on. Terry made this franchise a joke. He is the owner, the buck stops with him and no one wants to come here because since he has been owner, they have never made the playoffs. You can try and gaslight all you want, but you're selling and I ain't buying.

Sabres currently have a 9.5% change to win the first overall pick. If the lottery goes chalk, that's okay for Buffalo if we stay in 4th overall. I would be scared if we finished 4th and someone below jumped up because I think there is a clear demarcation between the top 4 and the next 5ish players. That said, if we win and aren't in 4th, that's fine. https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-nhl-draft-lottery-odds-which-teams-have-the-best-chance-to-select-matthew-schaefer-james-hagens-michael-misa-porter-martone Instincts right now for the top 5 if the order held would be the following: Chicago - James Hagens, 5'10" C (Chicago has taken multiple defenders in the first round the last few years including 2nd overall Levshunov and 7th overall Korchinski, so I think they will add at forward as Hagens represents a great 2nd center and PP friend to Bedard) San Jose - Matthew Schaefer 6'2" LHD (While SJ did take Dickinson at #11 last year, they have also drafted Celebrini, Smith, Musty, Bystedt, and Eklund at forward recently so I think they will look at Dickinson as the solid #2 defender he can be and say "let's grab someone really dynamic for our PP" which is Schaefer, The other option for them here IMPO is probably Martone as I think they would like his size and shot) Nashville - Michael Misa 6'1" C/LW (Nashville is the poster child of UFA buyer beware and they desperately need some centers in the pipe, they have a bunch of options at c/w and I think they want more even though Wood, Svechkov, Surin are all in that mold. Surin actually reminds me a bit of Misa so I see a similar pull) Buffalo - Porter Martone 6'3" RW (I could see Martone going to SJ or Nash as well with Nashville perhaps being likely. That said, Martone has the ability to drive play from the wing. His on ice vision is good, he sees and can execute really good passing plays. His shot is good but is not dynamic in the way I feel Misa's is. Instead Martone uses his positioning and size to get into shooting lanes and rip accurate shots. There has been some questions about Martone's pace but frankly, I don't see that as an issue. He is willing to use his body and drive the net or get position, at 6'3" he has size and weight to do this. His hands are quite good if not excellent, he uses them to problem solve and he can disconnect his lower body from his upper giving him a lot of range from a stable base that's hard to predict. he does play with Michael's brother Luke Misa who was a 5th round pick last year and with Carson Rehkopf a 2nd rounder from 2023. I mention this because he has very good linemates but Martone drives that line, these guys support him and finish what he creates. I feel like most of what I have watched is Martone creates and those 2 finish. Luke and Carson will be AHL eligible next year. Martone should go back to jrs 1 more year but then I would bring him in as a the play driving RW he can be. A guy like Benson or Peterka would do really well with him.) Seattle - Roger McQueen 6'5" C/W (Seattle probably wants a defender based on their prospect pool but I think they will have a hard time passing up the 6'5" center. McQueen is a wild card as with his size and skill he could jump into this top 4 but has been injured since October with a lower body injury but is supposed to be back soon.)

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/43334717/nhl-alex-ovechkin-goal-record-wayne-gretzky-mike-knuble-teammates Fun read and something cool to burn 10mins on.

I always took the water around wny for granted. It rains, things are green, the finger lakes and great lakes are here. Then I witnessed actual drought conditions in Georgia and it didn't even get to bad. A fire started in the blue Ridge and you smell the smoke 100 miles away. I only mention it because I can't fathom what's happening in California, my reference point is barely anything other than a 6 month dry spell. I hope the wind dies down and they get the fire under control. I also hope it rains there. Truly terrible. I also should have commented when Lahaina burned. I've been there and it broke my heart that not only did it burn but the vultures who swooped to take advantage of those ppls pain.

‪Greg Wyshynski‬ ‪@wyshynski.bsky.social‬ The Seattle Kraken have placed forward Daniel Sprong on waivers. 2 pts in 10 games (5 pts in 19 games overall), having been acquired from Vancouver earlier this season. Hasn't played since Dec. 28.

Isn't about me. That's what you and PerreaultForever and others never get. I don't matter. The solution and the understanding matter.

Practice lines today: 1/8/2025 ‪Heather Engel‬ ‪@engelheather.bsky.social‬ Lines and pairings: Zucker-Cozens-Thompson Peterka-McLeod-Tuch Benson-Krebs-Quinn NAK-Kozak-Lafferty Dahlin-Byram Power-Clifton Samuelsson-Jokiharju Gilbert-Bryson

This article about the blackhawks got me thinking about the trade deadline. Ryan Donato for example would be a player Buffalo could add if they were serious about winning (they aren't and they won't) but as we move closer to the deadline, improving the team is a major priority.. i'd hope.

I mean, you could also do Tage Cozens McLeod Krebs if that makes it better. We fail to score in win hockey games because we lack heart and grit.

Stats also don't capture what happens after you win faceoff. If I win a draw and it goes between my defense and down the ice... good for me? If Buffalo wasn't so goddamn pathetic at winning puck battles, losing a faceoff would be less of a problem. You are focused on a tree while the forest is on fire.

IMPO, if Ruff has any brains he will leave the McLeod line alone. They were pretty decent against Washington. I would just put Quinn with Benson and Krebs and give Kozak the 4th line job. Benson-Kulich-Krebs Quinn-Lafferty-NAK To Benson-Krebs-Quinn Kozak-Lafferty-NAK and leave this alone Zucker-Cozens-Thompson Peterka-McLeod-Tuch

Taking Greenland is not a bluff. Him and his buddy Musk, want it for rare earth minerals. There's a very possibility he declares Martial Law at some point under the guise of removing illegal immigrants. However whatever he does should be viewed through the very simple lens of power and money. If Trump thinks he will get more power or more money, he will act on it. He has no interest in governing or helping the country. It is why Musk and other Billionaires have gotten so cozy with him. They know that if you flatter Trump and help him attain either power or money, that he's in. The real concern at this stage is how he handles Ukraine's ongoing battle against Russia. He's already tried to exploit Ukraine and we know he tends to favor not only the policies of dictators like Putin but also how they speak. He could very easily use his bully pulpit to threaten Ukraine unless the rest of Europe gives him some concession he wants. The man is a dictator that is restrained by the ever weakening limits placed on him by the Constitution. The only hope the country has at this stage is somehow limping along until the midterms when either the house or the Senate can be flipped, effectively muzzling the mad dog half the country decided to unleash because Democrats are incompetent morons and Republicans are spineless lickspittles.

Ryan McLeod is 53.2% and has won 297 faceoffs. I would say that they at the very least partially addressed this. We aren't bad because of faceoffs, we are bad because of effort and roster building.

Makes sense.

Detroit continues to have a big glaring issue. Yzerman drafts high floor, low ceiling players and he also adds the same types in UFA. It would be like if you replaced Josh Allen with Baker Mayfield, sure the Bills would make the playoffs because the rest of the team is decent but you will never win a Superbowl because you just don't have that extra gear, there is not an upper level to achieve. I think Detroit is similar to Buffalo and both teams could learn from one another. Buffalo swings for talent a lot in the first round, but where I agree with Perrault is that Buffalo does not prioritize motor/drive/grit enough in their picks. I think since the Benson pick that may have changed as Wahlberg, Ziemer, Strbak, and McCarthy are all guys that give honest efforts every shift. I also think Buffalo could have been more aggressive in UFA because they need a couple more high floor low ceiling players. My main point is I don't view Detroit is a successful rebuild to this point. They haven't made the playoffs and unless the coach bump never fades they are going to finish probably just above Buffalo this year.

Detroit must be better!?!? You said and I quote: "you mocked the Yzerplan. You were wrong, but of course you will never admit it." just last year, so there is no way that they are just the same as Buffalo with more effort? That can't be possible, you said I was wrong and the Yzerplan was better! How can they not be better then? I don't understand! OMG I am so confused.

If we get Schaefer, he's best suited going back to Jr's. He won't be 18 until September.

You're good. This place exists to bring this stuff up. Even as bombastic as I come across, I learn stuff from every counter point made.

I looked up the percentage. Both McLeod and Krebs have a better win %

Peyton Krebs and Ryan McLeod, both are higher

I think Owen Power will be a top of the line #2 defender on a team. I think that process will take another 3-5 years. I do find it interesting that with Benson, "he's a 3rd liner" and that's that but Power we should allow to grow. Just mentioning the juxtaposition.

My favorite part was in OT when he simply waltzed up ice and was easily stripped from behind allowing a nice scoring opportunity against. He needs to play with way more pace and urgency.

Yea, and ppl told me for years Sam Reinhart wasn't that good. Zach Benson is 8th for goals scored this season for players 20 and under. That's out of 35 ppl including someone he is currently tied with who I bet you think is a good shooter, Kulich. Benson may not have Kulich's shot but his shot is good enough and his skills around the net high enough for him to get quite a few goals. Benson is 12th in total points this season for players 20 and under. Again, there are 35ppl on that list. He's 1 of only 4 players that are 19 or younger in the NHL. Bedard and Celebrini are first overall picks and the other is Will Smith. Smith btw has a -13 and only 1 more goal and 1 more point than Benson. Zach Benson really only needs 2 things, time and better coaches/teams.