Crusader1969

Matthews with 2 goals today in a 6-5 OT loss. He is currently 11th in scoring in the NLA - impressive considering he missed a month with the WJC. Fun Fact - Former Sabres and my fellow Burlingtonian Cory Conacher sits second with 50 points.

Patrik Laine with 1G and 1A today in 6-5 SO loss. He missed his chance in the shoot-out but the kid is nothing but impressive. Ranked top 10 in the entire league in PPG. Kid wont turn 18 until this coming April. Its going to be interesting watching him and Puljujarvi to see if one can solidify themselves as the 2nd overall pick in June.

thats an optimistic take, not sure I agree. getting out of the bottom 6 will not be easy for them IMO I could see the Oilers, now that McDavid is back, moving out of the bottom feeders and into the next group above along with the Canucks, Ducks and Flyers. The Blue Jackets and Leafs are a hot mess and will stay near the bottom. That leaves the Jets, Flames and Sabres to battle it out for 3rd, 4th, 5th last. As for the draft, I believe Laine, Puljujarvi and Matthews are in a tier by themselves. Tkachuk and Chychrun close out the top 5. Nylander and Juolevi are the only others that have a chnce to break into the top 5 at this time. If Sabres get unlucky and end up drafting 8th - they would have to have a long look at Sergachyov (D), Gauthier (RW) and Dubois (LW). McLeod is a really good player as someone noted but he is a true center and I don't think the Sabres would take him unless they thought he was the "BPA" by a wide margin. when thinking about the Sabres lets not forget that McGinn, Weber and Johnson's time on the team is running low being replaced by AHLers.

Prospects to watch tonight in the BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospect Game in BC who could potentially be top 10 picks. 1) Matthew Tkachuk - ranked 4th overall by ISS in January. considered by many as the "complete" package. strength, skill, hockey smarts all combined in one. not an elite skater but overcomes with an off the chart compete level. 2) Jakob Chychrun - ranked 5th by ISS. "He can beat you inside and out, skate through you or around, and either nail you to the boards or laughingly absorb a hit at full speed. He can easily be classified as a two-way defender, but what makes him unique among his peers is the way he divides his elite play equally depending on the game situation." from Draftanalyst.com 3)

Right

Granted, they haven't improved much if you look at the Standings but I would argue that you are looking at the wrong thing if you are trying analyze the Sabres season and look solely on the standings. Lets not forget that after 50 games this team had 31 points last season and were on a 14 game losing streak.

Kid is tearing it up - CHL player of the week for Estephan. http://www.whl.ca/article/hurricanes-estephan-named-chl-player-of-the-week

Every time I see an Eichel goal i'll try to remind myself that Tanking is for losers.

Duclair and Domi each spent 2 years after they were drafted in the CHL and were 20 years old before their rookie seasons started. Maybe Tkachuk could play in the NHL next year but its a lot to ask of a 18 year old (not named Eichel) to make that jump.

this doesn't make sense to me, Jack Eichel was worth the misery but you wouldn't want to see them lose again for the next 2 months? if you come in last you are guaranteed either Laine, Puljujarvi, Matthews or Tkachuk. Imagine the excitement of having one of these "elite" talents playing with Eichel for the next decade. luckily, I also think Nylander and Chychrun have potential to be stars as well. Therefore, I don't sweat wins and losses like I did last season (though that could change if we move out of bottom 5).

It would be interesting to know who is furthest ahead in their development between Fasching, Bailey and Baptiste. Personally I think Bailey has the highest upside long-term but I could see Baptiste, who is well regarded for his defensive side, being ready to play in NHL (3rd line) the soonest. Im hoping the Sabres can sign Fasching as soon as his NCAA season is over and get him playing pro hockey this year. completely agree and no way Kane is a 3rd line winger nor would he be behind Fasching or Tkachuk on the depth chart.

Not a bad night for the Sabres. Leafs and Blue Jackets with a point an dDucks with a win. Only the Jets with a regulation loss so far. Now lets Go Oilers!

off to watch McLeod and Nylander tonight in Hamilton. Seen them once before and was definitely more impressed with Nylander.

Laine with the hat trick today for Tappara. Highlites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H3dJGt2N-o

They are who they are. The team is a huge improvement over last years but still doesn't have the depth to be a Stanley Cup nor even a playoff contender. Im hoping they finish in the bottom 5 - pick up another high end prospect in the draft. Next year we make the next jump in the progression to at least a play-off contender. I want them to trade Johnson, McGinn and Weber. I want them replaced with young prospects and/or draft picks. I want Lehner to play the majority of games for the rest of the season. I want the core-guys to put up points but I don't care if the Sabres win or not on a game to game basis, though I do want them to get at least 70 points. I want any team near them in the standings to win. so today i am hoping for wins by Columbus, Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton Does this make me a tanker? If so, I'll lead the charge.

you skipped right over my question. What would you have done different with the line-up last night?

why not tell us what you would have done? who would you have put on the top 6 to replace Reinhart? here are your choices - Gionta 5 goals, Moulson 4 goals, Foligno 3 goals, Larsson 1 goal., Maybe another call up from Roch? the team has scored 2 goals in the last 2 games - are saying that because they put in Lehner in the net over Johnson they forgot how to score? the Sabres would have to go 12-22 to only reach 65 points and all loses would have to be in Regulation. I don't see them being that bad. Even if they do only reach 65 - why the blanket statement that it means they wont make playoffs in following season?

you are absolutely right, we need more firepower on the wings. You aren't going to find it through free agency and its going to be difficult to swing another big time trade like we saw with Kane and O'Reilly. So that leaves one place to get it - the Draft and the higher the pick the better. Im not at the point of cheering for the Sabres to lose but I am definitely cheering for any team within 5 points of the Sabres to win (Jets, Flames, Oilers, Leafs, Ducks and Blue Jackets). They are right on pace for 73 points, a huge 20 point improvement over last year and still would finish bottom 3 to 5. Win / Win in my books

McGinn could fetch a first if Toronto, Columbus and Buffalo are the only sellers. If the Jets don't close the gap by the deadline they could be another seller and have Andrew Ladd available as a rental. Ladd, would probably be my top guy in the Free Agent market for the Sabres come July (Assuming we aren't in on Stamkos) but at 30 years old I doubt GMTM would have much interest in offering a 4 or 5 year deal. Which goes back to my point that the Sabres would be much better off staying in the bottom 3 to 5 and drafting a High End Winger or LHD cause they aren't available in the Free Agent market.

You definitely want to be in the top 6 if you want a sure-fire NHL stud. However, if the Sabres do happen to end up 7th or 8th there are a couple of OHL Dmen ive been watching the last couple of weeks 1) Olli Juolevi - London Knights 2) Mikhail Sergachev - Windsor Spitfires. you knew someone would eventually do it - McKeen Hockey ranks Laine (my personal fav for Sabres) as their #1 prospect. TOP 30 / MCKEEN'S 2016 NHL DRAFT RANKINGS 1 Patrik Laine RW Tappara (Fin) 6-4/210 1998-04-19 26-8-9-17 2 Auston Matthews C ZSC Zurich (Sui) 6-1/195 1997-09-17 25-18-12-30 3 Jesse Puljujarvi RW Karpat Oulu (Fin) 6-4/205 1998-05-07 34-6-8-14 4 Michael McLeod C Mississauga (OHL) 6-2/190 1998-02-03 40-17-29-46 5 Olli Juolevi D London (OHL) 6-2/185 1998-05-05 30-4-20-24 6 Alexander Nylander C Mississauga (OHL) 6-0/180 1998-03-02 35-23-28-51 7 Jakob Chychrun D Sarnia (OHL) 6-2/215 1998-03-31 37-6-19-25 8 Matthew Tkachuk LW London (OHL) 6-1/195 1997-12-11 32-15-47-62 9 Mikhail Sergachyov D Windsor (OHL) 6-2/205 1998-06-25 42-11-18-29 10 Charles McAvoy D Boston University (HE) 6-0/205 1997-12-21 20-1-11-12

who the heck expected them to be in the playoff conversation? just because you did doesn't make it so!

If he doesn't play on the top PP unit and plays with Larrson/Girgensons instead of O'Reilly / Eichel. How many goals does he have? I'd guess 3 or 4. I think we should be ecstatic that he has had a good enough season to get a 2nd rounder (potentially) for him.

so you are perfectly ok with keeping him around for the remainder of this year, not make the play-offs and see him walk for nothing in the summer? Just because you get a 2nd rounder for him - doesn't actually mean you have to use the pick, it can be traded, or perhaps you trade the prospect, or maybe the guy you draft in the 2nd round turns out to be the next ROR? Also, can't believe the "love" for a guy who has 10 goals! At the end of the day - McGinn playing in the top 6 is an indictment on the Sabres current depth.

every team gets hot for a couple of games. Even the 14-15 sabres had a hot streak. They are what they are - not quite a .500 hockey team and there is nothing wrong with that. Its great progress over last year.

I can't believe there are people still holding onto hope for the play-offs. But for $hits and giggles - lets say they make a miraculous run to 8th, is there anyone who thinks they have a hope against the Capitals? I know this is probably an unpopular opinion but if the team isn't a cup contender then we are "sellers" at the deadline. This means Johnson, McGinn and Weber are all gone in a couple of weeks. In order to become a "cup" contender they still need to find another high-end talent be it winger or LHD and where do you find said talent? at the top of the draft. Which brings me to - who the hell are those people who think we should keep McGinn? He is an UFA! what is the point of keeping him to maybe get you to 10th in the conference and 20th overall and then seeing him walk in the summer. MAKES NO SENSE! Best thing for this team long term is get to 73 to 75 points and end up in bottom 3 to 5 in the league.