Brawndo

Elder Johnson is not on the ice despite being listed on the game day roster

Clifton and Elder Johnson debut

Jost and Mitts were his most common line mates they were minus nine and eight respectively. The eye test and analytics match for VO. The Sabres as a team expected goals per 60 minutes(xGF/60)drops 15% when VO is on the ice, even the PP is slightly worse with him on the ice. There is data comparing JJP-Cozens with Quinn and VO, it’s a smaller small size with VO, but it’s ugly nonetheless. The line with VO has a decrease of 26% in (xGF/60) compared to with Quinn. The line with VO has an increase of 26% in expected goals against per 60 compared to Quinn. This shows two things, Quinn is a heck of a player who will be missed and utilizing VO on His Present Practice Line with Cozens and JJP runs a very high risk of neutralizing any effectiveness of this line. By the age of 28 forwards in particular are the player they are going to be so improvement would be the exception not the norm

The issue with VO is he drags down every line he was on last season, that’s what the data showed. And even though Skinner and TNT are allergic to defense they outscored their problems, Skinner was a +15 and TNT +4. VO was a whopping -23, only surpassed by Bryson at -24 The biggest selling point to a team like TB is there is no way he makes it to them in waiver priority and with them being so close to the cap, retaining 50 of his 837.5 Cap Hit could be very attractive to them

Do not like VO with Cozens and Peterka

Darren Dreger was on Sabres Live and spoke about this situation. He mentioned he was surprised that Constantine was hired in the first place based on his history. He also mentioned that the WHL has been strict with player suspensions and imagines Constantine’s punishment with be in line with this. I wonder if he keeps the job

Skinner-TNT-Tuch JJP-Cozens-Krebs Greenway-Mitts-Benson Zemgus-Jost-Okposo VO or Biro the 13th Forwsrd. As good as Benson has been, some games lower in the lineup would be a better introduction to the regular season As great as Skinner and Tage are, their defense leaves a lot to be desired. Expecting an 18 year old to fill Tuch’s Spot is a tall ask Krebs has shown defensive responsibility and playmaking ability, moving Him up with Cozens and JJP is worth a try Mitts gets Benson to start the season, an upgrade at 5v5 over VO Jost, who had some of the best defensive metrics on the team last season, rounds out the shutdown line.

That it has

Olofsson is the most likely player that Benson would be replacing in the Forward Group. When they were in the playoff push last year at the end of the season, VO was a healthy scratch for almost all of those games. Has Benson shown enough to earn up to a nine game tryout with the team. On the flip side there is a lot of benefit to sending him back to the WHL to work on developing strength. Plus He will be in leadership position and eligible to play in the WJC. The Coaching Situation with the Wild might complicate things and the Sabres might push for a coaching change or a trade of Savoie/Benson. Biro does remain a wild card to make the team and could also slot in to the lineup. Either way it’s nice to have options

Davis and Cecconi on waivers today (10/1), everyone cleared from yesterday

Or more likely, the NHL has taken steps to prevent any new potential owners from going rogue, after all Bettman and Bill Daly are lawyers. I imagine there are a multitude of terms and conditions that new ownership groups must agree to in order to purchase a team. These could include stipulations that the franchise cannot move without BOG approval and since the NHL has experience in doing so a stipulation that any franchise/owner that goes into bankruptcy surrenders control of the team to the league and that owner is compensated for the team after the bankruptcy process is finished. Leagues learned to protect themselves after Al Davis sued the NFL. There are some old school owners in the NHL such as Jacobs, Dolan and the Iltiches who could dictate what they want to do with their teams without receiving much push back from the league, but newer owners (even the deep pocketed ones) not so much

Even if a judge says that the clause is voided, Any new owner still requires still an approval from the Board of Governors if the new owner’s plans do not align with the NHL’s they will not be approved IIRC, the NHL, Mario and Golisano all worked closely with the bankruptcy courts to ensure a smooth transition.

Johnson wasn’t good on that shift

Benson is going to be sooo good

https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/video/columbus-blue-jackets-live-stream-6336965681112 The CBJ site is working

There have been Three NHL Teams which have filed for bankruptcy since 1999, The Penguins, Sabres and Senators and all three remained in their original market. The Sabres sale was valued at 92 Million, but the actual cash paid for the team was 15 Million, despite higher offers for the organization. There were multiple bidders for the Ottawa Senators, many well over 100 million, but the team was ultimately sold to Eugene Melnyk for 93 million. Why were the lower bids accepted? Because the NHL stipulated that neither team could be moved as part of the sale, Golisiano and Melnyk were the two that agreed to that provision, with Melnyk being the only potential bidder for the Sens to do so. This same way they stipulated the Sabres cannot relocated in the sale to Pegula. The League has control over where franchises are located and is saving the potential cities for expansion and the Billions of dollars that comes with it. This is the reason why the Coyotes have gotten so many opportunities to find a new home, the league hates the idea of relocation. The Jets were moved because of ownership issues in Atlanta namely no one wanted to buy the team and keep it there Hence the NHL is looking to put a team back in Atlanta and Arizona is rumored to be at the top of the expansion list (per Jeff Marek) in the event the Coyotes move.

Directly from one of the Lawyers who worked on the sale. There is a non movement clause for the team in the agreement. Both OSP and the NHL stipulated it. The team is not going anywhere.

I have been there twice in the past two weeks and did not see any.

Here you are @dudacek

This is probably the group that will be here on Monday after cuts

Dammit