DarthEbriate

No one seems to be stating whether the injuries are related. Lower body could also be related to the back. I'm just risk-averse with the injury history for a team that employs Norris, Greenway, and Samuelsson, and doesn't use LTIR or spend to the cap.

Me either. I think he'll extend in Vegas as one of the guys going after a Cup rather than try to go home and have to be the savior (granted, with Pasta) on a rebuild on the fly. I'm just saying I can envision a path where Boston could flip it around fast, as the Kings and ... even the Habs...??? have.

If the Sabres were a good playoff team that held the 9th overall by trade/happenstance, yup, go for it. But they are not. He had the back fracture injury, then returned this season only to have a separate lower-body injury which he suffered an additional setback. Norris is already going to miss at least 20 games per season; the Sabres can't afford to have this pick turn into only a "what if". https://rg.org/news/hockey/how-roger-mcqueen-could-be-a-steal-at-the-2025-nhl-draft Personally, I skip him in the first round.

Bud Light got hosed in Bud Bowl II. Budweiser fumbled the snap forward into the end zone as time expired and then recovered it for a game-winning TD. The Holy Roller rule in 1979 would've called that an incomplete pass in as would have applied in the 1989-1990 seasons when the game was produced, and today it could have been recovered, but not advanced beyond the spot of the fumble itself. Bud Light won that game. Am I the only one who gives a #### about the rules?

It is, and I hope it takes them 20 years to get back. But, they also don't have Adams as their GM nor are they EEE, and they have $34M to fill a couple of the major holes in their lineup this offseason while still being a lottery team. I can see a path for them to revive quickly, depending on a handful of key things: McAvoy/Lindholm return as 1st-pair capable D-men Swayman regains himself Buyout or trade/retain on Korpisalo and Mittelstadt Hit on their first this year (and 2 firsts next) Then, add an Eichel. I admit, that's a ton -- but it's no more far-fetched than any rebuild on the fly. Pastrnak gives them a legitimate point-per-game guy with seemingly any linemates and a one-line team can do damage in the regular season. The D-corps returning and Swayman returning to his potential track is the key.

This draft selection has the scent of, "Buffalo has TNT, so of course they'd go for another super-tall shooting center -- imagine if they had two of them" and not the realization that the Sabres have already moved TNT to the wing. I'm thinking the Sabres are scared by the back injury (Eichel Redux!) and it's a different team that looks at McQueen and says to themselves, "There's an injury risk, but maybe we can have our own TNT."

Not only success... as it could be argued Eichel/Reinhart/ROR had no success with the Sabres. But, they were far and away the best forward talents on the team and in the two #2s, getting better year-after-year as well. Boston won't make that mistake with McA/Pasta, and they won't move Swayman except to go get a #1 goalie immediately thereafter. I do think Boston would happily have one more down year, get a lottery pick which they'll miraculously win up to get #2 overall (Pitt is in full tank mode and is going 1st with McKenna). And then, maaaaybe, they add Eichel to pair with 2026 #2, 2025 #7, and they're right back into 3rd in the division.

They could easily have afforded Mitts and McLeod’s salary this season if Byram isn’t on the team. If they wanted to stay lean, then don’t sign Lafferty. McLeod still would’ve been the 3C/PK specialist of the bunch. edit: It would have meant Joker was a top-4 D man all year though or another guy would’ve need to be brought in aside from Gilbert.

It all depends on McQueen and whether a team really likes a defenseman not named Schaefer.

The Kings bottomed out but they kept Kopitar. And Quick. The Sabres had ROR but never let him play a game with Dahlin. They had Eichel. And they jettisoned Miller way back when (granted, he alone probably keeps them out of the McDavid sweepstakes, but still) and Ullmark later. The Kings were smart about keeping top end players to show the way.

There are potential positives that he can bring. The main problem is that the role he's hired for is for players to learn the front office/hockey ops. It's an apprentice. He's there to learn from Adams. In Colorado, it's Andrew Cogliano (retired just last year) -- but Sakic and MacFarland are well-established and have loads of success. But that's a top team. So, let's do a rebuild team: San Jose. The closest is Patrick Marleau in a "Player Dev and Hockey Ops Advisor" title. But Marleau can learn from a pretty qualified group. Grier has 3 assistant GMs, a Hockey Ops Advisor in Doug Weight who has been a head coach in the NHL and been in front office activities for 6-7ish years already. And then, Grier has 3 senior advisors (Tim Burke who's been around forever and built the excellent Marleau/Pavelski teams; Todd Marchant who had 10 years in the Ducks front office before joining the Sharks in the last couple years; and Ryan Stewart who went from scout to Dir. of Pro Personnel with the Chicago Blackhawks over the course of 15 years).

They’re keeping the Utah on the road whites, eh? Not a fan of that. Embrace your logo. It’s good. Flipping shoulder patches feels busy. They need a 4th color for accents and for the alternate jersey when they’re compelled to make one. It’s drab right now.

They haven't traded Dahlin for futures yet. In theory, it could all stick work out. Levi could come up and be a .917+ guy, UPL could bounce back to be .910, Power could settle into the game in his own zone and be back to a + player. The PP could go from awful to just below average. And they could do all this without sacrificing their own offensive prowess 5-on-5. But contrast that with, the Sabres are neck-and-neck with the 3rd/4th teams in the Atlantic and suddenly their opponents dress the starting goalie, ratchet up the intensity, match lines, and target Dahlin and TNT repeatedly leading to "get them off their game". This perennial youngest team in the league doesn't handle those situations well.

If analytics were the addition of McLeod and Karmanos and Ventura both exit, it would be safe to assume he'd be a lower priority extension amongst the RFAs. He'd be easy to snare away by a GM with a top 1C, a hole in the 2C/3C role, and a late first round pick to make an offer sheet. For example, his speed would look really good for Carolina -- who already have an extra late 1st in 2026 because of Dallas/Rantanen deal so they can move their own. Norris, Kulich, Krebs, Kozak worries me. I like them each individually in some capacity. I think all can be elements of the same lineup. I would despise it as the center spine for next season's opener.

Following the Florida hierarchy: Staal is the Special Advisor (Assistant) = Roberto Luongo (who has been in the role since 2019 - Panthers legend, retired jersey #, etc.) Sabres TBD is a Senior Advisor = Rick Dudley and Paul Fenton with Florida