DarthEbriate

The Sabres absolutely would step up and start throwing the body, though Granato may caution a bit against it. He knows how playoff hockey is. But this year's Sabres would get worn down over time by it because they're not full-sized yet. I guarantee though that in 3 more years as they mature, they'll be capable of being where those teams are now. It's why getting that first taste of actual playoff hockey is so important. Krebs, Quinn, Dahlin, Cozens, Muel, Thompson (and Okposo either, which scares the servomotors out of me) -- I haven't seen any of them back down since Dahlin did at the end of the season against Boston... maybe 2 years ago. Yes, the end of the Krueger/Granato season Dahlin had a chance to stop taking crap from Boston and he didn't. Last year, he changed with that first ASG appearance. They don't always go charging after somebody like we might want them to, but as a team they don't back down and they have much better resolve than the previous core. The other thing to bear in mind with some of the hit numbers is the statistician. Hit stats in the regular season for some teams are over-the-top, whereas Buffalo's statisticians are pretty reluctant to log a hit. Some teams will log a hit even if its dodged and you just fly into the boards yourself. Then when the playoffs hit, even the statisticians ramp it up. Everything is a hit. I'd take Ullmark. He's bigger, stronger, and he trained with MMA-mad Lehner. I'm guessing Ullmark's gentle Minion demeanor has a definite switch-flip berserker mode. Edit: And add to that that I've never seen Matthew Tkachuk stick around in any scrum. He's just a wanker.

Beware the Concept of Wood! He's a guy that will get way overpaid for what he is, just as the Devils overpaid him. Devils fans will tell you he is inconsistent and disappears for giant swaths of time. And because of his style he misses 10-15 games each season as well. Admittedly, he does seem to play really well against Buffalo. Is that because he's Buffalo-born and extra motivated or because the Sabres have been pushovers his entire career? That's up for debate. For the record, with the team as currently constructed heading into next season I'd rather have Wood than VO in the bottom 6. Re this page: The Concept of Kassian Kane Foligno Kane (the other one) Brown Borgen Wood CoHo. For next season, I like the idea of Toews in a bottom 6 role better than Kane in any role on this squad.

Cute. Hey Buffalo, 1939 called. They want their Aram Khachaturian back. They'd also like to not have their music enter directly into the US public domain and collect royalties from Kubrick, Horner, and the Buffalo Sabres for years of use without royalties.

It's semantics but every team simultaneously has a core (even the Kraken already have a core; every team has a core once they have had a GM/coach combination for 1 season) and every team is always rebuilding. I don't know why you're bringing the NFL into it, but they're just as volatile if not moreso than the NHL. A NFLGM will rebuild 20% of their roster every single year. By the time Josh Allen turns 30 he might have 5-6 players on the entire team that he's played with for more than 6 seasons. And one of those will probably be a kicker. The excuse if you must have one is that the Sabres core is a bunch of kids. The only other super-young team in the league that made the playoffs is the Devils. Their core has 2 players that contributed significantly this season age 23 and under. Hughes and Mercer. They're great, but they're the only kids. And I'll throw in Schmid the goalie (19 gp) so that the Sabres can add UPL. I won't even add Levi yet. Contrast that with the Sabres: Joker, UPL, Dahlin, Krebs, Muel, Cozens, Quinn, JJP, Power. When this Sabres core spans ages 21-25 instead of 19-23, that's when you'll see a consistent force. If the NHL Atlantic division followed the same format as the AHL North, then the Sabres would have made the playoffs as well.

Went out to dinner. It looks like there was a 5-min major and two minor penalties against Syracuse in the 2nd to give the Amerks a chance to get into it. Nothing to show for it.

Amerks go 11F 7D again tonight. Metsa with his Amerks debut. Being shutout by 2 touchdowns in shots after one, and only down 2 goals. So... 1 successful shot it's a game again.

Am I seeing this right? 6:49 left in the first and not a single shot on goal yet? And the Crunch going back to the power play up by 2? Maybe someone else should start the game day thread next weekend. I am seeing this right! 🍺

I still hope Kulich isn't rushed. Split Savoie (because he has to) and Rousek. 1 rookie at a time so as to limit the inconsistencies we saw with the Kid Line. Plus, Levi will be a rookie as well. We'll face sophomore slumps from Quinn, JJP, and Power (and UPL) next year, too. The league is trending younger, but look at the playoff teams: they're in their mid-20s and up, even the super-young Devils except Mercer and Jack Hughes (a superstar).

Muel was held out of the AHL playoffs last year, too. Doctors have to clear them to play and the franchise is going to protect their top prospects over having them get run by some AHL scrub.

I wanted to hear noncommittal GM-speak so I'm quite happy. What I didn't want was some silly Dorian-like claim like the rebuild is over or some such. The rebuild is never over. Even the Lightning of 3x EC championships or the '50s-'70s Habs would tell you that you are always rebuilding because competition and players are ever-changing.

It's the second night of a back-to-back to start the playoffs. By the stats and commentary, the Crunch were the better team overall in game 1 and earned their overtime victory. It's up to the Amerks to rally and get the series even before game 3 on ... Friday? a back-to-back followed by 4 days off?... in Rochester.

His interview played during the game 1 intermission last night had him stating that it's been his dream to play in the NHL and he loved his experience in Buffalo last week. He said the best part is he doesn't change his game whether he was in the AHL and NHL and that's exactly what the Sabres bottom 6 needs. I'm guessing that as long as he is given a legit shot in camp, he'll be staying North America next season. Given the Hinostroza UFA + leave situation to close the year and that Kulich is a kid, Rousek has the inside track at the 12/13 slot even with Savoie making the team out of camp. I'm thinking Rousek is a Sabre on opening day next season, and only gets sent down during the season if he's scuffling or needs to be playing everyday. But with injuries, I'd say he plays 40 NHL games.

Former MVP (of the All-Star Game) John Scott on the ceremonial draw.

I want Okposo to crush everyone in all ceremonial puck-drops. Win the draw clean, then bulldoze up the opposition captain into the people on the carpet to clear the path for the blast from the point. Set the tone for the game.

Yup -- the Milan Lucic to Edmonton deal. You want to find the next Tom Wilson. You want to find the next Marcus Foligno. Not get burdened by a +30 guy whose body is busted up and has lost a step and gets a NMC with a $5M salary and 4 years of term.

It's also more of a team stat than just the player taking the draw because winning the initial draw vs. gaining possession are two different things. I don't worry about the FOs between the bluelines, but in-zone... If you can take away 6 out of 10 clean opposition possessions-turned-point shots on the PK, or get 6 out of 10 draws on your powerplay to run set plays to TNT's snipe... that adds up to massive improvement over what the Sabres did this year (4 out of 10). The good thing from a Sabres perspective is that FO %s generally increase as a player gets more experienced. You can handle 50%, you just don't want it to be a liability.

The jump is impressive. He's coachable (re: Essensa), he's got the best team defense in the league in front of him. But his baseline the past 3 seasons has been .917 (including Sabres). He's a legit top-12 goalie in the league regardless of where he plays. As to reliable, his unreliability was two leg injuries. When he was in the net he was consistent as he's also shown with Boston. Now... re-signing. Yes, it goes back to UFAs and the ####-maelstrom that was this organization. However, I think if you extend him long-term after his first injury season (after 2019-2020, where if he doesn't get injured, the Sabres are in the play-in round instead of Montreal against a worn-down and disinterested Penguins squad). Instead, they left him unsigned and he got injured again (which, yes, red flag). But then, if you're going to let him hit UFA then you trade him at the deadline and trade a 3rd for a Vanecek or someone else to protect in the expansion draft.

It's not always important, but on PP, PK, late-game situations it's absolutely critical. Especially once the playoffs start and you're playing matchups every single shift. All we have to do is think back to 1999. The Sabres couldn't win a draw in the Final and were chasing constantly. Zinger won that one cleanly in OT and Patrick put the shot off the crossbar... but during the draw scuffle super-vet Carbonneau got his sleeve on the shot (now, we'll never know if that sleeve made it hit the bar instead of going directly in, or if the shot would've missed entirely and the sleeve got it to clang of the post.)

Most of these folks won't reach UFA, but tier-wise here's who I'd prefer. 2-4 tier means I'd at least check them with Dahlin before settling with Power: 2/4 tier: Orlov, Graves, Gavrikov 4/5 tier: Soucy, Dumba, Mayfield, Clifton And I'd also consider the 5/6/7 veteran tier: someone like a Schenn or Braun would be cheap and provide playoff know-how. The Sabres have space to overpay on a 2-year deal.

Unfortunately, 4.5M isn't all that big a penalty if Bergeron returns and plays for 2.5M again, incentive-laden or not. Think of it this way: Bergeron and Krejci combined to make 3.5M this season + the incentives that impact next season. That's still only $8M for both of them. If they were both to come back next season and do the same ridiculously underpaid + incentives contract they'd still be criminally low on the cap. The only team getting better value out of their top 2 centers this season was Buffalo.

And that's game one in the holocron.

I still don't understand the un-love for Ullmark when he was a Sabre. He got better every season and was above-average compared to goalies league-wide with some garbage Sabres teams. He was dynamite in shootouts. As scoring as increased leaguewide, his numbers have improved year after year. It's why you lock up your core and don't let them reach UFA (especially when your GM/coach has been turned over every 2.5 years for a decade. Good players will leave for better situations if they're able.)

Amazing opportunity for the Amerks. Crunch take a slashing penalty with 2:23 remaining in the third in a tie game. And... nary a shot on goal (all blocked by skaters). To overtime they go.

It's a red-colored dogwood. Good size. Pretty. https://morsenursery.com/products/red-osier-dogwood (Also, apparently a restaurant.)

Quoting @Thorny from the "Thanks, VO" thread. I think they get that UFA 4D this offseason and that VO will be moved for 2024-2025 picks -- 2nd + 4th or something. He's got value as a goal-scorer. Lines are by 5-on-5 ice time, before anyone gets too upset at the order. Remember, I expect the Sabres to be protecting a bunch of 3rd period leads in 2023-24. The other player I can easily see moved or forced to 13th F is Jost, who is solid but not a defensive face-off artist. He's talented, but just can't break into a top 6 and could bounce to yet another team before he becomes good at being a bottom 6 center. Skinner - Thompson - Tuch Mittelstadt - Cozens - Quinn Greenway - Krebs - Girgensons or KO Peterka - Jost - Rousek/Savoie Samuelsson - Dahlin Power - 4D Jokiharju - Lyubushkin (Stillman) Levi UPL Clears waivers: Bryson, Comrie