DarthEbriate

Stankoven is singlehandedly ending the T-Birds in this Western Conf Western HL finals. He's got super quick hands and the "in the right place at the right time" gene or what the kids are calling the Hockey IQ. Seriously, every loose bounce or rebound goes right to him (uncovered) for an empty-net pot. He might be short but he's going to be a whale of a player.

I guess I always forget how old Rust is. A 50-point winger who's been in the top 6 with Crosby and Malkins as his centers... 6x$5. It's a slightly lighter version of the Okposo deal, but he's 1 year older and has slightly worse numbers than Okposo had had at the time. The question is... if Malkin moves on this offseason and then Crosby continues to slow down and is the sole focus of the opposition... does this contract age well? Time will tell. The good news is... this should set the market on the max cap hit that VO could ask.

Playing tougher or continuing to average 15+ shots/period (as they did in game 1). Either ought to do it with their roster. I applaud STL, but I think this is the reason you play a series in the NHL. A hot-Binnington will win some series, but the better team should float upwards in a 7-game series. (Yes, I'll be eating crow after the Blues close this out in 6 by being more gnarly and snarly.)

Totally in agreement on the interest. Giroux's reason would be $$$ on a short-term and the gentleman's agreement of trading to the bestest contender out there (no NMC/M-NTC, we'll send you to the best who is offering the best pick) if the Sabres don't happen to be in contention at the deadline.

Is it because the Sabres have 3 picks in the first round and were therefore a prime Rickroll target?

Husso is going to be a fascinating offseason case. He's got the 1-year wonder going against him and the St. Louis-UFA goalie recency bias (Jake Allen has been meh, Carter Hutton was a bomb). I think you're right --- Husso is a prove-it bridge candidate and should be a potential Sabres target to still give UPL the backup role. I'd prefer MAF or Campbell myself, but Husso could be pretty neat if he can continue his growth.

As I recall, the Amerks were the first team to put a dent in Utica's record and then proceeded to play the Comets quite well all season (COVID or injuries or not). However, Laval did well against the Amerks in the close of the year when Muel and Fitz were up with the Sabres. Add Fitz (and hopefully, Muel) and the Amerks should be at an advantage. Laval is certainly less veteran-nasty than Utica is my uninformed understanding.

A Copp or a Giroux or hell a Kadri would be amazing for this team. Only one of those players would entertain a shorter term deal however. But for giggles, entertain a Giroux short term and a Letang longer term and a MAF goalie with the current squad. That’s a playoff-competitive lineup. (Especially if Bergeron retires. Or just leaves Boston.)

I’m so happy we finally have our prospects having to earn their spot into the lineup. Get us a goalie, GM Sheevyn! But what I want to state is… I don’t gift Quinn a spot. I sign VO. Screw blocking. Block ‘em! Make the prospects be the better player. It’s finally happening. I’ve long been saying JJP doesn’t make the squad out of camp. But the AHL playoffs are showing… maybe JJP is the one in the bottom 6 to start and Quinn is the first injury callup as he is the one who needs more all around refinement.

Fun write-up on C Danny Zhilkin. https://theathletic.com/3310674/2022/05/21/danny-zhilkin-2022-nhl-draft/ He’s not been on my radar at all, but might be an option at 41 or with the FLA 1st pick if, say an Owen Beck, is off the board. He’s played C and D but not wing in the OHL. Was a “move up and down the lineup” for Team Canada 2021 U18 team. He might interesting to consider as a Russian-already-fully-adapted-to-Canada for our 2021 draft class. Of other Sabres note, Wheeler is planning an Isak Rosen article later this summer, per his response the comments.

I immediately think of the bass line from Match Game.

The Concept of the Tank (McEichel) will be us... always.

Precisely. Or at the very least, they'd have kicked the commissioner aside for someone whose priority was real revenue and not a 25-year mirage in the desert. (Granted, for a few seasons it was good -- pretty much until the last of the original Jets were gone, and then a blip when Tippett replaced Gretzky.)

This is where the fun begins!

Yup. It's one thing to have to use a college football stadium (equally-sized) while your new stadium is built/renovated for a season. It's another thing entirely to not pay your rent, get evicted from your venue, and then sign on voluntarily for 3-4 years of a venue that's 30% capacity of a regular stadium. What the hell! The NFL would threaten to move the team in a heartbeat. Heck, MLB would be whispering about contraction to scare up either a new stadium or a move.

Yes, too slippery. I can't get behind the equal suspension for injury time. Some folks heal up right away from worse hits, some folks get caught just wrong and something minor ends their career. By the time you get the doctor to fully evaluate and determine the recovery time/suspension time, the whole series could be over anyway. A higher baseline suspension isn't perfect but it would at least provide coverage of -- you might miss the rest of the series and the start of the next; you might miss game 7 and the beginning of next regular season, etc.

Looks like Cozens finished off the hat trick with less than a minute to spare against Kazakhstan.

It's difficult for the NHL to put a good valuation on their picks for trade purposes because they're drafting 18 year-olds who will go into the developmental league for an additional 1-3 years before making it to the big league. It's like if the NFL were drafting high schoolers and their farm teams were the NCAA teams. In the NFL it makes sense to trade down because you still expect a 3rd round draft pick to become a starter (just not a day one starter like a 1st round pick). In the NHL, a 3rd round pick is probable to make the roster at some point, but it's no guarantee. The value of NHL draft picks is much more tangible at the trade deadline. Great player = 1st + prospect; Veteran role player = 2nd; etc. It shifts a bit each season based on who "sets" the market.

He's not going to ever admit it. The weird thing is that the other owners (and players association) aren't angrier about this. The PA has escrow to pay off. While Phoenix is a big market it's also secluded (even including Tucson) and it's closest geographical rival (Vegas) isn't in the same division because Seattle joined the league. But there's an even larger market over in Houston with much greater population density within a day's drive. It has a location to pull in fans from other markets from Austin to New Orleans. It has an immediate in-division rival in Dallas. (As to the AHL: the Aeros will be fine. And heck, Bettman could work to get an AHL team in Phoenix if it would ease the pain for the fans.)

Suspension durations in the NHL are absurdly short to begin with, let alone in the playoffs where they're even shorter. The equivalent of a one-game NFL suspension would be 5 games in the NHL (16:82 games ratio). I'd like to see suspensions for headshots and other attempts to injure start at 5 games regular season or post. You can still be incredibly physical and difficult to play against while not targeting someone for a series-/season-ending concussion.

This is what I've been seeing on Korchinski lately, too. My fear is he's more Laaksonen than Morgan Rielly. Raelly, Rielly, it's not Reilly? @sabresparaavida As to NHL draft -- gotta go best player available with 18 year-olds. All the better if it matches an organizational need. (Sadly, the 2 RHD we could really use will be gone at 9... or it they're available it means they've done a crime or gotten a terrible injury between now and draft day). Agreed that the LHD is the lowest organizational need and would get prioritized below an equally rated skater at another position. But if you get to #9 and you've got a LHD you rate as the next Cale Makar... you take him.

Much less this season than in years past. I only went to 3 games this season... so any of my Schaefer/Korchinski scouting is so limited as to be negligible. They're the best players on the T-Birds no doubt, but they're no Matt Barzal, so to speak.

Schaefer at 32 is... fine. I'd want a more dynamic offensive player in the first round, but he's definitely solid. I think he'd project really well to a bottom 6 who will cycle strongly and then get to the front of the net (something the team will need as Okposo and Girgs get older/retire). Edit: Also, I think Schaefer is still available in the 2nd round -- perhaps at Sabres #41. He is having a really solid WHL playoffs. The T-Bird I'm wary of is LHD Korchinski at 9. I see a really solid puck-moving D who picks up a ton of assists, but who does not control the game in all zones. Big caveat: yet. His Draft+1 year is when I'd expect to really watch him closely and expect him to crush the WHL in all zones (ala Mark Pysyk or Cal Foote). I'm wary at 9 (and I'd rather go top-skill forward), but if he slips to 16 for some odd reason... sure, nab Korchinski.

The T-Birds move on to take on the Blazers. On the Kozak side... I don't have anything beyond the stats, but we may learn he's dealing with an injury. He was averaging 20+ faceoffs/game in the playoffs as a top-six center. Then in games 6 and 7 (both Portland losses) he took 0 and 6 faceoffs, respectively.

Yikes. Amerks didn't show up to the home ice opportunity to close out the series....