DarthEbriate

If the Sabres are added to a playoff field I'd laugh. I'd also root for them to win the Cup and if they did I'd gladly say "asterisk" any time. But the key would be that their names would be engraved and they'd have won it. The best team doesn't always win. The bounces (and injuries) need to go your way, and that one other team that matched up badly for you needed to get upset, and on and on. But! This team does not deserve to even be "considered" for the playoffs based on this season's performance. They have not earned that ticket. What would irk me most if they make the playoffs is that then the team's leadership and ownership could say "we made the playoffs in 2020" and "we snapped that drought!". And they do not deserve to be able to say that or to rest their laurels on that. They deserve credit for the playoff drought continuing yet another season. They deserve to watch other teams play for the Cup and to be pleased that they're probably going to draft 8th once again.

One of the positives of no current sports is watching these old games (twitter Buffalo Archives, NHL.com Sabres Classics if you can drill down far enough to find them). There are fewer graphics, less information on the screen... and it's glorious. I mean, the numbers on the 98-99 Sabres had to be gross. They could barely complete a pass, zone entries and breakout passes? pshaw. People are being mugged and tackled all over the place. But watching them is pure joy. Out of nowhere they have a perfect breakout, perfect tic-tac-toe, and everyone is in the right place. It's the beautiful chaos of hockey. What I'm also seeing (boo -- eye-test!) is that the '99 team would obliterate our current roster with 99 rules, and would still win if they had to adapt to modern rules. And... the 05-06 team would crush that '99 team. I also watched the 1991 World Series and it's beautiful, wild, baseball. And there's nothing on the screen, and the game moves with pace, and it takes thought and paying attention to watch the game. I wouldn't want to go back and do a GDT during that, I'd want to just live it solely for the sport. Is that nostalgia or how much culture and myself have changed?

A communications disruption can mean only one thing...

Yikes, these are some high-side estimates on the contracts. The statement is accurate, there won't be as much money left for that handy 2C (free agent or trade acquisition) because we've got to spend a bunch just to keep our RFAs. The odd/concerning thing is see so much of the roster on expired contracts at the same time.

I guess Pilut and Bryson get most of Rochester's PP point work going forward -- if Pilut can't make the jump to hyperspace Buffalo. Can Laaksonen hit the AHL this coming season and start bulking up on whatever that local cuisine is called? Trash compactor plate? Or does he need to stay in the Liiga another full year (20-21)?

Not being a local, I really hope they have this available on NHL.com or Sabres youtube. I'm itching for some 1999. Good days, spring of 1999. Never his mind on where he was... hm, what he was doing. Hm!

I still like acquiring Fasching and Deslauriers. But then reading the trade. It's like --- oh, Fasching and D-Lo. Cool, middle six and a 4th grinder. Who'd we give up? McNabb? Oh. Well, I guess they like some of the vets more. It seems early to move a young defenseman. But we've got McCabe and Ristolainen and Zadorov. We've got young D in the top rounds. We've got this. I like this trade! We got a steal. Suck it, LA! Oh? We gave up another player? Parker? Jonathan Parker? Of ECHL/AHL --- yeah, sure. Sweet. And we moved a contract we had no interest in. ZFGMTM BEST GM EVER! Oh -- there's more? We also sent a 2nd. Ok -- yeah, that balances it out. I guess we had to give a little more because McNabb was expendable from all those D picks. Hey, you know, maybe he won't pan out at all. Sure seems like a 2nd would get an established rental or a NHL starter though. Maybe we overpaid just a touch. What? Another pick? Another 2nd? What the hell? Bad GMTM! Two 2nds, a D ready to make the NHL jump, (and, no ZF Parker!), and we got a 4th-round pick prospect and a 3rd-round pick 4W agitator? What in the ... All this and I still liked Fasching. He drove to the net, he wasn't super fast but he skated hard and fast enough, he was good along the boards. I was hoping he'd pan out into that tough to play against 3/4 winger who maybe moves up to 2 for injuries but otherwise was really reliable and maybe would have one of those really good playoffs that someone totally overpays for the following offseason. But man... what a trade.

With apologies to our Canadian 'Spacers, I confirmed via map: Lethbridge is in Alberta.

Except of course every time you build it, some Rebels come along and blow it up.

Hehehe. Nahh, it's just that the BAP is always in the NCAA or US NTDP. Only a JBot deals in absolutes!

What's really going to blow your mind is that this also makes him the Player of the Year of the Central Division (not the East Division, mind you) of the Eastern Conference of the Western Hockey League. ?

They did save money by trading him before the bonus deadline. But that's what is so fishy about it. They took back a ton of salary. ROR's deal lasted another couple seasons and you could say they'd save 20-30 million over the duration (I'm not doing the exact math on that, but 7.5 bonus + 15 for two solo seasons + 2 Sobotka-less seasons). But they took back three contracts whose cap hit was greater than ROR's 7.5/year. A trade partner could have been found that focused more on picks, or on say... just Berglund or just Bozak and picks so it'd be obvious there was cash savings. And now, they're still up near the cap, so it wasn't about generally paying less for the roster. And when you consider moving Scandella's 4M only to bring in Frolik's 4M, or retaining Bogo as long as they did... and then trading to take on Kahun's additional bonuses for next year... the penny-pinching angle doesn't add up enough. Whoever decided it or ordered it panicked or grew disenchanted or <insert reasons> and moved the then-best player on the team for next-to-nothing then, and nothing at all on the roster now. The wealthier you are the more mistakes you can afford.

Continuing the rhyming scheme... Tin Din Din?

This board has kept me coming back, too. Because we all know the hockey product has been... less of a pull... than we'd wish. Oh my Threepio-to-Ewoks: Eichel's been in the league 5 years already! Silver linings -- you kept some cash? And Eichel occasionally produces a hearty cheer?

Was the Sabrepede over 5 years ago now? ?

Impressive. Most impressive. The Pegulas have kept the team in Buffalo and renovated the hockey setup and city to host tourneys and combines and overall it appears they've had good intentions. But being rich and having good intentions doesn't qualify you for every role. PLF, ROR, no hockey president, electing to tank, cycling GMs with vastly different approaches so they can't build off each other, every single new hire and new player and every hockey talking head saying they have to change the culture.... The culture is a downward spiral for 13 years. Wealth doesn't stop you from making mistakes in judgment or trusting people who aren't the best for a gig. And sometimes demand dries up and you run out of wells to dig. I hope the Sabres and Bills and the many people who work within the franchises and and live in the Buffalo community can get through this intact and improved so that the Pegulas can someday celebrate championships with them. That'd be nice. (And sure, ROI and personal lifestyle, too... hmmm... good they called those out.) But the first decade hasn't exactly built confidence in that potential. I have brought peace, freedom, Stanley Cups, and security to my new empire! (Your new empire?)

I think you're thinking the OYO brand figures which certainly look Legoish. And there are customizations for any Lego you want. But Lego proper had a licensing contract with the NHL back in the day and came up with this garbage in '03-'04. https://brickset.com/sets/10127-1/NHL-All-Teams-Set Big surprise, the NHL went into a lockout and Lego was saved by Star Wars sales. Though they did also have a second set that was an Eastern conference/Western conference All Star Game look with the NHL shield. It also didn't sell well.

Scandella/Joker was our best pairing defensively the first half of the season. The obvious move (once Jokiharju wasn't going to Rochester) was the same obvious move in the pre-season: move Risto or Montour. It's still the obvious move this offseason. And to top it off, you can always ship Scandella at the deadline for an extra 2nd of our own. That'd be nice. Every GM wins some, every GM loses some. But to take all the assets that had been gathered by the time Vanek had been traded... and just flounder for another 6 years... that takes concerted losses.

Like a support group for Lego Star Wars hockey? General, count me in. Although I do recall that Lego and the NHL once had a licensing agreement ala Lego and the NBA. But whereas the NBA got player minifigs and likenesses, the NHL got some team logo stickers. The video guy is just a guy who talks hockey with his cats, so your mileage may vary. But if he's quoting Forbes accurately, then the whiteboard has gate revenue as 35.6 or 36.6% of the total. The league needs much bigger TV contracts to stay afloat. Now, all this could totally be fudged by the teams to Forbes to show as woe-is-me, because only one team in the big four professional sports leagues discloses its finances (Green Bay).

If 30% of the league's revenue is ticket sales, then it absolutely won't be sustainable going through an extended no fans timeline. I think the NHL could use a reset (all major sports could) because it's obscene how expensive a single ticket, hot dog, and beer are when compared to... say... a Star Wars-branded Lego set. Licensing is mean. I'd like to see the NHL keep operating fully at the proposed 32 teams at half cost. Half the cap, half the ticket sales, half the corp execs in the stands because they haven't priced out the everyday blue-collar worker, and... if I'm fast-forwarding years out, then maybe we start losing our top-end talent to the KHL. I'm still going to follow the Sabres and not Metallurg Magnitogorsk --- even if Eichel signs there for $7M/season instead of with Buffalo for $3M. Very true. I'm a bit jealous. I still come to this site more than I go to the news outlets because it brings more joy. I thought the NFL Draft was today and did frantic research so I could intelligently discuss the picks with my Dad... only to find... I guess it's later. Maybe someday I'll even be free of the Sabres. Now excuse me while I go look one more time at the center-spine conundrum we're currently faced with for next season.

You have a bias for yourself as GM, though. I like JBot's push for speed, rebuilding the farm, and also his close-to-the-vest approach. A front office should not air dirty laundry and you shouldn't hear leaks. GMTM was too busy trying to be direct and "Sabres pick name" for the long-term goal of a sustained organization, but I liked his approach of LA-east. The league went to speed, but if GMTM gets big speedy guys, then fine. Regier also overall went speed, but he kept a very balanced team overall. Hasek, speedy guys, grit guys, and character guys. Regier's teams fluctuated and adapted, and that is good. I'm leaning JBot. It'd be nice to make a super GM cyborg.

Admittedly, I was being a bit silly (thus the third 3rd round pick for Vesey-again). I should have made it 6M so its absurdity was more blatant. But, I can totally see JBot standing pat and saying we've got all the 2Cs we need in Larsson, Kahun, and Cozens. Whether they're there yet, or not, or never should be considered for that role in the first place.

Pay Larry 4Mx3, put him between Skinner and Okposo. Boom, 2C solved! Kahun-Asplund-MoJo 3rd. Thompson-Lazar-Cozens/Simmonds 4th. Then, for depth, let Vesey walk, but trade our 2022 3rd round pick to get him back again. It's the circle of life!

Agreed. This team needs someone to be Angry. Angry Larry is. Lazar could be angry, but he also needs a season or more before he is at Larry's level of angry and defensive skill. Until we have a legit 2C on the roster, Larry almost has to be re-signed and penciled in as the 3C, whether it's with the GLO/LOG, or some other LW-Larsson-Okposo combination. None of the other non-Eichel "centers" in our current pool who will be in camp (minus a trade) are angry: Kahun, Johansson (loosely listed as a center because whynotJBot), Asplund, Lazar, Mittelstadt, Ruotsalainen, Malone (edit: and Cozens! as 4C or a winger for a season). Unless Kahun immediately fulfills potential as a center, or Asplund takes a huge step forward, that's... not looking like a fun camp behind Eichel. And Cozens shouldn't have to be Angry Cozens or expected to be defensively sound his rookie year. The thing working for the Sabres' favor in terms of Larsson's salary is he's never been in the playoffs. He's unlikely to get the Jay Beagle 3x3 because of a good playoff run and some GM or owner (think Ehrhoff and TPeg) saying "gotta have that guy". Larry's got some good fancy stats, but so do a lot of players. But he doesn't have offensive stats, and he certainly has no highlights or "signature" moments of awesome in high-stakes playoffs.

So many RFAs and UFAs. Poor planning and foresight to have everything expire at once. Too expensive. And the chief RFA worry is arbitration. Hey, Rodrigues was able to get $2M out of arbitration. Mitts could push for 2M based on points produced, and I don't want to pay him near that yet. But... 1.8M maybe, on the high end. Ullmark was clearly our #1 and due sub-median starter goalie money. Ullmark's Sv% is like Grubauer. And Ullmark was great in shootouts this past season. Grubauer makes $3.3M, and if I'm Ullmark that's where I settle (3yr/$10), but ask more around the 3/3.8 range. Thompson, Pilut, Lazar -- all minimal and should sign pretty neatly. Figure 3M to sign the trio. Montour got a bit more playing time back in Anaheim, but isn't on the PP here so he really shouldn't get too much. Maybe he gets 4... but he hasn't produced PP and he wouldn't be categorized as a shutdown guy either, nor a physical presence that a team would be willing to overpay for. High end: the Cody Ceci deal at 1/yr4.3M signed with Ottawa, but his comparable is Pionk who makes less than Montour does now. Split the difference and Montour gets similar to Colin Miller's deal 3.8M. So I've got 12.9 used up and Reino, Olofsson, and Kahun to go. Skilled offensive players to build around, knowing that I need a 2C, a cap that likely isn't going up at all, and the desire to keep 2-3 M in reserve under the cap so I can make a wilder move during the season, if needed. Here's where I plug in @GASabresIUFAN's numbers above: 12.4+6.5+4.5+3.3= 26.7 for all of the RFAs for a season. It's going to be close. Olofsson might not get the 4.5, but Reinhart certainly could get 7. 47 (signed) +26.7 (RFA) = 73.7. Reserve 2-3 for a rainy day and we're at 76M. If the cap stays the same (82M) that's only 6M to find that 2C and re-sign Larsson. That's... not going to get it done. Still need to trade a D and we still have gaps in our lineup from all the UFA.