mjd1001

The Sabres did not improve their team at the time of the trade, but what Tage has turned into has improved the team. And what St. Louis does with what they get...has zero impact on whether it was a bad trade for the Sabres. St. Louis winning the cup did NOT cause the Sabres not to win it. Buffalo now is likely better for the trade. ROR did not make this a good team when he was here...and the couple years after he was here they were not going to be a contender if he was still here by his addition alone. However the team IS better for for what Tage has turned into comared to what ROR would give to this team. If anything I can not only say it wasn't a bad trade for the Sabres, it probably actually was a pretty good one. Why? If that trade could be 'un done', the Sabres wouldn't be much better (again, you had ROR for years and you didn't have a good team), but you would also lose Tage and i for SURE would not want to do that. If I'm pretty sure that un-doing a trade would not have turned this into a winning team in the past, but undoing it would take away that is likely your 2nd best player (and a top 20 goal scorer in the league), then I'm not un-doing it and its a positive trade.

Maybe there is a hybrid solution to what everyone is discussing here. You keep Levi with the big club, he practices with the team, he gets a spot start every now and then. IF UPL goes on a run where he plays three, four, or five games in a row and Levi doesn't get a chance to play, then you send him down to Rochester with orders to give him two games on a weekend.

I would love that, but I'm afraid it's going to be a higher amount than that. Especially with it looking like the cap is going to go up a decent amount the next couple of years.

I think there can be a middle ground, but it all depends on the cost. Samuelsson is slgned long term, so does that make him part of 'the core'? Maybe, but he certainly isn't as good as/as valuable as Dahlin or Power's potential. So, can you sign Mitts to a long term deal but have him be the 4th-7th best forward on this team? He still would be part of the core, correct? As far as how good he is...he is not al all star caliber player, but he is valuable. He seem to be a 20 goal, 50 assist guy. More importantly, it appears he would be a good 2nd line guy, but if you need to bump him up to the first line, he can adjust and help linemates without brining them down. He can and maybe SHOULD be a 'core' guy, but I think he can be that without being a 'star'.

I'm hopeful, but I need more convincing. This year, his basic stats are now middle-of-the-pack for both GAA and save percentages (15th and 17th), out of 36 goalies who have 20 or more appearances. Put that into the context that he has been playing much better lately, AND he is playing behind an 'average at best' D-men group and "really really bad" group of forwards in their own end....and it can be argued he is a top 10 goalie in the league so far (closer to 10 than the top, but 'top 10' sounds better). Lets see it continue.

They were a bad team with him here, they were a bad team after he was traded. I didn't see them getting better with him on the roster. End the story all I need. Just as much as my argument is incomprehensible to you, Yours is to me. I didn't see them turning the corner and turning into a playoff or cup contender with him here. So how could trading him away... Were you got arguably a top 10-20 scorer in the league in return.... Be awful? I don't get it.

I don't see the ROR trade as being one of the worst ever. Not even close. Same thing with Eichel. A trade being bad for the sabers has nothing to do with what they went on to do with another team.... It has to do with what they did for your team versus what you got in return is doing. When ROR and Jack we're here, the team was bad most of the time, never made the playoffs. When they traded them, same thing. You can make an argument that things you got back for each of them might be worth it in the future or are worth it already. For me to qualify as a bad trade... It has to be one that you look at in the future and say... Oops, that one really really hurt us. I don't think if either of them were still here, especially under current conditions, that this franchise would be turned around in any major way.

Enough with the 6k stuff, its not sticking.

I'm going to go back to what I said earlier... What is the reason anybody wants to watch a game and whether like that? You have Josh Allen, you have James Cook, you have Stefan diggs... You want to see them hindered? You want to see Allen not be able to throw the ball on target?... You don't want to see downfield plays... Cook make cuts and accelerate at full speed through the hole? I don't get it. The game against the colts a few years ago was fun to look at for a couple of minutes, but it wasn't good football.

Its a middle ground. You don't want an owner watch a junior game and fall in love with a guy and tell the GM to draft him...or have him watch one series and see a middling guy play great and demand he get signed (Leino). On the other hand you don't want him/her to be totally absent. I'd think as an owner, I'd want every single major decision to be run by me...I'd want to sit in on the pre-draft meetings. But at the end of the day, my management is telling me what they are doing and WHY they are doing it before they do it....but the owner has to know that those guys know SO much more about hockey than he does....so its more being 'informed' of decisions and having them all explained to him instead of him over-riding them. Maybe the owner can be involved, or even make a decision as to when to 'rebuild' vs 'reload' for an aging team, but other than that, not so much direct involvement.

Nothing is really jumping out as me as anyone I likely see gone. Really nothing. Maybe, MAYBE someone like EJ tells Adams he'd be open to be traded to a contender (as he doesn't really have ties to Buffalo/Sabres) so you flip him for a 3rd or 4th...but I can't see much else when I look at this roster and how the management handles it.

I don't get the enjoyment part either why people want that. It looks fun to watch for about 5 minutes but then.... Seeing a QB like Josh Allen over and underthrow WR's due to the wind...seeing WR's not able to make cuts. OL and DL basically stand there in a stalemate at times becuase they have no footing. When I want to watch FOOTBALL, I want to see the best athletes do things to the limit of their abilities. I want great cutbacks. Pinpoint throws 20+ yards downfield. I want to see a sack because the best DE made a great move and shot around the other teams best OL who didn't have the speed to cut him off. Jumping one handed catches. THAT is THE sport. I sometimes find it funny when people say that 'real football' is played in bad weather. Really? Watching guys slogging around 1/2 speed in mud or snow... watching passes go through guys hands because of the weather. FG's that are barely a matter of skill but turn into a guessing game for the kicker to if/where the wind gust is coming from after his foot hits the ball? How is that more enjoyable to watch and how is that 'real football' more than watching the best athletes be able to perform in the best conditions where everyone can show of their skill to the max? I don't know, I guess when I say I like football, I like the running, the catching, the Athletes at their best allowing them to do those things at their very best. Not an added random layer added on top of it that takes away from the pureness of what the sport is. Whenever this comes up and I post something like this...I rarely get a well thought out response...I get some 'eyeroll' or 'disagree' emoji's at the bottom of my post but no one usually stands up with a well thought out response.

You can make a case that the Dolphins took a step back this year. Last year, wild card team. This year Wild card time. Last year, forced to play with a backup QB and still were within a couple points of defeating the Bills on the road. This year, have their starting QB and losing soundly, almost a blowout loss, to KC on the road.

I grew up in the Depew/Lancaster area....most family lives near there (Depew, Lancaster, Cheektowaga, W. Seneca). When we moved back to the area we decided to buy a house up near Lewiston/Youngstown just north of Niagara Falls. Lots of pluses and minues of anywhere you live, but as of now we only have a dusting of snow and it was mostly cloudy today but the sun peaked out a bit earlier. A small part of me misses being part of the heavier snow..but every time we get behind the wheel of a car...not so much.

Andreychuk, Vanek, Reinhart....not 'drop the gloves' guys, but guys who are willing to stand in front of the net and take abuse to get the 'garbage/tip in goals' that fans don't give enough credit for because they aren't pretty. As a young kid growing up I even then was amazed at the junk Andreychuk took....he's so big but he doesn't hit or fight...he is so slow....trade him. All the guy did was score goals for this team and dominate on the PP, but he didn't 'look' good enough for many fans. When you have a guy like that, don't under-rate them because they don't pass the 'eye test' as being skilled enough. They are often times more valuable than the ultra-skilled perimeter guys.

I sometimes think the 'warm weather teams can't play in the cold' thing is over-rated. However, it really looks like the Dolphins are letting it get to them big time. Its not just they are tackling bad, its the WAY they are tackling...like no one wants to be the defensive player to fall to the ground making a tackle...they want to hold up the KC guy enough while they all wait for someone else to come in for the actual takedown. I generally like Cleveand and don't mind their fans...but I think this year they were getting a little TOO arrogant to quickly.

I agree with you. Cozens is more worrying. As I posted in another thread, from his rookie year until this current season, with the exception of ONE season, Cozens is a 6.5-7% shooting guy. With Tage, we have a much larger sample size...about 200 games of him being a legit nhl sniper. With Tage, is started April fools day of 2021. From that date until the end of that season, he had 7 goals in 21 games (a 27-28 goal pace) and shot about 11.5% in that time The following full season, 38 goals in 78 games (40 goal pace) with over 15% shooting. Last season, 47 goals in 78 games (about a 50 goal pace) while shooting 15.9% This year, 14 goals in 33 games (still a 35 goal per 82 pace) while shooting 12.4%. The issue is he has missed games, and I am HOPING the couple points drop in shooting percentage was due to nagging injuries he is getting over (In the last 10 games, he is back up to shooting in the upper teens in terms of percentage the last 10 games). He needs to get healthy, stay healthy and be healthy. They get 9 days off for the All star break..that should do him good.

I need to see more from him still, but I'm at least at the point where I am OPEN to seeing more from him and if I do...I'll be thinking he can be/is a competant NHL goalie.

Regulars on this board keep repeating the same things over and over, but they are true and remain true to this day: -This team is now getting better goaltending than last year. They are allowing less goals. The MAIN things that are worse this year than last year are simply Cozens production and Thompson's production. Cozens is even getting about the same number of shots and opportunities. This team top to bottom is slightly BETTER last year except for Cozens and Thompson's production. That doesn't mean they can't get better in other areas, but Thompson and Cozens are mainly it to this date. I would have liked to have seen a legit VETERAN top 4 D-man added in the offseason....and maybe a very good, BIG 4th liner who can hit/defend/play the PK (to get Thompson off of it). Those are the things I wish Adams would have added in the offseason.

I'm not saying it wouldn't help, but they had a couple good looks. The biggest difference I see this year from last year? Thompson was filling the net a LOT more last year with those one timers last year than he is this year. Last year at this time Thompson had 13 PP goals, this year he has 3. He is getting the looks, his one timers are getting through, they just aren't going in for him....that isn't coaching (unless your point is they relied on his one timers too much last year and should have had a better scheme last year). The Sabres are at 13.9% this year on the PP. Do nothing other than have Thompson make up those 10 goals difference he had last year to this year and you are at 22.1%....close to a top 10 pp in the league.

Cozens shooting percentages..... Cozens rookie year...6.5% Cozens 2nd year...8.1% Cozens this year overall....6.8% Cozens SINCE Quinn came back this year and he is back with his 'linemates'....6.7% Cozens last year....14.7% Apparently he got paid $7m per year based on one season...that looks like he is not coming close to repeating. He is a guy that gets 180-200 shots per year, if, IF he turns out to be a 6.5-7% shooter, that means he is a 13-16 goal per year guy. There was some magic pixie dust sprinkled on this entire team last year...I really HOPE I am wrong, but all evidence I see is that he is much closer to that 7% shooting guy than he is teh 14% guy....and that is very worrying.

Most under-rated player on the team. Thats not saying much for a 4th liner, but he controls the puck. He is physical without fighting, He skates hard (and honestly is a pretty fast skater). 100% effort guy. Just wish he could score a bit more.

He looks a little better on his line from last year since Quinn came back. A little. However, he is SO bad in his own zone that 'looking better' isn't good enough. He needs to produce, he needs goals. If he isn't scoring 3-4 goals every 10 games, he is a liability.

I absolutely hate games where there's no scoring... Of course I hate when the Sabres lose... But for a game where they're losing and being shut out this is it actually pretty entertaining game.

It seems like they're controlling the puck on the power play but still not scoring. This is where Skinner would be valuable.