mjd1001

There are so many ways to look at it. Overall New Jersey seems to be 1-2 years ahead of us in my opinion, but they are doing it a different way (by choice or necessity) 2 #1 overall picks (both forwards), and a #2 and a #4 overall pick (both D-men, both yet to make an impact.) They have the Sabres beat in 'top 5' picks. Buffalo is doing their forward ranks with talent that, from an outsiders view, is slightly less 'ultra-high-end' but with more depth. And as far as Ottawa and Detroit. I think Detroit is a year (or two) ahead of us in terms of development, but I just don't think their ceiling is that high. Ottawa I think is slightly ahead of the Sabres in terms of their timetable also, but they have a higher ceiling than Detroit. Where teams are in their development can be viewed from so many different ways because of timing, depth, individual development, starting point, potential ending point (ceiling), etc.

Slightly better overall than last year. High teens for goals, 40 points or a bit more. Stretches where he starts to show even more than that. His overall stats, however, will depend on his usage. If he gets more ice time and more PP time, he could get into the 20's for goals.

I'm hopeful for him to have a bounce-back season. He is what, only 24 or 25? D-men take longer to develop than forwards usually. Guys who turn into NHL caliber guys who are not early first round picks often take until their late 20's before they reach their potential. Does that guarantee he will be great? No, it sure doesn't. But he has talent, skating ability, and he still has a chance to improve. I don't know if it is an 'expectation', but more a strong hope he will be an improved 6/7 guy with the ability to jump up the lineup in case of injuries and be more effective than last year.

I agree. If Allen is done for the year, so likely are the Bills. The key to a good back up is if Allen gets hurt for 6 games-or-so. A good backup you hope can get you 3, maybe 4 games (depending on the schedule), a bad backup might not....and that can be the difference between making the playoffs or not. Overall though, I'm not worried about the backup QB. Every week that has gone by I am more and more worried about the secondary. Poyer and Hyde are the glue you think will hold things back together there, but every clip I have seen of both of them I worry more and more they are sliding quickly down on their already average athleticism, and that I think will be a big issue (at least bigger than many are thinking now.)

He's in the prime of his career. We should have expectations that are high for him. Production at about the same level as last year (if not slightly more) and a tealder/top 5 player on the team.

I have no expectations for him this year with the Sabres. That doesn't mean he will do 'nothing' but I think the club has enough experience ahead of him that this year isn't the year for him to make an impact on the club.

I'm not a huge scoreboard type of person. I agree. I think there are major issues in the Arena. Its 'good enough' to watch a game, but it is miles behind other new (and renovated arenas.) As has been brought up many times here, the Atrium could be better utilized, the concessions are bad (food quality and how they are setup). Restrooms can be in issue. Seats are in bad shape with many broken, more/better entertainment could be available besides the game...etc, etc. However of all those things I agree with, I never looked up and said "we need a newer/better scoreboard with better video".

I know where you are coming from...but its actually better than some other places. Try going to a show/concert at Sheas...or take in a game at Fenway park. If you are over 6'0", they can actually be painful.

Except when you consider the age and the wear-and-tear. Hes going to be 35, with additional playing time, a surgery, and injuries since the last time he was a point per game player.

To many people he isn't very likeable. (to each their own reasons). As far as his numbers, he is basically a mid 20 goal scorer per 82 games over the last few years with awful defensive play and defensive metrics (same for his whole career even when he was on a good team.) AND he is coming off of a major injury/surgery now at 35 years of age. After joining the Rangers, he wasn't really a difference maker for them (6 goals in 26 games including playoffs, a 19 goal pace) To me, not much to like.

I don't think its a bad deal for the leafs, not a good deal, but not a bad deal. Is Toronto getting last years 40 goal version (because he is closer to a 40-50 goal scorer who just had his 'career' year with 60 the season before?) Or is Toronto getting the 60 goal guy (because last year he was playing with a nagging wrist injury that brought his production 'down' to 40). I'm guessing he had a slight injury last year and is closer to a 60 goal guy than a 40 goal guy. Still, its a very high contract but it is fair for getting one of the top 2-3 goal scorers in the league. The problem Toronto has is they have no 'bargain'/team friendly deals. They really aren't overpaying for any of their stars (they don't have any deals that are a MAJOR regret). But on the other hand, they don't have a Tage or Cozens who can give you 30-50 goals each for $7m. They don't have a 26 year old Hintz who is signed for just over $8 per year long term who is basically a 40 goal scorer. A Jack Hughes who might be a top 5 player in the league and MVP contender who is signed for $8 per year long term. Toronto has no deals like that. Now, they have no terrible high priced deals, which will insure they are a 'good' team year in and year out. But without any bargain deals, it becomes hard to be a 'great, cup favorite' team year in and year out. They get great production from their top 4, but they are paying close to top dollar for that production.

He very well could hurt the team. First of all, what position is he going to be taking? Is he really going to be THAT much better of a scorer than one of the young guys/wingers? His production has been dropping over the past couple years, he's going to be 35 years old the next time he skates in an NHL game (with a LOT of miles even for a 35 year old). And he is coming off of a major injury/surgery. Over the past few seasons, he has turned into about a 25 goal per 82 game guy, and now he is a year older with that surgery and major injury so I think there is a good chance he won't even be that 25 goal guy. So you are getting a guy who would likely be outscored by Victor Olofsson. That is his recent offensive production. Defense? If people think Olofsson is bad, take a look at Kane. He is next level bad. Someone posted some advanced stats last year that showed he wasn't good at all. Basic stats show despite all his offensive production, he is a -48 over the last 3 seasons and he hasn't even been a plus 10 more for 7 seasons. And watch him play. I am not a coach and I don't know where people should or should not be on the ice but the 10 or so games per year I see him play I watch him and the eye test? it is really really bad in terms of his effort, positioning, and effectiveness of backchecking or winning battles (when that even occurs). So he won't hurt the team? I disagree with that. An aging, injured, declining production player who doesn't have the skill nor the ability to play much defense can for sure hurt your team if he takes that spot away from even the youngest of your prospects who could be there. Oh, and this Sabres team is no longer a team with seemingly endless cap space. And this is before signing Dahlin or Power. Once those deals are done, cap space will become a decision in any deal. I don't want Kane taking up really any cap space that will make it harder to aquire/fit in anyone else around the trade deadline (or offseason if Kane wants more than a 1 year deal.)

I agree with most of what you said: 1.) the OL for a few years has been average to below average. Unless they are playing an average-to-bad Defense, they don't get any push in the running game. Pass blocking, if they had most other QB's rather than Allen they would be at or near the league lead in sacks allowed. Dawkins is OK but overpaid, he is slightly above average at best. The rest? average to below average. But that is the way they are going. 2.) Dorsey I don't have a big problem with yet. I think as long as you have a HEALTHY Josh Allen you are fine. Dorsey was fine through the Jets game before Allen got hurt. 3.) DL. They are just average. They often has as much luck with the free agents they bring in as they do with their top picks. Not terrible, but not good. Average. The other area I see this team as being weaker than most people think is 'up the middle' on defense. D-line, middle LB, but especially the Safeties. I'm not saying Poyer and Hyde are bad (yet) but I think they are going to be more of a weakness than most think. They never were super-athletic safeties, they relied on their knowledge of the game. But they are both coming off of injuries, they are both on the wrong side of 30. Even if they stay healthy, I think you are going to notice they are often that 1/2 step away from breaking up a play. Plus, without Edmunds in the middle, they are going to probably have more responsibility covering the short-middle of the field because Edmunds's replacement won't be as good as he was...giving Poyer and Hyde even MORE territory to be responsible for. Again, I don't think they will be a glaring weakness, but I think we are going to notice they aren't as much of a strength as we viewed them over the past few years.

Please no

We saw last year that he still appears to be getting better. With very few exceptions, D-men take a longer time to reach their peak than forwards do. Being one of the younger ones on that list is a good thing. Some of the best D-men in recent memory (Charra, Karlsson among others) took years to get to be the best verision of who they ended up being.

I don't think I said or even implied in any way they needed to 'solve' the problems. I actually admitted they have problems, I listed a couple in my post that I think are major problems, but the whole point of my post is they CAN contend for a Superbowl with just Allen if he is healthy. Give me a team that has problems but a QB that is good enough to hide those problems and I'll take it. Before his injury against the jets, for a full season and a half that is exactly what the Bills were, a team with some problems but a QB good enough to hide them and make them one of the best teams in the league over that period. You have a different definition of a contender than I do. If you make the playoffs as one of the top 5-6 teams, you are a contender for sure. Most people beleive that each of the past 2-3 years they have been one of the top 5-6 teams in the league. I do. To me that makes them a 'contender'. In those 11 games before the injury, or even say the full season and a half before he got hurt, the Bills still had an average at best O-line, and they had some injuries/issues on defense and with coaching. But in that year-and-a half before his injury, they could, and did compete with anyone, and I would take that team with a healthy Josh Allen against anyone in the league on a given sunday. Does that mean they win every game? Nope, but it means no team over that time was head-and-shoulders better than them. I'll take that going into any season.

I think Allen hurting his arm against the Jets was a big deal to this team. They have issues down the middle on D, and the OL I think has been below average for the past few years, but with a healthy Josh Allen, IF he is fully healthy, they are as good of a contender as anyone. Allen got hurt in that November game against the Jets. As a reminder the Bills played 11 games from then until the end of the year, including 2 playoff games. In those 11 games: Team was 8W-3L with 26.9 points per game. Allen completed 60.9% for 2701 yards, 19td, 11ints. For comparison, I looked at the previous 11 games (including 2 playoff games) before the injury (matching the 11 game number to get the best comparison): Team was 9W-2L with 31.1 points per game. Allen completed 69.4% for 3074 yards, 30td, 6 ints. Oh, and before the injury 3 games against the consensus best team Chiefs, all on the road at Arrowhead, 2 wins and the only loss being the 13 second game. To me, that is a big difference and many of the problems this team has can be 'solved' with a fully healthy Josh Allen.

The couple is fully embracing everything about Texas including the heat. I think they had an opportunity to move the wedding inside but they elected to have it outside. They're both from the Northeast, yet since they got to Texas, they want that lifestyle. They want the outdoor wedding, cowboy boots and cowboy hats are part of their everyday attire - even at work, drive, big full size, pickup trucks, etc. It's not for me and I would have moved the wedding inside for sure but it's their big day and something they want to remember for the rest of their lives.

Coppell. I haven't visited them before but I think that's the name of the suburb they are in. Wedding venue is about another twenty or thirty minutes away from there but I don't know the name of that town. Everyone is flying into DFW airport. I lived in Florida for quite a few years. One reason I moved back was the weather. I got used to the heat in the summer but I never liked it. I'd rather deal with about three very cold months per year, four months of light jacket weather, and five months of beautiful weather.... Rather than oppressive heat for 6+ months per year.

Family wedding this week about an hour from Dallas. Temperature is supposed to be about 110° and fully sunny outside. And it's an outdoor wedding.

Patterson I think is the most underrated star in the league right now. When I watch him play I see an elite talent that is on the border of getting into the mvp conversation very soon. I really think he's that good. If healthy, Thompson Can be in the conversation to place anywhere outside of the top two or three in that list. IF fully healthy.

I don't agree with the near universal view that Cale Makar is the best defenseman in the league. Top ten sure, top five probably/maybe. I also realize that many of the people making a list like this watch him play more than I do, but when I watch him play, he is average defensively. Not awful, but he often leaves his position early to set himself up offensively. I certainly don't watch every game he plays but I watch every time he plays Buffalo, and a handful of other games plus the playoffs, and I just don't see a universal consensus number one guy in the league.

The Sabers are not a big-hitting team. I won't deny that, but 2 points to keep in mind: Buffalo is almost notorious around the league for the official scorer in Buffalo Not crediting many hits, for both the Sabres and the opponents. At least a portion of their lack of hits is due to half their games being played in a place where hits aren't awarded statistically. There is a school of thought that sometimes turning away from the hit at the last minute is better than finishing your check, If finishing your check takes you out of the play. Analyzing Patrice Bergeron's game shows that he would turn away from a lot of hits, but often it got him back into the play quicker. I think Granato may favor this style of play and I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing.

I liked him for a while, but to me Cherry had an act that wore a bit thin. I know others loved him, and I watched him for years but once he was off HNIC I didn't really miss him. I guess I just didn't think he was objective enough. For the most part the 'good ole canadian kids' were the best players, could do not much wrong, but if you were from overseas someone better help you big time if you made one mistake in his eyes. Again, he knew his audience (it was hockey night in CANADA), but I prefer a little more objectivity and less homer-ism.

Preseason games are next to meaningless to me. Other than who came out of the game injured, I don't think anything means much of anything. I'm sure the coaching staff didn't like the penalties, but their reaction to them might simply be you put a microphone in front of them and they have to talk into it so they talk about what happened. From hearing what we hear from coaches and players over the years, and seeing simply how someone who looks great in the preseason might not make the team, and 'vets' who look bad in the preseason turn into their usual selves in the regular season.....well I probably think 60 random plays run in practice not open to the public mean as much (or more) than an entire preseason game.