mjd1001

I don't think so. Maybe, MAYBE him not being here let Dahlin step into more of a leadership role. Not even sure that is true but its possible. More so, I just think most D-men need time to develop and adjust. A few years usually. Dahlin is just on the same development curve he would have pretty much been on had Eichel been here or not.

I'm not sure what I think of the wild. In a way, its really great because there is so much going on with it...the whole logo is the head of a bear..the mouth is a lake or river, the star for the eye, the trees, a lot of thought and work went into it. But that may be the problem, there is SO much in there that unless you really stop and look at it really closely, you miss most of the details.

I agree with you. I wish Diggs had 5 more years here, but honestly it might not be a good idea to extend him and pay him elite money until he is in his early 30s. Cycling good talented young guys in and out might be the way to go.

I don't think they will. That isn't the worst thing in the world though. Yes, winning and making the playoffs IS the goal, but some of us really enjoy watching a young team get better, even if that means you aren't at your goal yet. I WANT them to of course. Next year is going to be the first year in a while where my mind isn't on an upcoming high draft pick at all, I just think they are too far away yet....and anything done to accelerate the 'rebuild' to get them to the playoffs will likely hurt the long term. You aren't likely to make the playoffs with Quinn getting a lot minutes getting used to the NHL game and making rookie mistakes....with players like Cozens getting better but still being put in tougher positions than a 20-21 year old would be (making him better long term but short term still making mistakes)...and the same applies to other players. If you want to get max points to make the playoffs, you sign veteran guys that do not have the ceiling of the young players you have, as those veterans are less likely to make mistakes to cost you points and games. However, we have seen with Dahlin, Cozens, even Thompson and Mitts the last few years, that they become better players LONG TERM when they are put in tough situations and fail, let learn from those mistakes. I'd rather have this team continue to get better but maybe miss out on a few points next year if that means their young players keep on developing by being put in tough situations where they might fail at first, but get experience in those situations. Not to mention to get to 3rd in the division this year...that is a 111 point pace. The final playoff spot in the east this year looks to be over a 100 point pace. The Sabres this year are currently on a 69 point pace. I just don't know who is going to fall hard enough or the Sabres to get THAT much better to close a 30+ point projected gap.

I'm not a huge fan of the mighty ducks movies, but I really like the old logo. It was more colorful and was fun. Any of the new ones, just really boring. Go back to the original one, or come up with something similar.

NHL.com doesn't even list him as a center....but it does show he is getting 0.8 points per game. That puts him about 75 among ALL forwards, in the top 30s for centers probably. As far as goals per 60 even strength, the more pure stat on just scoring...he has 1.33 goals per 60 minutes. That is tied for 12 in the league among ALL forwards...and 5th in the league in terms of who is ahead of him that is listed as a center.

For me personally, Girgensons and Dahlin have to be near the top of the list.

How about having him come back as a guest in the booth when he is attending a game and doing a period maybe? On the other hand, I seem to think RJ will be like John Madden when he retired. I remember Madden, after he retired, was asked to come back and do a game. He said no, and his reason was once he retired, he stopped studying the league as a job, he stopped doing the prep work, all that is involved with the game. He didn't talk to the coaches and players to keep up with the 'inside trends' He treated it as a fan and was too far behind on the detailed stuff. I think RJ would be the same way, not coming back for a game, or even a period...cold.

70 points to end the year for the Sabres. 18p in 19 games is slightly above what they have done so far (points per game) but still should be do-able. Behind them in the league standings will be: Montreal, Philly, Arizona, Seattle. Buffalo, Chicago and Ottawa will battle to the last week to see who finishes 5th, 6th, and 7th worst in the league. New Jersey and Detroit should pull away a bit. As far as league-wide...Florida will real in Colorado in the race for the presidents Trophy, but ultimately Colorado will win it. Carolina will fade and fall pretty far behind Florida. Once the playoffs start the Rangers will disappoint their fans the most. Slight chance they get out of the first round (don't think they will) but if they do they will go out quickly in the 2nd round.

I'm going to agree with you here. I don't see many problems with is game. Sure he is 24 already, but with limited NHL experience he still should get a LITTLE better than he is now, and I think he could be good enough now to be a solid 3rd pair guy.

I agree with your sentiment, but I don't think of it as anything close to a curse. Call it a tank, call it a teardown and rebuild, call it what you want but the Sabres tried it and it failed terribly, mostly because of poor execution. Bad trades. Bad decisions on contracts, bad coaching hires, bad draft picks, all of it. Things are looking up now, but that can change quickly. Not change long term, but in the ebbs and flow of a season, ANY team can have good weeks or months (where they exceed expectations) followed by bad weeks or months, and then back to good. I expect that to happen. The main thing I expect to happen hasn't changed. I expect this team to GRADUALLY get better. I know, I know, a lot of us are tired of waiting. A lot of people think they can make certain aggressive moves to take big steps and now is the time to do that. I myself am happy seeing improvement, and I'll take a big move but not for any players you have to overpay, not for any players that are only coming here for the money, and not for any players you sign to long term deals that are over 30. If there is a curse that has been lifted, to me it would be the curse of impatience and bad decision making that results from rushing a rebuild. Now that things seem to be moving forward, I hope the team doesn't swerve off the current path. Next years the goal should be 100% to win as many games as you can, but no shortcuts or temporary moves to do that.

That kind of thought is realism. If they were cup contenders, I would have a different viewpoint. But odds are they will not be cup contenders. Do I like that? No, I wish they were, but it doesn't change the likely facts. That is not being negative. that is not 'thought that needs to end'. That is looking at the situation, evaluating it, and giving an opinion based on where the team ACTUALLY is in its development, not where we want them to be. I root for the Sabres, I think they are getting better, but hey, thank you for telling me what kinds of thoughts I should be thinking in my own head. I'm fine without that advice though....

Besides the game against the Sabres, the Flames have been a dominant team for the past month or so. I'm not sold on Tampa, they just aren't playing very well against other teams in playoff positions, I think they have taken that 1/2 step backward this season.

I'm not for making any big moves or free agent signings. Things look to be getting better, stay on the path: I personally would bring back Olofsson unless he wants top dollar. Try to resign Hinostroza also. Top 12: Skinner Thompson Tuch VO Mittlestadt Girgs Cozens, Krebs Asplund Okposo Quinn, Peterka. Roch guys like Murray and some low priced bodies battle it out in Training camp to fill injury spots or to see if anyone takes a huge leap to make roster instead of the above. Defense: Dahlin, Joki, Samuelson, Fitzgerald, Power for sure. I'd like to resign Pysyk. Open competition between Roch guys and anyone else you bring in for the final couple spots. Thats not exciting. That is close to 'status quo' but with Quinn, Power and maybe Peterka, you are infusing some talented youth, and the team SHOULD be better just as the young guys get one year older. The current youth should take another step and make this team better next year. Once you see HOW much better, THEN you can start thinking of adding more veteran pieces to take that next step beyond.

Team is not winning the Cup next year. Have UPL be your #1 guy. In limited time in Buffalo he has looked pretty good in front of a suspect D-unit. Want to bring back Anderson or another Mid priced vet to back him up fine.

For Dahlin the progress has been steady. At first you saw flashes of what he could be in individual great plays. As time went on, you saw him having great shifts. Then he would have great periods. Recently he has been having great games. Hopefully things will continue and he'll start having great months, or even great seasons.

I don't understand how so many eastern teams (especially Boston but Buffalo also) have weekend games that start in the afternoon.....yet whenever an east coast team goes out west most of the games seem to start late. It would just make sense that every team has a good number of afternoon games, especially on weekends or holidays, and the ones on the west coast are against visiting east coast teams (for the fans sake). I've been watching more and move Sabres games lately, but I'm not up to watch any of these late starts either.

I actually don't like this trade right now. An extra 6th means really nothing to this Sabres team now...and getting rid of Hagg means just one less guy in the organization, and that filters down to Roch. Unless you can take that 6th and flip it with another player to improve the NEXT return. Unless they are just making roster room for Power or anyone else coming from College?

I agree 100%. Girgensons might be one of the most underrated players in recent memory on this team. He doesn't put up a ton of points, but he does score SOME, but everything else he does for this team is a positive in almost every way. That is a guy I want in my top 12 forwards for years to come.

In one of the twitter threads, it said he took a pretty bad shot with the puck off of his arm. I didn't see it so I don't know if its true, but it might be an explanation that would be non-neck related.

Should he not play and Vegas wins without him.....doesn't mean much long term and it wouldn't mean hes a bad player....but a win in the first game without him will surely give fans something to joke about for a couple of days.

I read a good article about ice surface a few years ago that basically went against all conventional wisdom of the larger ice surface being better for speed/faster players. It claimed just the opposite in most cases. The large ice surface allows the Defense more time to setup. They have that extra half second to see the play develop. More importantly it is about the distance the puck travels. On a small ice surface there are more 'bang-bang' plays, a pass from the board to the slot is shorter and gives the D less time to react. And quite simply on a smaller ice surface the puck is usually closer to the net and that is where more goals are scored. The large ice surface benefits most a team with a fast/mobile D-unit...and that benefit is it allows them to react to and choke off the opposing rushes a bit easier. The small ice surface benefits forwards with good hands and good acceleration (that good first step).

How about the Sabres win a high-scoring game in OT? Gets a W for Buffalo, Oilers still get a point.

Agreed, and he never was. The only way anyone thought he was generational was before his draft SOME pundits told us he was. But ever since he started with the Sabres, he never showed signs of it. Very talented? Yes. The ability to be NEAR the top of the league in scoring? Occasionally. But generational as a center/point producer? Never generational.

Let the kids develop and move into their roles. Strategic signings for the bottom 6, with the young guys getting more chances in the top 6. No more middle aged higher prices free agents to take spots (and time) away from the young guys. Smart signing or trade for ONE veteran D-man that might have top 4 skill to pair with one of the younger guys. Patience. Don't go out and trade for or sign 4 or 5 guys because they will make the team better next year. No 'big name' guys just because we like the sound of their name or they had 1 or 2 good years a few seasons ago. I have no desire for a 'jt miller' type guy that so many people keep bringing up....who is going to be 30 years old and would likely make this team better NEXT year but at the expense of taking ice time away form the younger players. The team IS getting better as the young kids develop. Don't mess with the locker room, just add one or two strategic pieces and let things develop.