mjd1001

It can be good for both sides. For the Sabres, they get a pick for a player that likely wasn't going to be here, and for the money you would pay him might hurt the team long term, gives younger guys a chance for more minutes. For Florida, they are getting a NHL player with above average 'skills' (skating and shot) to fill in a position of need...and they are giving up a pick that has a small fraction of a chance of leading to a NHL player that will even play as close to as many games as Montour.

About the Rochester part...we are seeing time and time again that players GET better when they spend time in Rochester. Unless you are Eichel or Dahlin, pretty much EVERYONE should spend some time there. Too many people here see where a player is drafted...then see that player have a good rookie scrimmage or play well in juniors and automatically want them with the Sabres. Most of the time that is not how you get a player to be their best long term.

I don't think its a bad move. Its for the rest of the year, hopefully he fills a spot from someone currently on the team who is traded. Hes having a bad year this year in just 27 games played, but the year before he scored 9 goals in 40 games (almost a 20 goal pace over 82), the year before that he scored 12 goals in 54 games (18 goal pace). Almost all of those goals even strength...which would make him one of the top 5 forwards on this team in terms of even strength production.

I'm not sure either. With spring training in Dunedin, I'm sure they have pretty good training facilities there. Also, I'm sure some of the staff, and even some players, have places down there to stay they are familiar with. Maybe its the weather? They played outdoors in Texas for years....and in Atlanta (which can be brutally hot in the summer) but maybe they just think it will be too hot/humid to play outdoor games there the entire season? I'm not really sure myself of the reason.

When I was calculating his stats, the page I was using broke last season up into different totals for each team..hence me thinking the last 2 seasons equal 3 seasons. However as you said, the numbers are slightly different but they still tell the same picture, his production has gone down quite a bit each season since his mvp season and his major surgery.

ice time a bit more than 1/2 through the first....interesting.... Tage 4:47 Casey 3:46 vs: Reinhart 2:30 Skinner 2:31

Olofsson....tied for 2nd on the team this year in even strength goals...and 4th on the team in the last 2 years. I know, I know...he is a LOT better on the PP and you aren't comparing him to a team of all-stars...but its not like he doesn't produce at all even strength like some say.

Okposo...2 goals and 7 assists...9 points in the last 8 games and 1 period.

I know, and Hall seems like a really nice guy...its just its pretty obvious, he not only isn't the same player that he was since his knee injury, he seems to be not even close to what he was before and after that surgery. Hes still a fast skater, but with 3 more years of age on him and that knee surgery, its like he lost 5% of his speed....and that 5% of his speed is what made him the player he was before..and he is more 'just slightly above ordinary' without that speed and quickness he used to have.

how nice of him. since his MVP season, he hasn't scored more than 11 goals in one season....will be on his 4th team in 4 years...is on a 14 goal-per 82 game scoring rate over the last 3 seasons...has been a 'minus' player in 10 of his 12 seasons...and has been well under a point-per-game player since having a major knee surgery. But its great that he would do a team a favor and sign a multi-year extension (likely) for millions of $$s.

On the instigators today, Rivet made a point that I agree with. The difference in a player you draft from the bottom of round one compared to anywhere in round 2 isn't really that big. Look at the draft history of NHL teams in the past decade or two..and he is right. Of course you want the highest pick possible...but in a typical draft..the odds of a late 1st round pick (20-30) being a contributing NHL player isn't really all that much better than someone drafted in round 2. Once again, its BETTER to pick higher, but not that much better outside of the 1st 10 picks of round 1. If possible, you would be better looking to get a 19-22 year old prospect from a team than a draft pick. Unless the pick is in the top 10....a guy who is 20 years old you will have a LOT more information on compared to a 17 year old you are drafting at the end of round 1.

Ok, so the Blue Jays played here last year....the Jays will play here in front of FANS this year....they are the closest MLB team to the area (geographically), and they are the parent club of our minor league team. Most of the northern Suburbs can pick up a radio station that broadcasts all their games and has a lot of sports talk about the team (590am) So MLB, change your STUPID RULES so we can actually WATCH the Jays on TV on local cable for the first time in years (decades?)!!

I'd take Rolston over Ted Nolan 2.0. Nolan was great in his first stint with the Sabres....but conventional wisdom seemed to be that his coaching style didn't keep up with the game (and the players) years later in his second stint. Not everyone agrees with that of course, but from what I saw I agree with it. Ted Nolan 1.0 was really good...Ted Nolan 2.0 just was a bad coach for the current NHL.

I've got a simple one that has been driving me crazy for as long as I can remember, and it came to my mind this morning. People who get done smoking and throw the butts on the ground. Actually, not usually just throwing them on the ground, but they like to flick them across the parking lot as far as they can. I don't (and most other people I see don't) throw candy wrappers out the window of the car, or any other garbage on the ground outside. Very little other stuff just gets thrown on the ground so recklessly and with so little thought....so why is it acceptable to just throw the leftover cigarette (and filter) on the ground where-ever you are done with it?

So, about 6 minutes left in the game, and Skinner has the lowest ice time of any forward. So much for him getting more time (or earning/deserving it) under a new coach.

When I say a player is 'slow' I am more referring to how they play, not just top speed. Eichel vs McDavid for example. In a couple of fastest skater contests, they are almost the same speed. Eichel has been/is so close to McDavid in terms of top speed it is amazing. But Eichel 'plays' a lot slower than McDavid (considering their skating top speed is so close to being equal). Reinhart, I don't know what is top skating speed is, but to me he 'plays' slow, I never see a burst of speed from him where he is able to go around a guy or out-race someone to a puck.

I would be all for this. I grew up as a kid with the blue and gold, but honestly I always liked the red white and black better.

comparing eras and circumstances matter I agree. One reason WHY this feels like one of the worst teams ever is not just the pace they are on...not just how many points they have/don't have.....but it matters (to the fanbase) that this franchise is not only one of the worst teams in modern history as far as performance, but this is in the middle of one of the longest playoff droughts the sport has seen also. If I'm not wrong, this year they tie the record for the longest postseason drought in NHL history, with a good chance they break it next year...and this on top of being on pace for one of the lowest point totals in modern history..and chasing the longest winless streak.

The other 'bottom dwellers' who would be competing for the bottom of the league also had a 10 month layoff. Including New Jersey, who the Sabres have playd 16% of their games against. Everyone has dealt with Covid....including some teams in the Sabres division...impacting players on their team and the schedule. Injuries. This team has had a lot, but that is part of the game...and an injured team is the one we are judging, aren't we? I know that is part of it for me. I'm not watching the team play at full strength, so that is not the team I am judgeing No real training camp or preseason. Again, EVERYONE is in the same situation. If anything, the Sabres should be at a slight advantage in that they got a few more days in camp than most teams. Poor puck luck? not being able to put the puck in the net, hitting posts..missing chances...that is one of the very things that make a team bad. 8 team super league? The top team in points last year was Boston..you have only played them 1 time. NJ was one of the worst teams last year, you played them 6 times. The rangers and islanders were 'middle 10' teams last year, and you have played them 10 times. Maybe you are in a 'super division' but the Sabres have played more of the bottom of that division than the top. So what we have seen, so far this year...is a team whos record is where it is having NOT played the worst part of its schedule yet.

Right now the Sabres are on pace for 41 points over an 82 game season. -in 2016-2017, Colorado had 48 -in 2014-2015, Buffalo had 54 -in 2013-2104, Buffalo had 52 -in 2006-2007, Philly had 56 -in 2001-2002 Atlanta had 54 -in 2000-2001 Islanders had 52 -last year in 71 games, Detroit was on pace for 45 points per 82 I only went back 2 decades, to the turn of the century...and those were the worst teams I remember/found. So, if the current pace continues, yes, they will be the worst team/have the worst season of anyone dis century. 20 years. 480 seasons played by all the franchises of the NHL, dis could be the worst of dat. Oh, and as far as scoring, goals per game...they aren't there yet, but they are very close to having one of the worst scoring per game of any team in the past 2 decades. Another shutout or two and they will be there. There they are actually ahead of the 2 buffalo tank teams and Detroit from last year...at least for now. Worst team of all time? probably not. (Talk to me again if they lose their next 5 or 6 in a row with getting shut out 2 more times) Worst team of the last 2 decades? At the current rate...maybe, probably. A return of a healthy Eichel or healthy Ulmark may change dat. The most disappointing team of all time, the team dat is the most below where they should be/expectations? dat dis team just may be.

Honestly if dis is something dat was put in the board, I wish it would go away. For me, it makes many of the threads/posts harder to read. I don't talk in slang/accents, and I don't read dat way either. For those of us dat legit have a problem with it, can it be turned off??

According to the article, the Sabres are on a 14 game losing streak and the record is only 18? Only 4 more to go, certainly within reach!

I think Cam Atkinson was a 6th rounder also, right? Normally, 6ths aren't worth much. Heck, once you get out of the first, you are lucky to get a good player. But, with some exceptions, it is a lottery ticket. The odds of you getting a quality starter might be 100-1, an all star 1000-1....but those thing DO happen and the more lotter tickets you have, the better. Heck, I'd take a few extra 6th or 7th rounders each year and throw them at the best college or european goalie that my scout say is left on the board.....if only the Sabres had any real scouts left...

Well, they have now gotten to the point that by most of the measurable, they are 'officially' the worst. Last in points Last in points per game Last in goal differential per game. Last in goals scored Last in goals scored per game Only 2nd worst in goals allowed per game though.

If a large portion of team does end up going into quarantine again, does that make it a lot harder to make trades before the deadline?