jad1

Attention to detail.

Right, McDermott made the playoffs his first season, breaking the 17 year drought, winning fans over to the idea that he and Beane were competent custodians for the franchise. Let's be kind to Granato and consider last season to be his first with the Sabres. If Adams/Granato would have snagged the 8th playoff spot last season, the arena most likely would have been full to start the season. But they missed that mark by 25 points. And the general fanbase remains unconvinced that he can break the team's playoff drought. So they stay home.

From top to bottom this organization has no real expectation of making the playoffs this year, and the fans recognize that and are responding by staying home. The NHL isn't a developmental league. Most fans aren't interested in dropping 100 bucks to see if this is the year that Casey Mittelstadt actually because a legit NHL player. While many on this board might be thrilled with the team's salary cap management, nobody shows up to a professional sports game to watch the home teams humongous cap space. The things that the Sabres management team values right now, isn't what the general fanbase values. If Adams and Co. believe that the team will compete for a championship two years from now, the fans say, great, we'll check back in with you then. As for high prices and the dump of an arena, the Bills play in the same city and have even higher prices and even more of a dump of a stadium, and even play in the elements. They have no problem filling the stadium. Of course, unlike the Sabres, they've had no problems letting everyone and their brother know that they expect to win a championship, and have made moves to accomplish that goal. The fans seem to like that and respond better to that approach that the Sabres current wait-and-see strategy.

Fanbase is not buying into the direction of the team. Franchise is losing a generation of fans.

They look like an 84 point team so far. Whether that is trending up or down is a matter of opinion.

Hey, I want to dance with somebody.

I think Granato is sheltering Cozens and Peterka a bit. He can swap Cozens and Mittelstadt's minutes to load up the top line. Would like to see that adjustment on the west coast trip.

They're still looking for someone to drive the 2nd line if they move Tuch up. Maybe move Cozens and Peterka to the 2nd line and pair them with Skinner. Mittelstadt is more of a 3rd line center and Cozens has done a good job of driving play in preseason and the first couple of games.

Sabres need to man up here and win a couple of shifts on home ice.

Early in the season, but hard not to love Dahlin's game so far. Energy, chaos and skill.

Part of Quinn's problem is Mittelstadt. Dude has been invisible.

Dahlin deserved that one!

Nothing to see here...Move along...

The young players aren't going from ELCs to $7M contracts. Only two that are due big money are Dahlin and Thompson. Mitts next contract isn't going to be big. The salary cap and Skinner's contract are the least of the Sabres issues.

Considering the goaltender market, this is a good signing.

That's adorable!

Think of them as forwards at this point rather than centers. A lot of talent and versatility added to the pipeline tonight. Mittlestadt still has a bright future with the Sabres if he continues to develop.

The Bills were9-7 McDermott's first year, and needed help to get into the playoffs. But what it proved was the coaching staff could win in the NFL without "their guys." They didn't have to go through a multi-year rebuild to win. It gave ownership confidence that, when given the opportunity to fully rebuild the roster, the team's leadership would deliver.

Check back in 2025.

Levi is not a part of the Sabres goaltending conversation until 2024 at the very earliest. What Adams is going to do to help his current group of young developing players become a bubble team is the question for this off-season, and that includes implementing a viable plan at goaltender.

Move the minimum draft age to 20 in the NHL and GMs will begin to look a lot smarter.

Nothing is locked in when drafting (or trading for a recently drafted) goalie. Goalies take years to develop. Most aren't viable starters until they are 24 or 25. Any decisions on Levi or Portillo as Sabre starters are at least 4 years away. And Adams would probably be wise to draft a strong goaltender prospect in this year's draft to keep the pipeline full. Maybe one of these guys could be the exception to the standard development curve, but neither of them seem eager to prove it, which is fine. In the meantime, guys like Thompson, Dahlin, Skinner, Okposo, Olofsson and Tuch have played well enough to deserve a functional NHL caliber goaltender for the next few years while the young goalies develop. Adams can't keep kicking this down the road. The players who developed over the last year deserve to play competitive hockey and not be undone by poor management of the goaltending position. Adams has to figure it out.

Yep, that's where they keep Doug Flutie.

I don't think these wins were in garbage time. If this were a 'veteren' team, sure, maybe. This was a young team learning to win. And they won enough event games that brought extra pressure to test their mettle. It also showed their limits to some extent, with losses to Florida, Boston, and Tampa during the streak, so there's some balance to give the team a good idea where they stand in the offseason. Adams has gotten a good read on the team this season. It'll be interesting to see his moves moving forward.

Let's have some fun tonight. Hat trick for Tage to net 40 for season.