jad1

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.

It's happened too many times against division opponents this year.

Sure, but you can't expect the best teams in the league to have poor goaltending. The young guys have to learn to score against the tougher defenses and goaltenders in the league. Hopefully the break through tonight and get a couple.

If they are on the Thompson timeline, and there is nothing wrong with that if they are, it could take our best players a few years before they hit their peak. Adams might need a plan B if the Sabres are to compete for the playoffs any time soon.

Yeah, they need more than a goalie to close the gap next season.

The problem wasn't with the players, it was with idiot GMs and coaches who couldn't build a team around those players. Here's some perspective. Every Sabres fan loves the season Thompson has had this year. He's been nothing short of awesome. He's the breakout player of the year. Meanwhile, the Sabres are 31 points out of 4th place in the division and 27 points out of the wildcard. Their goal differential is -59. Nobody in their right mind would blame Thompson for the Sabres current standing or their goal differential. Nobody would blame Thompson for the goaltending chaos or blame him for the poor play of guys like Bjork, Eakin, Butcher, Miller, etc. The problem with the Sabres this year isn't with Thompson, it with the fact that the team lacks overall talent. And while nobody blames Thompson for the Sabres poor standing this year, many seem to happy to blame guys like Eichel, O'Reilly, and Reinhart for being in the same situation Thompson is today. The song hasn't changed here. Thompson gives th Sabres a legit, playoff caliber 1C and a leads legit first line. The GM needs to fill the rest of the roster with talent and the coach needs to optimize that talent. We've had GMs and coaches who have been incapable of building teams around talented players in the past. Hopefully, Granato and Adams can steer the franchise to better times, so we're not scape-goating Thompson two years from now.