GASabresIUFAN

Those zone entries are so improved.

What a great effort in the first. Love those D pairings Lindy. Can you put Bryam on the 3rd pair where he belongs?

https://nypost.com/2024/10/01/betting/nhl-predictions-odds-picks-for-division-winner-parlay/ Odds to win Atlantic Division TeamOddsTeamOdds Panthers+230Senators+1000 Maple Leafs+290Red Wings+1300 Lightning+440Sabres+1600 Bruins+500Canadiens100/1 Odds via FanDuel Because this is a lottery ticket angle, we need a long shot to juice this ticket and I’ve landed on the Sabres, who have not made the playoffs in 13 years. But the pieces are in place for them to take a massive leap from what was a hugely disappointing showing in 2023-24. What was most frustrating for the Sabres last season was that they improved defensively but took a sizable step backward offensively, which was supposed to be their calling card. The Sabres finished with 91 points and were expected to push even higher, but they fell flat, which caused everyone to jump ship. You can’t blame folks for doing that considering how many times Buffalo has fooled us, but this number is long enough to be quite tempting on a team that should score, has a terrific blueline and two emerging goaltenders. Atlantic pick: Sabres (+1600)

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/one-bold-predicition-for-all-32-nhl-teams/sn-amp/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2024/10/03/nhl-season-point-projections-2024-25-standings/75415178007/ 89 points, 6th in the Atlantic. Only Det and Mon worse.

1) Sabres point total? 97 2) Will the Sabres makes the playoffs? Yes and finish 3rd in the Atlantic - In another thread I thought they'd just miss out, but I've taken my hopium and am changing my mind - Go Sabres! 3) Sabres leading goal scorer? JJP - 35, but TNT and Quinn are close on his tail (6 Sabres score 20 plus). 4) Sabres leader in total points? Dahlin - He breaks 80+ points with 22 goals and 64 assists 5) Sabres MVP? - Dahlin 6) Sabres ROY? - Kulich. Injuries give him a chance on the 3rd line and he runs with the opportunity making Krebs expendable. 7) Best off-season acquisition - Lafferty. He becomes a fan favorite while putting up 12+ goals and 30+ points in a career year. 8.) Worst off-season acquisition? Byram. Doesn't get to the next level as hoped, but this makes his contract cheaper in the off-season 9) Biggest surprise? (positive or negative) Levi becomes the No. 1 netminder by mid-season 10) Breakout player? Benson - He puts up 55+ points and becomes one of the best pests in the NHL. 11) Will any Sabres players or coaches finish as finalists (win?) for any major awards such as the Norris or Selke? Ruff and Dahlin. 12) Unsung Hero? Power - He quietly makes the leap people wanted from Byram when Lindy pairs him with Dahlin creating one of the best D pairs in the league 13) Who will be the first Sabre traded away this season? Krebs 14) Will KA make any in-season acquisitions before the deadline? Sort of. He'll add a goalie for Rochester with NHL experience when Reimer gets claimed on waivers 15) Will the Sabres be buyers or sellers at the deadline? Buyers to add some RHD help 16) Other Bold prediction? {Such as KA gets fired mid-season ;)} Samuelsson plays 65+ games. 17) Any other thoughts? The team starts off 50/50 and then gains momentum as the season progresses. Much of the early issues will be the PP and a lack of offense from the 3rd line. These issues work themselves out on a 3 games Western road trip in November and team blossoms from there.

JJP had 25 5 on 5 goals last season. Give him some 1st line PP time and he'll score 30+ easily. Quinn, while a little older than JJP, has always been just a little more productive. You can easily argue that both have similar upside and being on the top line could weight the scales to JJP, but I think Quinn has another gear we haven't quite seen yet. I see Quinn as a long term better version of Tuch. JJP reminds me of a better playmaking Skinner. This is not a shot a JJP. I love this kid's offensive game, but do worry about how willing he is to play 200 feet. If he does become a 200 foot player, than JJP's upside is 70+ points. Benson is our Marchand. Marchand's peek was 39 goals and points seasons of 85, 85, 100 & 87 points. I'd love Benson to reach those heights.

@dudacek .... and people call me negative.

1) Sabres point total? 2) Will the Sabres makes the playoffs? 3) Sabres leading goal scorer? 4) Sabres leader in total points? 5) Sabres MVP? 6) Sabres ROY? 7) Best off-season acquisition 8.) Worst off-season acquisition? 9) Biggest surprise? (positive or negative) 10) Breakout player? 11) Will any Sabres players or coaches finish as finalists (win?) for any major awards such as the Norris or Selke? 12) Unsong Hero? 13) Who will be the first Sabre traded away this season? 14) Will KA make any in-season acquisitions before the deadline? 15) Will the Sabres be buyers or sellers at the deadline? 16) Other Bold prediction? {Such as KA gets fired mid-season ;)} 17) Any other thoughts?

Every time I watch Rosen, one player keeps coming to mind - Joel Armia. Maybe it’s time to trade Rosen for a more physical forward prospect.

Czechia natives Kulich and Rousek are on the Sabres squad heading into the Sabres opening games, but will either be given the opportunity to play in their native country? Kulich had a great prospect challenge, but given this unique camp he has only played one pre-season game as the new look Sabres seemed very focused on building early cohesion with Lindy's new system for the skaters thought to be in the top 12. I think Rousek may have also played one pre-season game as well. PR wise it would be great for these guys to have a chance to play at home, but is it in the best interest of the Sabres who need a strong start to the season? What about Krebs? He actually played in all 3 "Sabres" centric pre-season games. Aube-Kubel, Greenway, McLeod and Zucker (and Tuch) played 2 each. Was this just a case of Lindy seeing where he can slot Krebs if needed or was he looking for an opening night role for Peyton? Given the back to back games, I think there is a good chance the Sabres utilize all 15 forwards between the two games.

https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2024-25-nhl-team-preview-buffalo-sabres

https://www.espn.com/nhl/insider/story/_/id/41512880/nhl-2024-25-breakout-predictions-players-stats-goals-points-stars

Not an accurate statement. KO played 24 playoffs games for the NYI (and won a Cup with Fla playing in 17 playoffs games last season) Jost played 46 playoffs games for Colo/Minn Robinson played 10 playoff games for CBJ VO, Mitts, Z and Skinner had no playoff experience, but 3 of the 4 grew up in the sad Sabres organization. As soon Mitts escaped he put up 9 pts in 11 playoff games for the AVS. Playoff experience may or may not be meaningful, but the problems with this organization went far beyond players without playoff experience. Starting with bad coaching and poor management. Put any of the departed guys in the right situation and they'd be fine in the playoffs as Mitts & KO just proved. The most important part of the turnover is whether the new players make us better. If the new 4th line can help tilt the ice in our direction by their fast hitting style then it's going to be a positive change.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5808861/2024/10/01/buffalo-sabres-prague-predictions-questions/ I’m sorry for posting most of this article but I thought everyone should read Fairburn’s thoughts.

Amerks officially taking shape with the Sabres training camp cuts today. I really like the prospect group returned to the Amerks today: (f): Östlund, Wahlberg, Helenius, Neuchev, Rosen, Tullio, Kisakov, and Nadeau. (D) Komarov and Novikov. As I mentioned in the OP, this has the making of the strongest Amerks forward group in 15-20 years, especially when you add strong AHLers Rousek, Murray, Jobst, and Dunne and top prospect Kulich gets returned as well. The D group also looks talented with Johnson, Metsa, Novikov, and Komarov, plus vets Gilbert and Clague (currently with the Sabres) plus AHLers Rathbone, and Poolman. Reimer should given them solid goaltending assuming he clears waivers and who knows about Sandstrom. Maybe our goalie coaches can fix his issues.

None of this matters anyway as Reimer will clear waivers.

The only stumbling block would be Ratzlaff's contract status. I'd assume Ratzlaff would need to sign his ELC to be recalled, but I can't find a story that confirms this belief. The Canadians brought up Owen Beck 2 seasons ago from the OHL, but Beck had signed his ELC before the season. https://montrealhockeynow.com/2023/01/27/owen-beck-montreal-canadiens-recall-prospect-nhl-promotion-chl-habs/

Ratzlaff's play this pre-season probably makes him the Sabres top goalie prospect at this point (if he wasn't already) outside of Levi. From an overall standpoint his inspired play probably moves him up to the top 15 prospects overall in the organization? So who stood out in camp? Kulich early, Ratzlaff late. Helenius and Östlund had big moments. Novikov had highs and Lows. Poltapov is off to a strong KHL start (11 pts in 10 games w 5 goals). He has 13 pts (5 goals) in 56 KHL games last year. Marjala has 4 pts in 5 Liiga games to start the season. Komarov had a few assists. Metsa, 25, was getting the most PT of our Amerks D in pre-season. So besides Levi and Benson who are slated for the NHL who are the top 15 prospects as we head into the season? Honestly not sure about the order after the top 3. 1) Kulich 2) Helenius 3) Östlund 4) Rosen 5) Wahlberg 6) Johnson 7) Poltapov 😎 Neuchev 9) Novikov 10) Komarov 11) Strbak 12) Ratzlaff 13) Zeimer 14) Kleber 15) Kisakov

Whether this team makes the playoff comes down to a few things. 1) Can they keep their key player healthy and on the ice? Last year the answer was no. If they can scoring will improve. 2) Can they tighten up defensively? I don't expect them to be "tight," but I do expect them to improve on their near bottom of the NHL HDCA (for the last 2 years). Improve here and that will take away serious pressure from UPL and Levi to carry the team 3) Can they improve on special teams? I expect the PK to improve with the new additions. However the team Achilles heal last year on offseason was the terrible PP. The Sabres were the 4th worst in the NHL at 16.59%. Their 37 PP goals were 3rd worst in the NHL (TB lead with 71). Middle of the pack is about 21% and 51+ goals. If they can do these 3 things they will make the playoffs. The one area I'm not worried to much about is the goaltending. I expect UPL to regress slightly from last season but still remain solid and I expect Levi to take a big step forward. So my vote right now leans slightly on the "No" because I'm not sure they can tighten up defensively or execute the PP. We'll see. NJ will be a good early test. I will say this. If the team hits on the 3 items I've mentioned and kids like Byram, Quinn, JJP, and Benson take the next step this team could get to 100 points. Just think of the offense 2 years ago coupled with a GA from last year and you'd have a +50 differential. Every team last year with a +40 differential had 99 pts or more.

From ESPN https://www.espn.com/nhl/insider/story/_/id/41419134/nhl-predictions-2024-25-scoring-trades-stats-playoffs-awards-leaders "Buffalo Sabres The playoff drought ends The last time the Sabres made the playoffs, "Fast 5" was in theaters, a duet between Katy Perry and Kanye West was the No. 1 song in the U.S. and their coach was ... the same guy who's coaching them now? Wait, that can't be right, can it? Yup. Lindy Ruff returns to the franchise where he coached 15 seasons and finds a Sabres team that hasn't made the postseason cut since 2011. He also finds a team with two pillars on defense (Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power); a collection of young standout forwards in their top six; and a revamped bottom six that brings speed this team lacked under Don Granato. While he doesn't have Dominik Hasek or Ryan Miller between the pipes, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was strong last season and Devon Levi's underlying numbers showed promise. Look, there is a mountainous amount of stuff that needs to go right for the Sabres to make the playoffs. It starts with Ruff getting a young roster to commit defensively in ways it hasn't before -- something he had success with for a time during his last stop in New Jersey. It requires good health and core players continuing on their growth trajectories. Most of all, it requires a spot opening up for them in the conference from the teams that qualified last season -- perhaps even two spots, if we assume the Devils are back in the playoff picture. So let's call this an "educated prayer." Ultimately, I think enough breaks right for Buffalo for them to emerge from that pack of rebuilders in the Atlantic. The streak ends. The playoff tailgates in Buffalo begin."

Do you realize that Spielberg and co made this affect 44 years ago. (Movie made in June 1980 and released June 1981). Crazy. @Taro T I loved how the guys looked in Germany. Maybe its the Bills rubbing off on me or my Hoosiers at 5-0 (sad my Dawgs couldn't finish the comeback), but I'm getting exciting for the Sabres season.

LIke I said earlier, Jamie Lee Curtis looked better in that outfit.

That about covers the Fedora

It wouldn’t have mattered.