Pimlach

Saranac has great memories for me. A long time ago. Lake Placid and Tupper Lake as well.

The Cats had some bad luck, and they made mistakes (Montour played that goal all wrong), and they got swept up by the emption of the crowd. Oiler's avoided the sweep by finally finishing on some plays and getting some good fortune too. Panthers will need to play more physical at home to turn this around and finish them off. The Oilers are getting away with some borderline hits. I am surprised by the Oilers, they are much more physical than I thought.

The Oil are cooking right now. Florida needs the next one. I did not expect Edmonton to be this chippy. They have been fortunate with non calls on their dirty (by todays standards) hits.

Probably not. What is their commitment to doing that, beside making a few bucks and padding some stats? We tried Stahl, Hall, Johnson, etc. We need our coaches and core players to own it and stop the losing culture. Playoff moves - bring in vets with tread their tires that bring in what is missing. 1. Make a big multi player trade for a Center (1C/2C) that can take a big load off of Tage and Cozens. On the block, any of 11OA, Joker, Skinner, Krebs, and certain prospects. 2. Add veteran toughness and veteran skill at wing, sign UFA's Joshua and Teravainen. 3. Get a steady solid vet RHD for 2nd pair. 4. If Girgs leaves sign a guy like Carrier. Same game, and Carrier will drop them. 5. Sign a #2G and do not rush Levi.

Lots of good discussion here. Lots of the same worries and one common concern is, "vets will be better players for other teams than for Buffalo". It certainly has happened quite a bit in the past 15 years or so, and it will continue until we get better coaches, a better line up filled with NHL players and legitimate NHL spare pieces, and a winning culture. Avoid players coming here to make the most money they can. That should be a red flag from the past. We need to make this team more experienced, grittier, and mentally tougher this off season. Lindy needs the freedom to bench a struggling or lazy player and plug in someone that actually belongs in the league. I think playing the numbers game this off season gives a good chance to turn this around. Bring in a few low-mid priced players (not NHL minimum JAGS) that have potential to reach their best level ever in Buffalo (like a Briere), and bring in a few that are reliable and consistent vets (like a Teppo). Don't break the bank on one Lindholm for $9M this off season because that could turn into a Erhard or a Taylor Hall if things go awry. If you are going to spend $9M on a outside player then go make a big trade and get Brady Tkachuk or someone of that ilk. I still remember when the opposite was true, when we picked up players and they played their best hockey for Buffalo. That was of course many decades ago when management hired the best GMs they could get, and when players felt they were joining a team with a real chance to win. To turn the tide this season, sign players for lower contracts/term and hit a few of them hit.

So we add forwards, all with grit, and one defender with lots of grit.

The Oil is percolating.

Terrible call on that hooking. They put away the whistle, until they don’t. Home cooking with oil.

Ekblad was a beast clearing out the front of his net. The guy is a defensive defenseman at its finest.

Oh my, Florida is kicking Azz. Barkov gets one. 4-1.

Is he a good 4th line player for us? Sometimes, he is. He is one of the few grown ups on the team, and one of the few with a physical game. He style of play is suitable for 4th line - yes it us, for sure. My problem is the ten years and no winning thing. Its not his fault, but maybe we need to flush out the last remaining piece of the Ron Rolston era? If we keep him then no big deal, but I think we can improve upon him and maybe for a bit less money too.

So many great lakes within NY State. Such a lovely state and luckily, most of the rest of the country is still unaware of it.

Agree Taro. This is an opportunity for the NHL to police the game and suspend a superstar for a game. I keep seeing on TV News that no one is above the law, I guess they still are in the NHL. Now, if Florida decides to police this themselves it could get a bit crazy out there. Florida has some muscle of their own.

You guys agree on this one. So do I. I like Girgs, he has been a good soldier for a long time, but it is time to move on from him. I do expect he will be a good 4th line role player for a good team, but he has not been anything special for us.

I have seen reports that Tuch has been married since 2023. He has a baby too.

Agree. He role may be less impactful with the title change "assistant" GM, which could actually be "assistant to the GM" Karmonos is higher in the chain as Associate GM.

True that it’s another missed opportunity. Adams can only move forward and take advantage of it. Its salary space for another good player.

More room to improve the roster.

I get it. I only listen to it when driving, which is rarely these days. Otherwise I can stream it and watch it anywhere. But you get good chops by doing radio and talking the details. Dan will never have that, so he better get better at the rest of it.

This is it. My youngest son once told me “nobody listens to the radio”. It turned out he is right.

Is that a bad hit? It’s gonna get Florida pumped.

Florida trots out two real good singers. Looking forward to good hockey.

I love the Harbor Center and the entire concept, and especially the business it brings to downtown. The spin-off in jobs and the outside money coming in has been great for Buffalo. The Harbor Center does help keep Buffalo on the hockey map. If anything, it can be expanded. I seriously doubt that he planned to make Buffalo a place to develop players and purposely neglect the NHL team, even though it looks like that at times. I grew up in the city. Downtown was pretty sad in the 60's and up until recent years. Harbor Center and Canal side are Pegula's work and downtown is cleaner and safer than ever before in my lifetime. So, while Pegula is the worst owner in NHL history by record, he has had some very positive impacts to the city. His record with the Bills is also quite good and the tiny market of Buffalo is thriving in the NFL.

True that RJ will not be matched, and no one is going to come in and copy him. His hysterics were not for everyone but they became legendary, and his knowledge of the game was right up there. But just get someone that keeps up with the play, knows how to communicate puck position, knows the player names on both teams, gets more excited for our team than the opponent, and knows how to make a great call on a big play.

i actually believe the glass is half full. The roster is very correctable. The talent pipeline is very good too. The team just needs the right leadership on top. The problem has been Terry’s choices for who that is. Winning will fix the in game experience. Buffalo is less about the piped in noise and distractions and more about the on ice hockey. (It was a generation ago anyway).