Archie Lee

I hope the team is not too disheartened and still takes a “one game, one period, one shift at a time” approach. The 2 games in hand make it at least interesting as if we win those we are only 2 pts back with all the teams having 4 remaining. Just beat Detroit.

There is likely no direct comparable. To me he is a smaller, less physical but better skating Samuelsson. If it works out he will be to Power what Sammy is to Dahlin. The stable defender who lets the more dynamic player do his thing. The Sabres don’t seem overly concerned with left/right when it comes to Power and Dahlin.

Would have liked to see him play in Granato’s system. Just another example of how directionless the prior GM was. Use the 1st o/a pick on Dahlin, one of the most dynamic young d-men to come along in a generation. Trade a first for Montour, a strong skating high event d-men. Add these two to a base of forwards that includes Eichel, Reinhart, Mittelstadt, Thompson, Skinner. Then hire Ralph Krueger to implement the low event system used to get the talent-starved Swiss men’s hockey team into the medal round of international tournaments.

There is more than one way to get there. It doesn't really matter to me if we get there through development or through trades/free agency. You do probably need to start with a core though. The Bruins don't have much of a prospect base and have recently gone all in by trading their top picks, but they have an obvious core that they developed first. My concern is for the psyche of certain players who have seen little but losing over multiple seasons. I think that the organization does owe something to players like Dahlin, Thompson, Skinner, Mittelstadt, Jokiharju, Tuch, Cozens and Tuch (who has fully bought in), who have spent 2-5 years with the team and have yet to play in a playoff game. During the most recent tailspin, we started to see some frustration from Dahlin that was not present late last year and through the first months of this season. Fair or not, my sense is that this group of players is more personally invested in the organization than Eichel and Reinhart were, but there are likely limits to this. At some point I think you probably need to commit to winning being a clear expectation and priority. We clearly have many players who are ready to win now. I don't want Adams to do anything rash, but the acquisition of the right veteran player or two can certainly make a significant difference to a team as it ascends from rebuilding to contending. Of course, there are still meaningful games to play this season...

Again, what do people mean when they reference the LGBTQ+ lifestyle? I have close family and friends who are part of the LGBTQ+ community and their lifestyle is the same as mine. They get up, go to work or school, love and respect their friends and family, play sports, go to movies, share intimate moments with their partners, raise their children best they can, watch the Sabres, volunteer when they can, look out for neighbors, have regrets and hopes, sometimes make mistakes. What is it about their "lifestyle" that is different?

So long as you have a chance to get in the playoffs, I think you are doing your fans a disservice to not play to win. I grew up with a 16-21 team NHL. In those days 12-16 teams (75%) made the playoffs but in any given year there were probably 2-4 teams that had a legitimate shot and most years there was a clear favourite (MTL, NYI, EDM). Making the playoffs and winning a round, or even two rounds in the old Norris Division, was not that great an accomplishment. Today, with 32 teams and 50% making the playoffs and 8-10 teams with a legit chance to win, I think making the playoffs is an accomplishment and winning a round is a significant accomplishment. Pittsburgh is not likely to beat Boston or Carolina (though the Canes are a little vulnerable, in my view), but upsets do happen. I look forward to the Sabres having a 6-7 year run as a legit top 5 contender followed by a 3-4 year period where we wonder if it is time to start it over again. I say ride the pony as long as it will run. Rebuilds can always be started tomorrow.

What lifestyle?

I wasn't making any predictions, but fair enough. I was probably overly exuberant in using the words "would likely get us in" and should have used "could possibly get us in".

You are right that it makes no sense because my math was wrong. It will take a 9-2 finish, not 8-3. Not sure what the "apples to apples" reference is getting at.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in the last day or two that the NHL has "no information that would suggest there is any material threat that would exist related to a Russian player participating in a club's Pride activities".

Pittsburgh is in WC2 by points and points %. The Penguins are on pace for 91 points. Incredibly, if the Sabres win tonight in regulation they would be in a position where a 7-3 finish over the final 10 would project them into a tie for WC1. Put another way, an 8-3 finish from here would likely get us in. EDIT: Also, incredibly, my math was wrong. It would take a 9-2 finish from here.

Fair enough. I’m not defending how Adams has handled the goaltending situation. My position 2 years ago was that the Demko deal (5x5) was what it would take to get Ullmark signed and I still think that was true and what should have happened long before Ullmark got to free agency. I just think that, right or wrong, the timeline that the organization is on is not the same as the timeline most of us fans would like to see them commit to. I don’t see though that they consider top-level goaltending as non-essential to our future success.

This does not really align though, with the fact that Levi has been a clear centrepiece of Adams’ rebuild. It remains to be seen what Levi will do for the team in either the near or distant future, but Adams clearly thinks he has a special player. If you could get Adams in a candid moment and ask him to reveal the most important and vital player acquisition he has made, I would guess he would say it is Levi.

We have won lots of games this year where our goalies were the difference on the positive side. We do not have goalies though who will allow you to consistently just trade chances with the opposition. Nashville’s 3rd goal last night was a great example of what we have been seeing since the break. We score to get back in it and immediately lose all patience; Joker makes an ill-advised pinch, Okposo fails to properly cover and Stillman gives up the centre of the ice and its 3-1 and really the game is over. Sure, Anderson could make the save (and we should expect our goalies to) but this team gives up way too many uncontested opportunities. I don’t care what the analytics say, there is a difference between a slot shot where the shooter is hurried by a defender and one where the shooter has time to pick his spot. We give up more of the latter than any of the teams we play and until that’s fixed we will need Hasek level goaltending to be a winning team.

I would say playoffs should be the goal. I don’t think they will make this their explicit goal though, at least not in the way fans would be looking for. While I think they will play every game to win with the lineup that they have, as they did this year, I don’t think they will move out any potential long term pieces for the sort of players who would clearly signal they have now changed their approach. I also don’t see us being significant players in free agency. if anything, I think we will continue to be the NHL’s youngest team and with the departure of Anderson and Okposo we will be younger than this year’s team. I could see us starting the year with 5-6 rookies on the roster (Levi, Johnson, Kulich, Savoie, and a couple of older Rochester guys like Biro and Rousek). There will still be opportunity there for us to get incrementally better due internal development. Based on recent history though, I will be surprised if the team makes moves that clearly change the direction towards improvement via the acquisition of experienced players.

I don’t mean this as a criticism of Adams. I think he is good though at changing the narrative to spin things positively. None of us are eager to give up Savoie or Kulich. The post-deadline narrative became that Arizona wanted more from us than they got from Ottawa. The implication was that Arizona asked for a high end prospect like Savoie or Kulich and these players were non-starters for the Sabres. What was not clear or addressed, from what I saw, is if Arizona was willing to take our 2023 1st instead of Savoie or Kulich. If so, then that is a bit of a different story. If Arizona’s ask was a 2023 1st or Savoie or Kulich and two 2nds, then they wanted basically the same thing from us and we were not willing to pay the price.

I think our goaltending has been average. According to Money Puck, in all situations the Sabres are 26th in goals against and 28th in expected goals against. Our goalies have allowed about as many goals as expected given the scoring opportunities we give up. In my opinion: - Anderson has exceeded expectations and has been good - UPL has met expectations and shown he has the physical tools to be an NHL goalie; he needs to be more consistent and that will hopefully come with experience - Comrie has been bad and disappointing, even in the context of low expectations and an injury. My guess is that Levi will dress as a back-up once or twice before he starts a game. Up to the Dallas game I was convinced that Levi would start next season in Rochester and that UPL/Comrie would start next season as the NHL tandem. Now I think it is more likely that Comrie is done as a Sabre and we will see UPL/Levi in Buffalo.

Fair enough. You’re not a fan. Cheers.

There is no player on the team who is better with the puck in tight quarters than Mitts. When he is working the boards/cycle on the forecheck he is simply one of the best I have seen on the Sabres at being able to process where the scoring opportunity is and somehow get the puck to his teammate in a high danger position. I actually get excited when he is in that position and generally expect he will generate a scoring opportunity. He has been expected to be a dynamic offensive player, yet for most of his career he has not had a chance to play with the teams other dynamic offensive players. Now he is getting that chance with Cozens. Mitts/Cozens/Quinn will give us a strong offensively skilled and defensively responsible second line next year, I think.

At $1.5 per year or so? Absolutely.

My dream was Mangiapane and one of the D.

I’m not making a prediction, but I saw yesterday from one of the “insiders” that Calgary was considering moving out a player or two from their top 9, top 4, to recoup some draft capital and make cap space for the summer. The Flames lost last night. If we make a deal today, maybe it’s the Flames who have a player or two who fit our timeline.

The logic of the trade is pretty clear, even if there is general disagreement amongst fans. The team needed to improve its depth on defence. The organization is not as down on Bryson and Clague as the fanbase is. The analytics department has their own data not available to the public and that data likes Stillman as a depth player. He has another year on his contract at an AAV that is not at all problematic. We gave up a prospect who was far down the depth chart in an area of surplus talent.

I've often thought, in hindsight, that we would have been better to trade Puppa for Lemieux. 🙂

The missing player for me is Aho.