sabrefanday1

if we ever needed any proof that Arizona is without doubt tanking so they can draft that stud 1st then add Mathews in a few years we got the proof when they signed Carter Hutton!

yes lets hope that is how it works out

Now we have a retired d-man we are paying til the end of year and he makes good money...they clearly do not want to spend much right now so instead iof spending on Boychuk to get to the cap floor at least spend it on a center

no...we could really use a vet center right now unless we are tanking

would have much preferred to get a veteran center with that money

stop making sense will ya'...we really needed to add an experienced center as both a player but more importantly a leader. Still like where we are headed

Florida is off to t 6-0 start and their first goal Monday versus Arizona was scored by (wait for it...) Joe Thornton from Sam Reinhart and Brandon Montour!

I think we know Anderson is a seasoned veteran and that what he has done thus far is no "flash in the pan" like so many other goalies who do great one year then fade quickly from grace. His story is one of perseverance and perseverance and there is absolutely no reason to think he will not keep giving us the goaltending we have not had since RM... there were so many games over the past few years we should have won but goaltending let the team down over & over and exGMJBotto's answer was Hutton ('nough said)

They sure are a mess...Marner has suddenly gone AWOL and Traveres is slowing down with age and my cousin's Stepson Michael Bunting is just about the best player for the Leafs and he makes about a tenth what the big 3 are making (Nylander isn't far behind either). I was hoping we'd sign Bunting even before I found out he was my couz's stepson. Defense is non-existant which doesn't help (their forwards included).

My feeling too. So, I can;t help but wonder if we continue yet another rebuild and give away Jack after having given away Sam do we have anywhere near enough talent to even be competitive in the near future? We certainly have no one to replace Sam's consistent year-after-year games played, goals scored and points and also his leadership qualities (he led by playing hard every shift of every game and performing at both end's of the ice). Next I have no doubt Jack will be gone for a underwhelming package of various hockey-related things that will not include anybody capable of coming near to rep;lacing what he delivered and what he can deliver when and if healthy. What will be left? Young guys that skate hard and try hard and other then that there is nobody to be a star and to lead the team. Seems to be some good hopeful prospects but that does not equate necessarily to a NHL career as we all know. To try and compare any rebuild with other team is dangerous and/or useless as teams that do rebuilds typically have one or two clear stars to lead the team. Can anybody say who will be these two for the Sabres? I was hoping Sam & Jack but when they are gone I don;pt see anybody even close to them two.

Got to think there is no real good offers on the table or KA would have pulled the trigger by now. Might as well complete the dumpster fire sale but I think it is safe to say other teams are very cautious to wait and see how the whole injury thing plays out. The old he-said he said thing between doctors is rather misleading and no other team is going to even consider making a play for Jack unless a) his health is cleared (which is won't) or b) they have their own doctors examine Jack to give a estimate as to when he will be able to play again (if ever). Can see nothing happening for a while until something is 100% established as to his health. What a complete mess this team has become. Tanking for years to get a "generational" player (we obviously hope to get McDavid but Jack was also suppose to be close to if not a generational player too) and lose all kinds of good players as they bail from a team that does not want to win and can see this is a sinking ship and now we are desperate to get rid of the player we tanked for (we already got rid of the other guy we tanked for Sam who was a really good player and very consistent with games played and goals & assists).

At the end of the day we are talking about a generational player who put up some really good numbers on a pretty-bad team and clearly the very notion of giving him away for anything less then a major haul is absurd. Having said that, it is obvious that Jack don;t want to be here and it is also obvious KA don't want him here either. This surgery is tricky as we are talking about what may be career ending. There is no way any team is going to take a flyer on Jack until they know he wil play again, and up to his full potential. Thus, this may drag on for some time. Not a good situation for either, but I do think the Pegulas are embarrassing themselves by how they are running the ship. Dump Sam then look to dump Jack? Great way to build a team. One thing for sure is no one is going to want to come play for Buffalo knowing that if you want to win you are criticized and basically called a "cancer". This truly is a really bad thing all-the-way around...

agreed or the only chance Buffalo may get to have one too! Crazy to trade away talent such as Sam and/or Jack. I really hoped they'd just re-sign Sam and get Jack healthy and back playing and with proper NHL goal tending (which we still do not have) they may have been a pretty good team. Now there is no hope of that in the near future (if ever).

Think there is little doubt KA would move Jack in a heartbeat if he was offered anything that he thought he could justify to the fans. Other teams have to be cautious not only of Jack's health but also they need to wonder if maybe he is a cancer or not a good "team" player. And like a divorce, nice things are said and all but truth be told the separation it will only get worse and nastier between the team and Jack. he clearly wants out and they clearly wish to move him but obviously they can;t give him away (although they came close with Sam). Risto was a complete fluke as Philly made a terrible trade and gave far too much which makes KA look like a genius, In reality I figured he'd get like maybe a 2nd or 3rd for Risto.

I tend to agree with you. Far too early to make any judgement and no doubt the eventual trading of Jack will really tells us more. A this point the team is nowhere as good as it was when he took it over and I thought with a few tweaks and some good NHL goaltending we would have had a good chance of making the playoffs. Now? We are not even close. We have given away Sam and while return for Risto was good (poor Philly management) he and Jake were our only real physical d-men. We also lost Linus another guy we drafted and developed for nothing so while the negatives, and subtractions from the team are glaring and obvious, the additions and improvements are, well are there any real improvements thus far? We seem to be weaker in virtually every position now. We can only hope that the young guys really step up but can we expect anything more from them then what we saw last year? No question the young guys played wel but at the end we were still losing and losing game after game will not help any of the young guys in the long run.

Not so...GMKA's failure to get NHL goal tending last year and this year is a major disappointment. As well, we are still woefully weak at center and he has done nothing to address that either.

I too have been a Sabre fan from day one and have seen some really good times and have been heartbroken when we were so damn close to winning a cup. I have watched the French Connection and still have a authentic #18 Danny Gare team sweater. I loved this team and even up to the years with Briere and Drury and of course that bogus goal by Brett Hull to win the cup that...you get the picture. Anyways,m having played and coached hockey most my life, there is no doubt winning is contagious, just as losing is too. Winning spawns momentum and confidence, and this team oozed that years ago. It certainly seems that since the Pegulas took over thing shave really gone downhill. I know there is a big push for them to sell but then again one needs to be careful what they wish for...new owners might want to move the team and once a team is gone (as in Quebec) it is real hard to get a new franchise. I see a big part of the problem as the continuous changing of management as the biggest problem as each new GM wants to make this his team, and moves out the previous regime's players and bring in his own players. Thus we move Sam who without any doubt should have been re-signed. It is absolutely absurd to tank to get guys like Sam then let him walk. We drafted and developed Linus, McCabe, Risto etc and then just let them walk away. No wonder no one wants to play here. Once you get any good they let you walk and don;t re--sign you yet sign over-priced guys like Skinner & Okposo. I I am like Perraultforever...I am tired of the losing and I get that we are free to leave and not follow the team but after almost a lifetime of following them I just want them to win and be competitive again. Clearly that is not happening any time soon. I would have been more then happy to enter this season with Granato coaching and with Sam and yes even Risto who I liked. If we could get a healthy Jack back and added a actualy NHL goalie aI thought we'd be very competitive. No hope now that's for sure...at least not for this year

not for $750K??? Apparently it is for $825K per...

Up here in Ontario at Casino Rama where I worked for 16 years before my heart attack and where we attend concerts all the time, they have "meet & greet" with many of the bands. They could do the same thing here. We use to drive down a lot to see Sabre games but with how the team is these days even after it al opens up again no way we'd bother until they have at least a chance of winning again on a regular basis. I think the team needs to get out into the community as they are having difficulty selling tickets now compared to a few years back. When they had Briere & Drury etc, we went to a bunch of games. They use to be so exciting, win or lose.

many teams have tried the "let's get a goon" thing (including us in years past) but it does not seem to stop these guys like Wilson and Marchand from doing whatever they please. I have to admit though we could really use someone like these two (not a goon that is of no help but someone who can agitate and play as well).

either way Jake was a great guy, great competitor and will be missed (as will Sam of course)

true but Wilson plays far more then Reeves and Wilson plays on one of their top lines and gets more ice time. I cannot see Reeves out there as much so no I doubt he will have any effect on Wilson (except when he is on the ice at the same time of course...that's a no-brainer) but then if Reeves takes a bunch of penalties that only helps Washington so again Wilson will be helping his team.

As much as we hate to admit it Wilson is a good hockey player. He is one dirty SOB as well. I can't see Reeves having any effect whatsoever on how Wilson plays. Should be interesting though to see how it all plays out. Wilson seems to get away with crap by the NHL so I guess teams have to do something themselves.

strange that KA doesn't look at exGMJBotto and see that trading (or basically giving away) players who "don't want to be here" as in the ROR case clearly did not pan out well and yet he does the same thing with Sam and probably soon with Jack. Not sure why they confuse "wanting to win" with "not wanting to be here" although of course we don't win much these days. Either way I think this is a tank to get a player to build KA's team around (he wants to build this team from scratch as does most GM's) thus he moves out key players not of his doing.

agreed and boy is that scary...this is a complete disaster in the Titanic mode