Digger

Yes I did not want to wait any longer. The Sabres killed the winning culture and pride in the room the year we tanked for Eichel. There was definitely excitement when we traded for O'Reilly that we would be turning the corner. It was hard to see some of the players go with the trade but drafting Eichel and trading for O'Reilly was great. I just remember being concerned when we traded for Kane about the dressing room concerns with the Jets and the fact that we really seemed to overpay for him (remember he was injured at the time). Who the heck were we bidding against? Those were Murray's moves and his vision for the team. The shine started to come off both players before he was fired. Changing GM's was part of the problem with that vision because we dumped both players for a fraction of the cost to acquire them. I'm okay with being patient this year (because I have no other choice) but I really hope that we can improve the team going into the next off season (by adding more than Owen Power). The good news is that we won't be overly burdened with huge cap hits other than Skinner and Okposo.

Ha Ha, Count Jackula. The most anticipated Halloween costume this season, right next to wearing an Eichel mask in a different team's jersey.

I agree with your take on Murray and Adams. I am not convinced of your take on Botterill's plan though. He had some good ideas from an administrative point in building scouts and management for the Sabres and Rochester (didn't really have time to see if these moves would have panned out). But his player moves were really bad and it seemed like he was just trying to undo everything that Murray did with some of the trades. I still think ownership forced him to make the O'Reilly trade that will hang around his neck like an anchor for years to come. I'm glad Murray and Botterill are gone. As a fan I want to have confidence in my GM that he will make fair trades and signings to improve the team. So far Adams is okay (but the Reinhart trade remains to be seen it it pans out for value).

Depends on what's involved with the physical (I don't know what all they do for an evaluation). But I suspect that Doctors will ask if he still has discomfort or pain and that would be something that only Eichel can answer. So if he's still in discomfort or pain does he fail? (I would think yes).

Seems odd that this was rejected by the other team but..................there may have been another piece or player or prospect involved from the other team that was not mentioned. We are making some assumptions on this trade proposal.

I thought it was a good video overall. Obviously edited to their favor. We don't get much insight into the trade proposal process and you get a glimpse of that during the draft. It was nice to see that Reinhart called back after the initial trade call to say thank you to Adams and the Sabres wishing them well.

Yes I wondered that too. I suppose it would make sense. It kind of sucks for the players on the taxi squad though. Nicer to have them playing in Rochester and staying sharp than just practicing.

Hagg had a poor year with injuries last season. I think that he will be motivated to play well and will make the most of his opportunity with the Sabres. I would expect him to move at the trade deadline as a depth defense for a playoff team.

That was a big thing that they floated the last off season when the Oilers missed the playoffs in 2020. The same thing was floated for Eichel because of lack of playoff success. The difference being that the Oilers turned it around last season and were a playoff team and the Sabres crumbled. The Oilers have resigned their depth players in Nugent Hopkins and the Sabres have now traded theirs away. They made quite a few moves in the off season (to try and improve). I would think McDavid is happy going into this new season. Personally I think the media love floating this stuff to see if it can gain some traction. Look at all of the material they got with the Eichel situation all this off season.

Doesn't sound like a big deal to me. Rookie tournament, preseason games are the time to experiment with lines and positions. From what I saw of Quinn last season he looked to be a pretty smart creative player with getting pucks into some difficult areas. If he does well at center great. I don't see a downside. We might recall that we took Reinhart who was drafted as a center and then never (or rarely) played him at center. Of course he never played in Rochester either.

I like the Dach trade (and really want a center back that can play for us). I would love to see him play for the Sabres. Chicago's issue to having this happen is money to stay under the cap. Toews is supposed to be back in their lineup again this season although he may still be dealing with health issues that will affect his playing time.

the neck looks good in that clip

The comparison with when Mittelstadt came into the league is valid. When Casey came into the league we did not have an adequate option for 2C. He was given the spot before he earned it. He was up against Berglund and Sobotka. He did not push anyone out of the way or seize the opportunity during an injury fill in. He was penciled in before the season started. UPL may likely be better than both Dell and Tokarski during camp. Does that mean he earned his spot in the lineup or that we really have poor options for our backup goaltending this season? I'm fine with Anderson given the lack of signing options after we lost Ullmark but I think the bar is pretty low for UPL to win one of the goaltending spots. He really needs to have time in Rochester (hopefully on a good team) otherwise I think it will hurt his development.

That's disappointing. I was looking forward to following him in Rochester this season. I wonder how long it will take for him to get back again?

I don't think there's any argument what the Sabres should do: "Someone who starts the season in Rochester but comes up mid-season and sticks around" But more than likely this is what will happen: "25-30 games in a backup role" I am hopeful that he develops regardless and starts to meet the potential we see in him. Regardless of position it's always a bad idea to give a roster spot to an unproven player. The last one being the year Mittelstadt came into the league when we did not have a decent option for 2C.

Does anyone have any insights on the goalies? UPL we know. Guzda has been in the OHL with Owen Sound (pretty average numbers or below average). Another big goalie at 6'5". Oliver Satny is a Czech goalie that will play this season in the QMJHL for Charlottetown. He's 6'1". I just wonder if anyone knows anything else about them, talent wise.

I have to say I'm a bit shocked at his statement that Arizona is better than the Sabres this year. We definitely have our goaltending concerns this season but Arizona took our goaltending concerns over the last two season in Hutton who didn't have a save percentage over 0.900 (0.886 / 0.898). Kessel wants out. I don't see Arizona doing very well either and I really think the Sabres are better positioned to start the climb (once again 😒) from the cellar of the NHL standings (if not this season then next).

He did leave the organization for 2 seasons and now he's back again.

Yes I would do that. I would think that short and long term deal options have been laid out for Dahlin. I just don't understand why the negotiation takes so long. I'm used to the business world where an offer is made and generally a counter offer and then eventually a deal is made between the two sides unless there's no common ground. With Dahlin it seems like preliminary offers were made long ago (per Adams comments) and then the two sides try to wait each other out. Training camp is coming soon. Comparable contracts signed this off season are available to debate value. Other than waiting for Hughes to sign and how much he gets it seems to me that there's not much to hold this contract up. Maybe this week.

Does anyone have any insight on what's holding up the Dahlin contract? My only thoughts are that he may be waiting to see what Quinn Hughes gets from Vancouver as another comparable contract. Hughes should get more money because he's been better offensively so far in his career. Miro Heiskanen signed an 8 year deal with a cap hit of $8.45M. Cale Makar signed 6 years with a cap hit of $9M. I think most of us feel a shorter deal might be best for Dahlin and hopefully he really takes a step forward this season. I figure at this point it's just a waiting game with Vancouver and Buffalo and Hughes and Dahlin. Who signs first?

I agree hockey buzz is usually crap and have said so many times. That being said when was the last credible rumor posted about an Eichel trade? I'm not sure there's been any in this entire thread. There's been nothing other than pure speculation. Elliot Friedman said he really hadn't heard much except the same few teams kicking the tires again. Eklund mentioning LA today made me look up if there was anything new on their prospects and they did have a development camp in August. I'm looking forward to camp starting so there's something more interesting to discuss for the Sabres.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I hope that you and your family are blessed with peace. I think the fear generated many inappropriate responses. Still does today.

I was reading this too (agree that Eklund's stuff never pans out). But it's fun to speculate on the Kings again. Rasmus Kupari, Akil Thomas, Arthur Kaliyev, Alex Turcotte, Quinton Byfield, Brandt Clarke. Most likely they won't want to move Byfield still and maybe not Clarke (their 2021 top pick) but there's some nice talent in their other top prospects to pick from. I would think that they may be wanting to move Gabe Vilardi to make room for Byfield. https://thehockeywriters.com/la-kings-2021-development-camp-takeaways/

Thanks. I agree with the bolded text above. I guess I was looking at it similar to remembering the sacrifices from the world wars and veterans in general that we remember on November 11th (Remembrance Day - Canada). So I see 9/11 as a day to remember.

I'm reading the posts. I remember the day of 9/11 very well as the news and events happened. I would imagine that the day JFK was killed would have been a similar day for the nation to be in shock (but it was before my time). I agree with you that it's important to have open discussion and debate and free speech on any subject in a democratic society but I'm not really understanding your messages so far on remembering 9/11. Can you further explain your thoughts?