LabattBlue

I’m surprised no AHL teams haven’t opted out...unless their losses will partially be covered by the NHL or the owners of the NHL teams they are affilIated with. No fans = No revenue for AHL owners

I knew what the term “taxi squad” meant in regards to sports teams, but never knew the origin, until I just googled it... Coach Paul Brown invented it when he wanted to keep a group of promising players who didn’t make the roster. He didn’t want to get rid of them completely, so owner Arthur McBride put them on the payroll of the taxi company that he owned. Alas, the term “taxi squad” was born and would ultimately be adopted by the NFL.

Thanks! 👍

Bryson entering his 2nd pro season, Borgen his 3rd.

We are only 27 days away from ending what may be the worst year any of us will ever go through. Fantastic!

Are Borgen and Bryson exempt from the expansion draft next year, or does it matter if they play X number of NHL games they play this season. The reason I ask is that they are arguably the best blue line prospects that are in the pipeline.

Fancy stats say one thing...he still flunks my eye test. I will watch him closely in 2021, as it is clear now that he isn't going to be moved.

Unless there is a compliance buyout on the near horizon, which they could then use on Skinner, no way do I want to sign Hall to a long term deal, no matter what kind of season he has in 2021. Without the buyout, that would be 18 mil in cap hit, on two wingers who are both rapidly approaching 30, both on long term deals. Thanks to Botts(and the Pegula's), the Skinner contract will be painful for many years to come.

Not that I want anyone gifted a spot in the lineup, but my biggest fear with Arttu Ruotsalainen is that if he doesn't make the team and is assigned to Rochester for seasoning, he goes running back to Finland. Hopefully he either blows them away with a great training camp, or the NHL teams are allowed to have an expanded roster due to Covid circumstances.

Tampa has a serious cap problem, and there are 7 teams with 8+ mil in cap space that have to be licking their chops knowing that Tampa has to do something big...unfortunately the Sabres are not one of those 7 teams. 😞 With Sergachev signed, they have 19 players under contract, already over the cap limit by ~2mil, and still have to sign Cirelli and Cernak...and even then, they only have 21 players accounted for.

Not to be a smartass, but at what age will he become a generational talent? Dahlin was projected to be the best defenseman coming out of the draft since Potvin....you don’t see that quote thrown around in recent months.

Unless the Sabres plan is to try and win every game 6-5, I don’t see how they make the playoffs. The goaltending and defense(as it stands today) is the same as last year, and those groups were average on their best nights last season. Also, call me skeptical, but I don’t think Hutton’s problems last year were his eyesight. I think they fell more in line with...he sucks if you need him for more than a few games.

Really good article...for those who have access! 👍

The NBA has released their schedule for 20-21. Not sure what the NHL is doing behind the scenes. https://sports.yahoo.com/report-tentative-nba-schedule-features-playin-tournament-no-all-star-game-164135512.html

The Sabres have only got one thing right in the last few revisions of the sweater...and that was getting rid of the stupid number on the front. Not that it matters to me, the Sabres won’t be seeing a penny from me for at least several years.

Even if Eichel led the Sabres to a Cup, he still wouldn't be my favorite Sabre of all-time. Gilbert would still be #1...but Eichel would become a very close 2nd if that happened. 🙂 Happy 70th...damn I feel old.

If there is an opening, I’d be willing to get back in.

Sorry to be so negative on decisions made currently. The Pegula era has been such a train wreck for such a long time, it is hard to find anything positive to say...especially when on paper the moves just reek of nepotism, and not thorough recruitments for experienced candidates. Maybe I just long for the 70’s era of Sabre’s hockey.

I would hardly call creating a new position(after the gutting of the off-ice hockey staff in early summer), and then hiring another person from the Academy of Hockey staff to fill said position, "thinking outside the box". That being said, there will never be any metrics made public that would indicate if this position if helpful to the organization, so I will let it go.

Looking forward for what exactly?

So who is left to run the Academy of Hockey? Is there anyone left to promote? 🤔 On a related note...you gut your hockey side of the business staff a few months back, but then create this useless position?

Nice deal. After two years, the Sabres should have a good feel, if he is nothing more than a PP specialist, or a guy who can improve his ES play.

I'll admit I don't see Cirelli much in the regular season, but whenever I watched TB in the playoffs(I didn't see all their games), he was very underwhelming in terms of his offensive game. I'm sure he has a very nice 200' game, but I'm glad the Sabres aren't in the market for him. Maybe it was just a bad playoff year for him?

I guess this would describe me? 😂

I would make #2....swap out a RHD for a LHD via trade(s). To me that would be much more important than adding another forward. Take away Bogo who never played anyways, and you basically have the same d corp as last year...which IMO was not a playoff caliber group.