Jorcus

Another big betting site has the over/under at 80.5. Then again they have the rangers at 95.5. Of course these lines are being driven by early season betting odds and could change quickly. I don't think they reflect realistic chances at this point.

I think this is going to be a very interesting year in the Eastern Division of the NHL. There seems to be a lot of parity in the teams. It could be a year where 3 points in the standings might be the difference between 2nd and out of the playoffs. This is a good thing/ bad thing for the Sabres. The bad thing is they are facing tough teams almost every night when playing in the East. The good thing is that these teams are going to beat on each other so it's not likely anyone is going to run off and hide a top the standings. The current betting lines have the Sabres near the bottom only ahead of Boston and Pittsburgh. There is enough talent on the Sabres to be much better. In the 2021-2022 season no team in the East finished with 90-99 points. Either you had 100 or more, (in the playoffs) or you were out with less than 90. Last year 5 teams were in the 90's and it looks to be even tighter this year. I think the Sabres can get in with what they have. They are getting little older a little tougher and would seem to have some AHL depth to plug holes as long as the injuries don't get out of hand. A lot will depend on how good the competition has become.

I think $80 million by 8 years is the minimum we could sign him for. Look at Sam Bennet of Florida. He is no better than Tuch that I can see. Not only did he get 8x8 he got 56 Million of it in a signing bonus with Florida Taxes. That contract will not be allowed in the new CBA. They limit the bonus to 60% of the contract. Then you look at Marchand's contract and wonder how that is going end? His contract is also front loaded. 5.25x6 at 37 years old. It's a mad world.

Yep, I know this much Florida would do it in a heartbeat.

I think it's Dallas for me. I watch games where people in the front rows are standing up. People walking up and down the stairs during the game (Try doing that in New York). Posers behind the bench so they can get on TV. Vegas has some of that too but Dallas is old enough to know better.

This article seems to spell out most of the impending changes. I am pretty happy to see them move forward. https://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/articles/changes_to_nhls_ltir_to_take_effect_in_2025_26_other_cba_changes_moved_up/s1_14825_42676965

Lots of good points! On the drop pass. Yes the trailers are often two far behind but at times, Dahlin the primary puck carrier did not set it up correctly. The basic Idea of the drop entry is for the carrier to skate to the attacking defender then set a screen to open a lane for the second skater to exploit a hole or a pass to through 3 remaining defenders at the blue line. Many times Dahlin being Dahlin he just would deak out the defender then drop the pass back (he was better at it later in the year). When he gets past the defender he should just keep going deep into the zone letting people chase him around. It kind of raises the question about why your doing the drop pass in the first place when you have 3 defenders who can carry the puck into the zone against just about anybody? Let Dahlin roll and create behind the net and keep a second D man on the ice to cover the point. The Sabres gave up 8 short handed goals last year and it seemed like it should have been more. They not only have to score more on the power play they have to defend better. Yes it's probably only a swing of 2 or 3 goals but they tend to be important ones when they happen. Wild slap shots that miss the net are part of the reason. 100 mph shot that misses creates a big rebound the other way. Some of the players covering the point were not very good at it. I Thought it might improve with Skinner gone but when Dahlin goes to the net someone has to be back. I am an advocate for using 2 D men on the Buffalo power play. The lack of movement and screens are obvious.

Everything mentioned can be true at the same time. The one thing that has been left out is economic stress. If people are uncertain about future income discretionary spending takes a hit. I search for travel deals often and have seen prices drop quite a bit in the last few months. I would say both domestic and international travel are trending down. It's not just our Canadian friends, The domestic traveler is starting to pull back. The domestic market may be just as big a head wind for the Sabres as the international one. At the end of the day people are going to gravitate to the value of the product. If the Canadian market can see a Canadian team in Detroit or Buffalo for half the cost of going to Toronto most will still do it in spite of the senseless stuff coming out of Washington I think.

I was thinking about how balanced the Eastern Conference has become in the last year or two. In the 4 years since the covid season The top teams have become less dominant and less teams are getting more than 100 points in a season. Also the highest point scoring team has declined. 24-25 3 teams had more than 100 points. Washington 111 23-24 5 teams had more than 100 points. NYR 114 22-23 5 teams had more than 100 points. BOS 135 21-22 8 teams had more than 100 points. Florida 122 There is a lot more balance in the East right now. I would be surprised to see a team get a 120 points. The key as always is to win your divisional games.

If you have some kind of spotlight that you can put on outside. When it gets dark turn off all lights inside open the doors and put light on outside. I would stay in the room and watch for the bat to find it's way out then close the door. The outside light draws the bugs and the bat will go after them. Good luck.

July 1st 2007. Two of the best players walk after a 113 point season. Like Pimlach I am grateful he saved the team and what he has done for this area of New York but as long term owner I don't think we would have been better off.

I don't know if you ment to imply that Florida is a fast team. They are strong and disciplined but about average when it comes to team speed. Certainly not as fast as the Oilers. Just wonder if the the goaltenders were swapped would the narrative be different where people pointing toward speed and skill is the formula and not puck possession teams who just grind on you. I think either or can work. We just can't under estimate how good Bobrovsky has been when it has mattered the most.

Cozens was below average shooting. Krebs and Quinn were average. I believe both scored more goals away from Benson than with him. But the opposite is also true because Benson did not convert goals at a high rate his line mates assist rate was also impacted. I expect his goal scoring average to go up. It has to if he is to be a prominent forward. It's long way from where he was last year to being a #1 left wing. I just wish I knew what the plan for that position was because I don't see a good one right now.

I don't agree with blaming Zach Bensons numbers on other players on the team. Just about every other player scored at or above expected goals last year according to Money Puck. Who was the worst? Zach Benson. https://moneypuck.com/player.htm?p=8484145 0.98 Expected Goals Per 60 Minutes Played in 2024 10 Goals From 18.08 Expected Goals During 1,111 Minutes Played 12.68 Expected Goals After Adjusting For Shooting Talent Predicted Shooting Talent is 29.9% Below Average for 2024 Not only is that the lowest predicted shooting talent on the team as far as I can tell it was the lowest in the NHL. If not it is pretty close. You can't blame that on other players and if anything you could turn around and say some of the others scoring was depressed because of it.

It seems odd that top 6 is a distinction for a forward and not top 3. There are a number of lower scoring forwards on what would be the group between 4 and 6 but few on good teams between 1 and 3. The more I think about how many goals Tage Thompson scored with sub optimal line mates I can't help but be impressed with what he did. Although he started the year with Tuch and Peterka after the second line failed and Tuch was moved off he spent a Lot of time with Kulich and or Benson. No other high goal scoring forward had less qualified help than he did. Some examples. Draisaitl / Arvidson, Podkolzin or almost equal with McDavid and Hyman. Nylander/ Pacioretty, Tavares Ovechkin/ Strome, Protas Pasternack/ Zacha, Geekie Point/ Kucherov, Gentzel Connor/ Scheifele, Vilardi I could keep going but you should get the idea by now. Thompson must be going out of his mind. I don't know how he felt about Skinner but the guy could put pucks in the net. The same goes for Peterka. What now for a left wing on the first line? Thompson plays better when he plays with guys he trusts at his skill level. If he does not trust what the other guy is doing he plays a very individual game. I don't see the trust with Benson or Kulich that I would like to see with Thompson on a regular basis. Those guys have a lot of development ahead before they should be on the top line.