quill

I think what the Sabres need is the same thing they've needed for a long long time, a goalie who is great, not a goalie that is only above average. I like UPL. I think he is a good goalie with good potential, but a crappy team like the Sabres needs a GREAT goalie to stand any chance of winning, developing, and advancing. The only way any crappy team in this league will have any chance at all of making the playoffs is by having a goalie who can keep the good teams from always beating them, a goalie who can stand on his head and consistently make the big save when called upon to do so, which in time would make it easier for the young talent to develop and shine.

It made me sick to see Cozens score the winning goal last night. Cozens wasn't the main reason the Sens won. Ullmark was the reason the Sens won. The Sens were outplayed by the Red Wings all night long and Ullmark kept the Sens in it all night. On his winning goal, Cozens didn't do anything unusual. He was left all alone and was set up beautifully by Soderbloom. All he had to do was shoot it into an empty net. What makes me just as sick as seeing Cozens score that goal was seeing Ullmark stand on his head all night and remembering how the Sabres let him slip away through our fingers.

I'm glad the Sabres are investing in Greenway. It's so hard to find players his size who can actually skate, can be physical, and play smart hockey with the puck. Watching him play on this team, yes he's not some super fast skater or elite puck handler, but I've noticed when he does get the puck he usually makes smart passes and he rarely gives the puck away like so many of our more talented skaters do all too often. I think he'll grow into an even more valuable asset for us if this team can soon become a playoff caliber team. From what the other players have said about him in past interviews, it seems he is a well liked teammate.

Good point but I don't think it's just the 3rd period. From about the halfway point in the game it often looks to me like it's just as much about conditioning as anything. With the exception of a few players who consistently work hard, quite a few of them don't look like they're in good enough shape to play at the NHL level for 60 full minutes. Either that or they don't have the will to win. Or both.

I agree neither one of them should ever be paired with each other or Dahlin. Like I said earlier, Power should be paired with someone like Clifton. I also said earlier that I like both of Power and Byram, but we shouldn't forget that Byram could be one more bump on the head away from retirement.

If the goal is to start winning now, which is what it should be, then there are better choices besides Byram or Power to move for an established veteran who can help us right now. Maybe "Long Term: Byram or Power" should be "Long Term: Byram and Power" instead. Trade someone who doesn't look like they love playing NHL hockey like #22, and if you're really looking for a Dman to move then package Bryson along with 22.

I think it would be a mistake to move a defenseman like Power with the talent he's showing at the age of 22. He's barely started to develop at the NHL level and, other than Dahlin, he's already the best puck moving defenseman we have. Plus he's a major offensive threat and will only get better. No team would want Power because he's such a hard hitting body slammer, which he is not, but more than a few teams would grab him for his ability to carry the puck up the ice and for his offensive talents as well. As long as Power is paired with a physical defenseman like Clifton for the time being, with time he will get more and more used to the physical play at the NHL level. Our defensive problems as a team have been just as much the fault of quite a few of our forwards who have been terrible in the defensive zone for most of this season. Having said that, we could definitely use another defenseman like Connor Clifton who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Maybe Power will even chip in with a few body checks himself by the time he turns the ripe old age of 23.

You are correct. My bad on the percentage part. I got my info from the same source, only it was a page that only included the 25 players with the most FO wins, of which Cozens was the only Sabre on it: https://www.foxsports.com/nhl/stats?category=faceoffs&sort=fow&season=2024&seasonType=reg&sortOrder=desc Anyway, this team loses too many faceoffs of the crucial variety. I think as a team we're not too far from the bottom of the list in FO's.

Well done. Cozens still has the most wins so far, but I stand corrected on who has the best percentages.

And the source for that is? Cozens has 316 FO wins so far. I'd be surprised if Krebs and McLeod combined have that many.

Where did I say Cozens was a faceoff specialist? I said he was one of the only decent faceoff men we have. According to Fox Sports Stats he's at 49.6% and 23rd in the league in FO wins. Can you name one player on the Sabres who's currently doing better than him in that department?

I agree with you Tage probably won't be traded, so he'll probably be a Sabre for better or worse. But for him to be worth more than 7 mil/yr, I hope someone will teach him how to win some faceoffs, how to improve his passing, and how not to give up the puck at some of the most crucial times in a game. He needs to do other things better than just having a cannon of a shot. I do hope he becomes the superstar that so many people thought he was already. As far as Cozens, I've been somewhat disappointed in him, as have other people, but I think he's starting to come into his own. Plus he's one of the only decent faceoff men we have. I'm not all that high on Samuelsson, and I wouldn't miss him if he got traded, but at least he does attempt to check a body once in a while. I'd hate to see Zucker and Greenway go, but I agree they could be traded because of their contracts being up. We certainly wouldn't want to let them go and get nothing back for them in return. I hope they're still here next season though. Krebs. I said "maybe" he's a keeper because he's one of the very few players on this team who has some heart and isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He does have talent but I think he just needs a little more experience at the NHL level for it to shine through. I think it would be a mistake to get rid of him so soon.

Trade: Quinn: Was he really a first round pick? Trade him for a decent playoff caliber grinder or for a draft pick as soon as we get a new GM. Thompson: Yeah he has a great shot whenever he's set up perfectly for it, but is he worth the money, and does he look like he's turning into the superstar we thought he would become? No. He plays hard when he's in a good mood, and it's no small wonder why the team was better off without him during the west coast tour a few weeks ago. I have to wonder how much Tage really wants to stay in Buffalo. Trade him while we can get something significant for him and let the rest of our offensive talent come into their own. A few others could go depending on what we could get for them, as long as Adams goes first. I doubt the team as it is now would do well in the playoffs if we happened to make it there. We just don't have enough players like Zucker who could score and also grind it out, day in/day out, like what's needed to do in the playoffs. Keepers: Dahlin, Tuch, Zucker, Greenway, Benson, Clifton, Power, Kulich, and maybe Krebs.

I like them both, but if I had to choose one to stay here it would be Power. We're going to need another defenseman besides Dahlin who can carry the puck out of our own end by skating around an opposing player or two without turning the puck over, and I think Power will soon develop into that type of player. He isn't the fastest skater, but he isn't the slowest either. I've seen him turn on the boosters at times, at least in short spurts when he needs to. Byram has been giving the puck away almost as often as Thompson does whenever he's in close quarters, and his previous history of head injuries is cause for concern. Both have good potential, but I think Power is the more talented of the two.