Doohicksie

Lawrence Pilut?

Somewhere between the first and second choices for me. I like him as a player but the D is getting pretty stacked.

I am not familiar with either of these Roys.

Great. My new Tage jersey is already "vintage."

And this never fails to be obnoxious. 😉

I think this is where a lot of the prognostications fall short: They project where teams have been and expect trends to continue. But this is all cyclical. Teams like the Sabres, Sens & Red Wings are on the rise, at the expense of the traditional powers. The projections assume those teams will continue to play at a high level although in some cases their cores should be collection Social Security. Boston is the poster child for that; I'd be shocked if they can continue at their previous pace. Too many key players are banged up and getting older.

I don't think he'll be competitive enough to be on the team that long. He's essentially a homegrown JAG and younger players are coming for his job.

You just blundered into it. I understand.

I know he hadn't be an NHL GM before, but to say he had "no experience" is a bit harsh. He'd worked through several different departments in the development, business and operations phases of the organization prior to being promoted from within. And perhaps more importantly, he had experience with how to communicate with the team's owners which is apparently a very critical skill in this case. XGMTM and JBot had GM experience but no Pegula experience and ultimately I believe that's why they failed.

You do know the differences between the NFL and the NHL, especially how much further along in their development NFL players are when they're drafted. Right?

Don't worry about the cap hit for a change. 😉

Will the Sabres re-sign him at the end of his contract next summer? This truly may be the end of him as a Sabre. So yeah, I'm talking about making the playoffs this year.

Let him be the Kyle Williams of the Sabres: The long time vet who finally got a peek at the playoffs before retiring... the Moses who saw the Promised Land but didn't quite get to go there.

I kind of like the thought of Casey playing a wing to Krebs at C. Krebs can play the position he's best at but doesn't have to shoulder the full load in all situations.

Welcome to the Fort Worth Water Gardens.

They're taking over Bally's Sports Net which used to be Fox Sports. They don't own MSG so there is no effect on Sabres broadcasts.

Hoping for a trajectory similar to what we've seen with the Bills.

I believe he's rejoining his WHL team, which was the plan even in light of the Sabres' interest.

This is why they do all that stretching.

I was wondering about that... It does sound like a conflict of interest, not to mention "double dipping."

Duly noted.

I think it will change the attitude of the club. Until the emergence of Tage last year, we'd become used to homegrown prospects missing. From here forward I think that we will see some misses but as you say there will be hungry prospects coming up to replace them. Trade Casey at the deadline for draft assets? Sure, because Kulich will be ready to step up!

And by then VGK will be in the 4th year of their playoff drought and TO will still not have won a playoff series since the lockout. 😄

This looks about right. I think by the mid point of the season Boston will be swirling down the drain and looking at a rebuild. Buffalo, Ottawa and Detroit will all be in a tight pack but I see the Sabres pulling away from that pack (as they did last season, edging out Detroit at the end). Whether Buffalo makes it into the playoffs is about a 40% chance but I'm not saying which side the 40% is 😉

We know the players, we know the history. How do you think the goaltending situation in Buffalo will work out this year? I'm not going to get too deep into predicting W/L, GAA, SV%, etc., but I was thinking about how the goalies will work out this year (or not). I think Anderson is a good guy, but he's old and that will tend to make him injury prone. I think Comrie will be a bright spot, but will need help in goal in terms of workload. I think UPL will take a step and may be next year's Comrie in the sense of playing well as a backup. And I predict Malcolm Subban will sing the anthem at least once in full goalie garb. My prediction: Anderson: 15 games started. The spirit is willing but the flesh is old. Comrie: 40 games started. Will be the clear Number One in terms of playing time and statistics. UPL: 25 games stared. By the end of the season he will be a real NHL goaltender. Subban: 2 games started. He will be the AHL stalwart but will see a couple of starts in between injuries suffered by the rest of the staff. Comrie will be better than UPL. By the end of the season Comrie will be clear #1 and UPL the clear #2 and Anderson will retire from playing. What do you think?