Doohicksie

Ah, there's the video.

Is it audio-only today? Twitter feed: FB feed: https://www.facebook.com/BuffaloSabres/videos/763553451390873/

The link from Sabres.com that I posted above is working (with my VPN here in Texas). So far just a graphic but you can hear the stadium sound/music.

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/live-buf-vs-njd/t-277437090/c-40474303

Obviously not: Perennial contender is the goal. However I look at the prospects challenge and think there are more NHL players in the system than there will be available roster spots on the Sabres team and realize that some of these prospects will eventually be moved for players that will help the Sabres become contenders. Some of these kids will be used as trade capital to fill in the missing pieces.

I still think they have a secret "personality type" metric that puts priority on having highly motivated, self-driven, leadership qualities as one of the pillars of what they are selecting for. They might not always select the most talented player if it appears that their personality type won't fit in with the culture Kevyn is trying to build. Not until Hinostroza moves on, but yeah, the team has real players and only one or two placeholders.

Agreed. RJ was good at dressing up hot trash into something that sounded exciting. Dan.... just can't. But now there's more to be excited about.

I think he's been putting the work in to improve the product.

One day of Paxlovid left, tonight and tomorrow morning. And really.... that stuff works. I pretty much feel well; the only thing is that my stamina isn't fully back yet. The fact that there is a relatively inexpensive (free to the user either from insurance or from the government here in the U.S.; I looked for the actual cost and it is about $500), readily available treatment that limits the time sick largely eliminates hospitalizations (supposedly by more than 90%), to me, means that the pandemic is largely over. Gone are the days of morgues expanding their capacities with refrigerated trailers. When I was sick I kept to myself and plan to do so a bit longer, but other than that it's back to living life.

I've been following Dan Dunleavy on Twitter and he is genuinely excited about the coming season. Same for Marty. They're seeing the same things we are, and from much closer up. Of course they're geeked up. And really, it didn't take that long.

I think they consider Rasmus already broken out.

/Waiting for the Malcolm Subban Expectations thread.

That was supposed to be Taro T, not you. Not sure what happened there. Fixed.

whatever blah blah blah Thank you.

Cite one of those sources, please. I don't remember seeing that authoritatively reported. I don't deny he wanted to keep Ullmark, but not at any price. He had an offer on the table; the Bruins beat it. He was not going to get caught up in a bidding war for a meh goalie. Adams walked away from what would have been a bad deal.

Exactly, Kevyn was not going to get caught in a bidding war. You have no reason to make that assertion. I think Ullmark wanted out of what he saw was a dysfunctional organization and wanted to play for a winner.

Exactly. Kevyn was not about to get drawn into that. Nor should he have. The mistake he made was holding and unsigned Ullmark at the trade deadline. He shoulda moved him for an asset of some sort.

What I'm starting to realize is that, far from having too few quality prospects in the system (as happened during the Eichel era), there is now an abundance, and that while a lot of these guys have NHL futures, not all of them will play for the Sabres. This prospect pool will allow Kevyn to make trades to fill specific needs on the Sabres, without cleaning out the cupboard. If the Sabres are hanging around the playoffs this season and want to make a push to get over the top, they can trade a young prospect for an established NHLer in the position of need, and there will still be plenty of talent in the pipeline.

He reminds me a lot of Muel.

Nope, I don't think that's what he learned. I think no matter what he was not going to step up to retain Ullmark; he didn't see Ullmark's value that high for that long. What he learned is that an incomplete deal is no deal and he should have been planning for the eventuality of losing Ullmark. That, absent a deal, he should have traded Ullmark at the deadline for the best return he could get and immediately plan on moving on. I think Ullmark decided that unless the Sabres paid him a premium, he was was going to move on. He'd seen enough of the Eichel Sabres, a dysfunctional franchise, and wanted to play for a winner. And there was no way Kevyn was getting into a bidding war over Ullmark.

One thing I remember when living in Detroit when their run started, it seemed like whenever they had an injury on the NHL team, there was a prospect in the AHL that was just about busting at the seams to make the big club. Eventually they all got up (or a few got traded to fill areas of need). I hope this what we're beginning to see with Rochester.

The Rosen-Kulich-Rousek line was one of the best lines. There seems a natural chemistry there.

So a coupla games into the Prospects Challenge, how do you feel about the Sabres' prospect pool?

Lukas Rousek postgame interview after the Jersey game: https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/lukas-rousek-postgame-91722/t-277437090/c-12786608 Asked how he thought Jiri Kulich did in his first game: "Good. Not bad!" Spoken with a big smile like a proud papa. You can tell there's a bond already forming between those two. I'm also amazed at how good Rousek's English is. You see players from other countries with interpreters for years. Rousek came here last year speaking no English and is pretty much conversational now. You hear some bad syntax here and there but his meaning is very clear and he appears very comfortable speaking in English. Hell, he's a better interview than Jack already.