NHL Season Start Date: January 13, 2021

[North Buffalo]

I think we in radiology fall under ER personnel

[Brawndo]

23 minutes ago, North Buffalo said:

I think we in radiology fall under ER personnel

I should hope so, we had a radiology tech, who passed away from Covid in March. 

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, North Buffalo said:

I think we in radiology fall under ER personnel

There was a story in the Washington Post where a hospital was down to one radiologist because of infections in that department. So what was done to keep the radiologist healthy and available was have him reside in a mobile home on the hospital parking lot to keep him away from the infected general population. (I say that with the recognition that by working at a hospital he is already working in a contaminated environment.)

Without a doubt you are essential. People should be grateful to everyone who works in a medical setting, including the support staff who work in maintenance and cafeteria etc. You should be saluted for your service in this stressful and pressurized times for your profession. 

[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

[PromoTheRobot]

11 hours ago, bunomatic said:

Yeah can’t visit family at christmas but boxing day the malls will be in a frenzy much like black friday. 

You can do whatever you want. Just use common sense.  For me visiting family is an intimate affair with folks who are all quarantining. 

Edited December 9, 2020 by PromoTheRobot

[Kruppstahl]

January 13th start date and 56 games to be played?  That's a lot of hockey assuming they stop the season around the normal time.

 

 

[LabattBlue]

26 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

I’m surprised no AHL teams have 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

 

[spndnchz]

16 hours ago, Brawndo said:

insider Trading on TSN mentioned the NHL/NHLPA need to work out players deciding to opt out and whether the vaccine will be mandatory for those that don’t. 

The NHL would need approximately 3100 doses to vaccinate 50 people per franchise. 

The Sabres have a sponsorship agreement with Kaleida Health which will be receiving the vaccine in the next few days. 

Could some vaccine vials from the first couple of shipments find their way to KBC in the next few weeks?  It’s not inconceivable. 
 

There are at least two companies that are working on apps that will service as Vaccine Passports. They will have the QR Code that will display the persons picture and the fact they are vaccinated. As rates drop and the public starts becoming vaccinated. Sporting Venues can use this technology to start allowing fans in. There will be a few hundred HCWs and other Frontline Personnel vaccinated by February who might be interested in purchasing tickets.  This would possibly allow attendance to slowly build up. 

 

 

 

Like a QR code tattoo. But all the tattoo shops are closed. That’ll go over well 🍀

 

[North Buffalo]

6 hours ago, Brawndo said:

I should hope so, we had a radiology tech, who passed away from Covid in March. 

We had two nurses a nun volunteer, front desk person and the 8 year old child of an ER tech all pass last spring... a number of others got really sick.

Edited December 9, 2020 by North Buffalo

[North Buffalo]

3 hours ago, JohnC said:

There was a story in the Washington Post where a hospital was down to one radiologist because of infections in that department. So what was done to keep the radiologist healthy and available was have him reside in a mobile home on the hospital parking lot to keep him away from the infected general population. (I say that with the recognition that by working at a hospital he is already working in a contaminated environment.)

Without a doubt you are essential. People should be grateful to everyone who works in a medical setting, including the support staff who work in maintenance and cafeteria etc. You should be saluted for your service in this stressful and pressurized times for your profession. 

Its been interesting and as you all may know I had covid last spring... 11 days of which 4 were scary with symptoms... but I have been thru scarier times working in the US Capitol during 911, getting hit by anthrax, ricin scare, DC sniper and a couple idiots who invaded DC airspace.  So I have been trying to keep my co-workers upbeat that there will be and end to this and its coming a lot faster though in many ways its been rougher than those experiences.  Be safe take precautions... 

[Brawndo]

This is not going to be fun

Edited December 9, 2020 by Brawndo

[PromoTheRobot]

16 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

This is not going to be fun 

Bah. We got this. Have some faith.

[dudacek]

New Jersey and the Rangers are young, shallow, and not that good.

The next tier is good, but catchable: Islanders got smacked by the cap, Pittsburgh and Washington are showing their age, Boston is aging and their stars are hurt.

My hot take: We will come out of CVOID like the the 2006 lockout and battle Philly for the division crown.

[Zamboni]

As long as they can safely play a sport and have some semblance of a decent length season, with few to no Covid cases, I’m all for playing. At this point I couldn’t care less who’s in the division or what teams the Sabres will be playing. Do it smartly, safely, and drop the puck!

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

This is not going to be fun

They almost definitely won't be better than Phaladelphia but depending on whether Rask opts out & the long expected age drop-off of the B's D that never seems to actually come to fruition, they MAY be ~ as good as them and the Caps and it isn't nearly as far out of reach to be better than the Aisles & Pens.  Joisey and the Rags should be bringing up the rear.

Make 2 more moves & that's not just wishful thinking but realistic.

[Thorner]

49 minutes ago, Taro T said:

They almost definitely won't be better than Phaladelphia but depending on whether Rask opts out & the long expected age drop-off of the B's D that never seems to actually come to fruition, they MAY be ~ as good as them and the Caps and it isn't nearly as far out of reach to be better than the Aisles & Pens.  Joisey and the Rags should be bringing up the rear.

Make 2 more moves & that's not just wishful thinking but realistic.

Last sentence is key. We need more moves! 

[Brawndo]

 

[Eleven]

On 12/8/2020 at 6:46 PM, Weave said:

I'll believe it when I see it.

Me too.  I just think there's so much that can happen between now and then.

5 hours ago, Taro T said:

They almost definitely won't be better than Phaladelphia but depending on whether Rask opts out & the long expected age drop-off of the B's D that never seems to actually come to fruition, they MAY be ~ as good as them and the Caps and it isn't nearly as far out of reach to be better than the Aisles & Pens.  Joisey and the Rags should be bringing up the rear.

Make 2 more moves & that's not just wishful thinking but realistic.

I'll have what he's having.

[jsb]

17 hours ago, dudacek said:

New Jersey and the Rangers are young, shallow, and not that good.

The next tier is good, but catchable: Islanders got smacked by the cap, Pittsburgh and Washington are showing their age, Boston is aging and their stars are hurt.

 

NJ had as many points at the end of the season as we did, the NYR had an 11 point advantage and added the #1 pick in the draft, they didn't get worse, 3 of the other teams had 1st round byes, the NYI's still have Barry Trotz as their coach and Pittsburgh isn't going to just fall off a cliff. If we only get to play within the division, holy doo doo batman, that'll be kind of fun to watch but that is not an easy schedule by any stretch of the imagination. Hoping to make the playoffs is one thing but our GKs better be outstanding for us to get a sniff of them. 

Has there been any word at all as to how the NHL-TV fees and scheduling is going to work??

[LGR4GM]

We have no idea how good this Sabres will or won't be. They added, 2 centers, 2 new RW's, 1 top line forward. Almost half of our forwards will be different from last year. Hall, Staal, Eakin, Cozens, Tage, maybe Rusto. 

[JohnC]

17 hours ago, Taro T said:

They almost definitely won't be better than Phaladelphia but depending on whether Rask opts out & the long expected age drop-off of the B's D that never seems to actually come to fruition, they MAY be ~ as good as them and the Caps and it isn't nearly as far out of reach to be better than the Aisles & Pens.  Joisey and the Rags should be bringing up the rear.

Make 2 more moves & that's not just wishful thinking but realistic.

As @LGR4GMhas pointed out the roster has already been significantly shaken up. My sense is that there won't be additional moves to fortify the roster. I'm aware that I'm going against the mainstream but I don't see there being a change in the goaltending tandem when the season starts. Maybe at a later stage in the season but not when the it starts. 

What this team needs is for some of the younger players to make a bigger contribution than expected. I put players such as Tage, Joki and maybe even Cozens or Arttu on that list. The biggest boost that is needed is for Skinner to return to scoring form and for Hall to get close to the level of play when he was at his best.  

The Sabres have had a recent history of starting off well and then fading. I think (hope) with the added talent there won't be such an exasperating fade because there is more depth to the lineup that can better handle the inevitable setbacks that happen during a season . 

[jsb]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

We have no idea how good this Sabres will or won't be. They added, 2 centers, 2 new RW's, 1 top line forward. Almost half of our forwards will be different from last year. Hall, Staal, Eakin, Cozens, Tage, maybe Rusto. 

I'm sure I'll be my optimistic self when the season begins but although there is a definite upgrade in talent even if those guys don't put up career numbers but how long will it take this team to find chemistry when they haven't played in 9-10 months much less with 1/2 the forwards swapped out?? A lot of ifs to deal with for the playoffs in this division to happen for them. Stay healthy and hope Boston finally ages and a couple of teams find the injury bug themselves would help.

[dudacek]

3 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

We have no idea how good this Sabres will or won't be. They added, 2 centers, 2 new RW's, 1 top line forward. Almost half of our forwards will be different from last year. Hall, Staal, Eakin, Cozens, Tage, maybe Rusto. 

There should be 6 new forwards, maybe 7 with R2

This is how the depth chart has changed:

• 1L *Olofsson -> Hall
• 2C Johanssen -> Staal
• M6W Vesey -> Olofsson
• M6W Sheary -> Thompson
• M6F Miittelstadt/Rodrigues -> Cozens
• 3C Larsson -> Eakin
• checking winger Sobotka/Frolik —>  Reider

 

3 hours ago, jsb said:

NJ had as many points at the end of the season as we did, the NYR had an 11 point advantage and added the #1 pick in the draft, they didn't get worse, 3 of the other teams had 1st round byes, the NYI's still have Barry Trotz as their coach and Pittsburgh isn't going to just fall off a cliff. If we only get to play within the division, holy doo doo batman, that'll be kind of fun to watch but that is not an easy schedule by any stretch of the imagination. Hoping to make the playoffs is one thing but our GKs better be outstanding for us to get a sniff of them.

Didn't mean to suggest it will be a cakewalk, just that there are cracks and the teams might not be as good as their reputations. We need to worry about ourselves. if we are good enough, the perceived obstacles will fall away

Edited December 10, 2020 by dudacek

[Taro T]

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

As @LGR4GMhas pointed out the roster has already been significantly shaken up. My sense is that there won't be additional moves to fortify the roster. I'm aware that I'm going against the mainstream but I don't see there being a change in the goaltending tandem when the season starts. Maybe at a later stage in the season but not when the it starts. 

What this team needs is for some of the younger players to make a bigger contribution than expected. I put players such as Tage, Joki and maybe even Cozens or Arttu on that list. The biggest boost that is needed is for Skinner to return to scoring form and for Hall to get close to the level of play when he was at his best.  

The Sabres have had a recent history of starting off well and then fading. I think (hope) with the added talent there won't be such an exasperating fade because there is more depth to the lineup that can better handle the inevitable setbacks that happen during a season . 

Really believe those strong starts the past 2 years, followed by horrendous slumps is due to the players believing in themselves even though they didn't really have the talent (& definitely not the depth of talent to overcome sustained, and pretty much inevitable, injuries) to be as good as they started to be due to the players believing in themselves and the plans.  When injuries started hitting, especially to the goaltending (even though, or maybe because, the injuries were battled through) that belief and will wasn't enough to overcome the lack of skill/talent that the team actually had.

The leadership & message for this team is still here plus it has been bolstered with Staal & Hall so they really could get off to a fast start again even in the "division of death."  The question becomes, how will they handle adversity in the form of injuries to key personnel, especially the goalies.  They have much better depth up front, but reduced depth on the backend unless Bryson &/or Borgen are ready to step up, and still have no depth in net (apologies to Tokarski & the rest).  

Really curious to hear how the rumored expanded rosters we're hearing about are implemented.  If the extra guys still have to go through waivers, still believe GT gets upgraded enough.  If they don't, the Sabres probably really are stuck w/ what they have.

My gut feel is without the GT upgrade they're right on the cusp but very likely fall just short of top 4 in the division.  W/ a GT upgrade, expecting 2nd or 3rd in the division.  They'll get the fast start.  How far they fall is the key; hoping it isn't that far.  And really expect a strong finish even if they do have similar GT issues as they did last year.  These guys believe in their own abilities and trust Krueger.  

 

[sabresouth]

3 hours ago, Taro T said:

Really believe those strong starts the past 2 years, followed by horrendous slumps is due to the players believing in themselves even though they didn't really have the talent (& definitely not the depth of talent to overcome sustained, and pretty much inevitable, injuries) to be as good as they started to be due to the players believing in themselves and the plans.  When injuries started hitting, especially to the goaltending (even though, or maybe because, the injuries were battled through) that belief and will wasn't enough to overcome the lack of skill/talent that the team actually had.

The leadership & message for this team is still here plus it has been bolstered with Staal & Hall so they really could get off to a fast start again even in the "division of death."  The question becomes, how will they handle adversity in the form of injuries to key personnel, especially the goalies.  They have much better depth up front, but reduced depth on the backend unless Bryson &/or Borgen are ready to step up, and still have no depth in net (apologies to Tokarski & the rest).  

Really curious to hear how the rumored expanded rosters we're hearing about are implemented.  If the extra guys still have to go through waivers, still believe GT gets upgraded enough.  If they don't, the Sabres probably really are stuck w/ what they have.

My gut feel is without the GT upgrade they're right on the cusp but very likely fall just short of top 4 in the division.  W/ a GT upgrade, expecting 2nd or 3rd in the division.  They'll get the fast start.  How far they fall is the key; hoping it isn't that far.  And really expect a strong finish even if they do have similar GT issues as they did last year.  These guys believe in their own abilities and trust Krueger.  

 

I really agree with your last two paragraphs. When we had those good starts the last couple of seasons the team felt like they could come back in games. But I think it gets harder to keep that up through the whole season and therefore the falling off as the season goes on. Also if I remember correctly one of those seasons the goaltending was really hot for a spell but then fell apart. I think it's really hard on a team to constantly have to bale out the goaltending.