GDT: Sabres at Blue Jackets, Tue., Sept 28 at 7 PM ET, WGR 550, Streaming on Sabres.com

[darksabre]

3 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Sounds like Dell’s performance was the single biggest concern since he was brought in as a stop gap, non blocking option to UPL.  

He certainly won't be getting in the way if UPL plays even reasonably well...

I wouldn't be mad about an Anderson - UPL tandem this year. They won't win a lot but I'd take it over watching Tokarski or Dell.

[Taro T]

13 minutes ago, darksabre said:

He certainly won't be getting in the way if UPL plays even reasonably well...

I wouldn't be mad about an Anderson - UPL tandem this year. They won't win a lot but I'd take it over watching Tokarski or Dell.

The concern becomes what happens should Tokarski continue to play better than UPL.  Will the Sabres bring him up, even with his flaws, which will highlight how badly the goaltending plan was assembled or do they race to the very bottom with either Dell or UPL?

H O equally Tokarski is their 4th best goalie.  But hope isn't a plan.

[bob_sauve28]

12 minutes ago, Taro T said:

The concern becomes what happens should Tokarski continue to play better than UPL.  Will the Sabres bring him up, even with his flaws, which will highlight how badly the goaltending plan was assembled or do they race to the very bottom with either Dell or UPL?

H O equally Tokarski is their 4th best goalie.  But hope isn't a plan.

Is this our punishment for having it so good with Hasek? 

[inkman]

1 hour ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

I did not watch any of the game, but seems that they should have pulled the goalie a lot sooner, like maybe even in the second period, and they woulda won in regulation.

If this was an on season game and not an off season game we would be all chearing that they snatched a win from the jaws of defeat.  Stole 2 points as it were.

Goalies were on a schedule.  He was getting pulled regardless of play. 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

9 minutes ago, inkman said:

Goalies were on a schedule.  He was getting pulled regardless of play. 

I tickled the funny bone of the guy with a chicken on his head, but not Inky?  Damn!!

[Believer]

9 hours ago, Norcal said:

Tokarski 16-17 .941 33:56

Underappreciated… Tokarski was up to the task… 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

4 minutes ago, Believer said:

Underappreciated… Tokarski was up to the task… 

Game 1 starter?  Maybe.  He just may be.

[Taro T]

18 minutes ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Game 1 starter?  Maybe.  He just may be.

Would be very surprised if Anderson wasn't the opening night starter.  Now game 2 ...

[Taro T]

46 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

Is this our punishment for having it so good with Hasek? 

If it is a punishment, it's more likely a continuation of the punishment for willingly entering goalie purgatory by trading away Miller.

Kind of like how 10+ years of no playoffs is punishment for willingly throwing away the '13-'14 & '14-'15 seasons.

[tom webster]

12 minutes ago, Taro T said:

If it is a punishment, it's more likely a continuation of the punishment for willingly entering goalie purgatory by trading away Miller.

Kind of like how 10+ years of no playoffs is punishment for willingly throwing away the '13-'14 & '14-'15 seasons.

The Sabres will never admit it but they thought either Ulmark or Kuemper would be their goalie this year. They never envisioned someone exceeding Ulmark’s ask or Seattle signing Grubauer and scuttling plan B.

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, tom webster said:

The Sabres will never admit it but they thought either Ulmark or Kuemper would be their goalie this year. They never envisioned someone exceeding Ulmark’s ask or Seattle signing Grubauer and scuttling plan B.

And either guy would've made this watch/let the kids grow season much more acceptable/tolerable.

Adams should've learned last year that you might just have to spend more on a goalie than you'd like to because having dredge in net will scuttle even a good plan.

[darksabre]

14 minutes ago, tom webster said:

The Sabres will never admit it but they thought either Ulmark or Kuemper would be their goalie this year. They never envisioned someone exceeding Ulmark’s ask or Seattle signing Grubauer and scuttling plan B.

Ullmark never gave them a chance though. He used the Sabres to get the deal he wanted. They miscalculated his desire to actually re-sign here.

[Huckleberry]

27 minutes ago, darksabre said:

Ullmark never gave them a chance though. He used the Sabres to get the deal he wanted. They miscalculated his desire to actually re-sign here.

 I think the Boston offer came in really late, was a bit higher than the sabres one and he was gone to play for a better team.   Can't fault him for that.

 

[darksabre]

Just now, Huckleberry said:

 I think the Boston offer came in really late, was a bit higher than the sabres one and he was gone to play for a better team.   Can't fault him for that.

 

Yup. The Sabres botched it. I don't blame Ullmark at all. They should have known better than to think he wanted to be here.

[Flashsabre]

5 minutes ago, darksabre said:

Yup. The Sabres botched it. I don't blame Ullmark at all. They should have known better than to think he wanted to be here.

So if he didn’t want to be here how did the Sabres blow it?

[darksabre]

1 minute ago, Flashsabre said:

So if he didn’t want to be here how did the Sabres blow it?

They should have, perhaps, tried to sign him to an extension last year instead of letting it get all the way to free agency.

If Linus was unwilling to sign an extension, then perhaps they should have seen the writing on the wall and traded him at the deadline.

If they really, truly, underrated him so badly that they didn't think he was as good as gone as a UFA, then they were fools.

[Zamboni]

One bad game by Dell doesn’t concern me. 
If he plays 3 or 4 games and he looks bad every game, then it’s time to slot him accordingly. Especially if the defense looks decent in front of him.

[Doohicksie]

13 hours ago, darksabre said:

I had similar thoughts about Cozens...

4 hours ago, SHAAAUGHT!!! said:

Cozens appeared to struggle with the puck throughout the game.  I think he had two muffed shots and another where he had tons of room and and shot it directly at the goalie.   Not what I was expecting from him but it's still early in the season...

So when do we start a Concept of Cozens thread to discuss his shortcomings?  It might be because he's still young, but I'm thinking he might need some more AHL seasoning.  JJP, Weissbach, Ruotsalainen all seem more comfortable out there than Cozens.  To be honest, I don't remember having a feeling that Cozens was ready to shoulder the load last season either.  Mitts is ready.  Cozens.... maybe not.

[PromoTheRobot]

47 minutes ago, darksabre said:

Ullmark never gave them a chance though. He used the Sabres to get the deal he wanted. They miscalculated his desire to actually re-sign here.

Adams screwed up trusting Linus. He should have moved him at the deadline.

13 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

So if he didn’t want to be here how did the Sabres blow it?

 

9 minutes ago, darksabre said:

They should have, perhaps, tried to sign him to an extension last year instead of letting it get all the way to free agency.

If Linus was unwilling to sign an extension, then perhaps they should have seen the writing on the wall and traded him at the deadline.

If they really, truly, underrated him so badly that they didn't think he was as good as gone as a UFA, then they were fools.

 

[Norcal]

It's a scrimmage with a mixed bag of near professionals on the ice so not getting carried away but JJP definitely didn't look out of place.

He was in first almost every time down and gave the defense fits all night trying to move the puck. 

I'm looking forward to his development!! 

I hope they don't force him into the Sabres lineup but if he keeps playing like he did when there is more NHL talent on the ice I think he will be the one doing the forcing.  

[Taro T]

8 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

One bad game by Dell doesn’t concern me. 
If he plays 3 or 4 games and he looks bad every game, then it’s time to slot him accordingly. Especially if the defense looks decent in front of him.

Well, that's now about 7 in a row vs NHL competition not wearing the same logo he has on.

Actually was bummed that the Devils landed him last year.  Then he was awful for  them & thought the Sabres dodged a bullet.  Stating to seem to be a trend of guys that had hoped would become Sabres but the Devils getting them 1st, then the Sabres eventually get them (Johansson, Dell, Butcher) that the Sabres would've been better off saying 'no, you're right, you aren't a good fit for us.'

Look, Bales could still work his magic, but not expecting it.  Glad he's only on a 1 way deal because very realistically is the end of the line for him.

[tom webster]

1 hour ago, darksabre said:

Ullmark never gave them a chance though. He used the Sabres to get the deal he wanted. They miscalculated his desire to actually re-sign here.

They offered him the deal he said he wanted and I think he planned on signing it till the Bruins stepped in. The Sabres were surprised someone offered more. I think Ulmark was surprised as well. You can’t blame anyone for picking the Bruins over the Sabres at this point in time. 

[K-9]

5 minutes ago, tom webster said:

They offered him the deal he said he wanted and I think he planned on signing it till the Bruins stepped in. The Sabres were surprised someone offered more. I think Ulmark was surprised as well. You can’t blame anyone for picking the Bruins over the Sabres at this point in time. 

And yet when players exercise their right to go elsewhere for more money, some will insist on blaming Adams, anyway. 

If it were strictly a matter of a few more bucks for Linus, then I have to question how committed he was to ever staying in the first place. I imagine his mindset was like others of his time here and he really wanted to leave, anyway. 

I always liked Linus, Risto, and Reinhart and I thank them for their time here, but they wanted fresh starts and nobody can blame them for that given the lack of success while they were here. But like it or not, they were part of that lack of success and imo it was time to move on, regardless. 

[JohnC]

5 minutes ago, K-9 said:

And yet when players exercise their right to go elsewhere for more money, some will insist on blaming Adams, anyway. 

If it were strictly a matter of a few more bucks for Linus, then I have to question how committed he was to ever staying in the first place. I imagine his mindset was like others of his time here and he really wanted to leave, anyway. 

I always liked Linus, Risto, and Reinhart and I thank them for their time here, but they wanted fresh starts and nobody can blame them for that given the lack of success while they were here. But like it or not, they were part of that lack of success and imo it was time to move on, regardless. 

My understanding is that Ullmark would have re-signed with Buffalo but to do so required a longer term and more money per year than what Boston offered. Adams declined the deal because he felt that it went beyond what he valued him at. That was the right decision. As you and others point out Ullmark made the right decision for himself and so did the organization. 

[SHAAAUGHT!!!]

3 hours ago, Doohickie said:

So when do we start a Concept of Cozens thread to discuss his shortcomings?  It might be because he's still young, but I'm thinking he might need some more AHL seasoning.  JJP, Weissbach, Ruotsalainen all seem more comfortable out there than Cozens.  To be honest, I don't remember having a feeling that Cozens was ready to shoulder the load last season either.  Mitts is ready.  Cozens.... maybe not.

It really just could have been his nerves after doing so much talking in the offseason.  I'm not overly concerned yet because it's only one game, but I'm definitely not happy with what I saw.  Hopefully he bounces back next game with a strong showing.