BillsFan4

Right at the end of the interview Palmer says that Josh Loves buffalo, loves being here and is thinking of nothing else but being a Buffalo Bill for his entire NFL career. He says that Buffalo is the biggest city that Josh has ever lived in. Man I hope Josh works out. I love rooting for him.

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/grillin-em-victor-olofsson/t-277437090/c-5304002

Tough loss. They deserved better tonight. Loved the effort. Refs were terrible.

More quotes on Simmonds from Sabres players - https://theathletic.com/1635415/2020/02/25/sabres-look-to-wayne-simmonds-for-leadership-heading-into-meaningful-march-games/ (sub. req.) IMO the bolded that is something the Sabres need more of. It has been an issue here over the last # of years. We need more veteran players that are willing to hold their teammates accountable in the locker room. Guys who aren’t scared to call someone out if they’re dogging it.

https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/02-25-dominik-kahun-conference-call Conference call with Dominic Kahun. Just past 2 mins he was asked if he’s more comfortable as a center or winger. He said he’s always played center his entire hockey career up until the NHL, where he was asked to play wing. But said he is most comfortable as a center. Im sure he will eventually get a shot at playing center in Buffalo. Sounds like Krueger will start him on the wing until he’s comfortable in the system. Edit - here’s an article with quotes from this interview - https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-kahun-didnt-expect-to-be-on-his-third-nhl-team

I wonder if there’s a chance we can get him from Carolina in the summer. I read a rumor that they almost flipped him for a defenseman right after trading for him. Now they obviously picked up Brady Skjei so they may not be looking for a dman anymore. But you never know with Carolina. They don’t have an issue trading guys they just acquired. Who knows though, maybe there will be a better option in the summer. I’m curious to see how Trochek plays in Carolina. He’s been trending in the wrong direction for a couple years now. Will the move getting back to the player he once was, or is it one of those “he is what he is” things? He’s a bit of a hard one to peg.

https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2020/02/26/simmonds-relishes-opportunity-to-help-sabres-playoff-push/

I am pretty sure this guy had some of the Sabres trades before anyone else (or at least he posted them to twitter before anyone else did), so I’d think he has a Sabres source of some type.

https://theathletic.com/1569231/2020/01/29/are-the-bills-shaking-the-siberian-stigma-it-depends-what-matters-to-nfl-players-in-free-agency/ (sub. req.) I don’t think he’s coming here.

I read that he only played roughly 20% of the time with Malkin. He was their 4th or 5th best point producer at 5v5 and I believe his 5v5 numbers put him currently in the top 3 in buffalo (but I’m not 100% sure on that). He’s still developing. He hasn’t even played 2 full NHL seasons yet and his rookie year in Chicago was very promising. He gives a full effort every time he’s on the ice and has potential to be a long term middle 6 F for Buffalo. It was a no-risk add IMO, with plenty of potential upside.

Looks pretty good. It’s only his 2nd NHL season too. I am definitely intrigued by Kahun. I think we got the best player in the deal, and I love that they traded a UFA and an RFA with an expensive qualifying offer, who weren’t in their plans for a promising young forward. Bonus that they sent out like $5M in cap and Kahun is making $925k (plus any bonuses he hits).

I like this trade. He’s a young (24yr old) center (that can play all 3 forward positions) on the last year of his ELC (so 4 years of team control left after this season). He slots into our middle 6 right now and still has some upside left. And he as acquired for a UFA we weren’t re-signing and a ‘meh’ player who requested a trade. There is almost no risk here for Buffalo and some nice potential reward. Props to Botteill. This is a nice move IMO.

https://theathletic.com/1631507/2020/02/24/devils-trade-pending-free-agent-wayne-simmonds-to-buffalo/ (Sub. Req.) I think, like the Frolik move, this is also about what he brings to the locker room. Simmonds is a well respected veteran leader. I Really hope he brings more on the ice than Frolik, though... lol edit - BTW, Simmonds had to waive his NTC to come to Buffalo. So he’s obviously on board with the move.

I am hoping that this means they won’t be selling Larsson and Girgensons for late round picks. I say try try to stay in the playoff race. I think that has the most potential value to our players, who have never even played meaningful games in March yet in their NHL careers. Simmonds isn’t what he used to be, but he’s a right shot forward which was a desperate need. And he adds grit + a net front presence, which was also a big need. For a 5th 2 years from now, with 50% retained. He’s better than some of the forwards we currently have in the lineup. So I’m good with this. I also like the message it sends to the locker room. These guys have been through some tough, tough trade deadlines in previous years. Now they’re actually getting some help at the deadline instead of seeing all their buddies traded away to playoff teams. Let’s see what else Botterill does. Hopefully he doesn’t cancel out this move with a bad Larsson/Girgensons trade.

50% retained With Toronto struggling and Montreal + The NYR (the 2 teams closest to buffalo in the standings) waiving the White flag, it’s somewhat tempting to keep our UFA’s to be, and/or make a smaller, cheap add and try to chase down a playoff spot. Realistically though, I know they won’t make the playoffs. But I still don’t want to see guys like Larsson or Girgensons traded for 4th round picks. They should re-sign Larsson, but I wouldn’t trade him for anything less than a 3rd (ideally a 2nd). I’d rather keep him for this season and lose him for nothing vs. trade him for a 4th or later. Staying in the playoff race is meaningful for this group IMO and they need someone that can play center besides Eichel.

More than I thought he’d get, though he only gets the pro-rated amount. Tampa’s defense is really banged up right now, though.

Another Nice win! 5 wins in their last 6 games!

https://theathletic.com/1627267/2020/02/23/why-richard-sherman-and-other-vets-arent-fans-of-the-nfl-owners-cba-proposal/ Why Richard Sherman and other vets aren’t fans of the NFL owners’ CBA proposal (Subscription required) Interesting article looking at the CBA talks from the players side.

Unbelievable effort by the hurricanes. They were relentless. They played 1/2 a game with an emergency zamboni driver goalie. Game was 3-2 entering the 3rd period and Carolina won 6-3.

I just saw that Ayres is the Toronto marlies Zamboni driver! ?

Yeah The leafs looked shook. Lifeless, no effort. Held to 3 shots the entire 2nd period (and they scored on 2 of them!). Sheldon Keefe looked furious leaving the bench. I’m going to watch his press conference ?

This leafs vs Canes game is wild. The Hurricanes has to start an emergency 3rd string goalie. Apparently He’s a maple leafs employee. He’s also 42yrs old. And he’s playing (against the leafs) in a game with huge playoff implications for both teams! Yet the Canes are up 6-3. Leafs had 3 shots on net, scored on 2 of them. Canes are blocking and stripping everything in sight. They’re doing everything they can to limit any shots on net.

#700 for Ovi.