BillsFan4

16pts in his last 17 games.

I knew things were rough in Detroit this season, but yikes...

Seems like the smart move to me. If some team wants to overpay based on his sack numbers from this past season, let them. If the market Phillips is expecting isn’t there, then they can discuss bringing him back on a deal that would be more in line with his position as a rotational DT in this system.

https://theathletic.com/1626195/2020/02/21/lebrun-the-kase-price-ottawas-pageau-options-and-the-jets-underrated-moves/ (sub. Req.) We can’t assume a 2nd + prospect gets it done from Buffalo. The NYR 2nd is comparable to Buffalo’s, and Carolina has a number of interesting prospects in their system. Anaheim may have really wanted that 1st round pick.

Kase would have been a nice add, but he’s always injured. He’s never played a full season in the NHL. Plus boston gave up a 1st and a RHD prospect they just drafted in the 2nd in 2018. Plus a cap dump (Backes, who has 1 yr left on his deal) with Boston retaining 25%. Im not sure what the equivalent package from Buffalo would be. We definitely can’t trade our 1st. Would a 2nd + good d prospect get it done? Not sure who the equivalent of Andersson would be in our system. Definitely not trading Ryan Johnson. Samuelsson and Borgen are more physical defensive defenseman (I believe Andersson is more of an offensive defenseman). I don’t know how Laaksonen is viewed vs. Andersson. Oskari Laaksonen wasn’t even on the NHL scouting registry when buffalo drafted him. He had a great season last year and has taken a step back this year. I have no clue how he’s viewed in the scouting community. This is supposed to be a pretty deep draft, so Bob Murray may have put a lot of value on getting a 1st back in the trade. edit - for reference, here’s the full trade details -

I don’t really want him in Rochester. Why would yo7 want a disgruntled vet around our prospects? I’m assuming Bogo wants his contract terminated sooner rather than later if that’s the route he chooses. He has to sign with a playoff team before the deadline if he wants to be able to play in the playoffs. Edit - figured thats where this was headed.

If the Pegulas did either of these things, I feel like it would prove that they haven’t learned anything. If they get rid of Botterill, they NEED to bring in someone experienced to run the team. I wouldn’t mind Krueger in some type of team president role or something like that, but they still need a veteran GM to get this thing back on track. I like Kevyn Adams but he has no experience running an NHL team. I hope Friedman is just purely speculating.

https://www.nhl.com/standings/2019/wildcard Leafs wake up to find themselves outside of a playoff spot. Man, this really would have been the year for Buffalo to actually have a legit shot at making the playoffs (without needing to get 100 pts in the standings). I mean, even with all their struggles this season, if the Sabres had just won those 2 very winnable games vs Ottawa and 1 vs Montreal since the all star break, they’d be sitting 2 points out of 3rd in the division right now and would actually be in a position to ADD at the deadline (for once), especially with Bogo’s cap space opening up.

Have fun! Careful where you buy your weed! ? (just kidding)

Btw, I don’t really agree with keeping Olofsson and Reinhart stapled to Eichel during their contract years. Thats what they did with Skinner last year, then paid him $9M based on the results he got with Eichel, and now they absolutely refuse to put him back with Eichel. It’s like they want him driving his own line for that $9M price tag, but wouldn’t it have been smart to find out how well Skinner drove his own line Last Year? you know, before they gave him that $9M...?? Now I feel like they’re doing the same damn thing with Reinhart and Olofsson. We know Eichel makes his line mates better. Let’s see what they can do without him before we give them both big paydays. Let’s see how much they’re worth without Eichel.

Just past 8 minutes in, as Howard is asking Krueger about Skinner and Krueger is saying that Reinhart/Eichel is too powerful a line to break up. Howard says “Skinner and Eichel last year were also very powerful together. Skinner had career highs too” Krueger - “and you were happy with the results last year...?” Howard - “well I’m not happy with the team’s results this year. No offense but you’re probably not making the playoffs Ralph...” Burn! ?

I agree. Unless a team in our division is making an offer they simply can’t turn down (big overpayment), they need to trade Risto outside the division. I would hate to have to play him 4x a year. Especially on the maple leafs. Also agree about Kapanen. I feel like Ristolainen is the biggest trade chip Buffalo has left. They need to get a Risto trade right or just keep him. IMO he’s playing some of the best hockey of his Sabres career this season. Id want a #2C, or at worst a very good top 6 RW that can drive play. Or maybe a package with a good top 6 winger and a stop gap 2/3C. Like i said, Risto for Kadri would have been the trade to make with the Leafs. Now that he’s gone, there’s not much the Leafs have that I would want for Risto (at least of the players they’d be willing to give up anyway).

My guess would be for Kapanen. Botterill was in Pittsburgh when he was drafted. Personally, I’d be pissed if all they got back was Kapanen for Ristolainen. It’s not enough. Kapanen has one 20 goal, 40pt season. This year he’s at 11g and 32pts. Risto puts up the same amount of points from the blue line. I guess I shouldn’t get mad about a return I’m purely speculating about though. lol Risto for Kadri would have been the trade to make with the leafs.

https://theathletic.com/1617602/2020/02/18/lebrun-interest-in-trocheck-canucks-still-shopping-and-kovalchuks-market/?amp#click=https://t.co/zRJ20gI0An (subscription required) It sounds like Florida wants a top 4 left handed defenseman for Trochek. If they needed s top 4 RD buffalo would be a great match, but I’m not sure we have a LD that holds the type of value Trochek does, outside of Dahlin who’s obviously a non-starter. Unless they wanted McCabe or Pilut + (something of substance, I’m sure).

I just hope he doesn’t make a stupid desperation/panic trade.

What a ridiculous penalty call that was. McCabe never even touched the guy, how can it possibly be slashing?

Yup. I couldn’t help but think that they will be the next team that will blow by our rebuild after starting theirs years after buffalo did.

Brutal loss. 2nd brutal loss to Ottawa since the all star break. Any hope at a miracle playoff push pretty much died tonight. Just when you thought that there might be a tiny glimmer of hope that they could make a playoff push, they crush any thought of that. F this team.

Well, Toronto lost 5-2. Buffalo NEEDS to find a way to get 2 points tonight.

They were up 2-0, I sneezed and it’s 4-2 Ottawa. Wtf. If they lose a(bother) must win game to friggin Ottawa... ugh. Well, if they lose tonight they should 100% sell what they can by the deadline. Playoffs aren’t happening anyway, but if they lose this game that basically seals it. Toronto is losing to Pittsburgh 5-1. Buffalo needs to find a way to win this game if they want to stay in the race (or at least pretend they’re in the race...)

I always thought the Seahawks made the most sense if Olsen’s priority was to compete for a championship next season. Not surprised to see him sign there.