BillsFan4

I agree. I think Larsson has actually been more useful than girgensons in recent years, so if only 1 was goin to be qualified I thought it would be Larsson. Now I expect both to be. There were some rumors that buffalo may not qualify either, that’s the main reason I wondered.

I was’t sure the Sabres were going to qualify him. Curious to see if they qualify Larsson now too.

I’m leaning toward keeping him too. But I do occasionally have the thought that this may be the ideal time to sell high. If Krueger can help fix his defensive game and slot him into a more proper role, Risto’s value could go up. But Risto is said to be somewhat hard to coach, he doesn’t seem to have the highest hockey IQ and he’s entering year 7, so he may be what he is at this point. And now that we have Dahlin in year 2, and a full year of Montour, Ristolainen probably isn’t going to see nearly as much time on the power play as he used to. So my worry is that if his point totals fall sharply (from reduced PP time) and he doesn’t improve his defensive game to compensate, he could be worth a lot less if buffalo decides to move on from him next year or the year after. One of Risto’s big selling points is that he consistently puts up 40+ points every season. I go back and forth between the scenario above and one where he looks like a much more competent all around defenseman with better underlying stats and a drastically improved +/- from being slotted into a role that better suits him. Im glad I’m not the one who has to make these decision! lol ultimately i think it will come down to what the offers are for Risto. If a bidding war breaks out and Botterill gets his socks knocked off, Risto should probably be traded. If not, hopefully Botts is smart enough to just keep him.

https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-dahlin-enjoying-being-vegas-nhl-awards interview with Dahlin from the NHL awards in Vegas.

NHL awards ceremony is tomorrow (Wednesday) at 8pm. I think Dahlin deserves to win the Calder, but it’ll probably be Pettersson. What Pettersson did was impressive, but it’s a LOT more common than what Dahlin did. I mean, Matt Barzal just put up a better rookie season last year (85pts vs 66pts for Pettersson). Pettersson’s rookie season ranks #100 on the all time (under 21) list. https://www.eliteprospects.com/league/nhl/stats/all-time-season?position=f&age=u21 Dahlin’s season ranks #2 on the all time (under 19) list https://www.eliteprospects.com/league/nhl/stats/all-time-season?position=d&age=u19 Even if you bump the criteria to under 20 defenseman (which really isn’t fair since Dahlin was 18 all season and Pettersson was 20), he still ranks 11th (and about 40th on the under 21 list). What Dahlin did was way more historically significant than what Pettersson did. But I’ll bet any money Pettersson wins.

Wow! Makes me feel a bit bit better about the Skinner deal. At least he’s an elite goal scorer (especially at even strength, which is always held at a premium). Hayes has a career high of 25 goals and it’s not like he’s a big playmaker either. His career high point total is 55pts. Id take Skinner at $9M x 8 over Hayes at $7.14M x 7. Matt Duchene must be salivating right about now!

Just saw this tweet and figured I may as well post it here. 7 day free trial (not sure if it expires or they offer it all the time?)

I highly recommend it to anyone on the fence. It’s well worth the money if you like reading about sports. They’ve had some great Bills/Sabres stories too, so if you sign up make you to take the time and go through some of the old Bills/Sabres content. I would also recommend picking more than the Bills/Sabres as your teams. You’ll see a lot more new content daily if you do. For a while I had the Bills/Sabres/NHL/NFL as “my teams” and I kept wondering why I didn’t see some of these stories written about other teams that people were sharing. Well I realized that I’d only see them if I clicked on that specific team’s name. They don’t automatically show up in your personal feed. So now I picked every NFL and NHL team to follow and there is an insane amount of new content to sift through every day. Just FYI If you like it, instead of paying full price you can send yourself a gift subscription to get a discount (an athletic employee informed me of this). One year is 20% off. 2 years is 33% off. Also, for everyone you refer you get a $10 amazon gift card and they get 15% off the subscription cost.

If Hall was willing to re-sign here? Absolutely. Otherwise no thanks. He’s UFA in a year. It would open up a big hole on the right side of the blue line. But Hall at his best is a league MVP who’s capable of putting a team on his back. He was the reason why New Jersey made the playoffs in 2017/18 (or at least the main reason). He won the Hart trophy (NHL’s most valuable player) that season. Id love to have him in Buffalo. He’s been one of my favorite players for years. I followed him in his draft year and have wanted him ever since. I read that the reason he doesn’t want to sign in New Jersey is that he wants to win and is unsure of their future. If that really is the case I don’t think buffalo would have a much better shot at signing him. If he agreed to an extension as part of the trade (or shortly after) then I’d be all over it. Seems like a dream though.

https://theathletic.com/1034335/2019/06/18/lebrun-notebook-after-some-time-to-reflect-lightning-gm-julien-brisebois-sees-no-reason-to-alter-course/ It better be a hell of a package if we trade Ristolainen. Botterill has to know he can’t lose another trade like the ROR one. And with ROR there were extenuating circumstances (coming off s down season where his on ice effort was questionable, his year end comments, the huge $7.5M bonus due and the way his contract was structured, the team feeling they had to move ROR after his comments, etc). None of that stuff applies to a Risto. So there’s no excuse for him to lose a Risto trade. Im trying to give Botterill the benefit of the doubt on that ROR trade, since IMO it was his only real bad trade. Loved the skinner deal, and liked the Scandella, Sheary and Beaulieu trades at the time. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little nervous about what the rerun might be...

Wow. Just... Jets cut their own throat, unless they know for sure Trouba has his sights set on UFA with a very specific destination in mind (Detroit? His hometown team).

Poink was an undrafted college free agent they signed in 2017. He’s ok. A 3rd pairing guy (maybe a #4 at best, but I see some people saying he may not have even made the Rangers team this season. Yikes!) And the pick is Winnipeg’s that they traded the NYR to rent Hayes for a couple months (his right were already traded to Philly...lol) There mist be issues with Trouba’s next contract or something. He’s been notoriously hard to negotiate with. That’s my best guess anyway. Seems like a terrible return for Winnipeg. If he signs long term in NY shortly, then I have no clue what Winnipeg was doing. Edit - I’m reading a lot of people saying he’s a 3rd pair defenseman

That’s it? Better be a damn good prospect. Edit - I’m usually never one of those guys who, after a player is traded, says “we couldn’t have beat that?”. But.... We couldn’t beat That?!

wonder if that’s what they’ll look like?

McKenzie’s final rankings. Always look forward to his list every year. I put a more weight into his rankings than others because it’s a consolidated rankings that comes from a bunch of actual NHL scouts and other draft experts. @K-9 @JohnC they really hype up Caufield. Not sure what that means, or if it means anything... lol

Here’s another link to that Ryan Jankowski interview it some quotes - https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-jankowski-knows-theyll-get-good-player-no-7 He says they see the draft as 1-2, then 3-10 as the next group. (so they see a drop off after the top 10. Some say it’s after pick 7, others after pick 10 and others after pick 12. Interesting to hear the Sabres view it as a top 10). He also said that they will go best player available, regardless of position or organizational need. He said the team could be much different by the time that player gets there in 2-3 years. Makes sense to me. Glad to head that Podkolzin is not off their board (like he almost definitely would have been with Tim Murray). The kid makes an impact in all 3 zones. He’s been a clutch player for his team(s) and even when he’s off his game he still makes an impact with his effort level and 200ft play. The kid competes every shift (that I e watched, anyway) like he’s in a heated playoff series. It’s really impressive IMO. I’ll be happy with any one of a handful of guys at 7, which is nice since I have no clue what order these guys will go in. This year is hard to predict. We know the top 2 (Hughes and Kakko) and the next 2 are most likely Turcotte and Byram (though Colorado could go with a forward since they drafted Makar at #3 a couple years ago). Then I think either Zegras, Dach or Cozens will be the next pick. #6 I have no clue which way Detroit goes (Byram for sure if he’s on the board). Then it’s buffalo’s pick... I’d be happy with a lot of guys at #7. The more I watch all these kids, the more I like them all. Even guys like Boldy and Krebs (who looks kind of like a Turcotte-lite). Both have a lot of skill and compete their asses off every shift.

Not all that interested in Vesey unless it comes somewhat cheap. He’s not a guy you give up any major asset(s) for. Especially since he’s a UFA after this season and he already refused to sign here once (not that long ago). If they grab him for something cheap (like a 4th + b/c prospect), then I’d be happy to have him. Glad to hear they are being aggressive, but at the same time it kind of scares me a little.... No more terrible trades please!

I got that impression too. and Maybe I’m misinterpreting, but I also thought Dreger made it sounds like none of the top free agents have interest in coming here.

FWIW He has numerous examples of teams not selecting a player, or almost not selecting a player, over a phone call on his twitter feed.

Thanks for sharing that interview John. I forgot he was on today. I always look forward to listening to his Friday segments on WGR. Smart move by the Sabres giving him the assistant coach tag so he could use the out clause in his Carolina contract.

From what I remember, Marino loved putting up big passing numbers and pretty much demanded it.

They make the Bales hire official and add Don Granato. Granato was originally hired by Joel Quenneville in Chicago, and stuck around when Q was fired. He and Chicago mutually parted ways this offseason. heres a little info on him from when Chicago hired him- https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/blackhawks/ct-blackhawks-don-granato-assistant-20170615-story.html I believe in his time with the USNTDP he coached Eichel, Thompson, Fitzgerald (not sure who else) https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/chicago-blackhawks/don-granato-thrilled-be-working-calm-q-again

Love this

I son’t watch much basketball, but I had to turn this game on. It’s just unreal how the Warriors just keep hanging in there even after all these key injuries.