BillsFan4

It was reported that Carr was actually leaning toward the Jets but the Jets wanted to wait and see what happens with Rodgers. Hopefully Rodgers just stays in Green Bay now! Or retires.

Some interesting info in this PC. Couple of the most interesting: - Arizona wanted more from Buffalo for Chychrun. They were focused on our top prospects. - Portillo was traded because he didn’t want to play in this market and because he didn’t see a path to the NHL here. If that’s the case, then don’t let the door hit ya… If he’s that scared of competition then I don’t see him making it. LA is pretty void of goalies+prospects though. They only have 2 under contract next season. Portillo claimed in a Buffalo News interview that it wasn’t because of Levi or UPL and that he was advised not to sign here. So who knows. His agent is Eichel’s agent so I am guessing there’s some hard feelings if he was advised against signing here.

Really like the way the Sabres rebounded against Tampa Bay! I was worried after 2 tough losses in a row (especially getting destroyed by Boston) that it was going to be the start of a slump. But damn, did they play great against Tampa! Now just keep it going!

I know Adams said he approached Okposo recently and asked him if we needed more toughness in the lineup. I guess we know what Okposo’s answer was 😂 I think it was probably needed. We have a lot of young kids and the NHL is an intimidating league. If they feel more comfortable on the ice it should only help them to play their game, and we’ve seen how they can look when they’re all on their game.

its the Vegas 2nd (so the worst of the three 2nds we have in 2023). He was teammates with Tage Thompson and played for Granato in the USNDTP. He actually out-scored Tage that season! lol A 2nd is a bit steep but I still like it. It brings an element we don’t currently have. He adds some much needed physicality and grit plus still could have some untapped potential. I bet he’s going to be motivated too. Still 2 years left on his deal so it’s not just a rental. asplund to Nashville for a 7th two years from now. Obviously this was about opening a roster spot and giving Asplund a chance elsewhere. I remember Tim Murray saying he had a 1st round grade on Asplund. 😂 cant say I know much about Strand.

https://www.nhl.com/standings/2022/wildcard Pittsburgh won in overtime last night. They took over the 1st wildcard spot and now sit 5 points ahead of Buffalo with 1 more game played. The isles sit 4 points ahead of Buffalo in the last wildcard spot with 4 more games played. With the Sabres upcoming schedule Its going to be tough to make up ground.

What about goalies this decade that have gone right from college to pros? Hockey was a lot different back then. I can’t think of a single goalie that has gone right from college to pros and stuck. Like I said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Levi gets a game or two this year to entice him to sign and burn a year off his entry level contract (though I could also see him playing in the AHL this season, especially if Rochester makes the playoffs). But I won’t be at all surprised if he is in the AHL next season. It’s what I expect to happen. If you are setting your expectations on him going right to the NHL you are probably going to be disappointed. Goalies especially need time to develop. Forcing him right into the NHL isn’t a good plan for his long term success. And Adams has been patient to a fault sometimes. I don’t expect him to force Levi into the Pros. I guess we will see next year though. No point in continuing to debate something neither of us have any control over.

Well that sucked. That loss to Columbus hurts even more now. You have to win against a last place team, especially when the schedule gets so tough coming up after that. Right now Pittsburgh is in the last wildcard spot and 3 points ahead of Buffalo with the same # of games played.

name the college goalies that have gone right from college to the NHL without AHL time. Are there any? I can’t think of any off the top of my head. Even goalies drafted in the 1st round get time in the minors. Levi was a 7th round pick. Giving a goalie time in the minors isn’t a fireable offense. That’s silly. Its definitely possible he gets time with the Sabres this season, if anything just to entice him to sign. But unless he’s lights-out good it’s very likely he spends time in Rochester. It’s rare goalies are ready to make the jump right to the pros. I mean, I hope he is. That would be amazing. But I sure wouldn’t plan on it. also, they had to trade Portillo. He told the Sabres he was going to test free agency. They tried to sign him last season and again this season. But he can use the college free agent rule to turn unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. So they had to trade him or lose him for nothing. He wasn’t signing here.

I am hoping/expecting to see a more aggressive defense with Frazier gone. A little more edge would be nice too.

are you saying the time is now to go all in for a goalie? Or all-in in general? I agree on getting a goalie (though I wouldn’t say I would go all in on one). I’ve been saying for a while now that they need better goaltending. But I’m not sure what’s realistically available. I don’t know that Talbot is on the market anymore after ottawa traded for Chychrun. They’ve been playing better lately too and might prioritize trying to stay in the wildcard race. There are rumors Demko might be available and that’s a guy I’d love to add. Still young and he was a true #1. But he struggled last season (he didn’t look like a #1) and this season when he hasn’t been injured. So I’m hesitant to give up what Vancouver would probably want. Im not sure who else is available. Vejmelka in Arizona? He looks like he has potential but his stats haven’t really been any better than what we have, though he is playing in front of garbage… I strongly disagree that the time is now to go all in this season in general though. The Sabres are nowhere near that point IMO. The Sabres currently have an 11 year playoff drought and haven’t drafted outside the top 8 in a decade. They are finally just starting to be respectable again. But there’s still tons of growth needed before they are anywhere near contender status. and The East is just brutal this season. Especially the top few teams in each division. Have you seen how much the top teams in the East have loaded up this deadline? I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen anything like this. It’s insane. There is no chance Buffalo goes on a run in the playoffs this year if they even make it. And to make it even less likely - they likely face Boston in the 1st round if they make the playoffs. They are having an incredible season. I would like to see them make another small addition at least. But not for a rental at the cost of the future.

I heard they were coming out with a streaming service but i was hoping it would be much more reasonably priced. I was hoping for maybe $10/mo. $30 a month is just ridiculous. I wish they would offer some type of discounted package for only the sabres broadcasts. I wish ESPN+ showed in-market sabres games. I recently decided to try it out for a month since there were 5 sabres games exclusively on espn+ this month and i am really enjoying it. Tons of hockey games every night. But i'd have to use a VPN to get the sabres games that are on MSG since i am in market. I still have cable. I've been waiting for a decent option for sabres games. This ain't really it. lol But i guess at least it's an alternative to cable.

wow that was way less than i was expecting. Armstrong held out that long for this? haha Not sure why the sabres wouldnt match this if they were really as interested in Chychrun as kept being rumored. Unless they did offer the same and arizona went with OTT's 1st instead. Or maybe they didn't want to give up their 2023 1st and wanted to send a 2024 1st instead? it looks like a deep draft. Or maybe they weren't as interested as the rumors said. Honestly, I never fully understood the Sabres supposed interest in him. He's a good player for sure but do the sabres really need to give up prime assets for yet another LH defenseman with dahlin and power? I don't think chychrun plays as good on the right side. It would have made for a pretty damn stacked defense though! Get me a goalie instead!

From what was reported it sounds like he made it clear recently that he wasn't planning to sign here before turning UFA. A 3rd is better than i expected in return. I wonder if he gave an indication he would sign in LA or if they are just taking the chance? How weird is it that the last 2 college goalies that refused to sign in Buffalo both ended up in LA? lol I remember i was bummed at the time when we lost Peterson. and for a minute it looked like he was going to be a good NHL goalie. But then he signed that big contract and has sucked ever since.

McDermott’s defenses have always been more aggressive than what we’ve seen with Frazier as DC. I’m hoping he gets back to that now that Frazier is taking time off.

Crap. Hope this loss doesn’t come back to haunt them. They played a good 3rd but it wasn’t enough to get out of the 4-1 hole they dug. Definitely hurts not getting any points against a crap opponent.

Nice goal Peterka! Hopefully that will get him going again. He looked relieved to have scored. I think he was starting to get frustrated. It would be a big boost if he started producing again.

How did I know they would struggle against the blue jackets tonight? Ugh. Gotta win these games against inferior opponents. Columbus is trying to draft #1. They just seem to struggle against Columbus recently. They won the last game against CBUS but lost the previous 3 or 4 games straight before that. I think they lost all 3 in 2022. Doesn’t it feel like for some reason they struggle more against poor teams? Trade for Demko if the price is reasonable. He would be a good longer term solution. They’d still have room for Levi but they can’t afford to just wait for him though. If this team got league average or better goaltending consistently they’d probably be in the first wildcard spot right now instead of trying to cling to the 2nd. Or at least trade a mid/late pick for Talbot. Who knows, maybe he’ll go on a crazy hot streak like he did the last time he was traded.😂

You don’t think the defensive game plan, play-calling, lack of adjustments and playing a safer defensive style was a major issue in the Bills playoff losses? I do. In his time as DC I feel like I can only point to a handful of games against good teams where the defensive game plan really impressed me (like the ravens game where they shut down Lamar, the KC game in the regular season following the AFC championship loss, and the KC game last year as well as a few others). I do think Frazier did a good job here overall. I have a lot of respect for Leslie Frazier the person and for what he did in his time here. But I do think it was time for a change. I think the defense kind of changed as time went on. I think McDermott was more hands-on with the defense in his early years here. But as time went on and Frazier took more control and really started pursuing a head coaching job I think he started to play things too safe. Honestly, sometimes I felt like he was more concerned about good statistics than winning the game, and the defense often felt more like a paper tiger than an actual top 5 defense. The Bills also poured an awful lot of money and resources into the defense to get those top 5 (on paper) results. Also, for as good of defensive statistics as Frazier had, I think it’s somewhat telling he never really got head coaching interviews. Now maybe that’s just because of his age or because offensive head coaches are a hotter commodity. I think we will learn a lot next season by whether Frazier is in high demand by good contending teams to be their DC. If he’s a top 5 DC in the NFL I would think a number of good teams would come calling, not just mediocre/poor teams. I do feel somewhat sad that his time here is over, and they always say be careful what you wish for. But I think we also needed to make a change. You can’t keep doing the same thing every year expecting different results, and I think the defensive game plan and play calling was suspect enough to make that change. We also need to find out if Frazier was part of what was holding them back in the playoffs or if it’s actually McDermott. My hope is obviously the former.

I could see it being Al Holcomb, Eric Washington or John Butler if they go with someone on staff. When I look back now I think when Holcomb was hired it was done knowing Frazier wouldn’t be on staff this season. Was Holcomb hired to be DC in waiting? Or was he hired with the intention of him helping a less experienced defensive play caller (like butler or Washington)? Or even to help McDermott run the defensive side of practices during the week, but with McD the game day play caller? Or I could see them still trying to hire someone from outside this offseason. I really have no idea which route they choose. It’ll be interesting to see what direction they go.

Reid respected Bieniemy so much that he kept giving him 1 year contracts and trying to push him out the door. Actions speak louder than words. And there were numerous reports and speculation about arguments/falling out’s with Reid/Bieniemy/the offense before he got those two 1yr contract in a row. I don’t think the plan is to “just get by” until Frazier comes back. His leaving doesn’t seem to be health related either. I don’t think we will see Frazier back as DC of Buffalo. I think this was him being fired. My guess is he was probably looking for another DC role behind the scenes and didn’t find one. You asked in another post if this is what a team trying to win a super bowl would do and my answer would be “yes”. It seems they finally see the defensive failures in the playoffs as something that needs to be fixed. Andy Reid moved on from his long time DC Bob Sutton (his DC for 6 years) in 2018 because he realized the defense was a limiting factor in the playoffs. It worked out pretty well for them. I think most of us felt Frazier was hurting the bills in the playoffs.

Personally, based on nothing but my own speculation, I still think this is who they wanted this offseason. It wouldn’t at all surprise me to learn they tried to hire him. That’s who McDermott first tried to hire to be DC when he got the job. But SF is just a more attractive job if you are looking to be a head coach again as a DC. Tons of talent to work with and he will get all the credit for that defenses success, unlike in Buffalo.

I hope it’s not health related. I hadn’t even really considered that until I saw it mentioned here. Personally, I still think this was McDermott’s “classy” way of moving on from Frazier. When they say he intends to be back next season I think they mean as an NFL coach, not necessarily in Buffalo. I think he may have been looking for another DC job behind the scenes and when all those roles were filled they moved to this “take a year off” thing. well, whatever the reason he’s leaving I wish Frazier well! I thought it was time to move on. I thought he took us as far as he could. But I still feel bad for him. I’ve did a lot of good here and seems like a great man. Hope he’s able to find a DC role next year.

I have no problem adding grit. But I don’t like trading Bloom for it. He was just picked in the 3rd round in 2021 and I liked the way he was developing. He’s over a point a game this season in the OHL. The Sabres thought enough of him to already sign him to his ELC. I just don’t get why they gave him up for what they did 🤷‍♂️ I would have been totally fine with this trade if Adams gave up a 5th or something like that. I did want him to add depth before the trade deadline. I just feel like physical 6/7 defenseman could have been acquired without giving up a guy who was a recent 3rd round pick. Maybe I’m undervaluing Stillman (I sure hope I am!). And I guess if he helps Buffalo hang onto a wildcard spot it will be well worth it. edit- they could've had Harrington or Benn for free (both were on waivers in recent days) so they obviously must see something in Stillman I don't that made him worth the cost.

Why? Stillman sucks! I would say Clague and Bryson are better, so I don’t get the point. Plus, we don’t have many prospects with Bloom’s skill set. I mean, Bloom isn’t a top tier prospect by any means but he was an intriguing bottom 6 forward that brought a skill set we don’t really have much of. I don’t get this trade. We couldn’t have just given up a late round pick for a depth defenseman? he was probably the Canucks worst defenseman, and that’s saying something 😂