BillsFan4

I am hoping a couple of the teams reeling from missing out on JT are panicked enough to start a bidding war for ROR... lol. Like, maybe the Isles feels desperate to land a good center to help shelter Barzal instead of forcing him into the #1C role after only 1 season. Or the Sharks feel the pressure to go for it with their aging core. I can hope, right? I am am perfectly happy keeping ROR though, if the offers aren't right.

Yuck, a leaf. Puke. and for only $11M per year? Damn. JT left at least $11M on the table (if the Isles were offering $88M over 8yrs like the rumors state). Eichel has a damn long way to go to live up to his $10M... on a positive note - it may be tougher to keep Matthews + Nylander + Marner now too. Both Marner and Matthews said they want to wait to sign until next year. Marner was rumored to be asking for Eichel money. I'd guess Matthews wants even more. Can't pay everyone... Plus, there is already a supposed rift between Matthews and Babcock. Rumor is it's over Matthews usage. He wants to be used as a #1C, and get the PP time and even strength mins to go with that. With KT there now, I can't imagine Matthews icetime will go up... if Baba was giving Matthews icetime to Bozak, imagine what it'll be like with JT. I have to believe JT will be their #1C for the foreseeable future. Babcock loves his vets and has a long history with JT. Everything will probably work out fine and Toronto will be a juggernaut. But it'll be an interesting story to follow, at least.

You can really see why everyone says Hutton is such a great guy for the locker room. Like night and day different personality from Lehner...

Link to 3v3 prospect tournament live stream - https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/2018-french-connection-tournament/t-277437090/c-40474303 Should be starting in about 10mins.

I read (can't remember who said it, but I know it was a pretty credible media source) that if he leaves the Isles, it's Sharks #1 and Toronto #2. Ive always read/heard that JT isn't a guy who likes tons of attention or spotlight. That he's more of a private guy. That's one of the reasons why I mentioned San Jose as a team I could see him going to long before any of this started. They just made tons of sense for Tavares. I wasn't at all surprised to see their name on his short list of teams to get mettings. I still think they make the most sense if he leaves The NYI.

That was a good read. Wish Kane all the best in San Jose. They em could be a scary good team if they get Tavares (figures, since we have their 1st next year... lol. Better than JT in Toronto, though!)

I mean, you can never have enough centers... and it's much easier to move a C to the wing than vise versa. Plus, Thomas is a top 10 prospect in all of hockey. So I wouldn't turn him down. But it I was just going off all the rumors. I agree, Thomas wouldn't be my #1 target from St. Louis. Parayko would be, for sure. He fills a real need - top 4 right hand D. Heck, he'd most likely be our #1 RD. Id try to expand the deal and include something else from Buffalo to get either Kyrou or Kostin (Kostin is more likely, as he's a notch lower than Kyrou IMO. I can't see St. Louis including both Parayko and Kyrou. Plus Kostin is a left wing, a much bigger need than RW (Kyrou)). I cant really see St. Louis including Parayko either, though. And it doesn't really match the "picks and a top prospect" ask we keep hearing from everyone (LeBrun, McKenzie, Dreger). If it's not Parayko or Thomas, It had damn well better be at least Kyrou + + if we trade ROR to the Blues. Kostin or Thompson aren't enough as a centerpiece to a ROR deal IMO. And I'm not sure Dunn makes a lot of sense, since we are loaded with Left handed defenseman right now (Dahlin, Scandella, Guhle, Pilut, McCabe, Beaulieu, Hunwick, and Hickey if he signs). Not sure Kyrou makes a ton of sense as the centerpiece either. We have quite a few right wing prospects, some of which are no longer eligible for waiver exemption (Baptiste, Bailey). But I don't know what else there is from St. Louis if it's not Thomas, Parayko or Dunn. I am starting to feel like I am most likely going to be disappointed in what ROR returns (assuming he's traded, which feels very likely right now (IMO anyway)).

Yeah, I trust Jeremy Rutherford a whole lot more than Dan Buffa. According to St. Louis fans, I guess that Dan Buffa isn't even a radio show host. He contributes once in a while to the radio show. They said he's a film critic, unpaid blogger and Uber driver. Basically just a knowledgeable fan with no snide sources according to them.

I have no idea what to even make of this. Came across it randomly browsing YouTube. This guy's got some wild commercials. Here's the link to all of them - https://m.youtube.com/results?search_query=all+holes+filled+landscaping This one just seems a bit dirty for a Christmas commercial -

He didn't participate yesterday either. He is still at development camp (sabres even had him live on Facebook for a Q&A yesterday), but he just has a minor injury. After what happened with his injury last season (aggravating it and making it worse, which caused him to miss months instead of weeks) I think Buffalo is just being cautious. We don't know when the injury happened either. It could have just happened in the last couple/few days for all we know. Plus, He's not the only prospect being held off the ice with a minor injury.

He is their #1 center prospect, and one of the top 2 prospects in their system (I'd say #1). I wuld say hes roughly around a Casey Mittelstadt level prospect, give or take, so it would be a good get. I would be surprised if they parted with him. Where did you hear these rumors? Is it a reliable source? Man, I would love that Parayko trade. He is exactly who I've been hoping for in a trade with St. Louis, and that's exactly the type of return I'd be looking for in a ROR deal. I would be pretty surprised if they also sent a 1st back with Parayko though. I'd be perfectly happy with Parayko for ROR 1for1... Sobotka wuld be a nice add to help fill ROR's spot this season. I'd d Parayko and Sobotka for ROR and McCabe and d be happy about it. Now that Robert Thomas trade...that needs another piece from the Blues (in my opinion). That trade I would want their 1st, and maybe even another +. Jake Allen isn't much better than a cap dump at this point. He sucks and is signed for 3 more years. If we are taking on Allen and paying ROR his $7.5M lump sum bonus check on top of that... yeah, St. Louis should definitely be adding something else. A trade with St. Louis wouldn't happen until after July 1st IMO. I can't see the Blues owner paying that bonus money a couple days after getting ROR. He's not exactly known as a big spender and has a pretty strict internal cap (from what I've read). With Buffalo paying the bonus money, I think that Parayko deal (even without the 1st) would be a fair trade in my book. After July 1st, ROR is only owed $25M in real dollars over the last 5yrs of his deal. That is dirt cheap for a guy who would pretty much be their #1C (allowing Brayden Schenn to get more favorable o zone starts etc). I know his cap hit is $7.5M, but the Blues are never a Cap ceiling team anyway (iirc). I think/hope the real dollars paid may be more important to their owner (and GM). I just hope Botterill gets a good return on ROR if/when he is traded. That stuff about a 1st and a couple 2nds (or a 1st, 2nd and prospect) scares me. I have no interest in trading ROR for a few draft picks that will likely be in the 20's or later. Those picks have a pretty low percentage of ever turning into as good a player as ROR is. Plus, we don't exactly have a tried and tested scouting dept right now. This was their 1st draft and #1 was a no brained... I haven't seen enough of them yet to know whether or not to have confidence in their ability to turn up a good player in the later 1st and 2nd rounds. And what would a return of all futures like that say to the fans? A ROR trade will tell us a lot about Jason Botterill as a GM. It's not like the Kane deadline deal, where he didn't have any real leverage and only had 1 legit offer from the sound of it. Botterill holds the cards in a ROR trade. There are 5yrs left on his deal, and Buffalo doesn't have anyone to fill his role. They don't Have To trade him this season, or even next. ROR also has a very good reputation around the league. It's not a Kane situation. He has to get a good return for ROR. The Sabres can't afford to absorb any more bad trades.

I do think it's a foregone conclusion that ROR is gone at this point. I am pretty nervous about what the return is going to be though with some of these recent reports. Especially if he's moved before that July 1 bonus. I am trying to prepare myself for an underwhelming return. Hopefully I am pleasantly surprised.

Love seeing such a warm welcome for him everywhere he went. Buffalo making a good 1st impression... (as usual)

Kind of hard to take the list serious when they have a guy like Mike Vrabel ranked at #17, when he's never coached a single NFL game, and was only a coordinator for a single year before getting the head coaching job. That year happened to be 2017, as the Houston Texans defensive coordinator. Not exactly their best year (I know, injuries...). I mean, he's only been coaching since 2011 as a LB and d line coach. They have 4 more rookie head coaches ranked from 24-21 too. How do you possibly even rank a head coach before his first game anyway?

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/dahlin-behind-the-scenes/t-277437090/c-60661703

Lol. Yeah I knew damn well it was Dahlin but I still got nervous for a split second. Oh, and then just as the bottom of the screen says "pick is in", that "trade alert" graphic pops up right next to it. I knew it couldn't be a trade for the #1 pick since it was in already, but it still caught me off guard for a brief second. lol. Buffalo fandom....

It's finally official!! Rasmus Dahlin is a Buffalo Sabre. Feels great to type that.

Sadly, neither am I. What a waste of a 1st round pick in an amazingly deep draft. It still pisses me off to think we could have possibly had one of the many very good players still available at that pick... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_NHL_Entry_Draft That 2015 draft alone could have set Buffalo up for a decade or more. Its its amazing how terrible Tim Murray was looking back in hindsight. He had a blank slate and a giant pile of assets, and Buffalo is not really left with much to show for it. Ok, done venting. Sorry. It's 1 day to Dahlin! Not is not a time to be all mopey about Murray... lol

Good for him. Wish him all the best.

Dahlin started playing defense full time at age 13. He just turned 18 in April... so 5yrs as a full time defenseman. And he's this good already. Amazing. If he's this great after only 5yrs, can you imagine where he will be in another 5? Or 10? It would be quite the understatement to say that I am excited to see this kid develop.

I grabbed a 1 year PS+ subscription on Amazon earlier this year on sale for $39. I don't know if that a regular thing they do or what. May be worth keeping an eye out for if/when your renewal is coming up.

Totally agree. It would only help improve the NFL as a whole. Maybe that new AAF (Alliance of American Football) league that Bill Polian is overseeing will help some of these players develop. I guess Polain is trying to only hire coaches with NFL experience, and I believe one of his goals is to help prepare some of these players for the NFL. Hopefully it'll work out. At the very least it'll give some of these players a platform to be noticed by NFL clubs.

OMG I started dying laughing when he said "This is a special leprechaun flute that has been passed down from thousands of years ago, from my great great grandfather who was Irish"... as he holds up some type of metal pipe/fitting that's clearly not 1000's of years old, or even a flute. I was not expecting that. Good stuff man.

Lol. Made me immediately think of this -

It was actually McNabb and TWO 2nd round picks for Fasching and Deslauriers Well, let's see if Brandon Hickey even signs here first. Hes is a college senior. He can turn UFA on August 15th. He's been traded 3 times now and hasn't even started his NHL career yet, because He has already refused to sign in Calgary (which is why he was traded to Arizona) and in Arizona (which is why he was traded here). No kidding. Just another brutal trade and horrible asset management by Tim Murray. We trade two 2nd round picks and Brayden McNabb, who was just #2 in even strength ice time (among defenseman) for the Stanley Cup runner up, for basically nothing. We have Zac Redmond (career AHL defenseman) to show form that trade at the moment. And maybe Brandon Hickey if he decides to sign here, and possibly another career AHL player (Mike Sislo) if he signs here as a UFA. Where as McNabb would easily be in our top 4 right now. And i get that as far as the two 2nd round picks, the odds of drafting a good NHL player are not all that high. But it's more about what that package could have potentially brought Buffalo. You package two 2nds with a good young defenseman on his ELC, who's coming off an AHL all star appearance (McNabb at the time of trade) and ready to take the next step to the NHL, I have a hard time believing that Buffalo couldn't have used that package of assets for a better player than 4th round pick Hudson Fasching.