BillsFan4

I disagree about him putting his time in here. He requested a trade 3 years into his 8 year deal. At the time he signed that deal it was reported that he and the Sabres only discussed/negotiated a max term contract. Both sides wanted the full 8 years to show their commitment. That contract made him the highest paid player in Sabres history. I believe at the time it was also the 2nd largest contract ever signed by a player 23 or under (I know for sure it was one of the largest). At the time he signed that deal it’s hard to argue that he had earned it. His best season was like 63 points. The Sabres paid him for his future potential. Then he forced his way out before he ever really lived up to his deal. If he was doubtful about Buffalo’s future he should have signed a bridge deal instead of going for the biggest payday he could get. I would have been disappointed but at least I could have respected it. I think most fans would have understood if he said he wanted to see where the team was at in 3-4 years before committing long term. That’s what many other young players have done. Reinhart refused a long term deal here and he was cheered in his return. In fact, I can think of very few Sabres players that have been booed on their return. For me it’s about the way Eichel left. But it’s also about the way he handled himself in his time here. Looking back its hard to feel like he was ever truly committed to Buffalo. He always seemed unhappy. You always heard whispers about him being discontent. That’s despite the Sabres pretty much catering to his every wish. I always got the impression that he thought he was too good for Buffalo. His interviews since leaving have onky reinforced that belief. I, for one, am glad I don’t have to defend him anymore.

Mmmm. Those tears taste salty… lol

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/as-return-to-buffalo-nears-eichel-reflects-on-tumultuous-run-with-sabres/ more revisionist history by Eichel. Seems like he keeps forgetting that he told Elliotte Friedman that he requested a trade after the 2019/20 season - long before he was ever injured. Also, it’s odd to hear that he was mad the C was taken away from him. I honestly don’t know what he expected would happen when he told the Sabres he was done playing for them… 🤷‍♂️ maybe it was petty to take the C away before he was traded but the season was starting and I think it was more a message to the team than to Eichel. I think it was more Adams + Granato saying “we’re putting the Eichel drama behind us” as well as giving other players a chance to step up and lead.

Not surprised. The Bills needed cap space and he was an obvious cut candidate. I wish him well. I’m sure he’ll get a job somewhere. He’s definitely better than some of the o linemen that started games in the NFL last season.

Good. Send him to the NFC. It would be one less good young QB in the AFC.

That AFC west is going to be brutal! Im kind of torn on how I feel about this. As much as I don’t like having yet another great QB in the AFC, it definitely hurts the Chiefs more which might actually help the Bills.

really curious to see the full trade details.

Well, I guess that puts an end to all the “will Aaron Rodgers leave Green Bay” drama. At least until some other QB gets paid more than him again… 😂

Yeah I know. But I still feel confident enough that Terry wouldn’t let money get in the way of hiring someone he wanted (like a Babcock for ex.), or signing a good player (they offered Dahlin a max term contract this past offseason, for ex.). + Their pay cuts came at a time where the NHL was facing a completely unprecedented situation. Now I’m not excusing them. I think they went too far and I’ve been a big critic of all the cuts in spending. This offseason was comical with basically every player getting a vet minimum $750k deal. (I think I kept a running list of them here) But if I’m honest about it I also kind of understand where the Pegulas are coming from. They’ve been bleeding money on the Sabres for a decade. The team’s been operating in the red many of those years. They’ve been a cap ceiling team almost every year with one of the biggest and highest paid scouting depts + front offices in the NHL and it’s got them year after year of bottom 8 finishes. They knew Eichel + Reinhart + Risto all wanted out so why be a cap ceiling team in a rebuild year? But that doesn’t excuse the massive cuts to hockey ops. I definitely thought they went too far. They have built it back up some since then but the scouting dept. still seems small and they don’t have as many overseas scouts as other teams (which I think is a mistake). The Sabres do seem to be building a top tier analytics team though, hiring what have widely been considered some of the top analytic minds. It appears they’re building a scouting dept/system somewhat similar to Carolina’s where they rely on a hybrid scouting/analytics system to draft. I’ve been skeptical, and still am, but I will say despite having a smaller scouting department than Murray or Botterill, the early returns on their drafts actually look pretty good so far. Obviously way too soon to tell though. I guess i’m just reluctant to change ownership groups. The devil you know and all that… Plus I have some hopes that the Sabres might actually be on the right path and I’d like to see some continuity and to build something for once. I’d think a new ownership group would want their own people. When I look around the NHL I don’t see many good teams that got good by changing their GM + coach every 2-3 years. I look at teams like Colorado - Sakic was damn near fired in his 3rd or 4th year on the job because Colorado had struggled. Then you started seeing his plan come together and now they’re s powerhouse. Where would they be if they had aborted the plan after 3-4 years? Same with Winnipeg. They struggled for years under Chevy and Maurice after a rebuild. Then in year 5 it turned. LA is another example. They’ve stuck with Blake and you can see his draft + develop plan coming together nicely. I mean, I guess it’s not a sure thing that the Pegulas stick with the same regime either. Their track record certainly doesn’t lend much confidence they will. But I think they might simply because Adams is “their guy”.

he has been buying up all sorts of property in Buffalo. https://www.wgrz.com/article/money/business/developer-douglas-jemal-continues-to-buy-up-buffalo-wny/71-7cfe3cb8-e0c9-4719-b7da-ea2448b7c44f and he says he loves a challenge… 😂 But he has nowhere near the net worth of Pegula ($150 million). I’d be very very nervous that we’d be headed back to the Golisano days of extreme penny pinching where the profit margin was always the #1 concern. Personally, I don’t know that I want the Pegulas to sell. not sure I buy this rumor anyway. It’s from some random Buffalo fan Twitter account with like 100 followers. There has been a lot of smoke about a sale though.

i wasn’t aware of the World Cup rules. The NHL was the best comparison I could think of. But I mainly watch football and hockey, so… lol

Personally, I think this would be the best way out of the proposals I’ve heard so far. At least for the playoffs. I like how the NHL switched to no gimmicks in the playoffs. Game is tied? Play another full period. Obviously the 1st goal still wins but that works because puck possession is so fluid. I think the NFL should do something similar in the playoffs. Just play another full quarter. Then we’re not talking about gimmicky rules being the reason for a win/loss. If you guarantee both teams a possession, I don’t know if it eliminates the controversy. Like for ex, say the Bills get the ball after KC scores. They score a TD of their own. Then KC gets the ball back and kick a FG to win. I think we’d still be talking about how KC won because they won the coin toss.

Man, I sure hope this still holds true when next season starts! Mainly because it would hopefully mean we’re in a much better spot WRT the pandemic than we were (as a state/country) last season. 🤞

It was reported that Tom Golisano put a no-move provision in the sale of the Sabres. https://www.espn.com/nhl/news/story?id=6087856 not sure if that applies to future owners too, but if not I don’t see why the Pegulas couldn’t make it a provision of the sale like Golisano did. I also don’t know if Gary Bettman would let the Sabres leave Buffalo anyway. Say what you want about him but he shows true loyalty to NHL markets. He’s already fought for the Sabres to stay in Buffalo. If not for him they would’ve been relocated after the bankruptcy (I was pissed when Buffalo fans booed him at the 2015 draft in Buffalo). He won’t even allow the Coyotes to leave Arizona despite their attendance issues and not having an NHL arena to play in starting next season. They’ll be playing in a 2000 seat state college arena.

If I was a cardinals fan I’d be legitimately worried that this kid’s ego/personality is going to get in the way of his development and limit his ceiling as a QB.

Boy, it’s a good thing Botterill just willingly gave up this kid’s draft rights instead of signing him to an entry level deal, huh? All t would’ve cost was a contract spot. Not like we need good players we drafted or anything. 😡🤬 Botterill was pretty terrible. But part of the issue is also all the turnover in the front office and scouting staff.

I know fans like to blame Kim Pegula because she’s the team president but I’ve never seen any evidence that Kim is involved in making any hockey decisions. Terry, on the other hand, seems very involved in the hockey ops. He’s the one that sits in every scouting + free agent meeting and gives his opinion. I think Terry is a bigger issue than Kim. But Both just need to stay out of the decision making for the Sabres IMO.

Dorsey was given the offensive pass game coordinator title a year before he was promoted to OC. This makes me think that Butler (not Washington) would be in line to take over for Leslie Frazier if he gets a HCing job, or the Bills decide to move on.

Just the one I included in the last post. I think It was mainly just talked about by random people on bills Twitter right after the draft. iirc (it was a long time ago…lol) I think it ended up being just a fake photoshopped tweet or something. Like you said, it would’ve been talked about more if it was real.

https://terezowens.com/if-i-ever-get-drafted-by-the-bills-fcking-kill-me-josh-allen/ it was talked about like 4 years ago. Don’t know if it’s real or not though.

I thought Buffalo played a heck of a game against Colorado. They went blow for blow with the AVS all game and were in it till the end. Our young talent was really on full display today. A lot of the young guys had good games today. It was 3-3 in the third until this play: Dahlin was hit in the face with a stick then basically shoved to the ice by his face, and Colorado scored on an odd man break while Dahlin was laying on the ice. The play should’ve been blown dead and Buffalo given a power play. Despite losing, It was a Really exciting high paced offensive hockey game. Fun to watch! Sign me up for more of this style/pace.

Enjoy your retirement Bob, and thanks for bringing Jordan Poyer to Buffalo! edit: oops, I take that thanks back. It was your son Bobby Babich that told McDermott about Jordan poyer… lol https://www.buffalobills.com/news/familiarity-with-poyer-landed-bills-a-free-agent-steal-19408157

It was an interesting read but I’m skeptical about some of the claims. It seems like more of a hit piece against Bienemy than anything else. Like Bienemy not taking any player feedback and calling plays without input. We literally saw the players have input on the play calling in that Travis Kelce mic-ed up video against the Bills in the playoffs. Kelce gave coaches input on the sidelines + Mahomes out on the field and it resulted in the chiefs tying the game with 13 seconds left.