BillsFan4

Tage!

Heard on the instigators: That was the Sabres first regulation win in the month of March in THREE YEARS. Crazy!

For those in WNY still looking for a vaccine: UB created a site to help people find vaccine appointments wherever they are available (including pharmacies). https://www.vaccinehound.org

So, all the side effects are gone, except one... I noticed that I am now a 5G WiFi hotspot. That’s normal, right? 😂

well, we do have waiver wire priority so if they want him, he’s theirs.

I’ve really been enjoying this series. If you like this series and haven’t already seen it, you would also enjoy their “the men who built America” series. Same concept as the “food that built America” show, but it focuses on other industries (like oil, railroads, automobiles, etc).

Really good podcast. I enjoy Chad Dedominicis. He definitely has good sources inside the Sabres. He’s one of the most plugged in when it comes to the Sabres. Maybe even more than Friedman and Dreger. Highly recommend listening to this podcast. To summarize: ————— He says this horrible season may have actually saved the Sabres. Had they done ok this season, they would have stuck with their ridiculously stupid “lean, economic and efficient” plan. But getting so badly embarrassed this season has changed the thinking. It sounds like there could be multiple big adds to the front office. Jason Karmanos is coming as assistant GM (as everyone has said for a week+ now) and they are in talks with Jim Rutherford to come in as a senior consultant/executive type role (with Adams as GM still). Says Karmanos is pretty much a sure thing. Rutherford he’d put at 75-80%. Would have said 50% earlier today, but things have progressed. Negotiations are happening now. But [B]Rutherford wants an agreement that the Pegulas step back and let Rutherford + Adams run everything and make all the decisions. [/B]It would likely be a short term (year to year) deal until he sees how his relationship with the Pegulas goes. Could then transition into a longer term president of hockey ops role. Also says there would be additional adds to the hockey ops/front office. Says he’s not sure what that means yet, he hasn’t been able to nail it down. ————— Adding Rutherford would be HUGE. He has all the connections in NHL circles. Tons of experience in an NHL front office, and as an NHL player before that. Knows Kevyn Adams from his time in Carolina. Knows the NHL. Knows what good scouts and player personnel directors look like. Knows how to run a competent, respectable hockey ops. If this really happens, I just hope the Pegulas really step back and give them TIME to fix this ******* mess. We absolutely cannot keep changing visions+plans every 1-3 years. It’s definitely added to the Sabres issues. Every GM and coach who comes in has a different vision/plan, and it’s led to this mishmash of a team with absolutely no identity (what are they supposed to be? I have no clue).

Not to make excuses but they really never were the same team after that covid outbreak. before that they were up and down, but their underlying analytics were actually pretty good. They were just very unlucky. Then after that outbreak things just went completely off the rails.

Same. It wasn’t a bad return but they could have done better with the retention. Montreal has multiple 2nd and 3rd round picks. I would have liked to get one of their 2nd for retaining 50% on Staal. Listening to Bergevin’s press conference, he really wanted Eric Staal. We didn’t even get their good 3rd round pick (we got the lowest/worst). inexperienced GM issues (IMO), as usual. ————————— And I can’t believe any Sabres fan would want to trade Eichel after seeing how absolutely awful the team is without him carrying the play every night. Even when he was in the lineup he wasn’t able to carry the play for us like he normally does because he was playing with 3 cracked ribs, and then a lower body injury on top of that, and then another upper body/neck injury. I feel like we’re getting a good look at what this team would look like without Eichel factoring into 60+% of our offense like normal. I thought this season would get Sabres fans to appreciate just how much Jack Eichel does for us on the ice. But instead I see people, once again, blaming our best players and wanting to run him out of town. They want the Sabres to get “better” by trading one of the best players in franchise history (in a trade that we will for 100% certain lose). we’ll get back a collection of picks (that will likely never turn into anything good) and lesser prospects that will never approach Eichel’s level, and we will be searching for a true #1 center for another decade. Trading Eichel for an underwhelming return might truly be the last straw for me.

It’s been about 30 hours since my 2nd dose (Pfizer) and it really hasn’t been too bad at all. I definitely have a very sore arm/shoulder. I was a little tired during the day yesterday, maybe felt a bit hot/cold for brief moments, and then I did have a pretty restless night of sleep (up every couple hours). I did/do also have a headache but I don’t know if it’s from the vaccine or not. Edit - well.... I jinxed myself. 😂 About 30mins after I posted this I started to feel run down/exhausted and my body + especially legs started feeling achy. It’s intensified over the last hour or so. My headache is worse and I kind of feel like I’m getting the flu. Still nothing all that bad. Definitely nothing that would deter me from getting the vaccine, but I feel like I’m having some type of immune response, which is actually fine by me because I figure it means my body is producing covid antibodies to protect me! I’m weird. Having a reaction has actually eased my mind a bit😁 edit 2- feeling way better today. I’m Back to normal.

I am now fully vaccinated! It’s pretty amazing that barely a year after the pandemic started, we have vaccines in our arms already. I am so grateful to all the people who worked long, grueling hours round the clock to design + produce these vaccines in record time!

Well this is super underwhelming... https://theathletic.com/2478125/2021/03/25/sabres-gm-begins-repairing-damage-done-to-front-office-scouting-departments/ (athletic sub. req.) Our pro scouting was damn near worst in the NHL (IMO) so what do the Sabres do? Promote one of their (inexperienced) pro scouts to run the entire pro scouting dept. 🤢🤮 Meh 🤷‍♂️ So.... instead of evaluating the hockey ops first and deciding who’s actually good at their jobs and where they can trim the fat, they fire everyone then have their rookie GM, who has never been part of an NHL front office before at any level, try to learn as he goes what he needs to run the hockey ops? Sounds like what every winning organization does, am-I-rite? 🤦‍♂️

I go for my 2nd Pfizer shot in just over an hour! Yay! 🎉

I decided not to laminate in case we need booster doses for the new variants.

Of course he’s open to being traded. I’d imagine every Sabres player is at this point and who can blame them? No interest in re-signing him anyway, unless it was a bargain deal. He’s not the same player he used to be. Let someone else overpay him. Hopefully we can at least get something semi decent in return (though that seems doubtful). I’d be more worried about trading him if I actually cared about winning the #1 overall pick this year. Every team Hall plays for seems to win #1 picks. He a good luck charm for the draft lottery 😂

I hope Don Granato is alright. Praying he doesn’t actually have covid. He is high risk and almost died from pneumonia back in 2019. https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/sabres-assistant-coach-don-granato-returns-to-practice-after-serious-illness/article_faeb6137-60f9-5a5c-9b4a-91bce24e6500.html

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/bettman-nhl-salary-cap-will-remain-flat-near-flat-immediate-future/ sounds like the salary cap may stay flat for potentially the next (up to) 4 years, even with the new mega TV deal. Salary cap space is going to be The premium asset in the NHL the next few years.

Tim Peel (the ref) was just fired by the NHL for this. problem isn’t what he said, it’s that he said it on a hot mic. every ref in the NHL calls makeup calls and the NHL knows it (and has even encouraged it).

And that is perfectly fine by me. I said back when McDermott and Beane were first hired that Buffalo was the absolute perfect spot for the type of team they wanted to build (hard working guys who are only in it to play football/for their love of the game), and IMO could actually be used as an advantage, because you’re not drawing players that want to come here for the night life, or the beaches/warm weather, or a hundred other reasons that are NOT football related. great article btw!

If anyone has Amazon Prime, Obada is featured in episode 2 of “All or Nothing” with the Carolina Panthers (it’s like HBO’s Hard Knocks). I really liked him on that season of the show. Definitely a process guy. Seems like a great dude. Definitely recommend checking out the show if you haven’t seen it.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/31-thoughts-nashville-move-ryan-ellis-instead-mattias-ekholm/ Hopefully it includes changes to the pro scouting staff this time! Outside of a handful of acquisitions our pro scouting has been atrocious. I was shocked no changes were made to the pro side when they fired 1/2 the scouting staff. Looks like Adams is still evaluating everything/everyone in the organization.

interesting that he doesn’t deny Watson had sex with the women. Only that he didn’t force them to have sex.

The draft rules are changing to limit the number of #1 picks allowed to 2 times in a 5 year span. Thankfully it doesn’t kick in until next year though, because this year would be a horrible year to waste one of the 2 allowed #1 overall picks. This year the #1 pick is meaningless. It’s about the weakest draft I can remember. There’s not really even a defined #1 guy, or even top 3. There’s 1/2 a dozen+ guys that you could make an argument for and not be wrong. Owen Power (defenseman) is probably the most commonly listed player in the #1 spot but I don’t really think he’s anything special. The whole top of the draft is pretty much defenseman and none look like anything all that special. Next year and the year after the top of the draft looks amazing.

Great to see. They need him back so very badly. Good timing too with Hutton hurt. The Sabres would’ve had to sign another goalie because of the new rules about having to have 3 goalies at all times this season.

Awesome! I was really hoping he would be back. He adds an element to the offense that none of our other receivers do, and with Roberts leaving I’d think he could be of use returning punts.