shrader Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 9 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: It's fitting that a team from a third rate league would paraphrase such a garbage song in a tweet. Come on Cincy, no one deserves the punishment of having Smashmouth pop into their head. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 Glad to see him up, but now they’re right back to having 8 defenseman. (though Bogo can stay in the press box the rest of the season for all I care) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 I had a feeling that his firing was alcohol related. There were signs IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 Umm... ?♂️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 20 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: I had a feeling that his firing was alcohol related. There were signs IMO. since practically nobody cares at all, the reason can be smugly held safe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 (edited) WGR's Paul Hamilton wrote a column about Frolik who got his visa paper work approved and is ready to play. He will be on a line with Johansson and Sheary. Where he should be able to make a quick contribution is on our PK which has been lacking. And because he requested a trade from Calgary where he wasn't being given much playing time he should be motivated. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/frolik-practices-for-the-first-time-with-the-sabres WGR's Paul Hamilton noted that Pilut will be replacing McCabe in the St. Louis game because he dealing with an injury. The interesting question is will Pilut remain with the Sabres even when McCabe returns after the St. Louis game? I wouldn't be too surprised if very soon another defenseman is moved resulting in Pilut staying with the big club. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/pilut-hopes-to-improve-his-consistency Edited January 9, 2020 by JohnC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 4 hours ago, JohnC said: WGR's Paul Hamilton wrote a column about Frolik who got his visa paper work approved and is ready to play. He will be on a line with Johansson and Sheary. Where he should be able to make a quick contribution is on our PK which has been lacking. And because he requested a trade from Calgary where he wasn't being given much playing time he should be motived. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/frolik-practices-for-the-first-time-with-the-sabres WGR's Paul Hamilton noted that Pilut will be replacing McCabe in the St. Louis game because he dealing with an injury. The interesting question is will Pilut remain with the Sabres even when McCabe returns after the St. Louis game? I wouldn't be too surprised if very soon another defenseman is moved resulting in Pilut staying with the big club. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/pilut-hopes-to-improve-his-consistency Wouldn't be at all surprised if Pilut ends up in the lineup and Bogosian is back as the 8 with Miller getting into the 11/7 lineups when all 8 are healthy. Having 8 D up with the big squad makes it easier to run drills in practice. And leaves only 1 F trying to work through a line as well. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Mitts with his third goal in as many games. Baby steps. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 4 minutes ago, K-9 said: Mitts with his third goal in as many games. Baby steps. Haven't heard anything about his play other than the couple of assists last week and then the 3 game goal streak. So no idea how the rest of his game is looking, but at least he's getting his confidence back which is a good 1st step in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 10 hours ago, Taro T said: Wouldn't be at all surprised if Pilut ends up in the lineup and Bogosian is back as the 8 with Miller getting into the 11/7 lineups when all 8 are healthy. Having 8 D up with the big squad makes it easier to run drills in practice. And leaves only 1 F trying to work through a line as well. Dahlin, Pilut, Joki and to a degree Risto and McCabe make up a young defensive corps that can grow together. Without question the Sabres are not a complete team. But over the past few years the GM has built a solid unit with traits that emphasize speed and passing. The Sabres certainly have a credible first line with Jack. We have a checking and PK unit with the Girgs-Larsson-Okposo line. The major deficit on this team is adding some scoring forwards to the lineup to add secondary scoring. Although some people don't see it because of an accumulated frustration there is progress. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Paul Hamilton was on WGR talking about the Sabres. The most interesting comments were about the changing configuration on the PP. This is a 15 min segment. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/01-09-paul-hamilton-with-howard-and-jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 I hope Frolik can help the PK. If they can get that unit inside the top 20, it should be worth a couple wins. It doesn't sound like much, but that would make a huge difference for any team that is in the middle of the pack. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 1 hour ago, JohnC said: Dahlin, Pilut, Joki and to a degree Risto and McCabe make up a young defensive corps that can grow together. Without question the Sabres are not a complete team. But over the past few years the GM has built a solid unit with traits that emphasize speed and passing. The Sabres certainly have a credible first line with Jack. We have a checking and PK unit with the Girgs-Larsson-Okposo line. The major deficit on this team is adding some scoring forwards to the lineup to add secondary scoring. Although some people don't see it because of an accumulated frustration there is progress. Montour likely fits in the plans for the next 3-5 years as well. Dahlin and Jokiharju will almost definitely be protected in the Seattle draft, but who the 3rd protected player will be isn't clear. My best guess is Montour, butcould easily see either Pilut or Ristolainen protected. They'll lose 1 of those 3 but should have enough around that so the loss of 1 D-man won't be devastating. Agree on the forwards. They need at least 1 more top 6 guy and really hope Botterill isn't waiting for one of Mittelstadt, Thompson, or Cozens to step up into that role. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 2 hours ago, JohnC said: Dahlin, Pilut, Joki and to a degree Risto and McCabe make up a young defensive corps that can grow together. Without question the Sabres are not a complete team. But over the past few years the GM has built a solid unit with traits that emphasize speed and passing. The Sabres certainly have a credible first line with Jack. We have a checking and PK unit with the Girgs-Larsson-Okposo line. The major deficit on this team is adding some scoring forwards to the lineup to add secondary scoring. Although some people don't see it because of an accumulated frustration there is progress. Progress from what? The mess this current GM created? Current projected points 83, guess that is a big progression from the 78 when he inherited the team 3 full offseasons ago. The forwards you highlight were all here prior to this current GM. I know we are stuck with him now, but damn I would hate to be your boss in anything when you call 3 years and 5 pt improvement progress...if you knew before they hired JBOTs 3 years in you were signing up for a 5pt improvement..you still in on him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 1 hour ago, plenzmd1 said: Progress from what? The mess this current GM created? Current projected points 83, guess that is a big progression from the 78 when he inherited the team 3 full offseasons ago. The forwards you highlight were all here prior to this current GM. I know we are stuck with him now, but damn I would hate to be your boss in anything when you call 3 years and 5 pt improvement progress...if you knew before they hired JBOTs 3 years in you were signing up for a 5pt improvement..you still in on him? Nitpick alert: math errors are for the weak. Double check that point projection.? Sorry, it's a slow day for me today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 1 hour ago, plenzmd1 said: Progress from what? The mess this current GM created? Current projected points 83, guess that is a big progression from the 78 when he inherited the team 3 full offseasons ago. The forwards you highlight were all here prior to this current GM. I know we are stuck with him now, but damn I would hate to be your boss in anything when you call 3 years and 5 pt improvement progress...if you knew before they hired JBOTs 3 years in you were signing up for a 5pt improvement..you still in on him? I hope you don't take this in a mean-spirited way but I would not allow myself to work under you as my boss. I would move on and find someone who is more philosophically compatible to me and less mercurial. Again, I say this with no harshness but with the recognition that our trains are riding on different tracks. This GM took over with the intention of remaking the roster and restructuring the contracts that his predecessors mishandled. And that is exactly what he has done and continues to do. You, as are some of your snickering brethren, are unfairly conflating the failed regimes of the past with his tenure. Botts took on a challenge of bolstering the talent level of this floundering franchise. That was never going to be a quick endeavor regardless how impatient you are. When Pegula hired Botts he knew what the plan was. You don't accept the plan while I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 9 minutes ago, shrader said: Nitpick alert: math errors are for the weak. Double check that point projection.? Sorry, it's a slow day for me today. Okay..85..a point a game 2 minutes ago, JohnC said: This GM took over with the intention of remaking the roster and restructuring the contracts that his predecessors mishandled. Please let me know what contracts where mishandled? And what Botts has done to fix them? Thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 7 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said: Okay..85..a point a game Please let me know what contracts where mishandled? And what Botts has done to fix them? Thx There are at least a half a dozen contracts that will expire next year that will give the GM cap flexibility to bring on talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 6 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said: Okay..85..a point a game Please let me know what contracts where mishandled? And what Botts has done to fix them? Thx You can't fix a bad contract. You can potentially trade them out, most likely giving away additional assets to do so. That said, no one is taking Okposo off their hands. That's really the only bad Murray contract that remains. The rest have expired. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snafu Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 3 hours ago, Taro T said: Montour likely fits in the plans for the next 3-5 years as well. Dahlin and Jokiharju will almost definitely be protected in the Seattle draft, but who the 3rd protected player will be isn't clear. My best guess is Montour, butcould easily see either Pilut or Ristolainen protected. They'll lose 1 of those 3 but should have enough around that so the loss of 1 D-man won't be devastating. Agree on the forwards. They need at least 1 more top 6 guy and really hope Botterill isn't waiting for one of Mittelstadt, Thompson, or Cozens to step up into that role. Out of the three D that you named, I'd actually be happiest to see Montour go. And if they can get a better return in a trade for him than any other D-man not named Ristolainen then he can go as far as I'm concerned. That way you don't need to worry about protecting him. And by "return" I mean a forward who can skate and grind in the corners, create chances for his linemates, and plant himself in front of the net. Add two of those guys and at least one very reliable "finisher" to the second and third lines, and now we've got something. Do it by this time next year and I will be surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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