QCity Posted July 3 Posted July 3 Can't help but feel all of these moves should have been made last year. Imagine bringing in a vet on a 1-yr deal who could post 40-50 pts (Zucker) to replace Quinn when he went down in the early summer? Or a veteran goalie with a .910 career SV% (Reimer) as insurance in case Levi needed more development? Or ditching Okposo, Girgs, Olofsson, and Jost and completely remaking the 4th line with a group of speedy bangers (Malenstyn, Lafferty, Aube-Kube)? Would that have closed the 7-pt gap behind 8th place? We'll never know. 2 Quote
Pete Posted July 3 Posted July 3 11 hours ago, thenorthremembers said: He is dealing with the same stuff the Bills dealt with during the draught...players dont want to play here. To want to come to a place with high taxes and little to nothing to do, winning has to be part of the equation. The Sabres dont win, they constantly change direction, and their best players may not even be considered in the best 100 in the league. It's going to take them drafting a star at some point because no one worth paying is going to sign or accept a trade here. True. But we bought out Skinner, creating a big hole in top 6, with no plan to replace him. Why create cap space? Sabres have top prospect pool in NHL. Many teams have Cap issues. With that hand, a better GM would have improved the Sabres much more. I like that we improved our bottom six. Sabres need more scoring. IMO Adams “no one wants to trade with me” comes as weak, and is the Streisand effect 1 Quote
Jauronimo Posted July 3 Posted July 3 On 6/30/2024 at 10:56 AM, BillsFan4 said: official now. Kevyn Adams confirmed it yesterday that they are buying out Skinner. wonder where he signs? lol Its going to be funny when Edmonton misses the playoffs next year. 1 Quote
Fleezoid Posted July 3 Posted July 3 3 hours ago, Jauronimo said: Its going to be funny when Edmonton misses the playoffs next year. That got me thinking. Jeff Skinner has never been in the playoffs. Prior to him leaving the Hurricanes, the last time Carolina made the playoffs was the 08-09 season. The year he moved to the Sabres, 18-19 season, The Hurricanes made the playoffs. Sabres are finally going to make the playoffs. 2 Quote
BillsPride12 Posted July 4 Posted July 4 https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/sports/sabres/simon-25-years-later-my-no-goal-story Howard Simon looks back on No Goal...pretty good read if you can stomach the heartbreak lol. God I miss Empire Sports though! 2 2 Quote
Mike in Horseheads Posted July 5 Posted July 5 The Buffalo Sabres acquired forward Ryan McLeod in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers on Friday, getting an established NHL player who just experienced a long playoff run in exchange for one of the organization's top prospects. Buffalo received McLeod and minor leaguer Tyler Tullio from the Western Conference champions for 20-year-old center Matthew Savoie. McLeod had four goals in 24 playoff games as Edmonton got to the Stanley Cup Final before losing to Florida. 2 Quote
BillsFan4 Posted July 5 Posted July 5 1 minute ago, Mike in Horseheads said: The Buffalo Sabres acquired forward Ryan McLeod in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers on Friday, getting an established NHL player who just experienced a long playoff run in exchange for one of the organization's top prospects. Buffalo received McLeod and minor leaguer Tyler Tullio from the Western Conference champions for 20-year-old center Matthew Savoie. McLeod had four goals in 24 playoff games as Edmonton got to the Stanley Cup Final before losing to Florida. Bit of initial sticker shock for me (Savoie seems like a high price!) but it sure fills a huge hole on the Sabres roster. They are undoubtably a better team than before the trade. And McLeod is still young + under team control after his current deal expires. He’s really only played 2 full NHL seasons and he’s gotten better every year, but he’s already a really good defensively responsible 3C and immediately the best faceoff man on the roster (by far). He’s also super fast. Maybe the fastest player in the NHL. Really good underlying statistics. The Sabres have added a LOT of speed to their lineup this offseason while also subtracting a lot of the slower players (Okposo, Skinner, Mittelstadt), and added a lot more grit too. I really like the way the bottom 6 is shaping up. They have a really strong bottom 6 that can all play the way Lindy wants. He talked about having lines with different “tools” in his bag. He’s now got that. A really good 4th line that can play defense and physical. A good 2 way 3rd line that can chip in on the score sheet. I would ideally still like to see a top 6 F added to the roster (I think it’s still a hole and don’t want to have to rely on young guys taking a step to fill it), but otherwise Adams has actually had a nice offseason. I’d be nervous about the price of a top 6 F on the trade market though if this is the price for McLeod… Savoie seems like a high price but he was a bit redundant in the Sabres prospect pool. I think it seems obvious the Sabres are higher on other prospects they have. I think Savoie had been leap-frogged a while ago. I also have to believe the rest of the NHL agreed. It sounds like Adams has been shopping Savoie for a while… 4 Quote
Mike in Horseheads Posted July 5 Posted July 5 4 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: Bit of initial sticker shock for me (Savoie seems like a high price!) but it sure fills a huge hole on the Sabres roster. They are undoubtably a better team than before the trade. And McLeod is still young + under team control after his current deal expires. He’s really only played 2 full NHL seasons and he’s gotten better every year, but he’s already a really good defensively responsible 3C and immediately the best faceoff man on the roster (by far). He’s also super fast. Maybe the fastest player in the NHL. Really good underlying statistics. The Sabres have added a LOT of speed to their lineup this offseason while also subtracting a lot of the slower players (Okposo, Skinner, Mittelstadt), and added a lot more grit too. I really like the way the bottom 6 is shaping up. They have a really strong bottom 6 that can all play the way Lindy wants. He talked about having lines with different “tools” in his bag. He’s now got that. A really good 4th line that can play defense and physical. A good 2 way 3rd line that can chip in on the score sheet. I would ideally still like to see a top 6 F added to the roster (I think it’s still a hole and don’t want to have to rely on young guys taking a step to fill it), but otherwise Adams has actually had a nice offseason. I’d be nervous about the price of a top 6 F on the trade market though if this is the price for McLeod… Savoie seems like a high price but he was a bit redundant in the Sabres prospect pool. I think it seems obvious the Sabres are higher on other prospects they have. I think Savoie had been leap-frogged a while ago. I also have to believe the rest of the NHL agreed. It sounds like Adams has been shopping Savoie for a while… Interesting. I kinda figured it was another Sabre 1st rd bust Quote
BillsFan4 Posted July 5 Posted July 5 37 minutes ago, Mike in Horseheads said: Interesting. I kinda figured it was another Sabre 1st rd bust I wouldn’t say he’s a bust by any means. I think he still has a chance to be a really good top 6 F in the NHL, and I think he landed in a great spot to do it. Edmonton needs future top 6 wingers and their prospect pool is pretty bare so he will get every chance to succeed. Plus I believe he’s from Edmonton so he’s a home town kid. I’m sure he’s excited. He’s just an under-sized forward who’s had some injury issues already in juniors (which could obviously get worse in the NHL). And he’s probably not a center in the NHL. I think he’s most likely a winger. I think those things probably limit his market (especially his size). And he’s done very well since being drafted. He’s been a consistent point producer. But his stats have been pretty similar to his draft year (90-95pts), which is still really good. I just don’t know if he’s really taken that next step. I don’t watch him even close to enough to say though. This was a steep price to pay IMO. But Buffalo’s prospect pool is loaded. Teams know we need to trade prospects and every team also knows Adams job is on the line if Buffalo doesn’t take a step this year. Some fans seem surprised the choice was to trade Savoie but I think his long term fit in Buffalo was a question mark, especially after Benson forced his way onto the team last year, and the steps some of our other prospects have taken. Plus, some of the draft picks Buffalo has made since Savoie 3 drafts ago. One things Adams regime has done well is draft. The Sabres prospect pool is loaded. Honestly, it’s still probably too crowded even after this trade. They are still going to have to make some long term choices on prospects. Hopefully some of their prospects will take a step and make the choice easy… Quote
Gregg Posted July 8 Posted July 8 First woman hired in the NHL as an assistant coach for the Seattle Kraken. 1 Quote
Gregg Posted July 25 Posted July 25 Buffalo Sabres on X: "LUUUUUUK ⚔️ We have agreed to terms with goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen on a five-year contract with an AAV of $4.75 million. → https://t.co/DBkLSgSFF6 https://t.co/iOskHtgepE" / X 1 Quote
Fleezoid Posted July 25 Posted July 25 2 hours ago, Gregg said: Buffalo Sabres on X: "LUUUUUUK ⚔️ We have agreed to terms with goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen on a five-year contract with an AAV of $4.75 million. → https://t.co/DBkLSgSFF6 https://t.co/iOskHtgepE" / X Good news. He had a strong year. The rest of the team, despite decent talent, became dysfunctional. 1 Quote
BillsFan4 Posted July 25 Posted July 25 (edited) That contract will be a steal if he keeps playing like he did the second half of last season. And he’s signed until he’s 30. So if he continues to play like last year we have a #1 goalie locked up through his prime for peanuts. Both UPL and Malenstyn signed now so at least the Sabres don’t have to worry about arbitration hearings anymore. I am glad neither had to go to arbitration. Seems like when a player/team go through arbitration, there are usually some hard feelings afterwards. If you look at the history, I believe most players don’t end up staying long term after arbitration. Who’s left to sign? Is Krebs the last one left? edit - just looked. Krebs is their last RFA. Edited July 25 by BillsFan4 Quote
BillsFan4 Posted August 8 Posted August 8 15 hours ago, DaBillsFanSince1973 said: One of the best trades in Sabres history for sure! We are so lucky we got to watch “the dominator” in his prime. It’s criminal they never won a Cup with him, though. 1 4 1 Quote
Gregg Posted August 13 Posted August 13 Rangers PBP man Sam Rosen to retire after this season. His 40th one calling Rangers games. Kenny Albert the favorite to replace him. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nhl/legendary-rangers-voice-sam-rosen-retiring-after-next-season-his-40th-in-team-s-booth/ar-AA1oK5as?ocid=BingNewsSerp 1 Quote
US Egg Posted August 13 Posted August 13 On 8/7/2024 at 8:14 PM, DaBillsFanSince1973 said: On 8/8/2024 at 11:47 AM, BillsFan4 said: One of the best trades in Sabres history for sure! We are so lucky we got to watch “the dominator” in his prime. It’s criminal they never won a Cup with him, though. Greatest player to ever wear a Sabres uniform. 1 Quote
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