i agree.....and this would worry me if I were you. No longer will you be clearly in the driver's seat for McDavid/Eichel. You're a top contender for them for sure but I would put you in the group w/ Florida, Calgary, Edmonton, and perhaps a few others (Van?). I think Murray did too well this off season. Enroth and Hackett would've lead you to a lot more losses than Neuvirth me thinks. Dont overlook Noah Hanifin also. Could be a real special defenseman there, I'll see quite a bit of him this season. Official practices just got under way and the early returns are said to be extremely promising for him.
I am with some of the Sabres when they state: "we are not going to apologize for winning". Of course it's a bit premature to talk about winning. There is still a long road in front of the team before they'll be competitive. Dramatic improvement is relative; it's relative to the team's stunningly piss-poor record from last year. Really? 14 points separated them from the second to last place team. I think the team will have a better record this year, but they are almost certain to be in the bottom two. The lottery will not be drastically changed in 2015, (a team can only lose one spot in the draft order and the odds of the worst team getting #1 are 20% rather than 25%). What I would rather see happen is that Buffalo finishes just out of the playoffs, (I am being extreme, but not so absurd as to suggest they'll make the post season). They still get the #1 because of the pick from Garth - that's my dream scenario. There are guys that will go in the second round next year that would normally be first rounders. It's not just that there's elite talent at the top. The 2015 is extremely deep. Hackett, IMO, is never going to make it. He's a head case even by goalie standards. Besides, he's hurt until around Dec. I like Neuvirth and hope that he's the guy that sticks around until one or two of the Sabres Swedish goalie prospects are ready. Enroth may be worth something at the deadline. BTW, I expect that the hockey team from Boston may vie for the PC; more likely they'll settle for home ice in the first round.
I would also love to see that NYI pick become Eichel or McDavid. I have a special hate for them. My cousin is employed by them also, it makes it a bit odd at BBQs and weddings. Im expecting the hockey team from Boston to vie for the SC and home ice being a given. The Atlantic Division is still pretty weak. I think the Habs have gotten worse and I don't buy the Lightning as a serious contender yet. Detroit.......could be but too thin on D imo.
and how can I forget Carolina? they're a special kind of bad. a couple bad breaks and they're in the toilet, Jordan Staal's leg being the first one.
I was thinking the same thing about them before Staal went down. I did not watch the game but the reports I've seen indicate that Gorges checked him and he crumbled. Could be a metaphor for their prospects this year. The Canes may very well vie for #1. I still have a hard time thinking that Buffalo, however, will turn things around that quickly. The Sabres best prospects are still a year or two away - probably from being in the NHL, and certainly from performing at a high NHL level. Referencing this team in proper fashion always garners a +. Since we are talking about the EC I have to admit that you may be correct that it's close to a given that they'll skate at home to open the playoffs. I hope they win the PC since that almost clinches not winning the SC.
It'll be interesting to see what youngsters stay in Buffalo to start the season. I see a benefit in giving Reinhart his nine games, but he belongs in Kootenay this year. Grigorenko may have earned a spot but with some players needing to pass through waivers, I expect he'll start the season in Rochester. He may get an early call up but I'd prefer a year in the AHL. Zadarov is also likely to get nine games as he is a very big boy. Then it's back to London. Ristoleinan still appears to need seasoning in Rochester. Pysyk got hurt but he is close to having an NHL game. On D I think it comes down to McCabe or one of the stop-gap signings.
You can only give one + to a message, so I am going to have to troll looking for Skinny posts so I can give him what he deserves for the Bills Shout.
I was surprised as most everyone with how easily the Sabres signed $20MM+ of talent on July 1st to get above the cap floor. For this team, Gionta may have been the perfect signing. He's a local guy so that will give us something to cheer for in every game. He wore the C for Habs, for freakin' sake, and what this team needs more than anything at this point is leadership. Moulson grinded is way up to semi-elite status, so I think he'll be a leader-by-example. Oh, Gionta was instrumental in helping Gorges to accept the trade. If the team show a lot more heart this year - and I certainly expect that they will - then I will accept that as meaningful progress. The Sabres are not in last place, and I am excited!
Buffalo will host the 2016 Draft and/or the 2017 All Star game according to reports. On other fronts, TSN is reporting the return of rumors that Tyler Myers may be traded. Detroit and Anaheim are cited as interested teams. When, and with a big if, he is traded the team will get a player that has just reached the age when many d-men establish themselves. He could be a major force for the next decade. Buffalo will sooner or later reach the point when they'll have to trade blueliners, but they would need to get a very high price for Myers.
A preview of the 2015-16 Buffalo Sabres: [video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=V6BiLDlib-M&list=PL359AADB6512D1A98[/video] That is one nasty penalty shot goal by Joel Armia!
Buffalo has a bevy of talent that in a few years are going to make them a very deep team. To be a perennial SC contender they need a couple of players with star-power. Reinhart looked very small last night in Chicago, of course at 18, he is very small. He has to go back to Kootenay regardless of what he may do in his next seven games. If Buffalo is fortunate enough to draft either #1 or 2 in June then that matter should resolve itself. Meanwhile, Enroth had to stop only 47 shots last night. He did stop 41. The score could have been 0-4 after five minutes, (it was 0-2), and unlike last year they did not mail this one in last night. Ennis scored a nifty SH goal to tie it up. The Sabres skated even with the Hawks in the second and Crawford stopped another breakaway SH opp for the good guys. The third period did not go so well with Kaner killing the Sabres yet one more time. Things started to go down hill when Hossa scored a pp; Shaw deserved an Emmy for the his dive that drew that penalty on Myers The season is short but it looks like it will go as I had expected. The team is showing a lot more heart and they are playing - or at least really trying - to play a full sixty minutes. Their goalies are not as good as last season; it's going to be rough if one focuses too much on W's & L's. Effort in Buffalo; Wins in Rochester. The FO may not appreciate it, but I think that's an honest marketing catch-phrase this year.
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aQvKYi8Ss4Q[/video] This guy will be playing for Buffalo when they get good. Zemgus Girgensons!
True, sometimes I think wgr actually would rather see their teams lose, just so they could do what they love best, rag on their teams all day long lol.
When the leafs and sabres are losing a lot in the same year, I could switch from wgr to the fan590 and it's just non-stop *HELP*
If radio stations were sports teams it would be easy to rank who sucks the most. If WGR could just stick to a semblance of objectivity then they would probably be tolerable. I have their app, and that's much better than actually listening to them. For those that wonder about the strange utterances that come from Buffalo fans, just remember that Bob, et all, may be correct about the puttin' on the foil; I am safely ensconced about 1,500 hundred miles away. If listening to football-all-the-time is your thing, then Denver is paradise.
The Buffalo Sabres will retire Dominik Hasek's #39 before the Detroit game on Jan. 13. Considering the Dominator's august career, the full press release is posted: This leaves me with one question - and I hope this is not too indiscreet - will Ted Nolan ask Hasek how his wife is doing? If Matthew Barnaby is there too (I think Hasek will eight-ball him for this event), and if Nolan were to indicate that he "misses" Mrs. Halek then this could get ugly with the honoree getting run over by the former bad-boy.
