BillsFan4

Ullmark won the Vezina award for the NHL’s best goalie of 2022/23. https://www.nhl.com/news/bruins-linus-ullmark-wins-vezina-trophy/c-345017014 I like what Adams has done but I still say letting Ullmark walk over a couple years of term was his biggest mistake. He’s under contract for 2 more seasons in Boston. Even if Buffalo gave him a 5yr deal (instead of 4 like Boston) it would’ve been fine. He wouldn’t have been blocking anyone the last 2 years or the next couple either. And he had no issue splitting the crease with Swayman in Boston (he was super supportive of swayman. Their “goalie hugs” after every game even became a thing) so I’m sure he would’ve been fine doing it here in Buffalo with Levi.

Congrats! That’s a big accomplishment and something to be proud of!

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/insider-trading-jets-and-flames-popular-in-trade-buzz~2711866 Pierre LeBrun saying Connor Hellebuyck is interested in being traded to the Devils and signing an extension there. Ive been saying that I’d love to trade for Hellebuyck but if his reported contract demands are true I have no interest. Lebrun saying he wants something like the Vasilevskiy deal - 8 years at $9.5M. I mean, he has every right to want to be paid like an elite goaltender but that is not something I’m interested in. It would be too hard to trade and I don’t want to freeze out Levi. After seeing the trade Barry Trotz made today as his first trade as Nashville’s new GM, Kevyn Adams needs to be calling about Saros! Ryan Johansen for the rights to a guy who’s a free agent in a week and spent last year in the AHL. And Nashville retained 50% on RyJo’s contract! 😂 https://apnews.com/article/predators-trade-ryan-johanson-to-avalanche-4c0cf833f5c319a2618ec668470e3568 I sure hope Adams at least calls about Saros. It would be the perfect goalie for the Sabres and perfect mentor for Levi. Saros has 2yrs left on his deal and Levi has said Saros is his role model. He studies Saros’ play style, and Saros actually said Levi is one of the goalies he watches too. Both are smaller goaltenders and play a similar style. Levi could learn a lot from Saros. Saros is what we hope Levi will turn into one day. If the price is right the Sabres should be all over it. It might not cost as much as I thought…

I’m good with this. The Bills have been one of the best teams in the NFL for the majority of McBeane’s tenure. https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/ask/most-total-nfl-wins-last-5-years 4th in the NFL in total wins from 2018-present. You don’t just throw that away. Be as good as you can for as long as you can… We’ve been attracting good NFL free agents wanting to chase Super Bowls for a reason.

/thread. That tweet should have ended discussion in this thread. 🤷‍♂️

Glad to see Turgeon and Barrasso. But Mogilny should have been included too IMO.

Same here. Love the color of the helmet and the overall style. The lion they picked for the logo is ok, but could have been better IMO. overall I like it.

Hoping they are found and rescued safely! It’s hard not to think about what they might be going through right now.

Yeah me too! It feels like a potentially big loss. I wish they could have found a way to keep him too.

Good luck!

nice! It’s a 2 way deal in year 1 and a 1 way deal in year 2. There were some rumors he was offered a deal in the Swiss league. If true I’m glad he decided to stay. Buffalo would’ve kept his rights anyway, but I’d rather have him here and able to play for the Sabres now. I could actually see him in Buffalo this year. I think he has potential to be a good bottom 6 role player.

I think Matt Ellis running the forwards (or Jason Christie?). I think he’s done a pretty good job. I do hate losing Peca but I’m not sure if I would have fired our offensive asst coach(es). Now, Marty Wilford on the other hand… I wouldn’t have minded Mike Weber replacing him as the defensive asst. coach. I know Wilford is supposed to be a great dude but our defense + PK hasn’t been very good. Its hard to know how much of the defensive failures are even on Wilford though. Guess we just have to trust Granato/Adams… Hopefully we see improvements to both areas this season!

damn. That’s the 2nd good coach Rochester has lost this offseason.

That’s fine. Honestly, I’d rather have the national media doubting them than hyping them.

Well, Diggs is free to take a pay cut to make more space for Hopkins if he really wants him that bad… 😂 I’d be surprised if that was the issue though. This seems like something that’s been going on since last season.

Maybe it wasn’t. I don’t know if it was or not. Just looking at the QBs he played with and what they are known for, I just thought that if that “by far” comment was meant as a shot at someone (not saying it definitely was), I felt it was more likely a shot at Brady (or maybe Romo too?) because Brady has been talked about so much as being the ultimate leader/GOAT. Allen isn't necessarily known for his leadership. More his physical gifts and toughness on the football field (leaping guys, trucking right over guys, insane throws, etc).

I am generally not a fan of Beasley on Twitter but this doesn’t upset me. You could argue the “by far” part was unnecessary. I do think maybe that was meant to be a bit inflammatory but it could have been meant as a shot at Brady more than Allen. I guess you could say his response to the tweet asking about Allen was a bit of a shot at Allen. Beasley had the chance to say Allen was a good leader too but chose to talk about his physical gifts instead. I think it could also just be partly due to Beasley’s views on leadership. Knowing his views on things other than football, I could see where he views a leader as more of the typical “Alpha male” type. And I don’t think that’s Allen. I think Allen is still more of a jokester. I do think guys naturally gravitate towards him because he’s a fun dude, puts his body on the line and leads by example on the field. He will do anything he needs to do on the field to win a game. But I think he still has room to grow as a leader, and I think he will. I mean, if we are being totally honest here I think we know Allen probably still needs to grow a bit more as a leader. we’ve all seen when he gets into his funks during a game and that blank stare + look in his eyes that he gets. It definitely happens much less than it used to and I think/hope it will continue to improve even more. He’s also rallied the team on the sidelines too. So I know he can do it. I think it’s just about finding a bit more consistency. He’s getting there…

Boo! That sucks. I thought Weber was doing a fantastic job in Rochester. That’s a big loss for the Amerks IMO. I was kind of hoping maybe Weber would eventually replace Marty Wilford as the Sabres defensive asst. coach.

I know this was a joke and I’m probably ruining it by saying this… but the patriots actually cancelled day 3 of their mini camp this year, as Belichick often does. https://nesn.com/2023/06/patriots-cancel-final-day-mandatory-minicamp-practices/ lol

That was exactly my point with the comments about Vegas having success with a backup goalie and the Sabres already trying that route + failing. Hence why I want a proven starter… I’d be fine with Comrie or UPL as the backup. I am not confident enough in either to bet 50% (or more) of Buffalo’s games on them starting. Neither have shown enough for me to think they can handle that role. It would be great if they could, but I’m not betting the season on it again. They already tried that last year. I also said I didn’t want to trade a crazy amount for either goalie. I even said I didn’t want to trade any of the top 4 prospects or Levi. Obviously guys like Tage/Quinn/JJ would also be a no-go for me. I figured that was assumed. I said I’d happily do #13 and any combination of guys like UPL/Joker/Olofsson etc. I never mentioned any of the top players and I have no idea how you are jumping to that conclusion from what I’ve said. I kind of feel like you aren’t reading my posts and/or you are putting words in my mouth that random fans on Twitter said.

I never said anything about a title. I just said I wouldn’t bet another season on UPL/Comrie and that I didn’t think it was wise to rely on a totally unproven young rookie to be the #1 guy next year if the Sabres are trying to make the playoffs. I thought my opinion was pretty reasonable… What if the workload gets to Levi and he starts struggling? What if he’s not ready to be a #1 yet? What happens if he needs time in the AHL? (all things that seem very likely) You really have confidence that UPL and Comrie can be our starters? If so, I’d ask why. I know a lot of fans are high on Levi but there’s really no track record of 21yr old goalies being ready to carry a starter’s load in the NHL. I just want a viable alternative option on the roster. I think it would be extremely foolish not to have one. Not only for the Sabres success next season, but for Levi’s development too. Even if they want to keep him in the NHL next year, he shouldn’t be starting more than 50% of the games (at best) and I don’t feel like we have anyone on the roster to start the other 50%. Edit - oh, and Vegas also has the deepest roster in the NHL and play stellar team defense. Hill was excellent for them, but he had a lot of help from the guys + system in front of him. Adams already tried the unproven backup route last offseason. It didn’t go well.

I’d also be very interested in Juusi Saros if Nashville is truly looking to trade him. He’s under contract for 2 more seasons, where as Hellybuyck only has 1 year left on his deal. Levi has also said that Juusi Saros is one of the goalies he models his game after. And Saros actually said Levi is a goalie he watches too! Saros could be a great mentor for Levi. it’s rare that 2 goalies of this caliber might be available in trade. Usually teams don’t trade proven elite starting goaltenders still in their prime. With such a big need in net, for the immediate future anyway, I’d hate to not at least try to land one of the two. Not at the cost of our future, but I hope he makes a reasonable offer. The Sabres should be looking to make the playoffs next season and I don’t think relying on an unproven rookie is the route they should take. If not a trade, I think Adams needs to at least sign a starting caliber goalie in free agency. The free agent goalie market doesn’t look great and I think you probably need to overpay in term to land the top options (like Andersen). As good as Levi looked I just don’t want to see him forced into a starter’s role + workload in his first NHL season at such a young age. It hasn’t been a recipe for success historically. He’s not used to the NHL grind. He’s used to going to class and playing a couple games on the weekends. It’s a lot to ask of a young rookie goalie to take on a starter’s load + burden the load of trying to break the longest active playoff drought in the NHL, and I don’t have much confidence Comrie or UPL can play the role of a 1B starter. I certainly wouldn’t bet the Sabres season on it again.