BillsFan4

https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-larsson-wont-be-able-play-saturday Asplund is playing tonight. He seems really excited. I’m happy for him and excited to see what he can do. Hopefully he can keep his nerves in check and have some type of positive impact tonight. Glad he’s getting some NHL experience either way.

I could not disagree more with the idea of taking any crap offer for Ristolainen, like a bottom 6 player. Like him or not, Ristolainen is a top 4 defenseman that adds value to the Sabres lineup. There’s a reason every coach that comes in plays him in a top pairing role (it’s not because he sucks...). I’m not saying he’s perfect by any means, and I’m not against trading him for a good young top 6 player that fits the team long term. Trading him for a bottom 6 easily replaceable plug sounds just like the ROR trade all over again and that has worked out awful for the Sabres so far. That was making a change for the sake of change and it did no good at all. All it did is create a gaping hole in our top 6 that has still yet to be addressed well enough. Trades made out of desperation seem to end pretty poorly for the desperate team. I feel like Ristolainen is the last big trade chip left. So, be patient and wait for the right trade. Take advantage of a desperate GM instead of being taken advantage of. Next year change will come come no matter what. Numerous roster spots and a good chunk of cap space open up. I want the Sabres to win now, but I’d rather wait until next year for big changes than make terrible trades just for the sake of change (if those were my only 2 choices, anyway...lol). I agree with the general idea idea of a shake up though. But it has to be done right, in a calculated, thought out manner.

Sounds pretty serious if he was air lifted. Hope he’s ok.

With the Ottawa Senators win tonight, they’ve won 4 of their last 6, and 6 of their last 9 games. I didn’t realize the Sens had been winning games... I saw that 8-2 blowout loss to Carolina the other night and just assumed they stunk. I still think its a game the sabres should win, but it may not be an easy win (not that wins are ever easy for buffalo teams anyway...).

If the Sabres don’t get back in the win column against freaking Ottawa, a team that’s in the midst of a full tear down rebuild, I swear.... I’m wondering if Johan Larsson might be hurt. Paul Hamilton said he wasn’t available post-game because he was in the trainers room.

I’m not sure how important drafting #1 overall even is when trying to acquire a QB. When i I look at the better QBs in the NFL right now, how many were top 3 picks? And how many were drafted at #10 or later in the draft? Seems like the majority of good QB currently playing came from somewhere outside the top of the draft.

I sure hope you’re right Bob.

3rd and 1 and they didn’t attempt to run it? And go deep....? Drives me nuts.

Gase and Douglas aren’t making many friends, huh?

Click on one of the tweets to read the whole thread. he’s definitely pissed at the Jets and sounds like he might be done there. Seems like Gase and Douglas aren’t making many friends.

Wow. Ladd on waivers. He was in the same UFA class as Okposo and both signed similar deals (Okposo left the NYI to sign here, and Ladd took his place there). Man that was an absolutely brutal free agent class... Lucic $6M x 7yrs Okposo $6M x 7 Ladd $5.5M x 7 Eriksson $6M x 6 Backes $6M x 5 Yandle $6.3 x 7 Boedker $4Mx4 Brouwer $4.5Mx4 Nielsen $5.1Mx6 Demers $4.5x5 Not a single player on the list I’d want with their current contracts+cap hits.

https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/botterill-are-there-forwards-can-produce-more-yeah Jason Botterill on WGR today.

Yikes. Now I feel even worse about their chances tonight. Just goes to show how serious the lack of depth is on this team. 1 guys out in the top 6 and things suddenly feel dire... Johansson isn’t exactly known for staying healthy either. Hopefully this is just a short term injury. There isn’t much down in rochester either, at least when looking for a potential top 6 forward to fill in for Johansson. There’s really nothing at center and pretty much only Tage Thompson at wing. Thankfully Cousins is looking great in juniors. As far as Krueger, yes it’s too early for me to start questioning him. I actually thought Miller has struggled recently, And Scandella/Joker was the team’s best defensive pairing before Scandella’s injury. Plus, McCabe brings a different element to the roster than Miller. We have more d men like Miller than the physical type like McCabe. So I can see the reasons behind the decision. But i was really excited when Krueger was hired and i’m never one who worries a ton over lineup decisions (for the most part) anyway, so I’m not the best to answer on stuff like this. I tend to find reasons to just go with the decision and support the coach. There’s so much that goes into these roster moves that we fans don’t get to see. Like the Joker decision for ex. From what we saw in preseason games he didn’t look all that good. I was questioning the decision to keep him and wondering if it had anything to do with Nylander making the Hawks our of camp. But obviously Jokiharju must have been doing much better in practices than in those preseason games because as soon as the regular season started we all saw exactly why he made the team over Casey Nelson (who has to pass through waivers). At the very least I’d like to see what Krueger does next season when Botterill will hopefully be forced to make some real changes to this team. A good chunk of cap space opens up and so do quite a few roster spots. I kind of feel like Krueger (or any coach) was set up to fail this year. It’s the same failed team of last year minus Pominville (plus Johansson/Vesey/Joker). Though if by the end of the year they end up looking as inept as last season, it’ll be hard not to question Krueger at least a little. But I feel like we’ve already seen what Krueger wants the team to look/play like and it’s better than anything we ever saw from Housley. And I feel like at some point we need to stop cycling coaches and start getting rid of the players that have continued to struggle under every coach we hire.

I’m not feeling too great about this Carolina game tonight. The Sabres usually seem to struggle against Carolina and the canes have looked pretty damn good so far this season. Buffalo should (hopefully) be pretty desperate to get a win. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we see them get back to playing the way they were to start the season.

https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/krueger-were-happy-be-back-nhl-rhythm interview with Ralph Krueger on Howard&Jeremy. Also, Lazar was recalled - https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-call-lazar-amerks

I get what you’re saying. I just figured that Pilut could step into scandella’s spot. I don’t at all care whether a trade included Perreault though. I’d be perfectly happy with Ehlers for Ristolainen. I’m not crazy about Perreault’s contract anyway. The Sabres will have to move, or waive, someone when Scandella comes back. If they can’t get a Risto trade worked out, I’m wondering if Scandella could be the player moved being he’s a UFA at years end and I read that there was some supposed interest in him. And I’m not sure what they plan to do when (or if?) Bogosian comes back. As far as Risto, I really only want to move him if a player like Ehlers is coming the other way. No picks and prospects unless the prospect is a top tier, can’t miss type (like when Montreal traded Sergachev, their recent top 10 pick. But those trades are rare).

Yes. He is a sure thing. He’s a top 6 forward right now, maybe even top line. He drives play. He’s young (a year younger than Risto iirc) and he’s under a nice contract ($6M cap hit) for 5 more seasons after this one. Ehlers is one of the players I’ve desired in return for Ristolainen for a while now (Mantha being another). Buffalo would have to send more cap back to make the trade work though (not much). I’d even consider expanding the trade to include Scandella for Perreault or something along those lines. Not crazy about there being 1 more year on Perreault’s contract, especially at a $4M cap hit but he would add a versatile mid line presence (he can play C and W) and depth scoring (usually good for 15-ish goals a year). And that would fill 2 huge holes on Winnipeg’s blue line. Could be a win-win.

Definitely comes down to the return for me. Risto is probably our last big trade chip left. I don’t want to see them cash him in out of desperation and take a lesser return just because they feel like they need to do something.

I feel bad for the kid. I really wanted him to make it.

It looked like he definitely got that 1st down on the overhead angle. Edit, hard to tell from that side angle though.

I thought he got the 1st down.

This game is ******* insane!

OMG russel Wilson, wow!

Perfect kick! Atta boy Chase!