BillsFan4

No way that Saints trade is real. I’m not saying he doesn’t go to the saints, but not for that. All the reports say the Steelers are holding firm in wanting a 1st. Reports also say the raiders offered a 2nd and 4th. Now suddenly they are going to trade Brown AND their own 1st? No way.

It’ll be kinda interesting to see how AB handles it if he goes to the raiders and they suck for the foreseeable future (which doesn’t seem that unlikely...), especially since he is doing what he can to pick his next destination.

atta boy jack! lol

Yeah, that shootout performance was definitely Lehner-esque. That first goal goal was just awful... Some of these shootout moves are getting really questionable IMO, as far as forward momentum goes (not so much last night, but I’m seeing it more and more around the NHL). Like this one - No goalie stands a chance on a shootout attempt lik that. I don’t think a guy should be allowed to basically almost come to a dead stop in front of the goalie + deke him out. If it doesn’t violate the forward momentum rule (and I think it could be argued either way) it surely violates the spirit of it. Guys are are going to keep pushing the boundaries until it gets called, though. IMO if it’s close it should be called. Or they should adjust the rule to make guys maintain a bit more speed.

I definitely don’t have my hopes up anymore.

It’s starting to sound like this is not a done deal.

Getting kinda anxious to see what we gave up.

I am super excited if true. I trust Beane’s judgement of character. We know they did their due diligence, that’s for sure. Honestly, When I read that NFL.com article where Brown wanted to be part of a team with a lot of camaraderie and play for owners who would want to get to know him and his family I said “hmm... sounds like he could actually be a fit”.

That Tyrod trade still looking quite impressive, eh?

I don’t put much stock in Jeremy White’s “SuperSecretSabresSorce” but it matches up with what I’ve heard elsewhere (and what I posted yesterday) about the Sabres being roughly $1M (per year) apart on an 8yr deal.

I hear you. That’s usually where I’m at most years. I always say “what’s the point of a win streak? It never seems to carry over into next season anyway”. But I just can’t bring myself to root for draft position this year. Im just so worn out on the losing. I don’t want to see this new batch of young players (Dahlin, Mitts, Thompson etc) have their souls crushed too. So im rooting for wins, draft position be damned (not that it makes any difference what I root for...lol).

Hmmm.... I wonder what teams Rob Blake was referring to. https://theathletic.com/855696/2019/03/07/gms-offseason-priorities-blackhawks-looking-to-spend-sabres-looking-to-deal-rangers-a-wild-card-and-more/ (subscription required) GMs’ offseason priorities: Blackhawks looking to spend, Sabres looking to deal, Rangers a wild card and more lol There was a few paragraphs about Botterill -

Cant say that I’m too optimistic about tonight. Especially since they already lost 7-3 to Chicago last month.

Happy to read the Bills have interest in Paradis. I just wish it was someone more reliable than Benjamin Albright who was reporting it.

“Sabres GM shares vision for future, success” ‘Botterill discusses Dahlin's development, Skinner's status, coach's performance in talk with NHL.com’ https://www.nhl.com/news/sabres-general-manager-jason-botterill-shares-vision/c-305495260 Speaking of Skinner... just came across this interview with botterill on NHL.com posted today.

I don’t think anything has changed on the Skinner front. At least not if you go by what’s being reported. Skinner just said himself the other day that this losing streak has no effect on him still wanting to be here. He said it doesn’t even factor into his decision. That he still wants to be here long term and he thinks he’s a piece of the puzzle here. Botterill also just addressed the Skinner situation in that interview on WGR550 the other day. He said they are still working towards a deal but that both sides really want to get it done. I think Botterill could have him signed right now if he were willing to give him something similar to the Stone deal ($9.5M per year). I think he is doing his best to get the Sabres a better deal than that. I heard a rumor (not sure how true it is) that Botterill is around $8M per year (or slightly less) and Skinner is around $9M per year (and likely wants a full no movement clause). Honestly, I am reluctant to sign Skinner for $9+M per year, so I’d that rumor is true I’m ok with Botts slow playing it if it gets buffalo a better deal. And there’s no way I give him a full no move without a discount on his AAV. If Skinner playing close to home is (reportedly) a big factor to him, then it seems like a fair trade to me. He gets his full no move clause and Buffalo gets a slight discount on AAV. No chance I do $9+M and a full NMC. But that’s just me. I still think a deal gets done though. I think it’s likely just a matter of the price and who caves more.

I sure hope for a better showing tonight than that 7-2 disaster the last time they played the Oilers. Adding insult to injury, Lucic even scored 2 goals in that game. He only had 2 goals the entire 2018 calendar year. That 2 goal night against Buffalo accounts for something like 40% of his goals in the last 70+ games. Kassian scored 2 as well. At the time he had gone 40+ games without a goal. Longest drought of his career. I cant take another brutal loss to Edmonton. lol

McCabe done for the year, it looks like.

Buffalo mentioned twice in Friedman’s latest 31 thoughts: https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/31-thoughts-golden-knights-won-mark-stone-sweepstakes/

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001020572/article/antonio-brown-i-dont-even-have-to-play-football

I think buffalo will be the 3rd NHL team to miss the playoffs after a 10 game win streak. I know Philly did it in recent years (one of their annual win streaks...) and I can’t remember who the other team was (it may have been Philly too (lol, kidding)). But yeah, pretty rare.

Not a warm reception, to say the least. Edit - Isles win 6 - 1 love it for islander fans. They are every bit as die hard as Sabres fans are.

Sounds about right... ?

My guess would be yes. Especially with how bad the Sabres have been the last 5 years. I don’t think buffalo, the city, will ever be a destination among players. It’s a definite disadvantage in free agency. But it seems like a lot of players end up liking it once they spend some time here. It’s by far his worst trade. But it’s still salvageable. It’s looking like we could give Anaheim the St. Louis pick if everything holds the way it is now. So, essentially it’ll then be ROR and Guhle for Montour, Thompson and whatever that 2nd turns into. (Plus Sobotka if you want to count him...lol). If Montour turns into a good, long term top 4 RHD for Buffalo and Thompson develops into a top 6 F, the trade could look ok. At least we got more of a sure thing with Montour though. The rest of Botterill’s trades have been better though. It makes me hopeful that the ROR trade was just an aberration. There were some extenuating circumstances there. But still, it sucks to give away our biggest trade chip for what buffalo did. Too bas they weren’t willing to eat that $7.5M bonus... (easy for me to say, right? lol). I think that would have changed things and even opened up more teams to trade him to (Carolina, NYI etc).