BillsFan4

I don’t see any reason to cut bait with UPL. Nobody is going to trade anything worthwhile for him and what would be the point in cutting him with no other goalies under contract for Buffalo or Rochester and nobody in the system that he’s blocking? Hes still only 23 years old too, which is actually still somewhat young for a goalie. Ryan Miller was 25 or 26 before he became an NHL regular. He spent 3 years in college + 3 (ish) years in the AHL after he was drafted. Not saying UPL is Miller but it’s typical for goalies to require more development and not to be ready until they are 24-25+, which is why I don’t understand Adams being worried about blocking young goalies with only a year or two of college under their belts.

I think Levi most likely signs here too. It’s Portillo that I’m not as optimistic on. This may be me reading something into nothing but a few times recently Kevyn Adams has been asked about the young goaltenders and talked up Levi and UPL without even mentioning Portillo until he was asked about him. Like I said it may be nothing but it made me wonder if he knows something we don’t or at least isn’t confident Portillo signs here. Or maybe he’s just not as high on Portillo as he is on Levi and UPL. Im not optimistic on Ryan Johnson either, though I did read a rumor recently that he could still decide to leave college this offseason. Though it just made me wonder if he’s waiting for the draft to see if he’s traded to a team he’s willing to sign with. Still hoping he decides to sign in Buffalo though.

i don’t know who they think will be ready in 2023. The only guy with any shot is UPL. The other 2 goalies they have aren’t even in the system yet and are a few years away from the NHL at very best if not longer. And both refused to sign just this offseason. They both had a wide open net in Rochester + Buffalo and chose college instead. Now one can now walk to UFA after this coming season and the other can walk after next season. It infuriates me when Kevyn Adams continually talks about not wanting to block the path of young players who aren’t even in the system and may never be, and who are a few years away at best (if not longer). Those young players haven’t earned a damn thing, especially not leaving a roster spot open on the big club for an unspecified amount of time. If either of Levi or Portillo are so scared off by the Sabres signing or trading for an average veteran starter that they choose to sign elsewhere then they were never going to be the answer in net anyway.

If his agent really did influence this article as others have mentioned above (which seems plausible), that makes me think Poyer wants top of the market safety money. I could see that being the case because he hasn’t really made a ton of money in his career and this is probably his last shot at a big pay day. But I just don’t see how it works out in Buffalo if that’s what he’s after. I think the best the bills could do is something similar to what he’s making now.

This is awesome!! I loved Mike Grier. Super happy for him!

I thought Kelly already gave Josh a football that said “passing the torch” a couple years ago? Is that the same football or a new one?

I’m trying not to overreact until we see what happens during the draft and free agency. But man, If they roll it back with Anderson, Tokarski and UPL and it goes about how we all expect it to go they are going to piss away the progress they made winning back the fan base last season.

looks like a good turn out.

That is my hope. Anderson as the backup. UPL starts the season in Rochester and The Sabres sign an actual starting caliber goaltender for Buffalo.

I was really hoping you were right 😢

Anyone have a review of paramount plus? I’ve been meaning to sign up for a trial. It seems like they might have some pretty good content.

I sure hope they just want him as the backup. If their plan is to rely on a 41yr old Craig anderson to start 40+ games for them it’s not going to go any better than it did last season. Anderson is a .900% goalie at this point in his career. The last 4 years don’t lie (.898, .903, .902, .897). He cannot be relied on as a starter. No team was even willing to offer him a contract last season. He was set to retire after no teams offered him a contract. I like Anderson. I think he’s great for the room. I’d be fine with him as the backup. But you can’t rely on Anderson/UPL and expect to compete for anything but a bottom 10 finish again (IMO anyway). UPL can’t stay healthy and has struggled in the AHL. If they want Anderson as a backup and a free agent/trade as the starter, with UPL in Rochester trying to earn a spot in Buffalo Im good with that. But Kevyn Adams comments about not wanting to “block” the kids from the net (2 of which aren’t even signed yet and could still choose the college UFA route) has me skeptical they’ll go after a veteran.

The refs basically just put away their whistles, especially for Tampa.

Congrats Colorado on a well deserved win! After the first period colorado just took the game over. It looked like they just wanted it more. I think they can held Tampa to no shots on net for most of the 3rd period (when they were down by a goal). I’m happy for MacKinnon, Landeskog, Cogliano, Johnson, Johnson and all the other vets on that team that put their time in. Always happy to see 9-10+yr vets win their 1st cup! Bummed that hockey is officially over now. At least we have the draft coming up. Then football training camps start. I wish I could get into baseball…

I view things much differently. You don’t have to love everything about America or leave. I think true patriotic Americans don’t just leave the country because they don’t like something about it. They work to make American a better place. I think that is precisely what makes America so great. History is filled with patriotic Americans who worked to make America a better country. Would you have told Martin Luther king jr or Susan B. Anthony to “love it or leave”? Of course not, right? They fought (peacefully) to make America a better place for all Americans. Americans fought to end Slavery. Fought for Civil rights. For Women’s rights. Workers rights. Equality. Voting rights (Etc). Just to be clear, I am not talking about Kaepernick and I’m definitely not comparing him to MLK jr or Susan b Anthony. I am also not saying that america isn’t a great country (it is). I am just addressing the “love it or leave it” comment/mentality.

Palat is so damn clutch.

That was a very long interview but I watched most of it. I think my favorite part was seeing how much respect they all had for Buffalo’s fan base. on a side note, this is the 2nd time I’ve watched this ‘bussin with the boys’ this week and I have to say, I am not the biggest fan of this podcast. I don’t think it will be one that I watch regularly.

too many men is a judgement call so either they didn’t see it or they saw it and didn’t think it was too many men on the ice. It’s hard to see in that clip but when I was watching the game live it looked to me like MacKinnon was within 5ft of the bench when Kadri took possession of the puck, which would mean it wasn’t too many men on the ice (afaik the rule is within 5ft of the bench).

Kittle said he was most excited about Allen attending. Tell me that doesn’t put a big smile on your face as a Bills fan? 😁

Im not saying I would consider there to be an asterisk next to the cup win. But you know how these things work. I’m already seeing a bunch of articles about the controversial goal and lots of fans saying the win wasn’t legitimate.

Sucks that the game ended in controversy. Even the official score sheet showed 6 skaters on the ice for Colorado. sucks for Colorado because now if they win the cup there will be an asterisk next to it (not that they’ll care) even though they’ve been the better team.

That’s the right choice IMO. Okie deserves it. He was who I wanted to get the ‘C’. I know Tuch was a popular choice among fans but he’s only played like less than 1/2 a season for Buffalo. I don’t think he’s established himself as a leader as much as Okposo has. I think Okposo has earned it more than any other player on the roster. Plus, giving it to Okposo leaves the door open to give it to someone else in the (near) future if they earn it. Where as you give it to 26yr old Alex Tuch he’s most likely the long term captain. I don’t see how you can give it to someone like Cozens/Dahlin/Krebs (etc). Tuch may still end up the long term captain but this gives the Sabres time to see who grows into it naturally.