[Incomplete Title] Sabres (21-12-5) & NHL 2018-19 - Game 39 (MSG-B) vs. BOS (20-14-4) at 7 PM ET on 12/29

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

1 minute ago, Pete said:

I am not sure which is worse- 2-14 or 8-8?  The Bills have had plenty of both.  But when you are 2-14 you get Bruce Smith

 

8-8 is a disease.

 

8-8 is why the 17 year drought happened. Being average is horrible, except for those season ticket holders that clamor for it.

 

[26CornerBlitz]

Just now, Alaska Darin said:

Fine by me.  I'd love for them to be paying him $4M more than Jack every year for a decade.   Carter Hutton makes under $3 and Dahlin for the next 2 years is about $1M.

 

I agree. They can't keep everyone of their young players under the salary cap system which means they'll have to let someone go.  Hopefully Marner. 

[Pete]

Just now, Joe in Winslow said:

 

8-8 is a disease.

 

8-8 is why the 17 year drought happened. Being average is horrible, except for those season ticket holders that clamor for it.

 

We look like we have another shot at 8-8.  Haven't we seen this movie already?

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Just now, Pete said:

We look like we have another shot at 8-8.  Haven't we seen this movie already?

 

Yes, except unlike other regimes, we haven't spent to cap to get there.

 

I'm sure that you can see and understand that distinction.

 

[Pete]

Just now, Joe in Winslow said:

 

Yes, except unlike other regimes, we haven't spent to cap to get there.

 

I'm sure that you can see and understand that distinction.

 

yep and they are surprisingly playing great.  Our offense has big potential.  And the D is one of the best in NFL.  Not to mention they are young and signed for years.  10 picks.  Beane has drafted very well.  $90 million cap room.  The future is bright for both the Bills and Sabres!  

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[shrader]

52 minutes ago, Pete said:

I am not sure which is worse- 2-14 or 8-8?  The Bills have had plenty of both.  But when you are 2-14 you get Bruce Smith

 

So much better than when 3-13 gets you Mike Williams. 

Edited November 29, 2018 by shrader

[JohnC]

54 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

Arizona pretty much has to try this.   They desperately need to bring Matthews "home" and if I was him, I'd happily sign that deal.

I don't see where going to Arizona would be a boon for Matthews from a financial standpoint. Even if he was able to garner a bonanza contract that Toronto couldn't or was unwilling to match by leaving Toronto he would be losing a lot of ancillary revenue from advertisers all over the local region and stretching beyond in Canada. In Arizona his hockey profile for advertisers would be severely diminished if he crossed over the border to the land of sunshine and seniors. 

 

On the other hand if he went to a team such as the Rangers then the financial calculations would be much different. As it stands I just don't see him leaving Toronto. Whatever has to be worked out will be worked out in the Maple Leaf city. 

[snafu]

6 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I don't see where going to Arizona would be a boon for Matthews from a financial standpoint. Even if he was able to garner a bonanza contract that Toronto couldn't or was unwilling to match by leaving Toronto he would be losing a lot of ancillary revenue from advertisers all over the local region and stretching beyond in Canada. In Arizona his hockey profile for advertisers would be severely diminished if he crossed over the border to the land of sunshine and seniors. 

 

On the other hand if he went to a team such as the Rangers then the financial calculations would be much different. As it stands I just don't see him leaving Toronto. Whatever has to be worked out will be worked out in the Maple Leaf city. 

 

Honest question: is he getting $14 million American dollars in Arizona vs $14 million Canadien dollars in Toronto?

And I think he'd be able to recoup a good chunk of ancillary revenue being home in Az.  And I'm not sure how much an American player gets endorsements in Canada.

[shrader]

2 minutes ago, snafu said:

 

Honest question: is he getting $14 million American dollars in Arizona vs $14 million Canadien dollars in Toronto?

And I think he'd be able to recoup a good chunk of ancillary revenue being home in Az.  And I'm not sure how much an American player gets endorsements in Canada.

 

All nhl contracts are paid in American dollars. 

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[JohnC]

1 minute ago, snafu said:

 

Honest question: is he getting $14 million American dollars in Arizona vs $14 million Canadien dollars in Toronto?

And I think he'd be able to recoup a good chunk of ancillary revenue being home in Az.  And I'm not sure how much an American player gets endorsements in Canada.

I'm not sure how the contracts between US and Canadian work out. I would think that the differences would be accounted for in the contract with the Canadian teams. It just seems to me that a hockey star in Toronto is going to make out so much better in Canada than it would in Arizona. 

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[26CornerBlitz]

Sabres with the # 1 and #3 Cellys  of the week.

 

 

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Sabres Surging (28:21)

The Buffalo Sabres have won 10 games in a row. Are they legitimate contenders? 

[GETTOTHE50]

A lot of discussion whether or not it should be Reinhart or Poms on the 1st line... why not try Tage???

Edited November 29, 2018 by GETTOTHE50

[plenzmd1]

10 hours ago, JohnC said:

I don't see where going to Arizona would be a boon for Matthews from a financial standpoint. Even if he was able to garner a bonanza contract that Toronto couldn't or was unwilling to match by leaving Toronto he would be losing a lot of ancillary revenue from advertisers all over the local region and stretching beyond in Canada. In Arizona his hockey profile for advertisers would be severely diminished if he crossed over the border to the land of sunshine and seniors. 

 

On the other hand if he went to a team such as the Rangers then the financial calculations would be much different. As it stands I just don't see him leaving Toronto. Whatever has to be worked out will be worked out in the Maple Leaf city. 

Economics and technology of today really make the “ where you play determines your endorsement income” a moot point. However, in this case it might be true. Biggest star in Canada, and on the East Coast. I don’t see McD all over the place though , but he is not on East Coast.  

 

But it why I think he signs it quick is Toronto is stuck and may never come close to the offer he receives is in a term sheet unless they unload Willy before July.  Maybe Arizona offers $15m, but for only 4 years so he hits UDFA still in his absolute prime. In other words , Arizona is desperate to survive. This may be the splash they need

Edited November 29, 2018 by plenzmd1

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, plenzmd1 said:

Economics and technology of today really make the “ where you play determines your endorsement income” a moot point. However, in this case it might be true. Biggest star in Canada, and on the East Coast. I don’t see McD all over the place though , but he is not on East Coast.  

 

But it why I think he signs it quick is Toronto is stuck and may never come close to the offer he receives is in a term sheet unless they unload Willy before July.  Maybe Arizona offers $15m, but for only 4 years so he hits UDFA still in his absolute prime. In other words , Arizona is desperate to survive. This may be the splash they need

The issue for Matthews isn't what it would do for the invisible franchise he would go to, desperate it is for relevancy, as it is what it would do for him. Playing on a Stanley Cup contender in Toronto and Canada compared to playing for a franchise that the hockey world is oblivious to makes little sense from an ancillary financial sense for the player. 

 

We both agree that McDavid is one of the best players in the game. But he plays in an outpost in Edmonton for a team that hasn't made much success. If McDavid played for Toronto, Montreal or the Rangers then his profile and financial rewards would certainly be exponentially greater. There is another factor that has to be considered when projecting financial gain from product promotions. If a player has a wooden personality that certainly is going to crimp his financial potential. Sidney Crosby is an exception to this personality issue. He certainly has a stiff and colorless personality. No one can accuse him of exuding much charm. But he has played on a team that can be fairly categorized as a dynasty. My belief is that if he played on a mediocre team in the Arizona desert his stature in the promotion market would be much smaller. 

[shrader]

Maybe some of our canadian posters can chime in, but I'd imagine that McDavid is marketed hard all over that entire country.  It might decrease a bit if he was playing in an american market, but as long as he's with any of their 7 teams, he will be the face of the game up there.  The american factor for Matthews would probably play into his profile up there a bit, to the point where he'd have to be in one of the 2-3 mega markets up there to get the press.

[eball]

Man, I'm excited about tonight's game.  And nervous.  This is a true test.

[26CornerBlitz]

 

Game Preview: 11/29/18 at Tampa Bay

 

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

 

Game Notes

NHL Stats

Press Clips

 

LAST GAME
Thursday, November 27
San Jose 2 at Buffalo 3 (OT)
Goals: Ristolainen, Beaulieu, Skinner
Goalie: Hutton (36 saves/38 shots)
PP: 0/1; PK: 2/3; Shots: San Jose 38 – Buffalo 31

 

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 86)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Matt Hunwick (neck, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 25 games
Scott Wilson (ankle, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 25 games
Patrik Berglund (upper body, Nov. 21; injured reserve) – 4 games
Conor Sheary (upper body, Nov. 27) – 1 game
Marco Scandella (undisclosed, Nov. 27) – 1 game

 

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
11/23: Assigned D Lawrence Pilut to Rochester (AHL)
11/27: Recalled D Lawrence Pilut from Rochester (AHL)

 

UPCOMING GAMES
Friday, Nov. 30: Buffalo at Florida, 7 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 3: Buffalo at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 4: Toronto at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 8: Philadelphia at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 11: Los Angeles at Buffalo, 7 p.m.

 

TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at LIGHTNING

• This is the second of four meetings between the Sabres and Lightning this season.
• Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Tampa Bay 2-1 in Buffalo on Nov. 13
• Next meeting: Saturday, Jan. 12 in Buffalo
• The Sabres are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Lightning; 3-7-0 on the road
• This is the 100th game all-time between Buffalo and Tampa Bay; Buffalo has a 55-36-8 series record.
• The Sabres are 29-18-3 on the road against the Lightning all-time.

Bolts Aim to End Buffalo's Winning Streak

 

First place in the Atlantic Division is on the line as the Lightning host the red-hot Sabres in the finale of a five-game homestand .Read Now

 

Lines from Tuesday's game. Subject to change.

 

Forwards
Yanni Gourde - Steven Stamkos - J.T. Miller

Tyler Johnson - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov

Alex Killorn - Anthony Cirelli - Mathieu Joseph

Adam Erne - Cedric Paquette - Ryan Callahan

 

Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Dan Girardi

Ryan McDonagh - Erik Cernak

Braydon Coburn - Mikhail Sergachev

 

Goaltenders
Louis Domingue or Eddie Pasquale

[26CornerBlitz]

 

11 seems like a good number for tonight!

 

[ChevyVanMiller]

1 hour ago, shrader said:

Maybe some of our canadian posters can chime in, but I'd imagine that McDavid is marketed hard all over that entire country.  It might decrease a bit if he was playing in an american market, but as long as he's with any of their 7 teams, he will be the face of the game up there.  The american factor for Matthews would probably play into his profile up there a bit, to the point where he'd have to be in one of the 2-3 mega markets up there to get the press.

Another factor that might be in play is the high tax rate in Canada. I work there and I am taxed at 46%. I think NHL players would be at 53.53%. That's a big hunk of money they leave on the table.

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[BillsFan4]

https://theathletic.com/680420/2018/11/29/pronman-prospects-i-was-wrong-about-the-2018-edition/ 

 

its an athletic article (subscription is required), but I copied the relevant part of the article. 

 

Quote

It is time for my annual look at select prospect evaluations I made that were wrong, examining the information available at the time to highlight what specific issues caused the missed projection and what I’ve learned from those mistakes.

 

This is a business where mistakes will happen often. The players I’ve highlighted are not because they were the only errors but because there was something interesting that I’ve learned from the evaluation.

 

One theme you will see in this year’s edition is a discussion about player statistics and how they can both help and hurt.

Too Low

 

Quote

Oskari Laaksonen, D, Buffalo

 

The main point of this column is to highlight errors I’ve made and how I’ve learned from them. In the case of Laaksonen, I don’t think I made a glaring error. At the time of his pick, I had never heard of the guy. He was never at an international event but there was no way with my current process I would have ever watched him play live or on tape and deemed him not a prospect. Yet Buffalo picked him in the third round in 2017, surprising some in the industry. Two years later it looks like a very shrewd pick. Laaksonen regularly leads his Liiga team in minutes, he skates very well, he’s skilled and he has good offensive instincts. He’s gone through a growth spurt lately and has come out of it looking like a real prospect.

I don’t think I made an error in judgment here, but I didn’t even know about a now 19-year-old player who was drafted at 17 and seems on track to become an NHL player in the next few years. That’s a mistake regardless of the reason. It’s also one of the gutsiest and best picks I’ve seen in the past few years with the caveat that Laaksonen still needs to prove it at the NHL level.

 

 

[plenzmd1]

^^^^

 

Man, i forget Wilson is even on the team. I liked that dudes game last year

[26CornerBlitz]

[Doc]

Why isn't this game on NHLN or NBCSN? 

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[Pete]

I would like to see Pilut play. I get it- don't fix it if it's not broken. The Sabres are a joy to watch.  If at all possible, lets see what Pilut can do.  You can't have too many playmaking defensemen

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

4. Buffalo Sabres

Previous ranking: 9

Jeff Skinner. One of our easiest choices here. The left wing has clicked with Jack Eichel, the best center with whom he has ever played, and the result is 19 goals in 25 games. That follows a season when he scored 24 in 82 games. Hooray for changing scenery, No. 1 centers and contract years!

[Sig1Hunter]

Excited to be there in person!! Amalie is a great arena to watch hockey. 

[snafu]

1 hour ago, plenzmd1 said:

^^^^

 

Man, i forget Wilson is even on the team. I liked that dudes game last year

 

I liked his game a lot last year, too.  I don't think so, but maybe he was a standout among a dreary roster.

I've been waiting for him to get back, but wonder who's going to be bumped if he ever does come back.  I wonder if his "indefinite" status means January, or even just before the trade deadline.  If he goes to the third line, he might replace a guy who's not a good fourth line fit.  If he goes to the fourth line, he may have to bump a guy who's playing well.  If he plays well, then the team has trade bait (him or someone who's game is like his).

Nice problem to have.

 

 

 

 

 

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Nov. 29, 2018: Two Teams Going In Different Directions - Sportsnet.ca

 

Jeff and Elliotte discuss the high-flying Sabres and the best trade of the off-season as well as the housecleaning going on in the Philadelphia Flyers organization.

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[26CornerBlitz]