Buffalo Sabres & NHL 2020-2021

[plenzmd1]

Man, watching on and off last couple of days makes me all kinds of pissed at JBOT again. Their presentation seems to be far and away the best so far. 
 

25th... ?

[njbuff]

3 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

John Chayka resigned. 
 

The coyotes didn’t pull any punches in their statement:

 

 

 

Here’s some details on what happened. It looks like the new opportunity was with another NHL team.

 

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/29555087/why-were-arizona-coyotes-angry-gm-john-chayka-quit

 

Reading that last sentence I was like “hmm... maybe the opportunity really was with the Sabres...”. 
 

But then I read the next line: @njbuff

 

 

I’m not really sure how I would’ve felt about Chayka in buffalo anyway. 

I haven’t heard anything about him coming to NJ, but I might be a little bit behind in the news to begin with.

[Greybeard]

On 7/20/2020 at 10:37 AM, T&C said:

1996, I read about this in the newspaper... an actual newspaper made of paper lol.

 

   Damn slip knots!

[BillsFan4]

8 hours ago, plenzmd1 said:

Man, watching on and off last couple of days makes me all kinds of pissed at JBOT again. Their presentation seems to be far and away the best so far. 
 

25th... ?

I am thrilled to have live hockey back to watch, but It’s also kind of depressing watching all these other teams get ready for the playoffs. I know they didn’t deserve to be there (though neither do some of these other teams....) but I would have loved to see what Ralph Krueger could do in more of a tournament setting like this. He’s pulled off some pretty huge upsets coaching tournament play over the years (beating team canada for silver has to be the most memorable. That was Insane!). Plus, with all the time off and strange circumstances we see some weird upsets in these play in rounds. 

The Sabres have been known to get hot for a stretch too...

 

It would have been a lot of fun. Well, maybe. If they didn’t **** the bed right away. ?

[BillsFan4]

 

[BillsFan4]

It so nice having hockey back! 
 

Im enjoying this Montreal Vs Pittsburgh game. I’m kind of rooting for Montreal. Actually, I’m kind of rooting for every team in our division during this play-in round. Even Toronto. I don’t want that 1st overall pick to end up in our division. After the play-in round I’ll pick a new team to root for, but until then, Go East! lol 

 

 

play-in round Tv schedule:

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2020/08/01/nhl-playoffs-times-tv-stanley-cup-games/5557652002/

Edited August 2, 2020 by BillsFan4

[bbb]

What slot gets the pick?

[BillsFan4]

11 hours ago, bbb said:

What slot gets the pick?

It’ll go to one of the 8 teams that don’t make the 16 team playoff round. So if a team loses in this play-in round, they’ll get a chance at #1 overall. I believe each team gets a 1 in 8 chance iirc.

 

So, for example, if Toronto doesn’t make the 16 team playoff round they’ll end up with a 1 in 8 shot at the #1 overall pick. It would be a f’ing nightmare if they added LaFreniere to Matthews, Marner, Tavares! 
 

I’m hoping the pick goes out west somewhere.

[plenzmd1]

27 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

It’ll go to one of the 8 teams that don’t make the 16 team playoff round. So if a team loses in this play-in round, they’ll get a chance at #1 overall. I believe each team gets a 1 in 8 chance iirc.

 

So, for example, if Toronto doesn’t make the 16 team playoff round they’ll end up with a 1 in 8 shot at the #1 overall pick. It would be a f’ing nightmare if they added LaFreniere to Matthews, Marner, Tavares! 
 

I’m hoping the pick goes out west somewhere.

Guaranteed right now..loser of the Pens-Canadians gets LaFraniere(sp) 

[BillsFan4]

Philly vs. Boston today at 3pm (EST) should be a good game! 

[bbb]

9 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

It’ll go to one of the 8 teams that don’t make the 16 team playoff round. So if a team loses in this play-in round, they’ll get a chance at #1 overall. I believe each team gets a 1 in 8 chance iirc.

 

So, for example, if Toronto doesn’t make the 16 team playoff round they’ll end up with a 1 in 8 shot at the #1 overall pick. It would be a f’ing nightmare if they added LaFreniere to Matthews, Marner, Tavares! 
 

I’m hoping the pick goes out west somewhere.

 

Oh, I thought it was already slotted, like to whoever finishes in the tenth seed or whatever.  So, they are going to have another ping pong thing or whatever they do? 

[BillsFan4]

4 hours ago, bbb said:

 

Oh, I thought it was already slotted, like to whoever finishes in the tenth seed or whatever.  So, they are going to have another ping pong thing or whatever they do? 

Yep. 
 

https://thehockeywriters.com/2020-nhl-draft-lottery-round-2-explained/

 

Quote

The initial lottery, held June 26, was supposed to determine the order of the draft.

 

The Detroit Red Wings had the best individual odds at 18.5%. The Ottawa Senators came next, with their own pick rated at 13.5% and a pick they received in the Erik Karlssontrade with the San Jose Sharks (September 2018) at 11.5%, for a combined 25% chance of picking first. 
 

The other five teams that won’t be playing in the postseason include the Los Angeles Kings (9.5%), Anaheim Ducks (8.5%), New Jersey Devils (7.5%), and Buffalo Sabres (6.5%). “Placeholders” were included in the lottery for whichever teams lose in the Qualification Round. Labeled “Team A” through “Team H,” they had percentages ranging from 6% to 1%. The placeholders had a cumulative 24.5% chance of winning the lottery.

 

Quote

That 24.5% came through. When the dust cleared, Team B, with a 5% chance, landed in the top spot, followed by the Kings, Senators (from San Jose), Red Wings, and again the Senators. 

I feel for Detroit. That was worst case scenario for them. But I’m also kind of glad. There was a chance the top 3 picks from this draft all landed right in our division (Detroitx1 and Ottawa x2). 

 

Quote

The second lottery, to determine which team becomes “Team B,” will be held following the Qualification Round. Half of the 16 teams participating will advance to the actual 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. The other eight teams will each have an equal chance to win the second lottery at 12.5%. 
 

One of the eight teams will pick Lafrenière (or another young stud). The other seven teams will select 9th through 15th.

So now the teams left in our division that are in this play-in round are Toronto, Montreal and Florida. If any of those 3 fail to quality for the playoffs, they’ll get 12.5% odds at that #1 overall pick. 
 

The other teams in the play-in round:

 

East- Pittsburgh, Carolina, NYI, NYR, Blue Jackets

 

West- Chicago, Calgary, Edmonton, Nashville, Arizona, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Minnesota

 

[bbb]

12 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

Yep. 
 

https://thehockeywriters.com/2020-nhl-draft-lottery-round-2-explained/

 

 

I feel for Detroit. That was worst case scenario for them. But I’m also kind of glad. There was a chance the top 3 picks from this draft all landed right in our division (Detroitx1 and Ottawa x2). 

 

So now the teams left in our division that are in this play-in round are Toronto, Montreal and Florida. If any of those 3 fail to quality for the playoffs, they’ll get 12.5% odds at that #1 overall pick. 
 

The other teams in the play-in round:

 

East- Pittsburgh, Carolina, NYI, NYR, Blue Jackets

 

West- Chicago, Calgary, Edmonton, Nashville, Arizona, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Minnesota

 

 

Thanks - great explanation! 

[BillsFan4]

So is the NHL covid bubble working? I would say that it appears to be so far.
I really hope it continues. It gives me (more) hope for sports this year! 

[BillsFan4]

First big upset - Montreal eliminated Pittsburgh from the play-in round. Montreal will advance to the playoffs. 
 

Coyotes eliminated the Predators too.

 

Leafs are facing elimination tonight (8pm EST). I’m torn because I’d lie to see them eliminated but I don’t want them getting the 1st overall pick. That would be a nightmare. Adding LaFreniere to Marner, Matthews, Tavares, Morgan Rielly, Nylander... ugh. 

[Dr. Who]

55 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

First big upset - Montreal eliminated Pittsburgh from the play-in round. Montreal will advance to the playoffs. 
 

Coyotes eliminated the Predators too.

 

Leafs are facing elimination tonight (8pm EST). I’m torn because I’d lie to see them eliminated but I don’t want them getting the 1st overall pick. That would be a nightmare. Adding LaFreniere to Marner, Matthews, Tavares, Morgan Rielly, Nylander... ugh. 

If the Leafs end up with the first overall pick, I'm done with hockey . . . alright, probably not, but I shall be very, very cross.

[BillsFan4]

 

Royal blue Jersey reveal on Tuesday.

[BillsFan4]

Toronto eliminated. Columbus definitely deserved to win this series. They were the better, more motivated team. 
 

Now we just cross our fingers that Toronto doesn’t win the #1 overall pick... ? 

[Greg S]

[K-9]

15 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

Toronto eliminated. Columbus definitely deserved to win this series. They were the better, more motivated team. 
 

Now we just cross our fingers that Toronto doesn’t win the #1 overall pick... ? 

The NHL is beyond absurd. What other sports league would give 24 teams, 77% of the league, a chance to win the championship or be awarded the first overall pick in the draft upon entering the same post-season tournament? 

[Jauronimo]

On 8/7/2020 at 5:54 PM, BillsFan4 said:

First big upset - Montreal eliminated Pittsburgh from the play-in round. Montreal will advance to the playoffs. 
 

Coyotes eliminated the Predators too.

 

Leafs are facing elimination tonight (8pm EST). I’m torn because I’d lie to see them eliminated but I don’t want them getting the 1st overall pick. That would be a nightmare. Adding LaFreniere to Marner, Matthews, Tavares, Morgan Rielly, Nylander... ugh. 

Thankfully we played 2 less games than MTL and finished one less win and one less tie otherwise this could have been us!  Thanks Bettman.

[Dr. Who]

Rangers win the lottery. Leafs officially risible. Royal blue unveiled tomorrow. Not bad.

[BillsFan4]

https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2020/08/10/new-york-rangers-win-2020-nhl-draft-lottery/
 

Rangers get #1 overall as Dr. Who mentioned. 
 

Id have definitely preferred for it to go out west but at least Toronto didn’t win it! ?

and at least LaFrienere won’t be in our division. Technically, with the teams in the bottom 7 and with Ottawa holding 2 top picks, all 3 of the top 3 picks could have ended up right in our division. So it definitely could have been worse. 
 

the NYR are going to be a really good team though. I love what their GM has done so far in their rebuild. It’s been about 10x faster than the Sabres too, but it sure helps when so many players want to live & play in NYC (and big time execs want to work there too, like John Davidson). They didn’t even have to go that hard after Panarin. They got Fox to sign there instead of going to UFA after he refused to sign elsewhere. They get good college free agents all the time (they’re basically in the running for any good college UFA they want). But Gorton has still done a phenomenal job with the rebuild. Can’t take that away from him.

 

 

edit - just saw that the Leafs 1st round pick sits at #13. 
 

They sent it to Carolina this past offseason to dump Patrick Marleau’s contract. ?? Ouch. 
 

 

Edited August 11, 2020 by BillsFan4

[ChevyVanMiller]

Sabres finally going back to the beloved Royal Blue.
 

https://thehockeywriters.com/sabres-jersey-reveal-week/

[KD in CA]

I don't care how you justify it, a team with 79 points picking 1st and one with 68 points picking 8th is absurd.    Red Wings look like one of the worst teams in history and they pick 4th?

 

Lotteries are a terrible idea, unless you're running the league and are more interested in helping big market teams than in helping crappy teams .

 

Then again, all the #1 picks in the world wouldn't make a difference for the Sabres.

Edited August 11, 2020 by KD in CA

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

11 hours ago, ChevyVanMiller said:

Sabres finally going back to the beloved Royal Blue.

 

[shrader]

12 hours ago, KD in CA said:

I don't care how you justify it, a team with 79 points picking 1st and one with 68 points picking 8th is absurd.    Red Wings look like one of the worst teams in history and they pick 4th?

 

Lotteries are a terrible idea, unless you're running the league and are more interested in helping big market teams than in helping crappy teams .

 

Then again, all the #1 picks in the world wouldn't make a difference for the Sabres.

 

I never liked it from the start when it was only one team, but the three team lottery is a complete travesty.  Every year they've done it, there's been at least one big jump in the lottery order.  Hell, the Rags have done it now two years in a row.  The teams that desperately need the elite picks are being leapfrogged each year.  It will be fun to hear all of the "it's fixed" talk fire up after this one because right as they're in a mini-rebuild, the Rags are handed two elite prospects.

[BillsFan4]

 

Edited August 11, 2020 by BillsFan4

[Brennan Huff]

Imagine working in the Sabres PR department or the social media team and having to push these “new” jerseys. I like them but I’m too mad at the team for being god awful for so long

[KD in CA]

1 hour ago, shrader said:

 

I never liked it from the start when it was only one team, but the three team lottery is a complete travesty.  Every year they've done it, there's been at least one big jump in the lottery order.  Hell, the Rags have done it now two years in a row.  The teams that desperately need the elite picks are being leapfrogged each year.  It will be fun to hear all of the "it's fixed" talk fire up after this one because right as they're in a mini-rebuild, the Rags are handed two elite prospects.

 

The fear that teams will all be jockeying to lose games at the end of the year is just idiotic.  As if a bunch of pro athletes are going to try to lose so that the team can draft a young kid who will take one of their jobs.  Right.    

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

1 hour ago, Brennan Huff said:

Imagine working in the Sabres PR department or the social media team and having to push these “new” jerseys. I like them but I’m too mad at the team for being god awful for so long

Sabres: "How's about we throw in a free Sabrejak?"

95% of the fans:  "ALL IS FORGIVEN!"  ?

[May Day 10]

I think the NHL's lottery system wasnt that bad 10-15 years ago.  It was really confusing, but there was a cap on how far a team could move up.  

[Doc Brown]

They nailed it for the most part.  Especially the white.  I like the extra stitching on the Buffalo. A minor complaint is the the two random white lines feel unnecessary.  I was a big fan of the late 90's jerseys but this is pry their best jersey combination ever.

 

 

[Ned Flanders]

2 hours ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

Sabres: "How's about we throw in a free Sabrejak?"

95% of the fans:  "ALL IS FORGIVEN!"  ?

Dang, I'm tempted...https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=sabrejak&_sacat=0

 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

6 hours ago, \GoBillsInDallas/ said:

 

Why is that ? NOT behind a paywall?  Or a sneaky link?  ?

4 minutes ago, Ned Flanders said:

Dang, I'm tempted...https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=sabrejak&_sacat=0

 

You could probably offer JC Penny $500 and a good case of beer to get the rights to manufacture and sell the line.

[shrader]

39 minutes ago, Ned Flanders said:

Dang, I'm tempted...https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=sabrejak&_sacat=0

 

 

My mom has one stored away in her closet.  I really need to claim that thing at some point.  It's probably way too small for me since the original owner (her uncle) was almost a foot shorter than me.  But hey, it would still be a cool item to have on a wall or something.

[Beast]

3 hours ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

Sabres: "How's about we throw in a free Sabrejak?"

95% of the fans:  "ALL IS FORGIVEN!"  ?

 

The trainers used to work for free Sabre Jaks!

 

 

[shrader]

17 minutes ago, Beast said:

 

The trainers used to work for free Sabre Jaks!

 

 

 

Did the team throw in the pants too?

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

7 minutes ago, shrader said:

 

Did the team throw in the pants too?

Kee-rist!  Those look like a pair of those 'lounge pants / pajama bottoms' Bride the Second would buy me at Christmas.  ?

[BillsFan4]

3 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

They nailed it for the most part.  Especially the white.  I like the extra stitching on the Buffalo. A minor complaint is the the two random white lines feel unnecessary.  I was a big fan of the late 90's jerseys but this is pry their best jersey combination ever.

 

 

??