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Buffalo Sabres and NHL 2021-2022

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BillsPride12 Veteran

BillsPride12

Posted
Posted
32 minutes ago, Greg S said:

 

They will have to prove it next year when the pressure is on. I have seen it to many times when bad teams out of the playoff race start to play well because their is no pressure on them. Lets see them do next year and actually win consistently while in a playoff race.

I generally agree but I do think this team legitimately plays with some heart and they have a desire to win.  They still need to add more pieces and figure out the goaltending situation before they are a legitimate playoff team IMO but I do think this current group has their heart in it.  Kevin Adams better have some tricks up his sleeve to upgrade the talent level going forward. 

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ChevyVanMiller
ChevyVanMiller

With his 37th goal of the season Tage Thompson officially has eclipsed Jack Eichel’s best ever season (36). Pretty amazing. Don Granato deserves high praise for the moxie and foresight he showed movin

Mike in Horseheads
Mike in Horseheads
PromoTheRobot
PromoTheRobot

Owen Power just signed with the Sabres.

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PromoTheRobot Hall of Famer

PromoTheRobot

Posted
Posted
20 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

 

 

PS:  He's right with what he said about that being the loudest game in Buffalo that he ever heard.  That building has been SILENT with the worst atmosphere in the league for over a decade now.  I and hundreds of other Sabres fans have been bitching about this at Sabres forums since long before we drafted Eichel.

 

I still can't believe we traded away by far our 2 best players (Eichel and Reinhart) and thought that would make the team better somehow....

 

 

 

And yet the Sabres are better now. Just goes to show it's not just talent. It's also chemistry. Reinhart I wish we could have kept but he had enough. Eichel had revealed himself to not be a player to build a team around. Just look at Vegas free falling out of the playoffs since he arrived.

 

As for crowd noise, it's actually been better with fewer people. Seems like the real hockey fans are still going and they appreciate what they are seeing. An engaged 5K are noisier than a bored 19K.

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Jauronimo Hall of Famer

Jauronimo

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21 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

True, though Edmonton hasn't done a lot with McDavid either...

 

It takes more than a few super stars---and Eichel is a LONG way away from the "generational talent" he was rumored to be.

 

He's probably the 10th best center in the league (or so).  Damn fine player, good for 1.3 points per game.  Can do a lot of winning with a guy like that, but to think of him as by far the best draft prospect in 20 years, as it turns out, is laughable....

 

PS:  He's right with what he said about that being the loudest game in Buffalo that he ever heard.  That building has been SILENT with the worst atmosphere in the league for over a decade now.  I and hundreds of other Sabres fans have been bitching about this at Sabres forums since long before we drafted Eichel.

 

Sure, he didn't "say the right thing" but I applaud him for speaking his mind.  He's a no-bull#### kind of guy.

 

I still can't believe we traded away by far our 2 best players (Eichel and Reinhart) and thought that would make the team better somehow....

 

 

I was impressed with the way Reinhart stepped up last year without Jack and I'm impressed with his production in Florida this year.  Sam handled himself with class but I think the Eichel clique needed to go.  

 

Too early to tell, but I feel pretty good about the Eichel trade right now.  Krebs is really coming into his own and Tuch has been everything that was advertised since day 1.  If the picks pan out or can be used as trade pieces, bonus.  

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BillsFan4 All Pro

BillsFan4

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On 3/14/2022 at 8:44 AM, Greg S said:

 

They will have to prove it next year when the pressure is on. I have seen it to many times when bad teams out of the playoff race start to play well because their is no pressure on them. Lets see them do next year and actually win consistently while in a playoff race.

True, but that usually doesn’t happen with the Sabres. In the past how-many-ever seasons it seems like they got worse as the year went on. They’d get hot early then when the pressure was on they’d cave and usually finish out the season pretty poorly.

 

This is the first time in recent memory where it seems like the team is getting better as the year goes on instead of worse.

 

I definitely agree about next season. They need to show real improvement in the standings.

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PromoTheRobot Hall of Famer

PromoTheRobot

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5 minutes ago, \GoBillsInDallas/ said:

For 2022-23, the Sabres currently have only 15 players under contract.

For 2023-24, the Sabres currently have only 5 players under contract.

 

https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/sabres

 

 

 

People laughed when the Sabres signed players to the minimum this year. But now that have a crap ton of cap space, a gazillion draft picks and the #1-rated group of prospects.

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4merper4mer Hall of Famer

4merper4mer

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19 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

True, but that usually doesn’t happen with the Sabres. In the past how-many-ever seasons it seems like they got worse as the year went on. They’d get hot early then when the pressure was on they’d cave and usually finish out the season pretty poorly.

 

This is the first time in recent memory where it seems like the team is getting better as the year goes on instead of worse.

 

I definitely agree about next season. They need to show real improvement in the standings.

There are no guarantees but they really give off a vibe of finally becoming a team.  I’d give credit to:

 

The coach

The willingness of the young guys like Cozens and Dahlin

The Vegas dudes

The actual leadership of some of the older guys….,specifically Okposo

The absence of Eichel’s “locker room presence”

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PromoTheRobot Hall of Famer

PromoTheRobot

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, BillsPride12 said:

This team is incapable of stringing together 3 good games in a row.  Goodnight

 

Win a few games and you're expected to win them all. Better not watch tonight against Calgary then.

 

In other news, Jack Eichel is injuried and out.

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T&C Veteran

T&C

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I missed the game last night... must have been an ugly watch with a 6-1 finish but at this point we can't expect to win all that much. Will be checking out the Flames game tonight though.

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BillsFan4 All Pro

BillsFan4

Posted
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just a reminder that Tim Murray drafted this kid and Jason Botterill decided he wasn’t even worth offering an entry level contract.

 

He was just traded for TWO 1st round picks and multiple prospects.

 

I know some here feel that Murray was the worst GM ever, but I’d say Botterill was right there with him, if not worse. At least Murray made a few good moves and draft picks. At least he had a vision for the type of team he was building. 

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ChevyVanMiller Veteran

ChevyVanMiller

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, BillsFan4 said:

Great win last night! I fully expected another butt kicking but the Sabres had other plans! 😂

 

IMO these are the types of games where you can see the growth of this young team.

Agreed. Was also very impressed how the Sabres completely controlled the puck throughout the entire overtime. Considering they were on a back-to -back and had to be gassed, that was very impressive.

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Nextmanup Hall of Famer

Nextmanup

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

Great win last night! I fully expected another butt kicking but the Sabres had other plans! 😂

 

IMO these are the types of games where you can see the growth of this young team.

 

48 minutes ago, ChevyVanMiller said:

Agreed. Was also very impressed how the Sabres completely controlled the puck throughout the entire overtime. Considering they were on a back-to -back and had to be gassed, that was very impressive.

It was a solid win against a really good team.  What I noticed throughout was lots of Sabre forwards really hustling their asses off getting back on the back check and players playing, in general, with tenacity.

 

In hockey, it is so obvious to see a hustling player vs. a floating player, especially if you used to play the game yourself. 

 

I think Granato has the right sort of makeup of players this time around.

 

Also LOVED the way the Sabres reacted in the outdoor game after that weird Dahlin vs. Matthews incident in front of the net...and the way the Workhorse from White Horse did something about it at the end of the game, just to send a message. 

 

Cozens is my favorite Sabre in quite a long time.

 

I can't wait for him to put some weight/muscle on his skinny frame....

 

 

Edited by Nextmanup
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BillsFan4 All Pro

BillsFan4

Posted
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2 hours ago, 4merper4mer said:

I like Hagg.  Not sure he was in the long term plan anyway but a 6th is basically a giveaway.

 

Meh. Whatever. He’s a #6-7 defenseman. I was expecting maybe a 5th, or a 4th if some team was desperate for a bit more toughness. A 6th seems a bit light but I guess that’s just what happens when you trade with the Panthers 😂.

Seriously, I think Bill Zito has won every trade he’s made. I really like what he’s doing in Florida. 


If nothing else at least this trade opened a spot for Owen Power, who should be joining the lineup in a few weeks.


Im sure we’ll see a few more players traded for mid/late picks. I’m hoping someone wants Eakin!

 

The Sabres don’t really have any premium assets to trade at the deadline.

Id say Hinostroza is probably the most valuable UFA they have. Hopefully they’ll use their cap space to pick up a couple additional assets that way.

I’m just hoping they don’t sell low on guys like Mittelstadt and Olofsson. Both are still trying to come back from injury. I can’t see any team offering anything that would make a trade worthwhile.

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4merper4mer Hall of Famer

4merper4mer

Posted
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52 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

 

Meh. Whatever. He’s a #6-7 defenseman. I was expecting maybe a 5th, or a 4th if some team was desperate for a bit more toughness. A 6th seems a bit light but I guess that’s just what happens when you trade with the Panthers 😂.

Seriously, I think Bill Zito has won every trade he’s made. I really like what he’s doing in Florida. 


If nothing else at least this trade opened a spot for Owen Power, who should be joining the lineup in a few weeks.


Im sure we’ll see a few more players traded for mid/late picks. I’m hoping someone wants Eakin!

 

The Sabres don’t really have any premium assets to trade at the deadline.

Id say Hinostroza is probably the most valuable UFA they have. Hopefully they’ll use their cap space to pick up a couple additional assets that way.

I’m just hoping they don’t sell low on guys like Mittelstadt and Olofsson. Both are still trying to come back from injury. I can’t see any team offering anything that would make a trade worthwhile.

IMO they shouldn’t even entertain offers for Olofsson.  Mittlestadt pretty much blows but they aren’t getting anything for him.

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BillsFan4 All Pro

BillsFan4

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15 hours ago, 4merper4mer said:

IMO they shouldn’t even entertain offers for Olofsson.  Mittlestadt pretty much blows but they aren’t getting anything for him.

Yeah Mittelstadt has been a disappointment for sure. But I think he was brought up way too early. He was barely over a year removed from high school hockey when the Sabres signed him and put him right in the NHL (burning a year of his ELC for 8 games). I honestly don’t even know what they saw in that one college season he played to make them think he was ready for the NHL. He had a pretty good season, not great (he wasn’t even in the top 100 in points iirc). There were a lot of games where he looked overwhelmed by the jump in competition from high school to college. Apparently, the Sabres saw that and said “hey, let’s give him an NHL contract!” 😂

 

I thought Mitts looked like he was finally figuring it out at the end of last season after Granato took over. I was so excited to see what he would do this season. But it’s basically been a lost season to injury. I think he’s been starting to look better lately though.

 

As you said, they aren’t getting anything (worthwhile) for him. May as well just keep him and hope they can develop him.

 

Olofsson’s season was also derailed by injury. You can tell he’s still not 100% by the velocity of his shots. The reason I wondered if they’d possibly trade Olofsson is because he’s RFA at year’s end and I think his QO is $4 or $4.1M. They may not feel he’s worth that, but could always try to negotiate a multi year deal for less.

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BillsFan4 All Pro

BillsFan4

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Posted
9 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Sabres win again. 6-3-0 in March.

 

 

 

Really nice OT win last night! That’s two nice OT wins in a row.

 

loved the hustle. If this team keeps playing with this identity I am confident that they’ll win the fan base back. I know myself I’m starting to get sucked back in 😂

 


 

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ChevyVanMiller Veteran

ChevyVanMiller

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Posted
32 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

Really nice OT win last night! That’s two nice OT wins in a row.

 

loved the hustle. If this team keeps playing with this identity I am confident that they’ll win the fan base back. I know myself I’m starting to get sucked back in 😂

 


 

Touch is captain material, through and through.

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Bob in Mich Veteran

Bob in Mich

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Posted

I have been critical of their OT strategy.  In the past several players seemed unaware of how critical it is to maintain possession - to play keep away - until someone can spring free for that superb opportunity.  The last two games they have played the OT possession game perfectly.  Well done!

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Nextmanup Hall of Famer

Nextmanup

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Posted

Some time around 2-3 weeks ago, it feels like the team turned a corner.

 

I expect next year to be a big move forward, like ending up 10-15 in the conference and nowhere near the bottom finish we will have this year....but still not good enough for playoffs.


Playoffs come in 2023-24.

 

It's amazing how many years we have lost to this rebuild!  It's actually criminal.

 

 

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The Jokeman All Pro

The Jokeman

Posted
Posted
45 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

Some time around 2-3 weeks ago, it feels like the team turned a corner.

 

I expect next year to be a big move forward, like ending up 10-15 in the conference and nowhere near the bottom finish we will have this year....but still not good enough for playoffs.


Playoffs come in 2023-24.

 

It's amazing how many years we have lost to this rebuild!  It's actually criminal.

 

 

It won't end until we find a legitimate starting goalie. 

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