So Korab, I like your views on things...I too think the game is very boring compared to the 70's 80's and right after the lockout.
Do you think enlarging the ice surface would help, or do you think eventually coaches adapt and we are back to what we have no.
Forget about the low probability due to lost revenues...interested in your thoughts.
- IonSabres

I think one of the biggest mistakes the NHL made was not going to olympic sized ice when they started building new arenas in the 90's. Teams would have had to deal with smaller ice in some cities and larger ice in others, but unique playing fields work just fine in baseball. Alas, this was much too radical of an idea, especially for traditionalists.
I cant remember the last time i saw an amazing, legal, open ice hit in an NHL game.

Seedy-Did you see Phaneuf smoke Guhle last week?

Seedy-Did you see Phaneuf smoke Guhle last week?
- Der Kaiser

Beat me to it, I was just about to post this.

Jamie McBain is on waviers.. wow we've come a long way

I think one of the biggest mistakes the NHL made was not going to olympic sized ice when they started building new arenas in the 90's. Teams would have had to deal with smaller ice in some cities and larger ice in others, but unique playing fields work just fine in baseball. Alas, this was much too radical of an idea, especially for traditionalists.
I cant remember the last time i saw an amazing, legal, open ice hit in an NHL game.
- seedy

i love the red sox, and fenway is probably the most unique park in baseball. its cool to see how playing in such a unique park drastically impacts their roster every year. it would be cool to see how hockey gms approached their rosters if they were one of a few teams playing on olympic sized rinks. guys like matt moulson would become gadget players- maybe only hitting the ice against teams on smaller (suppose i should just say narrower) ice.

also- for what its worth, every major league baseball team north of the mason dixon line should have a retractable dome. there is just no good reason games should be rained/snowed out. its 2015.

I would assume if they are looking to go the goaltender insurance route, there's a better option than the Kings one:

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie 28m28 minutes ago

MTL puts Barberio and Tokarski on waivers.
WPG puts Jay Harrison on waivers.

ESTEPHAN SOUNDS OFF WITH 4-POINT NIGHT OVER WEEKEND

Blanked in two games last weekend to start the Western Hockey League schedule, Giorgio Estephan (2015, sixth round) stepped it up a notch Saturday with a career-high four points to earn the game’s No. 1 star as Lethbridge skated to a 5-1 victory at Kootenay.

Estephan wasted little time getting going, burying a one-timer from the slot at 1:08 of the opening frame to make it a 1-0 game. He'd earn a secondary helper on the Hurricanes’ second goal just 1:39 later and follow up with two primary assists in the final two periods to round out his productive Saturday. Estephan resumed work on Sunday, but was unable to get on the board as Lethbridge was beaten by defending league-champion Kelowna 6-3.

After getting wins in two of their first four games, Estephan and the Hurricanes will look to get back on track Tuesday when they play host to Red Deer.

WHL
Brycen Martin (2014, third round) supplied two shots on goal Friday in Saskatoon's 3-2 overtime loss to Medicine Hat. The fourth-year defender returned to action Sunday, capturing a pair of assists as the Blades again fell in overtime 5-4 to Vancouver. Through four games, Martin has collected five points (1+4), which ranks second among league defenders, while logging a team-best plus-6 rating.

Defenseman Devante Stephens (2015, fifth round) logged a plus-2 rating Friday as Kelowna opened a weekend road trip with a 5-3 victory at Edmonton. Stephens posted a career-low minus-4 on Saturday in a 7-4 loss at Red Deer, and then finished the three-game run with a plus-1 as the Rockets doubled Lethbridge 6-3 on Sunday.

OHL
Eric Cornel (2014, second round) failed to produce Thursday as Peterborough was blanked 3-0 at Oshawa, but he got it right Saturday, cashing his first goal of the year in the Petes’ 3-2 win over Niagara. Cornel gave the Petes a 2-0 lead in the second period when he collected a turnover at the left circle and rifled a shot high glove side. Cornel, who was named the team's captain earlier in the week, has collected four points (1+3) through his first four games.

QMJHL
Vaclav Karabacek (2014, second round) scored for the second straight game Friday as Baie-Comeau was bested by Rimouski 6-2. Karabacek took an early roughing penalty that led the Oceanics' first goal of the game, but he made up for it with an unassisted strike at 7:58 of the middle frame. Karabacek was unable to make it three straight games with a goal, finishing with three shots and a minus-1 rating on Sunday in a 6-2 loss to Victoriaville.

Sweden
Jonas Johansson (2014, third round) earned his first shutout of the year Saturday, stopping all 28 shots sent his way as Almtuna IS secured a 3-0 victory over Tingsryds AIF. Johansson, who entered the game coming off a 22-save outing in a 3-2 loss to IK Oskarshamn on Wednesday, has started seven of AIS’ nine HockeyAllsvenskan contests, posting a 4-3 record with a 1.84 goals-against average and .924 save percentage. Johansson will look to maintain the hot hand Thursday versus HC Vita Hasten.

In Saturday action, Victor Olofsson (2014, seventh round) connected for a goal and an assist to extend his point streak to six games as MODO was defeated by Farjestads BK 4-3. Olofsson, who began the week with helpers in Tuesday’s 7-2 loss to Linkoping HC and 5-0 shutout victory over HV 71 on Thursday, leads MODO in offense with seven points (2+5) through the club's first six games.

Winger Gustav Possler (2013, fifth round) was held without a point last week as MODO won once in three tries. Possler has collected two points (1+1) while averaging 14:51 of work through his first six season appearances. MODO is off until Thursday when they visit Frolunda HC.

NCAA
Exhibition action kicked off over the weekend with several American colleges taking on squads from Canadian universities in preparation for their regular season openers.

Defenseman Ivan Chukarov (2015, seventh round) posted a pair of assists as UMass shut out Dalhousie 4-0. The 20-year-old freshman will look for the offense to continue next weekend when the Minutemen hit the road for a pair of games at Colorado College.

Junior defenseman Anthony Florentino (2013, fifth round) fired five shots on goal and blocked three others as Providence cruised past Simon Fraser 9-1. The Friars begin their defense of the national championship next weekend with a non-conference set at NCHC power Miami.

Goaltender Jason Kasdorf stopped all 12 shots he faced in forty minutes of action as RPI was edged by St. Thomas 3-2 in overtime. The Engineers kick off regular season action on Friday when they visit UMass-Lowell.

Freshman forward Chris Brown (2014, sixth round) contributed one shot on goal in his debut as the team’s fourth-line center as Boston College was outgunned 5-2 by the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds. The top-ranked Eagles open the non-conference schedule Friday at Army.

Will Borgen (2015, fourth round) finished with a plus-one rating as St. Cloud State downed the University of Alberta 6-2. Borgen, who skated on the third defensive pair, will make his regular-season debut next weekend when the Huskies travel for games against Alaska-Fairbanks and Alaska-Anchorage.

Sophomore forward Judd Peterson (2012, seventh round) was also held without a point in St. Cloud’s Saturday tune-up victory over Alberta. Peterson manned the right wing on the Huskies' third line, finishing with two shots on goal.

For more on all the youngsters in the Sabres pipeline, check out Kris Baker’s website, SabresProspects.com. You can also follow him on Twitter (@SabresProspects) for in-game updates throughout the week on any Buffalo prospects that are in action.
- jochfr

Wow, Possler, there were such high-hopes on him, such a shame he's been struggling.

I think one of the biggest mistakes the NHL made was not going to olympic sized ice when they started building new arenas in the 90's. Teams would have had to deal with smaller ice in some cities and larger ice in others, but unique playing fields work just fine in baseball. Alas, this was much too radical of an idea, especially for traditionalists.
I cant remember the last time i saw an amazing, legal, open ice hit in an NHL game.
- seedy

I have heard two schools of thought on the Olympic sized ice. One is the above. However, I have heard a few people say that even in the Olympic ice, the space between the hashmarks is really the valuable ice, which is the exact same as the regular ice. If you defend it right, a good portion of the extra ice provided by an Olympic rink is useless. The Olympics in 2010, when they played it on NHL ice, were no more or less entertaining than 2014 or any other year when they played it on Olympic ice. I'm not sure it would make that big of a deal.

Wow, Possler, there were such high-hopes on him, such a shame he's been struggling.
- sskkoo1

Olofsson on the other hand could be a nice sleeper

I was told he isn't worried about goaltending and that was before he traded for Lehner. No way I would have given up the 21st for Lehner but that's my opinion.
- SABRES 89

21st picks don't give me the woody that it gives some. Many never play 100 games in the NHL and even if they do the rarely reach Drew Stafford level. I'll take a shot at a big, mobile goalie who has ability but happens to have been out for awhile and is rusty.

I have heard two schools of thought on the Olympic sized ice. One is the above. However, I have heard a few people say that even in the Olympic ice, the space between the hashmarks is really the valuable ice, which is the exact same as the regular ice. If you defend it right, a good portion of the extra ice provided by an Olympic rink is useless. The Olympics in 2010, when they played it on NHL ice, were no more or less entertaining than 2014 or any other year when they played it on Olympic ice. I'm not sure it would make that big of a deal.
- buffalofan19

It wouldn't.

I think the advent of advanced metrics has made teams want to play keep away a bit with the puck, turning it back towards their own zone if there are no openings up ice, just like soccer.

This combined with the (not so) subtle interference that is done by many teams, where a forward will skate back only far enough to take a lane away from an opposing team forward, or where a D will help his partner out by getting in the way of the opposing forward when the puck is dumped in, has lead to the game having much less flow and speed then it did years ago.

Calling all penalties is the only way, to me, to bring speed back into the game.

Winnipeg trying to trade Adam Pardy, 2nd round with the Sabres?

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie 47m47 minutes ago

TOR did waive Brennan, Campbell, Frattin, Carrick, Froese. NSH waives Jamie Devane, BOS Jeremy Smith, PHI Andrew MacDonald, PIT Tim Erixon.

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie 49m49 minutes ago

FLA puts Dylan Olsen and Garrett Wilson waivers. BTW, TOR did not, today anyway, put Robidas on waivers.

Also, VAN puts Alex Biega on waivers.

VAN puts Vey and Corrado on waivers. CGYY puts Paul Byron and Mason Raymond on waivers. BOS puts Max Talbot on.

Winnipeg trying to trade Adam Pardy, 2nd round with the Sabres?
- GilPerreault11

Where did you hear this?

Where did you hear this?
- Lilroot9

Bob McKenzie ✔ @TSNBobMcKenzie
Expect Nikolaj Ehlers and Nic Petan to be on WPG's 23-man roster. Jets trying to move surplus D (Pardy or Harrison) before waivers.

Bob McKenzie ✔ @TSNBobMcKenzie
Expect Nikolaj Ehlers and Nic Petan to be on WPG's 23-man roster. Jets trying to move surplus D (Pardy or Harrison) before waivers.
- GilPerreault11

But are you saying they would trade Pardy and a 2nd or Pardy for a 2nd? I doubt we want him.

But are you saying they would trade Pardy and a 2nd or Pardy for a 2nd? I doubt we want him.
- Lilroot9

No, it was sarcastic due to his unpopularity here 2nd go-round with Sabres I meant sarcastically

No, it was sarcastic due to his unpopularity here 2nd go-round with Sabres I meant sarcastically
- GilPerreault11

Sorry I took it seriously, sorry to ruin the joke.

By Tuesday night we will know the final 23?
Am I correct in saying this?
I'd like to see Samson stay and Larsson but I am not sure if that is possible.

By Tuesday night we will know the final 23?
Am I correct in saying this?
I'd like to see Samson stay and Larsson but I am not sure if that is possible.
- BuffaloHardHat

That's what I understand HH, by 5:00pm.
It's getting interesting now...starting to heat up...let's see if your beloved GMTM can upgrade the team.
I think Reinhart gets sent to the A to further his development with lots of playing time in all situations.

That's what I understand HH, by 5:00pm.
It's getting interesting now...starting to heat up...let's see if your beloved GMTM can upgrade the team.
I think Reinhart gets sent to the A to further his development with lots of playing time in all situations.
- IonSabres

Thank you for your reply.

Thank you for your reply.
- BuffaloHardHat

http://sabres.nhl.com/v2/...03-Sabres-Camp-Roster.pdf

Here is what's left at camp...

By Tuesday night we will know the final 23?
Am I correct in saying this?
I'd like to see Samson stay and Larsson but I am not sure if that is possible.
- BuffaloHardHat

no reason why they both can't be in the lineup, if you don't mind Legwand as a reserve...mccormick's out and c. o'reilly's been sent to rochester

no reason why they both can't be in the lineup, if you don't mind Legwand as a reserve...mccormick's out and c. o'reilly's been sent to rochester
- Michael Pachla

New blog...

Random: Can we all vote for "Let me clear my throat" - DJ Kool as the sabres next goal song? I feel like it HAS to be the choice over all of the non-energetic other options.