Pond hockey kind of day today. Didnt build a rink this year though because it would have been mostly usless.

Good post Ion.

I'm not sure on Drouin and I haven't heard Buffalo is in on this guy to begin with. He's super talented but sometimes that doesn't translate to a productive NHL player. Any team that trades for him will be taking a flyer. If we're looking for a winger take Laine at the draft and plug him in as opposed to trading pieces for Drouin.

Trading Girgs would be a huge mistake imo and I wouldn't think twice about moving Ennis but I don't see him traded till the off season. I would offer McGinn 4 years at 4 per. I love the way this guy plays and he would be a valuable piece moving forward. He could be a good influence on the kids like Bailey, Baptiste and Fasching.

Then there's Stamkos. I'm of the opinion that Pegula wants him bad but in the end I don't see him here.
- mhp

With all due respect. Us buffalo fans way overvalue our players. Jamie mcginn is not a top 6 forward,in buffalo he is because we suck. Jamie mcginn doesn't get to play on a great team because he is a 3rd or 4 th line player. We can not afford to pay Jamie mcginn 4 years at 4 million. We will be in the same boat as moulson. In 2 years when we better be good,you can't have a mcginn making 4 million. Go look at the great teams. A lot of there thirdand 4 th liners make 2 million or less. People have to understand how to build a team. You can't just throw money at players. You have to have a timeline on when you think you will be good. If mcginn is here making 4 mill,we will never be good,that's factual. Pegula can have all the money ,but there is a salary cap.what will your be paying risto,eichel,SKunk and kane will be up within the next three years. With what you already are paying Oreilly and this is without any big name players coming in,in the next three years
As for girgensons,the guy is injury prone. He has had a bad year and I am not saying his value is high now, but he is definetly and asset you have to look to trade.hopefully him and ennis get back to showcase before trade deadline
I am the only one that has ever mentioned what's wrong with tyler Pennis. Every keeps asking.well he needs to watch his head after he gets up from the throne

Fun back reading.

I would not trade a ton for Drouin, obviously he has issues and is immature. Why bring a problem on board we don't need. Scoring? There are other options. If they make a play for him, it should be on the cheap in full recognition of the risk the Sabres will be taking on. Do not overpay for this guy, can't get him reasonable then don't.

Girgensons is fine for now on Eichel's line. Trading him creates another hole to fill, and likely means they pay more to fill it.

Trading Ennis now will enable another team to steal him, Sabres will not get full value. It is obvious his play suffered from injuries...I think the prudent move is to hold onto him and try to resurrect his game next season...increasing his value for a higher return.

McGinn is more valuable than your typical 3rd liner...in that he has proven he can slide into a top 6 for a period of time and the team won't fall off the cliff. Now, they can't pay him a fortune, but they can recognize his value in the form of a higher paycheck. That said, I trade him and hope we can resign him in the offseason. Package a 2nd with him to secure a 1st...hopefully in the 20 - 25 range.

Foligno...would love to see consistent play like over the past 10 games ... But, can he deliver? The jury is out on him...trade him now if he continues to play well and maximize your return.

Johnson, Gionta, Moulson (ya right), Legwand ...trade for whatever you can get...a six pack, bag of used pucks, melted ice, 1/2 package of toothpicks...anything.
- IonSabres

Totally agree with your post. And, I would love to see Foligno moved while his value is up. I know he's been playing well, but lets face it, the guy has Drew Stafford Syndrome, brief flashes of what he could be between long stretches of nothing.

Seeing Deadpool a second time was all worth it Ryan Reynolds is my hero

What's the story with Makarov? Sounds like he's heading back to KHL.

What's the story with Makarov? Sounds like he's heading back to KHL.
- Canada Cup

I think thats the story.

I think thats the story.
- seedy

Is he any good? He seems to be complaining about not getting starts in Rochester.

With all due respect. Us buffalo fans way overvalue our players. Jamie mcginn is not a top 6 forward,in buffalo he is because we suck. Jamie mcginn doesn't get to play on a great team because he is a 3rd or 4 th line player. We can not afford to pay Jamie mcginn 4 years at 4 million. We will be in the same boat as moulson. In 2 years when we better be good,you can't have a mcginn making 4 million. Go look at the great teams. A lot of there thirdand 4 th liners make 2 million or less. People have to understand how to build a team. You can't just throw money at players. You have to have a timeline on when you think you will be good. If mcginn is here making 4 mill,we will never be good,that's factual. Pegula can have all the money ,but there is a salary cap.what will your be paying risto,eichel,SKunk and kane will be up within the next three years. With what you already are paying Oreilly and this is without any big name players coming in,in the next three years
As for girgensons,the guy is injury prone. He has had a bad year and I am not saying his value is high now, but he is definetly and asset you have to look to trade.hopefully him and ennis get back to showcase before trade deadline
I am the only one that has ever mentioned what's wrong with tyler Pennis. Every keeps asking.well he needs to watch his head after he gets up from the throne
- Buffalo39

Yeah, everyone know what happened to Ennis but no one will say. Is this a gag order?

Is he any good? He seems to be complaining about not getting starts in Rochester.
- Canada Cup

He had potential but at this point career backup is his ceiling.

With all due respect. Us buffalo fans way overvalue our players. Jamie mcginn is not a top 6 forward,in buffalo he is because we suck. Jamie mcginn doesn't get to play on a great team because he is a 3rd or 4 th line player. We can not afford to pay Jamie mcginn 4 years at 4 million. We will be in the same boat as moulson. In 2 years when we better be good,you can't have a mcginn making 4 million. Go look at the great teams. A lot of there thirdand 4 th liners make 2 million or less. People have to understand how to build a team. You can't just throw money at players. You have to have a timeline on when you think you will be good. If mcginn is here making 4 mill,we will never be good,that's factual. Pegula can have all the money ,but there is a salary cap.what will your be paying risto,eichel,SKunk and kane will be up within the next three years. With what you already are paying Oreilly and this is without any big name players coming in,in the next three years
As for girgensons,the guy is injury prone. He has had a bad year and I am not saying his value is high now, but he is definetly and asset you have to look to trade.hopefully him and ennis get back to showcase before trade deadline
I am the only one that has ever mentioned what's wrong with tyler Pennis. Every keeps asking.well he needs to watch his head after he gets up from the throne
- Buffalo39

I think you under value McGinn tbh. He does alot of things for this hockey club, moves up and down the lineup, plays with grit, leadership and can score 20 goals for you. That's the kind of guy I want on this team. He can help the young guys too as they can learn alot from 88. I'd rather pay McGinn 4 then Moulson 5 and the way things are trending in the league, in a few years 3rd line guys will be making 3+. And to speculate on what the cap is or what we will pay guys is ludicrous.

And if we buyout Moulson and move Ennis, we can make it work for McGinn. Now if we sign Stamkos, chances are going to be difficult to sign McGinn. I know most on here would disagree with paying McGinn 4 and I'm ok with that, it's just my opinion. You need guys like 88 to re-build with.

I think you under value McGinn tbh. He does alot of things for this hockey club, moves up and down the lineup, plays with grit, leadership and can score 20 goals for you. That's the kind of guy I want on this team. He can help the young guys too as they can learn alot from 88. I'd rather pay McGinn 4 then Moulson 5 and the way things are trending in the league, in a few years 3rd line guys will be making 3+. And to speculate on what the cap is or what we will pay guys is ludicrous.

And if we buyout Moulson and move Ennis, we can make it work for McGinn. Now if we sign Stamkos, chances are going to be difficult to sign McGinn. I know most on here would disagree with paying McGinn 4 and I'm ok with that, it's just my opinion. You need guys like 88 to re-build with.
- mhp

As has been pointed out here before, buying out Moulson doesn't really save us much, in fact in probably hurts us long term. It's not ludicrous to speculate what the cap will be, in fact thats something all GMs should be considering. At best, the cap will stay as is, could very well go down. If it does, it will be the "middle class of the league" that will be taking pay cuts (like McGinn).

The other issue with McGinn is that he's not an all purpose top 9 forward. He's not someone you'd put out for a big pk or in the final minute of the game up by 1 goal nor is he good enough to be considered a permanent fixture on the pp.

It's nice to have a guy like McGinn but you don't NEED to rebuild with him and you don't need to pay above market value to retain him. On a good to great team that production can be replaced by young guys coming through the system.

As has been pointed out here before, buying out Moulson doesn't really save us much, in fact in probably hurts us long term. It's not ludicrous to speculate what the cap will be, in fact thats something all GMs should be considering. At best, the cap will stay as is, could very well go down. If it does, it will be the "middle class of the league" that will be taking pay cuts (like McGinn).

The other issue with McGinn is that he's not an all purpose top 9 forward. He's not someone you'd put out for a big pk or in the final minute of the game up by 1 goal nor is he good enough to be considered a permanent fixture on the pp.

It's nice to have a guy like McGinn but you don't NEED to rebuild with him and you don't need to pay above market value to retain him. On a good to great team that production can be replaced by young guys coming through the system.
- Sabresfan-365

I haven't looked at general fanager to see what Moulson's buy out would be. We do not know what the cap will be in a few years when we need to re-sign Eichel and others but if you front load McGinn's new deal it won't be an issue.

You don't want McGinn, I do. We'll need character guys like 88. I remember in the 70's when the Sabres were building toward their Cup run in '75 they had great character guys like Dudley and Spencer. You could see 40 years ago isn't relatable today but it is. We'll need Jamie McGinn.

So, is there anybody here that can verify Garth's credentials? A quote from his new blog: "I commented that the Eichel-Bailey chemistry was unmistakable from my press box vantage point."

I find it hard to believe that a complete unrespected blogger like Garth, who writes for a website like hockeybuzz which is no big dog in the sports media world (No disrespect to the site) has a press pass for the Sabres. I have always read his blogs and he tends to talk about chumming it up with players at the arena, yet I've never seen any proof of such things taking place, never any mention of him by anyone. He writes about other teams scouts being at our games, and usually you can find a tweeter feed from a legit sports writer mentioning the scouts several hours earlier, and it seems like he's just parroting it.

Deadpool was everything I thought it would be... That poop was funny af.

He had potential but at this point career backup is his ceiling.
- sskkoo1

Thanks

I think you under value McGinn tbh. He does alot of things for this hockey club, moves up and down the lineup, plays with grit, leadership and can score 20 goals for you. That's the kind of guy I want on this team. He can help the young guys too as they can learn alot from 88. I'd rather pay McGinn 4 then Moulson 5 and the way things are trending in the league, in a few years 3rd line guys will be making 3+. And to speculate on what the cap is or what we will pay guys is ludicrous.

And if we buyout Moulson and move Ennis, we can make it work for McGinn. Now if we sign Stamkos, chances are going to be difficult to sign McGinn. I know most on here would disagree with paying McGinn 4 and I'm ok with that, it's just my opinion. You need guys like 88 to re-build with.
- mhp

McGinn has never scored 20 goals before, the last thing this team needs to do is give out a 5 year 20 million contract to a player who might eventually score 20 goals.

I had GR on my way home this morning from the chiropractor and they had a radio guy on from Tampa, didn't catch his name or station but he said that one of his sources said it's highly unlikely Stamkos goes to Tronna, doesn't want to deal with the media circus up there and also thinks his chances of re-signing in TB are 60/40. He also saw a likely scenario of Buffalo being a good destination, close to his home in Toronto and would like the re-build going on there.

Just passing that along.

Cheers!

McGinn has never scored 20 goals before, the last thing this team needs to do is give out a 5 year 20 million contract to a player who might eventually score 20 goals.
- Mentalorgasm5

Did I say 5/20? I said 4 years at 4 per.

Did I say 5/20? I said 4 years at 4 per.
- mhp

Close enough?

I haven't looked at general fanager to see what Moulson's buy out would be. We do not know what the cap will be in a few years when we need to re-sign Eichel and others but if you front load McGinn's new deal it won't be an issue.

You don't want McGinn, I do. We'll need character guys like 88. I remember in the 70's when the Sabres were building toward their Cup run in '75 they had great character guys like Dudley and Spencer. You could see 40 years ago isn't relatable today but it is. We'll need Jamie McGinn.
- mhp

We absolutely will, but McGinn is not the only character guy out there who can contribute. Plenty of other players out there and in the system who can play the "heart and soul" role. For significantly less than 4 mil.

I had GR on my way home this morning from the chiropractor and they had a radio guy on from Tampa, didn't catch his name or station but he said that one of his sources said it's highly unlikely Stamkos goes to Tronna, doesn't want to deal with the media circus up there and also thinks his chances of re-signing in TB are 60/40. He also saw a likely scenario of Buffalo being a good destination, close to his home in Toronto and would like the re-build going on there.

Just passing that along.

Cheers!
- mhp

For everyone of those there's someone claiming there source says he's toronto bound. It's really anyones guess at this point but 2+ weeks to deadline day and no contract in sight is worrisome.

New blarg


and Hatty

Close enough?
- jochfr

swing and a miss.

New blarg


and Hatty
- Sabresfan-365

I like this one better..

We absolutely will, but McGinn is not the only character guy out there who can contribute. Plenty of other players out there and in the system who can play the "heart and soul" role. For significantly less than 4 mil.
- Sabresfan-365

That's fair.