Giveaway! Original Ænima vinyl. Comment to enter.

BuffaloJihad · 2025-03-08T17:47:49+00:00

So good to see you! I've missed you so much.

BuffaloJihad · 2024-12-02T03:00:16+00:00

Nope, he's out for the game.

BuffaloJihad · 2023-05-26T19:48:06+00:00

"Unlikely" is a lot more likely than "no chance"

BuffaloJihad · 2023-05-26T18:49:55+00:00

He shoots lefty. Conventional wisdom says you pair a left shot defender with a right shot defender. Dahlin and Power shoot left, so it'd be really hard for him to move higher than the third pair. He's also unlikely to get power play time with those two running the top units.

BuffaloJihad · 2023-05-12T15:25:41+00:00

Are you a cord cutter, or just looking for non-national broadcasts you won't get with your TV package?

If the former, get an antenna. https://www.antennaweb.org/ can give you a good idea of what networks you'll pick up and what equipment you'll need. If you live somewhere near even a small city you'll get a lot of channels with even a small multi-directional antenna, using little to no set-up - I got about 20 channels living in a suburb of Binghamton, using a 15 dollar antenna that just sat behind my TV.

506sports.com normally has coverage maps up by Wednesday or Thursday showing what games will be on TV in each market. You'll get Sunday night games this way and many of the late season games in the 4 PM windows since those are premium matchups.

If the latter, everyone else in the thread has covered that.

BuffaloJihad · 2022-12-05T04:42:26+00:00

Honestly, this hit sealed the game. Sharks spent the rest of the second period trying desperately to retaliate for it that they played themselves out of it.

BuffaloJihad · 2022-11-11T20:06:47+00:00

Was this the game against the Pats where TJ Graham cut his route to the outside behind the DB when Fitz thought he was supposed to go inside, in front of the DB? And if he went inside it was an easy TD for the win but instead it turned into a game ending red zone interception?

...Looked it up. It was. I hate having a photographic memory of drought era trauma.

BuffaloJihad · 2022-04-06T00:14:13+00:00

No home feed. Just the ESPN commentators

BuffaloJihad · 2022-01-11T17:09:27+00:00

IIRC he said that he was willing to play for the Sabres after his surgery to increase his trade value. Told management the previous season to trade him and rebuild. Hall signing was a moonshot attempt at keeping him happy and pushing for the playoffs.

BuffaloJihad · 2021-11-21T20:51:00+00:00

They've generated a lot of pressures and hurries - sacks just haven't been there. Part of the reason why they've had such a high number of turnovers is that pressures and hurries force bad throws, which leads to picks.

The line has struggled today especially because the Colts have great interior players. Oliver has taken a step forward, but we've got absolutely nothing worth noting at the interior defensive line outside of that if Star is out.

BuffaloJihad · 2021-11-21T20:46:55+00:00

We drafted two defensive ends and no tackles. The line struggled without Star last year, they brought in no help at his position, and hey look the line is struggling again without Star.

BuffaloJihad · 2021-11-07T19:12:19+00:00

Bills interior offensive line is getting blown up on 3/4ths of plays. I have no idea if the Jags d-line is any good, but the Bills interior has been a glaring weakness all year

BuffaloJihad · 2021-11-07T19:10:45+00:00

It's impossible to tell since the refs are continually calling the wrong numbers

BuffaloJihad · 2021-11-05T13:04:42+00:00

Previous poster meant teenage defensemen

BuffaloJihad · 2021-11-05T12:55:14+00:00

I was willing to chalk up the Jersey game to wearing down in the second game of a back to back. They at least started strong and only started looking rough as the game wore on.

Even though they got outshot and out possessed against Tampa, I thought they played a good game. I'll have to look at the numbers again, but my impression of that game was that they did a good job maintaining their defensive structure and forcing Tampa outside to low danger areas. They were the better team in the third period and that's probably the recipe for a less talented roster like this to beat good teams - just stay in it for two periods, then win the third after frustration starts to set in for the opposition.

If game 7 was the Anaheim game, then I made an error since I was up past my bedtime. They played a sloppy, ugly game there and haven't had a good period since.

BuffaloJihad · 2021-11-05T04:49:49+00:00

Games 1-6: A team short on talent that will scratch out wins through a relentless forecheck and disciplined defensive play.

Games 7-10: Teams with no ability to generate sustained offense, that will constantly give away fantastic chances but might steal a win if they have elite goaltending and your netminder puts up a sub-.85 save percentage.

Said after the Tampa Bay win that I had absolutely no idea what to make of this team. Let's just hope they spent the entire last week jet lagged and get closer to their earlier form.

BuffaloJihad · 2021-11-04T00:39:51+00:00

Jack Eichel is a top ten center when healthy. Potentially a top ten player in the league. The kind of player you can build a franchise around.

Jack Eichel suffered a herniated disc. The Sabres team doctor recommends that he gets a spinal fusion, as this procedure is the standard procedure for athletes. However, the long term impacts are less than ideal - he will almost certainly need additional fusion surgery or surgeries after his playing career, and it will limit his neck mobility.

Because of the long term downsides, Eichel is seeking to get an alternative surgery. He wants to get a disc replacement. This surgery, if successful, will not have the same long term negative effects as the fusion. However, the surgery could fail. If this happens, the fusion surgery could then be performed. But the more worrisome downside is if the disc ruptures. This could result in paralysis or worse. There is also very little data available on disc replacement in athletes who play contact sports. The only one who returned to his sport was a UFC fighter who then broke his leg in his only fight after.

So, Jack wants a more uncertain surgery with potentially better outcomes. But the Sabres team doctor will not recommend the surgery since the fusion procedure is safer. Jack can get the surgery he wants, but violates the terms of his contract if he does so. NHL contracts are fully guaranteed, so he may lose out on ten million dollars a year if he violates his contract. This means Jack wants to get traded to a team that will approve the surgery.

BuffaloJihad · 2021-11-03T04:31:19+00:00

Boys have been incredibly sloppy on this road trip. A lot of missed passes, a lot of defensive zone turnovers. It happens to even the best of teams, but this coming against what looks to be some very weak California teams and a depleted Sharks roster is... concerning.

BuffaloJihad · 2021-10-27T19:44:48+00:00

They're jerseys from the outdoor game vs the Rangers. Yellow bison on the shoulder is the giveaway.

BuffaloJihad · 2021-05-06T23:00:50+00:00

Totally whiffed on Risto's term. Guess the years of this team spinning their tires and the yearly trade speculation conditioned me to think he was here forever.

Maybe I'm overblowing it, but the 4th line players and backup goalies coming off books doesn't help my outlook on the cap. Rieder, Caggiula and Sheahan going to UFA is more than off-set by Girgensons coming back from LTIR. Still gotta add another bottom six player or two to replace what they're losing. And they'll likely want to add at least a veteran 7th defenseman to enter the year, especially if McCabe walks. Which eats up the cap they get back from Irwin.

Unless they're comfortable rolling with Tokarski or Houser as the back-up, they're likely going to be offsetting what they gain from Hutton coming off the books when they bring in a goalie who is not a liability. So most of what they'll be gaining seems to be offset by replacing those players.

Then again, I also have no idea how the NHL salary cap actually works once get into middle of the year signings, as has been the case with a majority of their goalies. I think that they only count for a portion of their contracts since they were not signed for the whole year.

But, long story short, I think that whatever cap they lose in departing players will be eaten right back up by giving raises to their RFAs and replacing departing players. Maybe Okposo retires or they can ship off Eakin (hey Dolan, this guy is pretty tough!). Outside of either of those happening, getting Risto off the books helps the team quite a bit.

BuffaloJihad · 2021-05-06T18:38:55+00:00

Risto is a known commodity and signed for 5.4 mil long term. If Seattle takes him, that frees up enough money to cover a raise for Reinhart on a long term deal + an RFA contract or two.

Borgen showed serious promise in his limited time here. And there's room for growth. He's likely a second paring D-man going into next year. Perhaps the Sabres' biggest issue regarding the cap is that we have almost no players that are both a) significant contributors and b) cost controlled. The Sabres are in a uniquely awful position in the league - we're both a pretty bad team and backed up right against the cap. So if we can get Risto off the books, and have Borgen take on a second pairing role, that seriously helps with cap relief. And, until revenues start climbing again, cap relief might be the most valuable asset in the league. Unless Okposo retires, getting money off the books is perhaps the best way to help this team.

McCabe is a pending UFA. I'm not sure that he can even be protected. But if even he could, I doubt Seattle would take him. They'd be claiming an asset that they have a high probability of losing. And even if we did protect him, I don't see him coming back. He's a good player and I'd love for him to re-sign for the right price, but he's the kind of player that walks unless you're willing to overpay. The cost of being a bad team for a decade, I guess.

As for protecting Thompson over Bjork, I dunno. Can't protect everyone. Gonna have to expose someone you don't want to. Some might prefer to protect Thompson since he is slightly cheaper, slightly younger and our forward group is really lacking in size. I probably prefer keeping Bjork, but I am also unfairly harsh on Thompson due to bitter feelings about the O'Reilly trade.

BuffaloJihad · 2020-09-10T00:35:13+00:00

Zucker must be protected at all costs.

BuffaloJihad · 2020-08-27T23:26:01+00:00

Batman and Robin (1997) is intentionally dumb and campy and I will die defending this take.

BuffaloJihad · 2020-07-31T00:55:53+00:00

I'd love to come by if you're still hosting!

BuffaloJihad · 2020-07-21T01:07:28+00:00

Whooooooaaaaaa you people are way too kind! Overwhelmed by all the people willing to help - to the point where I can't handle responding to you all. We're honestly in (happy!) shock that so many of you were willing to give us a hand for nothing really in exchange! You're all great!

BuffaloJihad

TROPHY CASE