NHL network is airing the game from last night right now!

Edit: MFE boner alert

Canada is the enemy. I am looking forward to when Hilary becomes president and we invade Canada.
- SabresFaninIndiana

The Trade Bait: Ryan Miller, Steve Ott, Matt Moulson, Ville Leino, Drew Stafford.


-Team Needs: The Sabres need help at both ends of the rink, ranking near the bottom of the league in offensive and defensive categories.



Chance of a Deal: Odds are Miller, Ott and Moulson (all unrestricted free agents) will be moved by the March trade deadline. The Buffalo News' Bucky Gleason believes overpaid underachiever Leino is playing his final season as a Sabre, but he's likely a buyout candidate in June. Stafford could be retained as coach Ted Nolan is committed to improving his performance.

~Bleacher

The Trade Bait: Ryan Miller, Steve Ott, Matt Moulson, Ville Leino, Drew Stafford.


-Team Needs: The Sabres need help at both ends of the rink, ranking near the bottom of the league in offensive and defensive categories.



Chance of a Deal: Odds are Miller, Ott and Moulson (all unrestricted free agents) will be moved by the March trade deadline. The Buffalo News' Bucky Gleason believes overpaid underachiever Leino is playing his final season as a Sabre, but he's likely a buyout candidate in June. Stafford could be retained as coach Ted Nolan is committed to improving his performance.



Matt Ellis yet another bum in Darcy's homeless camp, and we wonder why we have sucked for a shade under 2 decades.

~Bleacher
- Irish 14

Trade Moulson and keep Stafford, make no sense. We need good players to teach the kids coming up, good NHL, SCORING, players. Why trade guys like Ott and Moulson and bring in scrubs just to get to the cap? makes no sense. Stafford is a loser and it doesn't shock me a bit that guys like Pominville, Vanek, Soup ETC are gone and this bum is still here. Everyone is so quick to dump Moulson just for more picks that will take another 2-3 years to develop, we have enough picks already.


Matt Ellis yet another bum in Darcy's homeless camp, and we wonder why we have sucked for a shade under 2 decades.

Eye on the prize, sb.

#1 pick here we come.

We're virtually 1/2 way there.

The team will not score enough to win many games, but they will work hard, play hard and hit hard. That, as fans, with the lack of high-end talent on this team, is all we can ask for at this point. I don't care if they lose the next 50 games, as long as i see the effort I've seen in the last 10-12 games.
- Powerslave

Agree. I wanna see some guys grow.

Trade Moulson and keep Stafford, make no sense. We need good players to teach the kids coming up, good NHL, SCORING, players. Why trade guys like Ott and Moulson and bring in scrubs just to get to the cap? makes no sense. Stafford is a loser and it doesn't shock me a bit that guys like Pominville, Vanek, Soup ETC are gone and this bum is still here. Everyone is so quick to dump Moulson just for more picks that will take another 2-3 years to develop, we have enough picks already.


Matt Ellis yet another bum in Darcy's homeless camp, and we wonder why we have sucked for a shade under 2 decades.
- SABRES 89

We haven't. We have sucked for a shade under one decade. Had two seasons of great hockey then sucked again for a shade under one decade. You conveniently forgot about those 2 seasons in the middle. But yes we have sucked a lot in the past 2 decades.

They're showing the Matt Ellis game on nhl network.

Edit: Late

Better GM job? Calgary or Buffalo - great article - Irish

Which would be the better job to take for an up-and-coming GM? And for a number of reasons, there’s no doubt in my mind Buffalo would be the more desirable destination.
First of all, the new GM in Buffalo would presumably be free to do his job without much interference from LaFontaine. He would be able to pursue his own vision of the team, unlike Nieuwendyk or whoever Burke hires in Calgary. When Burke fired Jay Feaster, he made it very clear that he has a distinct vision for his team, one that includes more belligerence on the roster.

As he is wont to do, Burke threw around a bunch of catchphrases about not wanting to play flag football and playing black and blue hockey. “I like teams that bang and I don’t like the way we play,” Burke postulated. “I want a little more hostility out there than I’m seeing right now.”
The reality is that when it comes to aspects of the game such as hits and fights, the Flames are right around the middle of the pack in the NHL and are second in the league in blocked shots. But of course, Burke had to make it out like the Flames were too soft and that’s the reason they’re losing. He conveniently forgot to mention that five of the top seven teams in hits are currently out of the playoffs, as are two of the top three in fights.

The real reason the Flames are doing so poorly is they’re simply a bad team. If they fought and hit more, would they be any better than 24th on the power play and 28th in goals allowed per game in the league? Would they be any higher than 27th in shots per game?
Doubt it. But they would be much better if their third- and fourth-liners weren’t almost being outscored by Sidney Crosby. Most nights, the Flames’ bottom-six forwards consist of T.J. Galiardi, Mikael Backlund, David Jones, Lance Bouma, Joe Colborne and Brian McGrattan. Their combined scoring totals for this season (taking into account they’ve received multiple points on the same goal on occasions) are 16-29-45 in 165 games. Crosby, on the other hand, has 16 goals and 43 points in 32 games, while Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks has 17-25-42 totals in 34 games.

If Burke doesn’t realize the Flames need an infusion of talent more than size and truculence, he hasn’t been watching the Western Conference play. The best teams are big, to be sure, but they also have third and fourth lines that can do much more than just log minutes. How a guy such as Nieuwendyk would deal with Burke’s vision would be fascinating to watch. And then there’s Burke’s admission that he has no patience for a rebuild, which should have any prospective GM and fans in Calgary very nervous. In fact, you could argue that the Flames’ refusal to tear down and rebuild is what cost Feaster his job in the first place.

That certainly isn’t the case in Buffalo, where regardless of what you feel about the job former GM Darcy Regier did, the new GM there will be walking into a situation where he has a ton of valuable draft picks. The Thomas Vanek trade netted the Sabres an additional first- and second-round pick (in 2015), with the first-rounder having some real intrigue. Let’s say the Islanders opt to use their first-round pick in this draft, which would give the Sabres the Islanders’ first-rounder next year. Let’s say, just for kicks, that the Islanders are a complete disaster next season, not a stretch given they’re currently 29th in the league. Let’s say they finish last. Welcome to Buffalo, Connor McDavid (plus the Sabres’ own high first-rounder in 2015).
And thanks to the trades of Robyn Regehr and Jason Pominville, the Sabres have two more second-rounders in June, plus they have promising young players Nikita Zadorov, Johan Larsson and Matt Hackett from the Pominville deal.

And perhaps most importantly, you can rebuild your team into a contender in the Eastern Conference much quicker than you can in the West because it’s such an inferior group of teams. When your opponents are as mediocre as the ones in the East, it can cut years off the rebuilding project.

Both teams have ownership groups willing to spend to the cap, so that’s not an issue. But Buffalo provides a cleaner canvas and no artistic genius looking over your shoulder to see if you’re painting his vision instead of your own.

~ Ken Campbell is the senior writer for The Hockey News

Armia, Ellis and Gillies is a line? You'd think they'd play Armia with some talent.

No offense Ellis lovers.

Clarkson suspended again....

Sabres win 5-1 this afternoon, just one of those games.

WGR 550: Howard Simon believes the rising cap for next season could benefit whoever becomes the new GM of the Buffalo Sabres if ownership is willing to spend up to the $71.1 million ceiling. Simon also suggests more cap space could be freed up by buying out the contract of disappointing forward Ville Leino. Simon believes NY Rangers captain Ryan Callahan and St. Louis Blues forward Alexander Steen are two intriguing options for the Sabres if those players test the free agent market.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: There’s no question the rising salary cap will be a boon for clubs willing to keep pace with the higher cap ceiling, making it easier to re-sign their key free agents. Steen says he wants to remain with the Blues but that’ll depend on how much they’re willing to spend to keep him. It’s believed the Canadiens want to re-sign Subban to an eight-year deal, but I can’t help wondering if their hardball tactics last season could cost them this time around, as the temptation to re-sign a shorter term to make bigger bucks later as a UFA could be a strong one for Subban. The Sharks want to re-sign Thornton, Marleau and Boyle and they want to stay, so the cap increase certainly makes that task easier. As for the Sabres, I think they have little choice but to cut their losses with Leino and use the cap savings to bolster their depth. Forget about landing Callahan,as I believe the Rangers will re-sign him. If Steen becomes available, the Sabres could face a bidding war with other clubs for his services.

WGR 550: Howard Simon believes the rising cap for next season could benefit whoever becomes the new GM of the Buffalo Sabres if ownership is willing to spend up to the $71.1 million ceiling. Simon also suggests more cap space could be freed up by buying out the contract of disappointing forward Ville Leino. Simon believes NY Rangers captain Ryan Callahan and St. Louis Blues forward Alexander Steen are two intriguing options for the Sabres if those players test the free agent market.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: There’s no question the rising salary cap will be a boon for clubs willing to keep pace with the higher cap ceiling, making it easier to re-sign their key free agents. Steen says he wants to remain with the Blues but that’ll depend on how much they’re willing to spend to keep him. It’s believed the Canadiens want to re-sign Subban to an eight-year deal, but I can’t help wondering if their hardball tactics last season could cost them this time around, as the temptation to re-sign a shorter term to make bigger bucks later as a UFA could be a strong one for Subban. The Sharks want to re-sign Thornton, Marleau and Boyle and they want to stay, so the cap increase certainly makes that task easier. As for the Sabres, I think they have little choice but to cut their losses with Leino and use the cap savings to bolster their depth. Forget about landing Callahan,as I believe the Rangers will re-sign him. If Steen becomes available, the Sabres could face a bidding war with other clubs for his services.
- SABRES 89

Unrelated: Watch Blazing Saddles or the game today?

Unrelated: Watch Blazing Saddles or the game today?


- jochfr

The game I watch regardless

The game I watch regardless
- SABRES 89

Leaning that way... Unfortunately I have to stream that piece of poop.

WGR 550: Howard Simon believes the rising cap for next season could benefit whoever becomes the new GM of the Buffalo Sabres if ownership is willing to spend up to the $71.1 million ceiling. Simon also suggests more cap space could be freed up by buying out the contract of disappointing forward Ville Leino. Simon believes NY Rangers captain Ryan Callahan and St. Louis Blues forward Alexander Steen are two intriguing options for the Sabres if those players test the free agent market.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: There’s no question the rising salary cap will be a boon for clubs willing to keep pace with the higher cap ceiling, making it easier to re-sign their key free agents. Steen says he wants to remain with the Blues but that’ll depend on how much they’re willing to spend to keep him. It’s believed the Canadiens want to re-sign Subban to an eight-year deal, but I can’t help wondering if their hardball tactics last season could cost them this time around, as the temptation to re-sign a shorter term to make bigger bucks later as a UFA could be a strong one for Subban. The Sharks want to re-sign Thornton, Marleau and Boyle and they want to stay, so the cap increase certainly makes that task easier. As for the Sabres, I think they have little choice but to cut their losses with Leino and use the cap savings to bolster their depth. Forget about landing Callahan,as I believe the Rangers will re-sign him. If Steen becomes available, the Sabres could face a bidding war with other clubs for his services.
- SABRES 89

This is what I said during the week, grab some FA that will make a difference to mix with the young players. Right now Stafford/Leino aren't cutting it for leadership.

I look forward to the Draft & Free Agent period, with a GM other than Regier. Future looks bright!

Leaning that way... Unfortunately I have to stream that piece of poop.
- jochfr

Yea that sucks, center ice is a life saver for me since I moved here.

This is what I said during the week, grab some FA that will make a difference to mix with the young players. Right now Stafford/Leino aren't cutting it for leadership.

I look forward to the Draft & Free Agent period, with a GM other than Regier. Future looks bright!
- Irish 14

No sense signing any players that are FA unless one is a number 1 center, would help Moulson and the 1st line.

No sense signing any players that are FA unless one is a number 1 center, would help Moulson and the 1st line.
- SABRES 89

That would be great.... Are there any out there next year?

That would be great.... Are there any out there next year?
- jochfr

I haven't looked yet but we plenty picks and maybe a player(s) to get one.

I haven't looked yet but we plenty picks and maybe a player(s) to get one.
- SABRES 89

Stastny

Stastny
- Irish 14

That would be ok for now with me, Moulson, Stastny and ? as of now Stafford

Darren Dreger ‏@DarrenDreger 2m
Thornton gets 15 games.

That would be ok for now with me, Moulson, Stastny and ? as of now Stafford
- SABRES 89

What about Coho?

What about Coho?
- benny948

Who cares he's not a number 1 center and will never be, Matt Stajan is more a number 1 guy then Hodgson IMO.