Botts did nothing yesterday hope he's gone after the season is done
- gerbe75pts

I'd like to know what his reasonable offer was for Trochek

I'm glad to know that he knows he needs a center.

Overall I'd give him a B for the TDL

I think we could do better at GM but I dont see him getting fired so it is what it is. He did more than I expected yesterday, and almost did a lot more

How can anyone be mad about this?
- Lilroot9

as one who questioned Botts for the last 14 months


nobody should be mad about what he did yesterday

Ek thinks we only win 1 more game in regulation this season and finish with 70 pts.

He's such an asshat.

as one who questioned Botts for the last 14 months


nobody should be mad about what he did yesterday
- homiedclown

Can we be mad about what he didn’t do?

as one who questioned Botts for the last 14 months


nobody should be mad about what he did yesterday
- homiedclown

Agreed. We also need to be very strategic over the summer with the Seattle expansion draft also knocking on our door. We may also need some bargaining chips to avoid poachers

The real question: I've seen some pictures of Simmonds with the devils where he's wearing a visor and some where he's not.

So do we have a guy on the roster who doesn't wear a visor or not

These are the big questions
- jcragcrumple

I read that Hextall pressured him to wear it in Philly but he feels like he plays better without it so he took it off at some point this year.

Only a handful of players left. Who is going to be the visor MacTavish?

I read that Hextall pressured him to wear it in Philly but he feels like he plays better without it so he took it off at some point this year.

Only a handful of players left. Who is going to be the visor MacTavish?
- Chris16

Honestly it could be ROR. He's close to the youngest one I believe

Also thanks for the info. Idk why but I like that kind of weird stuff

Can we be mad about what he didn’t do?
- Beethoven

What did you want him to do that you know was on the table?

Saying Risto for Malkin does not count. Has to be a deal we all heard about that he could have done.

I kinda wanted Namestnikov, but could leave it as well (4th round pick).

How about dumping players for picks? That is how we are here in the first place, we dumped too many players when tanking and building back up is taking a long time (as well as finding more top end players).

Edit: I liked AA, but for (2) 2nd round picks, no thanks. He could still be signed as a UFA if available, but I would worry about how much $$ he will be able to command.

games goals assists points plus/minus
46 10 14 24 -45
50 10 17 27 +6

Which of those players would you go after? One was worth (2) 2nd round picks, the other two "scrub" players with higher salary.

I read a few places (even here) that Botts was pressured to "speed this up" and made some moves in the offseason which have not worked out great.

He was not giving up our first this year for anything less than a young player signed for a few more years at a lower cap hit (not many of this type of player was moved yesterday, maybe maybe Trocheck), so that was not in play.


He traded a few forwards that we all wanted gone. Check

He got a few middle 6 forwards. Check

Second line center. nope (not one was moved yesterday we would call second line centers)

Goalie help. nope (Ullmark should be back soon, right?)

He got Simmonds (24 pts) and Kahun (27 pts), so he got (based on our teams stats) the 6th best and 8th best player (points wise) for our team. Two of those top 8 or D. So he just got (2) top 6 players (on our team) to help for the playoff run.

How can anyone be mad about this?
- Lilroot9

Botterill was not told to speed this up, Murray was.

Honestly it could be ROR. He's close to the youngest one I believe

Also thanks for the info. Idk why but I like that kind of weird stuff
- jcragcrumple

I guess this never took hold
https://www.nhl.com/news/...mandatory-visors/c-672983

Ek thinks we only win 1 more game in regulation this season and finish with 70 pts.

He's such an asshat.
- BeadyEyedDouche

Wanna see the spreadsheet he uses to come up with this idiocy?

the only win he has for the Sabres the rest of the season is a road game in arizona.

as one who questioned Botts for the last 14 months


nobody should be mad about what he did yesterday
- homiedclown

Yesterday was a win for the organization. Going into a shell (and not trying for playoffs) will only make Eichel, Reinhart, and Dahlin (and others) mad. Not a good idea, IMO.

Wanna see the spreadsheet he uses to come up with this idiocy?

the only win he has for the Sabres the rest of the season is a road game in arizona.
- BINGO!

Botterill was not told to speed this up, Murray was.
- SABRES 89

Oh did I get that backwards? Sorry.

It is hard to speed up, IMO. What teams have rebuilt faster and where did they get their players? I would say most were draft picks they already had or made after.

Wanna see the spreadsheet he uses to come up with this idiocy?

the only win he has for the Sabres the rest of the season is a road game in arizona.
- BINGO!

Also, I hate that I like the make-up of your team including the coach.

I guess this never took hold
https://www.nhl.com/news/...mandatory-visors/c-672983
- lulags

Could the visor thing (Simmonds wearing vs not wearing) depend on if he thought he was going to fight that game? Not sure which way (visor or no visor) for a game he is going to fight, but just a thought?

I guess this never took hold
https://www.nhl.com/news/...mandatory-visors/c-672983
- lulags

Players who were in the league before 13-14 season were grandfathered in and were allowed not to wear visors if they didn't want to.

I read a few places (even here) that Botts was pressured to "speed this up" and made some moves in the offseason which have not worked out great.

He was not giving up our first this year for anything less than a young player signed for a few more years at a lower cap hit (not many of this type of player was moved yesterday, maybe maybe Trocheck), so that was not in play.


He traded a few forwards that we all wanted gone. Check

He got a few middle 6 forwards. Check

Second line center. nope (not one was moved yesterday we would call second line centers)

Goalie help. nope (Ullmark should be back soon, right?)

He got Simmonds (24 pts) and Kahun (27 pts), so he got (based on our teams stats) the 6th best and 8th best player (points wise) for our team. Two of those top 8 or D. So he just got (2) top 6 players (on our team) to help for the playoff run.

How can anyone be mad about this?
- Lilroot9

Can we officially stop using this Botts term 'middle six'? For one, The idea of a middle six forward is someone who could be a 2nd liner. I think it is abundantly clear that Sheary, Vesey, Simmonds, and anyone else who has been given this middle six tag is not ever capable of being an decent NHL second liner.

These are bottom six forwards, plain and simple. He got what according to a lot of advanced stats is not just NJ's worst forward, but one of the league's worst forwards in Simmonds. The other guy has 27 points. These are depth players, not 'middle six' forwards.

The standard is just so embarrassingly low around here. Simmonds is a fourth liner, but realistically at this point isn't even making a really good team, and here we talk about him as someone who is going to lead a playoff charge from the 'middle six'.

If you like the moves fine. Just don't use wordplay to make it sound better than it is.

Also, I hate that I like the make-up of your team including the coach.
- BeadyEyedDouche

I completely understand.

Please those trades could have been done months ago ...
- gerbe75pts

I love thinking that these trades could of, should of, or would of happened months ago. What makes you think both sides were ready to do the specific deals earlier in the season?

I was under the impression that this season was not targeted to be a playoff year and an improvement into the mid to high 80s was/is very good progress.

This year was about shedding dead weight and salaries of expiring contracts. This seems to have happened. Perhaps it could of/should of been more but, it could have been less.

The off-season with cap flexibility, which we did not have before this year, I believe is the Sabres target. As it has been pointed out, deck chairs will be shuffled throughout the league and July 1 improvements should be in decent to good supply. The trade deadline would not have provided this and did not.

My season as a ticket holder has provided me a roller coaster of fan emotion. I have been to games this year that I walked out of mid second period and I have been to games where I stayed through OT and thoroughly enjoyed the game. This year we can say that the Sabres were expected to win some games as opposed to previous seasons where we viewed wins as lucky.

I think it as been a year of progress and I look forward to (hope?) a good to great FA and draft season.[/img]

Can we officially stop using this Botts term 'middle six'? For one, The idea of a middle six forward is someone who could be a 2nd liner. I think it is abundantly clear that Sheary, Vesey, Simmonds, and anyone else who has been given this middle six tag is not ever capable of being an decent NHL second liner.

These are bottom six forwards, plain and simple. He got what according to a lot of advanced stats is not just NJ's worst forward, but one of the league's worst forwards in Simmonds. The other guy has 27 points. These are depth players, not 'middle six' forwards.

The standard is just so embarrassingly low around here. Simmonds is a fourth liner, but realistically at this point isn't even making a really good team, and here we talk about him as someone who is going to lead a playoff charge from the 'middle six'.

If you like the moves fine. Just don't use wordplay to make it sound better than it is.
- matty12345

Sorry. Not middle 6. How about the high scoring Leafs, these players would be their 8th and 9th best players (points wise), two of witch are Dmen. So about the same as here.

How about Bruins? 8th and 10th, with two being D as well.

I guessed I missed all the top line players that were moved yesterday.

as one who questioned Botts for the last 14 months


nobody should be mad about what he did yesterday
- homiedclown

We have the same needs today as we have had all year
im tired of the fill in the blank last years 1st rd pick is the solution

I am not mad a t all with what Botts did yesterday. Picked up a veteran player that has scored in the past with grit which this team needs desperately. Also got rid of 2 players that were plugs for a younger player with some potential.

The time to make a trade for the #2 center will be in the summer not at the deadline.

I just don't know if I trust Botts to get it done.

I love thinking that these trades could of, should of, or would of happened months ago. What makes you think both sides were ready to do the specific deals earlier in the season?

I was under the impression that this season was not targeted to be a playoff year and an improvement into the mid to high 80s was/is very good progress.

This year was about shedding dead weight and salaries of expiring contracts. This seems to have happened. Perhaps it could of/should of been more but, it could have been less.

The off-season with cap flexibility, which we did not have before this year, I believe is the Sabres target. As it has been pointed out, deck chairs will be shuffled throughout the league and July 1 improvements should be in decent to good supply. The trade deadline would not have provided this and did not.

My season as a ticket holder has provided me a roller coaster of fan emotion. I have been to games this year that I walked out of mid second period and I have been to games where I stayed through OT and thoroughly enjoyed the game. This year we can say that the Sabres were expected to win some games as opposed to previous seasons where we viewed wins as lucky.

I think it as been a year of progress and I look forward to (hope?) a good to great FA and draft season.
- TC4145[/img]

It's not true that we have cap space next year, btw.

Start with around 34.5, according to capfriendly. Give Sam 7, give Olofsson 3.5, give Montour 4.5, give Kahun 2. Now I have 17.5 million. Let's bring Lazar back for 1, so 16.5 mil.

I only have 8F, 6D, 1G, so I need to bring in a goalie for say 2.1 (whether Ullmark or someone else), and a 7th d for 900k, Now I'm down to 13.5 million. Probably have to pay some bonuses, because Botts didn't clear enough cap this year to pay them all, so best case I got 12 million to spend on 4-5 forwards.

They might be able to squeek a second liner into that budget, but more likely just resigning Vesey for 3ish, Girgs for 2.5, and Larsson for 2.5, leaves you with some money for one 4 million dollar player.

This is all super approximate, but as a whole I think all those numbers are team friendly. Reinhart could be 7.5, Montour could be 5, etc.

Can we be mad about what he didn’t do?
- Beethoven

What he DIDN'T do was he didn't overpay for a 3C, which is what everyone else did.