Without inside knowledge, merely from prospects comments or lack thereof; it seems to me Portillo is the least likely of the 3 to sign..Levi, Johnson, Portillo in that order...IMO of course.

So it makes sense to me to offer him up in a trade if someone sees value in acquiring him.
I like your thought process on building out the D pipeline without sacrificing anything.

Now, they would just need to get Power's partner for several years ... this season and 2 more years would be perfect, again IMO.
- IonSabres

Without inside knowledge, merely from prospects comments or lack thereof; it seems to me Portillo is the least likely of the 3 to sign..Levi, Johnson, Portillo in that order...IMO of course.

So it makes sense to me to offer him up in a trade if someone sees value in acquiring him.
I like your thought process on building out the D pipeline without sacrificing anything.

No, they would just need to get Power's partner for several years ... this season and 2 more years would be perfect, again IMO.
- IonSabres

I was looking at Ottawa, Zub is interesting. He's a FA at the end of the year. Doesn't sound like he's interested in staying there.

I think Johnson signs, I don't think Portillo is gonna. But like you said It's gonna be interesting.
- Buff36

I haven’t heard anything about them (as far as signing goes) since this past spring

I’d like to get them both signed
Portillo having a “down” season might make him more willing to sign, as he’s likely to have less interest unless he finishes the season very strong
Michigan lost a big chunk of last year’s team though, & i don’t see them getting much better as the season moves along
They’re “ok”
But not the powerhouse they were last season

I haven’t heard anything about them (as far as signing goes) since this past spring

I’d like to get them both signed
Portillo having a “down” season might make him more willing to sign, as he’s likely to have less interest unless he finishes the season very strong
Michigan lost a big chunk of last year’s team though, & i don’t see them getting much better as the season moves along
They’re “ok”
But not the powerhouse they were last season
- jdfitz77

Time will tell

https://www.capfriendly.c.../armchair-gm/team/3781293
Rangers fan sniffing glue again!!

https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/3781293
Rangers fan sniffing glue again!!
- Buff36

Lol
That site is a total waste of time

99% of the trades proposed there are just bananas
Only reason i even go anymore is to once in a while check out player contracts & their cap hits

Lol
That site is a total waste of time

99% of the trades proposed there are just bananas
Only reason i even go anymore is to once in a while check out player contracts & their cap hits
- jdfitz77

Yeah, there's some cool people over there, nice to see other people's thoughts.

I think Johnson signs, I don't think Portillo is gonna. But like you said It's gonna be interesting.
- Buff36

Been saying g all along that Johnson signs..unless he is an out and out liar...based solely on his comments at thid past camp

Did Darcy do something yet?

I was looking at Ottawa, Zub is interesting. He's a FA at the end of the year. Doesn't sound like he's interested in staying there.
- Buff36

FA is a little concerning to me based on runaway costs in a pseudo auction market place.
Would rather have a hockey trade for a reasonable contract with term.

From today's snooze.

Sabres coach Don Granato said after Friday’s loss to New Jersey that his group would learn a lot from the game against a team that's tearing up the Eastern Conference. A rough first period, even though it ended scoreless, wasn’t remotely good enough. Nor was giving up three goals in the second. By the third period, albeit too late, the Sabres found some legs and started to get some things accomplished. It went for naught, but now we see if there's some carryover to it.

“We found our game halfway through, and I think our guys elevated their compete,” Granato said Sunday in KeyBank Center. “… Once we got to our own game, we gave the other team a lot of trouble. We just didn't get to our own game quicker.”
You want your team to learn its lessons quickly, so it will be fascinating to see what the Sabres can do with an arduous schedule staring at them. They’re playing both participants in the 2022 Stanley Cup final here this week, meeting Tampa Bay (12-7-1) on Monday night and defending champion Colorado (12-6-1) on Thursday.
In between is a Wednesday game at Detroit, which will no doubt be looking to avenge the 8-3 Halloween spooking it endured here on the night Tage Thompson piled up six points. (And let’s not overlook the fact that the 11-5-4 Wings actually have one more point than both of the Cup finalists).

Rookie defenseman Owen Power is a noted hockey nerd who got an ample fix of the Avalanche's six-game triumph over the Lightning in June that ended the Bolts' hopes of the NHL's first three-peat since the New York Islanders of the 1980s. The series proved instructive for Power.

"The biggest thing was just how fast they both play and how tough it was to score against them,” Power said. “It seemed like both teams really didn't give anything up. That's probably the biggest thing I took from it, just how fast they play and how little they give up even with how much they produce.”
"It was really an interesting series," Granato added. "I thought Colorado just wore them out physically. (Tampa Bay) had a lot of injuries to deal with ... I thought the bar was set pretty high by Colorado, and it was impressive as that series moved along to see them just take over. Tampa had played a lot of hockey the last few years, and it just looked like it reversed in that series."
Recent history doesn't bode well for the Sabres. The Sabres are just 1-9-1 in their last 11 against the Lightning dating to November 2018 – and have given up 32 goals in the last six defeats. Against Colorado, they have lost seven straight in regulation since December 2017, and have been outscored 32-12.
The task is skyscraper tall, but the Sabres were right there on Nov. 3 in Tampa, suffering a 5-3 defeat in a game they led in the third period and was still tied inside the final five minutes. It was a game played at a fever pitch in front of a sellout crowd of nearly 20,000 in Amalie Arena. It felt like April or May, and not early November. The Sabres haven't been involved in too many like that in recent years.
Power had to play nearly 29 minutes that night, with Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson and Henri Jokiharju out of the lineup. He had two assists, six hits and the only Tampa Bay goal he was on the ice for was an empty-netter. If there was ever a doubt he was ready for big minutes as a rookie – and maybe there was already none – all questions were erased that night.

Power doesn't shy away from big matchups. He knows the names he'll see again this week: Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point of the Lightning, and Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar of the Avalanche.

"They're a good team that really knows how to win, so that's probably the difference," Power said of Tampa Bay. "They have a lot more experience and know how to close out a game. We had a couple of really good chances to score, but they came down that same same shift and scored. They converted on their opportunities. They've got some some of the best players in the league, especially their top line (Point between Kucherov and Brandon Hagel). You've got make sure you know who's out there. If you don't, it's probably going in the back of your net."

As for the Avalanche, I went to the other side of the room to inquire with new Sabres center Tyson Jost. After parts of six years with the Avs, he didn’t get a chance to win the Stanley Cup with Colorado in the spring because he was traded to Minnesota in March. But he obviously knows what makes them tick.
"They're going to kind of suffocate you at their speed and always be on top of you," Jost said. "And that's something that we can kind of do here in Buffalo. We've talked about it. Play to our identity, and that's part of our identity. When we do that, we're going to be a really, really hard team to play against. You saw it in this last couple games here (wins over Montreal and St. Louis)."

The Avs, remember, were a 48-point disaster in 2016-17 and quickly got to 95 points the next season. It took four more years, however, for the ultimate breakthrough.

"I see a ton of similarities between my experience in Colorado and what I've seen here, just in the way we play and how we push the pace," Jost said. "We're always on top of pucks with our speed and our skill, and I like our commitment to play with that flow. And that's what Colorado is really, really good at. They play a really good half-ice game."

Maybe the Sabres can catch a bit of a schedule break here as both teams might be peering ahead to matchups in Boston. The Lightning head to TD Garden for a game there Tuesday on a back-to-back, while the Avalanche are there Saturday night. Granato said his team has to play "simple, hard and direct" this week to survive.

One thing's for sure: It's no break getting these two teams at home in the same week.

Been saying g all along that Johnson signs..unless he is an out and out liar...based solely on his comments at thid past camp
- YouPeopleMentor

Agreed Jeff.

Been saying g all along that Johnson signs..unless he is an out and out liar...based solely on his comments at thid past camp
- YouPeopleMentor

Yeah, think it's about 75% at this point. He knows there is really know one blocking him. It would be a big loss if they don't get him signed. He can flip sides so smoothly.

Anyone know what was up with Asplund. They said he has been cleared to play.

Did Darcy do something yet?
- ImThatGuy

15yrs ago

Anyone know what was up with Asplund. They said he has been cleared to play.
- Buff36

I assume he got hurt against Montréal when he was boarded, when Jost responded with the hit and fight.

I assume he got hurt against Montréal when he was boarded, when Jost responded with the hit and fight.
- lacaprup

Good call

Good call
- Buff36

Funny, many of the same people who hate toughness absolutely love Asplund. He lost a couple game because teams know they can cheapshot Sabres at any moment. Thank god it was him and not someone else.

WGR spent a good part of the morning talking about how the Bills weapons aren’t good enough.

Interesting that we just had that discussion here

WGR spent a good part of the morning talking about how the Bills weapons aren’t good enough.

Interesting that we just had that discussion here
- sbroads24

I don't know. I still go back to playcalling. The only weapons they "lost" were a declining Cole Beasley and a retired Emmanuel Sanders. If you want to argue that the trust factor between Allen and Beasley is bigger than is being made, I can listen to that, but the fact of the matter is, either Allen doesn't trust anyone other than Diggs, or Dorsey just can't scheme anybody open. There should be far more "easy" gains of 6+ yards than there are.

I don't know. I still go back to playcalling. The only weapons they "lost" were a declining Cole Beasley and a retired Emmanuel Sanders. If you want to argue that the trust factor between Allen and Beasley is bigger than is being made, I can listen to that, but the fact of the matter is, either Allen doesn't trust anyone other than Diggs, or Dorsey just can't scheme anybody open. There should be far more "easy" gains of 6+ yards than there are.
- buffalofan19

Thats part of the issue for sure

I think the truth is that Dorsey is absolutely a competent OC but not maybe the leagues best like Daboll probably was, but the Bills don’t have the talent to compensate for the difference

Thats part of the issue for sure

I think the truth is that Dorsey is absolutely a competent OC but not maybe the leagues best like Daboll probably was, but the Bills don’t have the talent to compensate for the difference
- sbroads24

Oh, I'm not saying he needs to be replaced or anything like that, but even watching Kansas City yesterday, which absolutely wasn't their best day, you saw guys wide open for some easy chunk gains. Juju Smith-Schuster isn't that much better than Gabe Davis as this point in his career. Neither is Valdes-Scantling.

It could just be the case that Dorsey is just getting tunnel vision and going to the plays he's comfortable with, which is probably common for first year play callers. I mean when is the last time we even saw a trick play like a flea-flicker or even a halfback pass? I'm not necessarily clamoring for those, but usually seeing something like that is indicative of an offensive coordinator that's in a groove. Dorsey simply isn't right now.

This team needs White and Elam on the field, and Jackson off of it.

Oh, I'm not saying he needs to be replaced or anything like that, but even watching Kansas City yesterday, which absolutely wasn't their best day, you saw guys wide open for some easy chunk gains. Juju Smith-Schuster isn't that much better than Gabe Davis as this point in his career. Neither is Valdes-Scantling.
- buffalofan19

Again though, Andy Reid is the best at what he does

So was Daboll

So if you don’t have an elite play caller, you need to have elite weapons. The Bills have neither

This team needs White and Elam on the field, and Jackson off of it.
- TheSabresTaco

Agree, guy can't turn his head