The Sabres Observer
Murray’s Prowess Being Put To The Test
by @DaveDavisHockey on 06/23/16 at 10:53 AM ET
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From Mike Schopp of WGR-550 radio,
Murray and the Sabres are going to court Steven Stamkos. The draft comes first on the calendar but that's your future; Stamkos is where the summer starts. Assuming Tampa doesn't sign him beforehand -- or trade him to another team that does so -- the Sabres on Saturday can approach Stamkos in an effort to find out what it would take to sign him.
If he wants to come here, or if he doesn't, that's that and you move on. If he's open to it, things can get tricky. The Sabres have other needs. Do they forsake another good free agent forward because signing Stamkos would render that player (Kyle Okposo?) unnecessary here, or unaffordable? Can they do what they want on defense with a $10M-plus player on the payroll, and might they need to trade Zach Bogosian to make room? A lot hinges on what Stamkos tells them, and at the risk of being naive I'm going to say that they don't know those answers yet.
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Tags: sabres+rumors,
sabres+trade+rumors
Sabres D-man Search, Draft Coverage And Contest
by @DaveDavisHockey on 06/22/16 at 05:52 PM ET
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Some various tidbits on the Sabres, KK's draft coverage and a contest for readers in Buffalo (or anyone visiting!):
Tim Murray stated the obvious yesterday on WGR-550 radio when discussing his need for a left-handed shooting defenseman. Let's take a look at the list of such players, in no particular order, who appear to be available either via trade or free agency:
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Tags: sabres+draft,
sabres+lefty+defenseman,
sabres+trade+rumors
Sabres Can’t Luxury Shop Without Clearing Cap Room
by @DaveDavisHockey on 06/21/16 at 03:10 PM ET
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We're looking at a decent crop of free agents and players on the trading block this offseason, and Buffalo is certainly one of those teams looking to be buyers.
With the Sabres rumored to be willing to plunk down $12M per season for Steven Stamkos (you can take that one or leave it, but it is from Darren Dreger), and with a glaring need to find a top-end defenseman to pair with Rasmus Ristolainen, this might be a good time to take a hard look at how much available credit is on the card.
This is the time of year when many Sabres fans miscalculate what their team is dealing with in regards to the cap. Who can forget those recent past seasons when there was unfounded panic in the streets of Buffalo that the team wouldn't be able to reach the floor?
But times have changed and the rebuild is over. And if Buffalo wants to sign a high end guy like Stamkos, it'll take a lot of work clearing out cap room to make it possible.
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Tags: sabres+free+agency,
sabres+rumors,
stamkos+sabres
Anger Over Eichel Calder Exclusion Is Overkill
by @DaveDavisHockey on 04/07/16 at 11:52 AM ET
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I get that Sabres fans love what they've seen from Jack Eichel this season -- count me in that group -- but some of the reaction over the phenom not getting serious consideration for the Calder Trophy has reached ridiculous levels.
It's been pretty clear for most of the season, at least since Connor McDavid's injury, that Artemi Panarin has been the frontrunner for top rookie. Against a tidal wave of scrutiny from a portion of Buffalonian twitter followers, I took the bold step on a few occasions of merely bringing this up. Many writers and broadcasters near the top of the media totem pole have felt the same way. And king of them all Bob McKenzie last night said he surveyed 21 NHL GM's and got 18 votes for Panarin, 2 for McDavid and 1 for Dylan Larkin.
Between that nugget and a twitter poll of hockey fans showing Eichel not listed in the top 4, you'd think from the response here that Buffalo is on the short end of the biggest conspiracy since No Goal.
Folks, it's OK to love Eichel AND be simultaneously and humbly appreciative that there are some other very, very good candidates out there as well. There's no law against that.
And, to be perfectly honest, most of those other rookies are more deserving.
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Tags: buffalo+sabres,
jack+eichel,
panarin+calder
Is This Sabres Season A Success?
by @DaveDavisHockey on 04/04/16 at 07:42 PM ET
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From Howard Simon of WGR-550,
The Sabres are 18-13-7 in the second half of the season. That's 43 points in 38 games. If you project that over an 82 game season, it comes out to 92 points which, if you were wondering, would have the Sabres in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division today and in a playoff spot.
This doesn't mean General Manager Tim Murray doesn't have work to do. He still needs to improve the offense by bringing in another scoring winger for one of the top two lines and another top four defenseman would be nice too.
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Tags: buffalo+sabres
Buzzkill In Buffalo Reveals Ongoing Problem
by @DaveDavisHockey on 03/02/16 at 11:25 AM ET
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The two greatest young superstars to come into the league since Crosby and Ovechkin. The opening faceoff. Finally.
Despite their politically correct comments earlier in the day that it was about the teams and not the individuals, this moment was supposed to belong to both Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel.
But when 97 went out to take the historic draw that would begin a 15-year rivalry with 15, Sabres coach Dan Bylsma chose strategy over good theater and sent out..... Johan Larsson.
Coach should've opted for good theater. Just ask the hockey gods, who decided to have a little fun by seeing to it that the number of seconds it took for McDavid to score after that opening draw matched Larsson's uniform number.
But, hey, any small trace of fun these days at First Niagara Center is to be treasured. There hasn't really been too much of it for what now seems like an eternity, which is what happens when the star attraction is a losing team playing boring hockey.
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Buffalo’s Slow Defense Is Slowing The Rebuild
by @DaveDavisHockey on 01/13/16 at 04:56 PM ET
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Are you happy with the progress of the rebuild, Sabres fans?
Buffalo (17-22-4) is on pace for 72 points, which would be 18 more than last season.
But 18 points better than one of the worst teams in NHL history isn't really as much as it seems. I was hoping for a bit more. If you've watched this group game after game for half a season, it should be pretty apparent why the jump hasn't been bigger.
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Tags: buffalo+sabres
Eichel Could Use An Energy Boost
by @DaveDavisHockey on 12/11/15 at 02:33 PM ET
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That was quite an effort last night in the third period of the Buffalo - Calgary game.
Young Sabres star nets a hat trick, including a couple of power play goals, now second in team scoring, on pace to challenge for a 60-point season. It wouldn't be crazy to vouch for this kid making the trip to Nashville as an Atlantic Division All-Star.
With apologies to Rasmus Ristolainen, whom we in Buffalo love as we enjoy watching his rise to stardom, this is the storyline Sabres fans were hoping -- perhaps not expecting, but hoping -- would be written for Jack Eichel.
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Tags: eichel+tired
It’s Time For A New Narrative On Evander Kane
by @DaveDavisHockey on 10/22/15 at 10:48 AM ET
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It was easy enough to see, even before last night's 2-1 Buffalo shootout win over Toronto, how good Evander Kane had played as a Sabre.
Fifteen shots on net, one disallowed goal and two assists in five games, a 54% Corsi For rating on a 40% Corsi For team, and an energy and presence on the ice that even passed the eye test.
Well, easy enough to see if you aren't a writer either too lazy to do his homework or carrying aspirations of induction into the Hot Takes Hall of Fame.
The centerpiece of a blockbuster deal with Winnipeg late last season, allegedly on the wrong end of "one of the more one-sided trades in NHL history", finally got what he deserved -- a game-tying goal and first star of the night. He also played over 22 minutes, had 7 shots on goal and led the team with 4 hits to boot.
For more reasons than just last night's stellar performance, one question needs to be asked.
What the hell is everyone's problem with Evander Kane?
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Tags: evander+kane
With Lehner Injured, Murray Needs To Call Calgary
by @DaveDavisHockey on 10/09/15 at 10:46 AM ET
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When Robin Lehner was injured in last night's 3-1 opening night loss to Ottawa, here's hoping Tim Murray was on the phone within 5 minutes.
While most fans in Buffalo sensibly aren't having false illusions about the ceiling for this year's team, one thing for certain is another season struggling to stay out of 30th place is just not going to work. This currently excited and hopeful fan base will turn sour, and understandably so after what transpired during the past two horrific seasons.
Whether Lehner is out for days, weeks or months doesn't matter. This team needs an experienced veteran goaltender, as it has since training camp.
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Tags: robin+lehner
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About The Sabres Observer
Dave Davis has covered the Buffalo Sabres for various NHL accredited websites and newspapers since 2003. He was the senior writer and Sabres correspondent for The Fourth Period, covered hockey for Western New York Sports and Leisure Magazine, and has had articles featured on NHL.com, FOX Sports, Yahoo Sports and in New York Sportscene. Sabres news and notes can be found on his Twitter page.
Email: dd@kuklaskorner.com Twitter: [@DaveDavisHockey]
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