Jason Botterill made a big statement this week, waiving Matt Moulson and assigning him to Ontario of the AHL. He also made his first in-season trade in an effort to improve a struggling club. Buffalo wasn’t the only hot spot in the hockey world this week as the Devils and Ducks made a big trade and Seattle set the groundwork to land an expansion franchise. We discuss all of that and which deals Botterill could make in order to set the Sabres up for improvement now and in the future.
Author: Chris Ostrander
The Instigator Podcast 6.15 – (Delayed) Winter Classic Jersey Reaction
The Sabres stunning Winter Classic jerseys were released last week and while we didn’t get a chance to offer up our thoughts right away, we’re here now to talk about how much we love them.
The Instigator Podcast 6.14 – Should the Sabres Tap their Pipeline this Season?
The Sabres are seeing success in Rochester this season as the prospects Buffalo has in the Flower City have lifted the Amerks to second in the AHL’s North Division. Led by the likes of CJ Smith and Brendan Guhle, the Amerks are proving to be a development dream for the Sabres. In what’s looking like a lost season, does it make sense for Jason Botterill to pull up his growing youngsters, or should he stay the course and allow those players to develop away from the struggles of the NHL club?
We discuss this, the looming return of Zach Bogosian and George Parros’ first serious foray into suspensions on this week’s episode.
The Instigator Podcast 6.12 – Do the Sabres Have a Leadership Issue? Does it Matter?
There have been some whispers that the Sabres may be lacking in the leadership department. Or at the very least, aren’t made of the type of players who don’t carry themselves – on and off the ice – the way players in winning organizations do. We break down whether or not that might be a plausible explanation for the Sabres struggles or if there are other factors at hand.
We also take a close look at the Matt Duchene trade and how the first big blockbuster of the season will affect the teams involved.
The Instigator Podcast 6.12 – Lack of Consistency and Lack of Depth Hurting the Sabres
The Sabres can’t seem to lock down the play that saw them grab a pair of key wins in the past week. Chris and Tyler discuss what’s been keeping Buffalo from climbing higher in the standings and what can be done to address it.
The Instigator Podcast Bonus Cut – What to Make of the Reinhart and Kane Rumors
We recorded a special bonus Instigator Podcast this week in order to talk about the recent rumors involving Evander Kane and Sam Reinhart. Specifically we try to determine what the overall strategy would be from the Sabres perspective in any such deal.
The Instigator Podcast 6.11 – This One Thing Doesn’t Have to Go Away
This week’s podcast is slightly different. We wanted to honor Gord Downie’s passing by opening and closing the episode with The Hip, so the intro is longer than usual. On the Sabres front, we talk about the west coast road swing and the holes in Buffalo’s lineup that continue to hinder the team’s ability to progress.
The Instigator Podcast 6.10 – Looking for Answers in an Ugly Start
It was a brutal weekend for the Sabres, dropping games to the Islanders and Devils in brutal fashion. We take a look at what’s gone wrong over the first three games and what the Sabres can do to right the ship.
The Instigator Podcast Interview – Featuring Greg Balloch of In Goal Mag
It’s been three games and there are plenty of questions about Buffalo’s goaltenders. So I reached out to Greg Balloch of In Goal Magazine to talk about Robin Lehner’s shootout struggles and more. Greg gives incredible insight to the strong and weak points of Lehner’s game, where he sees Lehner taking the Sabres and even offers up some thoughts on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Greg also went deep into effective and ineffective goaltending statistics, providing a better way to look at goaltenders at the NHL level.
Sabres Feature Sharp Masks for 2017-18
The Sabres are back and with a new hockey season comes new hope, new expectations and, most importantly, new goalie equipment.
Every goalie in the Sabres system has a new-ish look for the season and while this lineup certainly isn’t the most impressive collection of masks and gear the team has ever seen, there are still a few solid set ups throughout the pipeline.
None is better than Robin Lehner’s phenomenal Brian’s OPT1K set. Known for unparalleled customization, Brian’s and Lehner cooked up a terrific blend of stock and custom team-logo graphics. I’m not always a fan of the fully custom team logo sets Brian’s creates, but the Sabre on each piece of Lehner’s set is understated enough that you have to look hard to find it.
Chad Johnson is really the only other worthwhile set up to speak of. He is sporting a clean Ventus set that is a little less colorful than the Ventus gear Lehner wore last season. The Ventus graphics are attractive and work nicely with the Sabres colors.
Other than the two goalies with the big club, Buffalo’s other netminders all sport very basic blue and white sets which won’t clash with the Amerks uniforms but don’t stand out much either. Where there is plenty of variety is in the mask department. Continue reading
