Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo Sabres coverage. Related to the Sabres, their prospects and the minors.

Honing in on Murray’s potential targets along the wing

Chris Ostrander4 Comments

Tim Murray will enter the offseason with a pair of pressing items on his to-do list. Get a left handed defender to fill in his top-four and grab a winger (or two) to fill out the top-six.

Somewhat like last summer when Murray was on the hunt for a goaltender, there are a host of options that will be available to him, but maybe not any one singular target fans may expect him to pursue. That’s excluding Steven Stamkos (who is a center) who will be on top of the wishlist for nearly every fan and general manager.

Looking beyond Stamkos, there are a number of players who I personally like as options for Murray to pursue via trade or free agency. Among the players I could see him considering is Jamie McGinn, who could certainly be re-signed after his trial with Anaheim this spring. While I’m unsure if McGinn’s salary demands will align with Murray’s expectation, you can count him as something of an honorable mention on this list.

While the trade route may be the most enticing route for Murray to pursue given Buffalo’s wealth of draft picks and the ability to pare down some of the clogged middle six bodies the team has, there are actually a couple of names who may hit unrestricted free agency I hope Murray considers. Continue reading →

Stamkos and the Sabres; Is it a fit?

Tyler RoederLeave a comment

Steven Stamkos and his pending free agency have been in the news since last July, when he was first eligible to sign an extension with the Lightning. Despite Steve Yzerman’s decision to hang on to their talisman at the deadline in favor of a playoff run it seems that the days of Stamkos in Tampa Bay are coming to an end.

It had always been widely believed that Stamkos would head closer to home and join the Toronto Maple Leafs, but recently that opinion has started to change a bit. Bob McKenzie, Nick Kypreos, and Darren Dreger have all discussed possible destinations for the Tampa Bay captain, and all three have Buffalo in assorted positions on the list of potential suitors. As recently as this week the Sabres were given the highest odds outside of Tampa Bay to sign the former 60 goal man. Stamkos to Buffalo talk dominated local sports talk both through main stream media and the Twitterverse for a solid period of time, and it is sure to heat up again as we inch closer to the draft and July 1. While measuring the likelihood of a player to sign with odds may be strange, I don’t think that Stamkos to Buffalo is a slam dunk. There are a number of pros and cons to consider as it pertains to the Sabres and this summer’s biggest free agent fish. Continue reading →

Who needs Batman when you’ve got Robin?

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Dan Dunleavy coined this term after one of Robin Lehner’s flashy glove saves against Ottawa earlier this year. So, the next player in line for a phone background is none other than the Sabres goaltender. Enjoy. Robin Lehner background

The Instigator Podcast 4.17 – Unwinding the Deadline

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

It was a slow deadline but a few interesting trades were made, including one by the Sabres. Chris and Tyler look back at today’s deadline and look forward from the Sabres perspective.

The Instigator Podcast 4.16 – Deadline Primer

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Chris and Tyler look ahead to Monday’s deadline and the players the Sabres will likely move on from. We also visit a few potential targets Tim Murray might consider as he continues to re-shape the roster.

Guest Appearance on the BLTD Extracast

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Chris called in to talk Sabres deadline rumors with Ryan from Better Live Than Dead. Hit the link to listen in. http://bltdsports.com/2016/02/17/bltd-extracast-15/

The Instigator Podcast 4.15 – Use Your Head

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Chris and Tyler get together to offer thoughts on the Evander Kane news, the report that Jamie McGinn’s price tag is now a 2nd round pick and we close things out with some thoughts on areas the Sabres could improve when it comes to promotions and the like.

Keep up with the Sabres pipeline to end the season

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

A big part of the Next Chapter in the Sabres rebuild has to do with prospects not named Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Ristolainen. A handful of Sabres prospects who are at various stages of their development will be on national television over the following weeks and we wanted to provide you with a graphic for easy tracking of the 10 games that are coming up. Sabres prospects TV schedule

Continue reading →

Despite High Prices, Murray Hasn’t Harmed Buffalo’s Depth via Trade Market

Chris Ostrander2 Comments

Some of Buffalo’s struggles this season can be traced to their man games lost and the general lack of depth through the pipeline which enhanced the losses caused by various injuries.

That lack of depth has been pointed to as a side effect of Tim Murray’s efforts to add NHL talent to Buffalo roster. In some cases it’s being seen as a primary fault of the general manager. However, despite the number of bodies that moved out of the Sabres organization since last February, the overall impact those moves have had on the organization’s depth maybe isn’t as harmful as you may believe.

This represents a general reflection of the organizational depth after the 2015 draft, it is not a direct representation of the roster in terms of lines, current performance or talent.
This represents a general reflection of the organizational depth after the 2015 draft, it is not a direct representation of the roster in terms of lines, current performance or talent.

In acquiring Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian, Ryan O’Reilly and Jamie McGinn, Murray surrendered a pair of draft picks (a first and second in the 2015 draft), Tyler Myers, Nikita Zadorov, Mikhail Grigorenko, Joel Armia, Brendan Lemieux and JT Compher. Drew Stafford was also part of the trade with Winnipeg but as a pending unrestricted free agent who appeared to have no future in Buffalo, it’s hard to count him as a direct loss due to those trades. Continue reading →