Buffalo Sabres

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

Double Minors: Replay Derails Sabres Comeback Against Sens

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For a few fleeting moments on Thursday night, the plan had fallen into place perfectly. Evander Kane had shoveled a puck home from beside the net, DJ Kool was blasting throughout the arena and the momentum had fully shifted as the Sabres had tied the game.

However, Ottawa successfully challenged the play as the Sabres were deemed to have been offside on the zone entry and the score reverted to 2-1. While the Sabres still had a firm control over the game, they were unable to score another tying marker.

For the record, the Senators and the referees made the right call. The play was just ever slightly offside and the review showed that. So twice in two nights the new NHL review system worked as planned. It will be a hard pill to swallow for Sabres fans but it was the right call. Continue reading →

Projecting the Sabres Roster on the Eve of Final Cuts

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The Sabres begin the season in four days, and some question marks still remain as to who will be part of that opening night roster against Ottawa. The organization has made quite a few cuts over recent days that have answered some questions, such as sending Cal O’Reilly down to Rochester. There’s still a handful of decisions to be made in the next 24 hours, or so, with the roster currently sitting at 28 players and only enough room for 23. Here’s how I see the Sabres’ roster looking to start the year. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 4.9 – 2015-16 Season Preview

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Tyler and Chris are back after summer break and we’re talking about the outlook for the 2015-16 Sabres season. We spend some time looking at some question marks surrounding the defense corps, just how long of a look Brendan Guhle will get and realistic expectations for this year’s team.

Remember #GaslightForGoalSong When You Vote for the Sabres Goal Song

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The Sabres are hosting a little contest to determine their goal song for the upcoming season and the #GaslightForGoalSong campaign is one step closer to being realized.

The Sabres have eight choices for the new goal song in total that range from truly dreadful to more than acceptable. Highlights include something horrible by Pitbull, Swords of 1,000 Men (which already had a short-lived run as the goal song) and Let Me Clear My Throat by DJ Kool.

I have, at times, offered up my thoughts on certain aspects of game presentation at Sabres games. For the most part I’m relatively indifferent to what they do until I see a promotional game befit for minor league baseball or just terrible, awful music being played. So game presentation is hardly a hill I’m willing to die on. I do, however, wish the Sabres had a better goal song. Continue reading →

Sabres Goal Masks for the 2015-16 Season

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With a new season comes new helmets and the Sabres organization will be treated to a number of new goal masks for this season. Thanks to Tim Murray’s dealing, Chad Johnson and Robin Lehner bring their unique looks to the organization this season. Additionally, Linus Ullmark and CJ Motte will have new mask art to add to the organizational list.

Here are the masks Buffalo’s goaltenders will be sporting as the season opens: Continue reading →

Sharing Some Thoughts on Last Night’s Sabres-Related Outrage

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The Sabres opened their preseason schedule last night in Minnesota with Jack Eichel dazzling in his first game action against NHL veterans, perhaps you heard. You may have also heard that the game wasn’t on television.

There has been a fair bit of outrage on the Twitterverse due to this development. The lack of streaming content for last weekend’s Prospects Challenge has left a hockey starved fan base without much to hang on as the regular season approaches. Last night’s game wound up bringing various fan complaints to a head. It was underscored by the adorable Tweet pictured here.sabres

Now, the Sabres have traditionally kept preseason games off television. My understanding from when I was with the Sabres is that it’s a relatively fruitless venture which puts an undue expense on the broadcast arm of the team. This makes a lot of sense when you consider your typical preseason game roster is filled at least halfway with players who won’t be with the club during the regular season and the viewer base isn’t nearly as invested as they would be for a regular season game.

I pointed this out on Twitter earlier in the day as the fervor over the lack of TV or a stream began to ramp up. At the very least, the precedent has been a relative lack of TV games in the preseason. So it’s not as if this was a massive change from the past. Also, from my perspective, I wasn’t overly concerned that the game wasn’t on TV.

What seems to have led to the collective outrage over last night’s game is a combination of poor outreach via social media and the swell of frustration surrounding streaming (and not streaming) the prospects games this summer. Continue reading →

Revamped Blueline a Key in Buffalo’s Turnaround

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As the Sabres open their preseason campaign this evening against Minnesota, portions of the reshaped roster will be front and center for the first time. While this includes players like Jack Eichel, Buffalo’s beefed up blueline will be on display as well.

Buffalo returns most of their defensive corps from the end of the 2014-15 campaign as Zach Bogosian, Josh Gorges, Rasmus Ristolainen and Mike Weber will all see significant minutes this season. However, Mark Pysyk is expected to be in Buffalo full-time along with new additions Carlo Colaiacovo and Cody Franson. Those new faces should each play their own role in turning the corner after two years of woeful defensive results.

While Ristolainen will remain on the shelf for a little while longer due to a pre-camp injury, the club opened camp with a pretty clear picture of what their defense pairs will look like. Gorges is skating alongside Bogosian, Weber is paired with Pysyk while Colaiacovo and Franson are the next pair up. One would presume that Ristolainen steps in with Pysyk when he’s healthy, but that’s hardly set in stone at this point.

Based on the current pairings, it would seem that Gorges and Bogosian will serve as the team’s top pair with Pysyk and Ristolainen potentially seeing second pairing minutes. Colaiacovo and Franson are likely best used in manageable situations – something Murray mentioned after signing Franson – which would be ideal for a third pair made up of two veterans who can contribute offensively.

Assuming Weber is penciled in as the seventh man for the time being, he will likely be utilized when Dan Bylsma is looking to ice a heavier lineup or even a defensive corps with more of a tendency to stay at home.

Depth beyond the top seven is far more impressive than it was just a year ago. Of course, the top seven is far more impressive than it was a year ago. Jake McCabe is the prohibitive favorite to be the first call up and I’d be surprised if he wasn’t recalled on a fairly regular basis. Chad Ruhwedel, Matt Donovan and Bobby Sanguinetti all have NHL experience and while they’ll each see more time in Rochester than Buffalo, they provide fair replacement value should the Sabres be hit by an injury bug. Continue reading →

Reloaded Forward Group is Full of Upside

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Pop quiz, hot shot. Can you name all of the forwards vying for a spot on the Sabres roster this year? No cheating.

The Sabres enter camp with a hefty roster bolstered by two years of rebuilding. As a result, fresh faces abound and it isn’t too hard to leave out a name or two while you’re penciling in lines.

Tim Murray’s first 18 months have brought Evander Kane, Jamie McGinn, Ryan O’Reilly (and brother Cal), Zach Bogosian, Josh Gorges, Cody Franson and Robin Lehner (among others) to the Queen City. Oh, and two guys named Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel, too. As a result, trying to ferret out exactly who will be on the opening night roster isn’t an easy task.

Obviously Eichel is going to be at the center of attention throughout camp. After all, where would the Sabres marketing team be if they couldn’t show us Jack Eichel doing Jack Eichel things with people who aren’t Jack Eichel? All kidding aside, I’m beyond ecstatic to see him in preseason action after his play in development camp (especially the 3-on-3 tournament) and at the Prospects Challenge. I just hope the Sabres don’t run him into the ground as they try to promote him the team.

The number of potential position battles for a team starting to turn the corner out of a rebuild isn’t that surprising. The forward group has the most potential for upheaval as there are upwards of 15 players who could conceivably push for a roster spot for the October 8 opener. Continue reading →

Eichel Takes Center Stage in Prospect Challenge Finale

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That went about as well as the Sabres could have hoped. Well, aside from the light crowd, I suppose. Still, Jack Eichel put on a show in the third period and OT, lifting the Sabres to a 3-2 OT victory over the Bruins prospects in the final game of the inaugural Prospects Challenge.

Buffalo’s 2-0 record bested the three-team field as New Jersey’s prospects were dispatched in each of their games while the Bruins finished 1-1. Eichel put a pair of exclamation points on the tournament with a nifty assist to open the scoring on Saturday night and then winning a race along the wall to create a two-on-one with Sam Reinhart on the winning goal.

Of course, this is sort of what you’d expect from the team’s electric number-two pick. He’s been billed as one of the best prospects of the last decade and aside from a sluggish showing in July’s Development Camp scrimmage, he’s put up highlight after highlight. I was far more interested in keeping an eye on players like Brendan Guhle (he was good), Nick Baptiste and others but the allure of Eichel and Reinhart is had to ignore.

Eichel’s game winner is obviously the nice, neat exclamation point on the evening but it was his assist on the game-tying goal was the more impressive play. Eichel drifted down towards the faceoff dot and slid a gorgeous saucer pass through the Bruins’ penalty kill to find Brycen Martin streaking down the opposite side. Eichel is at home posting up at one point of the umbrella on the powerplay. He has a heavy shot which keeps him from being simply a passing threat, but when he has time to dissect a team, he’ll do it. Both he and Reinhart strung together some very impressive passes throughout the night.

I liked that the first word that Randy Cunneyworth used to describe Reinhart was poise. Going back to last year’s development camp, the one thing that really stands out about his game is how he seems to let things come to him. He seems to be the one dictating things on the ice, not letting things dictate his game. Cunneyworth didn’t hesitate to put he and Eichel together when the Sabres needed to tie late and they were on the ice for the winning goal as well. There may be some time until they’re playing together regularly at the NHL level, but tonight’s sneak preview was a nice treat.

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While I was unable to make it to Saturday’s opening game, I was surprised to see how few seats were filled given the ridiculous turnout for this summer’s Development Camp. Tonight was no different as there were only a few well filled sections in the 100 level. Add in the lack of a live stream and a fraction of fans got a chance to check out these games compared to those who saw the scrimmage in July.

I don’t want to get into too many points on not streaming the game, the odd lack of coverage by the Sabres Twitter during the game itself (they made up for it with some good Vines) as that is best saved for a later post. What is odd is that Sabres fans didn’t flock to the arena for these games as they did in July. These were actual games against actual opponents that even included some of the draft’s best talents – the Bruins had three firsts on the ice tonight – not named Jack Eichel. The weather, Bills and a number of festivals certainly played a role in the ticket sales, but I’d certainly argue that Buffalo’s tremendous hockey fans could have shown a bit better given that their shiny new toys were on display over a rainy weekend.

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  • Brendan Guhle continues to grow on me. I admit I didn’t know much about him prior to the draft, but his skating ability at Development Camp piqued my interest and that was on display again tonight. He needs time to add weight, but he has shown some impressive upside. He made a great play to burn down the far boards to collect a loose puck and create an odd-man rush in the second period. It was an impressive display of speed and a good read to push up into the play.
  • Jake McCabe was another player who impressed me tonight. He was quick to engage physically and was easily the most talented defender on the ice. He was also the player with the most professional experience on the ice, so that was probably to be expected.
  • Good on the Rochester Americans social media for their consistent, solid coverage. Filled the gap while the Sabres account was nearly silent. At their own event, no less.
  • I had reservations about 3-on-3 overtime and I have dropped every single one of them after tonight’s display. There is a ton of open ice, mismatch opportunities at every turn and the ability for extended possessions in-zone. Oh, and it’s a long change for each team. There were numerous solid opportunities for each club, it just so happened that Jack Eichel cashed his. I can’t wait to see it in the regular season.
  • CJ Motte had a nice game. He’ll make for a nice depth addition for the organization in the minors. He moves well and plays an athletic style. He’s not a giant like Robyn Lehner or Anders Lindback, even. But he gets out and challenges shooters and keeps the game in control.

 

 

Deal with MLBAM Should Improve NHL’s Digital Media

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The end of July and early August are usually the quietest few weeks on the NHL calendar and, for the most part, this year has been no different. Besides a few minor free agent signings and the National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid not much else has really transpired. With that being the case it’s understandable if you missed the news that the NHL has reached a digital media agreement with MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM).

For those that aren’t baseball fans (and those that are) the name MLBAM may be pretty unfamiliar. Besides running the various MLB media platforms such as mlb.com, the various team websites, MLB Network, MLB Extra Innings, MLB TV, and the mobile app MLB At Bat, the company is also in charge of several other entities. As per Sportsnet, MLBAM is already the streaming video provider for ESPN, HBO, and WWE among others. Forbes called the company “the biggest media company you’ve never heard of.”

With the six year, $1.2 billion deal MLBAM will take over control of nhl.com and the team sites, Gamecenter Live, NHL Center Ice, and (perhaps most importantly) the NHL Network. If you’ve ever watched the MLB Network on a day or night with a full slate of games, the fact that the MLBAM is taking over the underwhelming NHL Network can only be seen as good news.

Having watched my fair share of the NHL Network, MLB Network, NFL Network, and even NBA TV, I can confidently say the MLB Network blows the other three out of the water. Baseball’s flagship station sports a huge, modern studio, live programming usually from 10 am to after midnight, and an impressive arsenal of studio analysts that includes 14 former players, a former team executive, and several well respected baseball lifers such as Peter Gammons and Ken Rosenthal.

So how will (or how could) the new deal impact hockey fans and how they use the NHL’s media outlets? It’s a safe bet that the NHL Network is going to get a nice upgrade. As part of the agreement, the NHL Network will have a new headquarters in Secaucus, NJ, where a new set will be built. There may also be a few new faces in front of the camera. As already mentioned MLB Network has a huge amount of analysts and hosts, while the NHL Network only has ten listed on its website. Not only could NHL Network expand the amount of analysts at their disposal, the move down to New Jersey may impact a few of its current hosts. The likes of Andi Petrillo, Craig Button, and others live in the Toronto area and have been based their for many years. It will be interesting to see if Petrillo (who was previously with CBC) and Button (who also does work with TSN) make the trip to the states. If MLBAM opts to run the channel in a similar way as it’s MLB cousin, there’s a solid chance of more live programming (and less condensed reruns from 2-4 in the afternoon). Among the additions I’d love to see is a live, well run, morning show. MLB Central airs live at 10am on MLB Network after its version of NHL on the Fly, and is a great alternative to Sportscenter.

Statheads will also be pleased with MLBAM. The company has a series of “Statcast” videos that go into detail on various advanced stats in regards to everything from pitch velocity to an individual player’s advantage when it comes to stealing bases. This video on which player covers the most distance in center field is a great example of the work they do. When focused on things like zone entries, shot speed, or where players are shooting from on the ice, these videos could be a huge hit.

When it comes to the individual team sites and the league site, MLBAM will begin to implement its changes in January. It’s not clear what changes will be made but if the MLB team sites and the league site are any indication, there will likely be more information available on the team homepages. By taking a look at a baseball team’s website (I glanced at the Yankees’ and Brewers’ sites) as compared to an NHL team’s (I looked at the Sabres’ site) there are a few noticeable differences. First of those is that the team’s social media is embedded and easily veiwable on the baseball sites. “What’s trending” is also a feature on the baseball sites. Overall, the baseball sites are significantly more interactive and provide a huge amount of video content when compared to their hockey counterparts. When it comes to the league site, video content and trending topics is also prevalent. MLB’s website also has a feature called “Cut 4,” which is a video channel dedicated to offbeat and funny baseball related videos that some times aren’t even related to any major league team. Among the videos currently available are a minor league team unveiling an Arnold Schwarzenegger bobbehead and a softball player hitting a home run with a behind the back swing. It is features like this that draw people to the site and provide entertainment; it is also features like this that nhl.com is currently lacking.

MLBAM will also be coming out with an NHL version of the MLB At Bat app. At Bat is baseball’s in game app that provides live scores, pitch tracking, and live statistics. There’s also a premium version that allows subscribers to watch certain games and listen to any game via the home or away radio broadcast. An NHL app that provides those features would be of great value to many fans, especially expats who can’t see or listen to their hometown team on a regular basis.

The NHL has botched a lot of things in the past, but it appears they’ve found a company willing and able to significantly improve some ways fans get their hockey fix and revolutionize others. While drastic changes likely won’t be hugely noticeable when the puck drops on the season in about two months, my bet is by the end of the year there will be a change for the positive.