The last few months haven’t been kind to the Sabres. Injuries have plagued the roster as losses keep stacking up. They’re flirting with winning only 10 of their last 50 games and another lost season has fans wondering when the reinforcements might arrive.
Unlike previous seasons, the Sabres prospect pipeline is a bit richer these days. Meaning there’s more than just one or two prospects worth looking forward to seeing. Jack Quinn was just returned to Rochester after recovering from injury. He joins JJ Peterka, who is steaming along at a point per game pace and Ukko Pekka Luukkonen, who is working back from an injury of his own. Mattias Samuelsson and Peyton Krebs are already in Buffalo and there’s an opportunity for Ryan Johnson, Devon Levi and Owen Power to arrive once their respective NCAA seasons wrap up.
Some of Buffalo’s Buffalo’s CHL prospects could even see action in Rochester on ATOs when their seasons end.
There ought to be space on the Sabres roster for some of those prospects to fill out after the trade deadline. There could be upwards of four-to-six openings depending on how many deals the Sabres swing and who they move on from. Thanks to the later start to the NHL season, NCAA prospects can play in far more games than they would under normal circumstances, which is a great sign for the ability of Johnson, Levi and Power to impact the Sabres lineup.
Exactly when those three could arrive is still up in the air. A few well-placed losses could get the trio to Buffalo sooner, which is what this rooting guide is for.
The hockey world has reacted to the war in Ukraine, as Russia and Belarus have been suspended from international play by the IIHF and the 2023 World Junior Championships have been removed from Russia as well. Additional hockey-related sanctions have been placed on the two countries and we discuss the fallout that will come from the actions taken by both sides, from a hockey perspective. We also discuss the new initiatives being take by the Sabres in an effort to re-engage with their season ticket holders and fanbase as a whole. With a new VP of Ticketing, steps are being taken to open new avenues to connect with the fanbase and get butts back in the seats.
Eric makes his triumphant return to the show to reflect on the humble beginnings of the podcast, what’s unfolded over the last 10 years for the show, the Sabres and his career with the Nashville Predators. We talk about a host of NHL and hockey topics, including the fan engagement that’s been cultivated in Nashville and some of the big events Eric has experienced with the Preds.
The Sabres will have some work to do in order to reach the cap floor for the 2022-23 season. That will mean some creative moves will need to be made via free agency and the trade market in the coming weeks and months in order to hit the minimum salary cap figure. We run down a list for forwards, defensemen and goaltenders who the Sabres could target to not only fill their cap void, but to help push the team closer to competitiveness for the coming season.
The battle over what should occupy Buffalo’s waterfront has been roaring for the better part of two decades, as the early aughts brought us Bass Pro, an evolving vision for Canalside and eventually to where we are now. Which is, to say, not too far off from where we started.
Much of the progress we’ve seen has come in spite of the hucksters who weasel their way into any project of merit whose developer isn’t formidable enough to shoo them away. Other opportunities have been outright lost due to the pervasive obstructionists that seeps into much of the public discourse in the city. The Aud has been gone for over 10 years and we still have the empty pit to show for it.
That hasn’t kept Buffalo’s resident carnival barkers, the Campaign for Greater Buffalo, from concocting silly plans for projects he has no stake in. The group’s latest venture is a suspension bridge meant to connect the Inner and Outer Harbors. It’s a terrific idea until you see the route chosen by the group for their million-dollar deathtrap.
Protracted preservation battles have become something of a cottage industry in these parts. In fact, you might just call it an industry for some.
The latest battle has centered around the Great Northern grain elevator after the building’s northern wall collapsed. The usual players have taken sides for and against demolition after it was announced Archer Daniels Midland planned to bring the building down.
News has been mostly good for those hoping to save the structure as they won another favorable ruling in court this week. Doug Jemal has also expressed interest in buying the structure in order to preserve it. What exactly his plans would be are unknown, but if there’s a developer in the area capable of actually saving the building, it would be Jemal.
Tim Tielman came out from under his bridge to get his obligatory quotes in The Buffalo News while other developers such as Rocco Termini and Paul Ciminelli have voiced their support in saving the structure. It’s a good sign for those who hope to keep the elevator intact that Jemal has shown the propensity to hit the ground running with projects he takes on. Something that the preservation community in Western New York has not done.
Whether or not that means the structure should be saved, I’m not sure. I think there are just as many good reasons to keep it as there are reasons to bring it down.
While the official announcement was somehow scooped by the team’s online store, the Sabres unveiled the jerseys they’ll be wearing for the Heritage Classic on Thursday morning.
via NHL on Twitter
The cream-based jerseys are a first in the team’s history of uniforms and overall, it’s a sharp uniform, although maybe a little on the safe side.
I suspected the Sabres would sport some sort of a “fauxback” for this game given the only truly historic jersey set they have to draw upon is already the basis for their home and away uniform. The cream base helps these lean in hard on the fauxback style and helps differentiate it from the 50th anniversary jerseys (which obviously weren’t throwbacks), the 40th anniversary jerseys and even the 2018 Winter Classic uniform which was at least tangentially throwback inspired.
The thicker striping pattern on the sleeves and hem are a great addition as it gives a more bold look than the thinner stripes seen on the 40th alternates or even the team’s home and away set. Ditto for the white trimmed pants stripe, which is something they should be adopting full time. The return of the bumblebee sock striping is going to fly under the radar but might be one of the coolest features of this uniform.
Adding felt to the crest is a nice touch – it certainly made the 2018 Winter Classic crest feel awesome – the rest of the logo remains unaltered. It’s a fine choice given the direction they went.
I don’t care much about the felt names and numbers. One, because I think it’s a concept that’s been overdone on these fauxback type jerseys. Two, because doing the blue on blue makes the unique stitching on felt numbers invisible. I don’t think the stitching pattern is anything special to begin with (hated it on the 40th alternates), but if you’re going to incorporate a design style, you might as well take full advantage. Lastly, there have been screenshots of disclaimers on the Shop One Buffalo site which indicate that the felt lettering probably won’t be available for the jerseys fans purchase. So it’s a purely cosmetic addition which will be difficult, if not impossible to discern on the ice and offers no added benefit to fans who purchase the jersey.
If there’s anything to critique about these jerseys, it’s that they are a bit on the safe side. While Toronto’s jerseys haven’t been released as of this post being written, it looks as if they’ll pull from an old Toronto Arenas uniform design. The Sabres have had quite a few issues embracing not only their history, but the history of hockey in Buffalo as a whole. This could have been a great opportunity to draw on a uniform design of one of Buffalo Bisons teams of the past. Instead, we got a fairly standard fauxback Sabres jersey. A good jersey, mind you. But not quite as adventurous as it could have been.
The jerseys themselves look great in the promotional images that have been shared. I think they’re going to look terrific on the ice as the design of the pants and the sock striping is going to really tie this all together. We won’t have to wait all that long to see them, either. We’re just about three weeks away from the Heritage Classic and I think it’s a safe bet that we’ll see these at KeyBank Center for the team’s throwback night on March 25.
The main focus of this week’s show is Alex Tuch and the impressive impact he’s had since arriving in Buffalo. We talk about the underlying numbers he’s carrying, the incredible point production and simply how good he’s looked taking a step up in the lineup and helping to anchor Buffalo’s top line.
We add some thoughts about how Tuch’s emergence can help fuel the next moves the Sabres make in terms of free agent or trade acquisitions, and how he’s become a cornerstone of the young core they’re building with.
Prior to that, we touch on the trade between the Montreal Canadians and Calgary Flames that saw Tyler Toffoli head to Alberta. We discuss Jack Eichel’s impending return and the disappointment in not seeing Devon Levi receive any action for Team Canada at the 2022 Olympic Games.
It’s hardly a surprising decision given Jemal’s track record in the city. But it’s still comes with a sliver of disappointment, as we’ll be missing out on the plan pitched by Passero Associates, SAA EVI and McGuire Development. Their plan, which I wrote about here, felt like the best of the three finalists for the property. It was a unique plan that offered something of a big-city vibe. It would’ve added some height to that section of downtown and just generally looked really cool.
Designating Jemal as the developer of the Mohawk Ramp isn’t a bad thing, of course. The pace at which his projects move is warp speed when compared to other local developers. He’s proven that he has the skill and resources to make the Mohawk Ramp redevelopment and impressive addition to downtown.
Awarding the Mohawk Ramp to Jemal also creates synergy with his very impressive plans for the Simon Electric properties. Jemal was on record saying he was doing the Simon properties with or without the ramp, but if awarding him the ramp helps push the various phases of the Simon project forward, it will be a net win.
Perhaps the combine inertia of the two development plans will move up the phased development Jemal initially pitched for the Mohawk garage.
We’ve seen Jemal’s penchant for shifting plans to better fit his overall vision. Namely with the Seneca One redevelopment. Could we see him jump right to phase two of the phased development plans initially released for Huron and Ellicott Streets?
It’s refreshing to know that even if the most attractive development option wasn’t selected for a downtown parcel that we can have confidence in what’s to come. What Jemal’s plan may be lacking curb appeal will certainly be made up for in the time it takes to reach the finish line.
It’s also unfair of me to paint the Jemal project in such an unflattering light. The Douglas plan is a good one. The city was in a difficult spot as they were presented with a number of projects which were deserving of praise. The building that’s to replace the Mohawk Ramp may not have the vertical height as the others, but it’s still going to look great. The lead image on this Buffalo Risingpost shows the initial rendering for a building that will be at home in downtown Buffalo. At least in this image, the garage portion is obscured, the brick exterior fits the surrounding area and the street level retail and restaurants will be a welcome addition to that strip. If this looks even half as good as Douglas’ Brookland Press project in DC, it will be an excellent addition to downtown.
There’s even some expectation that the Gold Wynn will still seek to build the glass tower they pitched for the site. It would be unfair to assume that Passero, EVI SAA and McGuire would follow suit with their project, but it would certainly be a welcome and exciting decision. The wake of this decision could bring about more exciting projects that fill in some of the gaps downtown.
The momentum along Ellicott really puts the phrase of a rising tide lifting all boats to the test. We are too far away from upwards of seven newly renovated buildings coming on line along a strip of the city which already includes Big Ditch, Tappo and is just around the corner from the Theater District and Roosevelt Square.
It’s exciting news, even if the plan wasn’t my absolute favorite of the bunch.
The Montreal Canadiens fired Dominique Ducharme and named Martin St. Louis as their interim head coach as they work through a very difficult season. We discuss the Habs’ decision to go with a somewhat unexpected hire for their interim coach and whether or not St. Louis will have the inside track to take over in a more permanent capacity. Tuukka Rask called it a career and we celebrate his career while bidding him adieu We also discuss the NHL All Star Game and NHL Skills Competition before closing the show with a brief conversation about the men’s and women’s hockey tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Two in the Box 