Petersen Should Start in the AHL, No Matter Where He Signs

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There was no escaping the Jimmy Vesey debate last year, especially after the Sabres acquired his rights from Nashville. Will he or won’t he sign? He’s playing with Eichel in the summer, is that a sign? Now Sabres fans are enduring the same angst as they wait for news regarding Cal Petersen.

Should he choose to leave school, Petersen could become a free agent on June 1 and test the waters around the league to see which feels best. Like with Vesey, it’s a right he’s entitled to via the CBA.

Aside from Petersen, his family, advisor and maybe Tim Murray, no one really knows what’s going on at this point in time. But it stands to reason that the longer Petersen goes without a contract, the more likely it is that  he’s going to hit the open market.

It’s not out of the realm of possibility that he chooses to return to Notre Dame for his senior season, as we’re now two days removed from the end of the Sabres season and five days removed from Petersen’s exit from the Frozen Four with news of a contract yet to break. It’s not out of the question that Petersen would still sign with the Sabres, it just seems unlikely the further away from the end of the season we get. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 5.40 – NHL Bails on the Olympics while the Sabres Bail on Giveaways

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On this week’s episode Chris and Tyler run down the decision and potential consequences by the NHL to not send players to the 2018 Winter Games. We discuss the potential impact on the growth of the game overseas and the consequences closer to home. Also on the agenda is the poor giveaway offered by the Sabres for this year’s Fan Appreciation Night and the additional opportunities the Sabres miss when it comes to fan engagement, giveaways and promotions.

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The Instigator Podcast 5.39 – Who Should the Sabres Protect in the NHL Expansion Draft?

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Ennis? Bogosian? Moulson? Ullmark? Will the Sabres manage to pawn off a big salary on the Vegas Golden Knights or will Tim Murray have work to do in terms of which players he exposes and which players he protects. Chris and Tyler run down Buffalo’s options for the expansion draft while also hitting on the signing of CJ Smith, USWNT negotiations and Sam Reinhart’s benching.

The Instigator Podcast 5.38 – Celebrating the Buffalo Beauts NWHL Championship with Jacquie Greco

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Buffalo Beauts forward Jacquie Greco joined the show to talk about the Buffalo Beauts’ championship win over the Boston Pride. We touch on additional topics on the future of the women’s game while also discussing Olympic participation from the men’s and women’s perspective. Thanks again to Jacquie for coming to join the show this week (and for bringing the Isobel Cup along with her!).

The Instigator Podcast 5.37 – Do the Sabres have a Leadership Problem?

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As the Sabres slide further from playoff contention, questions about roster construction, coaching and effort continue to be asked. We sit down this week to discuss rumors of a rift between the players and the coach and even between some of the players. Along the way we chat about how difficult it really is to find solid leadership if it isn’t homegrown.

Bylsma’s Shortcomings Aren’t Exactly New

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Since climbing within a point of a playoff position in the Eastern Conference the Sabres have hit one of their worst runs of play in the entire 2016-17 season, dropping seven of their last eight games and falling well out of reach of serious playoff contention.

The skid has been defined by blown third period leads, losses to teams below Buffalo in the standings and sub-par goaltending. However, the third period collapses are by far the most concerning aspect of this recent run. It’s something that’s highlighted many of Buffalo’s other shortcomings this year.

In some ways this run was probably inevitable. The Sabres have been allowing absurd numbers of shots and shot attempts on a game-to-game basis and had been winning the odd one thanks, in part, to the play of Anders Nilsson and Robin Lehner. Both have given the Sabres strong play throughout the year but recently only share one game with two goals against or fewer (shootout loss to Tampa Bay). Both have still played well through the course of these games despite the ugly results. Look no further than Nilsson’s play in Pittsburgh or the handful of sterling saves Lehner made against Philly in an otherwise forgettable performance.

Simple logic would indicate that Buffalo’s poor defensive play finally caught up to them and despite otherwise strong play from their goaltenders, the team just isn’t good enough to cover all of their shortcomings. It’s a combination of poor personnel (hello defensemen) and poor usage that’s undermined what could have been an exciting season for the Sabres and now it appears the focus has shifted firmly to Dan Bylsma.

Even prior to this slump, postgame comments had indicated that all wasn’t well in the Sabres locker room. There were warning signs that the players were ignoring their coach’s wishes and going off script at key points in each game. Now that they’ve only accrued one win since the bye week, those whispers are growing louder.

As the season slips away from the Sabres it seems more likely that Bylsma’s future sits on rocky ground. Even with the obvious shortcomings on Buffalo’s roster, many of his tactics and systems seem to work against the strengths the Sabres do boast. In many ways it seems as if he’s being haunted by many of the ghosts which pushed him out of Pittsburgh. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 5.36 – Recapping a Quiet Deadline with Joe Yerdon of NHL.com

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In the wake of an extremely quiet trade deadline, we were joined by Joe Yerdon of NHL.com to talk about the moves – or lack there of – that went down on deadline day. Recording at Big Ditch Brewing, we hammer out Tim Murray’s lack of action and the roadmap for the Sabres GM moving forward. Among our other talking points is how expansion may have played a role at the deadline and how the lack of action in-season may trickle down to the pre-expansion deadline.

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The Instigator Podcast 5.35 – Trade Deadline Preview

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With the trade deadline less than a week away, Chris and Tyler look over the value of Buffalo’s potential trade chips while also discussing potential additions, as the Sabres aren’t quite buyers but aren’t quite sellers either. Big topics are Cody Franson, Dmitry Kulikov, Anders Nilsson and targeting young defensemen around the league as potential additions.

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Sabres Deadline Preview: Not Quite Buyers but Not Quite Sellers

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The roller coaster ride the Sabres have been on this season hit another high point as the team rolled into their bye week. Despite falling to Chicago 5-1 and failing to get much help from the out-of-town scoreboard, the Sabres crawled within two points of a playoff spot on the eve of their bye week.

Sunday’s aftermath pushed the Sabres to a four point deficit, but their current state is a far cry from when they were fighting just to stay out of the Eastern Conference basement. Buffalo’s pre bye-week push has likely created a bit of a pickle for Tim Murray as his club is now far closer to buyer than seller status for next week’s trade deadline.

Buffalo’s narrow margin to the playoffs will erode over the next five days but they won’t be completely out of a playoff spot when they return with a road trip out west. They’ll be close enough to be a threat but just far enough to question if making a run is realistic, thus creating a difficult decision on selling expiring assets, let alone anyone else. Continue reading →

Potential Return Helps Justify Moving Kane

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Raise your hand if you didn’t want the Sabres to move on from Evander Kane this past summer. How about at the end of November, shortly after he had returned from breaking his ribs on opening night?

Put your hands down. Liars.

I too thought it was time for Tim Murray to cut bait from his big-ticket acquisition after Kane found himself in hot water for the second time in roughly six months. It seemed like the right choice to make; find a team searching for a bit more offense and see if you couldn’t get a little defensive help coming back the other way.

Now, just a few months later, my tune has changed. Slightly. Kane has scored at a torrid pace since early December, racking up 21 goals in three months’ time, all while going goalless through November – likely a side effect from returning from his broken ribs too early. Kane has now posted back-to-back 20 goal seasons for the Sabres despite missing 17 games last season and another 12 so far this year. He’s had injury issues through most of his career as his style of play isn’t conducive to completing an 82-game slate. However, his goal scoring has been something of a constant despite failing to hit the 70 game mark since 2011-12 (he did play all 48 games of the lockout shortened 2013 season). Continue reading →