Rasmus Ristolainen

Two in the Mailbox: Top-Six Wing Targets and Risto’s Return

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Two in the Mailbox, the (sometimes) weekly mailbag on the Sabres, goalie stuff, Buffalo and anything in between, is back. You can submit to the mailbag using #2ITBmailbag on Twitter or emailing 2intheboxbuffalo@gmail.com.

I was WAY overdue for this edition of the mailbox but my procrastinating is done. Hopefully it’s up long enough before any of the information gets dated by the trade deadline. If I was better at this I would’ve posted this at least a day or two ago.

With that said, here are the questions for this edition.

Tim Goodier – Rest of his tenure aside, how big of a misstep is a lack of moves from Botterill this season? Especially when you consider his wants (guys with term) are and have been available and even a deadline move may be too late after dropping six points to NYR, NJD, FLA and being six back? Continue reading →

What’s Left from the Sabres at the Deadline

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After Jason Botterill’s comments on Wednesday it seemed fair to assume he’d have a relatively quiet trade deadline. The holes in his team’s roster were showing and the playoffs were looking bleak as other Eastern Conference contenders added help while Botterill stayed patient.

It was hard to stomach for some, watching the Sabres slide from the literal league lead to a six-point deficit from the final wild card spot. For others it was just fine. Botterill was going to build through the draft and stockpile prospects. That got turned on its ear on Sunday when Botterill sent a first round pick and Brendan Guhle to Anaheim for Brandon Montour.

The deal was exactly what Botterill had said he was attempting to make all year. A deal for a young player who would offer help to the team now and in the future. I don’t expect him to take another big swing by Monday’s deadline, but I don’t think the Sabres are done. Continue reading →

Sabres Blueline Turnaround is Coming into Focus

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It was no secret that Jason Botterill was facing a tough road in putting together a well-rounded blueline when he took over the Sabres. Turns out that the unit needed more of an overhaul than reshaping that stretched into this past summer.

Winning the Ramsus Dahlin lottery would make any rebuild a much easier task and a lucky bounce of the lottery balls has helped the Sabres take a major step forward.

Dahlin was really the only true addition the Sabres made to their backs blueline but he’s already meeting expectations, if not exceeding them. His confidence is growing by the day and combined with his vision and skating ability has led to a number of plays along these lines:

GIF via Ben Mathewson @ thescreen.co

There’s a noticeable difference in Buffalo’s breakout and flow when Dahlin is on the ice, something that was lacking at almost every point of the 2017-18 season. Some of his underlying numbers took a hit recently after a few lopsided showings, which tipped him below 50% Corsi, though Dahlin remains a positive influence relative to his teammates. Zach Bogosian’s Corsi jumps ten percentage points when paired with Dahlin as opposed to without him. So he’s not just passing the eye-test, though his current trend is creating at least one eye-popping play per game. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 7.10 – Cardiac Kids

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The Sabres have made a living off thrilling, come-from-behind victories over their six-game winning streak, earning the moniker of the cardiac kids. Buffalo’s climb up the standings hasn’t come with a large uptick in goal differential and we discuss just how meaningful (or not meaningful) Buffalo’s goal differential is. We also discuss the offensive turnaround the Sabres blueline has enjoyed along with the two most recent coaching changes that came down this week.

You can listen to The Instigator Podcast on most podcast streaming services, including large providers such as iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio and TuneIn and most other third-party podcast streaming apps. You can find links to subscribe and rate the show below:

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Two in the Mailbox – What would O’Reilly and Ristolainen Swaps Look Like?

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Two in the Mailbox, the (sometimes) weekly mailbag on the Sabres, goalie stuff, Buffalo and anything in between, is back. You can submit to the mailbag using #2ITBmailbag on Twitter or emailing 2intheboxbuffalo@gmail.com.

Back at it post, post lottery. Let’s get to it.

Adam/@sharpndpensel – You’re Jason Botterill. You decided to reshape the roster, you want to move Ristolainen for a forward and Ryan O’Reilly for a defenseman. Who are your trade partners, and who are you targeting?

This is a topic I’ve been tossing around for a little while now. In this space, on Twitter and in private conversations. Given that this subject was submitted by a few people for this mailbag it seems like a good time to dig in deeper.

The first thing to consider is that trading two talents like O’Reilly and Ristolainen in the same summer would be fairly unlikely. That’s a lot of negotiating to consummate two deals of similar stature. But from a hypothetical standpoint, these two players offer the opportunity for the Sabres to flip their depth and shake up the locker room without becoming exposed at a key position. But the key word here is hypothetical.

Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 6.26 – Development Benchmarks and Reshaping the Core

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While some people are Mad Online that Alex Nylander has been recalled, it seems like a smart decision for an organization seeking answers throughout their pipeline. We dig into appropriate development benchmarks and how a potential three-game cameo can offer the Sabres an additional window into a player’s development. We also hit on Pierre LeBrun’s reports that Jason Botterill appears open to moving players out of the core and explore what types of moves he’d need to make in order to reshape the key contributors on his roster.

New Phone Wallpapers for the 2017-18 Season

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With the 2017-18 Buffalo Sabres season rapidly approaching, I built out some new phone background for use as a lockscreen, wallpaper or both. I’ll add new players as the season goes on and if you have any requests, send them my way. Enjoy. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 5.31 – Lehner Rumors and Judging what the Sabres Control

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Back for another episode, Chris and Tyler pour over recent rumors that Robin Lehner may have been shopped after his meltdown in Toronto while also debating the thought process of trying to compare players team-to-team. We argue that the Sabres need to be judged based on their results, not the results of another club or another player.

We think this is a topic that’s getting badly misinterpreted by the fanbase, if you agree, disagree or simply think we’re complete dopes, please let us know.

You can grab The Instigator Podcast on the go by subscribing on iTunes, Google Play or other podcast apps.

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The Instigator Podcast 5.21 – Reflecting on the Sabres First Month

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With the first month of the season in the books, Chris and Tyler look back on what worked – and what didn’t – for the Sabres in October. We touch on a handful of NHL news subjects including a pair of trade rumors which could interest Tim Murray. Listen here or download to your device using the following links:

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The Instigator Podcast 5.18 – Sabres Season Preview with Jeremy White of WGR 550

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Jeremy White of WGR 550 joined Chris and Tyler to offer up a season preview for the 2016-17 Sabres season as we placed a particular focus on how the Buffalo blueline will shape the team’s success this year. We also touch on the new contract for Rasmus Ristolainen and the additional RFA contracts signed by Johnny Gaudreau and Nikita Kucherov. As always, you can find The Instigator Podcast on iTunes and through Google Play. Thanks again to Jeremy for joining the show and offering up his thoughts on the Sabres outlook for the year.