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Did Buffalo Do Enough To Repeat In An Ultra Competitive Atlantic? - Sabres Semantics: Season Premiere · The Armchair GM's Sports Network

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to the Armchair GM Sports Network. And welcome
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: into this season premiere episode of Saber Semantics right here
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: on the Armchair GM Sports Network. As always, Saber Semantics
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: is proudly brought to you by Global Pet Foods, where
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: pets are undeniably part of the family. Visit them in
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: store today at 3643 Portage Road in Niagara Falls or
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: 400 Scott Street in St. Catharines or place your online
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: order today. at globalpetfoods.com. Brandon Caputo and Austin Broder of
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  Speaker 1: Elite Prospects are with you to recap the Sabres off
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  Speaker 1: season four, 2026. As always, thank you to everybody that's
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  Speaker 1: tuned in live on the YouTube version. Make sure to
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  Speaker 1: hit like and subscribe, smash that bell, stay updated with
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  Speaker 1: all of our video coverage coming to you this season
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  Speaker 1: on the network. And thank you to those loyal on-demand
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  Speaker 1: audio podcast platform listeners. Make sure to give us a
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  Speaker 1: follow on whatever one you chose to listen to us
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  Speaker 1: on today. You can also give us a follow at
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  Speaker 1: Saber Semantics on X as well as on blue sky
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  Speaker 1: now at the armchair gm sports network and facebook instagram
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  Speaker 1: and tiktok for our short reels and content so with
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  Speaker 1: all that out of the way obviously we're going to
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  Speaker 1: discuss the sabers movement so far in the offseason training
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  Speaker 1: camp and practices going to start in a few weeks
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  Speaker 1: here you know who steps in who steps up into
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  Speaker 1: the bigger roles with the losses of bowen byram and
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  Speaker 1: alex tuck big re-signings of zach benson beck malenstein peyton
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  Speaker 1: krebs a couple additions as well a couple guys added
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  Speaker 1: through the draft. And, uh, again, just, uh, your arm
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  Speaker 1: will keep aligning, continuing his plan here as the Sabres
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  Speaker 1: look to, you know, repeat as Atlantic division champions, which
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  Speaker 1: is going to be very tough in a very look
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  Speaker 1: like it's going to be reloaded Atlantic division. And then
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  Speaker 1: we're going to discuss trade rumors, potentially Connor Hellebuck name
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  Speaker 1: still out there requested a trade from the Winnipeg jets.
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  Speaker 1: Are the Sabres a realistic option and what would Buffalo
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  Speaker 1: have to give up in, in a trade like that?
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  Speaker 1: So we'll, we'll talk about all that today and, With that, Austin,
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  Speaker 1: hope you had a great summer. Appreciate you coming back
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  Speaker 1: for another season. We've got a great Sabres content team
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  Speaker 1: with us this season. But other than your private jet
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  Speaker 1: and the yacht that you bought this summer, what have
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  Speaker 1: you been up to?
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  Speaker 2: Not a whole lot, right? I mean, I've got two kids.
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  Speaker 2: Daughter started playing travel soccer this year, so that was
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  Speaker 2: pretty much my summer. Doesn't feel like that's the beautiful
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  Speaker 2: thing about hockey is when your team makes the playoffs,
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  Speaker 2: the summer actually doesn't feel nearly as long. but season
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  Speaker 2: starts one month from today, right? October 1st is the
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  Speaker 2: season opener, I believe.
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  Speaker 1: Yep.
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  Speaker 2: So there's no, there's no long ramp up in the
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  Speaker 2: NHL like there is for the NFL where you have
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  Speaker 2: three months of summer workouts, a couple of preseason games.
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  Speaker 2: It's no, it's you. We have prospect. I can't call
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  Speaker 2: it tournament anymore. Uh, are they still calling it the
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  Speaker 2: prospects challenge, even though it's just two games with Boston?
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  Speaker 1: Yep.
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  Speaker 2: Um, So we got those two on the 13th and 14th,
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  Speaker 2: and then it's literally a week after that, the first
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  Speaker 2: preseason game starts, and then 10 days after that, the
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  Speaker 2: season starts. So quick, quick ramp up here, but excited
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  Speaker 2: for hockey to be back. First time, not first time
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  Speaker 2: in a long time, like we fooled ourselves into being excited,
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  Speaker 2: but first time in a long time where it's like
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  Speaker 2: we actually have something tangible to build off of, and
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  Speaker 2: it's missed it.
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  Speaker 1: This is the first time in the six-year history of
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  Speaker 1: this show for you, new listeners, you know, welcome. But, uh,
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  Speaker 1: for those that have been with us for a while, um,
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  Speaker 1: this is the first time Austin and I have come
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  Speaker 1: on and talked about a team making the playoffs. So that's, uh,
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  Speaker 1: you know, a nice change. We've usually come into off
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  Speaker 1: seasons about when are the Sabres going to break the drought?
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  Speaker 1: When are the Sabres going to do this? How are
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  Speaker 1: they going to get back up into a playoff contending
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  Speaker 1: team playing meaningful games in April and things like that. Um,
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  Speaker 1: an Olympic year obviously was different as well. Uh, 84
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  Speaker 1: game season should mention that two extra games added to
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  Speaker 1: the regular season. So I believe the Sabres home open or, uh,
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  Speaker 1: regular season opener is September 29th this year. So, uh,
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  Speaker 1: crazy that we're going to have regular season NHL hockey
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  Speaker 1: starting at the end of September and leading all the way, um, into,
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  Speaker 1: you know, what, uh, what should be, you know, may
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  Speaker 1: or June, but fingers crossed on that. But yeah, I mean, it's,
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  Speaker 1: it's going to be, I think what now the Sabres
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  Speaker 1: toughest challenges, right? Austin is that people expect this. Now
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  Speaker 1: they've seen what the team can do that. Nobody's going
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  Speaker 1: to be caught off guard and they're going to put
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  Speaker 1: the Sabres are going to get people's best efforts. So
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  Speaker 1: With what Florida did in the Atlantic, you know, Toronto
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  Speaker 1: expects to be better, you know, teams like Tampa, you know, Montreal, it's,
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  Speaker 1: it might be one of the toughest divisions in all
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  Speaker 1: of hockey. So, you know, I think there are people
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  Speaker 1: that think that the Sabres didn't do quite enough as
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  Speaker 1: the thumbnail says here for this episode, but in generality,
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  Speaker 1: like what is your morale going into this season?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, the season opens October 1st in Columbus,
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  Speaker 2: home opener October 4th against Chicago, so that'll be fun.
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  Speaker 1: Gotcha. I think the NHL season starts the 29th.
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  Speaker 2: Starts the 29th, yeah. Yep. In terms of... I mean,
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  Speaker 2: I still... I know, you know, the big acquisition didn't happen,
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  Speaker 2: and I think that's kind of what everyone was expecting,
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  Speaker 2: myself included. So totally get people who are still left
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  Speaker 2: wanting more. I think that's a totally fair reaction. That
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  Speaker 2: being said, I... you can easily separate the two for
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  Speaker 2: you wish that big acquisition would have happened, but you
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  Speaker 2: should still be extremely excited for the season to start.
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  Speaker 2: I don't think there's anybody out there who's not excited
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  Speaker 2: for the season to start because you're just be a
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  Speaker 2: crazy person if that was the case. I think for the,
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  Speaker 2: you know, it's all it took was one playoff berth
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  Speaker 2: and then the Sabres sold out of their season ticket
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  Speaker 2: base immediately and things like that. So the hype around
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  Speaker 2: the team is palpable. I don't, the division has been probably,
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  Speaker 2: it's been one of the most competitive divisions in terms
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  Speaker 2: of how close the top to the bottom has been,
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  Speaker 2: I think for the last couple of years, but really
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  Speaker 2: last year it became the strongest division in hockey. So
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  Speaker 2: not only was it competitive, but every team aside from,
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  Speaker 2: you know, Toronto and Florida down the stretch were extremely
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  Speaker 2: good and in the playoff hunt until late in the year.
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  Speaker 2: And I expect it to be no different this year.
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  Speaker 2: I expect maybe, you know, like you said, a couple
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  Speaker 2: of teams got better, maybe a couple of those teams
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  Speaker 2: fall off a little bit, but, I still expect the
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  Speaker 2: top five to six teams in the Atlantic Division to
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  Speaker 2: be extremely good all in the playoff race until late
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  Speaker 2: in the season, Sabres included.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, it came all the way down to
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  Speaker 1: the wire, right, with Tampa Bay and Montreal, and the
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  Speaker 1: Sabres got that home ice advantage, you know, which was
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  Speaker 1: sort of a catch-22 in that sense. They played much
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  Speaker 1: better on the road in that second-round series against Montreal and,
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  Speaker 1: you know, then lost Game 7 in overtime on home
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  Speaker 1: ice to the Canadiens, so again, a bitter end on
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  Speaker 1: home ice there, but Um, you know, just to see
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  Speaker 1: key bank center and the lively crowds that came back,
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  Speaker 1: you know, all the stuff, the theatrics that happened outside
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  Speaker 1: with the fans and the, you know, all the, the different, uh,
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  Speaker 1: different stuff throughout the playoffs. Like it was just a
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  Speaker 1: revitalizing season in many ways for the franchise. And, you know,
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  Speaker 1: as you mentioned, the season ticket thing, like, um, being
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  Speaker 1: able to sell out of those, like, again, they need
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  Speaker 1: to capitalize on this. Now they've got the fan base back.
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  Speaker 1: It was a long 14 seasons, but now how are
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  Speaker 1: you going to build off of that? Right? Like, how
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  Speaker 1: are you going to continue that momentum in a positive
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  Speaker 1: direction and after this were so long, they were, you know, really,
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  Speaker 1: you know, in the doghouse of not only locally in Buffalo,
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  Speaker 1: but within the National Hockey League. So gaining that respect
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  Speaker 1: back to the sword, I think was what Elliott Freeman
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  Speaker 1: had said earlier in the summer in a quote in
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  Speaker 1: one of his last 30, 32 thoughts. So I think
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  Speaker 1: that's important to mention as well, like just being able to,
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  Speaker 1: you know, know what last season was, but now, okay,
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  Speaker 1: you're not satisfied with that.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. And I mean, obviously, I think it goes without
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  Speaker 2: saying that nobody would be satisfied with that. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: obviously it's a big boost for the, for the Sabres,
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  Speaker 2: but yeah, they're smart enough to know what this year
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  Speaker 2: means to them and being able to capitalize off that
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  Speaker 2: and keep the ball rolling. And I know, like I said,
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  Speaker 2: I know the big acquisition didn't happen, but like you
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  Speaker 2: almost still made some savvy moves. Um, I wouldn't argue
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  Speaker 2: against anyone who says this off season feels Kevin Adams
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  Speaker 2: ish because it does. Right. A lot of rumors that
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  Speaker 2: never kind of came to fruition. Um, and relying on
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  Speaker 2: some internal growth to kind of catapult this team forward,
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  Speaker 2: all sounds all too familiar. But the one key thing
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  Speaker 2: is he's doing this in his first offseason off a
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  Speaker 2: playoff berth, not trying to get his team over the top.
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  Speaker 2: So I think that's the one key difference. That being said, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: we're going to get right into it, obviously, but I'm
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  Speaker 2: not going to argue against anyone who says, I don't
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  Speaker 2: know if they did enough to improve. I don't think
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  Speaker 2: they're going to repeat as division champions. I don't think
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  Speaker 2: they're going to be able to put up on 110
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  Speaker 2: plus point season again this year. That being said, taking
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  Speaker 2: a step back to a potentially 98 point team, which
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  Speaker 2: I think they can easily do is not a bad thing.
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  Speaker 2: I just think some other teams got a lot better
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  Speaker 2: by virtue of, you know, we could talk about, you know,
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  Speaker 2: Florida got Brady Kachuk. I think Florida is a cup
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  Speaker 2: contender without Brady Kachuk. So the Brady Kachuk move doesn't
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  Speaker 2: really do anything for me in terms of them. They're
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  Speaker 2: already going to be a good team next year. Toronto
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  Speaker 2: got better. You know, Tampa Bay is still Tampa Bay.
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  Speaker 2: Montreal is going to be good again. So it's the
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  Speaker 2: same teams that you're competing with. I know you didn't
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  Speaker 2: do enough to kind of keep pace with them, but
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  Speaker 2: that doesn't mean they have to take a step back
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  Speaker 2: and be bad that doesn't mean that the offseason was
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  Speaker 2: a failure it just it does leave that taste in
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  Speaker 2: your mouth of you wish something more had happened but
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  Speaker 2: it's a lot easier to digest when you're coming off
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  Speaker 2: you know a second round playoff exit instead of drafting
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  Speaker 2: seventh overall or eighth overall for the third straight.
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  Speaker 1: Year which you look like in november that they were
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  Speaker 1: on the way to doing once again right and uh
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  Speaker 1: we know we know what happened the magical run that
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  Speaker 1: they had and you know taking the nhl by storm
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  Speaker 1: you know as as the feel-good story but now you know,
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  Speaker 1: the people are wondering, okay, how are the Sabres going
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  Speaker 1: to come out of this? And as you mentioned, like
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  Speaker 1: you look at the standings, like if the Sabres fall back,
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  Speaker 1: like you mentioned to a wild card spot at the worst,
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  Speaker 1: you know, I'm okay with that. Like given what's gone on, right?
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  Speaker 1: Like within the Atlantic division, it's not like a lot
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  Speaker 1: of these teams got worse and Buffalo drastically improved, right?
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  Speaker 1: Like you had to make some long-term moves here and
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  Speaker 1: we'll kind of talk about that, but you know, there's
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  Speaker 1: some contracts that are going to be coming up for
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  Speaker 1: some some really young players, some guys that they didn't
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  Speaker 1: want to move on from, you know, the Cooleach, the
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  Speaker 1: Consta Helenus, Radim Mirka still on the team as well.
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  Speaker 1: You know, they're expecting Zach Benson to take a bigger
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  Speaker 1: step with his contract extension. So giving Byram and Tuck
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  Speaker 1: the money that those two were wanting, you know, right
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  Speaker 1: now at the time of recording, they've got just over
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  Speaker 1: $ 5 million in cap space. You know, they would have
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  Speaker 1: put themselves in a really tough spot if they would
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  Speaker 1: have given Byram or Tuck anywhere close to what they
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  Speaker 1: got with Washington or eventually the, the re-signing of, of
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  Speaker 1: Byram with Chicago, or even, you know, the Patrick Kane rumor,
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  Speaker 1: I'll throw it out there too. I mean, look what
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  Speaker 1: he got in Chicago, 8 million a year. Like I
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  Speaker 1: just don't, those moves after seeing what those players got,
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  Speaker 1: I'm happy that Yarmulke line and didn't, you know, pull
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  Speaker 1: the trigger on any of those.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Particularly with Byram. I don't think Yarmulke even had
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  Speaker 2: the opportunity to, I think, I don't think he would
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  Speaker 2: have gone to 12, five. But I think Jarmo would
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  Speaker 2: have given Byram 10-5, maybe even just slightly under Darlene's 11.
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  Speaker 2: I think Jarmo wanted to keep Byram. I just don't
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  Speaker 2: think Byram ever gave Jarmo the opportunity to, and that's
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  Speaker 2: why ultimately he was moved. The Tuck one, we'll see, right?
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  Speaker 2: I have no issue avoiding paying a 30-year-old forward that.
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  Speaker 2: That kind of was my opinion all year last year.
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  Speaker 2: That being said, you said $ 5 million this year. Their
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  Speaker 2: cap situation, I know this sounds like this is kind
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: of a reiteration of every offseason podcast we've had, but again,
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: the mentality of coming off a playoff berth is a
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  Speaker 2: lot easier to swallow. Their cap situation was tight this year. Granted,
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: the Jeff Skinner buyout was purely like they shot themselves
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  Speaker 2: in the foot with that. Adams bought him out knowing
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  Speaker 2: this year was the 6.4, the large cap hit. And
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  Speaker 2: then also, you know, that was the year that Tuck
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  Speaker 2: was coming up. Adams failed to get that done last summer.
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  Speaker 2: Kind of, they shot themselves in the foot, right? That
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  Speaker 2: being said, next year, You only have three RFAs that
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  Speaker 2: desperately need contracts with Jack Quinn, Noah Oslin, Louis Crevier.
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  Speaker 2: One of those could potentially be a contract of consequence,
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  Speaker 2: depending on how good they perform. But I would reckon
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  Speaker 2: it would take another 55-point season from Quinn for him
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  Speaker 2: to have anything in terms of a high value number there.
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  Speaker 2: I don't imagine Oslin's number costs that much unless they
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  Speaker 2: decide to go long-term, which maybe they do. Crevier is
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  Speaker 2: an unproven asset, so who knows what that looks like.
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: So they have cap space going forward. The big ad
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: could be coming this year, it could be coming next summer,
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: but they have set themselves up in a position where
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  Speaker 2: this year was always going to be tight no matter what.
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  Speaker 2: I don't necessarily think that played into why they traded Tuck.
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  Speaker 2: I think it literally, like I said, I think they
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  Speaker 2: just shot themselves in the foot with that situation, and
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  Speaker 2: Jarmo's hand was forced. So... Yeah, like I said, a
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  Speaker 2: weird offseason for Buffalo where they actually did do, like
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  Speaker 2: Jarmo did execute a couple of very nice moves, but
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: it does feel repetitive from the offseasons that we've had.
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  Speaker 2: It's just a new guy in charge and a whole
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: lot differing view of the team heading into the season.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: And yeah, you mentioned the Skinner buyout, 6.4 for one
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  Speaker 1: more season, then it drops down to 2.4. for a
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  Speaker 1: couple of seasons. So as you mentioned, like that's not
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  Speaker 1: obviously ideal, but you think that that's being able to
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: resign a roster player or two with that money, the
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: $ 4 million that comes off with Skinner, just dead cap
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: for this season, 2.4 is a little bit easier to
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: swallow going forward. But this, as you mentioned last year
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: of a $ 6. 4 million buyout for Skinner. So that obviously
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: had to play into account as well.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. It's a combination of not having a ton of
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: big tickets to resign and the buyout decreasing next year
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: sets them up in a good spot. It was really
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: bad timing that Benson, Doan, Tuck were all in need
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: of a contract as soon as the Skinner buyout jumped
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: up to 6.4, tightening your cap. They opted to sign
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: Doan and Benson long-term, which I think were the right move,
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: and they moved on from Tuck. They were able to
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: get a third-round pick out of it and send him
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: to a situation that he liked. We'll see how that
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: affects the team in the short term, but I think
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  Speaker 2: in the long term, probably the right call.
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: So let's quickly take a look at this as an
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: overview here for you guys watching on the video version.
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: You can see it there on the screen. For those
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: listening in audio, I'll just quickly go over it so
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: you guys have an idea of kind of what we're
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: talking about here. Notable additions and subtractions, the NHL offseason
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: for Buffalo. Alex Tuck, Bowen Byram, Logan Stanley, Jordan Greenway,
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  Speaker 1: Michael Kessering, Devin Levi, and Luke Shen. In Olin Zellweger,
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: Dax Rudolph, Ilya Morozov, those are two first-round picks. And
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: Louis Crevier as well from the Bowen-Byram trade with the
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: Chicago Blackhawks. And then the significant re-signings obviously were the
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: main point of focus for Yarmulke Kalinin. Just before the offseason,
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  Speaker 1: Josh Stone, as Austin mentioned there, was a big re-signing.
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: And then Zach Benson, Peyton Krebs, and Beck Malenstein all
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: back with the Buffalo Sabres. The Olin Zellweger trade happened yesterday.
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  Speaker 1: around the draft. We didn't really get to talk about
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  Speaker 1: that one, Austin. So obviously that's going to be a
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  Speaker 1: point of emphasis there. Can he slide into that Bowen
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  Speaker 1: Byram role? Or what else did they kind of have
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  Speaker 1: for him after signing that three-year extension with Buffalo after
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: the trade from Anaheim? So just quickly looking over that,
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  Speaker 1: what's the biggest thing that stands out to you and
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: what are you thinking?
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: I think the biggest thing that stands out to me
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: is that, I mean, look, we know the recipe for
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: this team last year was to rely heavily on their
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: top four. On the back end. Byram's obviously gone. I'm
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: not saying Zellweger can be what Byram was last year.
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: Byram was a very talented offensive defenseman. They now have...
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: They're spinning it as Crevier and Zellweger are going to
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: fight for that fourth spot. I don't know how much
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: I buy that, personally. I think it will be Zellweger.
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: I don't know why it wouldn't. He... is the closest
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: out of the two to a bow environment in terms
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: of his ability to move with the puck, jump in
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: the rush, contribute offensively. I think Cravier is underrated. I
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: think he drastically helps your defensive depth. I mean, that
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: being said, last year, their top four were all lefties.
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: Zellweger's a lefty, Cravier's a righty. I don't know. Maybe
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: they do try to do more traditional. They have options, though.
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: So the defensive depth, while not as high-end as it
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: was last year, you're still going to be able to
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: rely on your big three of Dolly and Samuelson power,
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: and you still have, you know, Crevier and Zellweger now
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: as very, very good depth players that can contribute. Obviously,
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: signing Benson, we knew that was going to be, you know,
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: by far their biggest re-signing of the offseason. Krebs and
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: Malenstein were two guys that I honestly wasn't sure of.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: Not shocked that both are back, but I did think
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: that one of those two guys was whether it be
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: Malenstein pricing himself out of Buffalo, signing one of the funniest,
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: I think, oddest contracts of the offseason, you know, getting
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: a six-year deal for a fourth liner is not something
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: usually you see that ends up working out well. That
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: being said, Beck Malenstein is very, you know, heart and
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: soul type of guy. So is Peyton Krebs. So Jarmo
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: was able to kind of re-sign the quote-unquote dogs that,
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: you know, fans kind of started to love as the
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: playoffs and the season kind of got on there. And
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: that being said, in a weird way, one of the
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: younger teams kind of stayed young again. It felt like
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: an offseason that you position yourself really, really well in
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: the long term, but I don't necessarily know how it's
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: going to work out in the short term. It's the classic,
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: are you taking a step back to then take a
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: big step forward in the future? Not really sure that
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: the Sabres can afford that step back, but I honestly
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: have faith in Yarmou. to trust him. And if the
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: step back does appear to be coming, I have faith
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: that he'll take a swing to make sure it doesn't
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: kind of spiral out of control.
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: We thought there could potentially be more trades of their picks.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: We talked about, you know, is Robert Thomas available? Vincent Trocek,
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: Connor Hellebuck. That's still obviously in play right now, but
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: the Sabres chose to take two players with their first
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: round picks. Dax Rudolph, fourth overall from the WHL is
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: going to play at the university of Denver this season.
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: And Ilya Morozov, a forward that's going to play, were
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: played in the USHL. So like, what are you, do
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: you have any quick thoughts on those two players? And
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: obviously it's going to be down the road. but you know,
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: there's a lot of promise around Dax Rudolph. And obviously they,
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: they thought of him pretty high because he was the
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: first defenseman taken off the board in the NHL draft.
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: Yeah. The Rudolph one is interesting because I think it
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: was like a night or two before the draft was,
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: Corey Prauman and Chad Dedeminis from Expected Buffalo kind of
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: threw out Rudolph's name as, hey, this is someone the
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: Sabres are interested in at four. Wasn't who I had
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: as the top defenseman in the draft, but I think
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: as you saw the way that the draft fell, those
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: defensemen top five in the class were all relatively very close.
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: Because I think everyone expected Reid to be the first,
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: and he ended up being one of the last taken
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: in that. So I think it's more surprising that But Morozov,
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: I don't think it was a secret at all that
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: Buffalo liked him where they were picking. Once they moved
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: up to 20, I think most people were like, oh,
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: that's the Morozov range. I think that was one of
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: the worst kept secrets of the draft. But the Rudolph
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: one was interesting because, I mean, depending on who you believe,
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: and I think it's been reported enough for it to
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: hold some weight, the fourth overall pick was going to
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: go to Winnipeg in the Helleby trade. And Buffalo was
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: going to get eighth overall back, but Shevelday off said no.
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: So I don't know. Does that mean they love Rudolph?
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: They had to take him at four. Was he who
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: they had in mind if they were picking eighth? I
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: don't know. But that being said, Rudolph fits their mold, right?
• 21:16
  Speaker 2: Puck moving defenseman, offensive, you know, offensive minded. It's going
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: to a very good, probably the best program in the entire,
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: not world, but yeah, the best college program in the world.
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: I'll say like the Denver pioneers are phenomenal. He's going
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: to play a role there. pretty standard for top five
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: picks to leave after one collegiate season. Don't know if
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: that's in Rudolph's best interest, but he kind of hinted
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: that that was his plan. So he could be making
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: an impact in Buffalo sooner rather than later. So it's interesting.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: Juniors too, like be the power play quarterback.
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he'll play a role for them there too, right?
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: So it'll be a good season for him to kind
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: of prove that he's ready for the NHL come April
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: if that's the plan that he has in place. But
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: It just feels like the prototype for defensemen and forwards
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: that Adams kind of laid, Yarmou kind of has the
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: same desire, right? He wants those, you know, water bug
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: offensive style defensemen who can push the pace and skate.
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: And he wants forwards who are just absolutely relentless on
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: the forecheck and quote unquote have that dog on a
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: bone mentality because that's exactly what those two first round
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: picks embody.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah. And I mean, Benson and don't being re-signed as well.
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: I mean, tells you a lot about the type of
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: style that they want to play. Right. So yeah, I
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: mean the Rudolph pick was interesting to me, as you
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: mentioned that pick had kind of been floating around. I
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: think he said that the Sabres hadn't even talked to
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: him up until a draft.
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: Well, I mean, yeah, that's fair. They didn't have the
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: fourth overall pick till two days before the draft. So
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: not surprising. Yeah.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: And they did move their other pick that they had
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: as well. So like, you know, it, like the Kessel
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: ring trade as well with San Jose to be able
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: to move that, that first that they had. And then
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: they moved, moved out of that. So it's, it was
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: interesting to see the draft kind of unfold in Buffalo
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: as well. Like how, how they kind of mixed it
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: up there with Rudolph being the pick. I'm still questioning
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: where this relieves redeem Mirka. Like, is he just going
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: to be one of the main trade ships? We, he
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: had already been traded once in the Colton Parako trade
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: before Parako declined to come to Buffalo. So like, in
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: your opinion, with them drafting Rudolph, signing Zellweger, Louis Crevier,
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: is there really a spot for Radim Mirka? I know
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: he's playing in Rochester this year full-time or expected to
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: be if he's still a part of the Sabres organization,
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: but where does that leave their top 10 first-round right-shot
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: defenseman from last year?
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: I mean, of course there's still room for him, right?
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: He's a 19, 20-year-old defenseman who was considered three years
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: away from being two years away when they drafted him.
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: He's a raw, he's considered a raw prospect. Long term,
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: there's still obviously a spot for him. In the short term, yeah,
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: I still think he's a valuable trade piece. Say what
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: you want. He was traded. The Preco trade did not
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: go through because he waived his no trade clause. He
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: wouldn't waive his no trade clause, not because the trade
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: couldn't be agreed to. That part kind of... But that's
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: the business, right? As a 19-year-old kid, if you get traded,
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: it doesn't work out. You come back, you keep working,
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: and I mean, I still think he's most valuable as
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: a trade piece, but given the long-term projection for Mirka,
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: there's obviously still room for him to be in this
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: organization's plans. If that actually happens, obviously it remains to
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: be seen. But I don't think... You asked me this
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: when we did our... Maybe it was the June episode
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: that we did. I don't know. I said it in
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: the last episode. I expected him to be traded this summer,
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: and he wasn't. So obviously I was wrong there. So
• 24:50
  Speaker 2: I guess... I would still expect him to be traded.
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: I think he's most valuable as a trade piece, but
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: obviously considering how things have played out the last couple
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: of months, probably not a guarantee anymore. Nope.
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: And we'll talk a little bit more about him possibly
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: in the Connor Hellebuck trade in a little bit, but
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: quick thoughts on, on crevier. Like I know we kind
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: of discussed it there, but do you see him sort
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: of being like a, a better Logan Stanley in that
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: type of role?
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I think people quick to jump at that, right.
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: Considering he's obviously he's a right hand instead of a
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: left hander. but the size and the frame and things
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: like that. I think, yeah, that might be the role
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: that they have in mind for him. But if you
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: listen to the way Yarmou talked, Crabby is going to
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: have every chance to earn a top four spot, which
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: I don't think Stanley ever had a shot at being
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: a top four when Buffalo acquired him. So they clearly
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: have higher hopes for him. He does bring some size
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: and some nastiness. He can skate pretty well. has a
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: nice shot. Like there's, there's something there to like out
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: of the 25 year old kid who's worked his way
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: up for being, you know, late round draft pick, making
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: the NHL the way Blackhawks fans talked about him. They
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: said at times last year, he was by far their
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: best defenseman. So I think there's something there. I'm excited
• 26:01
  Speaker 2: to watch him. I, I still think he's probably best
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: suited as a third pair defenseman, but given Buffalo's defensive makeup,
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: I don't think they're going to want to have a
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: third pair of two right shots again. Um, So I'm
• 26:14
  Speaker 2: excited to see what they have planned for him and
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: how he fits in. Yeah.
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: I mean, everybody's been watching sort of the highlight and
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: the tape from him from Chicago, right. As a, as
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: a big guy that can skate and obviously, you know,
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: can hit as well. Like, you know, those guys are
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: always going to be flashy, but again, you also have
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: to be responsible in your own end. And I think that's,
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: you know, sort of what got Logan Stanley in the
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: doghouse of some of the Sabres fans was that he
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: was just kind of at a position a little too much.
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: And his mobility was a big issue, right? Like, being
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: able to to get back on the rush and some
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: of those goals that went in the playoffs like you
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: know just speedy wingers coming down his his side there
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: and you know i i think that he still hasn't
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: even been signed yet which i thought was crazy that
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: logan stanley's still looking for a contract right now um
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: but uh but yeah so louis crevier obviously was like
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: people thought it was a throw-in but it almost seems
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: like a little a sneaky little addition there from yarmulke
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: line and um in the bow and byram trade not
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: just to get fourth overall but to get a a
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: guy that, as you mentioned, might be fighting for a
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: top four role on the team. So I'm excited to
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: see what he can do as well. I think everybody
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: looks at Zellweger and says he's got the top-end offensive ability,
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: and he was a second-round pick. He was a guy
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: that played really well in the WHL and had a
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: lot of hype about him coming into the NHL, but um,
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: you know, crevy, I think is a guy that kind
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: of maybe gets lost in that shuffle a little bit,
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: but might play a, an important role in that, uh,
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: maybe even bottom pair, you know, with guys like Timmons or, uh,
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: Zach Metzer or guys like that.
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, a hundred percent. I wouldn't, yeah, I wouldn't
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: call him a throw in either. Obviously there was someone
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: that Yarmou identified wanting his skillset. Yarmou, Yarmou is, he's
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: got the, he's got a bit of that modern, but
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: also old school mentality where he likes the offensive defense,
• 27:59
  Speaker 2: but who can move the puck and push the pace
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: of play, but he's also still an NHL GM. So
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: he sees a right foot, a right foot, a right-handed shot,
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: six foot, eight big body defenseman. And he's like, yeah,
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: I need that. Yeah.
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: So I guess we'll, we'll wait to see with that
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: come training camp. If, if Zellweger or Crevier is going
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: to be that fourth defenseman and then the, the latter
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: being on the, on the third pair, but, uh, anything
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: else you want to mention from the additions and subtractions there,
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: you know, Greenway was, was sort of a cap throw in,
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: in the Byron trade, which obviously freed up some cap
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: space for your mo to, to make some of those free, uh,
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: re-signings of Mallenstein and Krebs. Um, you know, my Kessel
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: ring goes to St. Jose going to have a big
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: role there. Devin Levi gets moved to Edmonton as well.
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: That was a guy that we had probably expected to
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: be moved on from just given that the Sabres have
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: three goalies under contract. And, It seemed like, you know,
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: he was kind of on the way out, you know,
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: just never seemed like he got his footing in the
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: NHL with the Sabres and never was given another opportunity
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: with the three goalies they had with Lukanen, Lyon, and
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: even Colton Ellis getting claimed off of waivers last training camp.
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: And then never, they just ran with the three goalies
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: and Levi never had a sniff of getting called up
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: to the NHL again. So any quick thoughts on that?
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think I said it at the end of
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: the year podcast. Levi just, nothing against him. I still
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: think he's got potential to be a very solid NHL goalie.
• 29:28
  Speaker 2: But when they claimed Colton Ellis, kind of showed the
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: writing was on the wall. Similar build, smaller goalie, athletic,
• 29:38
  Speaker 2: similar AHL numbers. it kind of just said okay this
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: is either he's either beating out colton ellis and becomes
• 29:46
  Speaker 2: the third goalie in buffalo or he'll never sniff buffalo
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: and he just never sniffed buffalo last year gets a
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: good start in an organization that desperately needs help and
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: goal um By all intents and purposes, he'll have a
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: shot to compete for at least the backup role. The
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: Oilers announced that Frederick Anderson won't be there for the
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: start of training camp because of an injury, but he's
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: clearly who they have in mind for their number one.
• 30:11
  Speaker 2: Levi will have a shot to earn some meaningful minutes there,
• 30:14
  Speaker 2: and I wish all the best to him. It does
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: help that he goes to a team like Edmonton where
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: it's easier to root for than if he went somewhere else.
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: It just felt like if it wasn't last year, it
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: was never going to happen for Buffalo.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: Peyton Krebs, we have a poll quickly. I'll go over
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: this one when he was re-signed with Buffalo. Thoughts on
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: the Sabres extending RFA for Peyton Krebs four years times 4.5 AAV.
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: Great value contract. Okay contract. Not bad, not great or
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: bad contract. Okay contract won this poll 66.7%. Austin, what
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: did you think of that? The arbitration sort of had
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: started and then they came to an agreement there. And
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: Krebs comes back for four years as a, you know,
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: ultimate utility guy can play up and down the lineup
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: and showed at times that he could be a very
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: key piece for the Sabres. But I know some people
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: were a little bit weary about the 4.5 if he's
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: going to be more of a bottom six player.
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's the it's the adjustment that everyone's
• 31:12
  Speaker 2: going to have to make with how they look at
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: contracts because of how quickly the cap jumped up this
• 31:16
  Speaker 2: year and is going to keep jumping up. So it's
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: a fine contract. It's not great value. It's not bad.
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: it's kind of just the going right now for guys
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: like Krebs, but it's good to know that in a pinch,
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: he can play in your top six and work well
• 31:27
  Speaker 2: with guys like Tate Thompson. And last year started to
• 31:30
  Speaker 2: produce points. Like he produced 40 points last year was
• 31:33
  Speaker 2: really effective in some of the playoff games. So totally fine.
• 31:37
  Speaker 2: And again, just the guy that if you read between
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: the lines and listen to the way when the rough
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: talked about him, like rough, absolutely loved him. And you know,
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: the way he goes to battle for his team and,
• 31:49
  Speaker 2: you know doesn't doesn't miss games like the dude just
• 31:52
  Speaker 2: plays hard minutes does his role is easy to cheer
• 31:56
  Speaker 2: for i know a lot of people are you know
• 31:58
  Speaker 2: hit hit and miss with him but i think he's
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: one of the easiest guys to root for and i
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: do think he's extremely important in the locker room same
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: similar to beck malenstein obviously krebs is way more offensive
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: pop at malenstein but those are two guys that i
• 32:10
  Speaker 2: think were really important to the locker room so being
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: able to keep them what was big and Like I said, 4.5
• 32:17
  Speaker 2: is not bad. It's just going to be something that
• 32:19
  Speaker 2: we have to adjust to. Seeing $ 4. 5 million for a
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: third-line guy is going to be the new norm.
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: 25 years old, and he's the last piece remaining of
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: the Jack Eichel trade after Alex Tuck went out the
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: door to Washington. With that, let's go over our last
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: poll here. And again, you can give us a follow
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: at Saber Semantics as well as on Instagram. We can
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: put polls on our Instagram posts as well. So give
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: us a follow at ArmchairGMPod as well as on this
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: show's new Instagram at Saber Semantics. So I put a
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: poll up about the off-season grade here, Austin. And yeah,
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: A did great. B did okay. C could have been better.
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: And D did poorly. The winner of this poll was
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: 42% for B did okay. And 31% C could have
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: been better. I think everybody's sort of in that. window there.
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's a fair place to be in, right?
• 33:12
  Speaker 2: Could have been better. Like I said, we didn't get
• 33:14
  Speaker 2: that big acquisition that we wanted, which is kind of
• 33:17
  Speaker 2: what we were all expecting and kind of what we
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: were all hoping for. That being said, the moves that
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: were made, I don't think anyone can argue against any
• 33:23
  Speaker 2: of the moves being bad moves. Again, like I said,
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: it feels very eerily similar to Kevin Adams. Made some
• 33:29
  Speaker 2: good moves, but that final move just never happened. The
• 33:32
  Speaker 2: only difference is it might not have needed to have
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: happened because the drought has been broken and there is
• 33:37
  Speaker 2: a really good foundation and the team actually, the young
• 33:41
  Speaker 2: guys that the team is going to rely on have
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: an NHL track record now, whereas four or five years ago,
• 33:46
  Speaker 2: the young guys we were fully expecting to help didn't
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: have NHL experience. Now those guys kind of do. And
• 33:54
  Speaker 2: whether it's translatable to a full season, we saw those
• 33:56
  Speaker 2: guys be impactful in a playoff game. in a playoff series,
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: you know, the way Hellenist impacted that Montreal series, the
• 34:04
  Speaker 2: way when Ostland was healthy in his couple of playoff
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: games impacted those, the way that they were able to
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: be impact players when they got into the lineup. You know,
• 34:14
  Speaker 2: the guy that we don't talk about a lot because
• 34:17
  Speaker 2: he's kind of fallen to the wayside because of those
• 34:18
  Speaker 2: other two guys is what is Yuri Kulik going to
• 34:20
  Speaker 2: bring to this team this year? I have no clue.
• 34:23
  Speaker 2: That's like, I want to say he could be a
• 34:25
  Speaker 2: top six forward, but I genuinely have no idea. So like,
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: But the good news is there's not all the pressure
• 34:31
  Speaker 2: on him in the world to do that because there
• 34:33
  Speaker 2: are other people that have stepped up and said, Hey,
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: like we're here, we're proven. So like there's, there's a
• 34:37
  Speaker 2: lot of stuff, but totally, totally am fine with it.
• 34:40
  Speaker 2: Could have been better.
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: And that kind of segues nicely into our next topic today.
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: And that's brought to you by the Niagara Employment Help Center,
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: helping people find work in Niagara since 1983. Check out
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: the update job board at ehc.on.ca or call 905-358-0021 to
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: find your next work opportunity today. who steps up and
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: who steps into the bigger roles for Buffalo. As we mentioned,
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: Alex Tuck and Bowen Byram out the door. So that
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: gives opportunities for, as you mentioned, the Uri Kulich, the
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: Noah Oslin, the Consta Helenuses to take that next step
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: forward here. Can Jack Quinn have another good season? Can,
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: you know, those types of guys, Zach Benson getting the
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: big contract, there's going to be more expectation on him
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: as well. So, Um, there's just a quick projection of
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: what right now the lines are going to look like. Again,
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: this could look completely different come the preseason or when
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: the regular season actually begins. But, um, page on the,
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: on the wing seems to be the spot that everybody's
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: sort of expecting to happen. I don't know how you
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: feel about that. You know, whether you have the center
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: depth of Norris McLeod, Helen news, and if cool leech
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: is able to play, you know, is he going to
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: be that guy that can step into a top six
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: center role? you know, Thompson can slide over to that
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: right wing spot that Tuck was in. So you have
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: that flexibility, but do you want to see Tage Moore
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: as a center or where are you thinking there?
• 36:04
  Speaker 2: That's the question. I don't know. Right. Like if they
• 36:08
  Speaker 2: try out the Yuri Kulich Benson Tage line and it works,
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: that's great. But I think that picture that you have
• 36:17
  Speaker 2: up perfectly embodies that. the missing piece in this team's
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: top six. They don't have... They need a top line forward.
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: One way or the other. Can Tage play top line wing? Yeah.
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: But if you ask the player, it's weird. It feels
• 36:37
  Speaker 2: like there's a divide between Ruff and Tage. We know
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: Tage likes to play center. We know he looks more
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: engaged at center. But he probably is better suited as
• 36:44
  Speaker 2: a winger. And if he is going to be a winger,
• 36:47
  Speaker 2: I don't know who the center is because... Nothing against Kulik.
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: I can't expect that from him. The rest of the lineup,
• 36:53
  Speaker 2: I think, looks pretty good. I think that Norris-Oslund-Done line
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: should be a line. They were really good when they
• 37:00
  Speaker 2: were playing together, when Norris and Oslund were healthy. To me,
• 37:03
  Speaker 2: that should be written in pen as a line. The
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: veterans they have down, they have depth. It's just, to me,
• 37:13
  Speaker 2: if Cage isn't your top line center, I don't know
• 37:15
  Speaker 2: who your top line center is. I think it's a
• 37:17
  Speaker 2: lot easier to put him at center and kind of
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: makeshift a winger, but we'll have to see what they do.
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: And is Kulich ready for that role?
• 37:28
  Speaker 2: Even if he's not, I mean, I don't know if
• 37:31
  Speaker 2: having Cage isolate him on the wing is the best idea, though.
• 37:33
  Speaker 2: To me, if Kulich is going to be a center,
• 37:35
  Speaker 2: you have to have a guy like Benson who's responsible two-way,
• 37:38
  Speaker 2: and then maybe another veteran to help isolate him. I
• 37:42
  Speaker 2: don't know if having Cage, who is a black hole defensively,
• 37:46
  Speaker 2: and Kulich, who last time we saw him wasn't all
• 37:48
  Speaker 2: that great defensively, that's asking Benson to do a lot
• 37:52
  Speaker 2: of heavy lifting on the two-way game for your top line.
• 37:54
  Speaker 2: I don't know. Like I said, the top line will
• 37:56
  Speaker 2: be what I'm most curious about coming into this training
• 37:58
  Speaker 2: camp and see who takes that third top line spot.
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: Because I do think Benson and Tage work so well
• 38:05
  Speaker 2: together that they should be a pair. I just don't
• 38:08
  Speaker 2: know who the third is in that trio.
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: And again, the Robert Thomas or the Vincent Trocek didn't happen, right?
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: Or the Nico Hichet, that was sort of a pipe
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: dream as well. Those things obviously didn't materialize the Patrick
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: Kane thing. I know people wanted the, you know, Buffalo boy,
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: but like at $ 8 million, like I just, I was
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: kind of over that at that point.
• 38:26
  Speaker 2: He was also never going to be a top line
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: for Buffalo. Not at this point. I don't even, I
• 38:30
  Speaker 2: don't even think he answers that. Yeah.
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: Like even to Patrick Kane, you look at him right now,
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: like to me, he's like in between Don and Jack Quinn,
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: you know, like as far as on the depth chart.
• 38:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah. To me, he would be where Jack Quinn is.
• 38:43
  Speaker 2: And that would then mean either Jack Quinn is gone
• 38:45
  Speaker 2: or Jack Quinn is jumping up to the top line,
• 38:47
  Speaker 2: which I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if you try
• 38:53
  Speaker 2: Jack Quinn on the top line at some point this year.
• 38:55
  Speaker 2: It does feel like they are expecting big things from him.
• 38:57
  Speaker 2: And I know he didn't produce in the playoffs, but
• 38:59
  Speaker 2: the way he was playing in the playoffs, he looked
• 39:01
  Speaker 2: like a player who was on the verge of breaking
• 39:02
  Speaker 2: out and becoming an elite scorer. So it's just, again,
• 39:05
  Speaker 2: a lot of internal growth that you're expecting there. I'm
• 39:10
  Speaker 2: curious to see who takes that spot. I'm curious to
• 39:12
  Speaker 2: see what Ruff has planned for Tage as well. But
• 39:15
  Speaker 2: I think... The projected lineup on the screen probably isn't
• 39:20
  Speaker 2: too far off in some ways from what they want
• 39:22
  Speaker 2: to start. Also, it's Lindy Ruff. He could throw us
• 39:25
  Speaker 2: a complete curveball and completely jumble everything.
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: No Jordan Greenway in the lineup this year. but no
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: no uh jack point of order jack wins in a
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: contract year so yeah also.
• 39:36
  Speaker 2: Point of order there is another piece on the team
• 39:39
  Speaker 2: from the jack eichel trade.
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: I'm drawing a blank no osland right the first round
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: pick yeah okay All right. So they still have two
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: pieces from the Jack Eichel trade. So, yeah, I mean,
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: and there are some other guys that might battle for
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: roster spots come training camp. Like there were a couple
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: of those guys at the end of the year that
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: we didn't really see that were injured. Like I just
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: right now, I don't see any of those guys being
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: any more than extra forwards at this point.
• 40:05
  Speaker 2: And Carrick Carrick is the one where I think if
• 40:10
  Speaker 2: they want to get really crazy. Josh Norris can be
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: your number one center. Carrick can slot in in the fourth,
• 40:17
  Speaker 2: and then you bump McLeod and Hellenist up. But then,
• 40:20
  Speaker 2: I don't know where that leaves Kulich or Zucker. There
• 40:24
  Speaker 2: is some roster flexibility there, but like I said, until
• 40:27
  Speaker 2: I see a projected lineup in training camp, I genuinely
• 40:30
  Speaker 2: don't know what they're going to do with the lines
• 40:32
  Speaker 2: up front.
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I mean.
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: Carrick brings the one thing that they don't have. I'm
• 40:38
  Speaker 2: not the biggest face-off proponent guy, but Carrick's also a
• 40:40
  Speaker 2: really good penalty killer. You could definitely use the penalty
• 40:43
  Speaker 2: killing and the face-off that Carrick brings. Especially when you
• 40:46
  Speaker 2: have to replace Tuck. I'm not saying he was an
• 40:49
  Speaker 2: elite penalty killer, but he was one of the most
• 40:51
  Speaker 2: dangerous penalty killers that Buffalo had. He's gone now, so
• 40:55
  Speaker 2: someone's got to step up there too.
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: McLeod on the fourth line, to me, I think he's
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: probably better suited on the third.
• 41:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but McLeod is the perfect case of he can
• 41:06
  Speaker 2: play on your second or third line in the regular season,
• 41:08
  Speaker 2: but come playoff time, he's got to be your fourth
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: line center. And I'm fine with that. I'm totally fine
• 41:12
  Speaker 2: with that. So I don't know if he's... He'll probably
• 41:16
  Speaker 2: do enough in the regular season to get out of
• 41:17
  Speaker 2: that fourth line spot, but the way the playoffs were
• 41:19
  Speaker 2: going kind of felt like that's where Ruff wants him.
• 41:22
  Speaker 2: So we'll see what happens again.
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: And the biggest, obviously, or the biggest, I guess... elephant
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: in the room is number nine's health, right? Josh Norris.
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: I mean, that's always the issue with, with him. You know,
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: missing extended time throughout the season. Every year he's played
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: in the national hockey league. Pretty much his time with
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: the Sabres feels like he's been, he has barely played,
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: even though he's been here for a year and a
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: half now, but obviously number nine's health. And then if
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: he goes down, you know, they're going to have to
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: adjust the lineup a little bit, but that's always something.
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: That you have to monitor and maybe even prepare for
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: with a guy like Norris that he just hasn't been
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: able to stay healthy through his career.
• 42:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, 100%. Bigger elephant in the room. Probably not nearly, sorry,
• 42:10
  Speaker 2: not nearly as likely as a Josh Norris injury. What
• 42:13
  Speaker 2: are the Sabres doing if number 71 is going out
• 42:15
  Speaker 2: the door in a Connor Hellebook trade? Right. A guy
• 42:19
  Speaker 2: you brought up, Vincent Trochak. kind of seemed like he
• 42:22
  Speaker 2: was coming to Buffalo if Buffalo executed that Hellebuck trade.
• 42:25
  Speaker 2: And when Buffalo didn't execute that Hellebuck trade, they didn't
• 42:29
  Speaker 2: need Trochek currently. Now, if we're revisiting the Hellebuck rumors
• 42:33
  Speaker 2: that have all of a sudden run rampant again because
• 42:35
  Speaker 2: he requested that trade publicly, if McLeod is the piece
• 42:39
  Speaker 2: that they want and Buffalo is willing to send over,
• 42:42
  Speaker 2: what the heck are you doing to replace that center depth?
• 42:44
  Speaker 2: Because we just talked about McLeod potentially playing second, third
• 42:47
  Speaker 2: line center at some points in the regular season. If
• 42:50
  Speaker 2: he's gone, that's one less body that they have, not
• 42:52
  Speaker 2: to mention one of the very few natural centers that
• 42:54
  Speaker 2: they do have. You know, Hellenist and Oseland can play center,
• 42:59
  Speaker 2: but I'm pretty sure Hellenist was playing wing when he
• 43:01
  Speaker 2: was in the Montreal series. Oseland, like I said, I
• 43:04
  Speaker 2: like that line of Norris, Oseland, Doan. It was very effective.
• 43:08
  Speaker 2: Oseland was the winger on that line. So, like, we're
• 43:09
  Speaker 2: talking about the Sabres have center depth, but a lot
• 43:13
  Speaker 2: of their centers are not natural centers. It's really just
• 43:16
  Speaker 2: Norris and McLeod. And potentially Helena. He is a natural center,
• 43:20
  Speaker 2: but he hasn't been deployed as a natural center in
• 43:22
  Speaker 2: the NHL yet.
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: And before the Sabres went and got Sam Carrick at
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: the deadline from the Rangers, they were the worst face-off
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: team in the NHL.
• 43:29
  Speaker 2: We're always going to be the worst face-off team with
• 43:30
  Speaker 2: this center group. It's just facts. Right.
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: Exactly. So moving on to the D, we already touched
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: on it a lot here. So I don't know if
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: you want to mention anything. We talked about Crevier and
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: Zellweger at nauseam. You know, the six defensemen is interesting
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: to me. Timmons, Metzler. you know, what's going to happen there.
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: But it seems like they've got the decor pretty much
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: locked in there now. You know, they lost a few
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: guys on the back end, Stanley, Byram, Luke Shen, if
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: you count him as well. But it seems like it's
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: pretty much set in stone that the only thing that's
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: going to be intriguing come camp is whether Crevier or
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: Zellweger is going to be the four and the other
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: one's going to be the five.
• 44:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, pretty much. I think they have a solid one
• 44:08
  Speaker 2: through eight. You know, Dennis Gilbert was signed again as
• 44:11
  Speaker 2: potentially eighth defenseman. Metz is the seventh. Like, I think
• 44:13
  Speaker 2: they have really solid depth one through eight. But what
• 44:16
  Speaker 2: you just said is it. Who's going to be that
• 44:18
  Speaker 2: fourth defenseman? Because looking at the makeup of the pairs
• 44:21
  Speaker 2: that are up, it's a more natural makeup, right? You
• 44:25
  Speaker 2: have the two up top, and then you actually have left, right, left, right,
• 44:28
  Speaker 2: and you have puck mover and more stay-at-home guys. It's
• 44:32
  Speaker 2: a more natural, prototypical build. But given what we know
• 44:37
  Speaker 2: about Ruff and how he rolled the top four, there
• 44:39
  Speaker 2: is going to be a battle between Zellweger and Crevier.
• 44:42
  Speaker 2: And it is my assumption that Zellweger is a much
• 44:44
  Speaker 2: better player than Crevier and will win that job.
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, I think they're just going to say
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: that just going into camp, but I think it's pretty
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: much set in stone there that Zellweger is going to
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: play that Bowen Byron role. Now, whether he can step
• 44:56
  Speaker 1: in and be, have that production, that's another question for
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: another day that I guess we'll figure out coming into it. But, um,
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: you know, did you like the Zellweger, you know, acquisition
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: and kind of fill in that role and then giving
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: him the three-year extension for, I think it was 3.9
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: per year.
• 45:12
  Speaker 2: 3.1. And yeah, I said earlier in the show, he's not,
• 45:15
  Speaker 2: he doesn't have the ceiling. He's not at Bowen Byram's
• 45:18
  Speaker 2: level right now, but his ceiling is something who could
• 45:20
  Speaker 2: be Bowen Byram at the very least. He's a really
• 45:23
  Speaker 2: talented offensive defenseman who shows flashes of being able to
• 45:27
  Speaker 2: rush the puck and create. So I like the acquisition.
• 45:29
  Speaker 2: I like the contract, no issues with that at all.
• 45:31
  Speaker 2: And he's an RFA at the end of it.
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: And we'll, we'll end things off here with the goaltending
• 45:36
  Speaker 1: and it'll kind of get into our last point of
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: topic here, which is Connor Hellebuck. And as always, that's
• 45:41
  Speaker 1: brought to you by wild bills, auto repair, helping customers
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: stay safe and confident on the road in Niagara since 2012,
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: in honor of the late William Robert Hunter book report
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: repair today at 905-358-7868 or wild bills, auto.ca. So, Uh,
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: as you mentioned earlier that Connor Hellebuck trade, uh, went
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: or his, uh, that statement went public about him wanting
• 46:02
  Speaker 1: a formal trade request from his, uh, from his agent
• 46:05
  Speaker 1: there that, that kind of set a bomb last weekend. Uh,
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: Winnipeg has been a home for me in my NHL career.
• 46:11
  Speaker 1: And I was always be grateful for the time there.
• 46:13
  Speaker 1: I've never forgotten blah, blah, blah. Uh, several months ago,
• 46:16
  Speaker 1: I privately requested a trade. I have, I have to,
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: I have tried to handle the situation quietly and respectfully,
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: but Given the organization time to explore its options with
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: training camp approaching, I feel it is important to publicly
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: confirm to my request. My position has not changed. I
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: believe moving on is the best path forward for me
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: and my family. So, you know, whether he reports to
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: Jets camp, I think that's probably going to be a
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: big no there, which, you know, we're not going to
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: talk much about the Winnipeg Jets side of things because
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: we're not a Jets podcast. But, you know, this is
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: big news, obviously. And it was a move that had
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: been talked about. you know, going back to the, to
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: the deadline and especially at the draft that ramped up
• 46:51
  Speaker 1: with a team like Buffalo and that potential trade that
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: they had, as you mentioned, swapping four for eighth overall,
• 46:57
  Speaker 1: whether that included redeem Mirka or other young pieces as well.
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: The Sabres have three goaltenders currently under contract with Lukanen,
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: Alex Lyon and Colton Ellis. So you'd assume that one
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: of them would have to be going back in a
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: deal like that as well. But what are your reactions
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: to that and how possible do you think that this
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: can be to getting done?
• 47:18
  Speaker 2: For Buffalo, I still think it's very possible. I do
• 47:21
  Speaker 2: think there's like four teams, maybe five, but I think
• 47:24
  Speaker 2: it's the teams that have been mentioned, right? Buffalo, Carolina,
• 47:28
  Speaker 2: New Jersey. San Jose has been thrown out there. I
• 47:32
  Speaker 2: actually really liked San Jose. I think they'd be a
• 47:34
  Speaker 2: great fit, but I do see some people in San Jose,
• 47:37
  Speaker 2: whether it be fans or people being like, I don't
• 47:39
  Speaker 2: know if the timelines match up given Hellbook's age and everything.
• 47:42
  Speaker 1: And point of order, they used up all their free
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: cap space that they had on three players, but.
• 47:49
  Speaker 2: I mean, they still have so much cap space, man.
• 47:52
  Speaker 2: They still have... Like, if they're... They have three million,
• 47:56
  Speaker 2: but trying to finagle that trade isn't really that difficult,
• 48:00
  Speaker 2: in my opinion. But yeah, that does push them a
• 48:04
  Speaker 2: little bit. Makes it a little bit tougher, but we're
• 48:06
  Speaker 2: talking about... I guess it depends on what Winnipeg's ask is.
• 48:11
  Speaker 2: So I guess San Jose, to me, is a popular
• 48:13
  Speaker 2: dark horse team that's been out there. We also know
• 48:17
  Speaker 2: We see teams maneuver cap space all the time. But
• 48:19
  Speaker 2: like I said, I do wonder about San Jose's timeline.
• 48:21
  Speaker 2: I don't really think it adds up with Hellebuck. I
• 48:24
  Speaker 2: know they say he has five years left, but I
• 48:27
  Speaker 2: don't think San Jose is ready to push all their
• 48:28
  Speaker 2: chips in. Utah is an interesting one. If it's not
• 48:33
  Speaker 2: going to be Buffalo, I prefer it to be a
• 48:34
  Speaker 2: West team. So I hope San Jose pushes all in
• 48:36
  Speaker 2: to go for it. Because if he's not going to
• 48:38
  Speaker 2: be in Buffalo, him in Utah or San Jose is
• 48:41
  Speaker 2: totally fine by me. Him going to Carolina... Yeah. Him
• 48:44
  Speaker 2: going to Carolina or New Jersey is not something that
• 48:48
  Speaker 2: I want to see happen. That's where I would be
• 48:50
  Speaker 2: upset if it doesn't work in Buffalo. But the problem
• 48:53
  Speaker 2: for the Sabres now, it's not cap. It's nothing like that.
• 48:57
  Speaker 2: It's what is this trade package look like? Because we
• 48:59
  Speaker 2: do know Luka and has it now a five team,
• 49:01
  Speaker 2: no trade list. We obviously know if Winnipeg wasn't on
• 49:04
  Speaker 2: this list before the second, it got leaked out that
• 49:07
  Speaker 2: he might be going to Winnipeg and a hell of
• 49:08
  Speaker 2: a trade. I'm sure as hell positive. He put Winnipeg
• 49:11
  Speaker 2: on his no trade list. Um, So it'll be interesting
• 49:15
  Speaker 2: in terms of what does Winnipeg want now that the
• 49:19
  Speaker 2: trade request has been made public and potentially a deadline
• 49:23
  Speaker 2: has been put on them I don't know if he
• 49:27
  Speaker 2: will not report to camp if he's still on Winnipeg's
• 49:29
  Speaker 2: roster I would be shocked if he doesn't report to
• 49:34
  Speaker 2: camp but on the same side that's just another way
• 49:36
  Speaker 2: for him to leverage his way out so I don't
• 49:38
  Speaker 2: know If I'm shoveled day off, I'm not letting it
• 49:40
  Speaker 2: get to that. I'm trading him before he has to
• 49:44
  Speaker 2: report to camp. But then it comes down to what
• 49:46
  Speaker 2: is Winnipeg's long-term outlook? Are they going to want to
• 49:50
  Speaker 2: try and stay competitive? Are they going to try and
• 49:52
  Speaker 2: blow things up? Does trading Hellebuck mean they have to
• 49:54
  Speaker 2: trade Morrissey or Shifley? I don't know. So it all
• 49:56
  Speaker 2: depends on what a trade looks like. I do know
• 49:59
  Speaker 2: Buffalo has a lot of young pieces that could easily
• 50:02
  Speaker 2: entice Winnipeg. And now that they have Stuart, yeah, Stuart Skinner, right?
• 50:07
  Speaker 2: That's who they signed, right? Yep.
• 50:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 50:09
  Speaker 2: Now that they have Skinner there, who probably knew that
• 50:14
  Speaker 2: he was going to be the starter when he signed there,
• 50:18
  Speaker 2: they could go for a young goalie. Buffalo doesn't really
• 50:21
  Speaker 2: have that unless they're interested in Colton Ellis or more
• 50:23
  Speaker 2: of an unproven guy like a Ratzlaff or a Linenin,
• 50:25
  Speaker 2: which I can't see. So to me, it gets a
• 50:29
  Speaker 2: little hairy there. But when you look at the teams
• 50:33
  Speaker 2: that can actually fit Hellebuck in, make sense for Hellebuck,
• 50:38
  Speaker 2: and are interested in Hellebuck, it probably comes down to, like,
• 50:44
  Speaker 2: Buffalo fits all those criteria. And if you believe the
• 50:47
  Speaker 2: reporting back in June, July, Hellebuck will waive to come here. Like,
• 50:52
  Speaker 2: when Friedman says that, I listen. Like, to me, that
• 50:54
  Speaker 2: man's word is as good as gold. He said he's
• 50:58
  Speaker 2: willing to waive to go to Buffalo. So, like, it
• 51:00
  Speaker 2: does make sense. The compensation is something I cannot begin
• 51:04
  Speaker 2: to wrap my head around. One, because it's a goalie. two,
• 51:07
  Speaker 2: because now there's pressure on Winnipeg to get a trade done.
• 51:11
  Speaker 2: So I have no idea what that trade looks like.
• 51:14
  Speaker 2: I do imagine it's a 27 first round pick. I
• 51:16
  Speaker 2: do imagine it's a high end prospect, whether it's Mirka,
• 51:19
  Speaker 2: Klaber or somebody like that. I do imagine it's at
• 51:22
  Speaker 2: least one roster guy. I mentioned McLeod. He's makes sense
• 51:27
  Speaker 2: if Winnipeg wants to try and stay somewhat competitive. Does
• 51:30
  Speaker 2: a guy like Jack Quinn entice them? I don't know.
• 51:32
  Speaker 2: So Yes, I still think it's very possible. I'm still
• 51:36
  Speaker 2: not confident it gets done based off Winnipeg's GM's reputation
• 51:40
  Speaker 2: of just being stubborn.
• 51:43
  Speaker 1: And again, like with it going public, obviously, I think
• 51:46
  Speaker 1: that hurts them a little bit. I don't know if
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: it hurts them a lot, but I don't think it
• 51:50
  Speaker 1: does because.
• 51:50
  Speaker 2: I know he went public with it. But let's be honest,
• 51:52
  Speaker 2: was anyone shocked when he came when he went public? No,
• 51:55
  Speaker 2: that's what I mean. I don't know.
• 51:56
  Speaker 1: I mean, It was the worst-kept secret, probably, around the
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: National Hockey League circles within the general managers.
• 52:03
  Speaker 2: The only thing Winnipeg could have hoped for is that
• 52:05
  Speaker 2: they could have convinced him to stay for one more
• 52:08
  Speaker 2: year when his trade protection goes from full no-move to
• 52:10
  Speaker 2: only 10-team no-trade. But when there was word of him
• 52:14
  Speaker 2: almost being traded in June, whether it be to Buffalo
• 52:18
  Speaker 2: or Carolina, the two teams that I know, Carolina put
• 52:21
  Speaker 2: forth a legit offer, and Buffalo, the deal almost got done.
• 52:25
  Speaker 2: So those are two teams that we know he was
• 52:26
  Speaker 2: almost traded to. I think once he got that close
• 52:29
  Speaker 2: to being traded, why would he wait another year? So
• 52:32
  Speaker 2: I don't know. I do think, like I said, I
• 52:34
  Speaker 2: think Buffalo makes sense. I just don't have the confidence
• 52:38
  Speaker 2: that it ends up being Buffalo if it happens. Mostly because,
• 52:44
  Speaker 2: like I said, Chevalier was just so stubborn that I
• 52:47
  Speaker 2: could see him not backing down his asking price. And two...
• 52:54
  Speaker 2: I flip-flopped on this literally all summer. Our last podcast,
• 52:57
  Speaker 2: I said, I don't know if I trust Lukanen and
• 52:59
  Speaker 2: Lyon and Ellis to replicate what they did last year.
• 53:01
  Speaker 2: I still don't know if I trust that. But why
• 53:05
  Speaker 2: can't they? I guess the only counter-argument is they were
• 53:09
  Speaker 2: really good last year. Why can't they be good again?
• 53:11
  Speaker 2: I don't know. To me, it would be so fun,
• 53:18
  Speaker 2: and it is that big acquisition that I think we've
• 53:20
  Speaker 2: all been longing for, that the fan in me wants
• 53:22
  Speaker 2: it to happen. But dear God, if it costs... I
• 53:29
  Speaker 2: don't know. Again, it's a cop-out to say it comes
• 53:32
  Speaker 2: down to acquisition costs, but that's literally what it comes
• 53:35
  Speaker 2: down to for me.
• 53:36
  Speaker 1: I'm in the exact same boat. To me, when they
• 53:40
  Speaker 1: asked for Benson at the beginning, I think it was laughable.
• 53:42
  Speaker 2: That's where it gets hairy.
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: I do not want to put Costa Helenus in a
• 53:50
  Speaker 1: Connor Hellebuck trade. I just don't know if Yarmou is
• 53:54
  Speaker 1: going to be that desperate, as you mentioned with the
• 53:56
  Speaker 1: three goalies that he already has to say, you know what,
• 53:58
  Speaker 1: we're not going to overpay for a guy like Connor
• 54:01
  Speaker 1: Hellebuck going into, what is he 32 now? You mentioned
• 54:04
  Speaker 1: four years left ish. Um, how many more elite years
• 54:08
  Speaker 1: does he have? But as you mentioned, like goaltending can,
• 54:10
  Speaker 1: can be really, you know, hit or miss every year
• 54:13
  Speaker 1: in and year out, even though he's been one of
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: the best ones, uh, over the last decade. But I just,
• 54:17
  Speaker 1: to me, like non-starters would be, would be Helen news, obviously, uh, Um,
• 54:21
  Speaker 1: I know Merca's name keeps getting thrown around. Is he
• 54:24
  Speaker 1: a piece, but again, like what is, what is Winnipeg
• 54:26
  Speaker 1: really expecting to get back in that trade? Would Lucan
• 54:29
  Speaker 1: and wave is no trademark clause to go to Winnipeg
• 54:32
  Speaker 1: as well. That's another thing that you'd have to take
• 54:33
  Speaker 1: into account as well. Cause you'd assume that it'd be
• 54:35
  Speaker 1: his money. That'd be going back, um, to Winnipeg unless they,
• 54:38
  Speaker 1: as you mentioned, Ellis or lion, uh, intrigues them in
• 54:41
  Speaker 1: any way. But I just, yeah. I mean, if it's
• 54:44
  Speaker 1: a first round pick, you know, redeem Merca and one
• 54:47
  Speaker 1: of the goalies, uh, Maybe I say yes, but if
• 54:50
  Speaker 1: it includes Helenus, Ostland, Kulich, those types of guys, I
• 54:54
  Speaker 1: don't know if I want to do that.
• 54:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll push back on the last. I'm not in
• 55:01
  Speaker 2: a rush to throw Kulich in that package, but I
• 55:03
  Speaker 2: also don't. I think out of the three, I'm fine,
• 55:06
  Speaker 2: most fine with him going the other way if that's
• 55:08
  Speaker 2: what it came down to. But where it comes down to,
• 55:11
  Speaker 2: like you said, money, right? Lukanen. If Lukanen doesn't wave,
• 55:15
  Speaker 2: money's got to go out. 4.75 for Lukanen, 5 for McLeod.
• 55:20
  Speaker 2: That's kind of why I got to McLeod. I do
• 55:21
  Speaker 2: not want to trade McLeod in the Hellebook trade because
• 55:23
  Speaker 2: then we have no center depth. Back in July when
• 55:25
  Speaker 2: we were trading McLeod in the Hellebook trade and then
• 55:27
  Speaker 2: acquiring Trocek to offset that, I was fine with that plan.
• 55:31
  Speaker 2: There's no Trocek trade waiting on the other side if
• 55:35
  Speaker 2: the shoe drops. So that's where I get a little cautious.
• 55:38
  Speaker 2: I'm not saying I would never trade McLeod in a
• 55:40
  Speaker 2: Hellebook trade, but I am very cautious against doing that
• 55:42
  Speaker 2: with no replacement because I think McLeod's an extremely important
• 55:45
  Speaker 2: player to this team. That being said, call a spade
• 55:49
  Speaker 2: a spade. Acquiring Connor Halibook would be a lot of fun,
• 55:51
  Speaker 2: and the ceiling that he has would offset and afford
• 55:55
  Speaker 2: Buffalo tons of time to let these young guys grow
• 55:58
  Speaker 2: into their offense because they would be that much more
• 56:00
  Speaker 2: confident with the guy behind them. I still am all
• 56:04
  Speaker 2: for the move. Until I see a trade package, until
• 56:08
  Speaker 2: I actually see compensation, I don't know if I can
• 56:11
  Speaker 2: say I'm going to love the trade if it comes
• 56:14
  Speaker 2: to fruition. The fact that Sheveldayoff wasn't willing to, whatever
• 56:19
  Speaker 2: other pieces were, I don't know what they were, but
• 56:21
  Speaker 2: I know the hangup was Buffalo wanted eight because they
• 56:23
  Speaker 2: were going to give four. The fact that Sheveldayoff wouldn't
• 56:26
  Speaker 2: do that is crazy. Obviously, bias coming from a Sabres podcast,
• 56:32
  Speaker 2: but I think that's pretty blatantly, obviously, overplaying your hand.
• 56:36
  Speaker 2: And now months later, it not happening and Helbig having
• 56:39
  Speaker 2: to go public. I think it's pretty obvious he overplayed
• 56:41
  Speaker 2: his hand. GMs are dumb sometimes, so someone might bail
• 56:46
  Speaker 2: him out and give him the package that he wants.
• 56:47
  Speaker 2: But I know if I was a GM interested in Hellebuck,
• 56:51
  Speaker 2: now that this is public, even though we already knew
• 56:53
  Speaker 2: he wanted out, now that it's actually out there in public,
• 56:57
  Speaker 2: I'm not going back with my top offer that I
• 56:59
  Speaker 2: had back in July. I know that for a fact.
• 57:02
  Speaker 2: So it'll come down to, I think, a game of chicken, which, again,
• 57:05
  Speaker 2: we know Shevelday has a reputation around the league, is
• 57:07
  Speaker 2: he never gives in. And it's why a guy like
• 57:09
  Speaker 2: Nick Ehlers walked from Winnipeg, because... Sheveldayoff was too stubborn
• 57:13
  Speaker 2: to try and just admit he was leaving and trade
• 57:16
  Speaker 2: him for something. That's his reputation around the league. So
• 57:21
  Speaker 2: much like a Kevin Adams thing that we said many times,
• 57:23
  Speaker 2: is Sheveldayoff willing to put his ego aside and take
• 57:25
  Speaker 2: a little bit of a lesser return for Hellebuck now
• 57:27
  Speaker 2: that the trade request is public? I don't know. That's
• 57:30
  Speaker 2: for the Winnipeg Jets to figure out. I know from
• 57:32
  Speaker 2: a Buffalo standpoint, you absolutely should still be in on
• 57:34
  Speaker 2: him because he makes your team a lot better. He
• 57:36
  Speaker 2: raises the floor of your team. But you definitely shouldn't
• 57:40
  Speaker 2: be giving your best offer. now that there's a potential
• 57:44
  Speaker 2: deadline that he's given the team. So it'll be very
• 57:46
  Speaker 2: interesting how it plays out. I still don't think he's
• 57:48
  Speaker 2: a Buffalo Sabre, but I do think it's got to
• 57:51
  Speaker 2: be a foregone conclusion he's traded before training camp opens.
• 57:53
  Speaker 2: And that's two and a half weeks away.
• 57:57
  Speaker 1: And not giving up any of your really top-end young assets,
• 58:00
  Speaker 1: I think, is, for me, with that trade.
• 58:04
  Speaker 2: If we're talking about the two big forwards, yeah. But
• 58:06
  Speaker 2: if we're talking, like you said, Radim Mirka, if he's
• 58:08
  Speaker 2: considered a top-end asset, you can't give that up. But yeah,
• 58:13
  Speaker 2: I don't think they were ever getting a Hellenist or
• 58:15
  Speaker 2: an Ocelot. I think that would have been a non-starter.
• 58:18
  Speaker 1: And I think it's a fair point you bring up.
• 58:20
  Speaker 1: Does Hellebuck make that save in overtime of Game 7
• 58:23
  Speaker 1: that Lukinen let in?
• 58:25
  Speaker 2: Hard to say, but you have to think, yes, the
• 58:28
  Speaker 2: way that he played in the gold medal game and
• 58:30
  Speaker 2: what we know. I know his playoff track record hasn't
• 58:33
  Speaker 2: been the best, but again, he's more proven. So yeah,
• 58:38
  Speaker 2: I do think Hellebuck significantly raises the floor of this
• 58:41
  Speaker 2: team I do think this is the big swing that
• 58:45
  Speaker 2: Kekalainen counted on happening back in June, July. And when
• 58:49
  Speaker 2: it fell apart, it probably... I'm not making excuses for Kekalainen,
• 58:53
  Speaker 2: but I do think it kind of put a wrinkle
• 58:55
  Speaker 2: into things. Because if you read the tea leaves, it
• 58:58
  Speaker 2: did seem like it had it lined up. Helbuck was
• 59:01
  Speaker 2: coming to Buffalo. McLeod was going out. Trocek was coming
• 59:04
  Speaker 2: in to replace McLeod. And again, Helbuck was willing to
• 59:07
  Speaker 2: wave to come to Buffalo. We know Trochek, again, I
• 59:09
  Speaker 2: believe it was reported he was willing to wave to
• 59:11
  Speaker 2: come to Buffalo. So not make an excuse for him.
• 59:14
  Speaker 2: You still have to get it across the finish line.
• 59:16
  Speaker 2: But I'm not going to hold it against Kekalainen for
• 59:19
  Speaker 2: not grossly overpaying for a goalie, no matter how good
• 59:22
  Speaker 2: the goalie may be. I do think now is his
• 59:25
  Speaker 2: time to pounce because, like I said, I do think
• 59:27
  Speaker 2: you can get Hellebuck for your, not your best offer.
• 59:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I was okay with him not making a desperation
• 59:35
  Speaker 1: play and over overpaying for a guy like Connor Hellebuck at,
• 59:39
  Speaker 1: at that time. But again, if this is the right
• 59:40
  Speaker 1: time to pounce, we'll have to wait and see another
• 59:43
  Speaker 1: point of order here as we're recording this. Another team
• 59:47
  Speaker 1: that was interested in Hellebuck, New Jersey just traded a
• 59:51
  Speaker 1: conditional 2028 first and a second round pick for Luke
• 59:54
  Speaker 1: Evangelista from Nashville.
• 59:56
  Speaker 2: So.
• 59:57
  Speaker 1: There might go out some of the assets that New
• 59:59
  Speaker 1: Jersey would have been able to give up for a
• 1:00:01
  Speaker 1: guy like Connor Hellebuck.
• 1:00:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, that's a good trade. But I mean,
• 1:00:05
  Speaker 2: Sonny Mehta is a really good smart GM, right? Coming
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 2: from Florida. So obviously I expect New Jersey to make
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 2: good moves like that. But yeah, I mean, I don't know.
• 1:00:15
  Speaker 2: It's going to be very interesting. Like I said, I'm
• 1:00:21
  Speaker 2: not talking out both sides of my mouth here, but
• 1:00:23
  Speaker 2: I do want them to get Hellebuck done, but I
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 2: also can be convinced that they don't need to get
• 1:00:28
  Speaker 2: it done.
• 1:00:29
  Speaker 1: And you're fine if it's, you're fine if it's Luken
• 1:00:32
  Speaker 1: and Lyon and Ellis going into the season again.
• 1:00:34
  Speaker 2: I mean, again, I hate goalies, goalies are voodoo and
• 1:00:37
  Speaker 2: I flip flop back and forth, but given what happened
• 1:00:40
  Speaker 2: last year, I can't blame them for saying we can
• 1:00:43
  Speaker 2: run this back one more time with those two, three really.
• 1:00:46
  Speaker 2: Because Ellis is going to play, he's going to be
• 1:00:49
  Speaker 2: in the rotation. So like, I don't know, it's, it's,
• 1:00:52
  Speaker 2: It's a weird spot where I want it to happen,
• 1:00:56
  Speaker 2: but if they sit there and tell me, we have
• 1:00:58
  Speaker 2: faith in our guys, well, I mean, those guys just
• 1:01:01
  Speaker 2: got you one shot away from the Eastern Conference Finals. So, like, okay,
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 2: I'll drink the Kool-Aid.
• 1:01:10
  Speaker 1: Even though we weren't the night the season ended, but.
• 1:01:13
  Speaker 2: No, like I said, I... cold takes exposed, whatever the
• 1:01:18
  Speaker 2: heck you want to do when Luka and probably sucks
• 1:01:20
  Speaker 2: to start the year. And I'm cursing about wishing a
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 2: hell of a got done, but I think I'm just
• 1:01:25
  Speaker 2: preparing myself for hell, but not coming to Buffalo. And
• 1:01:28
  Speaker 2: that's probably why I'm saying what I'm saying.
• 1:01:30
  Speaker 1: But yeah, I've kind of been in the same boat too.
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 1: I'll be pleasantly surprised if it happens, but I'm not
• 1:01:34
  Speaker 1: going to sit here and hope for it.
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 2: Oh, I'm going to sit here and hope for it.
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 1: Connor Hellebuck is a Buffalo saber would be quite, uh,
• 1:01:44
  Speaker 1: quite the bombshell if a Yarmulke line is able to
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 1: get it done and we'll see what the Winnipeg and
• 1:01:48
  Speaker 1: shoveled day off are going to do on there. And
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 1: maybe we're going to find out in the next two
• 1:01:52
  Speaker 1: or three weeks. Cause as you mentioned, like, is he
• 1:01:54
  Speaker 1: going to show up to training camp in Winnipeg? That
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 1: probably wouldn't be the big, the best look for him
• 1:01:57
  Speaker 1: to go there knowing he's come public now with a
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 1: trade request. So, you know, we'll, we'll see what happens
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 1: in the next couple of weeks. And if a deal
• 1:02:05
  Speaker 1: does break, obviously we're going to talk about it, but
• 1:02:08
  Speaker 1: I'm fully expecting Luke and in lion and Ellis to
• 1:02:10
  Speaker 1: compete for the, the goaltending trio, I guess for another year.
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, if I was a betting man, this is the
• 1:02:17
  Speaker 2: roster that we have. And like I said in the beginning,
• 1:02:20
  Speaker 2: I am totally okay with people saying they wish they
• 1:02:22
  Speaker 2: had more. I wish there was more. But I think
• 1:02:26
  Speaker 2: I'm fine with it. And I know it sounds dumb
• 1:02:28
  Speaker 2: just because they made the playoffs. I should still say,
• 1:02:31
  Speaker 2: push all your chips in. But it is a lot
• 1:02:33
  Speaker 2: easier to swallow this type of offseason knowing this team
• 1:02:39
  Speaker 2: made the playoffs. And I know losing Tuck was a
• 1:02:41
  Speaker 2: big thing. But I have confidence in it just feels
• 1:02:45
  Speaker 2: like every time they said, who's like, we said, who's
• 1:02:47
  Speaker 2: going to replace Paterka don't buy himself, replace Paterka. And
• 1:02:50
  Speaker 2: then other guys stepped up. So who's going to replace tuck.
• 1:02:53
  Speaker 2: This team just finds a way to produce goals. Like
• 1:02:55
  Speaker 2: scoring goals is rarely ever their problem. So it might
• 1:02:58
  Speaker 2: be crazy to say, Hey, Coolidge, Clintius, Oslin, Benson are
• 1:03:02
  Speaker 2: all gonna, but I wouldn't, I am not going to
• 1:03:06
  Speaker 2: be surprised if they do. So I'm fine with it.
• 1:03:11
  Speaker 2: If we're sitting here, you know, I'm willing to look
• 1:03:14
  Speaker 2: like an idiot if we're sitting here come December and
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 2: the team has struggled at the gate because the unproven guys,
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 2: but right now going off the high of last season
• 1:03:23
  Speaker 2: and just knowing how good these young guys produced in
• 1:03:26
  Speaker 2: big game moments last year, right now I'm, I am
• 1:03:29
  Speaker 2: fully confident, but I also am going to sit here
• 1:03:31
  Speaker 2: and say, yes, I still wish they did more. That's
• 1:03:33
  Speaker 2: basically the moral of this episode is the off season
• 1:03:35
  Speaker 2: was fine. They should have did more, but not going
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 2: to crucify him right now. Even if that is, you know,
• 1:03:42
  Speaker 2: It might be my anti-Kevin Adams bias coming out, but
• 1:03:45
  Speaker 2: for some reason, not for some reason, it's because they
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 2: made the playoffs. Because they made the playoffs, I'm willing
• 1:03:49
  Speaker 2: to be more lenient with Kekalainen. And because Kekalainen has
• 1:03:51
  Speaker 2: the reputation to make a swing trade. He's done it
• 1:03:53
  Speaker 2: in Columbus. He will do it in Buffalo. It's just
• 1:03:56
  Speaker 2: a matter of time.
• 1:03:57
  Speaker 1: And four big re-signings in Doan, Benson, Krebs, and Malenstein,
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 1: who are all key members of this team.
• 1:04:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Right? So.
• 1:04:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, for me, it's, it's Tage Thompson. Is
• 1:04:07
  Speaker 1: he going to play center of the wing? I guess
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 1: we're going to have to wait and see come training camp.
• 1:04:09
  Speaker 1: That's going to be probably one of the things I'm
• 1:04:11
  Speaker 1: going to monitor most is, uh, what's what is Tage's, uh,
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 1: role going to be obviously is the, the catalyst and the,
• 1:04:17
  Speaker 1: the goal score and the power play, but whether he
• 1:04:19
  Speaker 1: plays center, whether he plays wing, we'll have to wait
• 1:04:21
  Speaker 1: and see there. So, um, Austin final thoughts, I guess.
• 1:04:25
  Speaker 2: My final thoughts. Uh, yeah, I, I, I just said,
• 1:04:28
  Speaker 2: I'm basically right. I'm happy. Uh, I wish they did more. Um,
• 1:04:34
  Speaker 2: With the season coming up, I'm sure we'll do a
• 1:04:37
  Speaker 2: training camp or a season preview episode. I'll start cooking
• 1:04:39
  Speaker 2: up some outlandish takes that I think I have because
• 1:04:43
  Speaker 2: I do think I have a couple crazy ones, but
• 1:04:45
  Speaker 2: that'll be for another day.
• 1:04:47
  Speaker 1: Can't wait for that. We'll have to wait and see
• 1:04:49
  Speaker 1: what Austin's got cooking up with some of those takes.
• 1:04:51
  Speaker 1: But that's going to wrap it up for today's season
• 1:04:54
  Speaker 1: premiere episode of Saber Semantics and our off-season recap right
• 1:04:57
  Speaker 1: here on the Armchair GM Sports Network. As always, Saber
• 1:05:00
  Speaker 1: Semantics is proudly brought to you by Global Pet Foods,
• 1:05:02
  Speaker 1: where pets are undeniably part of the family. Visit them
• 1:05:04
  Speaker 1: in store today at 3643 Portage Road in Niagara Falls
• 1:05:07
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• 1:05:10
  Speaker 1: order online at globalpetfoods.com. We'll be having some promotions with
• 1:05:13
  Speaker 1: them throughout the season on the Saber site. Thank you
• 1:05:16
  Speaker 1: to everybody tuned in on the video version on YouTube.
• 1:05:18
  Speaker 1: Make sure to hit like and subscribe to smash that bell.
• 1:05:20
  Speaker 1: Thank you to our loyal audio on demand listeners. We
• 1:05:24
  Speaker 1: appreciate your support as always for another great season here
• 1:05:27
  Speaker 1: on Saber Semantics and for the Sabers as well, looking
• 1:05:30
  Speaker 1: to build off their first playoff appearance in 14 seasons.
• 1:05:33
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  Speaker 1: our short reels and content. So for Austin Broad of
• 1:05:44
  Speaker 1: Elite Prospects, my name is Brandon Caputo. We'll talk to
• 1:05:46
  Speaker 1: you guys again very soon. You're listening to the Armchair
• 1:05:49
  Speaker 1: GM Sports Network.
• 1:05:54
  Speaker 2: Thank you.