Do Sabres Have Shot At Playoffs In 2024-25?

Do Sabres Have Shot At Playoffs In 2024-25?

[Music] eject them it’s over top shelf where Mama High look cing here come the Buffalo [Music] shers gatesy I have chills after watching that right now and uh you might be asking why did I have an Old Saber Montage to start this show episode of crossing swords podcast well Lindy Ruff is back and so is the Sabers identity we got a lot to talk about today gaty first off how are you doing excited to have you on you know I’m feeling good it’s a little warm in the summer right now but nothing’s making me more happy than talk about these Buffalo Sabers M how you feeling I’m doing great right now man uh we got to talk about uh this off seon obviously a lot of heat on Kevin Adams going into uh this summer the pressure to make the playoffs his job could be on the line if they miss it um this offseason obviously titled the show can the Sabres make the playoffs in 2425 we’ll talk about that uh in a bit but first off let’s talk about the moves that have happened recently a couple trades a couple free agent signings uh we we’ll go into each move uh in a second here but what’s your overall reactions to what we have seen during the past month from uh the draft day trade for Beck marenstein to Ryan McLoud for Matt seavoy bringing in guys like Jason Zucker U and so forth what what has been your overall reaction uh to what has gone down I think with each passing day it’s starting to make more and more sense on the whole Envision of the Buffalo Sabers now and the future of the organization I think a lot of us myself included were really gunning for this team to bring make a big splash bring a big top six swinger to make some noise but I think with each day we’re kind of seeing the team that you know is going to be built around this lendy rough style coaching style I think we’re going to talk a lot about this episode and it’s something that I think this team is finding its identity like you talked about before where it’s not just going to be bringing in the guys with the most skill that you know maybe have the biggest name and whatnot because that hasn’t worked for us in the past and I think it’s just really starting to build build a team here and um yeah it’s just super super you know kind of still risky without bringing that big topic name but I’m seeing the vision that Kevin Kevin Adams has and of gonna see how it plays out the rest of the summer too yeah and the off season it starts out with the big move bringing Lindy Ruff back and and I’ve said it a lot I I know fans are kind of divided on him being back some people think it’s all about Nostalgia uh other fans they they see his mixed results in New Jersey and Dallas and they say well why are the Buffalo Sabers bringing him back to the picture for me it’s about famili familiarity with Kevin Adams Lindy Ruff is the guy that brought Kevin Adams into the league as an assistant coach Adams learned under him and right now going into a Prove It season with his job on the line I think Adams needed someone that he felt comfortable would run this team to the roster he sees fit for it so for Lindy being back Nostalgia obviously is something that helps sell tickets and helps sell the hire to uh Terry pigula but there’s more than than just that and what I wanted to see during late June July were what type of players were the Sabers going to build around when you see Jeff Skinner get bought out the the first reaction by many is wow we’re giving up a lot of goal scoring right there what does this mean for the lineup then you see guys like Beck manstein get traded for with a second round pick in your L are we really going to go to these these lower grinder type players but when you bring in um a Jason zooker Ryan McLoud um an Al kubel uh and and some of these additional guys they’re not going to be the splash moves but you can you can clearly see and Sam lafer also to that group you can see that they are building a team based on speed based on um there’s some grit there with a allenstein who was one of the leading hitters uh on the Washington Capitals seventh in the league in penalty uh kill minutes Ary M Cloud very good on the penalty kill with Washington I think identity is something this this organization really has probably lacked since the days of Lindy Ruff uh even when they had EO and Reinhardt there was no identity Beyond them there was no playing style I think it’s going to be fun to watch this team go forward because that top six has to feel protected now that they have guys near the bottom of the lineup that can play a physical brand of hockey if needed but they can just run and Gun all game long with these guys yeah and I think that’s something a lot of fans have been clamoring for for years for that grit to come back into the lineup and now that it’s here we’re seeing a lot of negativity toward that um but again I think that just comes from that top six question mark but again I think it’s something that we’ve all been kind of saying online this offseason is it’s going to be a gamble for this organization on the the top six returning to form with how they were um so that’s kind of my my whole thing with you know buying out Jeff Skinner wasn’t so much the on Ice production the contract but you know you need these top guys to return to form somehow and I think running back with the same group either with Jason zooker or Zack Benson replacing Jeff Skinner in that top six is is a gamble but I think we’re kind of both in agreement where we’re gonna see what Lenny Ruff is is g to do with this team bring that identity back to the Buffalo Sabers and kind of throw some variety into what the off even looks like and hopefully that can get um some more goals on the board compared to last season yeah so and we’re going to address this throughout the show but have they done enough so far and that’s going to be the question on everybody’s mind I think most fans most people on the outside would say no they haven’t and I can completely get behind that that reasoning I don’t know if I’m at the point where I could confidently say they’ve done enough I I think it’s the unknown right now Kevin Adams and Lindy are basically gambling that those top six guys return to form from what we saw two seasons ago while the bottom of the team can can kind of do the the gritty stuff and things that we haven’t really seen out of the team uh in recent years but let’s first start out with um the projected lines just going to pull this up uh in a second this is from Lance lowski of uh the the Buffalo news for his projected lines I know you got to you got to go around it right there to get seen on camera he has PKA Thompson tuck Benson cousins Quinn Zucker McLoud laferty then either manstein a kubel with Krebs Greenway and you could see some of the extras right there as well first off what are your thoughts on his projected lineup and would you make any changes to that yeah I really like having Benson in that top six I think I put a tweet out a little bit ago putting him in there and I I think it’s a good gamble for this team I think Zack Bon surpris surprised us from the get-go where it’s like oh he’s had a really good development Camp is he going to do at a training camp he’s had a really good preseason are they going to keep him and then he makes the team are they going to keep him past nine games and he’s kind of proven it with each step so I don’t think it’s out of the ordinary to think he can make that jump from the third line to that second line and have some magic there and I think the bottom six I don’t want to say is kind of plug in place at the moment but I think you kind of have to really see who kind of gels early on because a lot of that’s going to be be there and I’m really excited to see pton Krebs under this Lindy rough system as well he’s a guy that kind of gotten I don’t say the short of the stick but just hasn’t found that level I think a lot of us were hoping for in his game and I think with Ruff and hopefully some better linemates this season too where we can find that offense and really sh up his defensive side as well but I think that lineup looks really good and that fourth line is just speed speed speed and I know that’s something we’ve talked about for a while is that fourth line is going to be quick what are your thoughts on this yeah so I like how he has peterka on the first line with Thompson and Tuck late in the season petka really had some solid chemistry with those guys and I think he is ready for a more elevated role than what we’ve seen uh obviously he he’s had a lot of success with cousins and Quinn didn’t really get to see much of it last year because of Quinn being out but petka has shown that he has a solid two-way game that that really is deserving of of Topline minutes with the Sabers team very intrigued about the possibility with Benson on the second line right now at this point it looks like it’s going to be either Benson and or Zucker with cousins and Quinn I think Quinn could be a 30 goal scorer this year I I maybe that’s becoming like too popular to say but I said it before last year that if he wasn’t hurt I thought he was gonna score 25 last year and petka ended up doing that and that’s part of the thing like I hear people say stuff like this top six it’s not good enough well you got a former 40 goal scorer with Tage Thompson you have a former 30 goal scorer with Alex tuck you have petka that had nearly 30 goals last year you have cousins that had 30 plus two years ago you have Quinn that like let’s be real Quinn probably has the second best goal scoring potential on this team correct you have Benson who that’s unknown he’s young he’s 19 but he has the high-end skill to really be a solid Point producer and if that doesn’t work out you have Zucker who even though he wasn’t really a high point producer last year and he’s getting a little older has a history of putting the Pucks in puck in the net several 20 goal score scoring season so there is Talent there the third line I don’t know if um I feel the the same way about lafy being on the third line with McLoud and Zucker I personally would probably have Greenway up there instead of lafy um and then you look at the fourth line manstein a uh I would have laferty with them I like those three guys Krebs right now he might be on the outside now I am excited about what he could potentially bring to the table under L under rough but he’s gonna have to prove it he’s gonna have to earn his ice time which is something that is probably a good thing for this team because how many guys on the Sabers roster over the last 10 years have had to earn ice time we talk about with the bills with Brandon Bean how competition brings at the best in players because they need they need to prove it I think this is going to bring out uh the best in this young saber team that now actually has some veterans it’s not just a bunch of kids there’s some there’s a bunch of guys now that you can look at and say they have playoff experience they have experience playing in this league defensively how do you have your deep pairings overall yeah um with the de pairings it’s I don’t know I think it’s something for me me that last year was just such a mess on the Sabers back end that it feel like each night there was something different going on on the Sabers blue line and they’d find success one game and then the next game would be completely unknown um so I’m really hoping that you know this year they’re can some find some solidarity there I mean Sam was H for a good chunk of the Season him and Dalene have been you know really lukewarm for a lot of it um so I think my my big Insight is you have your big three your doing your power and uh your Byrum three those three have to get going so whatever other three guys you can plug and play there with Yoki Haru being resigned samon coming back healthy um and that’s going to be huge for this team Conor Clifton as well it’s just what combination of guys can you put together to find some sort of success on the back end and thankfully last year they didn’t have to worry about too much with how well ukcan played in net where in years past that defense would have gotten slaughtered with so many more goals going behind them um so as long as UPL continue to play how he did last year they get some little bit stronger you know uh backup goal tending as well um defense shouldn’t be as too big of concern as long as you know there’s not red flags going everywhere with guys not feeling comfortable but I think with yo carry coming back you know it’s something that I think it’s another gamble what this team’s doing but kind of running it back but I’m kind of interested to see how it all comes together but what are your thoughts on uh what Kevin Adams is doing on the back end yeah so and I just want to get to Steve Noble’s comment first fans talk out of both sides of their mouth well that’s that’s fairly obvious definitely Sabers fans that’s a common thing uh they want trades then the trades happen they’re not the trades that they ended up wanting uh so you’re in a no- win situation um but I I get you Stephen and we’ve talked before um away from the show it’s it’s one of those things where you’re never gonna satisfy everybody and then he also commented here if we trade for top six Ford we are going to overpay big time that’s absolutely the truth as much as I still want a top six forward I’m not going to lie show up I do think a top six forward probably puts this team over the top for being a playoff team next year like you Leap Frog Leap Frog Washington and and the New York Islanders and then New York New Jersey probably gets another spot right there but yeah you’re gonna have to give up a lot and then you have the questions going into the future while if Quinn has a great year PKA has a great year you’re going to have to give them solid money going forward so there is a lot of like questions it’s it’s funny for a team that has had no winning there’s still a lot of salary issues going into the future you have Jeff Skinner’s contract on the books but um looking at the defense right now I think the Sabers have I’m gonna pull up his his card right now a heny Henry Yoki Haru problem Y and the reason being and and you look at Henry Yoki Haru he is not been very good in recent years now he’s not awful he’s not he’s not horrendous he he’s a he’s an okay NHL player some good flashes as well Point has flashes but the issue that you have with him and this has been well documented on several other podcasts covering the Sabers right now so don’t I don’t want it to be coming across like this is my own original thought but he plays really well with Dalene and then he struggles with basically everyone else yeah but when he’s a guy that you look at as one of your bottom two defenseman or a maybe your fourth defenseman having him play solid minutes with Dalene just it doesn’t seem to be a good a good fit a good match ideally I would like to see Byam with dalen I don’t care that they’re both the same hand whatever like the versatility is a thing in sports now uh you don’t need to just do traditional left right and and stick to things like that I would like to see Power with samelson on the second pair and then give me Clifton Yoki Haru with the third pair now the scary thing about that is obviously Yoki Haru struggles with everybody else and then you’re going to put him with Clifton who knows how bad that could be like that could be scary bad and that gives me nightmares at at night but is it something they’re just gonna have to suck up and deal with knowing that you’re gonna have Dalene on the ice for basically 22 23 24 minutes a night you’re gonna have Owen power on the on the ice for 20 minutes a night and then just try to reduce it as much as possible for them that’s probably what I would do but as others said it really might be the move might actually be more important to trade for another defenseman to take Yogi haru’s SP spot more so than trade for a top six forward if you look at what they need because I if you ask me could Benson or Zucker get by on the second line I I tell you I think they probably could now are the Sabers going to get be able to get by with this Yoki Haru problem we’ll see like top end talent wise they have top end Talent like dalen is a top 10 defenseman Owen power will probably be at some point in the near future a top 20 defenseman he’s gonna take a big step this year Bowen Byam in my opinion is extremely talented I I I never quite understood all the complaining about trading middle stat uh for him but he has a lot of ability so I I like this dgroup I just don’t know how Haru is going to screw with all of this but then also bringing Lindy Ruffin how is having a different coach behind the bench going to impact their play as well yeah just whether the the pros of having Byrum and Doan together and how you know they can really Excel each other’s game is worth kind of the cons of a Clifton Yoki Haru pairing and if if whatever if Doan and and uh Byrum really click together and you’re finding a ton of success on offense and on defense because D is one of the best defenders on this team he’s taken massive strides since he’s come onto this team in 2018 I think his defense has been really underrated in recent years um if if those two really click like they were when they first when Byron first got here I don’t know how you just can’t run with that and you know find some sort of way to get that third paing to work whether Jacob Bryson makes an appearance because I thought he was serviceful last year he took a big jump from where he was the year prior he was you know Public Enemy Number One going into last off season he came in when the team needed him and you didn’t hear his name a lot which is a really good thing he did his did his job and he’s probably got to play again this year the Sabres were really banking on no one getting hurt for most of the Season that that trade from a cloud really helped for that because you know you’re not GNA pull up a kid right away if someone does go down um so the same thing on the back end it’s gotta stay healthy and that’s kind of been a big hurting point for this Decor in recent years with Samuelson and whatnot yeah in injury is always going to be an issue some good news you bring in a guy like Dennis Gilbert you still Bryson back you have Ryan Johnson in the AHL some development going on over there so it does feel like defensively they have much more depth which should be beneficial to them going forward now forward wise they don’t really have that depth they’re gonna they’re gonna have to pray that they remain healthy because we saw it last year Tage playing hurt Quinn being out of the lineup tuck with some things throughout the year it kind of destroyed them offensively and they weren’t able to recover they’re kind of doubling down on that this year so uh let’s hope nothing bad happens between now um and later in the season and goal tending wise I think you and me are on the same page right now UPL is is the man but there is some interest right now there is an interesting conversation to be had with when you bring in James Riner on a on a $1 million dollar deal is Levi guaranteed that two spot or is Rhymer your backup goalie entering this year what are your thoughts yeah that something where if it’s another situation where UPL is going to be given the full frontal of the games which I don’t think they’re going to do and in my head what I Envision is some sort of 6040 split UPL Levi where Levi takes a big step after playing a lot of games in Rochester and you know last year was given the keys right off the Geto which I didn’t agree with at the time and it backfired horribly for the team um so I think you know it’s upl’s net but it’s not anywhere close to the amount of games he was playing last year because it was really him or going to hope and pray that you know the team can score that night with him not in the net um so I’m hoping Levi comes in takes that two spot he looks good in Camp um and it’s a situation where we have the 1A 1B of the future where these guys just kind of run for a while um and we find a lot of success and rymer’s just in if an injury were to happen we’re not pulling up you know a guy with not with no NHL experience because that killed the Sabers last year where you’re only relying on one goal tender to make saves every single night and up is getting worked like crazy um and it worked out for the sabers but that you can’t guarantee and plan for that every single season where one of these guys is going to catch fire and you can run with that forever but um yeah I think a fun thing too with the top six is if a guy does go down there where the way this team’s built I wouldn’t be the craziest thing in the world where you know last year where rosan and Kik got called up and they were buried on the fourth line they might see some top six opportunities where they can actually show their game off show some skill even maybe get some Power Play Time crazy because Kik he’s got that one-time in his back pocket where you know if ener does happen it’s not going to be you know kic poo being on the first line this year it could be a young gun hopping in and your bottom six stays exactly where it’s at and that’s kind of exciting for me at least in you know thinking about a bad situation but what are your kind of thoughts on on all that too so I actually like that that point right there because a lot of fans want to see what a Kik can do what a Roseanne can do in the future what Anton Wahlberg uh can do so now you you’re not really creating barriers from them eventually getting opportunities even with the one-year contracts of the fourth line like there’s going to be opportunities for these guys eventually and with injuries you’re going to see them in Buffalo which is exciting and maybe this is actually more of a um a Kevin Adams vouching for his Prospect system than it is uh anything else he’s saying well I I think Benson is our second line guy and if something does happen to one of these guys we have the guys in Rochester that we can depend on so that’s a really good point a couple comments here um RJ mentioning I love the speed we’re getting in McLoud hell I am too when you get a guy in the 100th percentile uh in speed that’s pretty nice there’s only a few guys in the NHL faster than McLoud and one of his former teammates that we all know uh Conor McDavid and then Steve adding to the goalie conversation right here saying I think Levi starts in Rochester we’re blessed that it’s only a 90-minute drive I’m terrified they keep three goalies on the roster Steve I don’t think they’re going to do the three- goalie thing again I think they learned their lesson if they did I’d be extremely disappointed um with Lindy and Kevin Adams one of them will be the starting goalie in Rochester at this point I still think Levi is the Sabers backup based on what he did last year at the end in rodchester he had a 927 save percentage I think he is ready for the next step as you mentioned um gaty I believe Rhymer is more Insurance of let’s have Levi win the job let’s not just give him the job and if Levi wins that competition he should be ready for like I said like you said a 6040 split something like that now if Levi is not ready you you have the the realization that at least you have someone solid that has been a good backup goalie for a long time in the NHL I would feel comfortable with Rymer or Levi being the backup obviously pulling for Levi because I think he is part of the uh the long-term future um I think that ryer move too adds competition like we talked about earlier to every single part of this lineup now whether it’s you know that second line left wing between Bon and zooker and all the plethora of defensemen the you know four five fourth liners that are currently kind of floating around who’s going to be the OD man out to even your backup goenda kind of will in the sabers locker room at times having this competition from the get-go all through summer through training Camp during the season I think it’s a really small detail that might go unnoticed and kind of this new Lindy rough regime where you know just because you were where you were last year doesn’t mean you’re G have that same spot this year and this team needs to win and they’re going to put the players in who can help them win right now and I think that’s a a big thing for this organization moving forward too yeah that’s a huge thing because when when when you think of everything with the saber te like they they need to take that next step and things can’t just be taken for granted anymore you’re going to have to earn Spots You’re going to have to get your players to elevate their game and when you’re talking about a bunch of young players eventually it has to happen or you got to move on from them um so we’ve talked about identity this is going to be a team that’s going to be fast they’re going to try to go up and down the ice but they also have a little bit of grit on that fourth line maybe a little bit more of a netf foot front presence with a Zucker a little bit more of a foreing um ability where it’s not just going to be them having to do things one way and if you stop it they’re out of answers because let’s be real that’s what the Sabers have been the last two years they either score on the rush or they have no ability to put the puck in the net at all and defensively they they’ve had liability so we talked about identity they’re going to be they’re going to be fast they’re going to be uh fun they’re going to be a little bit grittier we talked about projected lines how we think it’s going to look now we got to get to the the big question have they done enough to become a playoff team this upcoming season and before we get to that answer we’re gonna I guess explore what we think these moves meant for how they’re going to get to that point and I’m GNA first off bring up Ryan McLoud here Ryan McLoud is not a point getter he is not a a highly touted offensive guy but you see the pro War at 70% a lot of people loved the move when they they brought him in for for Matt seavoy obviously a lot of fans they hate giving up a talented Prospect like seavoy um because who knows what he’s going to do but the Sabres have a plethora of similar players in their system but one of the underlying things that really I don’t know a lot of people on the surface have been paying attention about McLoud and some of these other guys the Sabers sucked at Puck retrieval and clearing their Zone defensively last year that’s something that Ryan McLoud is very good at and Lindy Ruff asked at a fan event earlier this year was saying that the Sabers need to find more ways of putting Pucks in the back than that that they can’t just rely on one way and he said two years ago one of the best scoring teams in the NHL they had 296 goals third in the league and he said in the NHL teams adjust to what you do they find answers they counter and what you have to do you have to counter back to them Don Granado did not have answers to what the Sabers did what the Sabers were facing when teams found a way to slow down their Rush the Sabers they didn’t know what to do they had no answers so that’s how you see goal scoring go from the upper 290s to the 240s uh that that’s how you see and I’ll pull up the uh the numbers right here you can see H just be one second whenever you want things to pop up it always takes uh a little bit longer so always happens like that can’t find it right now but the goal scoring went down uh significantly um in the past year and so a lot of people would say well what happened with Lindy ru’s New Jersey Devils their goal scoring went down last year well the underlying analytics said the Devils still were generating a lot of elite opportunities despite injuries despite a lot of issues their point totals went down because awful goal tending injuries and they didn’t score as much but they still showed glimpses of having that ability when you bring in Lindy and you have guys like Ryan McLoud basically what they’re trying to say right now is we need to bring in guys that are going to help us get the puck out of our Zone quicker make that exit pass and help us get up ice at a faster Tempo and then we need a mix of guys they’re going to be able to get in front of that go to the boards and do the tough plays I think right now with you and when you bring in some of these guys you can start to see these are the counter moves to help enable the Sabers get back to what they were doing two years ago and I know I just rambled on I went in all different circles right there I brought up McLoud I brought up zooker but give me your thoughts on that because I I really think what we’re gonna see is a Sabers team that’s going to try to go back to more of what we saw when they had nearly 300 goals in 2223 yeah it feels like every move that’s been made this off season I think you’ve tweeted it yourself has a little sprinkle of Lindy Ruff you know decision- making in that process where they’re building a hockey team they’re not building what are the best you know individual players we can get on the roster we look back at like the Casey middle stat trade a phenomenal individually skilled player great with the puck great with movement but if is that what the Sabers want in their third line Center moving forward it doesn’t seem like it Ryan McLoud is I don’t say they complete pull opposite player Casey midd stat but they play two very different games McLoud is heavily on North South speed getting the puck in using his speed as his advantage and I think that’s going to really help the Sabers score goals when you know they’re not going to be able to out skill teams every single night you’re gonna need to find ways to diversify your scoring and I think but you talked about that with Lindy Ruff and the in the fan um uh like thing they had where they want to find guys in front of the net they want to find ways to score goals that are that are ugly because that’s how you really score goals consistently in the NHL yeah you’re G to have these highlight goals T is going to rip a one-time through the netting in games but that’s not going to be 82 games a night there’s GNA have they’re going to need to find ways to score goals late in games when teams really clamped down and when they’re playing top goalies night in night out to because as this team gets better they’re going to be facing less backups they’re gonna be facing the team’s number one goalies you’re have to find ways to get in front of them take their eyes away and and find some better goal scoring and from the the fourth line guys being so speed heavy the saber penalty kill should hopefully be better too and maybe even get some more short-and goals off of that as well using their speed to their advantage but I think a lot of these moves are just building competition and building you know a faster brand of Sabers hockey where your top six you know can go out do some fun things and also work hard to score some greasy goals but you know it’s not relying solely on them for for your goal scoring you’re not going to have KY posto dangling at the Blue Line because the team’s building toward you know not individual skill anymore the team hockey so I think that’s going to work really well for this team especially over the course of an 82 Game season yeah and you don’t want to be too cliche heavy but a hard team to play against like they’re definitely a much more difficult team to face going forward than what they were last year with the speed it’s going to be uh it puts more pressure on your opponents and I I do I am encouraged by a lot of what I’m seeing with this team and it’s important to point out that just because you lose goal scoring in Skinner doesn’t mean that you necessarily have gotten worse two years ago when the Sabers scored in the 290s they were a minus four goal differential they allowed more goals than they scored last year when they were I believe in the the high 230s low 240s they ended the year plus one or plus two in goal differential so they had a better goal differential last year despite scoring 50 less goals uh around that around that Mark and to put a comparison the Sabers of two years ago they scored about 15 16 more goals than the ‘ 056 Sabers that had an 100 10o season but they only had 91 points two years ago so it’s it’s not just how many pucks you put in the net it’s how many pucks you don’t allowing in your own net and I I think that’s an important aspect to this because when Skinner was bought out it made a lot of sense to me from a from a Lindy Ruff perspective I didn’t care one way or another if he was still part of the team or not I like Jeff Skinner but I kept looking at this team and I’m like he is not a top six guy on this squad anymore and if he is you’re put putting with cousins and Quinn is that really what you want to do you want to put a cousins who has struggled defensively early in his career with another guy that has been awful defensively and then you have young Quinn who you want to make that leap and you’re having like he has to be the guy that plays defense on that line like there’s a lot of things that they’ve made where they’re basically saying we have identified our top six these guys are the guys that are going to be carrying our team is there room for another move yes but but we know who five of our top six core guys are going to be and then we’re going to let these bottom six guys just go to work and do their thing so with all this uh being said and then Steve with another comment the newly constructed bottom six is worth at least five more wins that is on the more optimistic side but I do think it is going to make quite a difference uh and I don’t know if there there’s a way to Quant ify uh how much of a change this really will make because not only do you have the different players but you also have a different coach I remember Lindy Ruff when he went to New Jersey the first year the one year there they had 63 points the very next year they had 112 points so coaching definitely does make a difference and we have a point projection uh here this is from Jay fruss on Twitter this was before the Ryan McCloud uh deal earlier this month he had the Sabers at 82 points he said after the trade he’d probably up that to 84 I still think this is pretty low I I I I don’t know if the bottom six will be worth five wins I’m thinking right now around 89 points I’m thinking if I had a big range I’m GNA say on the low end 85 points on the high end 95 points if I wanted to narrow it down to three or four points I’m thinking this team is 88 to 92 points so I’m saying if they play up to the the level that I believe they can if they don’t suffer injuries to their their top six that cost them a lot of games they can be in that playoff mix and they can make it but if they don’t play to their potential if they don’t have bounceback years by cousins by Tage and then that that big step forward that we many of us expect from Jack Quinn they could still struggle and be an 85 86 point team so I’ll ask you what’s your range and then after we do that we’re going to we’re going to ask the big question about are they going to make it or not um what’s your range right now uh going into the season I think that’s a fair assessment and I think one thing we’re not talking about a lot at all which I think really killed the Sabers last season was their non-existent power play so I’m really hoping you know with Lindy coming in and then Seth AER coming up from Rochester that they can really transform that Sabers power play because the skill is there the guys are there they’ve had success in the past but for whatever reason it wasn’t clicking last year so if they can just have a halfway decent power play that’s going to set them apart way more than you know in a better fourth line which the fourth line will help in in other ways but I think a fair range for this team right now and something you know maybe I’m think a little too optimistically but like a 93 points I think is is doable for this roster and I think we talked before this that that cealing could be higher too if you know everything works out in the sabers way where the top six returns to form that bottom six is a lock down UPL has another incredible year your young defense take another step up I don’t say the sky’s limit but you know if you’re looking through with a you know glass half full mentality there are some things to be excited for but just as easy those things could come crashing down if not done correctly and and not done the proper way so having Lindy Ruffin who has a ton of NHL experience compared to previous Sabers hirings where they don’t and you’re kind of just hoping on Vibes and hoping that these young players can just figure it out on their own I think lind’s going to make a big impact on that and I think that that point total is I think doable and I think as much as it’s a gamble it’s a gamble I think is worth taking at this point and it’s going to open yourself up for more success in the future if everything does pay off which I think we’re all hoping it does and RJ chimes in I think better health a slightly better power play than then coming back has to be worth at least 10 extra points that that’s why I’m thinking playoffs possibly like it’s you know Washington was a minus 37 goal differential last year the Islanders were a minus 17 goal differential last year the Toronto Maple Lees had the same amount of Regulation wins as the Buffalo Sabers like we we talk about how last year was just the worst year we’ve ever seen because we had high expectations for the first time in forever but then you like you look at things they went from a minus four goal differential for the Sabers to a positive go differential there’s and this is with like Tage struggling while hurt this is with tuck having a a a going down with Skinner going down cousins going down Quinn’s gone Quinn not playing it’s like if they were 84 points last year with all of that being the case like there has to be some going back to the mean a little bit if the mean is taking a step forward to me that’s at least five points RJ thinks it’s at least 10 points get worse that’s the the part that gives me confidence is I don’t know if Tage Thompson’s going to score near 50 goals again but I don’t think he needs to score 50 goals he had 29 goals last year playing with a messed up wrist so if he’s healthy I think he’s like I don’t know if most sapr fans realize like Tage Thompson even with last year is averaging 38 goals a year the last three seasons so like saying he should score 40 isn’t really like a crazy expectation like that’s what a healthy Tage Thompson should be around um now the hoping cousins and Quinn do things like there is some projecting and and hoping but like like you said the power play like the power play is one of the worst in the League last year if if that just gets to average how many more games do you win in that scenario the playoffs it was we’re right down the wire going into like the last week or two where it was a possibility that team could do it and they have a couple games where they squeak a couple goals out in the power play that no expectations this year either like two years ago when they were when they were in contention zero expectations and we’ve seen when there’s expectations on this team that’s normally when they play some of their worst hockey maybe they they go back to catching some opponents off guard this year maybe they they find a way to to to get some wins there was a point towards the end of last season where the Sabres went 17 12-2 in a 31 game stretch where they outscored their opponents by something like 10 goals over a 31 game stretch so the the savors have we we talked about they have a coach that has is a proven winner in this league they have the talent in their top six they have three top five picks in their defense group two of them number one overall they have a goalie that had one of the best uh saves above expected numbers last year in UPL now can he continue to play at that level that is a big question mark But if he can if last year was the first step of a productive um UPL going forward there’s absolutely every reason to think that this team can be competitive and then you add in the the new bottom six becoming tougher to play against and a and hopefully a better Coach who is better at getting his team to adapt to to what opponents are doing to them and countering those moves absolutely uh possible going forward and Steve here five on five last year was near the top of the league any Improvement in the power play will just make things more like two years ago with the scoring yes and Seth AER had the power play working in Rochester with Jack Quinn Quinn really hasn’t done great in that area in Buffalo can aper get him to another level now I I know there’s some um some Savers Twitter guys that I respect a lot that have some questions about the south aper power play and that’s fair but when you have one of the worst League last year you’re not really going to get much worse any any Improvement is going to help you out so let’s get to um the big big question that our show is all about gatesy will the Buffalo Sabers make the playoffs this season based on everything we’ve talked about based on the improvements in the power play based on the top six finding some sort of of familiarity again I say the Buffalo Sabers will make the playoffs next season and I don’t think that’s an Outlander thing to say with an increased power play UPL doesn’t have to be as fantastic as he was last year it was a young Team guys should take a step up as long as the wheels don’t completely fall off the bus injuries completely decapitate this team I don’t see why why playoffs isn’t a possibility granted last year the playoff threshold was a little bit lower with other teams kind of stumbling towards the end of the season but I don’t think it should come to that for this team to finally and the drought I think the talents there I think with Ruff as a coach I have some belief in me I don’t know if it’s like the seven year old Carson still inside of me looking at at the TV watching the Slugs go up and down the ice but there’s something here that you know when you look at it from an onice perspective that this is starting to make a little bit more sense if you look at purely you know names coming in versus name coming out and you’re looking at through like an NHL GM mode perspective it looks like a downgrade but I think with rough’s coaching style I think with the young roster getting older getting more experience I don’t see how this isn’t in the conversation at all and I think the Buffalo Sabers have a very good chance of making the playoffs next year but tell me your thoughts yeah so first of all that’s bold that’s confident I love it I always go through this um this uh internal battle where yeah how do I feel emotionally versus what does my head tell me and then there’s I’m very probability mined so I’m the type of guy where if you told me you got a 40% chance of making the playoffs but that’s the eighth best odds well then you got to say yes because they got better odds than the teams that are 9ine 10 11 12 and 13 and so forth so this is the way I’m looking at it right now before I give my answer because I want to explain what I’m saying before I say it because then people are G to just jump on me let’s assume there’s like five locks for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference you have uh your your Boston Florida Toronto uh Rangers Carolina like those are your five locks and then you feel pretty confident that Tampa Bay is still still on the right side of making the playoffs who knows will they eventually take a drop maybe I feel fairly confident saying that Washington and New York Islanders are not better than the Buffalo Sabers right now but you have the Devils who are probably going to take a step back to being pretty good against so the Sabers in my mind they’re competing with teams like the Devils Pittsburgh Washington the Islanders Ottawa and Detroit there’s six teams they’re basically competing for two spots hopefully I didn’t miss anybody I really like I said I don’t really like the Islanders much so I’m throwing them out I don’t really like Washington much I know people are going to talk about their offseason moves those weren’t Pier Luke de like whatever like like that’s a move you you look at the stats and you’re like oh he’s better than Ryan McLoud no uh so not for what what the Sabers are looking for so I just threw out two of the six teams that they’re competing so now you have two spots for four teams Ottawa is is is Ottawa better than the Sabers I don’t think so like people have been talking up Ottawa for like the last three years and the Sabers finished with a better record than them almost every single year yeah is is the old Sabers goalie G to make a difference for them is is lenus allar going to be the difference I don’t know I think lenus alark benefited from playing in Boston agreed so I don’t think he gets Ottawa over the top Detroit like let’s be real Detroit they went Bonkers last offseason trying to be a playoff team and they still missed the playoffs like Detroit is the perfect case of why you shouldn’t spend money because they gave up on their prospects and they still didn’t get any further than what the Sabers did two years ago so I’m not putting Detroit there Pittsburgh is Pittsburgh going to make the playoffs I don’t know maybe they can compete for a spot but I don’t really think Pittsburgh where they’re at right now is like if you compare Pittsburgh to Buffalo like they look pretty equal I really do think I see a case where the Sabres get that e spot I I you look at the top end talent and I compare it to Washington I compare it to all these other team the Sabres have the same amount of topend talent if not more when you realize they have young guys that have the the room to grow see the analytics are going to all say well this team played at this level last year well they played like crap last year they played awful they played awful do two years ago they played like this if they get in that middle ground I I think they get it done what odds would I put it at I say it’s like a 5050 yeah I I think those odds are are pretty fair for this team at at 5050 and that might even be on the low just because the teams you rattled off and I don’t know in my head like I hold this team to a pretty high regard in how they should be performing and I think with the players that are put in you know you lose Jeff Skinner but you also Elevate JJ petka who was one of the leading goal scorers last year on that second line who has always had a seem like a different Winger playing alongside of him you throw him next to Tage Thompson Alex those three together those games really compliment each other a lot and I think you’re just kind of hoping that second line figures things out where hopefully it’s Benson because if it’s Benson I think that’s a great sign for this organization because that means he’s ready to go at 19 so if he can rise up to that role I think that would be the best thing for this organization because then you have that top six absolutely cruising that bottom six should be able to lock things down get a couple here and there increase power play defense are hopefully get a little bit better a little bit more in time to to grow because it’s such a young team and then goal tending to like I don’t think it’s fair to expect that the same season we got a UPL last year because that was just out of this world but the Sabers should be a much better team especially defensively where they’re not giving up these really high danger chances anymore where he’s not going to have to stand on his head night in night out where things should hopefully be a little bit more more confirm he’s not moving so much from side to side um but I I again I’m looking through the glass half full but I genuinely do think this team has the pieces there with the right coaching tent lady refer this is a genuine possibility where it’s not just going have to be you know we need Jack eeko score 60 goals this year and this team’s going to find a way to sneak in they’re building a complete roster and I think that’s the right direction right now and going forward yeah and I’m with you on that and some people are going to watch this and they’re going to think we’re nuts right now they’re going to be like oh look at those homers picking the Savers to make the playoffs after 13 years they’re crazy you know what maybe I am crazy I don’t know maybe I am um crazy for supporting this team but this is what I would say when everybody was all high on the Sabers last year about them making the playoffs you know who didn’t pick them and make the playoffs last year this guy this guy you know why because two years ago I think they outperformed what they really were and there was metrics that said they were they were going to regress offensively now last year I think they underperformed and there’s things that point to a little bit more production out of them so if you acknowledge that two years ago they overperformed than last year they underperformed you would get to say split the difference you’re at 87 and a half points 88 points so a lot of people would be like well Mike that’s still not enough to get into the playoffs well that’s where I’m making the difference being you have a much more experienced coach you have a much more complete roster and you have two more years of experience for all of your prospects where they have developed and grown even if you haven’t seen all the results on the ice they are getting better during practice off the ice and from a coaching aspect we saw as I mentioned a devil’s team go from 63 points to 112 in one season under Lindy Ruff so it’s not unreasonable to think that just a coaching aspect could give you a a big bounce we mentioned the penalty kill was one of the worse in the League last year that bounces back that could be worth a couple wins uh the p i mean the power play that with the power play was one of the worst in the league but then even the penalty kill you’re bringing Ryan McLoud you’re bringing Beck manstein those are fast guys that are good penalty Killers press your opponents make improve your penalty kill at the same time make have your top guys killing penalties either all the time you’re not gonna have and they can come out later in the game and have all that juice too it’s not gonna be easier on your goalies and and we saw at the beginning of last year they took a chance on Levi and he just wasn’t ready for that that opportunity at that time Levi showed at the end of the year he he’s ready for professional hockey people can say oh he only had 8.99 save percentage in Buffalo you doing 927 save percentage in the AHL as a 22- year old you should compare that to what UPL was doing in the AHL his first four or five years the upl’s numbers versus Devin Levi’s numbers in the AHL they’re not even close and if UPL is this as a 25y old what’s Levi going to be like in in three four years so and you have the insurance delene scoring 20 goals last year like you got offensive Talent on your blue line Bowen Byam could be a 40-point guy for all we know Owen power has 40o potential and I I know offense isn’t the only thing that matters you but I Samuelson can he get more games in can can he stay healthy uh can power continue to be a shutdown guy and I know everybody hates on power because he’s tall and he’s not physical enough Lindy r had a perfect rebuttal to that during the Sab blue and gold Fan event he has longer reach he there’s other ways of getting the puck away from forwards you don’t need to just hit a guy as long as you get the puck off their stick and you’re able to get it out of your Zone you’re doing your job and power does that so I I’ll say I I I’m gonna pick them to make the playoffs how many points would you say right now now now this is the crazy part like we we said the ranges how what’s going to be your actual prediction uh for points I think anything short of 91 would be a l I think 93 is very doable in terms of just things working out in the way that everyone’s envisioning right now where you know things kind of return to normal for the scoring in the top six and the power play gets to least average you do that and I think that’s beyond doable you don’t even have to factor in you know all these all your star players getting a year better because it’s not like a team like Pittsburgh where you know each year it’s getting tougher and tougher with guys you know regressing and and getting older these guys are finally starting to hit their Prime get a couple years of League experience under their belt and move up the Sabers pecking order where they’re young guys are are taking over this team now and it’s not a huge Reliance on you know maybe some veterans like a Jeff Skinner or an Alex tuck to to Really find the goal scoring where JJ bker is going to hopefully find that first line you could have a second line of Benson cousins and Quinn granted cousins have has a lot of NHL experience now but you’re still building toward that future at the same time and I think 93 is very very possible under the right circumstances hey great minds think alike I’m not gonna go 93 because you just said it I was thinking it I’m gonna go 94 I told you my range earlier was 85 to 95 so I’m going on the optimistic side of my range Steve super optimistic 100 points Steve if the Sabers got 100 points I’m going to be so ecstatic like it’s going to be a party because I got a Sabers half seon ticket plan this year first time I’ve ever had this many Sabers tickets I went to I’ll tell you this this is kind of crazy I went to eight Sabers home games last year they went seven and one so we’re talking about a team that uh barely finished above 500 but they they win when I go when I was a kid during the the hashek days they won the first seven games I ever went to so I bring luck to this team I don’t know if they know when I’m there and they just want to play up for me but I have this sense of confidence in the team and the I guess I’ll wrap it up by saying it’s not just one single thing that that’s happened that gives me this feeling of confidence I I had some confidence even when they were struggling last year because I believe in the young talent in this team and I feel like there was a few things that handicapped them last year as we’ve already gone uh into but it’s also the the mathematical side of numbers things balancing out that the you say in a lot of sports there’s there’s things that they go up and down but there’s always that middle ground I think last year was an anomaly in the wrong direction so I do think there’s a middle ground that will lead to some improvement whether the penalty the power play whether it be their Stars performing so I am I am optimistic and and with Lindy back I I it has to happen eventually it it has to happen eventually and there’s so many fans that are gonna that are going to take the approach this team sucks Kevin Adams Never does enough like blah blah blah blah blah but the the fact is if you just watch this team and and you look at the numbers and and you see developmental Cur eventually with young teams with high-end talent that they surround them with veterans and a good coach it eventually it eventually just happens yeah I’m betting that it’s gonna happen now and if it comes to the point too of it’s going to have to happen with this core so if you don’t think it’s G to like happen now when is it going to happen because this is the time for this SC to figure it out to put the pieces together to find you know long-term success and if it’s not now why are we still running the same song and dance every year with with that same group at some point you’re have to make a drastic change and I believe in this score I think we all do because we’ve seen so many flashes of it being a really big success and it comes to the point where with hopefully under Lindy Ruff with the additional changes with guys getting more and more anal games under their belt that sustained success can continue and they can get over that that hurdle finally and I think now is the time and they’ve gone through a lot of that hardship of falling on their face year in and year out and you know coming just short of of ending the drought and having so much attention put on them for things that have happened way before their tenure in Buffalo and I think at some point that’s got to crack through and I think now now is the time for the score yeah I’m with you on a lot of that and I’ll I’ll wrap up my thoughts before we get to our our final thoughts there’s a lot of sometimes FES and I’m trying to think how to word this a lot of times the way fans and even reporters think they they can’t this is a tough way to word it because when you when you have 13 years of missing the Playoffs it for a lot of people it’ll justify negativity just because the results don’t match what you want them to do doesn’t mean that the team is making dumb decisions all the time you can make right decisions and still H or make decisions for the right reasons and the right logic and still have it fall flat on your face and I think what has happened with the Sabers and is a lot of this is like Kevin Adams is just put in a difficult situation like it’s hard to make trades when the majority of good players have no trade Clauses and they don’t want to come to Buffalo partially your fault because your team hasn’t won but also partially for things that are out of your control control because you took over a team that was really bad that is in a colder city that is smaller that is not a desirable place for most NHL players to live um that’s out of your control um when you have to overpay players because New York state taxes more are more and that’s out of your control and I think the 13 years has worn on everybody but there needs to be an understanding that the way Kevin Adams has addressed this rebuild is drastically different than how his predecessors badell and Tim Murray addressed their rebuilds Tim Murray was all about instantaneous success after a tank he he sucked for two years got eel and Reinhardt and then traded away the farm trying to win right away and that team had no depth bodell takes over at a stage where they have some of those guys but they don’t really have a farm and but there’s the pressure to win now so he he he didn’t really have the the the ability to be patient to to rebuild that farm but there’s also the pressure to win so he’s trading for guys that aren’t necessarily the guys that you need to trade for to help take that next step and then by the time Adams is here he’s just trying to save it that’s why he brings in Taylor Hall yeah IO Reinhardt everybody wants out by that point and yes maybe he should have bridged Reinhard but like whatever it didn’t it it didn’t happen um or signed Reinhardt long time long term didn’t happen so Adams goes on the full board rebuild nine years into a drought like 10 years into a drought so like people look at him and they’re like God we suck like and and like we’re not doing the moves to win well the how many guys have we seen take their game to another level we’ve seen Tage Elevate tuck comes in he becomes a player PKA is a hit so far cousins fans are divided I think he’s a good player I think Quinn is a good player Benson makes the team right away like so like it’s tough to tell fans to be patient and last year I do think he made a mistake not being aggressive enough but I think Adams has actually done a lot of things that if we didn’t have a 13-year playoff drought we would say these are smart decisions these are going to build a a sustained successful team over Long Haul but we just the the losing for so long is just your cat’s having some fun she your cat wants to know what’s going on here but it it just it makes it hard to to look at everything from a rational approach and the final thing I I will say on this thought a lot of people talk about complain about how Reinhardt wasn’t signed long term and how a lot of these guys get away from Buffalo or how when they finally developed then we let them go and they went a cup elsewhere identifying Dalene power Tage cousins samelson and so forth that does show aggressiveness in which you’re identifying the guys that you do believe will be great in the future and just because you’re one year two they didn’t have the best year doesn’t mean that year three year four year five year six you’re not going to reap the benefits of that and I do think right now fans rather than looking at the there’s Room to Grow they’re looking at it as Tim Murray failed BMA failed Krueger failed Granado failed badell failed Housley failed and they just assume this is going to fail I’m here to say I don’t think this is going to fail my question is is this year the year they end the drought or is next year the year they end the drop and the thing is if it’s not this year I’m worried that they’re going to make another mistake trying to guarantee it for the following year when it is something that I this this core I believe in it it’s going to have to work and the only thing in my head that you know this team doesn’t make it is either a lot of injuries or there’s a serious problem with the core in here and at that point there’s a lot of really difficult conversations I think are going to have have to be made um but that’s a situation I hope we never have to get to because we have a lot of hockey before then and a long off season and who knows what left is still to do still got a couple days on arbitration for Uka Lucin it and that’s something here from Steve it’s like I would love the Savers to offer she you know top six4 because that’ be fun as hell but you’re opening up the door for son is s a crazy offer sheet towards UPL that you’d have to match and I think that’s a dangerous game right now if UPL ass signed at this point what do we have to lose but I’m slightly scared of you know that opening up a little bit of can of worms that you’re going to have to you know sign up to a massive deal because you cannot let him walk next season and then petka and Quinn in the future you’re going to want to lock them down on Jeff skin keep pushing money down the line but you also have the Skinner uh contract that comes into play even with the cap going up if Benson continues I know Benson that’s years away from now so I’m not even gonna talk about B who cares about that contract at Point conversation but there are other there are other contracts to to worry about and you do want to still have room to be able to bring on guys trade or free agency wise the future but okay we’re going to wrap it up right now gaty uh both of us picking the Savers to make the playoffs next year we I’m sure we’re gonna uh get some heat from uh other fan bases that end up watching this on YouTube after the fact but uh what are your final thoughts uh as we wrap up this show yeah I I these These are something these words I do stand by that I think we both believe in the sabers core and we’ve seen so many flashes and we see the direction that the actual team is being built now that there’s a team being built for this Following season it’s not you know here are some really good young players and some guys we can get on a vet minimum to to fill out the roster this is a hockey team that has an identity that has a coach that knows how to win this league that knows how to win in Buffalo and can get people interested in this team again because the Sabres have no right to deserve any sort of fan interest after the past 13 Seasons yet there’s fans dying for this team that are they’re wanting it so badly and I think now is the time and I think it’s there it’s just you know the gamble that this organization is taking on guys return to form I think is a is a worthy gamble to take at this point in time and you know again would we have liked the top six it wouldn’t have hurt but I do not despise the Gamble and I’m excited to see a Sabers team that has built more than on a couple High skilled forwards in Dalene I’m excited to see a full hockey team that’ll Play 60 minutes that’s not going to be the worst first period team in the NHL by a large margin they’re going to be a fun team to watch and I think we’re gonna have a real hockey team in Buffalo to be proud of for a change yeah I I second everything you just said and it it definitely is going to be nice not to just be a team based on skill because say whatever you want about aoso gurgenson some of the other guys at the bottom of the lineup in recent years good players they they’ve had solid careers lengthy careers the Sabres needed change they needed to get rid of the the losing culture that was in that room and you saw what the bills did how they got out of their drought back in the day a lot of it was getting rid of the guys that have just been part of all the losing and whether or not you’re the reason why the losing is happening or not sometimes you just need to get new faces in the locker room and when you’re when you’re replacing uh the bottom six and you’re putting guys like McLoud in there with Zucker uh with um a Cel uh with malen Stein um and so forth these are guys that are new to Buffalo they’re not coming in expecting to lose they they’re they want to be part of the change so they already identified their core now they fix the guys at the bottom that that are going to have a new mindset with a coach that has been here and has won and expects to win in this city I I think it’s going to rejuvenate things and I think slowly fans are going to to realize because I’m I’m telling you this once it start start S clicking with these guys it’s going to be it’s going to be fun like I I’m not saying 056 is gonna happen overnight like I’m not saying that but I have gone on the record to say I do think at some point in the next two to three years this will be one of the top teams in the NHL people think I’m crazy you know what I have a good history of projecting stuff I have a very good history more so in in football and uh College college basketball as well but I’m now going to try to carry that over into the NHL and I I really do see the the footprints in place for this team to to make the jump I I don’t think they’re going to do that that 63 to 112 that we saw New Jersey do under rough a couple seasons ago but 84 to 94 84 to 95 96 97 maybe they surprise me and they can get even higher I I see I see the vision so I I’m excited to see it actually play out on the ice and and hopefully we can get some winning hockey to really change the culture not just on the ice with this team but off the ice with this fan base because even though I understand all the frustration and all the anger and and negativity surrounding this team it’s not fun to be that way and it has gotten very toxic in recent years and a lot of the fans that do have glass half full personalities like myself who even though we’re glass full like we realize when the team sucks they suck we just don’t need to say it every single post on on Twitter I think we we’re we’re anxious to get back to to talking about hockey and not being afraid of being insulted every time we say something good about the team and when you when you look at some of the beat members uh the beat reporters the Matthew fairb burs um even Mike Harrington and uh Chris Baker from Sab prospects you’re starting to see the local guys say stuff like things are changing in that building things are changing with the roster construction and normally the local guys see it a little bit before the national guys I can understand the national people being hesitant to to talk this team up after they disappointed a bunch of people that picked them to make the playoffs last year but I see the tides turning and hopefully we’re talking Sabers playoff hockey a year from now and taking the question a year from now gatesy isn’t are they going to make the playoffs it’s are they going to take the next leap to being they one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference that’s what I’m hoping for but uh and I know I you said some final thoughts anything you want to counter with me before we wrap up no that sounds good I mean we talked for like an hour or 10 so there’s there’s a lot of Sabers hockey here and there’s a lot more to talk about too this offseason so this won’t be the the last time you hear from us and I think this is a a lot more we can we can do and say and got a lot of offseason left to uh to uncover 81 days till uh puck drop it’s G to be fun I’m just going to get to these final three comments and then we will uh say our goodbyes RJ every GM wants to play nice uh but whatever use all the offer seats you can hey in perfect world that would be the way we do it RJ but uh unfortunately we just know that’s never really gonna happen in the NHL Steve who’s your next Captain I think gaty you would probably agree with me it’s gonna be Rasmus Dalene uh best guy best talent on this team but also a guy that has been a leader on and off the ice for this squad well liked by his teammates has a physical presence on the ice and also one of the most talented Sabers defenseman I’ve ever seen it’s tough too like we’re not in the locker room no one can fully say so I think it’s something that whatever decision Ruff makes I think it’s something to go by here and then Duke this team just has too many question marks right now for me to say with any conviction that they’re making the playoffs that’s perfectly Fair as as mean gatesy said even with us picking them to make the playoffs we’re around 5050 so we’re not really saying with conviction we’re more so saying we think we like them more than we like Pittsburgh Washington the devils and those teams and then we’re gonna just wrap up with the final uh questions uh avoid extra attention on Tage tuck tuck would be an interesting Captain I I will agree I I think you would like him too uh but Dalene is probably gonna be the guy yeah uh and then uh appreciate everybody uh that tuned in Steve appreciate the comment right there uh same with RJ uh you guys stayed with us for a full hour plus that that means the world to to all of us uh do appreciate your comments at the end of the show and then Real Deal Prime playoffs 100% and now we have a playoff type roster hey we had some positivity from our commentators commenters on this show so uh guys we’re gonna be trying to do a lot more of this going forward obviously it’s the summer we’re probably going to be quiet for the next U month and a half but come September training camp you’re gonna see a lot of gatesy you’re gonna see a lot of me you’re going to see the other guys from two goalies one Mike train W Sports we have you covered with Savers hockey this fall we’re we’re not just going to always be negative we’re going to try to be realistic have positive and negative takes whatever fits uh the team uh at that moment in time but highly recommend you guys continuing to check out our coverage we appreciate everyone that Tunes in you can find gatesy on Twitter tell us your Twitter handle quick at gatesy 35 you have any questions you about myself or bun to answer send them to us there or at crossing swords pod uh we’ll do our best to to answer them in future things are are right there in the moment but this is an exciting team with a lot of questions and I think there’s a lot of input from a lot of people that we can uh take into account too and then you can find me at mikor bunt and then also make sure to check out my YouTube channel at bunt takes uh I got you cover for the bills the Sabers UB football UB basketball and kious basketball Niagara basketball I’m credentialed by several different outlets in Buffalo and let you in on a little uh breaking news here I will be covering the bills training camp practice on July 28th at St John Fisher have access so wow stay tuned for that uh going forward so there’s going to be a lot of stuff that we have going forward but final goodbye thanks gatesy for joining me and let’s hope the Sabers can finally give us something to cheer about this upcoming season let’s go savers

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