- 4 days ago
Mike Schopp and the Bulldog discuss whether or not it's time for the Sabres to go all-in on a playoff push, their first in more than a dozen years.
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00:00No, it's getting close. The deadline is in one week.
00:03That's right, a week from today.
00:05And have you honed in on all of this? What they are, what they lack, who they might be willing
00:13to sell for a part to help them do what? Make a run? Get in?
00:21Let's kind of get specific on what this is, if you want.
00:26Yeah, I did a little on Wednesday, some of this.
00:32All right, moving on.
00:33The Breyer starts tonight.
00:35I didn't go long and hard.
00:39And I'm not honed in on, like, I want this guy or not that guy.
00:45But I think, like most observers, I think they almost, I'd be very surprised, anyway, if they didn't add a
00:57depth defenseman.
00:58An experienced, you know, 30-year-old guy on the blue line.
01:02I don't even really care how much money he makes if it's only for a year.
01:05I just need a guy to play 16 or 18 minutes just to upgrade, just in case Timmons doesn't come
01:13back from his injury real well.
01:16Or if Kesselring has another problem, because it's just been one thing after another for him this year.
01:22And I think they really need another guy that they can trust.
01:26And it'll be sheltered minutes.
01:28Those top four are going to play the hardest minutes on the team amongst them.
01:33And I think you just need an upgrade of what you've got behind them.
01:39To, you know, mix in with, you know, Metza and Bryson and, again, Kesselring.
01:44Those are the three guys that are playing those two spots right now, while Timmons is still hurt.
01:49I think another guy, another Timmons, basically, I guess, is kind of all I'm looking for.
01:56I did, I know, I know, I get the impression Sneaky Joe has sort of been crushing on the Tyler
02:04Myers idea.
02:04His name came up in here a couple of weeks ago, I feel like, amongst us.
02:08I like that idea fine.
02:10I don't see the Sabres mentioned in that.
02:13He's been sitting games since the return.
02:15I don't think they had one game.
02:17He didn't play, and it was thought to be for trade reasons.
02:20And there's, you know, No Move Claws and Detroit and Dallas and, I think, another team that I've seen mentioned.
02:27Without any mention of the Sabres.
02:28So, I don't know if that means anything.
02:30It doesn't have to.
02:32But, you know, just a player like him, even.
02:35Someone who was highly touted at one time in his career, but is basically just sort of playing out the
02:40string as a journeyman.
02:41And I could plug him in for 15 minutes in the most comfortable, sheltered matchups and feel like, all right,
02:48you know, he moves pretty well, moves the puck all right.
02:51He's not producing points like he did in the middle of his career, or certainly early in his career.
02:56But I got other guys for that.
02:58So, someone like that, to me, would make a lot of sense.
03:02Is, dare I say it, Ristolainen someone like that?
03:07At $2.1 million more, both on the last years of their deal.
03:11I think it would be hilarious if they did that.
03:14Definitely would be hilarious.
03:15And what I don't know is, if you used him like I'm describing, could that work?
03:23You know, if you're not counting on him to play 22 minutes against the best competition, could that help you?
03:30And I don't know the answer to that, because I don't know that we've ever seen him.
03:34I've been following how he's being used in Philadelphia.
03:37I feel like I'm his all-time biggest critic.
03:40Right.
03:40But how could the answer to that be no?
03:43How could he not help you in that role?
03:45Right.
03:46Okay.
03:46I mean, maybe you could do better.
03:49Sure.
03:50You probably can do better.
03:51Yeah.
03:51Somewhere based on whatever, size, money, age, specific role, left, right, I don't know.
03:59Right.
03:59Whatever the other variables would be.
04:00But if I'm not asking this guy to do too much, which really that's what I'm building here, then maybe
04:06that does work.
04:07You know, as long as you don't try to play him, you know, against Sidney Crosby, maybe you're okay.
04:13So what is that?
04:14A draft pick?
04:15Yeah.
04:15I would think.
04:16Not even a high draft pick, like a third-round draft pick or something?
04:19Shouldn't be a high pick.
04:20Okay.
04:20Is that it?
04:22Is that it?
04:24And, I mean, I'm not loading this question.
04:26I know.
04:27Is that it?
04:27And what then am I shooting for?
04:31What am I trying to do?
04:33Everybody's trying to win it.
04:35So the Sabres would say they were trying to win it.
04:37Yeah.
04:38Fine.
04:40I don't know what the difference is in this league this year, or at least in the East, between getting
04:46in and winning the conference.
04:47Like, really, it's pretty live.
04:50Yeah.
04:50So I don't want to, not that you really can do this, like, you're not going to intentionally make a
04:55move that sort of caps you at a certain point.
04:59The games are too random, and it's too close.
05:02But I don't want to do anything that would sort of mitigate my chances.
05:06If you're in it, be in it, is what I'm saying.
05:09And if that means a good draft pick, if that means a good prospect, and if that even means, like,
05:15someone up front, I think I want to listen.
05:18Yeah.
05:19I think that's certain.
05:21They're not even in yet.
05:22That's within reason, I think, for sure.
05:24When I talked about this on Wednesday, a point I kept making is, I think, right now, you know, aside
05:33from outside people coming in, like acquisitions, which is what we're talking about,
05:38I think the single biggest wild card variable, whatever synonym of that you want, for them right now is Norris.
05:47So I feel like Norris is a fantastically talented, productive player.
05:56And if he can play these 20, well, 24 games now and stay healthy in the playoffs, I think they
06:03can finish second or third.
06:05And I think they can, you know, they're not, if they get that, they're playing Detroit or Montreal or Boston,
06:10most likely.
06:11One of those three teams right now.
06:15Coin flip at worst.
06:16Yeah.
06:16And even any of the stuff, anybody that's behind there, if they were to get hot and displace one of
06:20those teams for Friday, of course, it's not you.
06:23So, yeah, that's not, whether you're the three or the two is immaterial, I think that's a matchup you would
06:30be live in.
06:31And then from there, I mean, what are we talking about?
06:33We're, you know, we're into the second round.
06:34And so I think it's, if you agree with the premise that Norris is enough of a meter mover to
06:43me, then adding another guy, like if you, if you had, could find your way to, Jack Quinn is always
06:50the guy that I settle on.
06:51I feel like of the, of the youngish guys here, he's the one, like the, the younger guys, like I'm
06:59not eager to move Ausland or even Hellenus at this point.
07:03Um, I would move Quinn because I feel like we might be at his peak here and it's, it's all
07:10right.
07:10You know, he's, he's had, he's had some good moments.
07:13Um, but if I could find an upgrade to his spot and include him in the deal, yeah, then I'm
07:22talking about ones, you know, I'm talking about draft picks and prospects.
07:26Um, I think, yeah, I'm, I'm talking about making a buyer move more than supplementing my decor with a depth
07:33player.
07:34I could add a top six guy to this team.
07:37I think it's, it's not uncalled for.
07:40And it would further to me, make them a team that could go further than just win a round.
07:45There are a fair number of teams.
07:48I think this is more true of the East than the West that are already kind of cooked.
07:54Maybe in a week, this will be even clearer.
07:56If everybody plays four more games first and we're down to 20 games, how many is it though?
08:01It's not that many.
08:02That's what, you know, you, you got to limit your ideas to teams that are dead.
08:10And how many teams is that?
08:12Or will that be in a week?
08:14It might be five at most in the East.
08:17Okay.
08:17Yeah.
08:18At most in the East.
08:19Yes.
08:20Including Ristolainen's Philadelphia Flyers.
08:23Um, they, they, they, they, I feel like Toronto and Florida, I mean, Ottawa's in the same boat, I guess.
08:29So, I mean, maybe I should include, maybe I should make it six or make it four.
08:33Is Florida going to dump though?
08:34See, I don't know.
08:35That's the thing about the, at least in the Atlantic, the three teams that are the farthest away, Ottawa, Toronto,
08:44Florida,
08:45I think all to different degrees, but especially Florida because they're who they are.
08:51Um, I don't want to rule them out yet.
08:55And I would be surprised if they're ruling themselves out the, this run for them began, you know, in a
09:01year where they didn't win the cup,
09:02but they were this team, they were, you know, fighting it out with the Sabres and a bunch of other
09:07teams for the last spot in the East.
09:09And they got it and they went all the way to the final.
09:11So it's funny that the Sabres teams of the last decade, especially toward the beginning side of the drought, when
09:19you're nine points out, that's Florida, 24 games, nine points.
09:25It's more than it may sound.
09:27You've got all these other teams between you and the spot.
09:30I'm, you know, me already, I'm already wired this way.
09:32Like, I'm pretty quick to like, all right, let's sell it.
09:34Let's, let's be sellers.
09:36Who do we have?
09:37You know, cause we're not winning and that part of that logic always was, can I really win the Stanley
09:44cup?
09:44When you're not in a playoff drought, that's what the, that's the point is not whether you can get in
09:51the playoffs, which teams in the NHL have make the playoffs as their goal one.
09:59I mean, really, that's not everybody's goal.
10:01The goal is to win it all.
10:03And so you, you want to, I think, look at your roster and be objective as you, as objective as
10:09you can be about it and then say, well, is this a team that's capable of winning a championship?
10:14Now, I don't, I don't know that I want to say the Sabres are exactly capable of winning the Stanley
10:20cup, but it's pretty close in the conference.
10:23And they are a team whose goal is to make the playoffs or was, if it isn't anymore, like they're
10:30not in yet.
10:31So it's always, this is what's interesting about it all.
10:34Like in football too, all sports teams with their different calculuses, if that's the right word, calculi on just sort
10:42of what, welcome to the show calculi.
10:44Um, what their vision is, if I'm Florida, you know, screw it.
10:52I don't have to sell anybody.
10:53Maybe I, maybe I want to, a guy's on an expiring contract and he's not really helping me.
10:58There's always, there's always merit to that, but I don't have to really do anything.
11:04I could, I could die in game 82 and have a parade because of the run that I've, I've been
11:10to the finals three times in a row.
11:11So, so that's one Toronto is in between the Sabres and the Panthers where they've had playoff appearances.
11:20Lots of them haven't really gotten anywhere.
11:23If you're at the end of your life cycle as a group, then you could, you know, last night was
11:29bad for them.
11:30And the night before even that they've lost back-to-back games in Tampa and then Florida.
11:35Right.
11:35Um, yeah, and that's a team that I think should be real about what they've been all year because all
11:42year they have been this team.
11:45There's there, if you watch them in October and November and then watch them again, you know, the last couple
11:51of nights or before the break, they're, they, they're not, they're not good.
11:55They don't have it.
11:56They do not have what they've had in years past.
11:59Losing Marner took a lot out of what their fastball was.
12:03And with that said, they're a team and organization that has spent year over year with that core trying to
12:11find another pitch because just scoring wasn't going to be enough.
12:14We need more grit.
12:15We need more toughness.
12:16We need more, whatever it is that Marner, Nylander, Matthews, and Tavares don't represent.
12:21We need more of that.
12:23We need more of not those guys.
12:25And, you know, it's now working out.
12:28The goaltending has not been stable and they've had big injuries.
12:32And to me, I mean, it's still close enough.
12:36They're nine points behind where the Sabres are right now, I guess.
12:40And that makes them eight points out of a wildcard spot because Boston is still holding that down.
12:44And they're a point behind Buffalo.
12:46So could they win a couple games between now and next Friday and feel like we're within striking distance?
12:52Probably.
12:55But that's an organization that for the first time in a long time, Toronto, that should be looking in the
12:59mirror going, we don't have it.
13:01I don't know that they will because of the market they're in, but they should look at themselves and go,
13:05we don't have it.
13:05How do you feel about the timing of the deadline?
13:09Is there enough time to convince teams like the Leafs or the Panthers that it's too late?
13:16I mean, you'll have 20 games left about.
13:19And maybe that, when you're nine points out, we did the 10-game winning streak dance back when Kevin Adams
13:28was still the GM.
13:30And, you know, ha, ha, ha.
13:32Then they went and did it and caught up.
13:35They caught up from a deficit like this.
13:37Or even a lesser one by winning 10 in a row.
13:41So, is that what Toronto is looking at or Philadelphia is looking at?
13:48Like, would the math look the same way to them?
13:52Because when Paul was talking about a 10-game winning streak when the Sabres had 60 games left, like, come
13:58on.
13:58They really don't need 10 straight.
14:00They kind of did.
14:01Just to get in it.
14:02They did.
14:03And now there's 24 left.
14:05And they're a few points ahead.
14:07You know, they've won since then.
14:08They haven't won, you know, a long winning streak since then.
14:11But still, they've kept up.
14:13Wednesday was big.
14:14Wednesday was, like, this is an even game.
14:17And to get a regulation win in a game like that.
14:19Like, we've got one more play than the Devils did.
14:23Like, those are the ones, I think, that kind of make the difference at the end of the season.
14:27When you can win those boring games where nothing really happens.
14:31Right.
14:32And you still get two points.
14:33You just get a couple of great plays from your best guy and you get home.
14:36Your goalie makes some big saves.
14:38And, yeah, that's a road win.
14:40Thanks for coming.
14:40Well, you mentioned Quinn.
14:42Isn't it always Quinn?
14:44Yeah.
14:44Like, he's everybody's name for this.
14:46He's power play minutes.
14:48I don't know.
14:48Do you think the Sabres would think the same way of him as the guy that would be movable?
14:56Or is he maybe, by his usage, seemingly more important to them than that?
15:02Like, is he somebody that they would not want to relinquish as opposed to, like, a Hellenius or someone like
15:08that who I would like to see back up here?
15:11Like, I'm ready for him to come back and I don't want to see him traded.
15:14Right.
15:14I said, same.
15:16I mean, that's why when I mentioned Quinn, I think I even said, like, there's young guys I don't want.
15:22Ausland and Hellenius to me are the guys at the top of the list.
15:26Assuming you're also, you know, not willing to trade, you know, Tuck or Tom, you know, whatever.
15:32The big guys, the mainstays.
15:35Which that's out.
15:35Yeah, of course.
15:36Yeah.
15:37Like, that is not happening.
15:40So, I think it's so obvious that it took us 10 minutes of this conversation to even mention his name.
15:46You know, so I don't know that they're going to get him signed, but I cannot imagine a scenario where
15:49they're trading him with the year that they're having and even he's having.
15:53So, yeah, Quinn is it.
15:55And it feels to me because when I watch and I don't, I'm not sure if the numbers back this
16:01up, I just feel like he is all around play.
16:04Like, he is the guy that I worry the most about.
16:08Like, defensively.
16:09Does he have it?
16:11So, you know, I might not get a perfect guy if I go try to trade for someone who's an
16:16upgrade in scoring for him.
16:19But at least maybe I'd get more scoring if I'm still going to have someone who's a bit of a,
16:24you know, of a defensive concern.
16:26So, like, that to me is the one.
16:28Because he's sort of, he's in between enough.
16:30He's not as young and promising anymore as Kalanus or Auslan, at least in my opinion.
16:38And he never really graduated to, like, what Paterka was before he got traded away or, you know, what the
16:45guys at the top of the lineup are.
16:47He's sort of in between.
16:48Right?
16:49He's young 20s, but he's not the core.
16:52He's not an up-and-comer anymore.
16:55Like, you feel like you've got a baseline of what and who he is.
16:58And, you know, with all that said, he has reclaimed enough of his career.
17:04Like, it looked for a little while after the leg injuries, back-to-back leg injuries, like, I was worried
17:09about him being, you know.
17:12Useful at all.
17:12Useful at all.
17:13Right.
17:13And I think he's managed to do that.
17:15So, I don't feel like I have a, I don't have a crisis there.
17:19But if I could get better there, I would dip into my stuff, you know, my picks, my prospects, and
17:26see what I can shake loose.
17:30It's so much fun being on the other side of this for once.
17:34Yeah, I know.
17:35As opposed to.
17:36I'm not thinking at all about selling anyone here.
17:39Yeah.
17:39You know, there's just not, it's not, they're far enough in, while they're not, they don't have it made, right?
17:46It's five points still.
17:49I feel like they're safe enough that I don't have to even think about Alex talk.
17:53It's not, if they were on the edge, if they were Ottawa right now, or Washington, five points back is
18:00what Washington is.
18:01Ottawa's a little further.
18:03Ugh, what do I want to do?
18:05Do I want to go, you know, do I want to add?
18:07Do I want to keep going?
18:07Do I want to divest myself of talk?
18:09What do I do?
18:10I think being where they are in the standings takes talk completely off the table.
18:16Yes, and that is such an awkward position, especially, again, if you're in that playoff drought, and you might think
18:23it's just worth more to make it, because you haven't in so long.
18:26Your fan base is so desperate, and maybe your job status and everything like that.
18:31Well, compared to other years, they're not going to be sellers, obviously.
18:34But what we were talking about with them last year at this time, as I remember it, wasn't so much
18:41trades as it was speculation that they would keep veterans, you know, and we didn't always think they should, because
18:51they, quote, wanted to be here.
18:53That stuff with Adams.
18:55That was Jason Zucker.
18:56And, I mean, Samuelson was already signed, but we wanted to be done with Samuelson.
19:00Greenway was an extension last year, too.
19:04That's right.
19:05And so far, I mean, Adams isn't around for it, but he and they have gotten paid off.
19:13Zucker certainly has been a very important part of the team.
19:16Greenway, I like him when he's there, but holy cow, this has been a lost year for him.
19:20So they went one for two on those two veteran extensions, I'd say.
19:24You're forgetting how interesting he was when he was miked up.
19:27Mm-hmm.
19:28That's always interesting.
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