- 16 minutes ago
Jeremy White, Owen Parker, and Joe Cali kick off a Friday morning by discussing the Sabres as they are 10 games into their season and in the middle of some big trade rumors. They start by discussing the latest update to the Connor Hellebuyck saga, and how frustrating the drawn out nature of the situation has become. This leads the guys to a larger discussion about whether the Sabres need a big move regardless of whether they land Hellebuyck or not.
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00:00Sabres, the Sabres find themselves this morning in last place in the division.
00:05So, you know, that's fine. That's fine. They're not that far out of, you know, fourth place in
00:11the division. Everyone's jumbled together. That's what the standings kind of do. But they're in last
00:15in the division, and the latest update on the Jets and Connor Hellebuck is unintentionally
00:21hilarious. And I wonder if we should have a moratorium. This is where management should
00:29come in the room and say, you guys, honestly, don't mention that guy's name for a week.
00:34We can't do it. Everyone is annoyed. Everyone is over it. How is this still happening? The latest
00:43Connor Hellebuck update is from Darren Dreger. And you start to read the update and think,
00:48oh, coming to an end? There's a sense there could be an agreement between the Jets and Hellebuck.
00:53Oh, okay. To do what? To delay his physical until a later date out of respect.
00:59To the Heritage Classic.
01:03This is how I learned the Heritage Classic was coming.
01:05I know. That's the other thing.
01:07Right. You heard nothing.
01:09Thank you for making that point. I was going to say that, too. There's an outdoor game on Sunday.
01:14Okay.
01:14By the way, NFL Sunday. Good job, NHL.
01:17Right, sure.
01:17And nobody knows about it, and they're going to not trade a guy because they're worried that what?
01:22What? What's going to happen?
01:24I don't know.
01:25The weekend is more about the game.
01:27Good God.
01:28Every decision you make in the next 48 to 72 hours, I want you to ask yourself, is this
01:36respectful to the Heritage Classic?
01:38I know.
01:38Is what I've decided to do respectful enough to the Heritage Classic, which is being played
01:44in Manitoba on Sunday night at 7 p.m. between the Jets and Montreal?
01:48In what, a CFL stadium?
01:49I can't wait to tell my son when he wants to do something later this week.
01:53I don't know that that would be appropriate out of respect for the Heritage Classic.
01:57They need to delay the NFL slate out of respect for the Heritage Classic.
02:01What's the game going up against the, sorry, a Sunday game in October between Winnipeg and
02:07Montreal?
02:08Do respect to the, actually, what we are doing is very much not respectful to the Heritage
02:12Classic.
02:12I'm so sorry.
02:13They're going to delay his physical.
02:15Oh, okay.
02:15What was planned?
02:17They were going to do the physical at center ice?
02:19Right.
02:19He's going to turn his head and cough at center ice?
02:21That kind of physical?
02:22What, how is this?
02:25I don't know why Hellebuck would give him the break.
02:27It's the dumbest thing ever.
02:28To be honest with you, I don't know why he wouldn't be like, no, you guys, the suspension
02:31ends Friday.
02:32You start paying me Friday.
02:33Does he also believe the weekend is about the game?
02:35I don't know.
02:36Who knows?
02:37It's, it's just so, I don't know what to do with it anymore.
02:41I don't know what to do with the Sabres season because, you know, I panicked three games
02:45in and it felt like I got yelled at for panicking.
02:47Now they're 10 games in.
02:48They're not dead.
02:49They're just kind of, we're all kind of hanging out as watching clips of the afternoon show.
02:53And there's Bulldog panicking, freaking out the same way I am.
02:56And I think like, okay, I'm not alone here, but I don't even, I don't even know.
03:00I want, I want Hellebuck to get traded literally anywhere.
03:03They could trade him to Minsk.
03:04I don't care.
03:06Trade him somewhere because I just want this thing to be over.
03:09I want this, this potential idea of the Sabres doing something to at least go away, either
03:16do it or have it go away to go to Utah.
03:19Fine.
03:19Then we can evaluate what they do from here.
03:21But the whole thing has been so drawn out, so tedious.
03:26And I mean, October 23rd, these teams are 10 games in and I got, I got updates on a, on
03:32a physical.
03:33Like, all right, fine.
03:35I, yeah, I, it's, it's been so drawn out and so exhausting for this thing to be, to be
03:42going the way it has.
03:43It's, I, I, I want it to be over so that I can either have that guy or find out
03:49what
03:49I'm going to be clamoring for next.
03:51Cause that's, isn't that, if this doesn't come through, are we not all just the next
03:56day?
03:57Like, all right, what is the big move?
03:58Cause I like that.
03:59That they need to do something, I think.
04:02And I, I saw, you know, you, you mentioned my, my old man yesterday and I think he's
04:07sort of, you know, what do you know?
04:09I'm taking tips for my old man.
04:10He's making me think about stuff.
04:12He made me think about the fact that my, my rationale for the tuck departure was I'm
04:18okay with this because what it does is it gives you the flexibility to do something
04:24else to make some other sort of big move.
04:29I need that.
04:30If, if, if tuck is gone, which obviously he is and Hellebuck doesn't happen, then the
04:36sites need to be set somewhere else for me.
04:38I am still waiting for that.
04:41And I think it, it, this Hellebuck thing took over in such a way that it feels like I
04:45sort of just forgot about the fact that it's not just that I want Hellebuck.
04:49Like I want something, I want something from this team and cause they can do something.
04:55They are in a position where they've got all these assets and they need the four group
05:01is too, there's too many right now.
05:03And like, that is still kind of a problem in some way for you.
05:07And I am back to like, all right, even if it's not Hellebuck, give me something big
05:13here.
05:13Sure.
05:13I mean, that's where people say, like, well, you can't make a move to make a move.
05:17And I get that.
05:17But one thing I'm, I'm finding a parallel to for the Sabres and they play Washington
05:23tomorrow.
05:23So this will be an Alex Tuck game, you know, to justify Tuck by filling it in with other,
05:28other players, other spots.
05:29They gave that money to guys on the roster, right?
05:32Like Peyton Krebs got four and a half million a year.
05:35And, you know, Malenstein got signed to a long-term deal and Benson and Doan, like they,
05:41they, Crevier, right.
05:43So instead of talk, you have Krebs and Crevier.
05:46Like really, the money's not that far off for those two for Alex Tuck.
05:51Did you hear Rob on Real Kipper and Bourne talking about Tuck?
05:54I did not.
05:54We're going to have to play that.
05:55Yeah, we will.
05:56Okay.
05:57I think there's something interesting in there.
05:58Oh, all right.
05:59Is, hold on.
06:01Yeah.
06:01Is it, is it Rob just groaning like that?
06:03No.
06:04It's, it's, it, it basically sounds like Rob saying like the Sabres tried to keep him
06:09and he didn't want to stay.
06:10Yeah.
06:10Right.
06:11I believe that.
06:11I definitely believe that.
06:13But hearing that from him, I think is interesting.
06:16There's always going to be one problem I have with that though.
06:19And maybe that's true.
06:20You know, whatever.
06:21We can't be inside the negotiations.
06:23We can't, of course they wanted to keep him.
06:25I know they wanted to keep him.
06:26Yarmou said he wanted to keep him and then he just couldn't.
06:30If you, again, it's all, who wants me to know that?
06:33Who wants me to know the Sabres tried to keep him and he left anyway?
06:39Who wants us to think that?
06:40The Sabres.
06:41Right.
06:41The Sabres.
06:42The Sabres would want us to think that.
06:44Of course.
06:44That it doesn't make them look bad.
06:46It makes it, makes him look like he just wanted to go.
06:48Oh, okay.
06:49It's a, it's a, it's a return to guys that want to be here.
06:53And that was something I was very sensitive about because it's your job to make guys want
06:56to be here.
06:57You made the playoffs.
06:58He wanted to go.
06:59Maybe that's as easy as that.
07:00He just wanted to go.
07:01Or maybe it's not as easy as that.
07:03And the idea is the Sabres felt their offer was fair and close.
07:07And there are lots of reasons for him to stay.
07:09You know, it was just, that was just his decision.
07:11You know, could they have overpaid?
07:13I don't know.
07:13Anyway, but I was going to get to on this with the Sabres and, you know, beat Washington.
07:17Let's go figure this thing out.
07:19A lot of road games coming up.
07:21The, the one issue with why I think the hell of a thing is getting so much attention.
07:26It's a side effect.
07:28But if I go back to everybody eats for the bills, one of the things that happened in everybody
07:34eats was you weren't really allowed to pick any one of the targets and say, how come that
07:41guy is not doing more?
07:43It was in everybody eats led to a, no one's actually accountable in this offense other than
07:48Josh, right?
07:49Oh, Matt Collins.
07:51He, where's he?
07:52He didn't show up today.
07:53Well, he's not supposed to.
07:53He really only supposed to get four catches.
07:55Right.
07:55And that's to me, how I feel about the forward group right now for the Sabres.
07:59We went through this yesterday.
08:00Who can I expect to score?
08:02Tage one.
08:03That's a, that's a guy that if you call a post-game show and say, I need that guy to
08:06score.
08:06People are like, yeah, that's right.
08:08Two is who it's Jack Quinn because he's hot right now.
08:12Three is who it used to be talk.
08:15It used to be, you'd say, where's Alex Tuck?
08:18I need him to produce.
08:19In fact, in the playoffs, in the Montreal series, him not scoring was a point.
08:24Like he's supposed to, who else didn't score in that series?
08:29I don't really know.
08:30I'm sure there are several others that did not score in that series.
08:32Nobody we cared about.
08:33Right.
08:34It's a guy at the top that have, you have some level of accountability to, I can count
08:38on this guy to be a guy.
08:39And right now for the Sabres, there are six guys that might grow into that role and we're
08:45hoping they do.
08:46We're hoping that Ostland and of course Benson is in that kind of role now, but he's actually
08:51not expected to score.
08:53It's okay that he doesn't score.
08:55It's kind of his game.
08:55So I don't know.
08:57It's all frustrating.
08:58And if they could win some games, that'd be great.
08:59But you're going to have to play, you're going to have to play me, Rob, on Kipper and
09:03Bourne.
09:03If we have to sit here with the idea that Tuck just wanted to leave, I guess that's in
09:07the eye of the beholder.
09:09Carmine, I'm in the car.
09:10Hey, Carmine, good morning.
09:12Hey guys, morning.
09:15Yeah, this whole Hellbuck saga really is frustrating.
09:19And honestly, with this Darren Drager report coming out, like, is he just doing anything
09:25to try to stay relevant?
09:26Because, I mean, what is this?
09:28Who?
09:30Darren Drager.
09:31Like, it's just like, seems like such a nothing thing.
09:35Yeah.
09:36I mean, I don't think that Drager's trying to do that.
09:38He's just giving his update.
09:39It's just a weird update that the two sides would have agreed to that.
09:43It's just really weird.
09:44And I don't know what's relevant about it.
09:50And I'm like, just really wondering if the Jets are really just trying to hold on, because
09:55they'd probably get screwed in any sort of trade at this point.
09:58And I want a trade to happen for Hellbuck, for sure.
10:01Yeah.
10:01And to jump on your other point that you guys are going on, it's like, they really do need
10:06to do something.
10:08And the only move I was upset about was losing Tuck.
10:13And whoever's fault was that, whatever.
10:16And I still have his jersey.
10:18You know, of course, I get a jersey and he gets moved.
10:20But that's besides the point.
10:22They do.
10:23Owen is right.
10:24They have too many cooks in the kitchen up front.
10:27Like, and I'm a guy who, like, I was like, okay with seeing how some of this would develop.
10:34But now I just think the Sabres are literally the most stocked franchise in the entire NHL
10:41where none of these guys have a role.
10:43And you got this Norris issue as well, where where does he fit?
10:47He's not playing great.
10:49I think we got to move him regardless at some point, whether that's just taking an L on that
10:54trade or making a trade to slot him in center somewhere, because both him and McLeod are
10:59not finding their game.
11:01Like, we need to do something where we just have so much, like, you know, I would be fine
11:07with even moving on from a Kulik or a Helen Hughes.
11:10Like, we just need a little bit more top heaviness.
11:13And I still think you have elite depth.
11:16Thanks, Carmine.
11:17You kind of, you know, as you just rattle off like a bunch of names, that's kind of an
11:20extension of what I was just saying.
11:23Who can I count on?
11:25Right now, I'm hoping guys grow into that spot.
11:27And until then, it just feels like, take who you want.
11:30You know, give me something to feel better, which maybe that is the wrong approach.
11:35Maybe as sports fans, we are guilty of just like, do something, make me feel better.
11:39I do that all the time.
11:40The whole, the whole thing with, with Hellebook, we are also approaching the point where if it
11:45were to happen Monday of next week, there would not be, I don't know, maybe there would
11:51be, would there be buzz?
11:53If it got announced right now, would the reaction be like, all right, it's over.
12:02He's going to come.
12:03I think there's still be the ticker tape parade excitement.
12:06Because it's almost like when you're in an argument with someone for so long, and you
12:11finally get the thing that you actually want, and they say, you're right.
12:14You go, fine.
12:16Thanks.
12:17I actually needed it a month ago.
12:19Yeah.
12:20The fact that we fought this long is annoying.
12:22It's ridiculous.
12:23All that time wasted.
12:24I think that it's probably, it feels like that right now, that it would be just a relief.
12:29But I think if it happened, the reality of the fact that the Sabres just acquired a Hart
12:35Trophy Vesna candidate, like super megastar in the league would take over and be like,
12:41I mean, this is pretty great.
12:42I mean, there would be, there would be, I mean, you think there's a microscope on Lukanen.
12:47I mean, if he gave up three goals in his first game, these phone lines are full of why'd
12:53you give it up for that old busted goalie?
12:56Yes, that's definitely true.
12:58We're freaking out.
12:59Yeah.
12:59Was it Ben Mathewson, who writes and talks about the Sabres and tweets about the Sabres
13:04all the time, big Sabres fan.
13:05He wrote yesterday, how fortunate we are all, we all are for everyone to be carrying this
13:10much this early in the season again.
13:12It's really great to have it back.
13:13And I thought that is right.
13:15As I, you know, pull my hair out over this dumb thing.
13:18Right.
13:19Anyway, 803-0550, the phone number.
13:22Happy Friday.
13:22It is a football Friday.
13:24Pizza Friday.
13:25Oh, pizza Friday.
13:26I mean, I, listen, I think it's pizza Friday or they're going to bring a pizza.
13:29It's a Friday.
13:30Right.
13:30Pizza Friday is brought to you by Joey's Pizza.
13:32Make your Friday even better with 25% off any small one topping pizza.
13:36Order online at joeyspizzabuffalo.com.
13:38Click code WGR25 at checkout.
13:41Ideally what happens is today's the day we get that Hawaiian pizza.
13:46Yes.
13:47It would be the, without sneaky here, that's what happens.
13:49Joe's been wanting that Hawaiian pizza.
13:51That's right.
13:52And if we are able to get that Hawaiian pizza and send a picture to him who's off today and
13:56say, hmm, tough Friday to miss.
13:58Mm-hmm.
13:59Here's the Hawaiian.
14:00What's worse, him missing the Hawaiian pizza or if we hit a four-way parlay?
14:05A four-way with, yeah, well, he missed the entire Sabres playoffs, so he misses some big
14:11stuff.
14:11He does.
14:11He does.
14:11If he misses the Hawaiian, I feel like that'll hurt really bad.
14:15Yeah.
14:15So, you know, Joey, if you want to make it the Hawaiian, we are into that.
14:20Very.
14:21Some people are so staunchly against the Hawaiian pizza.
14:24I was one of those people.
14:25You've been changed?
14:26I ate one and I was like, okay, this isn't that bad.
14:29Exactly.
14:29It's amazing.
14:29You know, I'd say the majority of the people that are that hard against it just have never
14:35tried it and it's a societal thing to hate on it and they don't know what they're talking
14:39about.
14:40It's such a vibe.
14:41It's so good.
14:42It's such a good, yeah, it's such a vibe.
14:44All right.
14:44803-0550.
14:45It's football Friday.
14:45You can join us.
14:46We'll get some Bills bi-week awards.
14:48We'll all sit here and yell about the Sabres a little bit and hope they win against Washington
14:52tomorrow.
14:53They are in last place in the Atlantic Division.
14:55That happens.
14:56You know, whatever.
14:57So lots to get to and hang out.
14:59Sal Capaccio, 730.
15:00Vic Carucci, 830 here on WGR.