Kris Baker and The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn discuss everything Buffalo Sabres. Read Matthew’s latest at The Athletic: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6854323/2025/12/02/josh-norris-return-sabres-jets/
The better the Sabre's play, the more teams will try to bully them physically. They must be prepared for that on this road trip. Someone will take a run at Norris.
No chat? Is there an issue with Levi or not? I watch every game of the Amerks and I don't see Levi as the savior for the goaltending position, his stats have taken a hit this year and it seems that the league has him figured out. When are we going to see a prospects video, Poltapov status, etc.?
Tonights Laffs at Panthers game is a battle for LAST PLACE in the Eastern Conference ! 😊😊. Would love to see these two teams miss the playoffs ! Sabres carrying 3 goalies , how much longer do you think this continues. Winnipeg Vancouver and Anahiem all have their number 1 goalie out with an injury. Great show guys, yes i hit the like button, Kris😊
I don’t get every coaches love affair with Greenway, Thank God he isn’t on the first 3 lines anymore. Hes a 4th line player at best. I’d rather have Dunne out there than Greenway. Shit , flip some things around and have Rosen up here instead of Greenway also
Spot on about kREBS kRIS. Valuable to say the least! Fingers crossed with Norris! Ostlund is doing well and he will eventually make the full time roster or be a valuable piece in a high value top 6 trade! Curious how close he and Dahlin are these days.
Krebbs is never going to be traded because after talk leaves that would mean only Noah Ostland remains from the Eichel trade. Same reason they are so defensive and will not trade Owen power, even though he and Byrum have been awful almost all year. I legitimately do not think any sensible GM would trade for him. He is only an offensive player has zero defensive awareness. He looks slower than he ever has and he hasn’t had points in what 10 games now so what is he doing for this team other than getting walked in his own defensive zone every game?
Here's the two things I'm wondering after this: 1. I think you said Norris was the most complete player on the team, and it made me think if you were only talking about the forwards or included Dahlin in that, if you said "complete forward" I apologize for not paying closer attention. Also, Ostlund is clearly a player to keep for the future, wouldn't it made the most sense to take him on the road trip to see what it's like to do a west coast swing? Take 6 D, and roll the dice. Worst case for one game they could play one game with 5, they kind of do that already with the limited minutes Bryson gets. I agree the best thing would be to "unscrew" the goalie situation. Kulick and Danforth have to be coming back at some point. (I'll talk about my trading Krebs later and why that probably won't happed because Lindy loves players like him)
A normal organization would trade Lyon if it doesn’t work make another trade. I’ve had a different goalie how many years in a row just go grab a guy. It’s not anything to slow you down or prevent you for doing anything, but that’s a normal organization.
I just asked that you don’t fuck up the season because you want to carry three goalies so St. Louis has to give you a fifth round pick to get their guy back and that sounds like something Adams would do. He’s caught on the word value instead of being caught on the word winning
Now the new thing the Buffalo media is saying is that the Sabres owner is cheap and will never front load Tuch’s contract. Oh really!!! Ryan O’Rielly’s contract major front loaded, Okposo all front loaded, etc etc. stop spreading lies, Buffalo has 1.3 mill cap space…nobody wants to play here as free agents or trades anyways…we need to sign Doan, Benson, Kesselring and Tuch this summer, how is this “cheap” owner going to bring in some superstar with mega cap hit? The Buffalo media is ridiculous. Erhoff front loaded contract, Tyler Myers front loaded 10 mill contract then didn’t even work out all summer after cashing his mega check. The players need to make the team good, no team is trading superstars go Buffalo and even if they wanted to this owner would pay them, he’s paying Norris 7.9 million
Honest question – why can’t Lindy treat the goalies like starting pitchers in baseball?
Unless there’s a guy they want to get more starts, go Lyon, Ellis, UPL and have the guy who starts the next game back up the game before. Boom, there is the routine these guys need.
Powers like that quarterback you drafted high and you don’t want to admit geez he’s not very good So it’s well we gotta get him an offensive line then we gotta get him some weapons now we gotta get him a running game then we gotta get a better OC then we got to play in a dome. We have got to get a dominating defense.
Here's an old Sabres fan's approach to developing Owen Power's defensive game, given his size, given his laconic nature, apparent lack of emotion, and reticence to hit: pull out every film or video that may exist of Bill Hajt and make him watch them over and over and over and over…and over again. I really don't recall if Hajt hit a lot or not. My inclination is to say he didn't. But for his time he was a bigger defenseman and when he was on the ice he sort of lorded over the D-Zone and this "presence" guarding, in particular the lower slot and the crease. With effect. If Power could just develop that as part of his game and be a "good-natured brute" (that's how I remember Hajt) down low and around the crease…I would take that.
We should be careful about saying Lyon is our best goalie this year. If you look Goals Against Above Expected (all situations), while close, UPL has performed slightly better than Lyon. UPL is +0.09 (#39 out of 70 goalies with at least 200 minutes) and Lyon is -0.35 (#43). FYI, Ellis -2.05 (#49). It should be said that all are below average.
Been saying it for a while now, Power just plays a very lethargic, let the game come to me way and it's such a drastic difference from the way Dahlin or even Byram play at times so it just glares through the screen when watching. He's way too reactive instead of proactive. It worries me that he's so relaxed and laid back that how are you going to get that drive out of him.
The Power problem is maddening. But that said it's a team problem. Only 1 player has been a positive at even strength:
Sammy 28 gf v 20 ga +8
Bryson 7 gf v 8ga -1 Dahls is 20 gf v 27ga -7 Power 17 gf v 25 ga -8 Byram 23 gf v 31 ga -8 Timmons 21 gf v 28 ga -7 Kess 4 gf v 7 ga -3
But you can see their coaching deficiencies on last nights goal. Dahls decided to leave Connor alone in front to tip home a puck ALONE.. Go to Sportnet watch the highlights. At 6:30 in the clip Dahls is in front watching the puck. Not taking a man but watching the man behind the net. Sammy goes to the left dot. Watch #26 head towards the same corner leaving the two best players alone in front of the net. He cares more about backside puck retrieval (if rung around the boards) & breakout than he does about the front of the net. Then he re-engages & finds Connor. (right play) Sammy sees #26 take a man. Tage takes #55. All good. Then #26 decides to leave while the stick is being cocked for a slapper. Goal. But all in all the D pairs played great last night. Kept using each other for tape to tape passes leading to plenty of correct neutral zone passes to open forwards leading to great puck possession & easy entries all night. Not the lazy scoreboard flip out or 100' pass to a guy looking just to deflect a puck into the zone.
ATW nailed it on Power when Peters said “you can’t work out your balls”.
You can see that while he is not as talented, Byram has that drive. Power doesn’t (at least not now). Say what you want about Dahlin & Hedman’s early struggles, they acted like they cared. Power doesn’t. The attitude appears to be, “why work harder? I’ve got everything I need already”.
Regarding coaching, in fairness to the players, you can’t coach them one way (high event, rush fueled) and then try to change once you have most of your core in place to a lock down harder to play against style.
Power needs to wake up. IF he cares about his team mates, he needs to realize that they need him to get mean, need him to raise his intensity. Maybe try hypnosis! Give him and his coaches the rest of this year to step up.
Power, Quinn, Kulich, Levi & 27 1st for EP40, Sherwood, Myers. Giving up too much?
Also, would love to hear a cap projection breakdown analysis for next year. If they do ink Tuch to 10.625 mil, what does that leave for Benson, Doan, Kess, Malen-steen? Jeff skinner dead cap is at 6 mil next year. Does all that factor in to why they aren’t giving Tuch what he is asking for?
I listen on a podcast app but came here specifically to like the video and hit the notification bell. Would leave a five-star review if I knew where you wanted them. Sincerely appreciate all the analysis!
The Sabres are such an xciting, unpredictable and sometimes frustrating squad (something all teams deal with). I hope to stay around for BALANCED reported and minimal WHINING. When I watch hockey – I see 2 teams. I love noticing great play on both sides – even in losses. I am not interested on betting on the Sabres and I do not appreciate channels sponsored by betting corporations. I love background, solid research and perspective. Looking forward to seeing how you far you take you show – preferably to the next level higher not the awful one lower.
44 Comments
The better the Sabre's play, the more teams will try to bully them physically. They must be prepared for that on this road trip. Someone will take a run at Norris.
Apologies to the doomers, but the Sabres have some juice right now! ⚔️
No chat? Is there an issue with Levi or not? I watch every game of the Amerks and I don't see Levi as the savior for the goaltending position, his stats have taken a hit this year and it seems that the league has him figured out. When are we going to see a prospects video, Poltapov status, etc.?
Tonights Laffs at Panthers game is a battle for LAST PLACE in the Eastern Conference ! 😊😊. Would love to see these two teams miss the playoffs ! Sabres carrying 3 goalies , how much longer do you think this continues. Winnipeg Vancouver and Anahiem all have their number 1 goalie out with an injury. Great show guys, yes i hit the like button, Kris😊
I don’t get every coaches love affair with Greenway, Thank God he isn’t on the first 3 lines anymore. Hes a 4th line player at best. I’d rather have Dunne out there than Greenway. Shit , flip some things around and have Rosen up here instead of Greenway also
love Krebs—he’s not a goal scorer, but he puts in 💯 effort every night and doesn’t hesitate to stand up for the rest of the guys.
All we need now is a hattie from Krebsy on the road trip ✨😀
Spot on about kREBS kRIS. Valuable to say the least! Fingers crossed with Norris! Ostlund is doing well and he will eventually make the full time roster or be a valuable piece in a high value top 6 trade! Curious how close he and Dahlin are these days.
Krebbs is never going to be traded because after talk leaves that would mean only Noah Ostland remains from the Eichel trade. Same reason they are so defensive and will not trade Owen power, even though he and Byrum have been awful almost all year. I legitimately do not think any sensible GM would trade for him. He is only an offensive player has zero defensive awareness. He looks slower than he ever has and he hasn’t had points in what 10 games now so what is he doing for this team other than getting walked in his own defensive zone every game?
It's hard to call a game where you get 42 shots on goal a stinker.
Here's the two things I'm wondering after this:
1. I think you said Norris was the most complete player on the team, and it made me think if you were only talking about the forwards or included Dahlin in that, if you said "complete forward" I apologize for not paying closer attention. Also, Ostlund is clearly a player to keep for the future, wouldn't it made the most sense to take him on the road trip to see what it's like to do a west coast swing? Take 6 D, and roll the dice. Worst case for one game they could play one game with 5, they kind of do that already with the limited minutes Bryson gets. I agree the best thing would be to "unscrew" the goalie situation. Kulick and Danforth have to be coming back at some point. (I'll talk about my trading Krebs later and why that probably won't happed because Lindy loves players like him)
Malenstyn? Maybe when Paul Hamilton learns to pronounce Konsta Helenius correctly.
Norris, if healthy…#Sabres playoff push is real.
The Sabres are not waiving Colton Ellis? They will waive or trade Lyon before Ellis.
You have to look at how well/poorly the team plays in front our goalies. Can't judge strictly on goals allowed.
Norris is like Joey Bosa if he’s playing he’s productive flat out proven over time
Dahlin was shaky early in his career. Heck, he still has the occasional brain fart.
A normal organization would trade Lyon if it doesn’t work make another trade. I’ve had a different goalie how many years in a row just go grab a guy. It’s not anything to slow you down or prevent you for doing anything, but that’s a normal organization.
I just asked that you don’t fuck up the season because you want to carry three goalies so St. Louis has to give you a fifth round pick to get their guy back and that sounds like something Adams would do. He’s caught on the word value instead of being caught on the word winning
Way to many ads
Now the new thing the Buffalo media is saying is that the Sabres owner is cheap and will never front load Tuch’s contract. Oh really!!! Ryan O’Rielly’s contract major front loaded, Okposo all front loaded, etc etc. stop spreading lies, Buffalo has 1.3 mill cap space…nobody wants to play here as free agents or trades anyways…we need to sign Doan, Benson, Kesselring and Tuch this summer, how is this “cheap” owner going to bring in some superstar with mega cap hit? The Buffalo media is ridiculous. Erhoff front loaded contract, Tyler Myers front loaded 10 mill contract then didn’t even work out all summer after cashing his mega check. The players need to make the team good, no team is trading superstars go Buffalo and even if they wanted to this owner would pay them, he’s paying Norris 7.9 million
Get another top 6 vet and a decent goalie and this could be a special team.
No way you keep Lyon over Ellis. Can’t move Ellis the way he has played.
Honest question – why can’t Lindy treat the goalies like starting pitchers in baseball?
Unless there’s a guy they want to get more starts, go Lyon, Ellis, UPL and have the guy who starts the next game back up the game before. Boom, there is the routine these guys need.
Powers like that quarterback you drafted high and you don’t want to admit geez he’s not very good
So it’s well we gotta get him an offensive line then we gotta get him some weapons now we gotta get him a running game then we gotta get a better OC then we got to play in a dome. We have got to get a dominating defense.
My hot take on UPL is that he doesn't play well without a lead.
your comments on development are bang on. For a draft and develop team they don't focus on the development part
Seems the team goes cheap and won't spend to upgrade or add a great talent developer
Wilford is the scapegoat, and deservedly so – but whole system needs improvement. Who is Wilford's shining achievement? can't find one
How many opportunities are you going to have to like a video with Norris playing?
I call him Beck Smellnpine like from the movie chuck and larry
Here's an old Sabres fan's approach to developing Owen Power's defensive game, given his size, given his laconic nature, apparent lack of emotion, and reticence to hit: pull out every film or video that may exist of Bill Hajt and make him watch them over and over and over and over…and over again. I really don't recall if Hajt hit a lot or not. My inclination is to say he didn't. But for his time he was a bigger defenseman and when he was on the ice he sort of lorded over the D-Zone and this "presence" guarding, in particular the lower slot and the crease. With effect. If Power could just develop that as part of his game and be a "good-natured brute" (that's how I remember Hajt) down low and around the crease…I would take that.
The Dude: Man, that Josh Norris really ties the room together.
We should be careful about saying Lyon is our best goalie this year. If you look Goals Against Above Expected (all situations), while close, UPL has performed slightly better than Lyon.
UPL is +0.09 (#39 out of 70 goalies with at least 200 minutes) and Lyon is -0.35 (#43). FYI, Ellis -2.05 (#49).
It should be said that all are below average.
Been saying it for a while now, Power just plays a very lethargic, let the game come to me way and it's such a drastic difference from the way Dahlin or even Byram play at times so it just glares through the screen when watching. He's way too reactive instead of proactive. It worries me that he's so relaxed and laid back that how are you going to get that drive out of him.
Krebs 0 goals in 26 gms as a -8 = playing good?
The Power problem is maddening. But that said it's a team problem. Only 1 player has been a positive at even strength:
Sammy 28 gf v 20 ga +8
Bryson 7 gf v 8ga -1
Dahls is 20 gf v 27ga -7
Power 17 gf v 25 ga -8
Byram 23 gf v 31 ga -8
Timmons 21 gf v 28 ga -7
Kess 4 gf v 7 ga -3
But you can see their coaching deficiencies on last nights goal. Dahls decided to leave Connor alone in front to tip home a puck ALONE.. Go to Sportnet watch the highlights. At 6:30 in the clip Dahls is in front watching the puck. Not taking a man but watching the man behind the net. Sammy goes to the left dot. Watch #26 head towards the same corner leaving the two best players alone in front of the net. He cares more about backside puck retrieval (if rung around the boards) & breakout than he does about the front of the net. Then he re-engages & finds Connor. (right play) Sammy sees #26 take a man. Tage takes #55. All good. Then #26 decides to leave while the stick is being cocked for a slapper. Goal.
But all in all the D pairs played great last night. Kept using each other for tape to tape passes leading to plenty of correct neutral zone passes to open forwards leading to great puck possession & easy entries all night. Not the lazy scoreboard flip out or 100' pass to a guy looking just to deflect a puck into the zone.
ATW nailed it on Power when Peters said “you can’t work out your balls”.
You can see that while he is not as talented, Byram has that drive. Power doesn’t (at least not now). Say what you want about Dahlin & Hedman’s early struggles, they acted like they cared. Power doesn’t.
The attitude appears to be, “why work harder? I’ve got everything I need already”.
Regarding coaching, in fairness to the players, you can’t coach them one way (high event, rush fueled) and then try to change once you have most of your core in place to a lock down harder to play against style.
Aspen for the win!
Get 'em next time Tito.
Quality content this episode. Well down Matthew and Kris.
Appreciate the background on Norris.
Can you educate us on Ryan Johnson? Why aren't they playing him? He's physical at least and not a pushover like #78!
Loved the Geersten comment about teaching #29 how to fight! Hire Geersten as a coach, to teach other guys how to fight. #72, #23, #25!!!!
Power needs to wake up. IF he cares about his team mates, he needs to realize that they need him to get mean, need him to raise his intensity. Maybe try hypnosis! Give him and his coaches the rest of this year to step up.
Sabres should not put Ellis on waivers. Trade Lyon as he can fetch a decent return and just go with UPL and Ellis.
Power, Quinn, Kulich, Levi & 27 1st for EP40, Sherwood, Myers. Giving up too much?
Also, would love to hear a cap projection breakdown analysis for next year. If they do ink Tuch to 10.625 mil, what does that leave for Benson, Doan, Kess, Malen-steen? Jeff skinner dead cap is at 6 mil next year. Does all that factor in to why they aren’t giving Tuch what he is asking for?
I listen on a podcast app but came here specifically to like the video and hit the notification bell. Would leave a five-star review if I knew where you wanted them. Sincerely appreciate all the analysis!
The Sabres are such an xciting, unpredictable and sometimes frustrating squad (something all teams deal with). I hope to stay around for BALANCED reported and minimal WHINING. When I watch hockey – I see 2 teams. I love noticing great play on both sides – even in losses. I am not interested on betting on the Sabres and I do not appreciate channels sponsored by betting corporations. I love background, solid research and perspective. Looking forward to seeing how you far you take you show – preferably to the next level higher not the awful one lower.