GAME NIGHT: Tage Thompson MVP Season WILL CARRY Buffalo Sabres to Playoffs, FINALLY End the Drought?

GAME NIGHT: Tage Thompson MVP Season WILL CARRY Buffalo Sabres to Playoffs, FINALLY End the Drought?

The off season is well underway and we here at locked on NHL game night. We’re tackling the toughest questions with our favorite local reporters. Yes, we are. And tonight we ship up to Buffalo and check in on the Sabres. Is the drought fixable out there in Western New York. We’ll answer that question and so much more as we welcome Sabres expert Joe Deiasi on this summer edition of Lockd on NHL game night. When that final horn sounds, you know it’s time for Locked On NHL Game Night. All the postgame reactions to every game across the league every single night with insights only the hosts at Locked On can provide. Prepare to experience game day reactions like never before. Only on Locked On NHL Game Night. Your team every day. Hello there hockey fans and welcome to another episode of Locked On NHL Game Night. your one-stop shop for getting season previews of all 32 NHL teams. I’m your host, Cam Stewart, a sad Boston Bruins fan on the third coast. And I’m Tyler Fel, but a lifelong Penguins fan, born and raised in Pittsburgh, but currently loving life in Austin, Texas. Cam, I spent a little time in the southern tier of upstate New York about a decade ago in Bingmpington, northwest of Bingmpington, you’ve got Buffalo. And that brings us to our guest tonight. Look at this guy. Looks like he’s been at training camp all morning and then after it’s football season, it’s football season and it’s golf season. So, this is me after being in the sun at practice and uh golfing all day. It It’s football. It’s golf. And that’s why tonight we’re talking about hockey. It It just makes sense, right? It just makes sense. Yeah. I I mean, you know, whenever you want to revisit and remind yourself that you’ve got a team in town with the longest drought in professional sports. Yeah, why not? Of course. Let’s let’s let’s remind me of that. I love Hey, look, you’re not a Jets fan as well, so that’s true. You’ve avoided the double whammy. Jets beat him by like four months. Same amount of seasons, but I think it’s like four months. So, actually, I don’t think I could claim the Sabres the longest, the second longest. There you go. In the irony of a drought in Buffalo’s, you’ve got Niagara Falls and you just seemingly shouldn’t have to deal with a drought that we’ve seen from the Sabres. Joe, my my biggest question, I think anyone watching this episode tonight, they’re wondering, is it fixable with this Sabres team the way they are currently constructed? It’s a tough question because I think most would say and I would definitely say that as long as Kevin Adams is the general manager, the answer feels like it is no. That it is not fixable. That the confidence level that they will make the moves that are needed to go from what they’ve been, which has mostly been a team that is more than 10 points out of the playoffs every single year, save for one a couple of years ago. that to make a leap from there to even just being a playoff team, it takes aggressiveness. It takes a willingness to trade your own players. It takes resources. It takes money, spending to the cap. It takes getting people in the building that know what they’re doing, big hockey staffs, analytics, scouting, and everything feels pretty bare bones right now. It feels like the owner just wants a GM that he’s close with and can trust, doesn’t want to spend at the cap. They have not done that. They have the most unspent cap dollars in the league over the last five years. They have a building even that’s crumbling. So, like that needs a renovation. They might announce something on that this week, but we’ll see. But all of it, it just all kind of feels like this owner and this GM more importantly, because that’s the person you can actually change from. Um, I don’t know. There’s not a lot of confidence right now and I think six years on the job is more than enough to be able to know what Kevin Adams is. So, not to be a Debbie Downer, but I I kind of feel like they got to get lucky with goalending or something for it really to be fixed. And and it’s kind of become like this running joke over the last few years. It used to be, oh, this is the Caps year, you know, 10 years ago. Now, it’s like, is this the year? Is this the year the Sabres break the drought? They’ve got this young core. They’ve got this young talent. Most of that comes from the Rose through the concrete. Uh Tae Thompson who just once again hoham 40 goals for a second time in the last three seasons. Uh age 27 season right in his prime 44 goals 28 assists which yeah probably speaks more to the surrounding cast than his playmaking ability. 72 points in 76 games and someone that doesn’t get the respect around the league because you don’t see him play in the postseason. So Joe, I if they are going to sniff the postseason or dare I say get there in one of these next two or three seasons, is it going to take an MVP kind of effort for Tae Thompson? And the second part of that question, is he a legit MVP candidate? I think he he’s interesting for that because I think he’s capable. I definitely think he’s capable of a season scoring 50 goals, putting up I think he’s capable of a 100 point season. I would never think he’s going to do that regularly, but he got to 94 a couple of years ago and he played the weeks at the end of that season injured, so he stays healthy. I think he easily could have got to 100. Um, if he puts up 100 points and 50 goals and the Buffalo Sabres and the longest playoff drought in league history, then that honestly might be enough for him to at least be in the conversation. And maybe if you know, McDavid has a down year where he only has 100 points instead of 140, then maybe that’s enough for TA to be the winner of that award. I think it’s possible. It it kind of goes to the where the blueprint, I think, is for this team right now. If they’re going to make the playoffs, they need Tae Thompson to be an MVP candidate. They need Rasmus Dene to be a Norris candidate. They need their goalending to have career seasons. They need their power play to be near the top of the league. these things that, you know, you could even see as being unsustainable, especially the power play and the goalending part. But part of it is just there are so few players at the top of this lineup that you can fully trust to make a difference night in and night out that, you know, the top two guys at the at both the head of the defense group and the forward group, they kind of have to be that good because I don’t see a lot of pieces behind them that could pick up the slack if they don’t. Buffalo undoubtedly is one of the most passionate sports cities in the country and the Bills are riding high. Maybe this is the Bills year. What’s the feeling like on the streets of Buffalo surrounding this Sabres team? How are people feeling about the current state? Yeah, it’s it’s very I mean it’s almost mocking the team at this point, right? like it it honestly they come up and it’s almost a it’s like it’s a joke like it’s it’s sarcasm. Um especially this time of year, you know, when the Bills are firing things back up and the Sabres are in the middle of their offseason. I think really like this town loves the team. They love hockey. You look up at the ratings every single year in the Stanley Cup final. Maybe this has finally started to dwindle a little bit, but for years and years, the Sabres or this or Buffalo is the number one out of town market for the Stanley Cup final in the United States at least. Wow. Because this town loves hockey. And I mean, sometimes they even actually outdraw the team that’s in the final. Um, if you get a southern market, they easily can do that. When this team is even half good, a couple years ago, they weren’t really that great. They almost made the playoffs. They missed by one point. They were a fine team. They were a good team. They weren’t great. And all the fans came back. Like season ticket base started going back up. Ticket prices started going back up. The building started being full again. There was a little bit of a buzz in town. Um that really it took almost 10 years of them missing the playoffs before the building really started being empty. And that is not the case in most markets. If you’re bad for two years in most markets, the building starts to empty out. Here it was a decade. So, like for me it’s very negative right now. I think it they deserve it to be very negative right now, but they’re it it’s dormant. Like the the energy, the fandom, man. Like it in 0 2006 2007. I know I got to go back a far way to find years like this, but when that team is great, I mean, it’s on par with the football team. Like the the buzz in the in the area, the excitement, the attention. I work for WGR Sports Radio in Buffalo and I could tell you I mean our boss tells us this like we they have metrics on it. We are the only market in the United States that talks hockey on a regular basis. Like Boston, you’ll get a little bit of it and they’re probably the closest. Yeah, a little bit. But like we spent two full weeks talking about the Sabres at the beginning of July when the Bills were in their off time just on offseason stuff they didn’t even do. So, and why is that the case? Because people listen because they do care about the team. They just kind of hate the team right now because they keep letting them down year after year after year. So, it’s a sleeping giant. If they ever get good again, the city’s going to explode. But I’ve been saying that for, you know, 14 years now. Joe, it’s tough to see you this red in the face talking about how you feel about the Buffalo Sabres. Sorry. I I You can’t even tell. I could be red in the face right now. You wouldn’t even know. Too easy. Just Just to lob that one up. Come on. Come on. Joe like the greater NHL uh you know public are on the golf course also. Yeah. I’m a red and black I’m a red and black Sabres kid. So I had to bring back those jerseys. Bring back those jerseys. And Joe, I appreciate you you feeling you telling us how you feel because you know Cam’s from Boston. I’m from Pittsburgh. Between the three of us, those were three cities that love their hockey teams and and it is tough. Like I grew up with some Penguins teams that really weren’t great. So, I know that feeling and you kind of want as a hockey fan to see the Sabres get back to that winning way. Joe, it sounds like you’re getting Gavin McKenna and three Stanley Cups in your future if you’re going the Taiwan. Oh, nobody wants to hear the T-word around here, the tank word, because that was a very that was a civil war in this fan base 10 years ago when they did that for McDavid and Eel. One of the two. Which side were which side were you on, Union or Confederate, Joe? Let me see in this context. I mean the the team was tanking. So I guess I’m on that’s the union side. I think I was on team smart team tank for sure. But nobody wants to hear that right now because like just what does it mean? It means going back to the bottom and nobody wants to willingly do that. But yeah, but what’s the top what’s the top for the Sabres this season? Exactly. And we can get to that. But like Gavin McKenna is going to Penn State, which for those that don’t know is the alma mater of Sabres owner Terry Pagoula. And Terry Pagula is a big donor there. He built the ice hockey arena 10 years ago. Yeah. Do you know what rank Gavin McKenna is going to play on? Uh Pagola Ice Arena inside, right? The name is Paga Ice Arena. I mean, I don’t know that they’ll be bad enough. They could they could be to be the number one pick. You got to win a lottery. Don’t underestimate them. Hey, we know we know Gavin Mckenn is going to Penn State. We know. We know. Well, Penn State alone Tyler Felman knows this is what the this what really happens is the Penguins will be amazing for 20 years. They’ll be bad for one year and then they’ll win a lottery. That’s really how it I think now. Now there’s something now we’re talking that’s for that’s for locked on that’s for that episode. Check that out. It’s already on the channel that Pegwood season preview on locked on NHL game night. We are going to continue on with the Sabres who did have to once again make some moves to get disgruntled players out of there. But Joe’s going to tell us how they can win the JJ Purka trade. That’s coming up next on Locked on NHL Game Night. But first, a word from our friends over at Game Time. Look, you can’t sit out there barechested at a Bills game in January or go see Taage Thompson score 50 goals if you don’t have a ticket. Okay, look, we’ve all been there. You log on early, waiting forever for those great concert tickets, those game tickets, comedy shows, for those things to go on sale only to lose your spot for a show you’ve been dying to see. Okay, the concerts, the games. 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Back here on Locked on NHL Game Night season preview edition. Talking the Buffalo Sabres, who we have decided are the only team in North American professional sports that has both Buffalo and Sabres like their city and mascot on the on the crest. I think that’s really Can’t think of another one. Can’t think. Not yet. We We’ve got people working long and hard. Tyler submitted the Penguins. We We had to correct that. Tyler Felman’s with me. I’m trying to think. Come on. I’d love to hear if there’s another one. I think that’s really cool. Um, but we’re talking about the guys who unfortunately didn’t want to wear that uniform. Joe JJ Purka, a guy who was really on the rise the last few seasons. A guy the the analytics people love um from an offensive standpoint. Forced his way out, traded to Utah. You get Shane Don’s son in there as well. What What did you think about the trade and how do you think the Sabres could actually win this one? I think they I think they really could win the trade. I I didn’t like the trade happening in the first place. I don’t feel like the Sabres should have kind of cowed in the face of a 23-year-old player saying he didn’t want to be there when they had four years of contract control still. Um cuz I like the player a lot. I think they should have played hard ball with him. I What was he going to do? go play in Germany for four years until his contract ran out. I don’t think it would toll anyway. So, I wanted them to play a harder ball with that. But if you are going to trade JJ Purka, what the Sabres needed was basically what they what they got for sure. You could definitely argue valuewise you should have gotten more for a 28-year-old or a 23-year-old forward that is gifted offensively that has scored 25 plus goals in back-to-back seasons that I think the arrow is still trending up for. You could definitely argue that you know you could that you should have gotten more and I think they definitely could have. What they needed though was a top four defenseman and they needed a guy to play with Owen Power. Rasmus Dalene is in his prime. He is more than capable of playing with an average partner. You know, a guy that, you know, is not the worst defenseman on your team, but you don’t have to have an all-star next to him. Owen Power is still growing. He’s a 22-year-old defenseman. He’s only played two full seasons. He’s not yet reached his full potential. You needed a good partner for him. And I think there’s a lot of good numbers on Michael Kessler, who again, not a big name. Like I don’t even know how many casual hockey fans would know the name. I I’ll admit I knew the name a little bit but not a lot when the Sabres acquired him. I feel like this is maybe a Sabres analytics department type of move because he only played 17 minutes a night. He played a lot on the Utah third pair which how does that sound? You traded one of your best forwards for a third pair Utah Mammoth defenseman. Another team that didn’t make the playoffs. Yeah. Right. Right. Not even a great team. Well, if I had told you that last year, would you even believe it? No. Utah Mammoth third pairing defense. Right. two years ago the the Coyotes are still in existing and they’re going to trade him to Utah. I would I would not know what you were talking about. This player though, like he’s got good numbers. I think he’s a good puck mover. I think there’s a lot more there with him. He’s a good skater. He’s got one of the hardest shots in the National Hockey League. I don’t think he’s an all-star. I don’t think he’s a superstar, but I think he’s going to come in and play 20 minutes a night. He’s going to be a stabilizing presence for Owen Power. And I think as we talk about how the Sabres break the drought, one of the ways they do that is young players taking big steps forward. And there’s nobody more capable than a big step forward to me than Owen Power, who was a number one pick. And I think insulating him with the right piece is perfect. The the Josh Don, they love Josh Don. I don’t love him as much as the team seems to, but I’m not saying he’s a bad player. I think he’s a good bottom six player. Sabres have a lot of those. And maybe that’s my problem is it feels like you just added like your eighth third liner onto the roster. But not a bad player. I think he’ll come in and he’ll do good with penalty killing and playing a two-way game. They’re trying to get tougher to play against. I think he’ll help with that. U but to me the meat of the deal is Kessler. And if he becomes a 20 minute a night good second pair defenseman, you we could debate whether that’s called a win. I would say at least it’s a draw in that case because the Sabres would have gotten what they wanted. Bow and Byum, bridge deal, two years, not a ton of commitment on either side. Um, how are Sabres fans feeling about that one? It’s a weird one because everyone’s been waiting for him to be traded for I mean, going back to the trade deadline. I mean, the Sabres have basically admitted they want to trade him. Kevin Adams, whenever kind of pressed about whether he’s a member of the core of this team, never is really willing to give you that. I think they like him, but not enough to pay him on a seven-year deal. And I I think it’s mutual. Like I don’t really think this is a Bo Byum doesn’t want to be in Buffalo or the Sabres don’t like Bo Byum in their locker room type of situation. I just think it’s Sabres have a lot of money already tied up in defenseman. They have a lot of minutes already tied up in defenseman. And I don’t think they really feel the need to commit to another one. And at the same time on Bo Byum’s side of things, he’s made it pretty clear through reporting and the way he’s talked he wants to go to a team where he can get power play minutes. And I understand that. Like here, he doesn’t get any. He Den’s going to get power play one and Power is going to get power play two. And if you’re a guy, this is only 24 years old trying to make your mark in the league and get a big money contract, what do you need to do? You need to put points up. And he gets no power play time. So like last year, guess what? He’s 15th in the NHL in among all defenseman in even strength points. But what’s the number end up being at the end of the day? 38 points. Who wants to give a 38 point defenseman $9 million a year? He knows what he needs. He needs to go to a team where he could get on the power play, throw 20 power play points on top of the 38, and bam, you’re going to have someone much more likely to give you the contract you need. So, excuse me, but if you’re not getting power play minutes on the Buffalo Sabres, what makes you think that you’re going to get power play minutes on any other team in the league? That’s that’s kind of the I think the fault in his logic is he was he was on a team Colorado where he didn’t get those minutes because there there is a little of that kind of a little who do you think you are with Byum like maybe he thinks I just need second pair power play time just like he could get that I’m sure somewhere if he I I’ll agree with you though if he thinks that there is this long list of teams that he could go to where he would be the number one defenseman I think he’s sorely mistaken. I think maybe there’s two or three teams in the league where he would be at the top of the depth chart. I feel like he’s got to get with some sort of sports psychologist and reframe his frame of mind going into this season because if you’re on a team like Buffalo and you’re not getting power play minutes, then your mindset really should be surrounding I want to be on the power play. I I feel like there’s other steps to be taken that you can take on a regular basis, on a nightly basis, on a game by-game basis to put yourself in position to earn power play minutes as opposed to just saying, “Yeah, I want to go to a team where I I can be on the man advantage.” What? You’re you’re in a situation where if you can’t earn it there, where else are you going to earn it? And I do think like it does it would take a little bit of the coaching to be on board with that too because the Sabres as many teams do they like one defenseman four for forwards on both of their top units. Here’s the thing though. The Sabres are not loaded up front like at all with forwards that need to play on the power play. It’s not against the rules for him to be a better offensive threat than your eighth best forward. and oh now I have a power play unit where he is on it with two defenseman and that to me would be the thing that if if there’s a long-term relationship to be figured out here in the next 6 months and he starts the season. Um I think the power play is key for that and to your lot to your point like I think he would have to take that away from somebody. He doesn’t have to take it from Dene or power. He just he’s got to get on one of those units. And if he puts up another, you know, 38 points even strength and he adds 15 or 20, you know, power play-wise, then I think he’ll get the long-term deal that he’s probably looking for. In order to get that, he’s going to need to step up. And it’s going to take a few Sabres to do that in order to get to the promised land. So, who’s it going to be? Who’s going to step up for the Sabres team? And is this the year? Those questions we’ll tackle next on Locked on NHL Game Night. Continuing on, locked on NHL game night season preview edition. We’ll have you covered for all 32 teams leading up to puck drop in October. Cam Stewart with Tyler Fel and Joe Deiosi of Locked On Sabres. If you guys are liking it so far, like the video, subscribe to the channel. It’s completely free. Helps us keep our jobs. And get involved in the comment section below and tell us what you think about the Sabres team. Bo Byum, who does he think he is? Ta Thompson MVP season. Let us know in the comments section below. So, if Ta Thompson’s going to be the MVP, Joe, then who is going to be the guy that steps up from this team that will become something of a household name for hockey dieards this year? Think there are two players that come to mind immediately and they are funny enough like if Thompson’s going to win MVP, he’s going to have to have linemates that help him get there. And in the last month of last season, the two guys he finished the season with were Yuri Koulik and Zack Benson. I just did my most recent episode of locked on sabers on breakout candidates and they were the first two players that I got to because one age-wise they are in the curve of okay like now’s the time you know Benson you’ve played two full seasons in the NHL which by the way for a player that goes outside the top 10 him making the league immediately out of it is still incredible to me especially when like you watch Z he’s a very tough player to evaluate I kind of like the challenge of it I love watching him play because He is not fast. He’s not big. And he’s a teenager. So you might ask, wait a minute, so how in the world has he been in the NHL for two years? And most would probably say, well, the Sabres stink. That’s how he makes the roster, right? And that’s a part of it. He is instinctually one of the best players I’ve ever seen. Like his instincts, he is always thinking three steps above his opponent. And I think the only thing holding him back and maybe this will be his whole career from being like a star player is again he’s not a great skater. He by the NHL edge stats one of the slowest players in the league and he’s not strong enough to he can’t even really get a lot of weight on his stick to score these opportunities that he gets for himself. But he’s incredible defensively. So, Benson becoming a player that could put up 50 60 points this year in his third year at 20 years old. To me, it would be huge for Thompson getting the numbers that it would take to to be in the MVP discussion if they’re playing together and for this team to make the playoffs. Um, he’s already got all the defensive game nailed down. And then for Koulique, listen, Yuri Koulik might open as their number one center like kind of by default, but him and Ta had some chemistry at the end of last season. and Koulique was a rookie, so you know, expectations were modest. He only had nine assists, but we saw the goalcoring flash. He got to 15 on that front. I think for him, him being a guy that could play 18 to 20 minutes a night as a number one center, maybe like a 1A, 1B on this team. You know, you have a couple guys that play about the same. That would be fine, but he he has to become a better playmaker. Tage Thompson, as good as Koulique is at shooting the puck, the guy on your right, number 72, if he’s going to play on the wing, is a lot better than you are. So, for me, he’s got to get a lot better at carrying the puck and distributing the puck and allowing Thompson to be kind of the main goal scorer on that top line. Sabres, 36 wins a season ago, 39 losses, seven ties, 79 points, draws, shootout losses. shootout losses, whatever you want to call it, in the standings, whatever. You understood what I meant, Cam. Okay, I’ve been up since 5 a.m. Okay, look, Joe did a good thing a couple years ago about the Sabres playoff drought and how they avoided it for a long time in the 90s and 80s because they had so many ties. Hey, hey, those 30 those 36 wins, three more than the Boston Bruins. That that doesn’t take much. Two more than the Pittsburgh Penguins. Yep. Amazing. How many Joe? What’s a realistic Is this a year the Sabres and the drought? What’s a realistic win total? Point total. They were 12 points out of a playoff spot. Can they realistically get there? They can. If you ask me today, I’d say like 75 points, 77 points. Like that to me is the most likely. Could they be below that? Sure. There is an there is an outcome where this team bottoms out where it all comes crashing down and it’s you know the players that have been here for a long time are just done with the whole thing. I mean Rasmoselli and Ta Thompson have been here for seven years. I would not blame them for checking out if halfway through the year like they’re in last place. Um I don’t think they would. They’re professionals but I wouldn’t blame them. I think it’s also possible and it’s within the range of outcomes that they make the playoffs this year. I do think that is possible. I think they could be a 95 point team. I don’t think I could see them going much higher than that. We’re saying plus or minus 20 points here. I listen that that’s a lot of NHL teams though, isn’t it? Like it’s it’s based on what your net looks like and it also is going to be about your power play and it’s going to be about health. So yeah, maybe that’s maybe I’m giving that a little too much credit for the range there. I I think the meat of it is 75 points is what I think is most likely. Here’s what they need to have happen. They need to not be one of the five worst teams in the league in power play, which they have been. They need their goalending to be consistent, which has happened like one time in the last 10 years, one time since Ryan Miller has been their goalending. And they need to stay healthy. And if those three things happen, I could see them being a team that gets 90 plus points. Um it’ll look different than when they almost made it a couple years ago. Couple years ago, they were high-flying up and down the ice. We’re going to try to outscore you. The blueprint that they are going for now, the way they’ve built the roster, the way the coach is handling things, Lindy Ruff, is they want to be tougher to play against. They want to be better defensively. So, if if they have it their way, they’ll win a lot of 32-1 games this year and they’ll kind of grind their way to making making the playoffs. Have it your way. That’s Burger King, right? Is that Arby’s Subway? I think it’s Burger. It’s one of them. I think it’s Burger King. Yeah, Burger King should make a song so I could, you know, for a commercial then maybe I’ll catch on if they just made one of those. Um, more maybe a more important question than just are for the Saber locked on Sabres host of if they’re going to make the playoffs is this, Joe. If you if you are Terry Pagula, okay, let’s put you in that scenario. Okay. Um, I know there I know there’s a whole list of things you would change. I know. I know. I’m going to stick to one question though, okay? Are you sticking with these lovely royal blue and gold sweaters or are you throwing it back and bringing back the black, red, silver goat head 9906, the glory days? Yeah, arguably their two best uh I think someone who watched in the 70s would really want to fight me for this, but arguably their two best teams in franchise history are wearing the black and red in ’06 and in 99. Um, I would, you know, this is the owner that, this is the way I want to be an owner. I would want to do what I think the people want most, which is, you know, not always what I might want most. I like the black and red the most. I grew up with that as a kid, so it’s more special to me. But I also understand that the the first 354 years of this team’s existence was wearing basically what they wear now as their home and away uniforms. So, I wouldn’t mess with that. I actually think they’ve kind of nailed it. I think they’ve nailed it. They do wear the black and red a lot. I’m not sure. Maybe you guys could tell me how much like your teams wear alternates when they have them, but they play like they play 15 home games a year wearing black and red. That’s a that’s a big chunk of your home games. Then usually a couple road games on top of that. 40 home games. I think they’ve got a good balance right now. I think they wear it enough that satisfies the fans of my generation while also keeping the generation that grew up with it, you know, in the first 35 years and in the last 15, keeping them happy, too. I I think they’re in a good sweet spot. So, I would keep it. You’re happy. I don’t know if Michael Pekka is happy. I don’t know if Danny Breier’s happy about hearing this, but No. Well, Danny Breier were the slug, too, so I don’t know how bad. Yes, that’s that’s true, man. I don’t know if he wants that one. Maybe he does. The classic. There were some talks about going back to the slug and earning your way into a real uniform making the playoffs. I won’t say which one of us said that, but it was discussed before before hitting record. If you watch the show, you know who commented that distinctly on a sweater. That’s all I’m saying. Oh man. So, really quickly, you remember the yellow alternates they wore for a couple of years? Those are the ones. Do you want to go back to the slug for like a year and wear it twice? Like, I’m not going to yell at you. you wear that thing ever again and you should instantly be folded or you know moved to a different city. Do we call it Do we call it a yellow or gold one? Do you have to call it like it’s only half of that, right? No. Right. It’s right. It was blue on the back and if you look closely the the torso was a different yellow than the sleeves. It’s a monstrosity. It was the worst jersey ever made. So, you know what’s funny about that? Yeah. So, that that trend didn’t catch on. the the the two colored the two-toned jersey like um but what’s so funny about that is when we talked about earlier the uniqueness of the logo the fact that it has the Buffalo and the Sabres on that one you’ll remember they just put they were like oh how are they going to know what team it is and so they just like wrote Buffalo underneath it or on top of it or whatever it was right on top yeah this is so like New Roman by the way like the font looked like they it was the first it was the default on some intern who never watched hockey brings up this question in the meeting and the the executives are like, “Oo, are people thinking that? Are the young people thinking that? Do we need to put Buffalo in Times New Roman above it?” And they did. But anyway, is this the year the Sabres finally make the playoffs? Let us know in the comments section below. Be sure to like the video, subscribe to the channel if you’re a loyal Buffaloian, or you just love the Sabres from somewhere else. It helps us keep our jobs and it’s completely free. Special thank you uh to Joe Debiosi of Locked On Sabres for hopping on today. If you are new to this Locked on NHL network, please check out the show. It’s truly one of the best we have on our network. Your only Sabres talk every day. For Joe Deiosi and Tyler Feldman, I’m Cam Stewart. We will see you on the next season preview edition of Locked on NHL game night.

Buffalo Sabres’ playoff drought reaches 14 years. Can Tage Thompson’s MVP-caliber play finally end the misery?

Host Cam Stuart and co-host Tyler Feldman dissect the Sabres’ chances with Locked On Sabres host Joe DiBiase. They explore Thompson’s 100-point potential, the impact of the JJ Paterka trade, and Bo Byram’s intriguing contract situation. DiBiase offers insights on breakout candidates and the team’s realistic point projections for the upcoming NHL season. Key factors for success include power play improvement and consistent goaltending.

Tune in for expert analysis on whether the Sabres can overcome their long-standing challenges and make a surprising playoff push this year.

0:00 Intro: Tackling tough questions with local reporters

5:02 Is Tage Thompson a legit MVP candidate?

9:30 Buffalo’s passionate but frustrated hockey fanbase

14:10 Analyzing the JJ Peterka trade to Utah

17:33 Bowen Byram’s bridge deal and power play minutes

22:33 Potential breakout players for the Sabres

26:08 Realistic expectations for Sabres’ upcoming season

28:55 Debating Sabres jersey designs and team history

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