Is it safe to be a Sabres fan again?

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March is coming.

Let me ask you this Brian, if they add Robert Thomas, going into the playoffs, the Buffalo

Savers are what?

They're fighting for, in my opinion, the third best odds to win the East, which is still worthy

of going for it.

It's reasonable to expect that it could happen.

Everything's come together.

When you go on a heater like this, everything's coming together.

I think Tampa and Carolina deserve the benefit of the doubt based on their pedigree, their

history, their coaching.

Is Buffalo better than Montreal, Detroit, Pittsburgh, the Outers?

Yeah, I think they could make that case.

Is it a bad look when a host of a radio show in Buffalo says the show that his show just

played a clip of from Toronto is his favorite radio show?

I know I could listen to other time.

I'm not one who, and I'm grateful for all of you that do do it.

I should probably listen to over.

That's TSN's overdrive, Toronto, Brian Hayes, Jamie McClendon, and Jeff O'Neal.

They used to be on like noon to two, and I would catch them driving in here.

Now they're on in this time slot because, well, they're awesome.

That's them talking about the Savers and this rumored trade for Robert Thomas.

I love that Hayes put it just like Carolina and Tampa, okay, sure, they're better than

you.

Who else?

Nobody.

So go for it.

You just, you just never know when your best opportunity is going to be, and this year

could be it.

That's why I love the energy behind this Robert Thomas conversation.

Get right back to the phones here at 803-0550.

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Our buddy Chad Deedham minutes is with expected buffalo.

Chad was on our show just a couple of weeks ago, I think during the Olympic break.

And he shares this just his thoughts on what could be going on here and what a return

to get Robert Thomas to the Sabers could look like.

He says he believes it would be headlined with futures and minimal of any NHL roster impact.

Logically that almost has to mean Helenuse and or Murtka are a part of the return forgot all about red and red in Murtka playing junior hockey

But the sabers first round pick last year

Along with the first to start probably three

Four pieces overall is what Chad is betting on and that that lines up with a lot of the reporting

We've seen on this already and a lot of the speculation that we've shared with you

What it does is protect your NHL roster

So you know, you're not pulling something out to bring something in

You're simply bringing in a great player in using mostly futures to make it happen

Which I mean I'm a hundred percent here for that 80305 50 again is the number Tim will be first up this segment

Hi Tim. Thank you for calling you're on the air here on WGR

Hold on thanks for taking my call. I appreciate it. Love listening to you

especially when hockey is good again

So thank you for that. I also

Feel very fortunate to be able to listen to your son in the mornings. He's you

He is absolutely you as mannerisms. I just love it. So thank you for for both

I appreciate you saying that Tim. Thank you. Yeah, true story

So I am the fan that you talked about the last couple of days in terms of how things have changed for me

You know, I definitely went into a hole

My son would come home and say aren't the sabers playing and I'd say yes. So what

And now of course, you know, I can't you know, I can't make a make an appointment when there's a game

So with that said this is where I talk out of both sides of my mouth and commit that bless for me

But I mean, this is Kevin Adams roster, right? Yeah

And so I guess the question is you know, are we doing and I completely understand why we made the move. I get it

I lived it. I get it

But at some point in time, are we doing a disservice and not giving some sort of credit for what he's put together

Well, I think he'll I think he'll get credit Tim

You know, it will not be to me and afterthought because it is quite literally true

Right now anyway, I mean, we'll see about a Robert Thomas trade

um

This team was built by Kevin Adams

The majority the vast majority of the draft. I mean he was on the job for this was his sixth season

So it stands to reason right a lot of the draft picks a lot of the guys that are here our guys that he chose not all of them

you know, I mean

But but most of it and if they make this trade for Robert Thomas using

largely futures

Those are all those are all Kevin Adams picks

It is um, I think right and fair to point that out of course, right the the the the trade that netted them

Kesslering and don't

I mean don't don't don't hit so well here so fast that he's already on a contract

extension

Pay them seven times when he was making when he walked in the door

um

There have been good hockey moves here

What what they're what they're heading been was any

Real faith in the direction of the organization

and that comes on

With year over year of inaction

To improve the roster when something's going wrong

And I think it also comes from just year over year of the players

being treated like punchlines because of

Everything that went on you go back to Reinhard Eichel and Bristol Einen being traded in one off season while Eichel was a little later

Those guys were in the summer and then Eichel got traded once the season got going but you you get the point

um their reputation

Took a huge hit when Adams took that job

It within the league within within the the players within their peers the sabers were being laughed at regularly

And so I

Look that that all doesn't necessarily

Come down as being fair to Adams

But I cannot imagine this team

playing

With the the heart and desire that they play with now

If the move hadn't been made

I just don't think you can overstate how important it was to have a credible

NHL experienced level of executive executives plural

brought in here

To sort of jumpstart this whole thing

I just don't think any of this would be happening if he were still the jam

Uh, it does it speaks a lot to

faith in

Leadership and belief and the kind of things that get you to really dig in and play as hard as you possibly can

Every every opportunity doesn't mean you're always going to be at your best your best some nights

Uh is not going to be good enough

Like that that's the sport that's how it happens you can you can have the best intentions every night and physically

Emotionally you maybe just can't get there

All the time

But if you can get there often enough like this team has

That piece the the belief piece

Matters a lot

Because you're seeing it right here the talent is basically the same

And what they've gotten instead with the exception of lion. I mean lion was Adam brought lion in that was his idea

um

His contribution shouldn't be underestimated

They they've had a stability in goal

That with like if they they were just looking in and leave I or looking in and your name here

Um, they would have been in real trouble, but lion has really propped that up and helped them a lot um

But basically it's the same it's the same team

And lion was here at the start of the year when things weren't going well and it just turned as soon as

There was word in the wind

credible word in the wind that a move was going to be made when they got home from that road trip

Everything changed and look I don't have a other than the record. I don't have a data point to give you that proves it

But it's just too much of a coincidence to me. So yes, give him credit

And I do think he will get it

Um as we go here once everyone really believes like boy wow

They he really did a look at these guys like he built this team that's correct

So I don't I don't I wouldn't want to like try to

Change that in any way

But if you think this was all possible with him still as the GM

I mean again, I can't I can't write down or show you a chart

As to why I disagree vehemently with you

I just don't think the previous five years tell tell me all I need to know about it

The attention to detail their best players have now did not exist

With him is GM just didn't taged Thompson is a perfect case in point

I don't think I'm just whitewashing it now like watching Thompson because they're good and going oh

Well his defensive liabilities don't bother me anymore because they're getting results

I just don't see him

Making the sorts of decisions

That I was used to seeing him make in the first month and a half two months of the season

I think it changed. I think they're dug in

Anyway, thanks for the call really appreciating yet Rob is up next hi Rob. Thanks for calling around WGR

My bulldog. I wanted to um ask you about I think it was about four years ago three four years ago you wrote an article

Um titled is it safe yet to be a savers fan?

And I can't tell you how many times I've asked myself that

and

A few times I've said yes, and then it comes back to haunt me

I thought maybe you should probably write a

You know what hard to do to that

I I appreciate you uh remembering that I don't recall that specific

Theme but I I believe you I just don't I don't have

I don't have recall of it um

I do think it is safe. I mean I've been saying for for weeks here. They're good

This isn't a fluke

This isn't just shooting percentage and save percentage. I mean some of that sure

But they defend well they convert their chances

They're not a hot power play really team. They're just good

And that is months long now

So I think them going big you know big game hunting here

If they're really in on Robert Thomas from the blues. I think it's absolutely warranted

Because I do not think the conference is so top heavy that you're looking at numerous teams that you just think I how do I beat that team

To me it's Carolina and Tampa and the last time I played Carolina I got I got I got goldied

I mean they had a great day. That was an afternoon game right Martha Luther King day. I think Martin Luther King day

That was um great great outing they lost two to one to Carolina

um

Take just whooped Tampa in their place those are the kingpin teams in the east Toronto's done

Boston's sort of like level with you

Montreal Detroit same thing

Those seems I don't want anything in a long time

But they they they are probably going to be playoff teams

You're going to absolutely see

Then handling any of those teams in a first round series

Carolina and Tampa are the only two and if this goes well and you get a second or a third in the division

You don't don't worry about them until the second round at the earliest

So I I think it's it's called for to treat this like you got to look at it

And that's why that's the thing I love the most about this story today 80305 50 Sonoma got to hit up a break

We're about 15 20 minutes away from Sabre's pregame with Paul Hamilton

That's on the way at the top of the hour. I'm the bulldog, and this is W looking for something smart

Soulful and full of heart. I'm Jin Hatmaker

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