What should the Sabres do at the deadline?

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What I think they're going to look at though,

somebody for the third pair on defense, you know,

matches look very good all season.

I think, but I think they want to set third pair one where

it's not just playing them for eight minutes a night.

I think they want to give them a little bit more time,

just to kind of give that top for a break.

You want to be better depth wide.

Aside from that, maybe somebody for the bottom six,

maybe you're looking at a forward there to kind of, again, add some depth.

Joe Yerdin from the previous segment,

talking about some trade deadline targets.

Zach Jones just filled you in on one whose name did not come up.

We were running tight on time.

I mentioned how it's Chris Johnson, by the way,

Toronto based hockey writer, national hockey league writer,

who says the sabers have a group of front office scouting personnel on the way up to Toronto

or in Toronto to watch the night's flyers.

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Stint GM, I believe, is his title.

And that's, there's a couple of defensemen there.

We're still lining on the flyers.

Oliver, I've been larson on the Leafs.

A name I was going to mention, because I'm glad I didn't,

because he'd already been traded.

By the time I was going to bring it up to Joe,

was Connor Murphy of the Blackhawks.

But he goes to Edmonton for a second-round pick.

Chicago's keeping half the salary.

We'll probably see plenty of that.

As the trade deadline approaches on Friday.

But that's a name to scratch off your list.

If it was on, it was on mine.

I thought it could have been a fit.

I'm really just looking for experience.

I don't need you to be a high-end offensive producer.

Just someone I can count on to maybe eat some,

eat some shop blocks, kill the odd penalty,

and just upgrade their overall defensive depth.

That's what I'm seeking mostly from this deadline.

And Murphy, to me, was someone who maybe doesn't have the name recognition.

These other guys have.

Restolation is certainly what we're familiar with.

And Oliver, I'm larson, veteran player,

won the Cup with Florida a couple years ago.

More household name type guys.

But Murphy to me would have been a fine target.

But that's gone, because he's on his way to Edmonton.

I am the Bulldog Mike has the day off today.

Sabers play tomorrow night against Vegas.

Vegas has some injury concerns.

Mark Stone, I was watching their game in Pittsburgh

yesterday afternoon.

They got shut out five, nothing.

Vegas did in Pittsburgh.

And in the middle of that game,

Mark Stone left their coach today.

I think they're in town already.

Vegas are said, he's day to day.

And I'm sorry, I guess we don't have definitive word.

But I'm guessing he won't be in the lineup tomorrow.

But who knows?

Maybe he'll feel better.

But that's one note.

Zach gave you all the rest of it.

The big news today was that Eerie Kool-Eak

is another check in with doctors, get some tests done

from maybe ramping up his activity to the point

where he could rejoin the team.

But they got a clear another threshold.

And I think that's coming within the next 12 to 24 hours.

So hopefully some good news there.

It's funny, I was with a friend last night who asked me like,

what is going on with Kool-Eak?

I'm like, we just don't hear anything that regularly

because of the nature of the injury.

But there was an update on him today.

So cross your fingers on that that maybe,

well, certainly that his health is continuing to improve.

And that maybe he can, at some point,

be of help to the hockey team.

Because that's a player that showed a lot of promise.

I think last year before this year

completely derailed on him.

716-803-050 is the phone number you want to get in

and talk some puck here.

The Sabers kind of changing the lives of their fans.

I mean, that's a little strong, a little dramatic.

But if you've had the Sabers as an afterthought

for any amount of time here,

could have been 10 years, could have been a year.

I don't know, could have been a few months.

That certainly has changed now.

And I'm loving a lot of the feedback I'm getting on Twitter.

I'll share some of that in a bit here.

But Jim is up for this segment.

Hi, Jim. Thanks for calling you on WGR.

Yeah, Bulldog.

I got the chill bumps, man,

because I get the 75 steric up playoffs.

And the 99 steric up playoffs,

this town goes bonkers.

I mean, he even had work on the phone and a plant.

You'd hear, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop.

It was all over.

And everybody was so excited.

And you, you know, you watch every check, every shot,

every fight, everything.

It's just so, I know it's coming.

So I can't.

That's why I had to call and tell people,

it's going to be unbelievable.

It's so great.

You know, I'm just a hockey fan,

but those steric up playoffs,

the whole playoffs are so exciting, you know?

So I've had to let you guys know.

And what's coming, it's a nice thing for Buffalo

to have coming.

I'm telling you.

All right, Jim.

Yeah, I appreciate it.

Yeah, very, very much looking forward to it.

I have, it's crazy.

You think, I think about every now and then,

I mean, me, Mike and I, we just had a,

a nice piece written about us in Buffalo Spring Magazine,

if you happen to see it at the grocery store.

Check out, pick it up, professional photos and everything.

And like thinking about like 23 years,

Mike and I have been together doing this show,

which I'm fiercely proud of.

I mean, really, like in this business,

that's a, that's a hearty, hearty run.

So I really, like, I've, I've enjoyed it.

I'm proud of it.

It's incredible to think it's 23 years.

And the last 14 have had no hockey playoffs.

I mean, it's so much of our time together.

And when we first got paired together,

it was September of 2003.

And so yeah, we went through a lockout,

but eventually coming out of the lockout,

we all know how good the Sabers got very quickly.

No 506, no 607, I mean, that was great.

We were just getting to know each other for crying out loud.

And here we are all these years later.

And it's just been so long since we've had that,

but we, we were talking about this the other day.

I've said four years now, year over year,

at this time of the year, especially, right?

The clock switch next Sunday, right?

Next Saturday night into Sunday,

the days start to get longer.

And at this time of the year,

when you're in a hockey town, a hockey market,

with a team that's in the playoffs,

or going to the playoffs,

it just feels so different.

It's light out before, you know, the games are beginning

and it's still, you know, it's spring,

and it just feels like such a hopeful, exciting time.

And we just have had none of that.

For so many of these years,

we barely even had races.

I mean, there was a few years ago,

the first year Florida went to the final and lost,

the Sabers missed by a point.

That was a year where pretty recently,

we at least had a race, right?

But it was for eighth, it was for the last spot.

The Sabers are second in the division right now.

Detroit looks like they're gonna win in regulation

and pick up two points,

and they will then be tied with the Sabers,

but Buffalo will stay ahead

because Detroit will have now played one more game.

That's right, there's an afternoon game today

in the NHL and involves a team in the Sabers division

that they're racing with.

So they just picked up an empty netter

and they're 16.8 seconds away from Park

and this one safely in the place where,

if you're fortunate enough to have a garage,

you know, where you park your car.

But anyway, everything just sort of is percolating

at this time of the year.

And of course, the week's to come here.

Once the clocks do switch,

once we get to big games for the standings,

big games for playoff matchups, big games for seating,

and then of course, eventually the actual playoff

games themselves.

There is a vibe around town.

It's just play a game day off on easy anxiety.

Oh, next day, it's okay.

There's another game the next day.

Like it's just such a rhythm to it.

Man, I've missed it so much

and I'm sure a lot of you have.

You've filled up my Twitter feed with it today

and I'm really enjoying this conversation today.

Let's keep her going.

Josh is next up.

Hi, Josh. Thanks for calling.

You're on the air here on WGR.

It's great to be here.

Thanks a lot for taking my phone call, gentlemen.

We don't want to just participate in postseason play.

It's been 14 years, make no mistake.

We don't want to be a participant.

We want to dominate the playoffs.

And as we know, the regular season and the playoffs

are two different things.

There are some three things that we need on this team

to have playoffs success.

Well, it's an I know lion.

You've having a great season.

He looks great.

I can't say enough good things about lion.

UPL, we had questions about that and Ellis is Ellis.

But I think we need a little more gold-tending prosperity.

I do not want to go into the playoffs.

So when it's all sudden, don't say, gee,

you know, I wish we had the gold-tending.

If we got someone right now in your own nose,

exactly what we need.

We need someone back there reliable, dependable,

maybe a step up, Igor Shasturken.

I don't know.

It could happen, but I need someone in there that's profound.

There as well.

Defensive depth, have some relief to our top four.

Totally understandable.

And the sabres are dead last on the face-off dot.

Dead last.

When you see the sabres when the face-off

is getting puck control, they're moving it.

Tick-tack tail is beautiful.

It's like poetry and motion.

We need more of that.

And the only way we're going to get that

is winning more face-offs.

So get a veteran on that forward line depth.

Get them, get a specialized player who wins, draws,

head to our top four D.

And let's get a veteran goalie back there.

So we're not reminiscing down the road,

say we should have got a number one guy there as well.

All right, Josh.

Thank you.

To cut you off, we're getting very tight on time this segment.

And I don't want to have happened what happened last hour

at this time to happen again.

There was a lot there.

We got to take a break.

I mean, Shesterkin?

OK, I mean, welcome back, everyone.

Sabres, we're out here, Adolf, that, I mean,

that's just not happening.

And Goldtending has been a strength of this team, I think,

which I know it's not maybe comfortable to say,

but this team is not training for you, Shesterkin.

Adolf, 305, 50 is the number.

Thank you for the call, Josh, appreciate it very much.

I'm the Bulldog.

You're listening to WGR.

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