Hockey will be played by players wearing Buffalo Sabres uniforms this week as the Prospects Challenge kicks off on Friday. The Sabres are bringing a few star prospects along for the ride. This episode highlights some of the key players to watch for this weekend at The Prospects Challenge along with others who will have an opportunity to make an impact over Buffalo's trio of games. Each position group is touched on, with the likes of Nikita Novikov and Anton Wahlberg getting some added focus. 

Episode three of the PipelIne Update series is here, featuring an in-depth conversation with Kris Baker of Sabres Prospects on the state of the Buffalo Sabres forward group at forward. We touch on several of Buffalo's top prospects, along with others who haven't gotten quite as much attention compared to the likes of Jiri Kulich or Noah Ostlund. Kris gives a thoroguh breakdown of the season outlook for the likes fo Brodie Ziemer, Kulich, Ostlund, Konsta Helenius and many more. We also touch briefly on how things may shape up for next week's Prospects Challenge and Sabres training camp. 

We're back for another mock offseason. This time, Chris takes over the controls and navigates through the summer, picking the trades and signings he'd like to see the Sabres make. This comes after last week's episode when Tyler offered up his approach to the Sabres offseason gameplan. 

We kick off another season of the podcast with a conversation about the Prospects Challenge. We run through the highlights of the roster expected to play this coming weekend and even dip into the invites who will be helping to round out the roster for the tournament.

Our conversation touches on some of the expected standouts for the tournament, the unknowns in net and closes with our thoughts on some of the players who could be worth watching for when Sabres training camp opens.

Kevin Woodley joins the show this week to share his goaltending expertise and talk about the outlook for the Sabres in net for the coming season. We talk at length about Eric Comrie's strengths and weaknesses and his ability to take on a larger workload. Kevin also shares his thoughts on Craig Anderson and how both he and Comrie can work in tandem this season.

We touch on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and, of course, Devon Levi as we wrap up the show. Along the way you'll catch some terrific anecdotes about Ryan Miller and other goaltenders Kevin has covered and spoken with during his time with InGoal and NHL.com.

The Sabres, at long last, have announced they will be bringing back their red and black uniforms as an alternate jersey for the 2022-23 season. The team made the announcement on Wednesday, stating that they will wear the jersey 12 times during the year beginning with a November face-off with the St. Louis Blues. We talk about the excitement surrounding the decision and the nostalgia this brings as we reminisce about some of the great memories made while the Sabres wore the Goathead the first time around.

We kick off the show with a discussion on the two contracts the Sabres signed this week as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Tage Thompson each got a new deal from the club. While the UPL deal wasn't a huge news item, the Thompson contract is. We break down some key points on the seven-year, $50 million contract for the Sabres center.

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Pete Jensen of NHL.com joins the show to offer up a fantasy hockey outlook for the coming season. Pete lends his expertise to discuss which players are candidates to climb up draft boards, players poised for a breakout year in fantasy and which Sabres will carry the most fantasy value this season. We also talk about which rookies will be worth targeting in your drafts and some big picture fantasy draft strategy.

Noah Ennis, goal mask artist and owner of Shell Shock Paint joins the show for an expansive conversation about goalie mask art and the pro clients Noah works with. New Sabres goalie Eric Comrie is among the roster of pro clients Ennis works with in addition to the Anaheim Ducks' Lukas Dostal, John Gibson and Anthony Stolarz, Laurent Brossoit of the Vegas Golden Knights and many other NHL and AHL netminders. Our conversation covered some of the finer details of working with NHL goalies on mask designs and the trends and innovations within the wider industry. Noah's work can be found online at shellshockpaint.com or on Instagram @shellshockco.

As we continue through August, it seemed like a good time to field a few more listener questions. This week's episode tackles a bunch of different topics including the Sabres Reverse Retro sweaters, shoulder patches, goaltending plans, special teams alignments and trade targets. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions for this week's Q&A.

Chad and Anthony from Expected Buffalo join the show for another roundtable discussion. This time we talk about when the Sabres will be ready to take the next big step in their rebuild and when the right time for it will be. We talk about how this summer has helped shape the next step in their rebuild and look ahead to whether or not next summer will be the time that Kevyn Adams starts making big splashes. We wrap up by touching on the prospects who could be most impacted by future acquisitions and even toss out a few favorites we'd like to see the Sabres target.

It's a busy show as we spend a little time talking through Buffalo's draft class before diving into free agency. We discuss the signings of Eric Comrie and Ilya Lyubushkin and how they address the two biggest needs the Sabres had in free agency. We look into how Buffalo's roster makes it more difficult to freely add additional bodies despite having an apparent need to get further clear of the salary cap floor. We offer up a few names who could be wise additions for the team before moving on to a brief conversation over the biggest moves from the opening day of NHL Free Agency.

It's a big draft episode as we look ahead to Thursday's first round and the three picks the Sabres hold. We spend time talking about Ivann Fedotov's situation in Russia and how it could affect teams considering Russians in the first round of the draft. Specifically, Danila Yurov and the smoke surrounding him and the Sabres. We also talk about potential fits at the ninth pick, 28 and even pick 41. All that and more on this week's episode of the podcast.

Chris Peters of DailyFaceoff.com joins the show to offer up a preview of this week's NHL draft. We talk about the wide variance of opinions on virtually every facet of this year's first round. From the first pick through 32, we touch on how wide the range of rankings can be for numerous players. We also touch on Buffalo's trio of first round picks and the players Chris sees as ideal fits at each of those selections.

The days of trades and free agency are almost upon us so Tyler and Chris decided to try their hands at some GM work. In this episode, Tyler offers up his approach to Buffalo's offseason and the way he'd reshape the roster if he occupied Kevyn Adams' office. Next week, Chris tries his hand at the practice. 

This week we tackle the 2022 Stanley Cup Final and offer up our thoughts on the postseason. We move on to discuss Alexander Mogilny missing out on induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame once again and whether his resume is enough to get into the Hall in the future. We wrap up with listener questions which go heavy on Buffalo's options in net this offseason.

For some lighter offseason content we decided to dig into who we deem to be the best draft pick in Sabres history. We considered a few permutations for our discussion as Gilbert Perreault is an obvious and easy answer to lead with. Our conversation meanders through a number of fan favorites and franchise legends as we assess various picks from a number of angles.

The show kicks off with a quick discussion of the latest in the NHL coaching carousel as Peter DeBoer and John Tortorella became the latest coaches to land new jobs.

The newest Sabres beat writer joins the show as we welcome Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic to discuss a host of Sabres offseason topics. Matthew offers his thoughts on where the Sabres stand with regard to their rebuild and what moves he expects to see made this summer. We spend some time talking about the key vacancies in net and offer up a few potential targets that the Sabres could pursue. Matthew also provides some insight on what it's been like stepping into a new beat and some of the differences between his previous work covering the Patriots and what he's looking forward to covering the NHL.

Despite their Western Conference ouster, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl put on one of the most memorable playoff performances of recent memory. We discuss whether or not their play would be strong enough to garner attention for the Connn Smythe despite not reaching the Cup Finals.

We also touch on the waves rocking the boat in Boston as Bruce Cassidy was fired earlier this week, three key veterans will miss the start of the season and now rumors are swirling that David Pastrnak may be dealt in the summer. We analyze Boston's outlook in the wake of this news and even find time to talk about Chris Osgood in the Hall of Fame as part of Chris' 11 Day Powerplay fundraiser.

We run down both the Eastern Conference Finals and Western Conference Finals now that the NHL's second round is complete. We touch on the no speed limit Western Conference Final and the goaltending battle that looms in the east.

We also discuss the signing of Isak Rosen and how the Sabres might manage his development in Rochester or Sweden during the 2022-23 season.

With the first round of the NHL Playoffs complete, we look at which teams could be looking to make adjustments this offseason and whether or not the Sabres can capitalize on any such moves. We also touch on the signing of Alexander Kisakov and the latest on the Arizona Coyotes arena saga.

The Sabres didn't see their picks move in the NHL Draft Lottery and they will draft ninth and 16th in this year's draft. The only first round pick to be determined is that of the Florida Panthers, which will fall between 28th and 32nd depending on their finish. On this week's show we talk about the lottery results and who the Sabres could be looking at with their top two picks. We also talk about Barry Trotz' departure from the New York Islanders and run through some of the key talking points from the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Another season is in the books and we look back at the way the Sabres played over the course of 2022-23 and what it means for them going forward. While we don't assign grades to any individual, we break down each of the team's position groups to see where the bright spots were and where the Sabres need to improve most.

We wrap up the show with a brief conversation on the NHL playoffs and which early storylines in the postseason stand out most to us.

Matt Keeler and Nick Ciavarella of JustDishin join the show to discuss SkateSkins and the product's introduction into the NHL. They also offer some tremendous insight into the intersection of hockey and fashion and how that evolution has the ability to move the sport forward on a number of levels. This wide ranging conversation touches on a number of intriguing topics, including SkateSkins, a product that made a huge splash in the NHL last week.

It's another Ask Instigator version of the podcast as we answer a number of listener questions on everything from trading their first round picks and what a lottery win would mean for the Sabres to which player from 2005-06 or 06-07 would we pick up and place on the current iteration of the Sabres roster.

We also touch on Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka's All-Rookie Team nomination in the AHL and discuss Vegas impeding elimination from the NHL playoff race and how that affects the Sabres in the draft.

One of the best fan resources in hockey, CapFriendly, has been purchased by the Washington Capitals and will close down in July. We talk about the best aspects of CapFriendly and why it's such a huge loss in the world of hockey as the Capitals prepare to take it over. We also discuss how the NHL is missing a golden opportunity to remain engaged with their most passionate fans by developing their own version of the cap management tool. 

Along the way we offer up a roundup of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, the Sabres promotion of Jerry Forton and the report that some consideration could be given to shortening the NHL Draft. 

Owen Power's NHL career is a week old and we spend some time reflecting on his strong play through the first four games he's appeared in. We also touch on how he and Rasmus Dahlin are rounding out a formidable top-four for the Sabres.

Also on the show is a discussion over Devon Levi and Erik Portillo each returning to school and how that affects Buffalo's decisions in net for the offseason. We wrap up this week's show talking about the introduction of ads on NHL jerseys.

Jason Moser of PuckLuck.com joined the show this week to discuss the way he applies advanced analytics to betting NHL games and how his model can help give bettors an edge in winning hockey bets. We discuss how he developed the model using common analytics such as expected goals and how those models are applied to determine which NHL games offer the best opportunity for betting wins on a night-to-night basis.

We also touch on how models such as Jason's can be applied to areas such as fantasy hockey. All of the information can be found on Jason's site, puckluck.com, which is free and available to the public. We talk at length about the sort of information he provides on the site and how it is structured to help you win more bets.

The Sabres celebrated Rick Jeanneret on Friday night and they put on quite a show in the process. We talk about the whirlwind evening and many of the highlights of the team's impressive pregame ceremony, decisive win over the Predators and touching post-game tribute.

We also touch on prospect Devon Levi and the news that he will be returning to Northeastern for his junior season after finishing 2021-22 as a Hobey Baker finalist. Levi isn't the only collegiate goalie the Sabres need to be tracking, as there are signs that Erik Portillo could qualify as a free agent as early as the 2023 offseason. That, plus Levi's return likely puts him front-and-center to the Sabres plans to ink their collegiate prospects.

The Sabres pushed their point streak to six games and improved to 8-3-2 in the month of March. We discuss how the continued success of the team could potentially cloud the longer term needs when it comes to making sure the Sabres take the next step in their rebuild. Namely, we discuss the discourse around Craig Anderson and where the team would be had he been healthy for the entire year.

Also on the show is a discussion over the new Buffalo Bills stadium deal and highlights from the NHL GM meetings.

Kevyn Adams stood pat at this year's trade deadline, only moving out Robert Hagg on Sunday. We talk about what the lack of action means for the team as they prepare for the stretch run, how they might fit key youngsters into the lineup and whether or not Adams made the right call by not making additional moves.

We also touch on moves from around the league. Who we felt were the big winners of this year's deadline and even discuss that wacky Evgenii Dadonov deal.

We are bathing in the good vibes surrounding the Sabres this week as we discuss how things have seemingly started to gel for the team and its young core. We discuss the impressive win over the Maple Leafs in the Heritage Classic, touch on the impressive impact that the likes of Alex Tuch and Jeff Skinner have on the club and look ahead to next week's deadline.

Our deadline discussion focuses on players the Sabres could attempt to target as acquisitions at the deadline, in hopes of finding another key piece to help build this new core around.

The trade deadline is two weeks away and we spend this week's episode discussing where Buffalo's pending UFAs could go and how the Sabres can leverage this year's deadline into even more draft capital for the club. We also touch on Kevyn Adams' public statements about the Sabres ability to weaponize their cap space at the deadline.

Also on the show is a quick chat about the returns of Sam Reinhart, Jack Eichel and Sunday's Heritage Classic.

The hockey world has reacted to the war in Ukraine, as Russia and Belarus have been suspended from international play by the IIHF and the 2023 World Junior Championships have been removed from Russia as well. Additional hockey-related sanctions have been placed on the two countries and we discuss the fallout that will come from the actions taken by both sides, from a hockey perspective. We also discuss the new initiatives being take by the Sabres in an effort to re-engage with their season ticket holders and fanbase as a whole. With a new VP of Ticketing, steps are being taken to open new avenues to connect with the fanbase and get butts back in the seats.

Eric makes his triumphant return to the show to reflect on the humble beginnings of the podcast, what's unfolded over the last 10 years for the show, the Sabres and his career with the Nashville Predators. We talk about a host of NHL and hockey topics, including the fan engagement that's been cultivated in Nashville and some of the big events Eric has experienced with the Preds.

The Sabres will have some work to do in order to reach the cap floor for the 2022-23 season. That will mean some creative moves will need to be made via free agency and the trade market in the coming weeks and months in order to hit the minimum salary cap figure. We run down a list for forwards, defensemen and goaltenders who the Sabres could target to not only fill their cap void, but to help push the team closer to competitiveness for the coming season.

There's been a lot of smoke surrounding Brady Tkachuk over the last few weeks. We dig into Tkachuk as a trade target and compare the public's percieved value of Tkachuk versus what he should probably be traded for, if he's traded at all. We also touch on the Sabres decision to not tender entry level contracts to three prospects, including Mats Lindgren and offer up a preview of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final between Florida and Edmonton. 

The main focus of this week's show is Alex Tuch and the impressive impact he's had since arriving in Buffalo. We talk about the underlying numbers he's carrying, the incredible point production and simply how good he's looked taking a step up in the lineup and helping to anchor Buffalo's top line.

We add some thoughts about how Tuch's emergence can help fuel the next moves the Sabres make in terms of free agent or trade acquisitions, and how he's become a cornerstone of the young core they're building with.

Prior to that, we touch on the trade between the Montreal Canadians and Calgary Flames that saw Tyler Toffoli head to Alberta. We discuss Jack Eichel's impending return and the disappointment in not seeing Devon Levi receive any action for Team Canada at the 2022 Olympic Games.

The Montreal Canadiens fired Dominique Ducharme and named Martin St. Louis as their interim head coach as they work through a very difficult season. We discuss the Habs' decision to go with a somewhat unexpected hire for their interim coach and whether or not St. Louis will have the inside track to take over in a more permanent capacity. Tuukka Rask called it a career and we celebrate his career while bidding him adieu We also discuss the NHL All Star Game and NHL Skills Competition before closing the show with a brief conversation about the men's and women's hockey tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

We answer listener questions on air, but before we do, we discuss Rocky Wirtz's outburst at a Blackhawks town hall rally and what the fallout could be for the troubled franchise. We also talk about some of the adaptations being made to the All Star Skills Competition and which Sabre player we think would be the best representative at this year's All Star Game.

We wrap up the episode with a handful of #AskInstigator questions from our listeners where we discuss offseason acquisitions, the Heritage Classic and where we see Rasmus Dahlin at the end of his current contract.

It's been a busy week in the NHL and we open this week's episode with a conversation over Aaron Dell's suspension and the bind that it has put the Sabres in to with their goaltending. Not only do we discuss how the suspension affects the Sabres but the actions Dell took and if he was deserving of the penalty he received.

Along the way, we touch on the new hirings of Kent Hughes, Patrick Allvin and Émilie Castonguay. The Philadelphia Flyers' recent exploits were also a topic as the club held a press conference addressing their current struggles and the path forward.

We wrap up with a discussion about Owen Power and Devon Levi's future once the Olympics wrap up and just how they can fit into the Sabres roster after the Olympics, NHL Trade Deadline and the completion of their respective NCAA seasons.

One half of the Maintenance Day podcast team joined the show this week as Joe Yerdon was back once again. Unfortunately, Lance Lysowski was unable to join for our roundtable discussion. We touch on the Sabres difficult injury luck and how they will be addressing their goaltending pipeline as Devon Levi and Erik Portillo continue to impress in the NCAA. We also touch on the NHL's announcement of rescheduled games and how the stretch run is going to be a challenge for teams to handle as the games will be coming fast and furious.

The Sabres goaltending woes have continued for a second-straight season as the injury bug has bitten the team hard. We discuss the most recent injuries to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Malcolm Subban and what it means for Buffalo's outlook. We also discuss Jack Quinn's NHL debut and the promise he showed in his first game for the Sabres. The show opens with a discussion of Evander Kane's latest exploits and whether or not the Oilers should be pursuing him as hard as they appear to be.

The Sabres have dropped three straight since returning from the holiday break. We discuss the debuts of Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs and JJ Peterka, offering thoughts on how each looked as they played their first games in blue and gold. We also touch on the roster issues that face the Sabres as they work through what appears to be a growing COVID outbreak in the locker room.

Peyton Krebs and JJ Peterka are poised to make their Sabres debuts as the team finally gets back to playing after an extended absence due to the league's COVID influenced pause. We chat about how the pair will factor into the lineup along with another debutant: Alex Tuch. Beyond our excitement with Buffalo's recent recalls, we also chat about the cancellation of the women's U18 World Championships, how COVID has impacted the World Juniors and other topics from the past week in the NHL.

The NHL has extended their Christmas holiday break in an attempt to curb the COVID outbreak that has swept through the league. The result of the postponed games officially put the NHL past the breaking point on Olympic participation and the league and player's association are expected to make a formal announcement on the withdrawal from the 2022 games soon. We close this holiday edition of the show with a couple listener questions on the Sabres potential deadline moves and what the future might hold for Casey Mittelstadt.

COVID outbreaks continue to impact the NHL schedule as this week has seen a number of teams impacted by positive tests and game postponements. We discuss how these most recent outbreaks are affecting the NHL schedule and what influence it may have on the league's ability to send players to the Olympics. Also on the docket is the impressive play of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and how he may be influencing Buffalo's choices in net. Lastly, we touch on the World Junior Championships rosters, the Sabres prospects expected to participate and who we predict to take home gold in this year's tournament.

Jeff Skinner's contract makes him a popular target for roster speculation. We use this episode to discuss what Skinner's future in Buffalo entails. We talk about where he fits on the roster, what the outlook is for a buyout and just what the best solution for the Sabres is when it comes to Skinner and the 2024-25 NHL season. 

Malcolm Subban has been acquired, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been recalled and there's still no end in sight for Buffalo's issues in net. We discuss what options are left to the Sabres as they navigate an injury crisis to their goaltenders and how it could affect the remainder of the season. Along the way we touch on the latest round of firings as Jim Benning and Travis Green are out in Vancouver and Alain Vigneault has been fired by the Flyers.

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It was a huge news week in the NHL as the Montreal Canadiens fired Marc Bergevin, cleaned house with the rest of their front office and brought in Jeff Gorton to head up the hockey department. We discuss everything surrounding the moves and the difficulty in Montreal continuing to maintain hiring French speaking executives and coaches. Elsewhere, the Penguins have new owners in Fenway Sports Group and more COVID cases may just threaten the NHL's ability to send players to the Olympics.

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The Sabres are slowly returning to health which means reinforcements are hitting the lineup. While Buffalo isn't back to full health, the return of Victor Olofsson and Henri Jokiharju will help boost the Sabres' lineup and we talk about what's on the horizon for further additions from within. The challenge surrounds how the Sabres and Don Granato will shape Buffalo's lines once more reinforcements come along. Will the additions give the Sabres the help down the lineup or will their forward corps still have holes? We also touch on some of the bright spots that have popped thus far this season, including Tage Thompson, Victor Olofsson and more.

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