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Ep. 42 - Jake the Hype Man
40 Plays1 year ago
Come one come all! Need a pick me up? Some morning juice to start your day? Jake's got you covered. The boys discuss the NHL playoff picture and continue the conversation about this year's Buffalo Bills draft class.
3 buds. 2 teams. 1 city - The "Let's Go Buffalo" Podcast. Your new favorite podcast for all things Sabres and Bills. Our mission is to be your guide through the ups and the downs of being a Buffalo Sports fan. We are not members of the media nor are we experts - we’re just 3 friends who love our hometown teams and want to bring you along for the ride. This podcast will be for both veteran and newly ordained fans. We’ll have in depth conversation and debate with a few “newbie” questions sprinkled in to keep everyone afloat.
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Transcript
Introduction & Hosts
00:00:09
Speaker
You're listening to the Let's Go Buffalo podcast. Your new favorite podcast for everything bills and savers.
00:00:21
Speaker
Oh, what's going on, everybody? You're listening to the Let's Go Buffalo podcast, your favorite podcast for all things bills and sabers with the pals Nigel, Tom and Jake. We got episode 42 coming at you. Do not forget to follow our social medias. You can find us at the handle. Let's go buff pod.
Casual Chat & Beverages
00:00:45
Speaker
That's buff with two F's on Instagram X, TikTok and YouTube.
00:00:51
Speaker
Let's get around and say hello to the fellows, Tommy. How are you doing, pal? I'm stupendous. Stupendous. Fantastic. Yeah, dude, I'm good. I'm awesome. How are you, buddy? Dude, I'm great, man. I'm great. I am. Yeah. Thursday. It's almost Friday, dude. Love that. Love that pre Friday feeling. It's just always easier getting up for work and stuff on Friday. So, you know, I'm happy your step, right? Yeah. Just a little bit, right? Torpedo. What's going on, bro?
00:01:21
Speaker
I'm good. Good to see you guys. Good to be here. Warm weather. Yeah, bro. It's been super rainy here in good old Rochester. What's it been rainy? You guys are sunny. A little bit of both. A little bit of both. Yeah, man. Great time weather. Coming, though. We're getting there.
00:01:38
Speaker
We're dude. Awesome. We love it. Well, hey, fellas, I got to tell you what, I don't know if I've had a beer since the last time I was on the pod. So I'm exceptionally parks. Can we jump right in with a, with a beverage here? Yeah. Ready? Okay. Well, let me get myself ready. Three, two, one.
00:01:59
Speaker
I spy that little can there. Nice. What do you have? I got the good old juicer hazy IPA from Tom's Tom's backyard harpoon brewing. They actually hook up to the sewer system up here. They just get you turn on the faucet and it's just it's just.
00:02:18
Speaker
That sounds a little concerned. Your sewer is coming through your faucets. Is that that infrastructure in Vermont sound? Not a simple engineer. Yeah. Yeah. I'm also still a page out of your book for this part. I'm going to go out of the pot of the glass. Oh, I like it. Yeah. Clean it up a little bit. What are you drinking, buddy? I found main beer company near me. So I have the spring colesch. Look at that bottle.
00:02:45
Speaker
It's a hefty one. It's nice. Ooh, baby. How many ounces is that? Sixteen. Yeah. Yeah, one pint. One pint. It's a different shape. Wow. Looks huge. How many times have you heard that in your life, Jake? Very few. Very few. You're the first. You're my first.
00:03:09
Speaker
I'm glad I could do that for you. Tommy, what do you got, buddy? I got, mine's called Sprang, and I thought it was perfect for today. It's also cool. Sprang. Yeah. Oh, funny rabbit. Yeah.
00:03:21
Speaker
Awesome. I forgot to look. It's from. Oh, Trillium. Yeah, I knew that. Oh, word. Look at you two boys with your cultures. I love a good coach, dude. Like we actually had a couple of. Yeah, dude. Well, Jenny, the Jenny Red Eye calls to is absolutely unreal, dude, but.
00:03:40
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely delicious. Well, boys, we got a good chunk of stuff to talk about today.
NHL Playoffs Discussion
00:03:49
Speaker
Jake, I'm dying, dude. We haven't talked playoffs at all. And I know the Sabres are obviously not in it, but I think you're like me, and once the playoffs start, you're like watching every game that you can, yeah? Pretty much, yeah. I'm dying to talk about it, too. I think we should. If I'm free and don't have anything going on, I'm putting the game on.
00:04:10
Speaker
Yeah. Well, dude, what's been your impression so far with everything? Oh man. I think the first round has been a little underwhelming compared to other years. Uh, unfortunately for some series, like the, the Rangers capital series was over before it started terrible. Uh, the Islanders series I thought was over before it started. I didn't think, I didn't think the capitals or Islanders had any business being in the playoffs. It was kind of, uh,
00:04:38
Speaker
slap fight of who who who's gonna who's gonna try their hardest to get out of the playoffs not who's gonna go and take the spot yeah so those were a bit underwhelming I was surprised by Winnipeg I don't know about you but they they really really fell flat I mean they're also playing what could be the cup winner and in Colorado legit dude yeah no dude cuz I think didn't didn't Winnipeg take game one in that series and they looked like fucking dominant
00:05:06
Speaker
They did. Yeah. Like there was a stretch there where they looked unstoppable. And, and, and for the first time in a long time, I saw Colorado on their heels, dude. I was like, whoa, this is crazy. But once Colorado found their footing, dude, I, it was, it was a slaughter dude, like one more leavable. I, I couldn't believe like that. Oh my God, dude. That Colorado avalanche offense is just.
00:05:32
Speaker
Absolutely astounding, dude. Just so dynamic. Yeah. And they, I think the difference in the series too, is Colorado has guys that can turn it up another level. Mckinnon, Mckinnon and Ratnan and Mccarr to a, to a Mccarr too. But I don't think he really did it in the series, but Mckinnon and Ratnan dude can just go from like, like in a snap of fingers.
00:05:55
Speaker
turn up the pressure and dominate other teams. It's fun to watch. Yeah. I tweeted this from my personal account the other night. It is, it is just an absolute privilege to watch Nate McCain and play hockey, dude.
00:06:10
Speaker
he is so fast so unbelievably strong dude and his physicality is crazy dude not for nothing man like I know McDavid's the best player in the world skill wise at least I don't think there's any debate there that being said dude when the playoffs are coming to picture dude
00:06:28
Speaker
I am taking Nate McKinnon over Connor McDavid 10 times out of 10, dude. And it is just because of all the other elements of the game that you get with a Nate McKinnon as compared to Connor McDavid. Connor McDavid too still will turn it up a little bit in the playoffs in terms of the physicality, but nothing like the way Nate McKinnon does, dude, like in terms of a player that is insanely skilled, but will tear your head off. Nate McKinnon is just like at the top of that list for
Toronto Maple Leafs & Their Struggles
00:06:56
Speaker
me, dude. He's such a monster.
00:06:58
Speaker
He's a bull. He's so violent when he skates too. He's tough to stop. I feel bad for the ice under his feet when he's moving. Yeah, he skates like he's pissed at the ice, dude. I agree with you. I think that debate of best players is
00:07:21
Speaker
a bit of a close one between him and him and McDavid. Yeah, like you said, McDavid's done it for longer and is probably more skilled. But as far as a complete player, it's hard to find somebody more complete than McInnan.
00:07:33
Speaker
it really is dude and i mean like i don't know it's it seems like mcdavid is is a lock for 110 plus points a season so like how do you say no to that but i mean my god dude just when you because this is always my biggest takeaway from the playoffs dude the physicality across the board
00:07:53
Speaker
is just like like the speed and the power at which these guys are hitting each other it is nuts dude and I feel like even this year the amount of like big hits like like guys feet leaving the ice hits have been more than I have ever seen in my life dude it is just it never fails to amaze me how physical
00:08:14
Speaker
The NHL playoffs are dude, there's it's the most intense playoffs I've ever seen in any sport ever in my life. It makes the NFL look like a joke. MLB shouldn't even be a sport when you compare the two. Like it's just it's so crazy. Yeah, I agree. It's it's it's a battle and they're they're playing every other night and doing that, too. It's yes. That's the thing that's insane, right? Like these guys are just just setting themselves up for just like bowling pins.
00:08:44
Speaker
for like, you know, if how long does the series go? I mean, a month, month and a half. If you go through multiple levels of the playoffs like. Yeah, I mean, if they start. Yeah, they start in April and they place Stanley Cup goes up in June. Yeah.
00:08:59
Speaker
Yeah, so. Yeah, it's crazy. You want to talk about a violent game. Did you watch Carolina Rangers on Tuesday night? Dude, OK, so did you see the clip of Truba flying through the air and almost decapitated? What's his face? Oh, I sure would be involved in that.
00:09:16
Speaker
Bro, if he could do this, if his elbow connected, I'm not sure that Trubo would ever be able to play on the NHL again. That would have been that would have been so unbelievably egregious. I thought someone was going to die in that game. I couldn't believe it. They were trying to injure each other. And I know it's kind of the M.O. this time of year, but that was particularly violent.
00:09:36
Speaker
But and that's the word to the word for that game. It's not physical. It's violent. Like that game, I was like, like, like it points like grabbing like the armrest on my couch being like, oh, my God, is that guy OK? Yeah. Yeah. Only Jacob Juba could be involved in a play like that. I'm glad he didn't run. I'd be that guy's career might have been over if he connected with his head, dude. Oh, my God. I'm so glad that he didn't. I'm ready to talk about the Maple Leafs. How about you, Jake?
00:10:07
Speaker
I am. Let's let's do it. Let's do it. I can. And this is a digital watch, so I don't have to set anything. But I have a couple manual watches in my dresser that I set to the Maple Leafs losing in the playoffs to the Boston Bruins. That's how I know that those are on, because this time of year, they lose in the first round of the Bruins. Dude, I OK.
00:10:31
Speaker
I know the Maple Leafs are a thousand times better than the Sabres, dude. But oh my God, when you've got four players that have like 60% of your salary gap and you can't spend money elsewhere and you keep doing the same thing and expecting the different results, dude. If I check my Webster's real quick, I believe that's the definition of insanity.
00:10:54
Speaker
I love the Maple Leafs just shitting down their leg year after year after year. I know the Sabres don't even get into the playoffs to shift down their leg, but oh my God, this is what, six years, I think, of them losing in the first round like this? Oh, at least. At least. I just mean like with this core. And they're not changing anything, dude.
00:11:19
Speaker
They just keep these same four guys and keep paying them. And nothing's changing, dude. And it's just like, oh, my God, they're going through GMs and coaches as quickly as the Sabres are. And their stakes are just high. Oh, my God, it brings me so much joy. What do you think? It's it's yeah, definitely some schadenfreude going on. I take a little bit of pleasure in watching their pain.
Maple Leafs' Player Contracts Debate
00:11:45
Speaker
I generally
00:11:49
Speaker
I'm not gonna say I don't I don't I feel I feel bad for some of the more tortured fans I don't feel bad for the Assholes that come down to key bank and are banging on the glass and key back center. Yeah, fuck those guys and girls We're very open here on this body I've met some Maple Leaf fans, you know and like
00:12:12
Speaker
the ones that are normal fans, I feel bad for them. It's tough to watch a team do that year after year after year after year, but I do take a little bit of joy in that knife being twisted. And yeah, since 2017 was the first time that they made the playoffs with this core, Matthews, Marner, that crew, lost to the Capitals in the first round. You're right, they've gotten out of the
00:12:34
Speaker
first round one time since then last year and then got immediately thrashed by Florida. They beat a Tampa Bay team that also hasn't been out of the first round since their cups and is looking a bit more anemic than they have during their cup runs. So how much you can put on those games, I don't know. The other telling stat to me is that
00:12:58
Speaker
The game seven that they lost to the Bruins was their sixth game seven that they lost in a row. There's no killer mentality there. None. They fold. You can blame that on coaching, you can blame it on the players, but they've tried multiple coaches and it hasn't changed. So I think the easy phrase in hockey that teams throw around is that you can't fire all the players, you can fire the coach. So that's why coaches get changed a lot. I think we might see a time where they're about to change both.
00:13:28
Speaker
Yeah. Well, they just fired Sheldon Keefe literally today. Yeah, exactly. He's gone. And okay. So Jake, what are you doing? And maybe this is a tough question because I'm asking it. Don't know.
00:13:41
Speaker
the status of, so when we're talking about the big four with Toronto, Matthews, Marner, Nylander, and who's, I'm blanking, Tavares. Yeah, Tavares. Tavares is unmovable with his age and his salary. So, I mean, like, I don't think anybody's going to take him on. I would imagine. What do you think? I doubt it. I think he, I think he has one year left. So I could see it in that regard.
00:14:09
Speaker
Yes. He's got one more season left. So it's like you could, but he's also signed for $11 million. He's 33 years old. I agree with you. You probably not going to move him. And if you are, you're retaining half of a salary and probably paying, paying to move him. So right. Matthew's probably unlikely. Matthew's just re-upped to the tune of 13 million a year. So he's not going anywhere. Right. Correct. Yeah. Neelander. He's the one I'm not sure about in terms of his contract.
00:14:34
Speaker
So Neil under sun and sun extension. So his extension kicks in next year, 11 and a half million. So he's not going anywhere. Who's the odd man out in terms of contract right now? It's Mitchie Marner, baby. So what do you think Jake, are they going to try and, are they going to try and move him? I don't know. He's, he's also signed for one more year, uh, contract for 10.9 million next year. He's certainly movable. I know I've heard Elliott Friedman.
00:15:02
Speaker
known, he's like the hockey godfather. He's talked a lot about how the Maple Leafs aren't really willing to lose a trade, and they want to get back a equal value for somebody like Marner. I think that's tough to do. I think you kind of have to take your medicine if you're trading a player of his ability. Yes, you do. And I think they probably get that back. I think their offense can
00:15:29
Speaker
take a hit of losing Mitch Marner's production and make it up piecemeal elsewhere. It's whether or not they're willing to. I don't know. And this this this this offseason might be the catalyst of them missing the second round again to their division rival that they've lost four times to in the last decade. It might push him over the edge. I don't know where he goes. I hope it's not Buffalo. But I think he might be on the move. Yeah.
00:15:55
Speaker
Okay, so you just said it too because I was about to be like, okay, Buffalo has a shit ton of cap space, right? Like we're one of the few teams that could take on a Mitch Marner financially and have it be something that they can work for us.
00:16:14
Speaker
uh do you want to because you i'm for it i i would well you go because you just said no and i'm curious you're i i don't want to railroad you're welcome to go no no no you go because you said it first because i thought we were on the same page with this one i'm gonna go um yeah hit it Tom hit it Tom go on yeah yeah mitchy come on buddy come on take what do you got
00:16:40
Speaker
I am not interested in Mitch Marner as a player for Buffalo in general. I think, so I guess just very base layer, not even talking about him as a fit with the Savers roster or not, just as a player. It is no secret that from game 82 to game one of the playoffs, the game of hockey changes dramatically. It's a different game.
00:17:08
Speaker
Well, we agree. We talked about how much more physical it gets. The style of play changes. A hundred percent. It's a it's a different league overnight. For sure. Most players adapt to their game and are become different players in the playoffs. Look at Florida and Boston last night, like post or not going out and scrapping with Matthew Kachuk. It's a showboatee example, but it is an example of players stepping up and changing their game in the playoffs. Yeah.
00:17:38
Speaker
There's the player that we're talking about, and I do not think he's capable or willing to change his game in the playoffs. He plays a perimeter style, which works great in the regular season, and he puts up a lot of points and looks flashy doing it. But he doesn't get to dirty areas in the playoffs. He doesn't change his style. The intensity ratchets up around him, and it feels like he wilts to me. This is only my opinion, but he just seems
00:18:07
Speaker
Lost in the playoffs, his production doesn't do much in the playoffs. The playoffs only need your best players to be your best players and he is not one of them to me. All that said, he's worth, he's 10.9 million right now too. That number is going up. He was a drama queen with him and his princess father back during contract negotiations.
00:18:30
Speaker
He's not taking a cent less than he's making right now. It's 10.9 plus. It's probably going up. And he's probably going to drag you through some media rounds during that extension. So I mean, that's enough for me. Because Buffalo is a team. That's the point I was trying to get you. Buffalo is a team that's not made the playoffs in a long time. We don't know how some of these guys are going to react to playoff hockey, who's going to be able to step up to it, and who's going to falter. So I don't need to add somebody that I think is a known
00:18:59
Speaker
in the playoffs to add to the team to get them regular season success. I know regular season success gets you to the playoffs, but it's just it's too expensive. He's too much of a diva. He's too much of a run to the media and run to Daddy when he doesn't get the dollar value that he wants. I'm so good on Mitch Marner. Play devil's advocate. Why am I wrong?
00:19:24
Speaker
Sorry, I was about to sneeze and then it went away. I, okay. So, and the whole time this podcast has existed, all 42 weeks of it or whatever, um, I have been hammering the table for players that do exempt everything. You just said that Mitch doesn't getting into the 30 years areas, yada, yada, yada, yada, yada. I talked about for checking. Yes. Yes. All that stuff.
00:19:52
Speaker
I disagree with you in the sense that I feel like, oh, so if you're, if you're just talking about Toronto's core four, right? Those four guys we talked about, I feel like of all of them, Mitch is the scrappiest.
00:20:07
Speaker
I feel like when he plays us, he is the one that, and it's not for the level that you would like to see an NHL caliber player do it, I guess, but I feel like he does it more than the other guys. I see him throw the body around. I see him in the corners.
00:20:24
Speaker
I am not going to sit here and say that you are wrong about the playoffs. I think maybe his defensive game is better than we maybe want to acknowledge. So for Mitch Marner's career, 576 games played. He's a plus 110.
00:20:44
Speaker
That feels to me for a forward that's insanely skilled dude, that feels like a pretty solid number. To the point where, you know, when I see like some of the players on this Sabres team that are like, you know, mostly like they end the season at like plus three.
00:21:02
Speaker
you know like that kind of a thing you know he's not doing that and i know that i know that plus minus is not like a 100 indicator of solid defense but it still says something to me that he's got a plus 110 i don't think his defensive game is awful and
00:21:21
Speaker
The last stat, I guess I'll say is 576 games played 639 career points, dude. Like we could fucking use that on this, on this team. I know we've talked about scrappy, like needing, needing more scrap and less skill, but this Sabre's team doesn't have a 100 point player anywhere.
00:21:42
Speaker
So, you know, and without knowing the personality, you know, like, cause it seems like recently there's been some locker room drama in Toronto and it seems like it's caused by Mitch Marner. So that concerns me. That's like, that's my biggest, um, my biggest minus in the, in the minus column for Mitch Marner right now is he strikes me as a bit of a diva in some capacity, but I can't speak here and say that the Sabres can't use a player like him.
00:22:11
Speaker
Um, and we're, we can, we've got the cap for it. And if he shows up and it's shitty for a year, you don't recite him. You know, like, uh, yeah. So you're talking about renting him for a year. Cause that that's a different story, but I think, I think what Toronto asks would make you shutter for, uh, to, to, to trade for him. See, and if that's the case, then, then, then I'm not interested in the one year rental because of what we would have to give up.
00:22:39
Speaker
I think it's probably like Power or Biro. If you want one of those. And I don't, not for a one-year rental, but I can't shake this idea because eventually dude, somebody in Toronto has to recognize the fact that what they need to do is get rid of one of those big four contracts.
00:23:01
Speaker
Because you take one of those contracts off the books, suddenly you've got the space for like three to four bottom six players that fit more of your mold of what the team needs. At some point someone in Toronto has got to recognize the fact that they just have to dump some money. That's what leads me to believe that maybe they won't ask all of King Midas and Silver.
00:23:24
Speaker
Now, it's Toronto, and they're the most famous market in hockey. They need to appease the headlines. So I get that it's going to require maybe a bow and firearm or an O in power. And if that's the case, I'm not interested. But to sum it up, dude, I'm not going to sit here and say that the Sabres aren't going to benefit from a 100 point player like that, who from my eye test does more defensively than he wants to, than people want to give him credit for.
00:23:52
Speaker
Fair enough. No, I respect the argument. We're always going to disagree on this. You're not going to convince me and I'm probably not going to convince you. I think I'm much more likely to be convinced than you are because I recognize the fact that there's a good potential for him to be a diva and I'm not interested in that. If I gave you another five minutes to convince me, there's a really good chance that you could.
00:24:17
Speaker
But you're, you're also, you're rallying for like a type of player to add to the roster. And I, I'm on board with that too. Like we need to add to this roster, but I'm saying it's, it's not him for me. And I've been, I mean, I've been bagging the table all year that we've got enough skill. We just need to, we just need to retool the bottom six. So I'm contradicting myself here, but I don't know when it's a hundred point player. I don't know. I feel like shit changes for me. Yeah, it's, it's, it's fair. It's fair.
00:24:47
Speaker
We, uh, I think we should open this up again. When we do some off season stuff on the site, that'd be fun to look at the cap space too. Cause I, I haven't looked at it closely, but my opinion is that the cap space is going to dry up quicker than, than we'd both like it to. But anyway, great point too. Cause yeah, who's got a, uh, Bowen by rooms gotta be resigned next summer too. He's going to be seven to eight. I would imagine somewhere around there, depending on the season, six to eight, maybe probably. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. So.
00:25:14
Speaker
Alright, well, let's let's table it. Let's come back to save her stuff.
AHL Playoffs & Rochester Americans
00:25:17
Speaker
Off season chat another time. Everyone for sure. Real quick on the other side of that series Jeremy Swamin man. How much fun has he been to watch? I know I know game two against Florida wasn't his fault, but he's been picture perfect.
00:25:31
Speaker
Yeah, I just, I mean, yes, he's been awesome. I just fucking hate Boston. So I hope he, I hope he gets a really, really, really bad hang now and can't play. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Swayman. I'm that petty. I hope that something just inconvenient enough happens that you can't play, but you continue to have a great career.
00:25:54
Speaker
Fair enough. Well, luckily they have a Vesna winner to turn to because he goes down. No, I think you'll, I think you'll get your wish. I think Florida's is too much for Boston. I think so too, bro. That game one seemed like a bit of a fluke there. Maybe not fluke that that's probably not a correct word, but
00:26:11
Speaker
I think from what I test in game one and game two, game two looked a lot more like Florida's game. And I didn't see Boston's game change that much between the two games. I agree. I just think Florida's going to be too much. They're great. Yeah. They're a machine, dude. They're
00:26:30
Speaker
They're going places. They didn't pick, they didn't drop off from last, last playoffs. And I truly think the only, the only reason they lost is because they ran into Vegas and injuries. Yep. And Bob looks awesome. Still Bob's playing great hockey. They're big guys are stepping up. Kachok, Rhino, Barkov, like all those guys are contributing. So we, we could do another 20 minutes on Barkov, but we should be sure. Yeah.
00:26:55
Speaker
Yeah Pick one more maybe one more series and then um, yeah, did you have one that you're dying at all? I feel like we should talk about the Rangers bro. I I so for me dude And I I know I talked about how crazy Colorado looks. I don't think I don't think anybody's stopping the Rangers They look like an absolute they haven't lost yet
00:27:26
Speaker
They just look like such a buzzsaw to me, dude. Shasturkin's playing awesome. Zabana jab is that guy seems to be getting like, he's like aging backwards, dude. As he gets older, I feel like he gets younger and faster.
00:27:42
Speaker
Chris Crider might be the craftiest player in the NHL. Aside from Crosby, dude, he is so nasty in front of the net. Oh my God. I love watching Chris Crider. Yeah. They're a fun team to watch, man. Yeah. I agree. The last, the last time they went six and 0 to start the playoffs, they won the cup. So
00:28:00
Speaker
Not saying that they're gonna, but it's a promising start. Yeah. They're my pick. So I do the NHL bracket playoff every year thing. And they're my team. I picked them to win. Just a quick two to my own horn. I crushed the first round. 10 out of 10, dude.
00:28:17
Speaker
Nailed him. Hell yeah. Dude, that's awesome. Wait, 10? That was just me. 10, no, sorry, sorry, sorry. 100%, just 100%. Five gold stars. Wait, dude, literally. In my head, I was like, wait, wait, there's a light. Did I miss any? No, dude, I just mean I got it 100% correct. Which I've never done before, so that was cool.
00:28:43
Speaker
So that's a good segue. Wrap us up by telling us who your round two picks were for that bracket. And real quick, before I say that, I agree with you. I think Rangers win it. I think Carolina makes it very difficult. It goes to seven. I could see it going to seven for sure, dude.
00:29:00
Speaker
I need to look at, hold on, let me look at the playoffs here. Okay. I picked from the East. I picked the Rangers in Florida for the Eastern conference final, which would be such a great. Oh my God. Inject it into my veins, dude. I'll take an IV of that series. And then from the West, I picked Vancouver and Colorado to go.
00:29:22
Speaker
Oh, interesting. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Makes sense. The one I'm not concerned about Colorado beating Dallas, if I'm being totally honest. Really? I'm not. Oh, I disagree. Yeah. I am. I'm way more concerned about Edmonton beating Vancouver.
00:29:39
Speaker
Uh, personally, just, and honestly, had I known that Vancouver was going to be down to their number three goalie, I probably wouldn't have picked them because I have them in the finals against, um, or no, excuse me. I have Colorado in the finals, but I, uh, yeah, I wouldn't have picked Vancouver to go very far. If I had known they were going to be the third goalie.
00:30:00
Speaker
Well, Demko, Demko could be back. I think I saw he could be available game five. I saw that as well. Yeah. Game five is what they're looking at. So yeah, dude, I, um, I think Carolina's going to make it nasty for New York, but I just, I mean, they run four lines that can score, dude. And that defensive core is sick. And for my money, they have the best goal in the playoffs right now.
00:30:22
Speaker
I know that, I know that, I know that just Durkin doesn't have the same numbers that, that Swamin does, but I just think, I just think just Durkin's a better goalie than Swamin. Wow. Oh, those are fighting words. Yeah. No, I respect it's one and two for me, but I do, I gotta give her a promise. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we could debate that one too for another 20 minutes. Oh yeah. Oh my God. Yeah. Um, the great goalie debate.
00:30:51
Speaker
Oh, so NHL playoffs are great. But real quick, because we are we are a Buffalo Sabres podcast. Amrics are there. I'm not going to say they're crushing it, but they're they're getting it done when it needs to get done in the most in the biggest moments. Elimination game tomorrow night in Rochester. Game five. I'm going. I got center ice 200 level seats for the sweet, sweet price of forty dollars. I love the AHL.
00:31:19
Speaker
I couldn't be more thrilled, but, um, yeah, looking forward to seeing some of these guys. That's, uh, I really honestly, I'm most excited to just watch Devin Levi. But, um, aside from that, dude, it's yeah, I'm super stoked. So go Amherst. That would be sick if they could make a nice playoff run here. Which round of the playoffs are the end? This is still the first round. Yeah. Okay. All right. Yep. AHL. The first, I think the first couple of rounds are just a best of five instead of best of seven. Okay.
00:31:47
Speaker
So this is tied to a piece right now with game five being tomorrow. Ooh. Yeah. Game four was crazy, dude. Game four. Um, Rochester was down three nothing and they came back and they won it in overtime. Um, yeah. So they, they got their work, uh, cut out for them. Syracuse is no joke, but, um,
00:32:06
Speaker
Yeah, I can't, I'm not, like I don't feel super confident that a ton of those guys are going to be on the Sabres next year. I don't know how that's going to shake out because there's a couple of names to think about, right? Rusek, Kulik, Devin Levi. Like, are they going to bring Levi up or are they going to let him cook in the AHL for another year? I don't know. But this is what else, what I will say is this is awesome playoff experience for Devin Levi.
00:32:32
Speaker
Like being in an elimination game tomorrow night is gonna be just like such a win or lose. It's gonna be such an awesome resume builder for him. So I'm excited for them to get that experience and yeah, it should be a good time.
00:32:47
Speaker
Unshake and shoot. No matter what happens, I don't think it's his fault tomorrow night. Dude, game three, they lost like two to one. He had 60 something saves. It went into double overtime. Or I think it was two to three. Two to three was the final score of that game. That is wild. It was actually, I remember it exactly. 60 saves on 62 shots. So like,
00:33:08
Speaker
I mean, my God, what more can you ask the guy to do? You know, literally nothing. You can't ask anymore of him. Somebody's got to step up and score a fucking goal. So. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah. So is that is that all we got for hockey talk? Jake, are you are you satisfied, buddy? I could keep going for an hour. Yeah, I think we should move on. Yeah. All right. All right. We're going to need a second episode a week. Tommy, you look like you have some fun things to bring to the table.
00:33:37
Speaker
I have a little game here for you boys because it's the it's springtime, right? It's a season of hope. It's a season new beginnings. And I want you boys, both of you to dig deep into your sources and your big vats of enthusiasm. And we are going to send essentially little 10 seconds hype season kind of messages to some of our favorite bills and sabers players. OK, so these are players who maybe are already superstars or maybe they're on the up and up.
00:34:07
Speaker
Or maybe they kind of like hit a wall and man, they just need to pick me up. I need you, despite if you think that they don't deserve a hype up, we got to give them one. So I want you to tell a story, spin some words, because I know both of you like the can do that quite well. And I'm going to kind of shoot some some bills and sabers names at you and at together 10, 15 seconds of just like just electricity. Does that make sense?
00:34:33
Speaker
OK, so I'm so are Jake and I doing the hype up videos together or are we doing this separately?
00:34:41
Speaker
separate about separate. Okay. All right. So, so it is just like five to 10 seconds. It's not long. You just got to say, okay, what does this guy do? Awesome. What is, what does he need to do? Just hype him up. Okay. So should, should we each do one for each team or should like, I do the bills and Jake to the savers. Oh no, I got a list for you. Oh, Tom's got a list. All right, cool. I'll be nice. I'm not going to give you anything crazy. Okay. Okay. Jake Reed Ferguson. What does he have to change? Go.
00:35:12
Speaker
Does that make sense? Oh, man. You're asking me to be... I'm not a peppy boy, but I'll try to be peppy. I can zip it up here. All right, Nij, this is for you, bud. You ready? And I'll kind of spit names at you as I kind of feel you. I'll make it a good timing. Are you ready? OK. Here we go. All right, hype up season 2024, baby. Let's go, boys. UPL. UPL, bro.
00:35:36
Speaker
You did it. You broke out, baby. Now you just got to carry that shit through, dawg. You have to see it through. One season ain't enough. We need a bigger sample size. Matthew Milano. Matthew Milano, you're coming off that fractured tibia, bro. I know it fucking hurt so bad, but we know you're the fucking goat. You've got to carry this defense on your big goddamn biceps. Key on.
00:36:03
Speaker
Key on. Rookie year, baby. Number zero. Zero on your chest. One hundred in our hearts, baby. Rookie of the year coming in. Coming in hot. Aggressive, aggressive, aggressive. Go get that ball. One last one. Khalil Shakir. Khalil Shakir. Same as UPL, baby. You had that breakout year. Yak, yak, yak, yak. You catch that ball and you go north, baby. You keep that shit rolling.
00:36:33
Speaker
And you're going to be the number one wide receiver on the bills. That was incredible. That was incredible. How the fuck do I go after that? Are you fucking kidding me, Tom? All right, Jake, you'll get another day. You'll get another day. I'll hit you with another one. You ready? You want to go? Yeah, of course. Of course. I'm not going to back out. I'm just... Wait, can I give you five seconds? I'm going to get one more beer.
00:36:59
Speaker
Yeah, well, we're going to. Yeah, yeah, yeah. See, this is the kind of night I actually, I already came stock with the second. So.
00:37:06
Speaker
That was good. That was perfect. That was so good. I'm so impressed. And also, like, where the fuck was Nigel when I was doing T-ball? I needed some of that type of, you know, dude, I'd be lying if there wasn't a part of me that's like, man, I would love to be a hockey dad. I'd be the I'd be the one shouting profanities at the ref, dude, like,
00:37:34
Speaker
All right. Sorry, I'm ready. All right, Jake, are you ready? I don't know, but I'll give it my best shot. Keep it short. Keep it short. You ready? Here we go. All right. Rasmus Daliin, baby. All right. Rasmus Money, you got it, man. You made the playoffs for the first time in your long, long career. And we're all proud of you. And you're going to go get them. Zach Benson.
00:38:02
Speaker
Uh, baby Benson boy, you also made the, they made the playoffs, right? That's what we're saying. Yeah. Wait a minute. Hold on. This is going into next season. You're hyping them going into next season. Oh shit. Okay. No one did not make the playoffs. Listen to comprehensions at an all time low, but I'm, I got this. Okay. Reset. All right. Reset. All right. I'm going to give you different players.
00:38:32
Speaker
No, no, I want to do Zach Benson again. OK, ready? Here we go. I feel like I need to erase myself. All right. Zach Benson. Zachy boy, you did it. You went through the off season. You pressed buttons at your parents' carnival up in Saskatoon, and you're back. Joshua Allen. Yeah, Josh, fuck you look good in shorts. You know, huff the ball, rock star.
00:39:01
Speaker
Don't get too distracted by Haley next year. One more. OK, go ahead. Go ahead. Jimbo Cook. Jimbo. Jimbo. My good friend Jimbo. You, you, you, you run that ball, mister. You, you, you go. Oh, all right. I got all the clips I need for the week, boys, right here.
00:39:35
Speaker
Jimbo, you. Oh my god, that is so good. So good. This really isn't my song. Jake, when I need to pick me up, I'm calling you, buddy. All right. Oh my goodness. It's going to be rough when I have children. Holy shit.
00:39:56
Speaker
Oh my goodness, that was so good. Tom, great game, buddy. Yeah, you're welcome. Yeah, I thought it'd be fun. All right, nice. We're gonna make Jake do this again every once in a while.
00:40:10
Speaker
It is now is now going to be a bit. This has become a bit.
Buffalo Bills Draft Analysis
00:40:15
Speaker
All right. So moving forward, we have not had a chance to really talk about the Bill's 2024 draft class with Nigel. So I am excited to kind of hear your thoughts, pal. And I may give you some superlatives to give out. I don't know why I'm feeling gamey tonight. But who is of our draft class? Who's your draft darling? Who's a guy you're like super stoked about?
00:40:38
Speaker
Hmm. Okay. So I, I think the guy I'm most excited about is probably Cedric VanPant Granger, dude. I just think the value here in the fifth round was absolutely through the roof. I'm telling you guys, don't sleep on this kid. I think there's a decent chance he could contend for a smart, smarting spot, starting spot.
00:41:04
Speaker
this season. Man, I'd be about it, right? Especially because that puts, I mean, imagine our guard depth then, right? That puts Conor McGovern or David Edwards as a guard on either side. Like, you know, God forbid, you know, Osiris Torrance needs to, needs to, you know, recover from an injury or something. Like we have the depth that to be honest with you, I heard, um, being already talk about that. So, um,
00:41:29
Speaker
Oh, my gosh, I can't remember his full last name. Brand Granger fan, brand centric, VPG, VPG. That's cool. Yeah, I like it. VPG is going to get some run in training camp at guard as well. So I imagine he's probably the plan, the succession plan at center. But let's get you know, let's let's see what happens at guard, too. But yeah, dude, I great pick. I'm using the value there.
00:41:56
Speaker
Insane. I mean, the biggest thing is that he's kind of smaller. Like what do you think made him drop?
00:42:03
Speaker
the fifth round man it's really really really tough to say because he's not even i mean i guess he's a little bit light six four three ten i feel like you like your alignment to be 10 to 20 pounds heavier there but i mean i'm not really sure what caused him to drop dude i i know that his strength um is his athleticism so i i i think he was in most mock drafts dude i'm pretty sure this guy was a projected like third round pick
00:42:30
Speaker
Let's go. I mean, and especially to the bills, like we we've had athletic smaller centers with Mitch Morse. Yeah, for sure. He kind of fits the mold. Yeah. Not like it's a completely different style player than Mitch. So I love it. I great picture. Yeah. Great. And then who's maybe a dark horse, a player that people are probably writing off or not thinking about that would be is really going to make it more of an impact than we think.
00:42:57
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's Jevon Solomon, dude. I'm gonna go on a bit of a limb here. Actually, can I change that answer? Am I locked in at this point? No, change the way. I'm gonna flip it around. I'm gonna say Ray Davis. I was out on Ray Davis at the initial.
00:43:17
Speaker
point of the pic. I didn't love and I watched very little film on him but what I saw I didn't love. Not a dude that I was soaked on when we drafted him. However, I think he's a great compliment to James Cook and I think one of the biggest things about him that I didn't realize and that just goes with the lack of film that I watched. I didn't realize how good he was out of the backfield. Yeah.
00:43:41
Speaker
which is huge. I also did a little bit more film on him since we've since we drafted him. He's probably going to be the best pass blocking back out of the three that are likely going to make the team. Which is great for where he's going to be on the depth start. Like that's what you want out of him. Exactly. Especially because James Cook is cheeks at it. So yeah. Yeah. No, I think Ray Davis is going to be a guy that ends up contributing a good amount to this team.
00:44:05
Speaker
Cool. I love that. Love that. Now, just let's not leave Jevon out. Jevon Solomon, man, I do think, especially because our edge room is so thin, in my mind, maybe one of the thinnest on the team right now. I think you'll have a very good opportunity to be able to come in and make an impact, especially because we can kind of set him up to be in these past rushing situations where we don't have to. We have good run defenders.
00:44:30
Speaker
on the edge. But we're not going to ask him to do that. So if he can come in and make an impact on special teams, which is very possible, especially with these new kickoff rules, I bet more DNs and linebackers and tight ends and larger bot safeties, larger bodied players are going to be involved. So if he can come in and be competent and make himself a role there, he's going to make the team
00:44:52
Speaker
And hopefully we can set the guy loose because he was so Jake, he was the most productive edge rusher sat like sack producing address row in college last year, like the highest in the entire college.
00:45:06
Speaker
anywhere in college, like phenomenal. Now, I think I think context is important there. He played for Troy. So his competition wasn't elite. It's not like he was against SEC competition. That being said, his numbers were. Yeah, he still got it done. And if you recall, when we did our mock drafts here on the pod, he I drafted him in the fourth round.
00:45:27
Speaker
So the fact that Bean got him in the fifth, dude, I like this pick. He's definitely going to be a pass for a specialist. You're not going to see him on third and one. He's he's not a he's not a one game guy, but a third and long dude, obvious passing situations. You're going to see Jevon Solomon in the game. Yeah, I love it. Where are you at? I know we've had some time in some context. Where are you at with Brandon Bean trading down in the first?
00:46:06
Speaker
I don't know if you even know it's unpopular because I'm gonna preface it by saying I Want key on Coleman to succeed like I want oxygen in my lungs, dude. This kid is so genuinely purely You know unabashedly himself, dude. He doesn't pull any punches for anybody. He's a great personality He seems like a great young dude that being said
00:46:21
Speaker
I knew this is the answer I was gonna get.
00:46:36
Speaker
I just don't have the confidence that he is going to succeed at the NFL yet. I don't have it. I'm sorry. He can't separate. He can't separate. And I recognize that speed is not the only way to separate. But he can't separate with speed at all.
00:46:54
Speaker
or route running. And the proof is in the pudding that Josh Allen succeeds the most when he has guys that separate with speed and route running and all that stuff. Gabe Davis, you know, we saw he was a one trick pony. Yes, Keon Coleman's more athletic than Gabe Davis, but I have to say, dude, I would have been
00:47:18
Speaker
way more thrilled with the trade down if we drafted Cooper DeGene. I'm dying on that hill, dude. I'm sorry. I went back because I was thinking to myself, is there a possibility that I overhyped Cooper DeGene?
00:47:34
Speaker
And I went back and watched the film again, dude. I think this kid is such a fucking gamer. I think he's a monster, dude. And I know safety is not a high, high, high impact position. But if you equate the two, right? If 50% of your plays are run plays, that's 50% worldwide receivers not doing much.
00:47:57
Speaker
Right. And if you want to use that same logic with defense, same goes for the safety. So I don't want to hear positional differences on that debate there either. I think the value of Cooper Dijon at pick 28, 32 and 33 was elite at the elite of elite, dude. And I'm sorry, I would feel a lot better if we traded back and took Cooper Dijon.
00:48:25
Speaker
Nah, dude, fair enough. Well, I mean, and the time will tell, right? Like this decision, we're going to know in one, two, three seasons, if which decision was the better decision. And I real quick, I did because I don't want this to get twisted as me rooting for Keon to fail. He's on the bills now. I am desperate for him to be great. I would do anything for him to be great. I hope in my core, of course, that he's the best receiver the bills have ever seen.
00:48:53
Speaker
And if, and I hope I'm wrong about my predictions, but I see a guy that can't separate the way Josh Shannon is going to want him to separate. I hope I'm wrong. I hope I'm wrong. I hope I'm wrong. Yeah. Yeah, dude. I think we'll be really interesting. Sorry. Go ahead, Jake. You got a question. Uh, no, I was going to say, I saw a lot that Josh specifically targeted Keon as the guy that he wanted to play with. Do you think that's Josh not knowing what he
00:49:18
Speaker
Like what has worked for him so far or like what? Not that he's not aware of that, but like what?
00:49:26
Speaker
What am I trying to ask? What does Josh see in him that he is appealing? Why was he the guy for Josh? There are so many elite things about Keon Coleman and one of those things is his physicality. He's an incredibly physical wide receiver, very strong. We all know that his perks are his body control and his ball skills and his contested catch ability. Absolutely. Ball skills. I think
00:49:55
Speaker
I think Josh, I think he, if I'm Josh Allen, I see, or I saw what I had on several occasions with Gabe Davis, and I want that but better, right? Because I think if you're Josh, you probably see, and this might be a stretch, dude. In terms of route running, I think Stephon Diggs is replaced by Khalil Shakir.
00:50:23
Speaker
Yeah, I, I just, I just think so. I mean, that tape isn't that drop off from Stefan Diggs to Khalil Shakir in terms of route running isn't so steep that I, that I don't think he could become that for this team. Wow. Yeah. I think he was insane. I'm not doubting you at all. It's just, um,
00:50:45
Speaker
Like that wasn't a narrative at all until all of a sudden, oh shit, Diggs is gone. And yeah, exactly. It's encouraging to you. And I think a guy like Khalil Shakir is the reason that they feel like they can move on from a step on Diggs. So I think what Josh probably saw in Keon Coleman is an up, he's an upgraded Gabe Davis for sure. Do you have no two ways about it? I just, I feel like I just feel better about a guy that can separate with Rob running in speed.
00:51:10
Speaker
Yeah. And we've got that still. We've got it. Khalil, Curtis Samuel, James Cook, Duncan Cade, right? Like you've got it. Mm hmm.
00:51:20
Speaker
I just, I don't know, man. I don't know how we see Joe Brady use him is going to make a big difference. Right. Yeah. Cause the guy, the kid plays fast and this is a Brandon bean quote. I don't know if those bills fans out there have watched the new Buffalo bills embedded video that came out all about the draft. It's phenomenal. If you have it, it's on the bills, YouTube channel. Um, so cool. Just watching all the behind the scenes. Um,
00:51:43
Speaker
And beans come out and said that like, if you sure you can be fast, you could be a sub four, three sub four, four player. But if you can't, you're not intelligent, you're not going to play at that speed. So I think that they were convinced that Keon has the intelligence and the football smarts and the football knowledge to be able to kind of fit into a system, play
00:52:05
Speaker
up to his potential and be able to kind of make these like electric, acrobatic plays on a regular basis. So I agree. I am willing to...
00:52:16
Speaker
My thought is that Keon will be like the third most targeted player in this office. I think it's going to be, um, don't kick it by far. I think he's going to be in wide receiver, one numbers, and then it's Kaleo Shakir. Uh, and then Keon Coleman, but Keon is going to be used in really significant spots, like third downs, like touchdowns, like, um, really important places. And I think he's going to be able to step up to that plate because of some of these other, um,
00:52:44
Speaker
some of these characteristics of his ability to be able to, you know, like we've already talked about his athleticism and all these things. Like, I think that's what's going to help separate him and make his role and kind of carve out his role. He's not going to be expected to be the target leader.
00:52:59
Speaker
even though everybody's oh my gosh he's our first runner he's he's not right he's not that's Dalton that's Dalton um that's Dalton Kincaid and I think we're gonna see some other things I also think that and this is kind of a conversation for another day I think um I think that we're gonna see um this offense spread out a lot more I think we're gonna not see a full
00:53:19
Speaker
100% wide receiver one usage. I think we're going to see a lot more of the entire, the whole tide is going to rise. And there's going to be a lot more players involved more, more often in this offense. That's, that's my kind of my off season call out in my off season prediction for me. Very interesting there, pal.
00:53:40
Speaker
That's wild only because of the tight ends that we have on this team. I can't imagine us not doing a ton of personnel groupings where there aren't two tight ends on the field.
00:53:54
Speaker
Not that you can't spread a little bit with two tight ends, but. Well, I think those, I mean, I think Dawson Knox, I think people are writing off Dawson Knox. We forget how freaking good and clutch Dawson Knox is. Um, the guy, I mean, I, I think he had a rough year last year and especially with the wrist injury playing through it and then having surgery and then recovering from it. He kind of got off the field.
00:54:15
Speaker
So I think people are kind of missing out on him. I don't know. This is probably a longer conversation for another day, but I think that's where I'm at for this offseason. I think that this this offense is going to be much more when
Closing & Social Media Reminders
00:54:26
Speaker
I say spread out and I didn't mean like spread like five wide. Yeah, I meant like we're going to have a more targets go to further down the depth chart as opposed to just step on digs being 160 targets. Like I think that we're going to see a bunch of players with 40 plus.
00:54:44
Speaker
That I agree with. Yeah, I think because... Sorry, I used the wrong terms. That was wrong. No, no, no, no. That's okay. That's okay. I'm sorry. I'm fighting. I'm tickling my throat here, boys. You're good. Yeah, dude. I have to agree with that completely because at this point, fuck. Go again, somebody else. You're good, dude. I'm going to kind of pick up where you left off. Like, I don't think that we're going to be asking Keon to be Stephon Dix.
00:55:06
Speaker
We're asking him to do other things, right? And fill other roles. And I think we're going to have a lot of people filling a lot of roles and be less reliant on just the one, um, one number one elite water receiver. Yeah. Well, and that's because right now we don't have one, right? We don't have that elite number one. We have guys that we think could become that, right? Dalton Kage, Clue, Shakir, maybe a Keon Coleman, but we don't have it yet. Right. So when you don't have a legit number one,
00:55:33
Speaker
that you're right on that spreading of the of the rock goes
00:55:37
Speaker
all over the place. And I think it's, but I think it was intentional. I think it was intentional that they didn't go out because they could have figured out how to trade for somebody or trade up or stick at 28 and pick somebody that they thought was going to be their number one. Right. Like, um, and I think they can't, I think I really do think that Brandon Bean believes in Kian Coleman, um, and thinks that he can eventually become, right? Yeah. But I don't think we need, I don't think, I think it was intentional. I think what they've done is intentional and we'll see how this plays up on the field.
00:56:06
Speaker
What do you think, boys? Should we get out of here? Yeah, let's wrap it up, dude. All right. Folks, thank you so much for hanging out with us. We really do appreciate it. If you're on YouTube, please give us a like. Please give us a follow. Hit that little bell button. You get some notifications because we're essentially here going to be live on YouTube and Twitter pretty much every week. So if you want to come hang out with us live, we're here. We'd love to see you.
00:56:28
Speaker
On that end, please also give us a like and a follow on Instagram, X, TikTok, all at Let's Go Buff Pod. These are my pals, Nigel, and that's Jake. My name is Tom, and you're listening to the Let's Go Buff Load podcast. We're sending you love wherever you are, no pals, no neighbors.