The Instigator Podcast

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.