Opinion: Why Leave Chirping to Players? Sabres Bring the Heat with Schedule Reveal
Most schedules will look relatively standard, except for one team that has gone above and beyond to release their upcoming opponents ahead of the schedule release in the most creative way: the Buffalo Sabres.
The Sabres took an approach similar to the National Football League, unveiling their opponents as chicken wings on X, complete with clever captions and playful references.
This creative strategy of taunting opponents is something no other NHL team has attempted this year. The Sabres focused on finding niche references for each team, offering fans fun hints about their opponents.
For example, the Vancouver Canucks, displayed two orange wings on one side of the plate and one blue wing on the other.
The caption? 'Where art thou, brother?'
This was a reference to the Hughes brothers, Jack and Luke, who both play for the Devils (orange wings), and Quinn Hughes in Vancouver (blue wing).
For the New Jersey Devils, the Sabres posted a single wing covered in flames with the caption: 'Hell.'
The Sabres modeled their schedule release after the NFL, which has mastered turning schedule announcements into major social media events. The NFL's creative reveals generate buzz from both fans and media.
Of course, the NHL faces a challenge the NFL doesn't: there are 82 games instead of 17. Creating a detailed video for every matchup would result in something closer to a 30-minute production.
Instead, the Sabres thought outside the box, revealing their full season of opponents in a clever, digestible format.
This type of creativity should become part of NHL culture. It sparks media coverage, excites fans, and adds personality to the league. Who doesn't love a little shade thrown at rival teams?
The Sabres nailed it, incorporating subtle digs into their posts.
Take their representation of the New York Rangers, for example.
At first glance, the image of the wing seems harmless. But remember when Rangers staffers were given restrictions on access to players following an alleged conflict involving a staffer and a player? The Sabres hinted at that drama by positioning the Rangers' wing far from the camera. Keeping the admin a safe distance from the wing.
They didn't stop there. The Toronto Maple Leafs' wing was drizzled with sauce, nothing unusual, until you read the caption: 'Choking hazard.' A not-so-subtle jab at Toronto's playoff struggles.
While all of this was done in good fun, it highlights something important: more NHL teams should embrace this level of creativity. With an hour left before the official schedule drop, other teams still have a chance to jump on board, but so far, the Sabres stand alone.
Hockey is fun. Why leave the chirping to the players? Let the social media teams have their moment to shine.
Photo Credit: © Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bichette homers and Yankees make 4 errors in 8-4 loss to Blue Jays
TORONTO (AP) — Bo Bichette hit a two-run homer, Chris Bassitt struck out eight in a season-high 7 1/3 innings and the Toronto Blue Jays took advantage of four New York errors to beat the sloppy Yankees 8-4 on Wednesday night. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in two runs and scored twice as the AL East leaders won for the 18th time in 23 games. Aaron Judge hit his 37th homer, a two-run drive off Bassitt (11-4), and Jasson Domínguez added a solo shot but the Yankees lost for the seventh time in 10 meetings with Toronto. Left-hander Max Fried (11-4) and first baseman Ben Rice both made errors that led to Blue Jays runs. Right fielder Cody Bellinger didn't get charged with an error when he lost a sixth-inning fly in the twilight, leading to Ernie Clement's triple. The play proved costly when Clement scored the tiebreaking run on Myles Straw's double. Yankees manager Aaron Boone and pitching coach Matt Blake were ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the top of the seventh. Fried matched a season worst by allowing six runs, four earned, and six hits in 5 1/3 innings, exiting after Straw's double. He walked three and struck out three. It was Fried's first start since he left a July 12 game against the Cubs after three innings because of a blister. Bichette homered off Scott Effross in the seventh. Bassitt permitted four runs, three earned, and three hits to win his fourth straight decision. Key moment Two runs scored on Guerrero's bouncer to Fried in the fifth. Davis Schneider slid home on Fried's errant throw and no one covered the plate as George Springer scored from second. Key stat In two starts against Toronto this month, Fried has allowed 10 runs in 11 1/3 innings. Up next Yankees: RHP Will Warren (6-5, 4.91 ERA) is expected to start against Philadelphia RHP Taijuan Walker (3-5, 3.75) on Friday night. Blue Jays: LHP Eric Lauer (5-2, 2.80 ERA) faces Tigers RHP Reese Olson (4-3, 2.71) in Detroit on Thursday night. ___ AP MLB:
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bengals deemed a potential landing spot for Alabama Crimson Tide football coaching legend Nick Saban
The Cincinnati Bengals are approaching an uncomfortable crossroads as a franchise. Owner Mike Brown's reluctance to timely pay stars and improve the infrastructure around the team has not aligned with a squad led by an elite quarterback who is desperately trying to return to the Super Bowl. Beyond roster construction, particularly on defense, coach Zac Taylor has been a source of frustration for underachieving campaigns and some questionable late-game execution. If the Bengals have another substandard season, one national media talking head thinks the Bengals should part ways with Taylor and target a college football icon. In a recent episode of "The Herd," Nick Wright suggested Nick Saban should come out of retirement to take the headset in Cincinnati. "I think Nick Saban could be an interesting idea for Cincinnati," Wright said. "He has to coach up the defense and have someone to have as big a voice as Mike Brown. Let Joe and Ja'Marr handle the offense. If I'm Nick Saban and want to do this, I'm interested in having a contender immediately." Wright alluded to the fact that Saban still clearly has an elite football mind and has a sharp attention to detail, likely referring to his stellar work on ESPN's "College Gameday." Saban was just 15-17 as a head coach in the NFL during his brief stint with the Miami Dolphins two decades ago and could have a desire to prove he can succeed at the next level. At 73, the question is whether he wants the stress of running a professional organization when he could just continue his career as a beloved television analyst. If Saban wants a job, he's getting it.
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oregon's Dan Lanning has his own idea to fix the College Football Playoff: Get rid of byes
LAS VEGAS — There's a lot going on in college football these days. There's a disagreement over the College Football Playoff format, debate over athlete compensation rules and uncertainty on the future of the transfer portal. But if Dan Lanning could change one thing, it wouldn't be associated with any of that. 'College football season should end Jan. 1,' the Oregon head coach told Yahoo Sports in an interview from Big Ten media days on Wednesday. 'That solves a lot of the problems that exist.' Shifting up the college football season — long a discussion point among college administrators — would result in what Lanning says will be a more condensed playoff, one spread across five weeks instead of seven, and one that does not, he said emphatically, include long byes for teams. After last season, he's done with those. His No. 1-seeded Ducks had 25 days off before a 41-21 loss to eighth-seeded Ohio State in the quarterfinals. 'All four teams that had a bye lost. There's something to that,' Lanning said. Lanning and three Oregon players spun through Day 2 of the three-day Big Ten football media days here on Wednesday as the defending conference champions and a team predicted to finish toward the top of the league again this year despite a host of departures and plenty of new faces (Oregon had 10 players drafted, including veteran quarterback Dillon Gabriel). [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] The Gabriel-led 2024 version of the Ducks romped through last season undefeated, beating Ohio State in a thriller at home and knocking off Penn State in the conference title bout. And then, in a stunning display at the Rose Bowl, they fell behind 34-0 to the Buckeyes in the rematch. While Ohio State was an 'unbelievable team,' Lanning said, it's pretty clear what happened. One team had a month off and the other had played the weekend before in the first round of the playoffs. Perhaps long, extended off time isn't such a positive. 'You saw a team that wasn't resting and a team that was,' Lanning said. 'In the second half, we were a much different team, but it was too much to overcome. So if there's anything that I would change, it's playing these games faster and sooner. College football belongs on Saturday, not the NFL.' Lanning's shot toward the NFL is a reminder of the growing animosity between those in college sports and the NFL, which continues to encroach on days traditionally reserved for college football. He's far from alone in this. The NFL began long ago playing games on Thursdays, normally exclusively for college football. Two years ago, they started to play on Black Friday, too. And starting the third Saturday in December, the league plays games on Saturdays in what's become a complication for college's new, expanded playoff. In fact, the two of the four first-round games competed with NFL games last December and both semifinals in January were scheduled on weekdays to avoid a head-to-head with NFL weekend playoff games. 'Look at Major League Baseball,' Maryland head coach Mike Locksley said. 'They spend $900 million on minor league baseball as a development league. The NFL is getting us for free. When I grew up, Thursday night used to be college football. Now it's two NFL games.' But back to Lanning. His idea of moving up college football's playing season is a long-discussed issue that may solve, as he says, several matters. Ideally, he believes college football should turn Week Zero into Week 1, shifting up the entire season by a week (conference championship games would presumably move to Thanksgiving weekend). The playoff could begin on the first or second weekend of December, the national semifinals would fall on New Year's Day and the championship game would be back in early January instead of Jan. 20 as it was last year (it's Jan. 19 this season). Conceivably, the first two rounds of the playoffs could be unencumbered — without competition from NFL games. And the postseason will mostly be completed by the time the new, single transfer portal period is established (the expectation for that is early to mid-January). 'It solves a lot, whether it's the portal being open during the season or what,' Lanning says. 'I just wish we played a similar playoff to every other model that exists in every other sport where you play every Saturday and you get knocked out. There might be byes, but it's not going to be more than 14 days off as opposed to what we had this past season.' Not long ago, College Football Playoff leaders seriously discussed the prospect of shifting up by a week the entire regular season. In fact, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said two years ago that a Week Zero shift should be considered. 'I don't know that anybody's ready to say we can't do it or we can do it,' he said then. However, since Phillips uttered those words, conversations around the prospect have faded. College leaders begrudgingly made the decision to take on the NFL head-to-head with those two first-round playoff games in December. These weren't just any ho-hum NFL games. The 1 p.m. kickoff, on NBC, was the Texans versus the then two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The 4:30 p.m. kickoff, on Fox, was one of the most attractive division rivalries of the last 20 years: Steelers vs. Ravens. 'They purposely scheduled aggressively against us,' one college football executive told Yahoo Sports then. But moving up the entire season is no easy task. There are long-term game contracts that would need adjusting, such as with venues for conference championship games. Normally played on the first weekend of December, title games would kick off Thanksgiving weekend to allow for, at the very least, an agreed-upon 12-day period between the final league title game and the first playoff game. There are plenty more hurdles, like convincing your primary network partner to go along with this. Over the last two years, ESPN executives have expressed to some CFP leaders their concern over how such a move would impact television windows around the holidays. More than 50 FBS games are played during the Thanksgiving week, many of them drama-filled rivalry meetings, like Auburn-Alabama, Michigan-Ohio State and Florida State-Florida. These are rating giants on a holiday week, generating eye-popping figures. If the schedule is shifted up, Thanksgiving week would feature just nine games, and while all of them are conference championships, five of those involve only Group of Five programs. That's not to mention the shifting of the traditional opening weekend, also built around a holiday (Labor Day). However, during Division I conference commissioner meetings last month in Asheville, North Carolina, administrators re-examined making Week Zero a permanent playing date for college football teams, but without moving up the entire season. It would provide an additional bye week for teams. For now, schools wanting to play on Week Zero must be granted a waiver by NCAA governance committees. Lanning would love to see that end, and for Week Zero to become Week 1, no more playoff byes and a postseason that ends before mid-January. 'If anyone ever asks me what's the one thing I could change in college football,' he said, 'it's always that.'
