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Never heard that term before. Love it.

I like this line of thought when it comes to Helenius types - players who have been the stars of their teams all through their formative years. That’s not Mrtka. He’s a late-blooming poor kid, with not a lot of history as the bell cow. He needs time being leaned on as “the guy” if we want him to develop into “the guy”.

Fully agree on Lyon. You got him to be the steady veteran backup. Use him. Don’t do him like they did Reimer last year. Waive Georgiev and let Levi play until Luukkonen is back. Regarding Korpisalo, with the exception of his brief time in LA (and their good defensive game) I don’t see anything inspiring more confidence than I’ve seen with Luukkonen.

This, but also the pool of defensively responsible 25-point wingers who are also 6’5” 230 and kill penalties isn’t big. As brittle as he may be, there are a lot of teams looking for a Greenway.

In terms of development, is it better to get more minutes against inferior competition or less minutes against superior competition? I would prefer less minutes against superior competition as imo that is what helps players improve the most. Mrtka needs to get knocked on his a$$ and learn from it.

Really?? That much? Why does it feel like the same then?

If he’s on Seattle (and so is Cootes) then they’re a playoff contender and Mrtka is a team leader skating 27+ each night. If he’s on the Amerks, just pair him with waived and cleared NHL veteran Bryson and let the kid shine in second pair work.

seems like board play has never been more important in the NHL than it is today.

If it’s Geertsen, it is significant . Greenway can give you PK time and experienced defensive play against the league’s top lines. Geertsen can give you 5 minutes of 2 hits, a fight if anyone is willing that night, and otherwise you try to hide from the opponent’s top 9. His next NHL point will be his first.

Lyon will definitely get the starters job. Levi should be backup until Luukkonen is ready. I really hope they are looking for goaltender upgrades. Georgiev is bad. Luukkonen has history with injuries. Levi has not proved anything in nhl yet. And Lyon is a backup, a reliable one, but still a backup. I don't know if either team would do a in division trade, but Korpisalo in Boston would do the job better than our current goalies.

I know what you said,… and I disagree. I think he was overwhelmed and didn’t belong. Luckily, he’s only 18.

I didn't say that he should be on the team now. What I did say is that when watching him I didn't get the sense that he was overwhelmed like a lot of young players would be with their first exposure to the highest level of play.

He should not be getting 16 in roster.

He gets 30min in Seattle. Idc that much is they give him pk and pp time in Rochester. He needs about 22-25min a night

If you zoom way out to look at his record overall in sports, Pegula isn’t cheap, he just over-reacted to COVID and draws lines over arbitrary things. I also think his reputation for interference is over-wrought. It’s more about capriciousness again, combined with hiring poor managers, who have also been unskilled at managing their boss. In 14 years he’s yet to fire someone for failing to ice a good team, despite never icing a good team. His biggest flaw is he’s never been about winning.

I disagree with this. He made some nice plays that give me hope for the future with him. But he lost way too many 50/50 board battles for me to say he belonged in the NHL now.

This issue is a judgment call. However, I see it differently. What happens if he plays well in the AHL? From the little that I have seen playing with a higher level of talent, it doesn't appear to have hurt him. In fact, I would argue otherwise, that it has and will accelerate his development. Is he an exception to the rule regarding the handling young prospects? I think so yet understand why others don't in this particular case.

The question is, would he be better served getting 20 minutes in Seattle? Or 16 in Rochester?

No, not retired.

I guess Greenway also. I just don't think he is too hard to replace. The drop-off from greenway to whoever replaces him, IMO, isn't all that significant.

Sometimes explanations are simpler than one might expect. The problem isn't so much about the amount of money he spent as it is in the decisions being made. The owner came in gangbusters thinking that throwing money around would give his team instant credibility. What he learned is spending money foolishly, no matter what the amount is, is simply wasting money. The owner has made a number of bad decisions, especially in staffing. And to compound the problem, this self-made billionaire is a stubborn man who was inclined to double down rather than alter course. The reality is that this franchise is structured the way he wanted it and is staffed the way he wanted it. Ineptitude is ineptitude. He has sabotaged himself. Has he learned from his mistakes? Maybe so. I'm not really sure because this fellow with the off big boat doesn't talk much.

Didn’t see the game, but do want to point out that Georgiev is not a big goalie. He’s 6-1 178 compared to Levi at 6-0 192. Luukkonen and Leinonen are the bigs in the system.

Definitely not what you want to see, even if you put it into perspective.

For the first 45 minutes the Sabres were in total control, as in Pittsburgh could create absolutely nothing. And then that happened. Again the goalie and the PK didn’t get it done, but that went deeper. Id shrug and say it’s just preseason fuel for the real season, but the inability to close was their primary characteristic last year and what they needed most to address. Troubling.