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I’d add Benson to that list. He’s not a big dog, but he seems like a willing ankle biter.

Reinhart I think, re the bold

All that culture stuff Adams talked about 5 years ago that everyone bought into? Hey it’s still there! It was real. They are just disingenuous frauds: they are literally the ones infiltrating the franchise and pumping that poor culture right to its veins

I'm curious how they staff the 1st PP this year? Do they go status quo and just plug Kulich into JJ's slot? It's his natural role and he has a history of being very good there. Another unwrapped option is Norris, who also has a history of being very good on the PP, but from the Thompson position. I think one of the issues is the lack of a pure passer and/or playmaker other than Dahlin. And with Ras kinda anchored at the top, who is breaking down the box with motion and misdirection? Who is sneaking down from the top? I've seen Byram and Power have success at doing the above and wouldn't mind their skills being better utilized on the PP. Teams moved away from 2D on the PP basically to get their best offensive talent on the ice. I think you could make a very good case that Byram and Power are among our five most talented players. Maybe they should explore using those skills. What do they have to lose?

But my God...look at how ridiculous those goalies look. How were games not 15-12 with their terrible shot stopping ability?

A pack mentality is what arises simply from the realization of the group that they are united in a common goal beyond themselves this conversation, imo, is off the rails - what’s missing isnt a “pack leader” (what year is it?), nor do the Sabres randomly just “happen” to add a bunch of guys with no bite what is happening, in actuality, is that we aren’t assembling a group of players who are uncharacteristically stupid: they can perceive and understand that the Buffalo Sabres aren’t committed to a real goal How can the players lay down their hockey lives for a cause when the sabres don’t have a cause worth fighting for? You want them to lie down for Pegula’s yacht costs? come on now, people, use your noggins on this one

What I found particularly frustrating last year was their failure to lean into their strength: Thompson. The year before they failed because Thompson was their only weapon and they didn't try anything else. Last year they overcompensated and went out of their way to avoid Tage. Find a happy medium.

I don't see any lead dogs on the roster, which I think is the chief problem in this area. Guys I see who probably would run with the pack if we had it: Dahlin, Kesselring, Thompson, Tuch, Zucker, Greenway, Danforth, Malenstyn, Doan, Krebs Not sure how many more of those guys are necessary to create some sort of a critical mass when we don't have a pack leader. Adding a pack leader sure would help.

You are right but they run it through the point because Dahlin is the only one that can run it. They have no high hockey IQ/playmakers that can run it from anywhere up front or the sidewall.

Another thought... I wonder if you could trade Byram and Krebs to Anaheim for McTavish. They have Carlsson, Strome, Poehling, and Granlund with McQueen and Sennecke in the pipe... I wonder if they would be willing to move McTavish to upgrade their defense. Unsure but just a random thought of the day.

If I were Buffalo at this stage, I would do Byram - Dahlin Power - Kesselring Samuelsson - Timmins

“Historically 3rd pair” translates to “found money top 4 upgrade” in the ancient Adams dialect

You miss the nuance, Gilbert is not Gilbert, don't blame yourself, probably just a younger!

That would be my hope, too, but if Byram isn't on the team, I can only believe we'll see a breakup of Samuelsson-Dahlin when I see it. I'm going by Timmins' career usage. He's been an O-zone start guy until his 17-game stint with PIT when he was at 46.2% O-zone starts, so there's a chance he can be a defensive-focused guy. But I don't put much stock in that small sample size with a Pittsburgh team that was like Buffalo at the end: facing backups, playing easy against disinterested teams, and had Crosby willing them to finish strong. Historically, he's a solid 3rd pair guy.

I did too and thought “uh-oh, sad Sabre fan summer posting is in full effect” 😆🤣

This is the beauty of his game, well said even by proxy of a future scout

In order to have a pack mentality, you need a pack. I haven’t gotten the feeling these guys are a pack. They are more like a flock looking for their shepherd. They needed to draft and develop guys with that mentality. They didn’t for far too long. They have made some improvements but it still feels like they are leaning toward a skill lineup. You need players that do have that pack mentality. I don’t really see it with the current roster. Kesselring and Doan are a slight improvement in that direction but I still feel there are too many players like Quinn & Samuelsson, who play as if physical contact is a foreign concept.

Timmins on top pair still a pretty big (see: massive) question mark but if anyone can make it work it’s Dahlin. I think I’d prefer the situation where Byram was moved for a top 6 forward and we didn’t make any futures trades to the situation where we re-signed Byram and didn’t make any futures trades, putting my faith in Dahlin if Adams won’t inspire any through actual action B : Byram traded for top 6 F (roster remains break even to last year), 2 futures trades made, 1 for an upgrade F and 1 for an upgrade D. OR Byram retained, 2 futures trades made at F (one to get F back to status quo (Peterka), one as an upgrade) (both of these scenarios under A result in the one F upgrade one D upgrade I thought was bare minimum coming in) C- : Byram traded for top 6 F, and 1 futures upgrade (BPA) OR Byram retained and 1 futures trade for a F (these scenarios result in 50% of the raw upgrades I felt necessary. If Byram is retained and the futures trade backlogs Peterka loss, Kesselring represents the add, etc. If Byram is traded for a F, everything is back square and upgrade TBD, if we make one) D : Byram dealt for top 6 F, no futures trades (break even squad to last year) D- : Byram bridged, no futures trades (break even squad to last year, but no shiny new toy) F : Adams has another press conference

I agree on Quinn, just have a feeling... if there was improvement its fringe... you feel like you may have reshaped the roster to a more complete roster and that may help. To me the bottom line is improvement will come from within... Power takes a step, plays more physical and better d, Quinn last year was an aberation and he takes the Peterka role, Kulick proves he belongs as a top 6, UPL gains consistency, Levi challenges, etc....

Giving this iteration of team, maybe we need to look back upon of those teams, and thank ourselves that we were blessed at a time

I'll always remember the Larry Carriere quote, along the lines of "playing defense with Bert on the ice was easy - gather the puck, take it behind the net, wait for Bert to circle around, pick it up, watch him skate through the opponent, score, and you're +1 as you get to the bench"

Based on the thread title, I thought Gretzky was taking about Dennis Gilbert. 🤷‍♂️

Yes he did, but shout was to Perrault, the best forward line ever was Gretzky in middle with Perrault and Lafleur as linemates in the Canada Cup 1981, sucks he broke a leg, but crowd was unstoppable for 2 games

The Florida Panthers do what Buffalo has failed to do for years, pack mentality. Not some pugilist who you need to protect the frail and soft willed players like Samuelsson but a pack mentality where if Thompson gets run, no one waits to see what they should do or ask for their fighter buddy to handle it, nope you just drop gloves and start firing. Sabres haven't had that since Chris Drury got screwed and Drew Stafford didn't hesitate... see Miller Lucic.

The problem with the PP is coaching. That and they insist on running it through the point which is super easy to defend, you just stay in the box and barely slide when it goes to the half wall... because all the Sabres do is stand around.