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Every spot Ive seen Quinn in the lineup makes me shudder. Just ruins the line.

No. I think he's doing slightly better than Adams but he should be fired too. Apparently he tried for Ehlers but Ehlers "didn't want to be there". I think Detroit will finish 5-10 points ahead of the Sabres but miss the playoffs.

I'm actually serious--if anyone knows of an online sports book that takes this type of bet, please let me know.

i’ll counter with a yes and no. Yes, bridging him set up the opportunity, but his decision was an outcome of his father’s death. I can’t speculate on what led to his decision.

Personally, expect the Sabres to try to set McLeod up with a good 2 way game and have that 3rd line be the defacto 2nd line. (Similar to how Drury's line was used back in the day.) With the 2nd line being younger and more offensively focused. (Like the RAV line was used.) Of course, expected that exact same thing last year and it never materialized. So, who knows. Especially, if when the Byram saga is written and they land a Rust (or similar) to add to the top line. Rust - Norris - Thompson Benson - McLeod - Tuch Quinn - Kulich - Zucker Doan - Krebs - Greenway

McLeod’s 3rd period usage will look alot different than his usage in the 1st teo periods. He’ll end up in Kulich’s spot when the team is up and looking to keep a lead.

Some time on the PP would probably balance it out. Win draws, screen the goalie, fetch the puck.

I am not sure, but to your point, it certainly is not in Adams modus operandi.... and further I think that is the great hope... the big improvement "play" this offseason... lets get tougher and play better D and we can finally break out... we shall see.

I hope not, but it is there, the ECHL is probably most affected.

I'm going to ask the same question I have been asking for a while. I don't have an answer myself and I really want to know what other people think: How much ice time do you want McLeod playing next year? -He averaged almost 17 minutes per game last year (16:50) -As the season went on, his play seemed to improve and his ice time increased even more (the last 3 months of the season his average ice time for the month was 17:23, 18:53, 19:15 per game for each month). So, nearly 17 minutes for the year, and he played better with MORE ice time later in the year when he was averaging over 18. But 3rd line centers in this league average about 14.5 minutes, MAYBE 15. So, if McLeod is going to be the 3rd line center, are we good with him getting 2, maybe 3 minutes LESS ice time per game than even last year? Especially since it seems Lindy wanted him on the ice a lot more than that, and he seemed to do pretty well handing the additional minutes?

Wadr, not a chance. Even with baseball becoming a much bigger NCAA thing than it was 20-30 years ago, college ball isn't anywhere near replacing the minor leagues. Hockey's been on a similar model to how baseball is organized since forever. Can't see NCAA replacing minors either. Just don't see it happening.

That looks so much more palatable that what we have currently.

The other thing with Kesselring is that he is a late bloomer entering his 3rd NHL season and just coming into his own. You can’t count on a bunch of individual players getting better the way Adams has, but history teaches us that generally, careers take certain paths and players of Kesselring’s age and experience (and Power’s and Byram’s) are likely to get better.

Again, we're in Act 2 of a 3 act 1 GM play. 😉

As in college teams become the minor leagues

Quinn: I'm leaning toward 35 point (slightly higher) but a defensive liability. I would have rather seen him moved for even the best available pick you could get for him rather than have him brought back. I guess He is still young enough to prove me wrong but he hurt this team badly last year. Norris: I want to lean more toward the 35 goal scorer, so that is what I am doing. I'm just not sure where he fits on the roster. I want to see Tage and Kulich stay together until that is proven to no longer work, and McLeod I want to get more than the 14.5 minutes than 3rd line centers normally get. Greenway: I don't see him as needed on this roster, and he's always seems to be hurt. If he was gone I wouldn't miss him. Samuelsson: I'm guessing I'm in the minority, but I still think he can be a good middle pair guy. Kesserling: I have Zero idea. Doan: Optimistic he can eventually be a somewhat-physical, 20 goal pest Krebs: someplace in between what you are saying. Last year I was as down on him as I am on Quinn this year, but I thought he had a pretty good year. I would not mind seeing his ice time increase, He 'hurts' this team less than Cozens did. UPL: Could be either. He WAS one of the best goalies in the league 2 years ago. He WAS one of the worst goalies in the league last year. Would not surpr`ise me if he is either of those things this year.

Except if you know what was going on in Utah you know that isn't what happened. You know who came back into the lineup at game 57, Sean Durzi, was out from game 4-57. Do you know who came back into their lineup at game 43 after missing 1-43? John Marino. They didn't lose confidence in Kesselring, they plugged back in the top 2 RHD they were paying to play those roles. I bet his +/- went down after he went from playing with good defense partners and the teams top 2 scoring lines to playing with plugs.

This is my point about this team. Adams is gambling on everyone staying healthy, producing and miraculously learning to play defense. He is praying that a goalie (UPL) with one good professional season in 5 has another breakout season and if he fails Adams is hoping that another prospect, who can’t seem to handle the NHL game, finally figures it out. I think Adams has a better chance of winning the Powerball.

Dom Hasek isn't walking through that door.

Kesselring never skated over 20 minutes in a game after game 49 last season. After that his ice time diminished. From games 54-73 he skated between 12-15 nearly every game. This looks very much like the coaching staff in Utah lost some confidence in Kesselring. His offense decreased and he went from +10 in the first 49 to -6 in the last 33.

I think JK is steering most of these deals/signings. Lindy has his input as well. There is a marked shift from speed/skill towards toughness/grit.

It has an effect. Losing hurts the most but don't kid yourself. The sunny, low-tax markets have an advantage. This isn't the 1980's NHL anymore.

I’m tired of crossing my fingers for players, but that’s been the Sabre way for 5 years now. To my eyes there’s a fair amount of potential upside on this roster. But there is an equal amount of downside, and only three players (Tuch, Thompson, Dahlin) that I’m reasonably comfortable that I know what I’m going to get. Sometimes, for some teams, the dice rolls the right way, like it did for Montreal last year and Vancouver 2 years ago. Never does for us. And it would be nice to stop depending on dice.

Hey, is it possible to place a bet on who will win the 2026 draft lottery? I'm not much of a gambler but I'd put down $100 that somehow the Penguins win.