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George Kooymans - Golden earring died as well today at 77.

It is, and the Sabres retained all the coaches that have a devil of a time figuring out how to use the ingredients they've been given. We'd better hope they do, because the coaches can't be expected to put them in position to do so. How much different this off-season would feel if Wilford, Appert, Ellis, and possibly Bales were gone.

Sabres goaltending probably has the lowest floor. Probably not the lowest ceiling.

Pull some random overseas phone # out of your head and tell them you expect that's likely the best way to reach him? When they call back again, give them a different random overseas phone # and tell them that THAT's what you expect is likely the best way to reach him. After 2 or 3 go arounds, they should leave you alone.

The biggest issue UPL has, and on many levels it's not a good one to have, is between the ears. He seems to need outside reinforcement to believe in his own abilities. And, when things start going ferkakta he isn't going to get positive outside reinforcement. Is it something he can't/ won't be able to overcome; not necessarily. He did an admirable job of getting beyond the mental reluctance to push his hips to their limit after surgery that season that they just missed the playoffs by 1/2 points. During that stretch and 1 or 2 others, he's shown an ability to truly believe in himself. Maybe he can do it again. For our sakes and the Sabres sake, we really need him to do that again. When he's been focused, he's shown an ability to move post to post that few men that big can do. But he's too easily taken off his game and then he overplays pucks and he gets too low in his stance and suddenly the glove misses things it should catch and the area above his shoulder and below the crossbar (which should NEVER be open when he's square due to his size) open up. The level that having his issues lie in his head is good (possibly great) is that if he can ever consistently get out of his own head, he has the physical tools to be one of the best in the entire league. And, the switch from subpar to superb can LITERALLY be like a light switch going on. If he were on my payroll, would insist he see a sports psychologist (maybe Ryan Miller's is taking new clients) because whatever money that costs would be 100% worth it should the lightbulb not only go on, but stay on. IF all 3 guys they have bring their A games, the Sabres could have one of the 5 best goaltending situations in the entire league. But, as of now, we should expect about the 22nd or so best goaltending situations because that's a smidge better than the 3 they have have been when looking at their entire bodies of work and 2 of the 3 are getting closer to / into their primes.

We all don’t know what the full story is about his disgruntlement because we are not insiders. What we do know is that he was determined to get out and had a contract status where he was going to be a UFA in another season. So he was dealt. I thought the return was fair and the added players should be contributors. It’s not a surprise that even well run franchises have some players who prefer a change of workplaces for a variety of reasons. It’s part of the work landscape. I have no ill-will towards him. I preferred to keep him but it didn’t work out that way. So be it. My attention is now on Kesserling and Doan.

I don't think it's hope in this case. I'd classify it as "expectation", not hope. In the case of older players repeating career years, yeah that's hope. You hope they can reach that level again. But for younger players, it's just expectation and the reality of how players progress. They usually don't peak with less than two seasons total played. I don't take issue with Adams expecting ("hoping") that these young players will improve.... because they should improve. You expect them to; they don't come in as a finished product. Where I do take issues with Adams and his attitude towards the younger players is him continuing to have such a large young core AND not sufficiently supplementing it with enough of the right veterans to show the kids how it's done. It's semantics, but I think it's an important distinction to make. Also, I'd prefer to never be put in a position of defending KA ever again 🤢

Threaten them with a harassment lawsuit?

Frankly I'd guess NHL players would be more predominantly in line with a more "old-fashioned" line of thinking. For players not looking to live fast and loose and have a long time girlfriend; locking them up isn't exactly inconceivable. Players in hockey, do tend to be of Christian origin and will use the motifs and typical behaviors in everything from interviews to what charity work they do. You also have the interesting circumstance of Europeans tending to be more secular however the ones that aren't tending to be more outwardly religious. To sum it up, I don't really see Power or Thompson's marriages and religious overtones being an issue as I wouldn't be surprised if many of the players are at very least passively religious.

GMKA seems to think the goaltending metrics will improve if they play better team defense. Is there any evidence to support this?

The interesting complement to my post above, is that Lyon is kinda the opposite of UPL. Hes a guy who can get leaky when the team is playing solid hockey, then stand on his head when things break down. The key to making the playoffs might be having the right goalie in to match whatever Sabre defence decides to show up.

I think one thing that got overlooked in the big losing streak last season was how it effectively broke UPL. After a slowish start, he had an excellent November with a .926 SP and a GAA under 2. To my eyes, he reacted to the losses piling up in December by trying to do too much, overextending and getting caught out of position and his mechanics reverted to the AHL UPL. I think he’s an average goalie who can win a lot of games behind a structured defence. At least that’s what he showed 2 years ago. But he can get inside his own head and he’s out of his element when things break down. I think his success or lack thereof will hinge on the predictability of the play in front of him.

I have a collection agency or something calling me 3 times a month to get my brother's contact info. How do I stop them? ...without giving them that information, obviously

Well that is certainly high on the reasoning for sure

Truer words LOL....

I am not sure about worst... I think we are closer to the over all worst defensive play to include defenseman and forwards playing two way... I clearly an no where near enamoured with our goaltending... but, I am interested to see if it overall looks better if we have more of a two way team...

Better than: Philly Possibly better than: Carolina (Andersen is frequently injured) Pittsburgh (Silovs has potential and Jarry is Russian Roulette) Columbus (Merzlikins has declined greatly the last 3 years and their back up I have never heard of) Red Wings (Gibson, which version shows up and for how long?)

This is our best hope: that the talent on this blue line has experienced enough that it can realize its potential.

Nah man, that's not unfair. There's a lil shade being thrown there. "Trad" is in part used with regard to the "trad wife" movement which is ... something. "Trad" in general is just a cheeky, young person's way of saying "sorta old fashioned" and a societal outlier in this increasingly secular, cynical world. And such. And as I acknowledged above, there's part of my wondering that involves (sorta sh1tty) speculation that these young #followersofJesus husbands and fathers are not optimal for developing vibes in an NHL locker room. But I don't know that. I don't know anything here. This is a thought project.

They'll still be able to generate offense off the rush because they have such dynamic defenders. Buffalo has 4 of the top 31 5v5 assist creating defenders in the NHL now: Dahlin, Kesselring, Byram, Power. I think losing Peterka will hurt rush creation but adding Doan probably helps cycle creation. Hard to say what their scoring will do overall as Quinn and Benson are wildcards and I don't expect Norris to shoot at 8% like Cozens. Still, Buffalo probably scores a few less than last year, if that comes with a drastic reduction is goals against, than cool. They can, but "hope is a ***** strategy"

Absolutely true, but you’re projecting this on to Peterka without any evidence it was actually the case. Also, you have experienced 14 years of dispiriting losing. The JJ Peterka-era Sabres have gone 117/109/14. Poor little baby, who could blame him for quitting after living through that nightmare? ***** JJ Peterka

The term you started it off with felt derogatory to me. If I read something into that which wasn't there, that's on me. I'm not around teenagers or 20 somethings, so I have no idea, but it does seem like most of these labels wind up being used that way.

Don't forget Doan & Kesselring. They don't have a ton of time in the NHL yet either and could certainly improve their scoring this year.

I am not sure it is possible to have a conversation this nuanced on the internet and have it be productive.

KA’s dream of internal growth from Benson, Kulich, Quinn and Power can make up 10 goals. I still think he hasn’t done enough in regards to team building and instilling team toughness but they should be able to generate offense.