Mango

You were a bit harder on UPL than I would be up thread. There is a goal or two I would like back. That O'Connor goal was brutal. But UPL bailed us out too.

If we’re talking about “only paying the core” we should reevaluate the core. Mitts is firmly out 1a/1b C and Cozens is firmly our 3rd even when healthy this year. So to your point of only paying the core, and not the core +1, in that totally hypothetical scenario I’m trading Cozens and extending Mitts. I wouldn’t hesitate or lose a minutes sleep over it. I like Cozens. I really liked him last year and loved his extension. But Mitts has been the better player for about a year now. (Again, I’m not advocating trading Cozens. Just building on this core +1 scenario you through out)

Cozens not getting going this year is holding our 3rd line back. Certainly there are some other personnel issues. I felt like he sorta half way arrived last season, now I’m frustrated that even with a lesser role as 3C, I’m still seeing nearly zero impact injury or not. Maybe we can catch some lightening in a bottle with Rousek, Biro, or Kulich. But the lower lines have to start contributing.

11 forwards was a bit of a mess. We’re basically playing 2 lines. Then subbing Greenway, Mitts, and Skinner all over the place to make sure anybody outside of the top 5 or 6 forwards don’t touch the puck. I feel so strange saying this, he we don’t really have anybody to fill out the 3rd and 4th lines very well. There have been 5-6 forwards who have been good to great and everybody else has been a major liability.

I think it’s time to start committing to a few and pulling some commitment back to others and leveraging them for trade bait to fill the roster. We have to find ways to keep Mitts and JJP around for a long time, and do to cost we have to plan further ahead in how to fulfill the rest of the roles on the roster rather than wait for prospects to figure it out on pricey extensions.

He showed enough or lack there of to go down for the year. It’s unfortunate, but it is what it is. He didn’t provide value and that’s the name of the game right now. Not to mention that I think the big club is good enough right now that anybody who puts on blue and gold should be adding value that day. Prospects can progress in the minors. That said. I think Benson does have value. He was better with Thompson/Skinner than Cozens was last night. He’s a tough call. He’s adding value but also needs to be committed to getting a lot stronger. And I’m not sure he gets that as quickly as he needs it by playing up in Buffalo.

I really liked Cozens last year. But I have not liked his game at all this year, bar a few moments. Struggling to put last night on the injury. I’ve been waiting for him to find his game for a month now. I’m shifting from patient to whiny.

With the way Cozens played tonight he shouldn’t be in the top 6 with or without Tuch. He’s been a third line player all year unfortunately. I would maybe consider giving Kulich a call? What’s Bensons status? Savoie was hectic tonight. Not a huge deal, he’s young, but with the way Benson came out, and the hype around Savoie, it was a little bit of a let down.

Felt like by the time we were in the second we were mixing and matching 2 lines. Greenway and Skinner looked to be double shifting at points in the Thompson line. I think I caught Mitts on the wing there a few times too. Cozens has got to get his game together.

Savoie was very hectic in the few times I saw him. Benson is miles ahead at this point. Cozens had a moment or two, but he was not good again. I know the whole injury thing. But he really hasn’t been good since puck drop. I’m getting to a point where I’m a little salty Mitts doesn’t have an extension and Cozens does.

Mitts is the best player on the team right now. He’s been lights out. JJP isn’t far behind. Lock Mitts up long term tonight please. He is the lynch pin in what we're trying to do.

I mostly say no, but he’s a Buffalo kid, we aren’t filing the arena, and I don’t trust Terry.

It’s crazy that icing is such a favorable call for teams we play.

The Bills have Josh Allen and have played meaningful football well into January, in a league that can basically prints money. Comparing the valuation of teams in the NHL and NFL is apples and Oranges. I don't disagree that TV money plays a role. But it is worth noting that Buffalo drives more Stanley Cup viewers than most markets in the country, even with a 12 year playoff drought. In 2019 more Buffalo had better ratings than either team in the Stanley Cup. Last year we were top 5. TV ratings can only go so far.

The NHL has so many midmarket cities, it is a shame they are so low by comparison (regardless of actual numbers). The NHL is a league that a city the size of Buffalo should be players in. In terms of value anyways. We weren't remarkably valuable before Terry, but we were middling at at 21st/22nd in the two years before he bought them. Just like historical win percentage, Pegula has tanked this franchise. I hope he can bring it back to life. https://www.forbes.com/2010/11/30/leafs-rangers-canadiens-business-sports-hockey-most-valuable-teams-hockey-valuations-10_slide.html?sh=bfac1b855531

Don’t say that to 1H 1A 1N 1K.

The Sabres score on themselves more than any team I can remember. Clifton has 2-3 of his ownZ I think we might be up to 4-5 on the year just 12 games in.

Right? If I am on SS, I am on the internet thinking/reading about the upcoming game. So google is literally at my finger tips. My go to is generally wing it. I sit down and open the MSG app on my TV. If it isn't there I...figure it out....But if I am feeling particularly spicy. I will google it ahead of time.

The team has prospect depth and skill at the top. But it lacks physicality and NHL level depth down the roster. We should be open to upgrading the forwards, defense, and goaltender.

Just thinking about this team make ip after last night, I think the top 10 forwards are already on the Sabres roster. Extend Mitts long term. He’s 1C/2C Get Greenway here for another 3 years. We need a Greenway clone to help fill out the wing with Cozens-Quinn. The 4th line should be mostly vets IMO. The rest of the prospects should be backfill if we can’t afford to keep both Quinn/JJP. Or replace an aging Skinner when his contract is up. Or maybe Greenway/Tuch in a few years become stalwarts on the 4th line once the kids prove to be better. But I don’t think this team is, or should be, in a place anymore where we struggle through growing pains by asking multiple young guys to struggle to carry top 6 production while we wait to grow into it.

I don’t necessarily disagree with you. He isn’t a top 6 individual skill player. But he does make every line he’s on with the top 6 better. He’s the glue. I wouldn’t move him from his line with Mitts-Peterka for anybody right now.

He adds value on every line he plays on. I don’t see how he wouldn’t be considered top 6 at this point. One more Greenway level player/skill set would help this team immensely. Also Mitts has to be written in sharpie as a 1C or 2C at this point.

Mitts and JJP were impressive tonight. Peterka really leveled up his game this year and Greenway seems to add value no matter who he pairs with. This game was fun. Hopefully they keep playing fun hockey in Carolina.

I thought this team was being built like the Lindy Ruff lead Devils. And by comparison they were a much faster team than us a few days ago even though we got the win. That alone has been a big concern for me. We’re built on youth, skill, and scoring, and we just look so slow at times. It’s weird. Beating Philly 5-2 the other day was a mirage. That wasn’t a “we figured out how to do it ugly”. That was lucky. You can’t win NHL games with 15 SOG. You almost hope the problem is Donnie, because if it isn’t then it means that these players aren’t what we thought. And this patience/slow burn just means we’re another 3-5 years away. The problem has to be coaching or we have to start over.

Box score watching this one. Power at -5 is….bad….