dudacek

A few things stand out about that line-up to me (besides the lack of skill). The defence can move the puck. And the forward group can skate and works hard. I think this team will have an identity

So assuming no more changes and Jack sitting, I go for cycling 4 balanced lines to start until we see what works (don’t pay much attention to the order) This would be my starting 23-man roster, with only Lukkonen (Dell) and Hayden (Eakin) really in doubt Skinner Ruotsalainen Bjork Asplund Mittelstadt Thompson Olofsson Cozens Okposo Hinostroza Girgensons Caggiula Hayden Dahlin Jokiharju Samuelsson Miller Butcher Bryson Hagg Pysyk Anderson/Lukkonnen

Peterka and Quinn should be the most notable. Not sure if we’ll get any of this year’s draft crop.

25 years ago, we moved into our first house and had our first child in the same month. The exterior, yard and every room except the one I'm sitting in right now has been changed, but we're still here. Our daughter now comes to visit when she's not hiking mountains and helping troubled kids. Enjoy. You are in for a ride.

Yep. Salt Lake gold medal winner.

I think Salt Lake?

Mike Peca

In regards to the rest of the list, I like that Levi has started to win Pronman over, and I worry that he might be right about Lukkonnen. I am pretty confident Quinn and Samuelsson are better than he thinks. The most fascinating group to watch for me will be this year’s picks after Power. We had 7 of the 1st 97 picks in the most poorly scouted draft in recent memory and we clearly approached it in a much different way than previous drafts. Eight months from now there will be a very high number of players who will emerge as steals and many others who will look like they were dramatically overdrafted. We had an opportunity to change the course of the franchise by finally hitting on some depth picks. Real curious if we will see signs that we did.

I think there are question marks around all four of the top players. Dahlin really needs to step up in year 4 to be a team leader and show he’s more than an inconsistent great talent: I expect miscues, that seems to be part of his game. But I need to see fewer and more wow plays. Time to step up: 50 points, 24 minutes and more of a take-charge attitude. I want Power to play like a #1 pick should against college competition and be the centrepiece of a dominant Michigan team. I also want him to the leader of Team Canada at the WJC. I’d like to see signs he is top-pair guy in the making and not just the safest choice in a difficult scouting year. I love Dylan Cozens and the way he approaches the game but I need to see more physical development and signs of offence. We need him to be more Ryan Kesler and less Danny Paille. It doesn’t have to all happen this year, but he has to take a step. Oddly, I have the fewest questions about Mittelstadt, perhaps because he has the lowest expectations and has come the closest to reaching them. I just want 70 games like his last 20, and signs that he can become the relentless guy other teams want to punch that I saw in junior.

Just thought it would be good to add this in here for posterity sake. The Athletic’s Corey Pronman ranks the Sabres U23 group as the best in the league, with 15 potential NHLers. Projected elite/all-star bubble 1 Dahlin Projected all-star 2 Power All-star/top-of-lineup bubble 3 Cozens Top-of-lineup/middle-lineup bubble 4 Mittelstadt Middle of lineup 5 Peterka 6 Johnson 7 Jokiharju 8 Quinn 9 Rosen 10 Poltapov 11 Levi NHLer 12 Samuelsson 13 Kisakov 14 Lukkonnen 15 Nadeau Has a Chance Rousek Laaksonen Marjala Novikov Bloom Pekar Portillo Notably not ranked Huglen Sardarian Weissbach

Looks tough. I approve.

For the record, we are tied for 3rd in the league in centres drafted in the 1st round over the past 8 years, with 4, all of them in the top 10. The Kings have picked 5 and the Devils 6. The Ducks, Senators Blues and Oilers are the other teams to have invested 4 1st round picks in centres over that period. Toronto, Tampa, Nashville, San Jose and the Islanders have picked 1. And the PIttsburgh Penguins havent picked any. The Sabres have drafted 10 centres total over those 8 years.

Maybe we aren’t. 😄 Otherwise, entirely fair.

I’d agree.

Maybe I haven’t read all the links? But the ones I recall were Okposo basically engaging in coachspeak - positive reinforcement of positive steps Jack has taken in order to facilitate continuation, and McCabe building up a buddy. With both sets of comments coming at the prompting of reporters in the context of (my words) Jack showing elevated maturity. *** I have considered Jack self-centred and immature, but not irredeemably so, pretty much his entire Sabres career. I didn’t complain about it much because he was young and competitive and had time to mature. It appeared he did mature in year 5. And I would not be surprised if the maturation continues if he is traded to an environment where it can be nurtured. The “supposition” is indeed a narrative of sorts, but it is one I’ve concluded based on what I’ve observed in trying to make sense of what has happened. Do you think Jack’s qualities as a leader and a teammate have played a role in the Sabres struggles? Why or why not? Which of suppositions don’t ring true to you? Why? Finally, why do you think Adams wants to trade a franchise talent, and what makes you think that?

But I sure find it handy when I’m trying to summarize why I’m ready for him to move on.

I admire @Thorny’s dogged efforts to refuse to tolerate unsubstantiated name-calling, so I hope this doesn’t descend there. Over 6 years of watching, I have observed in Jack a sharp tongue, a tendency to pout and stew when things don’t go his way, and a general tendency be more focused on self than team. That’s not all he is, and he’s certainly not alone in these qualities as a professional athlete. Just like you can’t ignore positive comments from guys like Okposo and McCabe, you also can’t ignore Dea’s comments, the whispers of disrespect to coaches and veterans under Bylsma and Housley, or the fact that Jack was clearly far more a Kane guy than a Gionta guy. That recent podcast where Gionta discussed the dressing room without naming names seemed particularly damning. Especially when hockey culture demands issues remain in the room and public comments are about building up your teammates. I’m not sure I’ve heard/read unprompted stories or comments about Eichel being a great leader or great teammate in terms of getting his teammates focused, having their backs, helping the young players - all those hockey leadership cliches. I have also observed a general tendency from the Sabres to cater to Jack - Ralph’s hiring and entire approach in particular seemed to revolve around that desire. There’s a reason “GM Jack Eichel” became an Internet meme. I haven’t seen evidence that Jack is a “prick” but I do think he is used to things being easy, and always going his way, and that he hasn’t learned to fully respect and empathize with those around him. I think there are times he has made younger players and role players feel “less than” and outsiders. I partially blame the Sabres for this for the terrible choices they made in developing the immature 19-year-old elite talent they were handed. I perceive Jack as hard-working and caring about winning, but also someone who was never taught the value of “respect the process.” I think Adams discovered a dressing room culture he felt essentially revolved around keeping Jack happy and felt elements of the team were being inhibited by that. I think he made overtures with Jack about changing that situation and was met instead with Jack’s frustration with the Sabres failures - basically “I’m fed up” rather than “what can I do to help?” The net result was Adams started to consider a path without Jack, and Jack feeling snubbed that the organization was no longer giving him the “respect” he deserved. I liken Jack and the Sabres as a failed marriage - too many poor decisions that can’t be undone without a separation. I wish circumstances had led Jack on to a Jim Kelly-like path, but that didn’t happen. Adams is right to cut the cord and give the team an opportunity to build a new culture with players who “want to be here” and ready to “respect the process.” For all of his lack of experience, I think Adams has a clear understanding of what a winning NHL dressing room should look like. I am on board with his vision in that area and his willingness to endure the pain of a rebirth. Fingers crossed he has the ability to pull it off.

“I mean, listen, my No. 1 interest and my No. 1 goal is Jack Eichel, you know what I mean? You’ve got to look after yourself. You’ve got to look after what’s best for yourself.” #ourcaptain

Development curves are weird. But in the last month of the season I saw the player I thought he was going to be in junior. I’d be prettysurprised if Casey isn’t our highest-scoring forward this year. This contract has the potential to be a real bargain.

That was quite a sly run Ray took at Jack this morning. He skirted outright calling him a drama queen, but basically questioned the severity of the injury and the emphasis placed on it and the dispute around his treatment.

Meh. I think this is a case of manufacturing an issue. We need 8 NHL defencemen. We have 6 including 4 guys trying to revive their NHL careers, plus 2 young guys we’ve crossed our fingers for. You call it blocks. I call it depth and honest competition. If Butcher reclaims his game he becomes an asset. If he sucks, he’ll sit. He’s a below-average cap hit on a one-year deal who Adams was paid to take. The only ego at stake here is Butcher’s. His cap hit and salary are and were irrelevant to the goaltending picture or any other “helpful” piece the Sabres might be or have been considering picking up. He’s a stopgap with apparently a good mindset, a ton of motivation and some upside, acquired at low cost to help us through a rebuilding year. The plan might suck and you can fill your boots complaining about that, but within the context of the plan, Will Butcher makes a lot of sense.

He was cheap though in terms of acquisition/opportunity cost. The Sabres got a free 5th round pick for taking on a 1-year $2.8 contract. He also happens to be a proven NHL defenceman, save last year. Even including last year's dismal numbers, he's 55th in points for defencemen since he entered the league, sandwiched in with a group including Justin Falk, Cam Fowler, Shea Weber, Colton Parayko, Brandon Montour, Noah Hanifan and Rasmus Dahlin. Yes, you can get two #7s for less than $2.8 million, so if he is your #7, you definitely overpaid. But that's not bad coin for a #4/5 (115th on the salary scale alongside guys like Cole, Soucy, Nutivaara, Moore). He has that upside and if he performs he can be flipped for another pick at the deadline. Worst case scenario is he flames out and we sacrificed $2 million in real money (but apparently nothing in needed cap space) for a 5th-round pick. Best case scenario, we paid $2 million for one year of a 2nd-pairing defenceman, a 5th and a 3rd. It's good buy-low investment opportunity. Can't see the down side with this one at all.

To be clear, I do not believe the goal is to be bad for the next two years and I think that would be a huge mistake. Ideally, I’d like to see next summer as similar to the summer of 2015 where we draft a stud centre (Eichel/Wright) welcome our previous top pick (Reinhart/Power) use our cap and roster flexibility to add a good veteran or two (ROR), and vault into the playoff chase. Hopefully what is different is they will be joining a team that already has Mittelstadt, Cozens and Dahlin as viable pieces of a young core, has Quinn, Lukkonen, Johnson and others also ready to contribute, and will not have a locker room dominated by the Bogo/Kane Axis of Evil (TM)

LOL. And I making it worse by saying in the fall of 2014 when I meant 2013. I also missed and have added Johan Larsson. I am comparing this coming season to the initial “designed to lose” season of 2013-14, which I think is fair and relevant, and I think our pipeline now appears to be in better shape. According to many, the top of this draft offers Eichel-like talents, or at least better than Sam Reinhart. But you are absolutely correct in that none of that means much if we don’t draft and properly develop the right players.

I think the Sabres basket of U23 talent is generally underrated, although I do see they’ve cracked the top 8 at minimum in Pronman’s annual ranking this year. In the fall of 2013 the Sabres had in their U23 system (players from the previous 6 drafts): 1 top 10 pick (Ristolainen) 5 other 1st-rounders (Zadorov, Girgensons, Grigorenko, Armia, Pysyk) 5 2nd-rounders (Compher, Hurley, Bailey, McCabe, Larsson) Right now they have: 2 1st overall picks (Dahlin, Power) 3 other top 10 picks (Quinn, Cozens, Mittelstadt) 4 other 1st rounders (Rosen, Johnson, Jokiharju, Thompson) 6 2nd rounders (Poltapov, Kisakov, Peterka, Samuelsson, Lukkonnen, Asplund) I think they are clearly both deeper and stronger at the high end right now than they were then.