dudacek

Well, Adams’ inability to pull the trigger seems to be cementing Krueger’s position as the Sabres most-hated coach of all time. That’s something.

What’s irritating is not the lack of attention to the centre position, it’s the lack of judgement in the players they have selected. In the past 9 years they have invested six high first round picks on centres (Cozens, Mittelstadt, Eichel, Reinhart, Grigorenko and Girgensons) They’ve also used five second-rounders on centres (Davidsson, Asplund, Cornel, Compher and Hurley) and traded a large package of picks and prospects for another (O’Reilly). I would be surprised if there is another team that has invested the draft capital the Sabres have into centres over that period. Jack Eichel and some hope is all they have to show for it.

I would still debate your point if Staal was actually preventing any of things you and Weave are worried about.

Meh. You still have Eakin and Eichel for the toughest matchups if that's what you want. He already isn't protecting Cozens. Mitts, Tage, Asplund and R2 aren't babies any more. There's 30 games left and the season is over. Let's use it to see if they have a future.

He’s not coming back and he is standing in the way of players that need developing. Take whatever asset you can get.

Maybe it's about giving the fans a reason to buy tickets...? I knew this was coming. Pick the one that fits your agenda.

That's what I saw, more careless than dirty.

The "insider" buzz is we might recoup a 2nd rounder. If the team that wants him has scouts, I can't see it.

The path I would take if I were Adams: 1) fire Krueger and his entire staff (I might keep Bales because we will need a body and a reference to what came before) 2) hire Boudreau as an interim coach with the focus of evaluating what we have on the current roster and reporting to Adams at the end of the season. 3) hire Rutherford as a short-term consultant with a focus on evaluating what we have and advising Adams on player personnel and hockey department structuring 4) trade every pending UFA — Hall, Staal, Montour, Rieder, Sheahan, Irwin — with a focus on accumulating assets to fuel a summer rebuild 5) tell Boudreau to focus his attention on reclaiming Skinner and Dahlin 6) play the crap out of Bryson, Casey, Tage, Dylan, Joki and Asplund, while giving a taste to some of the guys down on the farm 7) evaluate the trade market for every other veteran. Take what you've learned at the end of the season, formulate a plan for fixing this mess including your long-term hirings, signings and trades, and execute that plan.

I think Howard Berger is a pro media guy, or at least used to be. Haven't heard that name in a while and not sure where I place it. EDIT: Former longtime Leafs reporter with TheFan590. Hasn't been on the beat for a long time.

Well, the Western Hockey League hasn’t played a game in a year, but it’s about to start real soon. In a fan-free bubble.

Dude, if you don't think it is significant that your top six is pacing to be outscored by 40 goals! at even strength, I don't know what to say.

I don't believe there is one problem. I don't know if there is single thing in your post I would disagree with. I do believe the performance of the top six has hurt the team more than Carter Hutton and I was responding to @bob_sauve28's post that implied goalie was the biggest problem.

I think Jack is hurt, Staal and Skinner are bad, Victor is limited, the coach is in over his head, and the overall team psyche is incredibly fragile. Hall, I'm mystified. He is a better player than his numbers, but he's not the star we were hoping for. Krueger is a problem, and an easy one to address, but I think the fans want to blame him for everything because the alternative is harder to face. Our problems run deeper than that.

Except we werent. We jumped out to an early lead because the Flyers forgot to cover Sam Reinhart and almost hung on.

"Our highly-paid, highly-touted forwards are not producing and they are getting caved at unheard-of levels." This is an every game issue for 30 minutes a game. Hutton has played nine times. I don't think there is any comparison and I think the fan base is sleeping on how bad our top six has been.

To me, this is clearly the problem: 1st line centre: 4 goals, -36 2nd line centre: 7 goals, -45 1st line wing: 5 goals, -40 2nd line wing: 3 goals, -41 2nd line wing: 4 goals, -24 Those are the projected ES numbers over a full season for five of our top six forwards. Compare those to the actual numbers of the tank team 1st line centre: 13 goals, -19 2nd line centre: 11 goals, -16 1st line wing: 10 goals, -11 2nd line wing: 9 goals, -13 2nd line wing: 7 goals, -18 (For the record, that was Ennis, Girgensons, Moulson, Gionta and Stafford) Our highly-paid, highly-touted forwards are not producing and they are getting caved at unheard-of levels. EDIT: Just to depress you even more: 2021 Rasmus Dahlin: 0 goals, -70 2015 Andrej Mezsaros: 7 goals, -13

I don't know man. JJ and Hutton haven't been good, I just can't think of many games this year where we lost because of the goalie. And Linus has been good.

The lasting image of this season for me will be Rasmus Dahlin slightly to the left of our crease, locked in table hockey pose, staring out at the blue line as the puck goes past him to an uncovered player who whacks it into the empty net. That, or the Eric Staal glide and lean.

Your feelings on Olofsson's ES play are clear, but I am curious why you think his value is poised to drop. I would think any team who needs help on the right side of their PP would pay up. Being among the best in the game at your specialty means something, especially when your specialty is rare.

Is it weird that I’ve heard of Molson XXX but I’ve never actually seen someone drink it? Or that I have never heard or pepperettes? You eastern people are weird.

Florida?

I'm on record as saying I don't think it is likely that the Sabres go into another season with Sam Reinhart pencilled into any role, ever again. He's 15 months away from unrestricted free agency. Most players stuck on a perennial loser would be looking to play that card. Most GMs of a perennial loser would be looking to move the asset at its peak. The failures of Hall and Dahlin may have created the budget for a Sam re-signing, but I don't see much that has created the desire. Too bad. Easily my favourite Sabre of these lost-in-the-desert years. I suspect he will go on to a lot of success if he's moved to the right team.

Without talking about intent, or appropriateness, isn't the statement kinda true? Averages 20 assists a season, hasn't been a plus player in 10 years, never played a playoff game, usually effective only within 40 feet of the other team's net...

Sorry, I was talking about what Adams tried to do. If you're talking about what the Pegulas tried to do, this is bang on.