DarthEbriate

Part of the communication breakdown. Something as simple as JBot trying to get his crew locked up so at least they have salary/parachute before the axe falls. Pegulas trying to save cash.

The scouts and office staff and AHL coaches are pennies compared to the costs of a facility. Even shedding player salary (and maintaining the cap floor) isn't going to quickly build sufficient cash flow to fund a stadium. Now, sell the Sabres (is that what's best for the Sabres franchise?) ... that'd be the cash that can fund a stadium (and keep the NFL cash coming in).

Not yet. And from that standpoint the AHL coaching staff doesn't have anything to really do for the foreseeable future. But, you don't have to axe them. You can wait because they're not earning that much money, or you can furlough, or you can meld them with your NHL staff.

That would've been a fantastic trade for us to make --- and Chevy --- at the time. But now, Winnipeg has gotten good seasons out of Morrissey and Pionk. Had to do a little research on their caps --- and our old friend Kulikov comes off the books as soon as their season ends. If I'm Chevy is it now still valid at all, or do I want a full renegotiation (and I believe I can scam a rookie GM)? And of course -- we have to wait until they're out of the playoffs. It could still be there and it'd be the perfect move to make. Just like you say, GMKevyn has to start assembling his Rolodex and making all the calls and redoing all the due diligence for himself (and by himself now as he has no support staff). It's going to take months. Which is fine, as no Sabres/AHL hockey is on the schedule.

Yes --- but was Kevyn in on the knowledge? And were the deals with teams already out or teams in the running? Or, does he have to wait months for it to reengage? He also has to get connected with the other GMs of the league first. I really hesitate on these initial trades by someone who may never have been involved in any negotiating. He doesn't have GMTM's endless stock of draft picks to go get someone he likes. His best trading chips are unsigned RFAs. Back to waiting. Are the Pegulas going to approve taking on any salary at this time? Can he even negotiate with his RFAs, or does someone else need to "set the market" first after the season concludes? We have to think small market strategy again here.

Ready are you! What know you of ready? For eight hundred years one year have I managed Sabres (at that time). My own counsel will I keep on who is to be in Sabres sweaters.

@SwampD Without rewatch, he was basically just himself. He's excited, ready to go, we've got some guys who love to play. Enthusiasm/determination regardless of situation. But we haven't heard anything on role with GMKevyn, what his needs are for his lineup, etc.

No --- but that should have been the carrot/handshake. Sign now, and we'll get you into the NHL with an NHL paycheck for the close out of this season. It shouldn't have been anything in perpetuity. Next year, you've got to go to training camp and earn your spot, but we foresee some AHL time while you build your repertoire for the pro game and acclimate to the physicality and grind.

Is this sort of clause common for Top-10 picks? This saddens me. If he's not ready and his teammates know it, how does that help anyone --- especially Mittlestadt? (Apart from prestige and pocketbook.) But think long-term! We want him to appear out of nowhere ready-to-go like the Pittsburgh guys (Guentzel, Rust) or any of the Red Wings of the previous 2 decades (not the most recent few years).

So really... we need to make a mix tape of Khachaturian's Sabre Dance, into Hurricane 2000, into Yakety Sax. If only time would speed up so the Sabrepede could chase through the suffering all the quicker.

Mmmmm... Porgtayto, porgtahto.

Along the lines of every year the porg is dry --- and you keep using a new bird and you've even replaced the old oven once --- maybe it's the grandma/grandpa tandem that's doing the baking of the porg. Obviously, the solution is: this porg needs more gravy!

Too many to quote on either topic: I still like JBot's goal of stocking Rochester with vets to keep the team stable and competitive. The drawback is how far it skewed that way because 1) we're drafting at the top of the draft and our best prospects are NHL-ready without AHL time (Reinhart, Eichel, Dahlin), and the others who needed time there weren't given it (Mittelstadt), or they're doing their development in Europe instead of in Rochester (Ruotsalainen, Davidsson, Rousek). That and the glut of D-men got to a ridiculous extreme last season once people got healthy. The thing on Hutton's eyes. Typically, you don't wake up one day with bad eyes. It's something that comes about gradually and your brain adapts, and then your doc says "Maybe you should try reading glasses" and bam! Holy four-eyes, Batman, I can read it crystal clear! So I trust Hutton the least on this issue over the span of a single season. He's noticing something is off, but as a healthy young goalie, it's not registering as the cause. That's on check-ups/physicals to catch, which really might not be caught until some time elapses or until the offseason.

Oh, and no. Eichel is not the problem. His contract isn't crippling, he routinely makes plays in tight games, he's developed into a two-way player if not a defensive threat. His production is far and away the best on the team.

Good call. Folks forget that when the Sabres tanked for McDavid/Eichel, the Amerks also finished near the bottom of the standings in the AHL and missed the playoffs by 20+ points. Ristolainen played the whole season up in Buffalo and learned how to suffer, as did others. He hasn't yet unlearned what he learned in Buffalo.

The poor guy has arguably one of the most challenging offseasons ahead of him because of the number of RFAs. In addition to everything else, he's also got to assemble all the RFAs and sign, let go to arbitration, or trade.... But he does have the opportunity to put his stamp on the roster immediately, no doubt.

Who had Alderaan "Complete Franchise Reset" as part of the offseason game plan?

The Sabres were good with him on the bench, and I was thinking he'd be the guy when RaKru went to the front office. Someone is going to nab him. That's a shame.

So, if teams start cancelling their contracts with video scouting services to save money, and there's no hockey for a season, how long do those companies stay afloat? And how quickly can they spin back up when junior hockey returns?

I don't like it as the last thing anyone else needs in a global recession and pandemic is to lose their job. But the scouts really won't have work to do for the foreseeable future. And it does give an opportunity to clean house and build a new scouting department later. Strictly on the bottom line, this makes sense for the next however-many-months. It's just a matter of how lean the franchise gets in the coming months. For example, does it extend to RFAs and we don't re-sign anyone for months, don't make a trade, and just wait it out. Or lose players because other teams negotiate with the RFAs. (And no one is taking Sam for 4 1st round picks.)

There is that.

Red Leader: GMKevyn! Are you sure you can handle this ship? Peggs Terrlighter: Sir! GMKevyn is the best communicator in the PSE Territories. <Red Leader appraises GMKevyn> Red Leader: You'll do all right. GMKevyn: Thank you sir, I'll try. <Red Leader thinks: He's a dead man. Seems a waste of a good X-wing.>

I heard nothing on any of these with possible exception of #3 in that GM Adams has a list, and they'll tackle it one-at-a-time but it's only been a few hours on the job. Granted, that was really a Pegula press conference and not a GM press conference.

I also think they're getting better. Eichel, Reinhart, Dahlin, and Ullmark have all gotten better as they've added some experience and Eichel in particular has raised the team up. But it hasn't impacted the standings. I do think you put ROR on this roster (and take back Sobotka and Thompson's period of hockey), and they're battling with Florida and possibly up near Toronto over the course of a season. So yes, they're steadily improving, but when those guys plateau, they need the rest of the team and franchise to be ready to be a true contender.

I think that's why like Kevyn. He's communicates in layman's terms for them. Will he still do that as GM when it's his job on the line? And he seems like a nice guy. ?