3putt

More USHL. Appert is highly regarded in the USHL. More so from an organizational perspective than x’s and o’s. So if I had to hazard a guess, the Amerks are going to become prospect heavy and let the cream rise.

Hate the white on the Blue ones. Might as well use St. Louis' leftovers.

I wouldn’t say compete, the desire is there. He is simply a sub par skater with no acceleration and and cannot play at the pace of a matchup center. His most common linemates are Kane and DeBrincat who push the pace. Without two excellent skaters on his wings he is not a driver. I can think nothing worse than a center who is complimentary player. Strome is a product of his situation, not a catalyst in creating it.

Ah the Kobayashi Maru...

And if they bring in someone connected to the league they should have a handle on the rest of the talent available, whether thruoigh trade or FA.

Not every person who comes in will do what Bobblehead did and think that was what was needed. Some will say hmm...I have a 1c a 4c (Larson that has to be signed), a top 6 of Skinner, VO, Sam and a d pool of Dahlin, Joker, Miller, Pilut and pick one of Montour or Risto. I need to sign Linus add a good 1b like Greiss, or Markstrom and I need a 2c and a 3c. Haula, Granlund whomever can shore up the spine until Cozens or this years pick is ready. In the interim just making those moves and your probably closer than you think. With the cap space we should be able to parlay that in trade to shore up other spots like lhd and another rw. The key is no more Veseys, Shearys, Hunwicks, Elies, or Nolans clogging up the roster. The thing is if you use the term rebuild to refer normal roster augmentation, then yes there will be a rebuild. If rebuild is a total overhaul, then I don’t think that is what is needed. The problem is finding a guy who can identify talent that fits with what we have to make it better.

Actually they don't. Stevie Y was explicitly told do what you must for as long as it takes but we want cups. Eliminate cups and the playoffs are not that big of a reach.

Not if the job requirement is make this team better by adding the right pieces to the core. Then there is no expectation of waiting on the owner's part. Get rid of the feces, and replace it with competent NHL players capable of making the playoffs. It won't be painless, and is probably a shortsighted approach, but a competent talent evaluatorcan do it.

The flaw in this analogy is that Punch started from scratch with the luck of the roulette wheel landed a cornerstone. But he consistently tinkered making positive moves. Botts was handed a solid hand that the moment the lotto balls dropped, should have killed any notion of waiting to fix the goaltending or adding to the forwards. That core, Eichel, ROR, Sam, Dahlin Risto Ulmark with the compliment of LOG was enough base to tweak into a playoff team. No excuses. He doesn’t know how to build a synergistic roster. He doesn’t know talent. And his negotiating skills seem lacking based on things like the sheary deal and trading a division rival a higher pick for a lower one in the same round for nothing in return. I still smh at that one.

To paraphrase Mike Tyson, Everyone has a plan until they cut their own leg off with a chainsaw and then like a rat, they stop in fear and freeze.

You are a better man than most. Listening to Dunleavy on the radio is a three hour carnival ride in the dark with the occasional mad ranting or stream of consciousness thought to break the silence. He has no ability to create a scene in the mind nor update the scene with things like who has possession and where, the time left or who is on the ice. Blah blah...silence..."Shot" ....silence...blah blah. It is maddening considering RJ and Ted in their prime were almost therapeutic to listen to.

They paid for Matta with Kahun. Felt they were pretty set with Kubalik and Debrincat. Stan wanted Nylander and against some opposition made Joker available. Colliton wanted more offense from Joker and felt he was in the way of Boquist and Mitchell. The guy(s) thought highly of both guys. Kahun was referred to by some as baby Marian. Similar tenacity and awareness, obviously not as skilled. My eye test has always liked the way Kahun plays. Moves the puck to high danger areas consistently. Hopefully that doesn’t get beaten out of him in the current low to high system. Ironically the team is still high on Alex. Feel it was an even swap despite the numbers currently. Bowman is as polarizing as our gm. All I got.

Dunno. One of my coaching buddies is wired in to the Hawks development staff. Said there is a history. It came up in a discussion of Lehner who he said became very friendly with Greiss. Again dunno.

Heard through some Hawks contacts that he has had issues with either someone in the current management or prior. Coach GM they wouldn’t say.

Halak and Greiss have had less than favorable experiences in Buffalo. Doubt they are options. I like Markstrom, Anton or Murray. But I think all are going to be costly, buyers market or not.

Dean Lombardi President Mark Hunter GM

I hope you are well.

And sadly the only players still producing are those he inherited from the prior administration. Said administration had its issues and probably lacked the professionalism that was desired by ownership, but their is no doubt talent identification was far superior.

Zemgus’ possession is top of the team and in case you haven’t been paying attention, he is pacing with a 9m dollar player in production. Compher is a middle six player that was part of a deal for a Selke/Conn Smythe level player of which he and a mid pairing d man are the only pieces still playing in the league other than the said Selke/Conn Smythe player. And none are playing for us. And the rumors of ownership are just that rumors. A competent person would have refused to trade such a valuable asset. Period. And as far as drafting, how can you possibly have faith in someone who wasted high end second round draft choices for low ceiling dmen, when offensively talented and productive forwards were available? And when he does draft forward prospects, or trades for them, they are not put into situations to get the most out of them or for their development? I hated the hire but was willing to give him a chance. Nothing has indicated he was anything more than the beneficiary of mid level employee living off organizational success that he had nothing to do with.

Not in the least. The indicator should be that the solutions to the self made problems are not there in the near term. No A prospects ready to step in, including Cozens, terrible ufa market, a depressed market for mid pair d due to said ufa market, an albatross contract for a streaky scorer that is impossible to move due to full nmc, no goaltending prospect in the near term, and inability to assemble a roster where the parts are collectively more than the sum of their parts. And this was all self inflicted. No handcuff from a prior administration. This administration let a Selke, Conn Smythe level talent go for nothing, a Vezina winner for nothing and a 20 plus goal power forward for a middling d prospect. We will be cap challenged due to Skinner who doesn’t fit the coaching “philosophy” currently deployed and any trade will require a commitment to either the players needed to implement said philosophy and a major retool. By not getting value from the other moves a major mortgaging of the future will be required to fix the present. I hope ownership understands this. If they do not then it really doesn’t matter whether they keep him or not. For all the talk about communication it seems that the folks at the top may be very well informed but utterly unqualified to understand the information. I responded in another thread to the idea of a big move for a Larkin type player. Whether it is him or someone similar it is the type of move that will be needed to turn the corner. But it will be costly, possibly decimating the shallow talent pool and draft assets remaining after failing to get returns for players that did nothing more than fill a spot and collect a paycheck. The present is bleak and the future perhaps even bleaker. And it was all self inflicted. I do not buy the handcuff mandate on the ahem trade. I think it was just an inexperienced and incompetent person trying to do things his way contrary to established precedent that it was a fools errand. If I am wrong and the lack of an offer to EKane, the trade and letting Lehner walk for no value in return were organizational decisions from the top, well again it doesn’t matter, because the type of person needed to turn this around will never inhabit the offices of KBC. That person will need to be bigger than ownership and able to operate without any consideration except icing a winning team. I fail to see any history indicating that will happen.

A line brawl to end all line brawls.

If it is less than posted do it. If it is the posted I would do it. Until we fix that hole nothing else matters. And if we don’t fix that hole, we have a 9 m dollar anchor to worry about for the next 7 years. Thats in addition to the other 6 million dollar contract that will become problematic in a year or so. The Sabres will not make the leap nipping at the margins. Waiting on drafting and development is another 4 to 5 years to amass enough talent to contend. Fortune favors the bold.

Including Hutton.

Kahun is a winger. Left wing at that.

Sheary and Erod for Kahun. Kahun Sux. JBOTT SUX!