mjd1001

Byram is so young, but 2 years ago he played great in the playoffs for Colorado. So, without concussions, he could be one of those good-to-very-good D-men at an accelerated age. He has those worrying concussions, but when you watched his entire playoff run 2 years ago, he looked like he could be a star on the back end. Plus he's a player. An actual Player who had at least one great playoff run individually, he's not another 'draft pick' that we can look forward to in a few years. He's a guy that has injury issues, but has had some great games as a young guy that we get to see play now. And Mitts, is he better than Cozens or Tage? To me, when everyone is healthy, I think ultimately he is the 3rd center on this team, which means he isn't going to be a guy that gets 1st line Power play time for the rest of his career. I guess Mitts "may" deserver $6-$7m per year, but I don't want to give that to a 3rd guy who is likely to get closer to 3rd line minutes. It also seems like there are a LOT of posters here criticizing the Sabres for thinking Cozens and Tage were better than they were, making the case they simply had 'career' years.....can't the same thinking be applied to Mitts this year? Difference is, Tage's 'career' year was almost 50 goals. Cozens was 30+ goals when he was 22. Mitts current season 'could' be a career year when he is on a 20 goal pace already at his age 25 season. As for the D-group....Maybe Dahlin wears down with his heavy minutes. Power too. Samuelsson is injured all the time. Maybe, MAYBE bringing in another young, highly regarded guy...you can reduce the minutes of everyone (spreading them out among the whole group) and make them all better/less likely to be injured. I'm trying to look at this in a positive way. The negative thinking (I got negative in a BIG way with Cozens earlier this season) and the negativity of this board finally got to me about 2 weeks ago and I'm choosing to look at the positive side of things.

It depends on how good he is...but more as soon as he plays because he is the 'shiny new toy'. Possibly more next year because I think Mitts is good, but as I said in other posts, I don't think he is a game changer, but Byram COULD be part of a game-changing D-group.

I guess I'm almost alone in this, but I'm looking forward to seeing Byram play when he suits up. Makes me want to watch the games a bit more than if no moves were made.

Ok, the positive point of view as others have said.... -Krebs basically takes Mitts spot. Is he as good? No, but he has taken a considerably step forward. -Byram, although ANOTHER very young D-man, might possible give this team the best "Young" top 4 D-group in the league. He is so young and still getting better. -You don't have to pay Mitts that $5m-$7m per year, hopefully Krebs can give you a lot of what Mitts did, AND a lower cost guy from Roch fills in that spot next year on the lower lines. I "Like" Mitts, but I didn't "love" his game. He has turned into a very good player but not one I want to pay a lot of money for as I don't see him as someone who can take over a game. I'm good with this move at this point, although I really, REALLY did like Mitts at center with Cozens on wing, I think this guarantees Cozens at Center, which I'm not too happy with. You all can be negative all you want because that is what most of you do best, just complain about things almost no matter what moves happen. For me, Mitts is good but he's not a game changer carrying this team on his back to win after win after win....to see a change like this, I'm happy to see what it brings.

The Sabres seem to play well against the Leafs. Over the drought, at least somewhat recently, they have better showings against Toronto than they do agains other team that are that far ahead of them in the standings. Toronto is the better team, but when Buffalo plays them, I almost think of it as a 50-50 game whether than win or lose. I think Toronto has matchup problems against young teams with a lot of raw talent. Those teams tend to make Toronto work, and the Leafs don't like that. Tononto likes it when they can 'out-talent' a team just by showing up. I'm not saying Buffalo has better all-around players, but in terms of pure 'stick talent' and 'skating talent', no matter how raw it is...the Sabres have that. Toronto seems to like playing teams like Winnipeg, or Dallas, that are very good, all around, hard working teams...but teams they have more talent than on paper. Toronto has Struggled against Chicago, Buffalo, Ottawa, Columbus...teams that aren't that good but are very young and 'don't know any better'. However, Every once in a while though, the Sabres put up a clunker against Toronto. I have no reason to think tonight will be the night for one of those other than it feels like 'they are due' for one against Toronto.

I could see Zemgus and Robinson being moved if there is a market for them (not sure what it would be for Robinson but I think Zemgus could get a mid-level prospect or a mid round pick), and I think they could still be resigned next year if they are moved. A player like that, a team isn't going to trade for a 4th liner and then make it a priority to extend them. Okposo. Yes, I think he has lost a step skating this year, but I actually think he will be in demand. Someone who supposedly is respected around the NHL, a guy that teamates like enough to be captain, on pace for 16-17 goals WITH limited minutes. If you are a playoff team looking for an upgrade on your 4th line...maybe even if you have holes on your 3rd line, he would be someone that might be at the top of lists of shoppers. Another thing to consider...contracts. The Sabres have a lot of prospects already, and I'm pretty sure the NHL has a limit on the total number of contracts a team can give out. You keep accumulating later round picks....a lot of those are basically going to be thrown away if in a couple years you have a draft class of 10 guys and you only have room to sign a couple. With that said, unless you get a bunch of late round picks, and you take a 6th and a 7th and flip them into a late 5th. You take that 5th and package it with your 2nd to move up 3-4 spots to get the guy you want in that round. OR...I'd almost rather have those picks for 2025 and NOT 2024. If you take 2024 late round picks...they are going to get used this year. Accumulate mid-to-late round picks in 2025, and you can use those to BUY at next years deadline. You aren't buying at this years deadline.

I really don't think Olofsson gets moved. Maybe for 'future considerations' that basically mean you move him for nothing. Even then, why not just waive him? The problem is, right now he is a guy that other teams might think there is a 20% chance can contribue as a scorer, but an 80% chance he won't be able to contribue in any meaningful way. Then the issue is, that nearly $5m contract (at least what is left of it this year). No way anyone wants him at all unless the Sabres retain money. But, each team can only retain money on 3 guys...Why would the Sabres do that? Even if you retained almost all of his contract, what are you getting, a 7th rounder? I would rather not retain money at all, on the SLIGHT chance a last minute deal comes up for someone else (or multiple guys) that someone gives you something of VALUE but only if you retain money. I mean, the Sabres might even be in a position to be the '3rd party' on someone else's trade where they retain money and get a higher pick for doing that than they would for Whatever VO gets. I actually think, in a PERFECT situation, VO can have a role on a team...it just seems that the Sabres are clearly no longer that team...and any team that wants him is best off taking a run at him in the offseason for nothing.

If they make a coaching change, I'm all for Lindy being the pick. I'm just not ready for a coaching change yet. Other than 'its obvious', i haven't really heard many reasons why Granato should be gone. To me, this team was always in for the 'long build' despite fans not wanting it to be that way. The Defense (top 4 at least) is SO young and inexperienced, a couple forwards had career years last year, and they have had more key injuries this year than last year. That isn't on the coach to me. Agreed. Its an unpopular opinion, but I totally agree.

I guess we are all fans in a different way. Entertainment for me happens on a night-to-night basis. I'm not in the "win-at-all-cost-or-make-changes" crowd. If I watch their game and they play well, great! If they don't...then I'll just wait until the next game. For the I WANT the Sabres to do well, but is something I only think about when watching a game or posting here, I don't dwell on the losses the way I used to.

I'd love him back in the organization. I never wanted him gone when he was fired, and every time there was an opening I wanted him to fill it again here. But I'm letting Granato finish out the year, and then evaluating in the offseason.

Same with me. I want skating shooting, scoring, shot blocking....I don't need the cheap stuff.

I've hit a strange spot with following the Sabres just in the last couple weeks. When they win, I'm on the board posting all the time, good things, bad things...just talking about the team in general. After a loss...they losses don't really bother me or get me upset that much, but I just kinda dont' feel like thinking about them much...at least until the next game. Sure, its always like that to a certain extent, but win or lose, after a game I wanted to watch highlights, I wanted to talk about the game.....that has just changed in the past few weeks.

I know players, especially D-men, who get a lot of minutes tend to 'learn' when to coast, how to conserve energy when on the ice to allow for higher minutes. Granato made a comment last week regarding Dahlin and his minutes. However, I wonder if the NHL is just 'behind' in their thinking/research into load management. -in the NBA recently, players, STAR players, over the last few years are starting to get nights off. entire games where they don't play. even if their team is in a playoff race, because the thinking is, it is more important for the long run of the team and the players health to manage their minutes/games than it is to have them play every game. -in baseball, for most of my life (and well before) your best pitcher pitched as long as he could. Starters in general you wanted at least 7 innings, and if you could get a complete game out of them you did that. Again, in the last few years with research and trial-and-error, baseball has found out you are better off not doing that. Get a fresh guy in there when you can. Starts go 6 innings, 5, even 4? that is fine. Bring in a reliever to throw 20 pitches, then on to the next? That is what they do now. Again, maybe you don't want your best D-man out there 'figuring out' when to coast, and who knows how the minutes impact him by the end of the season (even if he says he is ok day-to-day). Maybe, not just the Sabres but he entire NHL, might learn something from the way the NBA and MLB handles minutes/load. I'm not saying I would LIKE that (I really enjoyed baseball more when your starter's goal was a complete game), and I certainly would NOT want to be a ticket buyer when a star player isn't playing.....but I'm not sure the way the NHL is doing it vs other sports might be the correct way of load management.

The season as a whole is what should matter. NOT how bad the start was, NOT how bad the end was, but look at it as a whole. If, IF something changed that is obvious, tangible, measurable, that you don't have to TRY to convince yourself is different...then maybe that can factor into things, but don't try to reach too deep/think to much. I agree with all of that, especially the bolded part, and that is what I would do if i was in charge.

What he lost is consistency from last year. Last year, he scored, goals per month, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 5, and then 3 in the short last month. He was very consistent as a goal scorer last year. So, consistency is what he HAD last year that he lost this year.

I haven't looked at the upcoming schedule for a while, but wow, the next 10 games are really tough: -Winnipeg, 3rd overall, won 8 of their last 10 -Toronto, 7th overall in the league, hottest team in the league maybe, 9 wins in their last 10 -Nashville, back to back after Toronto, the Preds have moved into playoff position with 8 wins in their last 10. -Edmonton. They 'flipped the switch' around Thanksgiving, since then going 31 wins in 40 games (playing at a 129 point pace) -Detroit. A surprise team 10 points ahead of Buffalo. -Islanders. This is the easy one I guess -Detroit again. -Seattle, who Buffalo has never beat (0 wins in 5 attempts, including being dominated 5-2 back in January. -Vancouver. Best team in the league for good portions of the season, and currently 5th overall. -Edmonton again (see above) If they come out of the next 10 games with a winning record, then I'll be really impressed with this run they are on. They are going to need to see some backup goalies.

I guess we'll have to keep looking at a list of every American player Granato coached with the team USA program, see who is currently in the NHL but not having a major role with their team, and can be traded for with less than a 1st round pick or a top prospect. I haven't done the research, but it should be someone off of that list.

KO gets a good number of minutes off of that 4th line, and even some PP time. Zemgus? its all 4th line for him which makes it a bit more impressive for me. I like tracking his 'goals per 60 minutes' because I truly believe that is the best way to evaluate how someone who doesn't get top line minutes (or pp minutes) contributes offensively. After last night Zemgus is at 0.94. He is now 3rd on the team (behind only Peterka and Tuch). He's higher than Skinner, Thompson, Mitts, everyone else that has played more than a handful of games. Last year I looked around the league at the top teams, and their 4th liners usually averaged about .40 goals per 60.

Maybe UPL needed to 'get in a groove' and get consistent play...but when he DID play early in the year, he didn't play all that well. Through December...he DID play more games than any other goalie...he was 7w-10L, 3.13gaa and only an .892 save percentage. Since January 1, 11w-7L, 1.84gaa and .934 save percentage. His play, and the entire team (mostly the forwards up front getting back in the D-zone), I don't know if I remember a team playing a totally different game, like flicking a light switch...when the Calendar changed from 2023 to 2024.

My point was comparing him this year to last year (and the year before) with reference to what Matthews was/did. If he doesn't skate (not sure what you mean by that, I'm not sure I'd agree with what you might me) and avoids contact..well, that was/is the same type of player he always has been. He is getting the same number and quality of offensive chances this year compared to the last 2. The difference is...the shots aren't going it (just like Matthews, with the wrist injury).

With that goal, Zemgus ES goals per 60 this year is approaching .90. By far the best of his career and 70-80% above his career average. I think most 4th liners around the league are in the .40-.50 range, some less.

If, IF the Sabres finish the season strong (this 2 months of good play runs through the rest of the year), I'd probably be OK with that explanation. At least partially OK. The thing that I wouldn't like and the reason I wouldn't buy into it 100% is that...it seems like another case of 'we heard that before" But, Drop KO and Maybe Robinson....make a trade for an obvious upgrade up front (a forward that is under 30 but you can rely on for at least 20 goals and good 2 way play)....well...I wouldn't be all that upset. I mean, we have been burned before and for me this WOULD rely on them continuing to play well (finish in the 85-90 point range).

Thompson better bouncing back from a wrist injury. Cozens better because he seems to have found 'something' and is playing better lately. Benson and basically the entire D-group as better because they are all young and should get better with expereince. Skinner worse simply becasue he is at that point in his career. Greenway MAYBE worse (didn't select it) because I think he is having 'his' career year (at least career-2-months). I'm hoping UPL not worse, but there is a chance there is a regression-to-the-mean.

He has a wrist injury. Sometimes that injury can heal enough that you can play, but it can impact production big time from scorers. Who else had a wrist injury that he played through? Look 1.5 hours north to Austin Matthews. 2 seasons before his wrist injury: 41 goals in 52 games (65 goal pace per 82) 1 season before his wrist injury: 60 goals in 73 games (67 goal per 82 pace). Year he played through the wrist injury: 40 goals in 74 games (44 goal per 82 pace) Year after his wrist injury: 53 goals in 58 games (75 goal pace) So, a guy who is a big time scorer averaged 66 goals per 82 games without a wrist injury....the season he plays through a wrist injury his goal production drops 33% the season he has the injury....then when he gets a full year off his production goes back up to (and beyond) what it was before the injury. Now Tage... 2 seasons before his wrist injury: 38 goals in 78 games (40 goal pace) 1 season before his wrist injury: 47 goals in 78 games (almost a 50 goal pace) year of his wrist injury (this year) 18 goals in 50 games (30 goal pace) With Tage, a guy who is a big time scorer averaged 45 goals per 82 games without a wrist injury...the season he plays through it his goal production drops 33% the season he has the injury...With a full season off to heal his wrist, AND in his prime at 27 years of age, is there a chance he exceeds is prior production? Maybe. The naysayers will say no...but I like to bring this up as a possible positive. Tage isn't Matthews, but the similarities in their injury, in how it impacts production at the same time and the same point...very similar. Something to think about. I looked into one other things....Matthews shooting percentage those 2 seasons before his wrist injury was 17.7. It went down to 12.2 the year of his injury (5.5 points lower). He took about the same number of shots per game (4.4 vs 4.6), just his percentage was down. Tage's shooting percentage the 2 years before his wrist injury this year was 15.5. It is down to 10.0 this year....(5.5 points lower). He has taken about the same number of shots per game (3.5 vs 3.6) but his percentage is just down.

The team is injury luck, a better powerplay coach, and Tage getting half-way back to where he was the last 2 years away from being a contender.