GASabresIUFAN

Is this debate relevant to us anymore?

If you want to see him play ESPN+ shows some KHL games

Slightly off topic, but aren’t the players and the teams that employ them sick of wrist injuries to key players. It’s long past for the NHL to crack down on the stick fouls. It’s also time to get better equipment. When I played the gloves ran further up the wrist. Today’s do little to protect that area. Maybe’s it time to extend the glove or develop a strap on wrist protector. We have lost our top forward for months because of a cheap play that wasn’t even but should have been called a penalty. It’s just another example of more NHL BS.

Novikov is taking a regular shift in the KHL and is effective. That’s pretty amazing and it’s why he is a lock for the team. Our two Russian wingers have had a cup of coffee in the K but have yet to score there.

Amerks > Sabres right now?

Way to Go UPL. 41 saves. I may have to buy the AHL TV package to watch winning hockey.

He was signed to an AHL deal

If we do as you suggest send R2 down. He is wasted playing with the JAGs.

It’s more then that. He is getting knocked off the puck and making bad decisions. Having better line-mates would certainly help, but there aren’t any to have in the NHL. There are in the AHL however.

Vogl’s latest article in the Athletic discusses the Sabres issues in the faceoff circle (30th in the NHL at 45%) and Cozens’ struggles. It’s becoming apparent that Cozens isn’t ready especially with Mitts out. He isn’t scoring and is getting crushed by bad matchups, especially on the road. It’s time for Cozens to be sent down. I think he needs to get his feel for the game back, like Mitts did, and what better way then to team up with former linemate Krebs. Having an Amerks top 2 lines featuring JJP, Quinn, Krebs and Cozens would be a matchup nightmare and breed confidence across the guys. The replacement for Cozens should be Jankowski. He is a real center and is about a 50% faceoff guy in the NHL. He is good enough to fill a depth center role in Buffalo. I know Jankowski is on an AHL deal, but KA needs to make this happen. Cozens needs the confidence boost.

Of course you would have kept the 1sts and that's the point. We were trying to rebuild a strong franchise, not a 2 year wonder that had no staying power. The way you build a strong foundation is draft and develop. TM's plan was to take a 5 year process and somehow get it done in 2-3 years. It just doesn't work like that.

The backend of the 1st rd that year was so good even he would have picked at least one or two right, but you can't draft what you trade away. Everyone knew going into 2015 that it was one of the deepest drafts in years. He traded the 1sts to get Kane and Lehner who were both injured when acquired. Call it execution if you want, but who gives up critical draft capital in the deepest draft in years for two injured players? That just a dumb plan coupled with incompetence.

Yes he made 3 extra picks for the 3 years. His acquired picks gave us 2 2nds (Cornel & Karabacek - both busts), a 3rd (Martin - Bust), a 5th (Budik - Bust) and a 7th (Glotov - Bust). But he traded away 2 1sts, a a 31st pick, another 2nds in 2015, a 3rd in 2015 and a 4th in 2014. The sacrificing of the high picks in 2015 is really the where plan went wrong. Those 3 picks in 2015 with some luck could have yielded 3 of Boeser, Konecny, Roslovic, Beauvillier, Aho, and Carlo. The 44th pick that year which he traded back to LA yielded Cernak. Had he just been more patient and used all his draft capital, this could have been a very different story.

I just saw that Krebs has 5 assists in 3 games. I so want to send Cozens down to play with him. I'd love for Quinn, Cozens, Krebs and JJP to develop together down in Rochester this season and then come up together next year and kind of give us the shot in the arm the Roy, Miller, Pominville, Vanek group did.

The plan was hopelessly flawed. He traded away all the organizations depth to get "his guys" and therefore never was able to build a complete team. That's a failed plan both is design and execution. The only real way to build a team is to draft well. build a core group and once it's moving forward then you add vets to fill holes. Contrast what TM did to what KA seems to be doing. Both stripped the team down and both built large draft capital. However TM traded away top picks in a deep draft plus guys like Armia, Pysyk, Compher, McNabb, Zadorov, and Lemieux, to get his guys. Now the Sabres are starting over and have another group of kids (a group I like better then TM's pipeline), but instead of trading them and his picks, KA has stated he plans to keep them and let them develop. KA even brought in a prospect center and goaltender to add to the quality of the pipeline. This is a much more farsighted approach and one I think actually has a chance of succeeding.

Your giving him to much credit. He may have worked hard but his leadership was lacking here. I can accept that to a certain extent, but the plan was also hopelessly flawed. He traded away the depth he needed. Not really, he's hiring qualified people. 🙂

However when we acquired him, he and the management of the Avs were at constant odds. His contract battles went on for 3 years until they finally traded him. He also set a great leadership example by crashing his truck while drunk into a Tim Hortons. That’s the ROR we received. Your welcome. You’d be surprised by how many here defended TM’s plan.

That’s why in a proper rebuild you don’t begin by bringing in malcontents like Kane, Lehner, COR and ROR when you are trying to build something. You draft your kids (don’t trade the picks) and you try to surround them with quality professionals and people (like, Gionta, KO or Pominville) to teach them the work they need to succeed. You need to make sure they are only getting a positive message. I also don’t think DB and TM were delivering the right message either. Only Reinhart seemed to rise above it and that could because he always knew what to do coming from a pro hockey family. It would also help if any of our GMs and coaches, including the current guys had a clue about roster construction, building real depth and line pairings. That would to much to ask I understand. I’m still waiting for a proper partner for Dahlin.

Isn’t that what Gorges, KO, Gionta, Scandella and Pominville were? Fat lot of god that did.

Not really. No scoring depth and no top line D. It would be better then what we ended up with but not much. It wouldn’t have mattered even had we kept the kids. TM had no idea how to fill the holes and didn’t have the patiences to see it through.

The sad part is how little any of the guys besides Jack and Sam from the above list made in the NHL. If they made it at all, most are depth players or worse. 2) Sam Reinhart - 1st line player 8 Rasmus Ristolainen - 2nd pairing player ?) Sabres 2015 first - Eichel - 1st line player 12) Mikhail Grigorenko - bust 14) Zemgus Girgensons - bottom 6 forward 16) Nikita Zadorov - 3rd pairing D 16) Joel Armia - 3rd line forward 23) Mark Pysyk - 3rd pairing D ?) Islanders 2015 1st (21st overall - Colin White - 3rd line forward but pick was traded) ?) Blues 2015 1st (25th overall - Roslovic - 3rd line forward but pick was traded) 31) Brendan Lemieux - 4th line forward 35) JT Compher - 3rd line forward 38) Conner Hurley - bust ?) Sabres 2015 2nd (31 st overall - Jeremy Roy - Bust and pick was traded) One of the reasons our rebuild failed was how little we actually received in real talent from so many picks under TM. Outside of Olofsson and Ullmark, none of the later picks developed into anything and the 2 that did developed so late that the rebuild had already crumbledd Hopefully this group will develop faster, better and in more of one wave.

No. We actually sent Z to the minors. Cozens is significantly more talented and has a better pedigree.

I thought that for 5 minutes until I realized that our goaltenders are now Tokarski and Dell and we give regular shifts to Butcher, Hayden, Bjork, and Caggiula. But there are some positive changes in the code this time. The power forward wants to be here and a young center was brought in (Krebs).

It’s funny the more I think about this the more I realize we have just turned the clock back to 2015. Tanking team just got a top 2 pick (Reinhart). 3 first rd picks heading into the 2015 draft. A top skill center we desperately need at the top of the draft. A pipeline full of young NHL caliber D or D prospects close to NHL ready (McNabb, Pysyk, McCabe, Risto and Zadorov) but no goaltending. We also have a GM who loves to draft wingers especially in the second and third rounds. The GM also acquired a currently injured power forward (Kane) and dumped a former top prospect D (Myers). Flash forward to now. Just got Power 1st overall. We have 3 1st rd picks in next year’s draft. We have a pipeline full of young D including Bryson, Joki, Dahlin, Power, Johnson, Samuelsson, Laaksonen and Fitzgerald but again no goaltending near NHL ready. We are also desperate for centers but draft a ton of wingers. At least this GM acquired a center in trade. This draft also has a top center at the top and other capable centers on the board. GM acquired a currently injured power forward (Tuch) but at least this one wants to be here and wasn’t thrown out of his old team’s lockeroom. The GM also dumped the former top prospect D in Risto. Honestly the similarities are a little creepy.

TM was a terrible GM. He did nothing well and he had no ability to build a team. He brought in broken and problem players and fed the kids to them. Jack and Sam’s departures are just the latest shoes to drop. Ultimately the people really responsible for this mess are the owners. They hired LaFontaine who had no business as a team president. He hired TM and the rest is history. KA is just the latest poison fruit from the Pegula tree. I do have some hopium left. I like the management team that KA is hiring to help with his obvious deficiencies. I just wish we didn’t have to waste another year to start moving forward again.