GASabresIUFAN

Seriously? The current team with 50% JAGs is 22nd in the NHL. This proposed team is a huge upgrade in talent.

What about next fall? Skinner Mitts Tuch Krebs Cozens Quinn Asplund Thompson JJP Girgensons Jankowski Okposo Bjork Dahlin Jokiharju Bryson Samuelsson Power Fitzgerald Hagg Pysyk Trade VO for a real goaltender Tokarski How’s that for a scary talented buy very young roster.

Dylan “Don’t send me down” Cozens. Nice win.

We’ll never know if the tank would have worked since we didn’t have competent management to execute the rebuild.

Is Pekar turning it around?

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.