msw2112
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Posts posted by msw2112
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7 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:
I appreciate the response. To me, that's an awful lot of thought devoted to explaining away a cheap owner doing things on the cheap. Terry is not getting any benefit of the doubt from me. He's operating the Sabres as a poverty franchise.
I don't see the relevance of this.
Well-run, deeply-supported franchises do, anyway.
I appreciate the response. To me, that's an awful lot of thought devoted to explaining away a cheap owner doing things on the cheap. Terry is not getting any benefit of the doubt from me. He's operating the Sabres as a poverty franchise.
I really don't care about taking the broadcast team to Europe one way or another, but I do enjoy a good debate. Terry spends plenty of money on the Bills and he also spent plenty of money on the Sabres in the early days of his ownership, for very little return. I think he's being more cautious about his spending now, and given the economics of the team, it makes sense. If the team starts winning again and filling the building every night, he'll have more cash to play with and may increase spending. I realize that it's a chicken and egg sort of thing - maybe if he spent more, the team would be better, and they'd fill the building. You want the chicken first and they're putting the egg first.
I don't see the relevance of this.
The relevance of the broadcast team being average is this - spending money on things that are unnecessary but nice things for employees (like a free trip to Europe) contributes to employee retention. If your employees are the best of the best, you spend to keep them happy and retain them. Dunleavy and Ray are average at their jobs, at best, so it's not necessary to spend a lot of money on extras to retain them. They're not in demand and they're not going anywhere. They're not going to leave the Sabres to go to another NHL franchise because they're upset they didn't get a free trip to Europe. I'd fathom a guess that if RJ was still alive and WANTED to go to Europe with the team, that they would have paid for it. He had a gravitas that these guys don't have. He was an all-time great and these guys are nowhere close.
Well-run, deeply-supported franchises do, anyway.
The Sabres were once a very well-run, deeply-supported franchise. They are certainly not that today. I just watched Monday Night Football where the national announcers gushed over the Buffalo Bills, saying they're a model franchise, from the top down. They're owned by Terry Pegula. They have an excellent coach, a great GM and an MVP-caliber Quarterback. The Sabres have a fairly unproven GM, a new proven solid Head Coach and some talented players, but none at Josh Allen level. Dahlin could be a future Norris Trophy candidate (not likely MVP, as defensemen rarely win it). UPL could be a future Vezina candidate and UPL and Levi could be future Jennings candidates. I suppose Tage Thomson could win a goal scoring title, but they don't have any Hall of Fame candidates at forward. If the Sabres are able to turn it around with Ruff, Adams will be regarded as successful GM (the team he drafted and patiently developed came to fruition), the fans will return, revenue will return, and Pegula will be a great owner once again. Lots of ifs there. This may or may not happen. Sending the broadcast team to Europe will have nothing to do with whether this happens or not. The fact that some teams send the broadcast guys over and some don't doesn't indicate much of anything. I thought I read that Detroit sent their broadcast team over to Europe. They have not made the playoffs in 8 years. Yzerman was a huge success in Tampa, but not so much in Detroit. Detroit was once THE model NHL franchise. Are they now?
Again, I really don't care about the underlying issue, but I enjoy a healthy debate. It's also a great way to procrastinate when I have a ton of important things that I have to do and don't feel like doing! Have a great evening.
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16 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:
I care.
The same owner who skimps on sending a contingent of employees to Europe is the same owner who skimps on overall team salary (e.g., the same owner who has a bottom 5 (or thereabouts) salary cap hit even though this team is absolutely not in a rebuild).
I see where you're coming from, but there's not necessarily a correlation. I fully agree that I care about spending on hockey operations, such as players and coaching staff. I'd love to see the money saved on Skinner allocated to a top-6 winger. I do think that the team's comment that they're saving that money to pay some of their ascending players is more than lip service, as it would be difficult to get a top player to come on a 1-year deal, so large multi-year contracts truly could impact future signings, but that aside, I still agree that I'd like to see more spending there. Maybe hire some top-flight assistant coaches instead of bringing back the guys who were not successful last season....
I just don't think that spending unnecessary money to send a broadcast crew overseas has anything to do with the product on the ice. I understand the concept of corporate culture and how skimping on "nice things" for employees can have an impact on the overall culture and the "feel" around the building, but I just don't think that this particular situation has that much of an impact. The Sabres broadcast team is average, and that's being generous. They have great jobs that they should be thankful to have....they're not going anywhere and spending thousands as a feel-good gesture to them just isn't necessary. If it was the norm that all teams sent their broadcasters over and the Sabres didn't, making the Sabres an outlier, I'd understand, but that's not the case here. If what I read about the situation is accurate, some teams have sent their broadcasters over, but most don't. If Pegula is losing money on the Sabres, which appears to be the case (talking about cash in and out, not increase in value, which he'd need to sell to realize), it's appropriate to save on certain expenses. This seems like a reasonable place to do that. They ARE taking several extra players, who are not likely to play, but that could be insurance against injuries AND some culture building for the roster, which is important.
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I have to be honest. The Sabres are not sending their broadcasting team and I really don't care. Apparently, some teams send them and others don't. Even if the reason is simply to save on budget, who cares?
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3 hours ago, Two or less said:
You’ll never get a player like Zucker to sign with Buffalo coming off 13 straight seasons without a playoff appearance without going over value on him. Sabres are not only paying for goals and assists, but veteran leadership and someone who can uphold a high standard at practice of playing the right way.
I think UPL’s deal is fine, very tradeable deal if Devon Levi becomes the true #1 in the near future.
This is very accurate. For those of us on this board who are also Bills fans, it's not that hard to remember the Bills having to overpay for free agents during their long playoff drought. And while more desirable for hockey players (most of whom come from colder climates and many come from Southern Ontario, near Buffalo) than for football players (many of whom come from warm climates in the South, not near Buffalo), Buffalo is still a bit of a sell. There's a lot more to for a young, single millionaire athlete to do in a major market than there is in Buffalo, so not only do the Sabres have to pay a premium for being a bad, dysfunctional hockey club, they also have to lure guys to a smaller, cold-weather market.
If and when the team is a contender, it's a lot more attractive of a place to come and play. Some free agents have taken less money to play for the Bills in recent years, given the success of the team and the reputation of the coach and front office for being fair and honest with the players and treating them with respect.
So in short, the Sabres overpay for guys because they have no choice. Hopefully, they can get the franchise turned around and won't have to overpay as much in the future.
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Krebs has shown flashes of offensive talent, but has never put it all together in the NHL. He's a feisty player and isn't afraid to mix it up and get under the other teams' skin, so he may be the type of player that Ruff likes. A lot of us gave up on guys like Tage Thompson and Casey Mittlestadt and they eventually developed and broke through. Will Krebs? I don't know, but this contract is low enough that he'll be a bargain if he does and not too much of a liability if he doesn't.
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2 hours ago, Taro T said:
And again, see this as an opportunity to get a look at all the Amerks that aren't going to qualify as vet exceptions along with a handful of other prospects.
Johnson is firmly in the Amerk mix and will need a lot of things to break his way to be a Sabre coming out of camp. Having a young guy slated to be an Amerk playing in this tournament doesn't seem odd at all, especially for one with all of a single season of professional hockey under his belt.
That the Sabres have been in the position that guys in his spot have been gifted an NHL roster spot prematurely for essentially a decade plus is what is odd. (Not for the Sabres - it's SOP. But for most of the rest of the league it's odd.) While realistically he's likely 8th on the depth chart (ahead of Bryson), he doesn't need to clear waivers and they're going to want him playing rather than sitting in the press box in Buffalo. Again, he's very likely an Amerk and an Amerk with only 1 year of pro experience. He qualifies for the tourney and personally would find it odd if he WEREN'T playing in it.
I don't disagree with what you're saying, but I still find it a bit odd that a guy with 41 games of NHL experience is on a roster where the other 21 players have 8 games of NHL experience COMBINED. Something can be odd, but still have a reasonable justification behind it.
An article in the Buffalo News implied that having Rosen and Kulich play in the tournament was an anamoly, given their previous participation and NHL experience, but circumstances this season led the Sabres to make this decision:
"Kulich and Rosen may have been given the weekend off in a normal year because they’ve previously appeared in the showcase and both are important depth pieces for the Sabres, but the unusual training camp – headlined by the club’s trip to Europe – caused general manager Kevyn Adams to add Kulich and Rosen to the roster.’"
All this said, I don't want to waste anyone's time further arguing an insignificant point that is really just a matter of opinion. What I see as odd, you might not. No big deal. Let's just hope the Sabres improve and make the damn playoffs.
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On 9/11/2024 at 8:35 AM, Taro T said:
What's odd about it? The roster is the young Amerks and a handful of others to round out a tournament roster. This is essentially getting the Amerks 3 extra games together.
Johnson, unless he has a crazy good camp, is Ra-cha-cha bound to start the year.
odd
/äd/
adjective
1. different from what is usual or expected; strange.
As I mentioned in the initial post is that it's odd (to me) that a guy who played 41 NHL games last year (half of an NHL season) is playing in a game that is usually a roster of guys who have not played in the NHL at all or have played only a couple of games. If I'm not mistaken, some of the guys in this tournament may not have even played in the AHL or played professional hockey at all. I took a quick look at the roster and only 12 of the 22 played in Rochester last year and other than Ryan Johnson who played 41 NHL games, the only other players on the roster who played in an NHL game were Rosen (7 games) and Kulich (1 game). So Johnson alone, has played more than 5 times the number of NHL games than the other 21 players combined. I'd call that an outlier, or in other words, "odd."
Someone else pointed out, however, that Ruff might want to get a look at him and that makes sense to me. He's a new coach and Johnson is a young player who is borderline to make the roster and may well end up in the AHL, so, although odd, there is some logic behind it. Also, Leone, the new Rochester coach, is coaching the team, so a good opportunity for him to also get a look at Johnson.
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It seems odd to me for Ryan Johnson to be on this roster. He played 41 NHL games last season, and at that, played pretty well. What do they need to evaluate of him in this tournament? Rosen and Kulich should excel too, as they've now had a couple seasons of professional hockey in Rochester. The rest all make sense to me and I'm most interested to see how the young goalies play.
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How much does his wife weigh? My guess is that the bride of a multi-million dollar professional athlete isn't running two bills or anywhere close to it. Lifting a petite woman once as part of a wedding celebration does not equate to the rigors of playing in the National Hockey League. Just my two cents. I know very little about the player of the situation other than seeing this post.
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Glass half empty says that they've lost more scoring than they've acquired and defensively are about the same, and as such are likely to finish about where they did last season and out of the playoffs. Glass half full says that if Lindy can have the team ready to play every night (not falling behind by 2+ goals early in the 1st period on a regular basis sort of thing), improve the power play, and they can get a full season of the goaltending that they got after January 1 last year, they're a playoff team. I have no idea how it's going to turn out. I'm not nearly as excited as I was going into last season when I thought the team was going to continue its upward trajectory and take the next step. I'm not full of doom and gloom either. I guess I'm just in "wait and see" mode.
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Even if Levi outplays Reimer, he might still get sent to Rochester. Assuming UPL is the starter and primary goalie, the team may prefer to have Levi in Rochester playing games and gaining professional experience on a regular basis (and developing) versus sitting on the bench in Buffalo. He may also yo-yo up and down - play games in Rochester, then get called up for a start, then go back to Rochester after the start. I believe the team handled it a bit like this in the latter part of last season.
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I've only been to Rome and Florence and it was quite a while ago. That said, I (and my traveling companion) hated Rome, but loved Florence. It seemed like we were constantly hassled in Rome by people trying to take advantage of tourists. We were treated rudely at restaurants and got into a shouting match with a cab driver who tried to overcharge us. We also had people following us/hounding us at the Coliseum and other tourist areas. Beware! Another negative or Rome is that the subway line is sort of a giant X, so if you're not going somewhere along the lines, it can be quite a walk from the subway. After our bad taxi experience, we simply decided to walk rather than use that as an option. We got a ton of exercise, but also lost a lot of time. Uber and Lyft were not available in those days, so perhaps that's the answer today (as someone mentions above). I would recommend no more than 2 days Rome - see the major attractions, as these are all-time must see places, then get out of dodge.
In contrast, we had no such problems in Florence. We were treated well everywhere we went and did not encounter much in the way of people targeting us as tourists and hassling us. We had a great time there and would highly recommend.
As someone else stated above, everyone forms their own impressions and has their own experiences when traveling. My wife was on a business trip in Europe last year, which routed through Rome, so she went a day early to see the city. She loved it and can't wait to go back. Perhaps she was well-equipped based on my advice before she went. I have seen the major tourist attractions there, can check it off my list, and have no desire to go back.
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The only three things I can think of that would explain these results:
1. People often prefer to root for the underdog, or the team that has not won anything in a while. So if you asked a casual NHL fan which team they'd prefer to win in a matchup, they might pick the Sabres.
2. Despite low attendance due to a poor team for the last several years, the Sabres (like the Bills) have a large and dispersed fanbase. Maybe the survey happened to catch a lot of Sabres fans.3. While more so 2 seasons ago than last, the Sabres were playing a high-flying, fast-paced, offensive game with lots of scoring. Many fans like that style of hockey, as it can be very entertaining versus a dump and chase/grind it out style.
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The guy scored better than .5 points per game while being an enforcer in juniors, so not terrible. He might have a successful minor league career and could be called up for certain games where there are "issues" with an opponent.
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I find no issue with this ranking or the write-up, but the Sabres do have a fair amount of talent and new, proven coach, so they could surprise.
I was genuinely excited for last season and thought the team would take the next step, and was obviously disappointed. For this upcoming season, I'm neither excited nor disappointed with what they've done in the offseason. Most of their moves were logical and along the lines of what was expected, plus they may not be done. I'm taking a wait and see approach.
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Olofsson will do well in Vegas and outplay the contract. He's a better hockey player than he gets credit for on this board. He'll be properly utilized and will score lots of power play goals and even score some at even strength. He has one of the best shots in the league. His defensive play will also improve, because that's what the coach and his teammates will demand, just like it did for Eichel. Regardless of his strengths and weaknesses as a player, it was time for a fresh start for both sides.
Note that I wrote an almost identical post in the Girgensons thread.
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I would not be at all surprised to see him do very well in Tampa. It was probably time to move on for both sides. He's a good hockey player and better than he gets credit for on this board, but the guy needs a fresh start. I think he will outplay that contract and be a bargain for Tampa.
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There's no way they're walking away from UPL, even if he goes to arbitration and wins. They could potentially walk away from Joki, but I don't think he'll cost that much and he's a good enough player that I believe they will want to retain him, so I don't see that happening either.
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$5M was an overpay, but it's only for 1 year, so it has no long-term salary cap implications. The guy is a solid veteran player who has played a long time in the league, scored some goals, plays a solid 2-way game and has playoff experience. He's exactly what the team needed. If the team makes the playoffs this season, it will be easier to sign guys in the future to more reasonable contracts.
For those of us who were born and raised in Buffalo, and those who have lived there/live there now, we know what a great place it is. Many Sabres players agree and make it there permanent home after their Sabres career ends. That said, to convince someone unfamiliar with the area to choose to come to the city, and to play for a team with the longest playoff drought in professional sports history, the team is going to have to overpay. The Bills suffered that problem for years. Then, they put a competent coaching staff and front office in place, drafted a great QB, started winning games and making the playoffs every year, and now they have no problem signing guys. If the Sabres can turn it around, the same will happen.
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4 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:
Forwards
JJP TNT Tuch
Benson Cozens Quinn
?(Savoie) Krebs(rfa) Greenway
Malenstyn(rfa) ???? ????
(Rousek)
Defense
Dahlin Samuelsson
Power Joki(rfa)
Byram Clifton
(Johnson - Clague)
Goalies
UPL(rfa) Levi
Savoie is probably a favorite to make the roster at this point. Does that projected 3rd line makes you feel pretty good about next season? Bryson(rfa) also in contention to return.
My biggest concerns about this projected roster are:
1) Krebs at 3C. Not saying he won't develop and get there, but to slot him in there at this point is a concern
2) Savoie at wing on the the third line. Savoie did not look ready last season and was passed up by Benson. I think that Savoie will develop into a top 6 winger, but I'm not sure that he's ready yet. He's still a small guy that needs to grow up physically and develop a NHL game. Rochester would be a better place for his development. I'd rather see Kulich or Rosen in the lineup than Savoie. Savoie has the higher celiing, but each of those guys has a couple of years of professional hockey under their belt.
3) The overall lack of grit. Malenstryn is a nice add (even if a 2nd was an overpay - but the success rate of NHL draft picks is low, so fine), but you need a little bit of grit in the top 6 and top 9. Not sure there's quite enough there.
All this said, with Granato, the team was competitive, performing at near .500 level with what they had. They were 1 point behind the Panthers, who made the playoffs and finals two years ago (and won the Cup this year). Last year, they started slow and dropped off a little bit in the final standings, but they were not fighting for last place like in the past. If Ruff is truly a better coach than Granato, the team should be a 7th-8th seed type of team without any changes. Given Ruff's presence, a few more lineup changes that are going to happen (FA and/or trades), the natural maturity of UPL and Levi in net, plus the additional seasoning and maturity of some core players like JJP, Quinn, Power, Krebs, Byrum, Benson, etc. this should be a playoff team. Just because the team failed to meet expectations last season and have not been in the playoffs for 13 years doesn't mean that the team was terrible. It was a young team that was more or less in the middle of the pack. Some nights, they were terrific and others they were no-shows. They crapped the bed in 2 key games against Detroit that probably was the difference in making the playoffs or not. I attribute most of that to coaching (and prior to that, I was a Granato supporter). A lot of folks here allow the collective frustration that has built up over many years cloud the fact that the team is more in the middle (with upward potential) than at the bottom (with downward potential).
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53 minutes ago, Weave said:
Not surprising, and not upset about it at all. Still could see him scrounging out an NHL career ala Chad Ruhwedel.
Bryson played pretty well when he came back later in the season. He's an adequate fill-in 3rd paring/7th defenseman. He's small, but moves the puck pretty well. If he ends up back with the team on a lower salary, I won't complain, but as stated above, if he leaves Buffalo, I think he'll have a NHL career somewhere else.
No question that the role could be adequately filled by another guy like Clague, Stillman, or someone else out there, but Bryson is fine, in the right role. The last forward/defenseman on a roster isn't going to be an All-Star or a top 6/top pairing guy.
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Outside of a few of the big names, I don't know ANY of the prospects in the draft, so I appreciate the information from fellow Sabrespace members. I know a lot of NFL and some NBA prospects from watching NCAA football and basketball. I do watch the Frozen Four so some NHL prospects are there, but not Canadian Juniors, Russians, and other Euros. So thanks to anyone with information on the Sabres' draft picks. Even if they're infused with the poster's opinion, I don't mind. I don't have my own opinion on these kids, so any input is welcomed.
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Adams' job is to manage player acquisitions and stock the roster while Ruff's job is to coach the team and play the players on the roster that give the team the best chance to win. That said, neither man works in a vacuum. I'm sure they are in close contact and discuss all player moves. That's the case in most professional sports organizations. My guess is that with Adams' relative inexperience and Ruff's vast experience, that Adams may rely on Ruff a bit more than some GMs do with their head coaches, but regardless of the degree of collaboration, the GM and coach working together to build and manage a roster is how things work.
In Bill Parcells' parlance, Adams buys the groceries and Ruff cooks the food, but Ruff helps Adams make the grocery list.
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4 minutes ago, stinky finger said:
Agree completely. This may be a good trade. Just no reason to do it now.
Maybe Adams has been shopping the pick to acquire additional assets to include in a trade that's already in the works and he needed an extra 2nd. Or maybe his trade isn't in place yet, but he's been shopping the pick to acquire additional assets and this was the best deal he could get. Maybe SJ said the deal was off unless he pulled the trigger now.
In my personal opinion, if trading for veteran player, 11 is more valuable than 14, so I don't love this trade, but in the scheme of things, it's not that big of a deal. 14 isn't that different than 11 and an extra 2nd is a decent asset.
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Prague Series between Sabres and Devils
in The Aud Club
Posted · Edited by msw2112
I'm honestly not sure what you mean by this. Have you ever run a business? Worked in one? Managed a budget?
Pegula has lots of money outside of the Sabres. If he sells the Sabres, he'll make a fortune based on what he paid for it versus his present value. But if you look at the year over year balance sheet of the business, it is losing money on an annual basis. People who run businesses often don't like to pump more money into those businesses that are losing money. It's like throwing good money after bad.
Some people look at it this way: if I invest in the business now, it will be better, and it will ultimately be more profitable. (Put the chicken before the egg.) This appears to be what some/most Sabres fans want. It's what I want. I think it's what you want.
Other people look at it this way: I'm going to wait and see if the business turns around before I throw more money at it. (Put the egg before the chicken.) This is what Pegula is doing (at least it appears so).
Spending money on sending Rayzor and Dunleavy to Europe has absolutely nothing to do with the success of the on-ice product, so why spend the money if your business is losing money year over year. Again, I really don't care how Pegula spends his money (send them or don't send them) on things that don't impact the product on the ice.
I honestly can't believe I'm spending so much time on something I really don't care that much about, but as I stated a couple of posts above, I don't shy away from a good debate. I should quit while I'm ahead, as "we must study your brain" is anything but a good debate.
Can we talk about the 2nd line center? If we think Dahlin was the right choice to be captain? Whether Gritty could take Sabretooth in a cage match?