PerreaultForever

I questioned the extension as well. I'm not convinced Granato deserved it, but we shall see, There's no question he's better than Kreuger, but that bar is very very low.

Not sure why so many people are talking about Detroit for us making the playoffs. The team we have to climb over is Florida.

JBot also brought Granato to Buffalo. One could argue Adams promoting him was a safe move and/or a fail in hiring an experienced NHL coach at the time.

Mucky game, which is Arizona's style, so it's good to see they can win one like that where they don't exactly get to play the way they prefer. Ultimately the PP was the difference. Sabres PP was good, Arizona PP was messy and off and on. They aren't very good on the points and thus lack sustained puck possession. Peterka played like a rookie in this one. Pilut is still rubbish. I was not impressed by Chychrun. As above, a win's a win.

I haven't said anything different. I'm not sure how much is Granato and how much is those players maturing but it doesn't really matter to me, they are the new core of this team - but they were brought here by JBot so you can't give Adams credit for that. Because he was never on the trading block. The team had in no way given up on him yet.

I have said on many occasions the Risto trade was a good one. So far it's Adam's best move. It goes in the plus column but it doesn't elevate him to Sainthood.

I think we're done here.

Not sure what your point is here. Are you saying Adams deserves credit for not trading away Thompson? That's a bit of a reach for handing out credit don't you think? I don't even think there was a market for him 2 years ago anyway and who knows, maybe he tried to move him and failed. The move to center, now that was interesting. I assume credit can go to Granato there but will never really know if he was a genius or just lucky (since at the time we basically had no other centers so it was a desperation try).

So this is what you wrote. So I think that was actually pretty good for context after all.

Tricky game. Sabres have more talent and should win if they skate, but Arizona is playing better than expected and has won some games against decent teams. They can be physical, which might be a test for the Sabres, and they play hard around the net. Keller and Crouse are both very dangerous players imo. If/when O'Brien runs over somebody it will be interesting to me to see what, if anything, happens. Regardless of what happens, I guess we get a good look at Chychrun.

As long as we also dump on him for the things he didn't do or mistakes he has made as well eg. goaltending. I'm not convinced yet he's actually done anything that any other GM wouldn't have done just as well if not better. It was clear that the old core had to go. Reinhart wasn't going to stay, Eichel wanted out, house was cleaned I suspect at the Pegula's request but most definitely with their blessing. JBot had a mandate to use that core and enhance it. His enhancements are now our core. Adams gets to add assets for that core as any GM would have with the same mandate. So Risto trade great, Reinhart deal remains to be seen (depends on Levi) and Eichel deal depends on what Krebs and the other picks turn into. Goaltending has been absolutely botched. Hall deal was terrible. Free agents and waiver moves haven't really amounted to much. IF Adams numerous picks pan out (or at least several of them) then yes, he's a better GM, but it remains to be seen.

lol, maybe I should be, but back in context what I was saying was IF we were playing against each other on the ice and you took your stick to one of my guy's heads I would face plant you into the boards hard thereafter. I'd drop them with you in that instance but guys who are afraid to drop their lumber rarely have the courage to fight. Point being again, your defense of using a stick to a guy's head is simply wrong. Just wrong. Lastly Reaves is scary to some, that's what makes him useful. We have no one who makes anyone scared of us in any way.

plastic coat (or a composite) that sounds right.

To clarify, I'm not a huge fan of his, but much like Bill Guerin, I do think he would have brought us a thing we lack and would have increased our playoff chances, even if he didn't even dress for every game. We need a somebody like him (ideally younger and more skilled, but similar) Still wood in the rink I play pick up in occasionally. Guess it's old.

Yes Maroon is better but Reaves was available. That's all. It's simply the same idea. A hole that has been there for years and is still there. Everywhere now? I don't think that's true, but maybe for NHL arenas it is now. Amusing tidbit. Borgen and Beniers apparently reside together. https://www.nhl.com/news/matty-beniers-will-borgen-go-christmas-tree-hunting-for-their-home/c-338867588?tid=281396148

That's exactly what people here said to me after St. Louis won the cup and Maroon was a free agent and I said the Sabres should sign him. I was a dinosaur, he was a bad hockey player, he was washed up, he was useless, he went on to win 2 more Stanley Cups and is still a valuable role player. But whatever.

Wood was in reference to the boards. It is what they are made out of and if I slammed you into them you'd know how that felt. IT hurts more than you think. Where is the evidence of this close knit team all jumping in and doing anything????? It's a fantasy you have and I wish it was true but to this point in time it's not. Skinner cheap shotting Guentzel (the goon?) is hardly evidence of team toughness. All I said about Reaves was it was a simple cheap stop gap measure that imo would make this team better, so that next time maybe Maroon doesn't run our goalie. Maybe. Idk about you, but I'm still waiting for somebody on this team to hit Kucherov. Just once. When they do that. When somebody does that. Maybe then I will believe you about these fearless kids and their team spirit. Until then, they're still the softer than butter Sabres they've been for years.

Nowhere did I say Reaves was a great solution and nowhere did I advocate some sort of return to the past. I said repeatedly I'd rather have a Foligno type BUT Reaves was available so I'd see him as temporarily filling a hole in a role that would help until a better player came along. Tough guys are not really a total thing of the past either. Many teams have them and use them and they serve a role to keep other teams more honest, to open up ice for team mates and perhaps most importantly to allow younger and smaller players to play with more confidence and worrying less about being hit. We simply lack anybody to answer the bell if it sounds.

lol, really? We're dissecting things to that degree now? Okay, for that 1 game they were impressive. If they can beat Vegas it might end up being fully completely.

He very well might be, but to be fair, at the moment, the best players on the roster currently driving this team (Tage, Dahlin, Cozens, Samuelsson) are all JBot's.

Okay let me try this a different way. Clearly you don't follow. The composition of the bottom six on this roster is weak and highly flawed. It's a mish mash of has been veterans, cast offs, and not there yets or wannabes. It simply doesn't measure up against better teams and it lacks role and identity. To put this in it's simplest terms, if you have your two top lines set, the team needs a checking line and an energy line. Lines that play solid D and keep the score even (at least). Shut down players preferred and 2 way toughness like Marcus Foligno as mentioned earlier. Since you don't have that guy ready and he may not be in Rochester, you are best off to fill those holes with the best player available now. Zemgus, occasionally hits people, and he can play harder, so he'd be fine to lead a good 4th line with two tougher and more physical players than we currently have. Ideally you'd like Czikas-Clutterbuck-Martin or Foligno-Nosek-Greer etc. (insert other examples if you wish) but what we have lacks that identity. Kyle, imo, is washed up and done and that's what I expected and why I didn't like naming him captain. He isn't the future. For the time being however, I'd have him on the 3rd line. He's 2 way responsible and could lead that unit until he can be upgraded. I wanted Copp for that line before, now I'd target Compher. Assuming he might "want be here" blah blah blah..... "learn to defend themselves" okay fine, so you want Quinn, Peterka, Cozens to have to drop them now then right? You want Quinn to take on a guy like Reaves rather than having a guy like Reaves to answer for a cheap shot on Quinn? Good strategy. Quinn will feel safer when he returns to action with the full face shield for his broken face. Lastly, you're in favour of players taking their sticks to opponents heads. If that isn't videogame logic idk what is. Dude, if you were on the opposing team in my day and you took your stick to one of my guy's head you'd better pray they removed you from the game and suspended you. Otherwise we'd have broken every bone in your body when we rammed you repeatedly into the boards. I don't think you've ever played hockey, so let me tell you, solid wood coming into contact with flesh and bone really really hurts. Sticks to the head is indefensible.

Not really. You clog the middle like Pittsburgh did and pick him up at center. Your forecheckers deal with him in his own end. But we don't do that.

Two people play the same position so for you that makes them the same. Okay I see. Very astute hockey knowledge there. and there we go again with the "1990s called" BS again as if hockey is a knitting circle now. Just checked Hockey Fights, 3 scraps tonight. Some major hits. Guess I accidentally got in my DeLorean and time travelled. Fusion power and all that.

As do I, but you take what you can get when you can get it. Team needs toughness. It'll show before this season is out I can almost guarantee it.

Well that was fairly impressive. Probably the first time this year I've seen good team defense. Seen the offense many times but this was a 2 way game and a complete win. Krebs might be coming along after all. I guess it's safe to say KA got the contract extensions right. Tage and Mule are both dominant players in their own way. No complaints.