PerreaultForever

I agree with all of this except the part about UPL probably being a bust. It's too early to give up on him. There are lots of goalies who takes years to develop. Ullmark took time. I'm not giving up on UPL yet but he needs lots of one on one coaching and more time playing in Rochester (probably). I'm firmly in the camp of KA botching goaltending. He's been bargain hunting rather than prioritizing. Unless Comrie comes back and shines to the point of surprising everyone we need to add at least one solid NHL goalie to have any real shot next year. If I had to guess now, I think he will add another old guy next year instead of Anderson. There's a number of (possibly over the hill) free agents out there for next season. Unless we don't get Levi or Portello, then he might have to come up with an actual plan.

That one will be a test won't it.

They are not really comparable but Marchand carries a cap hit of 6.1 million and Skinner has a cap hit of 9 million so discount version??? I thought you were the math guy?

cause I watched it. If you had you'd say the same.

I still don't like him and probably never will, but we're stuck with him. Ralph insisted Skinner do what Ralph wanted and play like Ralph wanted. Skinner refused and ended up sitting. Granato lets Skinner play the way Skinner wants to, so Skinner is happy and Skinner scores now and again. Still streaky, still undisciplined, still over paid.

Sweden didn't look very good in their warm up game with the U.S. Doesn't count though of course so maybe they didn't really try.

It's weird that you have bad weather and we have bad weather (west coast) at the same time. That almost never happens. Well good for the Sabres kids I guess. They can go home for an extended visit on a high note and feeling good. We can all watch the World Juniors instead.

Well since it was rescheduled they get to keep the winning streak intact over the holidays.

No, but I like him better than Pilut. I like Fitz on the roster over Bryson and Clague over Pilut. Both are less talented offensively, but are better at being defensemen and that's what we need. They are all bottom pairing at best though.

he is A goalie, I doubt very much if he will ever be THE goalie.

This may or may not be true, but the possibility of it being true is just one more reason Adams should already have a solid NHL goalie on the roster.

He was in the doghouse earlier in the year and sat at least one game (maybe more, not sure). He'd probably be benched more but they don't have anybody to replace him. Torts is a good coach, but stupid can't be taught and doesn't listen and I firmly believe that is Risto's problem, I think he's dumb as a post and just doesn't learn anything so he keeps making the same mistakes no matter who coaches him or how they play him. The Risto trade is without a doubt Adams' best move so far. I hope he uses that 2nd rounder to find another Samuelsson. Then the trade might be best ever.

To some extent that's true, but I also think it has to do with which team(s) we play. The more the opposition team plays shutdown hockey (Cassidy style hockey) the less effective the rookies are at this point. I hear you on Mitts and VO but I'd assume Granato feels their greater amount of experience makes them more valuable in a defensive style game. I'm not convinced it'll work, as I agree with you they aren't that good at the 2 way game either but Asplund hasn't impressed me either. We have some solid players now, and it looks like real competitive hockey, but the roster is still thin and drops off fast after the first half of it or so. I'm not sure there is a better option at this point.

But, that's not a demotion for Cozens. It's Granato's attempt to elevate Mitts and VO by giving them a better center. If that line holds, they are the second line in terms of TOI. Nothing changes for Cozens, he still goes up against top opposition. TOI will decrease for Quinn and Peterka so it's a demotion for them not Cozens.

Absolutely no but I'd still give him a call in the off season and see if he's actually intrigued by the idea of finishing in Buffalo. If so, at reasonable money, absolutely as a free agent. Personally I'd put him on Cozen's wing.

No way. "worse opportunity". As much as sometimes it feels that way this isn't hockey school. It's the NHL and it's about winning games not just giving players opportunities. If Cozens TOI drops drastically I will believe you, but it won't. It was a decent move. Young team, needed a moment to settle down. I liked what he did there.

This is where the goaltending coach comes in. I think you really need a good one. We have one, but I'm not sure he's a great one. I know in Boston a lot of people are crediting Bob Essensa with getting Ullmark's game to a higher level. Hopefully one day we hear that sort of talk here too as UPL or Levi or ? excels.

This is a factor for sure. This is the stuff I'm thinking of when I've said I'm undecided on Granato yet. Good teacher but how is he with game stuff, line matching and so forth. He did okay in this one. It'll become a bigger issue if we keep rising in the standings and get into serious games with good teams.

Big goalies have that problem sometimes. They've learned to rely on their size too much and they are often worried too much about leaving holes down low. It'll come in time. He just needs to keep working on it. He needs lots of goalie coach time, wherever that can be done best 1 on 1.

No, I don't think so. Cozens has been the driving force of that line and has carried the two rookies many times. The conundrum is perhaps that he sees (and uses) the 2-way abilities of Cozens and wants him matched against the other team's top centers but that puts the 2 kids up against top players and their 2 -way game simply isn't there (yet). Cozens can lead a primary scoring line but he can't do everything at once. The odd thing for me is he seems to be stuck on the idea of turning Mitts into a 2-way player and I just don't see it. Maybe it's just for a lack of alternatives at the moment.

Exactly. That was what Bill Hajt did. Not the best D man we ever had but I'd say the most consistent and reliable.

At this point in my book Samuelsson has officially reached Bill Hajt status and is heading towards Jay McKee. We need one more just like him and the D will be all set.

lol, umm, no, they don't. There's improvement, and there is more team unity, but we have quite a way to go still to play up against physical hockey. "hooligan" that's so funny. Is it Sweet and Tender too? 🙂

Well as I said, that win impressed me more than some previous ones where they lit it up. I might seem to focus on the "rough stuff" but only because I feel it has been an area not well addressed by the Sabres. I don't want to become the Leafs plain and simple. There was progress here. Soon we will start facing first string goalies instead of back ups and teams will prep harder for us. It's the next phase as we get taken seriously. We shall see how that unfolds.

Well I actually found that win more impressive than some of the flashier earlier ones because they went up against a team that is playing a form of shut down hockey (Bylsma-like maybe) where they don't let you do what you want to do and you have to find ways to plug along and overcome it. And they did. Almost blew it, and they needed good goaltending to hold on, but they did, and that's a huge accomplishment. I think the kids learned a lot in this one even if the youngsters had to sit a fair bit when the going got tougher. There was sweat coming down some of their faces at the end. That's a huge positive in my book. Huge.