PerreaultForever

I missed the 1st but that 2nd period was truly dreadful hockey. Butcher is horrifically bad. and the goaltending is as bad as expected.

I hope he plays well enough that we can move him for something/anything at the deadline. Otherwise, who cares?

Given the lack of centers on this team I think it makes sense for Girgs to play there. Don't see a better option.

I want him to ascend, and I think he wants it too, but I fear a big step back as we ask for too much and put him in a top role too soon. Bad habits and frustrations may develop rather than his skills. He may have the character to overcome it, but he's going to need a lot of coaching and veteran mentoring (but I don't know if we have any veterans worth anything to do that).

Actually you're wrong about that. He wasn't on the 4th line. They tried him on the top lines and he got some injury fill in time up there but worked his way out of favour quickly and wasn't even dressed later. Lazar on the other hand was 4th line for the balance of the season after they got him and they were pretty happy with him. Go figure. Having said that though, Lazar might not make the team this year as they have a few young guys they like and think are ready to step up full time. Bjork is fast, but nothing much else.

I honestly have no idea. He is signed for 2 years so he could easily coast (why work up a sweat on a total tank team?) and he might be tentative after the injury, but he might also be basically what he was. I doubt he has any more than what we've already seen. Next year he plays for a contract, maybe his last decent one, so I'd suspect next year he gives it his all, whatever that is.

Tage as a goal scorer? I just don't see it. I still think unless he gets mean and physical he's never going to be anything. Skinner's practice habits have improved? Well that's good if it's true and it sticks. I kind of think he didn't have any practice habits before. See it to believe it.

My question about Dahlin this year is has he gotten any stronger? To over simplify, is he a man yet or still a boy? His offensive skill has never been in question imo, it's the defensive side I'm not sure about and his ability to play people with the body or in close. His defensive game and his strength need to be a lot better if he's going to be a dominant big minutes player.

Riley Sheahan looked really good on the Kraken 4th line. Maybe we should have resigned him.

That's kind of sad and shows how far this team has fallen. So much losing that a new season can bring complacent nothingness and zero expectations. You're not just setting the bar low, you're dropping it into the mud. Ted Lasso on the other hand is a great show even though the premise is absurd, hiring a football coach to coach soccer. I mean can you imagine if the Sabres hired a soccer coach to..................oh never mind, Of course you do realize there'd be less grumpy people if the team ever started winning again so I think your perspective is a little backwards.

Adams.

Sorry, but you're not successfully building a new culture by slapping a letter on an overpaid and underperforming veteran.

Dahlin talking like a captain today. Give him an A.

Oh god ya, Wright is a complete player and will be a huge prize. I doubt anyone even comes close to challenging him for first overall. He's Bergeron/Toews, maybe better. Building around Wright will be easy for whoever gets him. I think Lambert will be really good. Too early for me to comment on the rest.

Adams said "the captain is the heartbeat of the team" So this year they will go with 3 As and no C and the team will have no pulse. I think everybody realizes if this is long term thinking now the C is earmarked for Cozens, but he still has to earn it. In a few years if the plan succeeds your captain is Cozens and Power has one A and Quinn or Peterka or whichever kid proves to be the best leader is the other A. Managing things to get there over the next few years however, will be tricky, and I have no reason to think they will pull it off successfully. A veteran leader from outside would have been better . (Skinner as an option above? That was sarcasm right?)

"Rasmus Ristolainen and Gritty announce engagement" "jack Eichel considering career in soccer" "Sabres sold to Quebec City investment group"

Pretty sure we will be battling the Yotes for dead last much as we did in the last tank. Anaheim and Detroit might also be in the running though. Wouldn't be at all surprised if we are dead last but then play UPL for most of the games after the deadline and go on a late season win streak that means nothing (again) and diminish our lottery chances so they can talk about the future again.

Well, although he's unlikely to peak yet, Cozens will outperform his contract since he's still on his rookie deal. Asplund's contract is low enough that he could outperform it by a lot as well. If Samuelsson takes another step forward he will as well. otherwise, MAYBE Jokiharju but I think he could go either way. Lastly, if either goalie, Dell or Anderson, is in any way even half decent (which I doubt) they will have outperformed their contracts but don't hold your breath.

I mean really, we all know the best scenario was to make a good trade months ago and be done with it, but since that didn't (or couldn't) happen the absolute LEAST Adams could do was strip the C. I have to say I really like the sentence where he says the "captain is the heartbeat of the team" . It implies two things imo (which may or may not be true, but they're nice words all the same). 1. He's trying to build a team with TEAM first and maybe a little fire in their belly, a little desire, an actual pulse. and 2. He's saying Eichel was a crap captain and that entire culture built around Jack has to go, and is gone. At least i hope that's it.

Doesn't everybody at this point? I mean it's the GM's job to make a fair market deal and then do it or have a plan B. It's a business and there is no good faith, especially on a bad team. On a good team players want to be there and maybe take discounts to stay but this team doesn't have that these days so you make a generous offer and if a guy doesn't take it you go to plan B in a hurry. Adams eff'd it not Ullmark. If you were Ullmark would you have stayed in Buffalo to be shellshocked on a tank team or would you have gone to a team like Boston with a solid D in front of you and by all accounts a fantastic culture and locker room where everybody wants to stay? Pretty much a no brainer imo. (I wouldn't be surprised if Ullmark puts up Vezina type numbers this year with an actual D in front of him)l. The alternative is you let players Skinner you and you've seen how that has worked out. Adams should have known better and traded for a Dreidger or one of the younger Russians out there or somebody to fill the void for a few years so UPL could be developed properly. He eff'd it OR he did it on purpose because they take the fanbase for granted and plan to suck for a few years (which is the likely real truth). Is that the duck talking? (I think you will find the opposite)

Can we have a 4th option which is simply - nothing.

I'd agree with that. The franchise is not deep at center so it makes sense to experiment with developing prospects and if it works great but it's far from a real thing one way or the other. Personally I think Cozens would be a better winger than center and an eventual line with Quinn at center and Cozens on his wing might be a pretty interesting combo. But who knows. Quinn has to make the NHL first and Cozens still has a ways to go himself.

Seriously. Be patient? It's like waiting for Godot. We are well past being patient. I'm going to be blunt, the little aspects of Jack's personality that have come out over the course of this debacle have made me think the guy is an egomaniacal dick and he's a big part of why this last rebuild (based around him) failed so miserably. He's not a leader, he should have never been named captain, and it's well past time to move on, turn the page, declare a mea culpa and start again. As a Sabres fan we can all simply collectively hope he does become a Bruin one day so that he can drag them down and crash and burn them too.

It's a little too much for what he's shown so far but if he does develop properly and blossom it'll be a solid signing. Given the state of the team no way he'd sign a long term deal unless it was massive and no way has he earned that gamble so I guess I'd say it's about right.

In part, but pretty much every hockey talk show or "expert" I've heard or read has said what many here have said - the team can't move on and start a new building path with this matter of Eichel unresolved. Otherwise, he gets evaluated on what he has done. Eakin, Staal, losing Ullmark for nothing, trades of Reinhart and Risto, lack of new free agents added. Draft picks can't be evaluated for a few years (we can only start going over JBot's record drafting now) but otherwise, that's what he gets graded on and I see no obvious wins.