PerreaultForever

Of course it takes time, but we can only comment on what is on the ice. The rest is hope and conjecture. What I am looking for is a clear indicator of a team style and an identity. They still seem to be juggling this for that and mixing and matching and there's no clear indicator to me that we are headed in any particular direction. If you take moving Eichel (after Risto and Reinhart) as the bottom, you expect to move upwards from there little by little, and if you get a lot right you make a leap forward at some point but either way a constant progression. On many nights we're still seeing a team that doesn't seem to belong in the NHL.

I'm talking about putting a guy like Rick Dudley in that position. LaFontaine is just the point where they abandoned that idea and went with just a GM when most teams were doing the exact opposite (and still are).

Well the optimist in me hopes that's true, but from outside the area I see no comparables between the Sabres and the Bills. I don't watch football as much as I used to so I might be wrong here but the Bills seem to me to be a hard working defense first team and that, to this point in time, is definitely not the Sabres. I don't think it's valuable to say those guys they hired didn't get other jobs as meaning much since those guys didn't have enough of a resume when they got here so of course they wouldn't move up after. Botterill did get an assistant GM job though pretty fast to be fair. Based on his time in Pittsburgh no doubt, but still, he got a job. I am not saying any of them were good hires and would do a better job if given time. They all cocked it up in one way or another and I think the reason for that is they didn't have an experienced guy above them to come in and stop some of their bad moves. We have the draft capital and the prospects now, so it's all in place for Adams to succeed, but it looked that way when Murray was here too, and he squandered the picks and made a bunch of bad moves and it failed miserably. I think my main point is it all looked good on paper then too. Everyone thought we were poised to rise up in the dawning of the Eichel era. This doesn't feel different to me. I HOPE it is, but so far I don't see it. When Adams talks he seems to say we will become Carolina. Fast, tenacious, attacking relentlessly. A team that doesn't quit. But I don't see that on the ice. Not in terms of style or form or content. It's all just coming soon and to be announced.

Well this is what you get when you take 2 to 3 players away from it and don't have a set unit to step in. Without Eichel VO is too easy to defend and Dahlin is the only driving force so that's easy to take away or limit as well. We need the young skilled players to be better before this PP will get better too. In the meantime, I'd try putting Tage back on the point in Eichel's old spot rather than down low. He controls space with his reach, has a decent quick shot but more importantly seems to have the best passing skills of our skilled forwards. Have Tuch drive the slot. Cozens in front (or Murray for the size) with Dahlin at the other point. LW is a problem so I guess it's Skinner for now but his passing skills make me want to replace him. Just don't know with who.

Love it. Absolutely love it. I know it's a minority view but I liked it when they switched to those and was disappointed when they dropped them. Now, to explain a bit, my high school hockey team was the Hill Park Rams (an actual goat head if you will) and was in fact red, black and white so I guess I'm a little nostalgically biased 🙂 That team conjures up good memories though of a hard working stick together bunch and that's what I'd like to be again.

Sure, but sometimes George Costanza gets the job................... The point is we keep going with guys who learn on the job and they make mistakes as they learn and then we fire them for those mistakes and start all over again. Hence a decade of not even mediocrity but absolute rubbish. Regarding LaFontaine, my point wasn't about him specifically, but rather about having a senior guy in charge of the hierarchy. With whatever happened there Pegulas decided they didn't need that job in the organization and that, imo, is a huge mistake.

I like Jiricek but I'm just waiting to see where we draft and who is actually available at that pick. Too early. Agree that RHD in this year's FA crop is slim and unlikely. Even if we drafted Jiricek or Nemec, I'd still want to look at adding an FA on a 3-4 year deal to cover that development time. Adding Manson or Gudranson through free agency would be solid moves for this team. Adding both would make me very encouraged about next season. I'd also bring back Pysyk as a 6/7 depth guy at the right (low) price. Consider Dahlin, Power, Samuelsson Manson Gudranson Jokiharju (Pysyk) as a pretty solid defense with a good mix of abilities (and salaries) to continue building from.

You don't draft a RHD first just because we need RHD. If you do, that guy will still be 3 years or so away from taking that spot. Three years to address that problem through free agency or trades.

Burke, Dean Lombardi, Peter Chiarelli, Ray Shero, Mike Gillis, Brian Lawton, Mike Barnett and Pierre LaCroix. maybe more, that's all I got.

Oh yes, and we've been so successful since haven't we?

I disagree entirely. Most teams recognize they need a senior director or advisor type and a GM and an assistant GM. They seem adverse to this, and I think that's about control. As for CEOs, some micromanage and some designate and evaluate based on performance. They don't all stick their fingers in. Lots of them go golfing and just expect results. To me, it all goes back to LaFontaine.

Karmanos, Ventura, Galimini, for me just names until they prove themselves with what they do. Pending. Reinhart for Levi. Were you excited by this when it happened? I don't remember what you said specifically but most people here were all upset about just getting a 7th round draft choice. IF Levi is the real deal (and I think he is) good trade. Pending. Risto trade check. Eichel trade. Losing situation. I don't blame him even if this is one sided. rock and a hard place. Power chose to go back. Quinn. Pending. You see I'm not going to credit him with futures and possibilities. I'm only going to look at what's been done and what's on the ice. We've been down the stocked cupboard bright future road before and that car ended up in a ditch.

I agree he's a second pairing guy and said that many times, but the point is you can't subtract a big minute RHD, not add one, and then expect there not to be a hole at RHD.

Not a fair comparison. Everybody knows ROR was dealt before the bonus money kicked in and that limited the return. As for Eichel, pretty sure I believe the rumours he wanted out more.

Jankowski gives everyone a lesson in playing to the whistle lol. That was fun. For a change we get to watch another team's young star smash his stick in frustration. That was fun too.

I don't lack imagination, I've just given up on blind faith, hoping and wish fulfillment when it comes to the Sabres. Fool me once and all that. There is no known factual basis for 3. You're just wishing that to be true. As for 4. what "extensive knowledge of the league" compared to say Rutherford or Dudley or whoever else you want to list? Even JBott had more experience. Adams wasn't even an assistant GM. I have no idea if Adams is a "stupid yes man only" or not (your words not mine) but so far I see nothing that impresses me. Staal was useless. Eakin is a has been. Hayden is meh. Botched the goalie situation. etc. Only the Risto trade was a clear win. We are worse right now than we were. Everything is just next year...........

Meyers before Risto . I'm going to disagree on this though. imo Dahlin saw way too many minutes early and wasn't paired with a solid veteran mentor often enough. We have, however, done a good job with Samuelsson so far so we shall see. D men take time.

In Dahlin's case I would say he doesn't always play small, but he doesn't play big either. He isn't strong around the net and chases the puck more than playing the man, but most of all he is inconsistent.

He has their trust or he got the job because he does what they say? Remember they chose the inexperienced guy already known to them rather than hire an experienced hockey guy from outside. Can only see 2 reasons for doing something like that. 1. He's a cheaper option 2. He's controllable and grateful for the opportunity so will do what they want.

So do the rest of them with the exception of Hayden maybe. Tage plays bigger than he did, but it's more reactive than assertive. Murray gets in front but maybe if he threw a body check once in a while he might develop into a player who could actually stick and become valuable. We don't hit anybody almost ever.

Absolutely true. As good as I think Power will be he is likely 3 to 4 years away from being an NHL force. Dahlin has flaws and needs better players around him to cover up for those mistakes. I can see Samuelsson being a solid defender and without an upgrade(s) Pysyk is a third pairing guy but like you said Jokiharju is not a top pairing defender. I'm not even sure he's second pairing. As much as Risto made many horrible mistakes, we didn't replace him, and thus there's a right side hole. We need a big bruising solid RHD who can be relied on for tough defensive minutes. Don't see how we're going to get that either. I suspect they will expect and ask for too much too soon from Power as they have done with every top drafted D man over the last decade. Hope I'm wrong on that.

Battle of the tear it down and rebuilders. Perhaps a contrast in approach but otherwise basically in exactly the same spot. Might actually be entertaining as a result. Time to start playing bigger.

To the first, do you honestly think Terry doesn't have full control over Adams? and to the second, that is what they would say, but wait to see if they spend any of it. So back to what I originally said, IF Adams uses that cap space temporarily to get assets by taking on salary then all rebuild plans on. If he doesn't, they aren't doing everything they can.

Well idk if that's entirely true. There are quite a few goalies that have played a lot of games for their teams. Vasilevsky's played 31 of 40 games. Sarros 32 of 39. Campbell, Anderson, Gibson all high 20s and there's more. Assuming they stay healthy a number of these guys will be at 60 or at least close. Ullmark hasn't gotten injured this year. Maybe a contributing factor here is what our goalies have to go through in terms of traffic in front, shots, having to move and stretch in efforts to stop dangerous chances? I really don't think it's "bad luck" , and signing old guys and has beens doesn't help either.

We did - assuming the picks amount to anything, but what I like about this is how instantly Borgen delivered the payback. We really need that instilled in this team.