PerreaultForever

Some would think this way (you obviously) and others (me) think that when you put on a jersey you should feel pride and feel you owe it to those people that save their extra pennies to attend games or use hockey as a happy escape from life issues or all the other reasons we watch sports and attend games and invest our time in this stuff, and I might add that's exactly what Granato was talking about (just saying) but yes, before I ramble too much, these rich bastards owe the fans for their privileged lives. If they don't feel that F them and show them the door. We, the fans, owe Jack nothing. He's a ***** if he thinks otherwise. Sorry if that comes off bitchy, but the idea that fans owe athletes annoys me. and you believe what GMs say?

Everybody has a price.

and I disagree with that. It SHOULD be a team game but it often isn't. What did Eichel say? Time to think about Jack Eichel. When's the last time he said he owed anything to Buffalo or the fans? imo Jack has always been about Jack. As for Skinner, I just don't think he cares one way or the other. He wanted to be near his family, not be in Buffalo cause he loves Buffalo. He's an uncoachable player imo. Just does what he wants to do. So you can drop him down the line up when he doesn't listen like Kreuger did or you can bump him back up and cater to his play as maybe Granato tried but I think he dropped him down again later as well. That uncoachable attitude is NOT a good influence on the kids. "puck luck" lol. Two years of excuses.

Wow. Didn't know that was a rule. Guess they will then. Take Kyle take Kyle..............

I'm not sure why you say that. If I'm the Kraken I'm taking the youngest players I can get my hands on in the expansion draft (assuming they are decent or have upside) and then using free agency to get up to my minimum cap numbers. I'd also take an extra goalie and trade one later to some team (like us possibly) that gets desperate for a goalie before the season. Valuable commodity. I see no reason why they have to grab any high priced veterans.

I don't think his heart's in it either. I personally think he asked to be traded LAST summer and agreed to be quiet about it but he asked. They didn't find a deal they liked and he was here and not into it. I don't believe it's actually all injury what we saw this season (but that is just speculative). In any event, if his heart isn't in it, as captain, he becomes toxic if you're trying to bring in a new attitude with a new core. I really don't know how they're going to get around Skinner's presence either but that remains to be seen what happens there.

Not if he quits on the team and just shows up to fulfill his contract but doesn't care, doesn't try, etc. and don't tell me he's a professional and wouldn't do that, because I think he could. You want to risk that?

I just want this over with.

Playoff games this year that I saw he was one of their best players. It's a good deal.

So why are you, and maybe they, trying to make him into the fast dynamic D man and not trying to develop him into an all around complete D man? imo the expectations of what he can be are all wrong and we have been developing him poorly. In that way, I don't think Krueger was wrong in trying to develop his defensive game, it's just that Steve Smith was a crap coach, and possibly Dahlin is a slow learner. He does not have elite speed, so we shouldn't be trying to make him into that type of player. he does, however, have exceptional skills, and he can be very very good.

I know. And I think Girardi is probably fine as an assistant with primary responsibility to the D, but there's no guarantees we are keeping any of them so I was just saying. The one we have or another, we have to make sure we have a good goaltending coach. But seriously, what does Ellis do anyway?

Strange it was before the expansion draft. I guess Nashville wants to protect another player and LA doesn't care about exposing one, or there's another deal to come. I can't decide if this means they are more likely to trade with us for Jack or Sam or less likely.

This is definitely possible. I hope not, but it is possible. However, if the only thing we are complaining about 2-3 years from now is Granato's poor line matching and in game decisions I think we will have progressed quite far. This season is a new DAY 1. Like it or not. One step at a time. Complain when we start taking them backwards (again).

Wondering which assistant we can nickname "Spaghetti"? or do we give that to Adams?

What I want is whoever Granato wants. If it's those 2 fine if not whoever he wants. They've given the team over to Granato for 2-3 years so let him have a staff he works well with and not some guy he might see as a competitor over his shoulder. I thought Girardi was making progress with the D. He seems fine. Definitely better than Smith was. Ellis idk as idk what he actually does. ideally, I want several people around. 1. We need to have a good goaltending coach in the system as we will be dealing with 2 young goalies over the next few years, maybe more. 2. Somebody who can work on specialty teams. A good PP is essential in this league and a good PK isn't far behind. We need focus and development and practice on that as a priority. 3. Somebody to work on creating stability and confidence in a very young D core. 4. A Roger Nielson type teacher and post game analyst. That's the minimum.

Disagree entirely. I heard exactly what I was hoping to hear. Now I do recognize it's just words and until it's on the ice it means nothing, but this was not the same as those. Both of those guys presented themselves as if they had all the answers and they knew the magic formula. They were very opposite, but clearly neither did. This one spoke about work, development, progress. there was no magic formula, but there was going to be a lot of practice . I personally was very encouraged when he drew attention to the late season moments when Cozens and Thompson stood up for the team (and dropped the gloves). This doesn't mean rock 'em sock 'em hockey is coming but it does speak to team as a concept and cultural dynamic. They clearly get it, and they get what's missing. Don't know if they can deliver. We shall see. Clearly, Jack and Sam are gone. If either is still here it means they failed in their trading attempts and regardless of how they spin it, it will be a fail on KA. He clearly is designing the future without them. Risto not sure. Not sure it matters either.

I don't. Wherever he goes I hope he's a frustrated player who fails to live up to his billing for the rest of his career and more importantly I hope he never gets to play for his beloved Bruins.

It's hard to evaluate the Mantha trade imo. Very different types of players. Washinton likes size and strength so he might be a better fit there. His work ethic has been questioned but if he could flourish there. At the moment I think both teams got what they wanted. Time will tell. You're not wrong about the bygone era. There was stability and continuity all over in those days. As an old hockey fan I kind of miss that. So much free agency and movement these days you don't develop the same levels of hate and rivalry usually. Only for guys who stay on their teams long term like a Marchand. The players all become "friends" too. Short attention spans for owners and GMs (and fans) so coaches turned over quicker too. What I want for this team more than anything (regardless of the coach) is an actual team identity that isn't just as losers or the word Buffalo just gets s shrug and eye roll (or even laugh) from outside announcers and analysts. Make us into something, stick with it, and build on it. At this point idk what we are any more. Nothing really.

Exactly. I think talking to them and learning all about them is very important and I suspect the lack of attention to this by the Sabres (basically no scouting department just stats and computers) leads to failure. You want to know all about them. Is he smart or dumb, is he a good hard working family guy or a party animal frat boy, his goals, his family, his background. Everything. It all matters and it all helps you get an idea of what kind of man he will become and thus how he will lead your team or become a potential problem. Will he need a babysitter or not? Many things. In a draft like this if you interview (for example) Power and Beniers and you see that Power is a dumb frat boy and Beniers is a hard working dedicated athlete (I'm over simplifying for the sake of making the point, it would obviously be complicated and nuanced) you draft Beniers and not Power. It's important to know EVERYTHING and if as the article says 10-15 teams have talked to him you'd think the team with the #1 overall pick would have been one of them . If I was the Sabres I'd be talking to him multiple times, and his coaches, and his teachers, and his parents and his relatives, high school and college friends, everybody you could get a hold of. I'd do that for all the potential top picks.

So they're NOT interested in Power? or they're just a dumb lazy organization? https://www.nhl.com/news/projected-no-1-nhl-draft-pick-owen-power-buffalo-sabres/c-325532378

For me it's just going to be about one thing. How the team plays, and that includes their attitude, effort levels and how they do or do not stand up for each other. If they have that (and it's been missing for years) then he's done something right. After that it's just about progression and how fast they develop. If they keep moving upwards I'm okay with him. If they plateau or drop then he gets the next Kreuger award (although some of you might want to dub the award for worst coach the Rolston).

Indeed, they've evacuated the whole town and there are several wildfires all around that area. Even bigger one at Sparks Lake near Kamloops. It looks like it will be a very bad summer for the interior.

Murray definitely thought he had a quick rebuild plan but I still think on paper it wasn't necessarily terrible and many people might have made the same mistakes. I'm mostly pissed with Murray for throwing away so many top picks cavalierly. Lehner's price was too high. Armia should never have been given away. Given how it turned out in the end, we never should have traded for ROR and kept Compher and Zadorov etc. If you bottom out and commit to rebuilding with a new young core you should stick to that and not suddenly trade everything away to win as soon as the "generational " guy shows up. maybe this time, if that's what we are in fact doing, maybe this time we stick with that and actually develop something special.

Would be good for us, but I doubt this happens. I'm actually starting to think of the 3, Risto will still be on our roster, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing.