Pimlach

The Miller ceremony is covered on ESPN+ at 6:00, I am on it and it shows nothing the game is at 730 or 700. What is correct? also have intermittent Wi-Fi so I might not see it 😞

maybe so. But there is much more work to do. I agree with KA, do not bother with players that do not want to be here.

Yes, I have had a few rants lately because I have seen enough to know they should be better than these past few weeks of games. It should have been second nature for them to play a different third period in Chicago. They don't seem to have anything in their playbook that protects a lead and forces an opponent into mistakes. Instead we usually lay back and let them come to us (i.e. the 3rd period Chicago 6 on 5), or we attack like it is the first period of a scoreless game and make errors to give up bad goals (Winnipeg 3rd period). Having to score 4 goals to get a win is a problem, and it is not all on the goalie, they have one style of play. That translates to a non-Deluca .500 team and about 85 points. I have heard people here say that they will learn to win later, after they develop a few more players. Almost as if they believe this is all part of Granato's strategy, that he can turn on the defensive part of the game later. That is not ever going to happen. They have to learn to win right now, in order to better develop players. I would love to interview DG and ask him his thoughts on the defensive part of the game and making situational adjustments.

He might like it here but he might not want to take the risk in finding out. Until this team starts consistently winning it will be considered the Siberia of the NHL.

You put it negatively, but Yes. I am banking on a few of those players being very good NHL players. Kulich is already rising fast. He is not tradable IMO. He will be a top 6 winger. Don't know about Savoie or Östlund, I would be willing to move one of them to improve another weak area. I prefer to pay Cozens and watch him turn into great 2-way player. I think he will. I do not want to pay big money for three centers (Tage, Horvat, Cozens) when we have holes on defense, holes in the net, and we are weak on the wings. Plus, I still have to pay Dahlin, our best player. I prefer to trade some our prospects/assets to improve our defense and get some stronger wingers that are both skilled and physical players. Horvat is very good but we have other needs. How about a strong and physical RHD that can play with Owen Power? Then the can move Joker to the third pair with Looby and say goodbye to Bryson. That move alone improves two positions by adding just one player and it should not break the bank either. Next look at wing. Tuch and Skinner are the best 2 right now. Peterka and Quinn are 21 year old rookies that look promising but this year they are streaky, at time over their heads, and are often pushed around to the point that some games they are falling all over the ice. Next season will be better. Next look VO, Mitts, Z, KO, and Asplund. We have lost a lot of games with these guys. Let's re-tool the bottom 6, and it should not be very expensive to do so. None of the current wingers are critical to the long term success of this team. KO brings leadership but we have emerging leaders (Dahlin, Tuch, Cozens). VO brings a shot but nothing else. Z brings physical play but maybe its time to move on from him. Jost has been a solid acquisition as a 3C or 4C. Krebs might be tradable but I think his situation is similar to Peterka and Quinn in that Adams will likely want to see what becomes of him next year. Bottom line: Horvat is great but I am not willing to trade 3 #1 equivalents and take on his salary, when I could use those assets to improve multiple positions of higher need. Over.

I think that the special recognition days are fine. Nothing wrong with practicing unity and supporting our entire community. The best times of my life have been when I felt part of something bigger than me alone. The notion that we need to recognize various "groups" and "communities" is well intended (to raise awareness and promote equality) but it can also have a side effect that is divisive (the case of religion vs LGBTQ+ is one case). The essence of all this recognition is to get to the level were all folks are treated fairly (inclusion). That is what this should be all about. Treat other people the way you want to be treated. My Mom used to tell me that message, what a smart lady. It is easier to say it, than it is to put into practice. Additionally. I do think highly of the military, medical and first responders, and our police and fire departments - they deserve recognition for supporting everyone else, and they are not doing it for money or fame or recognition.

Yes, I think he will eventually get better than him because he will play a 200 foot game, but nowhere in this thread have I said he is better because right now he is not. I just don't want to trade all those assets for a center with a big contract like Horvat, when we need help in other places such as defense. Additionally, I prefer to bring in some help on the wing that can play a better two way game than Mitts, VO, Asplund, and Z. OK, but if you want to bring in players "that want to be here" you better be sure he does before a trade.

Looking forward to it. Our daughter and her friends will be there. My brother and nephew will be there. I hope that the Sabres show up.

Yes, we need this type of player on a third line, but I think he realistically falls into the “will never consider Buffalo” bucket.

No, never said Cozens is better than Horvat. I said we have Tage and Cozens and other talent/prospects at C. If the price for Horvat is really 3 #1’s equivalents then I move on and prefer to upgrade RHD and also find a few strong two way forwards instead.

Bryson, Mitts, Asplund

Nah, the Sabres should not throw away assets on another center. They have TNT and Cozens, plus Kebs and Jost, and they drafted 3 center prospects. Use less prospect capital to acquire a top 4 defenseman or a goalie, and get another power forward (winger). They need a few two way forwards - we stink in our end of the rink and we are mediocre at PK. Lets fix the problems. Horvat plays the one position we have covered.

Mitts, VO, Rosen, Clagge, and Bryson? Everyone wants to trade garbage for gold.

Agree to a point. Most of the kids played at the highest competitive levels before turning pro so they know about playoffs and pressure. But I will agree that the NHL level is another world. The hitting, grabbing, holding and hooking are part of it. Which might be why Dahlin got upset that he was held and hooked - it is going to happen a lot more.

The flaw here is that playing solid defensive is as much part of development as being fearless, fast, and furious in the offensive game. Thinking back to that National TV game on TNT, when they blew up Columbus. Every hockey guy in that studio said the same thing - they have speed and offensive skill, they need to emphasize the defensive part of the game now. Last night we scored in the last minute of the first period to take a lead, then we scored a shorty for insurance in the 2nd. A good team finishes the 3rd period by clamping down, strangling the opponents zone entries, and forcing errors. Instead we laid back and gave up two cheesy goals to blow the 3rd period. Then they coasted around in the OT, showboating with the puck only to lose in OT and bring home a hard earned L.

Adams should have little to do with it, but it was his job in the past so who do you think is picking up slack? There is a reason they hired this COO. Adams is buried with hockey stuff and Kim is not well.

Interesting post. Hard to answer without knowing if 2023 is the year they will try to be "good" and spend more money. I can't believe I am typing those word but it is a factor. I will assume we will spend more money next year, get off the floor, but still not very close to the ceiling either. Based on the premise that we miss the playoffs and are sellers at the deadline: Step 1 - I would like to keep Zemgus unless we have a line on a better 4th line player (doubtful). Extend KO for 1 year. Mainly because I don't trust what kind of veterans that they will be able to bring in that will be better players or teammates than these two are. 4 UFAs - Anderson gone (trade at deadline if we are out of it). Z you try to sign for cheap 4th line role. KO extend 1 year if possible, if not then goodbye. Vinnie gone, not needed, he is a blocker. 4 RFAs - Cozens you pay. Jost you pay (but not too much) Asplund - depends on KO and Z. I would sign for vet min. He is spare forward kind of player. Clagge is a minor league player that can move up to #7 or #8. Step 2 - Andy is gone next year so trade at deadline if you can get anything. Step 3 - Trade Mitts, move on from this guy. VO is better and brings scoring but he is tradable too. Both are tradable and remnants of the losing teams must be purged (like Beane did). Step 4 - A solid partner for Power is a must. That moves Joker to 5 and improves two pairings with one move. Spend $$ and assets to do this right. Step 5 - if too do step 4 then Bryson is gone. He is a gamer, and has skills, but he is too dam small and will be abused in playoffs. He is s 6 on a losing team, move on. Step 6 - if you can trade Bishops contract you should. I am tired of these kind bull$hit tricks related to the cap and want to actually improve. To win next year we still need: 1. Goalie - maybe it is UPL? maybe. 2 Top 4 veteran RDH - preferable someone with physical presence. This gets rid of Bryson and below and improves multiple spots. 3. Get another skilled power forward type for the Jost line to make this team harder to play. Get rid of Mitts, or VO, or both - its time to get better. 4. Get a two way center that can help us close out a game by not sucking in the defensive zone dot. Everyone tells me this is Cozens, ok, then they should play him to do that. Maybe it can be Jost but I think we add the 3rd line C and then move Jost to 4th line to battle Krebs. We have to get better in the middle and not settle on status quo. 5. Add something to the 4th line that make this team meaner and better. I don't care who's spot it takes. 6 Add a vet 6/7 defenseman to push Loobey. Good teams have interchangeable 6/7 players.

Not always because of a sale. Recall that Adams started as a coach under Lindy, got fired by Rolston, later got re-hired by Pegula as the Sr VP of Business Administration. Adams we given GM duties when Boterill refused to follow Terry's plans for being "efficient and economic". Since we are operating at the cap floor I am sure we are still being economic, still not convinced about the efficient part. Adams must have too much on his plate, especially with Kim out. Let this guy take care of Business Operations. Let the GM run the Hockey Operations.

I think trading Andy today is not going to help this season. If he has any value in a trade wait until we are no longer contending for the 8th spot. If Comrie all of a sudden shows us he could be a 1B, rather than a 2, that would help.

Good question. For me it would be relief to get two points, I would be trying to use the "tired team on a back to back" story to try to reconcile the poor performance. Which is an excuse because that game should have been put away by a 4-1 or 5-1 score. The reality is they should have destroyed that team last night. They played a very slow, bad team with a minor league goalie and they showed very little. I feel like ranting! What my mood really is? Disgust that there was no fire in their play once again last night. Disgust that some basic systems are not in place to protect a 2 goal lead and get the W in the road. Disgust that we do not have a center that can be relied on to win a faceoff in our zone. Disgust that the First line was massively bad playing the 6 on 5. Disgust that we goofed around with the puck in OT, had the majority of the puck possession time, but did not really test their goalie. We played a ***** goalie and made him look good. Something is wrong when you have a 2 goal lead after 2 periods, and you are playing Chicago, and you give up 3 straight goals to lose in OT? The game tying goal in the third says a lot. 6 on 5, we fail at faceoffs in our end, we never get full control of the puck, when we do touch the puck we take low percentage 200 foot shots at the empty net rather than work it out into the neutral zone to take off some pressure and for a higher percentage shot. Worse, our first line was literally standing there watching, no pressure on the puck at all. Seth Jones has the puck on the point and has all the time in the world to skate to the center of the blue line, wait for a screen and put a low hard shot on the net. No pressure on him from a forward, no forwards with any effort to take a shooting lane away. No one clearing the slot so that our Goalie can see the puck. THEY DID NOTHING. That was Tage, Tuch, and Skinner out there DOING NOTHING. Maybe they were waiting for another 200 foot shot at an EN? Systems are not in place, practiced and learned, to protect a lead. Granato says attack, play fast, play fearless, make them play our game. When it works it is fun and we score. Even when we score we give up too many odd man rushes on our goalie. Does Granato have all the bases covered to win on game day, and to adjust to the oponent, and to adjust to the level his team is putting out? That will be a big question going forward for him. For that last 2 minutes with 6 attackers on the ice we have to find 6 forwards on this roster that we can trust to win a draw, pressure the puck, and bust ass to get the puck over our blue - Defend responsibly first, then we can worry about EN goals. Who do I trust right now to play this way? Not Skinner, not Tage, not Mitts, not VO, not Quinn, and not Peterka. That 6 on 5 was aweful. Tired or not, it was pitiful. Then they played the OT with arrogance - lots of skating around but no jam.

Jokiharu is not the problem, we are better with him than with Clagge/Fitz/Pilut

Did they ever publicly state their expectations and goals? The frustration is they will be off of the fringe of the playoffs and out of the race much sooner than we thought. The games are already getting boring again. They play down to the competition when they play a lower level team (Ottawa, Philly, Chicago). They are not good at home either, which hurts any efforts to build their fan base.

Half the season gone. I honestly do not see a playoffs team here. Will we reach 90 points?

We played on the perimeter, made lots of passes, had no traffic in front of their net. We looked fancy and scored 3 They had far less talent, far less shots, less possession and very little speed. They went to the dirty areas and scored 4

Well, they lost the 3rd period. On to OT.