Pimlach

I think the rookies are holding Cozens back at times.

Beating the Leaves would be a nice way to end the losing streak. I might stream HNIC to hear them.

The first risk is that he leaves anyway, even if you offer more than market value. Then you wasted your prospects and lost the trade immediately. The longer term risk assuming he stays is that you tie up cap money beyond his true value, making it harder to sign others. There are no guarantees he will sign. There are other options but I don't think would be receptive to them.

I am not mad at all. But your take on building a team and on evaluating players and GMs is maddening. I have been stating in other threads that I wished Adams would do something to accelerate the rebuild AND I think something can be done to improve the team and still keep the cap in mind. So I can agree with you on that. If I am wrong I will apologize right now, but isn't Horvat a UFA in July? Isn't that why Vancouver is shopping him? I would like to get a player like Horvat, but at the right price and considering all the factors involved in the contract. You suggested 2 first rounders and Mitts and Joker for Horvat. Isn't that steep for a possible one year rental? Then you threw in Quinn and Peterka and suggested giving up even more in a bundle trade to include Boeser and Schenn. What sense does that make?

Areas that are prone to hurricanes, tornados, floods, etc. do indeed see that reflected in their homeowners insurance rates. Taxes to cover FEMA is another story. That might come out of one Federal tax bucket. I don’t know for sure this but the general thought is the States are UNITED at Federal level. Buffalo is unique. In all my US travels I’ve have not seen another place that has people with more pride and are more willing to help each other out. The National media mostly shows the sensational angle on the weather, there are better stories about the people pulling together that hopefully come out of it.

Must Win from my perspective. This team at least understands to hate the Leaves. The defense could be back. I see the losing streak ends tonight.

If I am Adams I am ALWAYS listening for trades and opportunities to improve the team. The store is open. You need a plan but you can’t just assume that everything fits on your plans exact timeline. Opportunities should be taken if they fit the plan and budget (cap).

You seem to think that reckless and impatient is entertaining. Did you ever think that sorting through all the personality issues that you noted are actually part of the job of the GM? He is paid to know what he is getting and bringing into the team. Especially a team with no established leaders. Murray tore it down, collected assets, and then traded them for a group of underperforming and troubled misfits. He stripped the farm system down to nothing and he left a very thin prospect pool for all his wheeling and dealing. His team consisted of factions that didn’t get along and that didn’t work together. He helped to make a bad culture worse. No one in the NHL was offered Murray a position since his glorious rebuild of the Sabres. But you can go ahead and be entertained.

Should have said Tim Murray. Terry is his Uncle.

You lost me when you gave (Tim) Murray credit. I would not give him credit for anything except for setting this franchise back 10 years in his one and only GM job. What is your obsession with this 5'10" winger myth? The Sabres have one 5'10" winger, Vinne Hinostoza, on the roster. They have two 5'11" wingers, Olofsson and Skinner. Two capable goal scorers. Yes, they have some forwards coming up that are not 6' tall. Savioe is 5'9" and he does not play small. Östlund is 5'10". Kilich is 5"11" and he is already with Rochester in the AHL at 18 years old. He played against men in Czech when he was 17. Did you play in a professional men's sport league at that age? Maybe he just might be tough, strong, and unafraid? It is not the size of the dog. It's the size of the fight in the dog. I could give you a long list of 5'10 forwards that hold their own and more.

For your trade proposal I am not sure we need to offer a 2023 1st rounder (even if protected, this is supposed to be a strong draft) and Savoie - that is too rich for me. To Labatt, I am saying the guys I hold onto are Dahlin, Power, Tage, and Cozens. That is the core right now.

I could trade Krebs and Mitts and a pick of some kind for Horvat any day. Our Center spline gets so much better with Tage and Horvat. Then add in Savoie/Östlund/Kulich and move Cozens to wing.

uh, no way. Fixed

Let's do better.

My point is Bedard is similar size or bigger than a lot of centers who played in the days when hitting, slashing, holding, and fighting were a big part of the game. None that I named were fighters or even bigtime checkers except for Clarke, who was the overall smallest of that group, and he was instigator that rarely ever finished what he started. If Bedard is really 185 lbs at 17 years old (I got that number from HockeyDB) then he has potential to be physically strong and play in the 190's. Even at 175 he should be fine.

Not gonna happen.

Bedard is 17 years old and listed ay 5'10' and 185 pounds. He should be a 190 lb player when he reaches 22. He could even grow another inch by then AND he has a frame that can carry weight. Right now he is about the size of Bryan Trottier and Steve Yzerman, and already the same weight that Guy LaFluer was. He is bigger than Marcel Dionne and Bobby Clarke ever where, he is heavier than Gil Perreault was at the same time. All these guys played in the fighting and hitting era. They all were physically strong and did "ok". Compared to more modern centers he is bigger than Briere and same size as Drury. Neither of them backed down. Size is not going to be an issue for him. I don't know if he is physically and mentally tough, I don't follow Juniors, but he is not small. So if he does not make it is not his physical size that holds him back. A 17 year old at 185 lbs, that plays hockey and trains, is carrying a good amount of muscle.

This is the time for UPL to show he is an NHL goalie. We needed a young player to emerge and it would be great of a goalie did.

What is the team missing? Experience and goaltending. Analytics are interesting but sometimes a simple list gets the job done Rookies - Power, Quinn, Peterka Other players with less than 80 NHL games - Krebs, Samuelsson, Fitzgerald, UPL. and Cozens is still just 21. 7 of 20 players that do not have a full season of NHL experience. One third of the team.

Who plays versus Trono? Andy is getting a lot of work lately.

There are a bunch of draftniks on this site that could shed light here, I am not one of them. I am not giving up on the season yet and I do not want a lottery pick. I want to win hockey games and see people going to hockey games in Buffalo once again. Right now, I am just very frustrated with the GM and the coaching, and mostly the ownership.

Very true. No better team to start the turnaround then beat the Leaves.

We are not small. We look like average size. The old adage it is the size of the fight, not the size of the fighter, that is most important. Admittedly for me, being an older veteran fan, I want to see us acquire forwards in the mold of Rick Dudley and Danny Gare (not that either was very big, but they played like they were, and they gave us an honest day of work almost every game). The teams that have these kinds of players, tough and gritty and also with skill, they are not giving them up. Cozens is in this mold, and he has to prove he has the scoring skills, but he is on his way. We might have a few players that fit that mold in our system right now (size is easy to find, size with NHL speed and skill is not). We just can't trade for them because the fans want to. Not without giving up a lot. Look at the Florida trade for Tkachuk, they gave up a great player in Huberdeau plus a very solid player in Weeger and they traded with a team that thought they could not re-sign their guy. Then of course we have to contend with no trade or limited trade clauses, which puts Buffalo at a disadvantage. Free agency, same thing.

More like make a move or two just to fill some holes. This is not a time to solidify the roster, that is an off season job. Bringing in a solid veteran on D is a start. Finding a forward that will bang people and create is much harder to do. Not surprising, they lack veteran leadership. The few that are playing hard must take charge and make the others more accountable Too many are just running through the motions. Comrie is hurt, UPL is up sooner than expected. The slide is just starting. Maybe UPL and a few new vets can help stop it. This looks like last year except the expectations were much higher this year.