Pimlach

So this looks like start with UPL and switch to Levi? Domingue = Reimer. pass

Edmonton wins the conference finals on the road. Impressive.

The Oilers saw that and then decided to play Jeff Skinner to 2X the Sabre factor in their favor.

McDavid is amazing.

He did. This is quite old. The good thing is he recognized Zito had ability, he made it to the final two. Probably picked Bots due to Pittsburgh connect and former Sabre, etc.

Add a starting NHL goalie. UPL is backup (or possibly traded) and then someone like Reimer is backup. Keep Levi in Rochester and give him a few shots at the NHL to see where he is at. Adams and goaltending has always been an issue for me.

Florida looks really impressive as stated and Bob the Goalie might be the difference.

He is a very good player when healthy. What will it take for him to stay healthy? He averages ~48 games per season so far in his career. So I do not have faith in him, but I can hope. This is the life of a Sabres fan - faith and hope.

Agree with bold as far as "regular communication" but that is in a normal environment. But there is nothing normal going on in Buffalo regarding the hockey team. In any business when things get this bad you expect to hear directly from the top. He should address the fans at least once or twice a season, I want to hear something - especially given the newest circumstances. The number of WNY fans going to games or even watching them is certainly not increasing. Southern Ontario fans were already just as disinterested but many come over because its NHL hockey at affordable prices. Now given the current political environment the Canadian fans will dwindle to almost nothing. This will have a big affect on revenues at the Sabres gate, and in downtown, and in the local stores/restaurants. Buffalo is looking like a city that will be hurt by Trump rhetoric and policy. The Boston Bruins owner sent out a letter apologizing for their poor season and promised to take immediate actions to turn it around. The Bruins had 8 straight playoff seasons prior to missing this year. They had 29 straight playoff seasons (NHL record) prior to that. How many NHL teams have had 14 year playoff droughts? Terry came here and immediately promised Stanley Cups, he was going to "drill another well" to get it. This team is approaching a critical juncture made worse by the political climate, they could lose a lot of money during the remaining Trump years. For the first time ever I worry about this teams future in Buffalo.

Fans want accountably? Sure. But I want it at the top. The owner won't spend to the cap or hire better coaches or front office. The GM is not good at his job, he said so himself. That is were the accountability should start. So the players the GM did not block are all not good and should be traded? I don't think so. Cozens is already gone. Quinn is not the same player as before the injuries and looks like a redundant part that can be moved. Muel and his contract are proving to be more bad judgement by the GM. Peterka is a guy I want to keep. Expect him to go somewhere else, fit in, play better two way hockey, and still score a lot of goals. Meanwhile Adams will get a lesser player and his core will continue to erode. This is deja vu all over again.

Florida scores. Bennett out of the box. Reinhart with a heady play, as usual.

Adam’s signed Reinhart to a one year extension at $5.2M in Oct of 2020. After the season Reinhart told Adams he did not want to stay for another rebuild and was traded in Aug of 2021. Florida signed him for 3 yrs at $6.5M and followed it with 8 years at $8.625M. Zito sees him as a long term Core player.

We shall see.

Picking Atlanta as your example was not the smartest thing you could have done. A massive two time hockey failure city and someone is going to invest $2.5B on another Atlanta team? There is no reason to think that Pegula would sell them to someone that will move them. It would hurt his standing as a Bills owner for one. Josh Allen will not play forever.

Were you there?

Hard to say. I cling to these two things which make me at least think if we go internal he is the best choice. 1. He is doing a good job as AGM, and as GM for Rochester based the fact they are competitive. You can argue if the players that come from there are good or not, that's another discussion but his teams wins. 2. He had much more FO experience than Adams when he got here, including Cup winning experience from a FO position. I prefer we bring in someone new but Terry has to know the person apparently.

Thanks for the quote an the reference.

I am preparing myself for the option that they keep Byram and play him with Dahlin full time next year. If only Mule could man up and help Power to man up. Two big guys that do not have any presence out there. And thank God they retained Bryson so they have a guy that fits Adams vision - he is ok playing on a losing team team and sitting on the bench until needed. Who needs players disparate to play and willing to fight for more ice time?

He is a 6th round Euro player that played in North America for four years, He was a decent AHL player that had 17 games in the big league. He gave it a good shot. Every team has this. Best wishes to him in the future.

From Harbor Center rink manager, to head of Business Operations, to GM of Hockey Operations - all while under the care and tutelage of Uncle Terry.

True, but Adams does not think like this (see bold). It would be just like Adams to trade JJP for a defenseman that is very similar to what we have, and then "hope" that Quinn or Rosen or Benson replaces his 28 goals and 60 points.

Agree 100%. It is a logical progression for Karmanos and he is likely the better GM anyway. He cannot be worse than 0 for 5. His work history and resume suggests he could be an improvement and his work in Rochester is not hurting his stature as a future NHL GM. Is he willing to move to Buffalo and do the job?

They are not a small team by measurement but they do not have players that play with a mean streak or that other teams have to be concerned about. They have a few but they are collectively way too young every year. They never get older as a team because they keep adding younger players each year and the result is regression in the standings. Half the team cannot even grow a beard yet. So many games look like boys against men. They don't need to draft a #1 this year, they have plenty of good prospects in Rochester and elsewhere, but they do need to add better players in their prime years right now - use that pick as part of a plan to get older and tougher and smarter. Which gets us to the next issue - who is willing to come to Buffalo under this current regime? Apparently not many.

Yet we traded highly skilled Sam Reinhart, who was just about reaching prime years, for a small goalie (Levi) and the 28 OA draft choice. How many microseconds did it take for Zito to jump on that one?