FrenchConnection44

Buffalo would need to be aggressive. Can’t mess around. Any 2 of their top prospects and a player or the 2024 first. Get him here, tell him you want him to be the tone setter. And then trade for another vet in the off seasons or sign a free agent (but to do that we need a veteran coach in here who has clout). However, I have to wonder whether his family would tell him to push for a trade elsewhere - given that the Sabres aren’t that different from Ottawa. While he’s under contract, he can create issues if he doesn’t want to be here. Really, though, a veteran coach that NHL players respect is what’s needed - in addition to a player or two like him.

I don’t expect either player to be back to contribute. And Brind’Amour is a pipe dream, imo. But otherwise I agree. Gotta get a real coach. Gotta get a system that brings out the best in the players. Gotta get a real leader in who does the dirty work. Actually 2. This team is soft. They don’t need to fight but agitate. And they need serious physical development- so they can be tougher and stronger in the corners.

For sure. Power could use it as well. Still needs seasoning but getting both those players stronger in their base and core will go a ways to make them that much tougher to play against. They are doing just enough to miss the playoffs, draft in the low teens, and retain Granato and Adams for another year. Which sucks, to be honest, as Granato is, imo, the heart of their problem on this team.

UPL is still only 24 and about to turn 25 in March which is still young for a goaltender- hasn’t even reached his peak potential. I hope the physical leg work he did in the off season will be shared with Levi. And that he continues with that work ethic. After that it was just a matter of confidence. Happy to see him performing so well. But great to see this after he had been trashed over and over as “never going to be a good goaltender.” But armchair experts. Just goes to show none of us know what potential is in a player when they are still young. In 17 starts since December 23, UPL has given up 4 goals once, 3 goals 3 times, and 2 or less the other 13. Impressive.

My goodness that was some lazy, weak ass BS from Clague and Cozens on that goal. That was a slow pass and the just let it go by with barely an attempt to stop it. WTH? I’d bench them for much of the next period if not all of it. Tell them “When you boys are ready to play like you are in the NHL, let me know and I’ll put you back on the ice.” Aside from the fact that Cozens was just drifting lazily. That’s horrible coaching. He should be fully trained by now.

I don’t expect a coach to yell and scream. But you get a chance with some clout and they will respect him or get a bad rep around the league. And he can also sit their butts on the bench. And ride them so hard they won’t like it. Bill Belichick was a total ***-**** but got players to respond. Don’t have to be that severe. But players need 1) a hard kick in the pants. If not a belt whipping. They are soft. 2) A confidence boost that they have talent but need to up their game starting in the offseason. 3) A winning system. That’s why I’d fire Granato and bring in a new coach ASAP. Before the offseason begins to set expectations; and before free agency so we can have some appeal. I’ve been saying this for the last three months.

Season for either team can hardly get screwed up more. They need a new coach. Maybe a new one in Rochester as the apparent great NHL talent is hardly setting things on fire. I’d go to March 1 or so, maybe a week later. That’s it. Fans need an assurance Adams will act. They need to be wooing a veteran coach to come in. I’d even hire a new coach now before all of them are off the market. And let him sit upstairs in an advisory role. Let him evaluate the team from a distance. Sabres FO also need to up their developmental game as a whole. Set offseason standards for the players that if not met will cost them playing time. They need to know they better come into camp stronger and in phenomenal shape and ready to compete. And might as well let the players know now that things will be different next year. And after he fires Granato, Adams needs to meet with the team. Express his belief in their talent but his disgust with their play and work ethic going back to last off season, through an uninspiring training camp into the season. Let them know that next season starts with work ethic now. And the next coach will not tolerate this kind of inconsistent play and weak effort. And tell them to quit whining about the fans. They have put trash on the ice that isn’t worth the price of admission most of the time. And that the fans make a lot less than they do. And that while the players haven’t been here for the past 13 seasons, the fans have and the players need to understand that. That if they right the ship the fans will see them as heroes.

Agreed. The one bad goal was his own turnover creating pass. Two were on bad turnovers in our own end. A 3rd was a failed slide/block attempt by Johnson. Which was ill advised to go to the ice and poorly timed. And that was combined with no back checking. Team seems to stand around watching the puck instead of picking up a man. Then it’s like, “Oh, wait, where did he come from?” That’s a failure in coaching, imo. Hard to tell if it would have been over turned, but that glove save on the Thompson shot looked like a goal on the third replay.

This is right and it’s on the GM and Coach to get their heads in place. The atmosphere is toxic. The players don’t have perspective. They are mostly millionaires dissing fans who, for the most part, are spending a significant percentage of monthly income to go to a game. And it can’t really be translated by a percentage of income because even if you took away 50% of Dahlin’s after tax income each year, he would still be set for life. This is why, imo, the Sabres need a strong coaching presence to take over. Maybe both GM and coach. Imo, they have 6 games (to the end of February) to see where they are, and if it’s still the same, they need to make a change and transition to focusing on next year. And Granato has to go. He’s only going to drive the team further into disaster. The earlier article by Harrington about how the players were not ready to go hard in camp and the lack of offseason effort evident, is a sign Granato is not the guy. They’re professionals. They can’t be babied like high school kids anymore. A strong coach who garners respect is needed to tell them what they need to hear.

I think there is some plausible deniability going on there with Mitts. Classic GM speak. “Not surprised his name is out there but not *actively* shopping him.” Doesn’t mean they aren’t fielding calls about him nor that they might not have inquired about a player and put his name out there. But it does sound like he’s wanting to run with this team the rest of the way? 🤷🏼‍♂️🤦‍♂️ He has to bring in a talented vet I’d trade for one in the last year of his deal and do a full court press to sign him just to have the leadership. Then hire a new coach.

And Cozens missing that goal. Of course. That’s par for the course for his season.

Harrington: Panthers v. Sabres General Manager Bill Zito retooled by signing Oliver Ekman-Larsson (1 year, $2.25 million) and Niko Mikkola (three years, $7.5 million) for the defense, ex-Sabre Evan Rodrigues up front (4 years, $12 million) and Anthony Stolarz (1 year, $1.1 million) to back up in goal, where he dropped his totals to 1.97/.926 with his first shutout with the club. “They come back to training camp with a belief in what they’re doing,” coach Paul Maurice said of his team Thursday. “It all sounds like we did a nice job coaching, but the fact of the matter is our players came back to training camp this year and pushed themselves harder than the coaches did. “That’s not a casual statement. We can measure that. We know it. We ran the exact same training camp, exact same drills, exact same duration and we know they worked harder than last year. Part of it is capacity. Most of it is will and determination.” A stark statement that has relevance to the Sabres, where training camp was not high tempo and returning players didn’t seem to push much in drills or exhibition games. We’ve seen the difference all season. In addition, Florida’s key players are producing, and Buffalo’s really are not. Old friend Sam Reinhart is second in the league with 39 goals, including a league-high 22 on the power play. “Incredibly intelligent player,” Maurice said. “I put him in a class of (Hall of Famer) Ron Francis as maybe the two smartest guys that I’ve ever coached. If you want to know what happened in the game, just go ask Sam.” So many irritating things about that. Sabres season in a nutshell. These young guys just didn’t put in the work. They didn’t show the hunger. It has seemed evident to me just in their lack of physical development. That’s on Granato. And one of 3-4 reasons he needs to go. He’s soft. Their soft. They all chose to play soft. And look at those sweet deals for the Panthers. I get there is a double advantage. Weather/lifestyle and no state income tax. Which means Buffalo has to pay a premium. Still a premium in those deals? Adams didn’t get it done. Still, this team should have been better. They need a tone setting coach and some tone setting players. Okposo needs to be out as captain. And the players need a fire lit under their butts this off season. Get a new coach who has some time and leeway to get after these guys. Kudos to Harrington for calling out the players (and coaches, really) for a crap attitude coming into camp.

Sorry to hear this. I’ve been through similar twice in the last 12 years. It is tough. Will say a prayer. Wish you all the best.

Absolutely agree with the bolder part. I think adding “vets in their prime” would be great, but only if they can actually play well. The problem with most of our older guys is they are not good players. Except Skinner, who is basically just a scorer. Getting quality players in their prime is a challenge. Teams have to want what you want in return. While I think you are right in theory, and about teams that have been successful a long time, but when you look at those teams with veteran influence, like the Bruins or Lightning or most others, those veterans were home grown. Their own draft picks that developed. We have traded away two of those exact kind of players in Reinhart and Eichel. Reinhart is totally flourishing in Florida. SMH. I get the Eichel trade but we should have worked to keep both. As it is we decided to do a complete overhaul. The question is. is Adams capable of scouting veterans who will fit and produce? The other problem is assets. We supposedly have one of the top farm programs but our big club sucks and none of those guys can make it up which somewhat devalues some of that talent. And the Amerks are not very good.

Certainly ‘skating around like a chicken with his head cut off’ is not a great thing but that’s not necessarily a good skater anyway. Or one that will flash speed when necessary. But I understand your point. Of course Lidstrom is one of the greatest to ever lace them up. Still it somewhat depends on the offensive style and team discipline and how much a defensive player rushes the other team’s net and needs to scramble back. Ultimately it is an eye test for skating quality. Especially in the defensive zone and mid ice - and fending off attackers consistently which requires one to be a strong skater with great balance and base power and to have put one self in position (which also is partly skating though not entirely). Which needs serious attention and development in Power’s game, imo.

UPL was bashed so badly by so many fans. So many said he was done. Many on here. Guy has stepped up and is starting to prove the doubters wrong. Get some solid D in front of him he can be a bonafide NHL goalie. Just goes to show, ya never know … If everyone on the team made the commitment he did in the offseason we’d be a real hockey team.

What needs to be explained? He was okay and showed good stick and passing skills. But he has regressed. In speed his top speed was 21.60 just above league average for defensemen. 33 20-22 bursts. League avg was 26. 396 18-20 bursts. 63rd percentile. This year his top speed is 21.27. Below avg. 20-22 bursts 18, league avg is 20 so far. 18-20 mph bursts, 220. 50th percentile. Those numbers should be better not worse. And he has skated poorly this year. Whatever one wants to say about last year.

If Granato is back the franchise is doomed. Sabres are poorly coached, poorly motivated, and with no real system. We need a legit NHL level coach whom the players will respect. And strong player development. Skating is slow. Play strength is weak. Do they have a weight room? The Sabres players need a legit offseason program / plan for each with serious expectations to add strength, size & speed. Don’t show up unless you’ve done that. For example, Power should get to 225 next year (without increasing his body fat), eventually 230. He should be stronger, a better skater, and faster. Hire some really good skating teachers for the off season. They must get a strong NHL coach who holds them accountable & has a legit system. Get serious about internal player development, expectations, & accountability. If not met, bench ‘em. I don’t care who it is. Use this next year with a new, veteran coach to rough these guys up. This is the NHL, not junior hockey! They also need a captain who is one of the best players in the team & the hardest working. There is talent, but these guys need a coach and program that busts their butts. Id rather see a Vince Lombardi cutout behind the bench than Granato. lol.

Hope so on Benson. on JJP, we need coaching. Strong coaching. Coaching that knows what to do and gets these kids to do their job.

I think he needs to make some changes. He’s got to get in better condition and be able to skate faster and be stronger with his body overall. He’s too thin and too weak and too slow and not quality enough skater at this point in time, IMO. A better head coach and defense coach would help.

The only thing that will help this team “now” is dumping the coach. He’s made enough money for accomplishing nothing already. He should feel bad for taking the money. Be that as it may, looking for players now is ridiculous. They aren’t going to the playoffs and should be hiring a new coach next year. Then let that coach decide what he wants to do with the talent. Last thing we need at this point of this lost season is to trade away young talent for a loaner. Unless it’s a 25 year old we are going to sign for 5-7 years.

Not judging. Questioning. But not just that, it was given as an example of a general, non enthusiastic demeanor I see this year.

I appreciate the OP and the links. But this is a better measure because Benson doesn’t get off a ton of shots. These stats are such a low number they don’t paint a statistically valid picture of who is going to the net. Benson doesn’t shoot from far out which is wise because when you look at his shot speed (and his skating speed) both are incredibly slow. It’s hard not to like Benson because of the way he plays with such excellent intangibles for a rookie. But I have to wonder if he will become a great player with such a slow skate speed and shot. Especially as small as he is. With a shot that slow he shouldn’t shoot outside of 7 feet. 😉 It will be interesting to see if he can improve that very much. But I suspect those variables are why he fell in the draft. kid desperately needs to get stronger. A player can get away with a weaker shot speed if it’s hyper accurate and if he skates fast. Or vice versa. Or has size and is physical. Tough to overcome none of those. We need team speed. We play a very slow game. And we have a lot of slow players. Just put on one of our games side by side compared to a team like the Oilers. You’ll find yourself saying, “Oh, so that’s the speed an NHL game is supposed to look like.” Speed isn’t everything; a great scheme, defensive system can overcome. But we don’t have any of that.

It really is a tough trade situation given how bad the entire team has been this year. Every skater has regressed except Casey & JJP. Age wise, Skinner is the most obvious trade commodity. But not sure what we’d get with his contract and one way talent. That said, I understand the consideration on trading Mitts as they may think he will garner the most value because teams won’t have to take on a huge contract. He’s playing well. And we may not want to pay him moving forward. Tage might get value. Talent wise he’s the best offensive talent. But he is an enigma. Super talented but often lacks energy and doesn’t play with passion. He seems very blasé when we score and he is on ice. Everyone else is smiling, excited, and he is almost, “okay, gotta do the obligatory group hug.” He would probably blow up if he went to a winning franchise with strong leadership. It all depends on what we get back. Would we get a strong player with years to go on a deal who would actually make us better? But I don’t agree on the “plenty of other goal scorers.” I think it’s just the opposite. JJP, Tage, & Skinner are the only ones I would put in that category. Quinn has had two major injuries, so while I am hopeful, I am not sure what we will have in him. Cozens? He didn’t score much 2 years ago. Okay, he was just getting his feet wet. Got 31 last year but was that an anomaly or the norm and this year is the anomaly? He doesn’t have a big shot or an accurate shot. His shots are often right at the goalie. Like most of the other players on the team. In 7 seasons, Tuch scored more than 20 once - last season. Granted he had some injuries - but that seems to be the norm. He’s on a 22 goal pace this year factoring in the game pace for the Sabres as a whole. Even if he played the rest of the way without injury, he’s on pace to get 24 this season. I’d say he’s a mid-level scorer. You need those guys. But he’s not a 40 goal talent. He Now if we had 10-12 guys scoring 15-35 goals (like the Lightning had for their run) and played reasonable defense that would be fine. But they also had 4 special offensive talents (Stamkos, Kucherov, Point, & Hedman - who is a beast); and a great goalie. Kulich is a sniper. But he has hit a wall (though he did well in the WJC). 0 goals in his last 10 games for the Amerks. He may be 2 years away from even being a full time NHL player, could be 3+ years from starting to show his peak NHL talent. On the other hand, we have a lot of guys who are not really scorers: Mitts, Benson, Greenway, Cozens (? Jury out, imo), Krebs, Robinson … and the rest are dogs you just don’t want to see on the team much longer, imo (KO, Girgs, VO). Last year, it looked like this team was starting to build an identity as a high scoring unit. Now, they have no identity and a questionable future. I think it depends on what kind of identity you want the team to have. But I don’t think Adams has a clue nor especially Granato. He needs to be gone yesterday. That’s the real issue. I think Casey is who he will be right now. Which is good to see but this seems his peak talent level, imo. Perhaps he could get 80 points if he has good scoring talent on each wing. Whomever we trade, we will need a coach and a talented vet or two who can be real leaders (we have none among the forwards right now, imo) and light a fire under the young guys. If we can get a coach and a couple of veterans who light a fire under Tage and some of the other young talents, the upside for them is very high, imo. If Tage got stronger and super motivated with good coaching, he’s a 45-50 goal scoring talent the next 4+ yrs, imo. We need a coach who has some respectability, will sit down with each of these guys ask them if they want to be great or not, and lay out a vision and plan for each of them (especially physical development) and as a team. We don’t have that. People call Granato a developmental coach but I don’t think he’s any of that; he’s just not a good coach period, imo. He's just a nice guy.

Just watch the Edmonton Oilers and a few other teams. This Sabres team is soft and slow as ****. The Oilers, while far from the best team in hockey, are super fast and aggressive. They are constantly on the move, flying on the ice. Aggressive. Strong with the puck. The Sabres need to get physically stronger and develop more endurance. And then need a coach that gets them to play with intensity. Instead we are weak physically, do not skate well or aggressive or fast. Puck handling is junior level. That’s just the start. But it would go a long way.