JohnC

Good decisions on small issues add up. As you well know, the Sabres don’t have much margin of error. For me, I’m not inclined to give this battered franchise the benefit of the doubt. This player is a solid lower pairing player who played well last year.

I didn’t grab the tampering issue out of the blue. It was mentioned by the former French and loquacious Sabre goalie, Marty B, on his WGR hockey show.

It’s a challenge to give this rickety organization the benefit of the doubt on anything.

As you previously stated, Docker played well for us. He more than earned what should be his qualifying offer. If he is being offered less, it is a tribute to this organization’s smallness. There is a saying that shameless people /organizations can’t be shamed The contempt I have for the owner and what he has done to this franchise can not be stated because it is profusely profane.

The Sabres have a reputation for being bad. Now it has gotten to the point they will earn a reputation for being weird. Maybe the have a deal worked out????

My understanding is that this trade was a cosmetic transaction to avoid tampering charges.

The Pegula tool box is small and tightly held. Creativity and imagination are not stored in this tool box,

How do you know that there wasn’t some communication? If the other party uproariously laughs at you, then even a dullard such as KA can get the message. @Brawndojust posted that Marner went to Vegas. I suspect that this previously arranged under table deal was already known by most of the league.

You are assuming that he made no inquiries regarding the availability/interest of this immensely talented player. If it was made clear to him that the whale talent had no interest in coming here, then why waste your energies in a futile pursuit when it an be directed toward some other smaller fishes that can still help you improve the team? I recently had my bank call me to discuss some financial “products” that would benefit me. I politely but firmly told them no, not interested. The bank hasn’t called me back about their beneficial “products”. They didn’t want to waste their time. This is an easy case to recognize the reality of the situation and channel your energies toward other fishes, even if they are smaller.

It's not a non-answer. You are refusing to accept the reality of the situation. The basic point is that the GM knows before official contacts are even allowed what the odds are of getting this particular player. You want to argue theoretically that it could be this or that. Of course, theoretically it could be anything. What I'm saying is because of the situation the player is in and what the situation of his franchise is in our GM is not fool enough to waste much time and effort in the pursuit of this mirage player. If you don't want to accept my position on this issue, that's fine.

The GM talks to a lot of people. I'm sure there were some casual inquiries. I'm also sure that the GM has an idea if Marner has an interest coming here and what his contract parameters would be. How substantive and serious would they be? Not much. If the player's agent was called and the agent said not very interested, do you think our GM would have much more follow-up? At that point, our GM wouldn't waste any more time in the pursuit. I'm comfortable in saying that the GM is already aware of what the Sabres chances are in getting this particular player: miniscule to nil.

You don’t think that our GM is aware of the contract range that the player will be seeking? Do you not have a basic understanding of the financial limitations the owner has placed on the GM? If you don’t believe that then what has been going on for the past number of years? If you believe that there is more than 1%chance of this player coming here when he has options then your world of reality is not the same as mine.

It’s not defeatist to use some common sense and exercise some strategic thinking. Acting out of frustration only leads to more frustration. You may not be aware of it but delusions are not grounded on reality.

When you lived in a pent house it's not very likely you are going to move to the ghetto.

Even if Marner was willing to come here at the price you suggested, it wouldn't make sense for the Sabres to pay that type of contract for one player. It would limit our options in signing extensions to our own players and close out our options for players that might be available on the market. And what happens if an elite player like Marner gets hurt while he is consuming so much of the cap space? For the amount of money we're talking about here I would rather sign two good players and thicken our roster with more overall talent.

Can reporters be waived by the team they are covering? 🙂

Why would Dallas want a Byram knowing that in a year he will pursuing a long term bonanza contract? And let’s not forget that Dallas is a serious Cup contending team that will likely make the required adjustments to keep him. I do like Zucker a lot and how he plays. But I consider him a good third line player on a rugged line on a good team. However, when you have a dearth of talent you have to adjust to that reality, at least for the time being.

Byram has more value on the market than Samuelsson has. If you can get a top six player for Byram, then I would make the deal. If not, then I'm not against keeping him and also Samuelsson. We still need to add another top six forward. Maybe we can take the same route as we did with Zucker by signing a vet on an expiring contract for short term deal? I like Byram a lot. However, the issue becomes what are his expectations contract and role wise. I'm not sure they are in sync with the organization? In general, I like the moves that the organization has made to transition the roster to play a tougher style of game. Are they enough moves to make a difference? Right now, I would say no. I do see more changes coming. The big tell is whether the organization utilizes the extra cap money available made by the current moves.

You bring up an interesting question about how much influence does Ruff have in personnel decisions. As you point out with the additions, the Sabres are bigger than they were last year. I’m sure he was a factor on that issue. I also believe that Ruff was instrumental in the trading of Peterka. It appears that the coach/player relationship was fractious. I’m hoping that Ruff and Jarmo push the GM to make more moves to reshape the roster in order to play a tougher brand of hockey. Some progress has been made in that facet of the game but more needs to be done.

I don’t know if the Sabres will trade Byram before camp begins. If he isn’t dealt then the unit is better with the additions of Kesserling and Timmons. Will Samuelson have a bounce back year? I’m more hopeful than most here. In tabulating the results so far it comes down to what is the impact of the JJP subtraction? And another critical issue is: will the owner allow the salary savings to be utilized on other moves? As it stands, I’m more troubled than not. I’m still hoping for more moves. There needs to be less plodding along and a greater demonstration of urgency.

Tantrums are ubiquitous. They spill over all the threads. With respect to adding Timmins and dispatching Clifton, if this is more of a financial than a personnel transaction, I will be furious. I can't comment on what this trade does for the team because I'm not familiar with this player. What I'm expecting is another deal or two that will upgrade the roster. If there isn't much of a follow up by the GM, then I will place the blame on the owner.

My scorn for our ragged owner is well documented. As you have stated before, unless he alters how he financially manages the operation from a penurious manner to a normally financially operated NHL franchise, little will have changed. This is mostly an owner issue that we have little influence over. I just hope that he opens the purse to pay the freight like every other owner does. I'm not looking for extravagance; I'm hoping for a normalcy compared to other owners and franchises. We shall see.

If you want certitude, you won't get it in the mercurial world of NHL goalies. If the Sabres would have gotten Ullmark caliber of goaltending, this team would be much better. I'm not shooting for the moon. What I want is consistent solid play in net. And as you point out, team defense that includes the blueliners and forward group are critical to the success of the goalie.

Washington got Logan Thompson and Charlie Lingren for miniscule prices. I would be very receptive to trading UPL to get a more experienced goalie added to the roster. As you point out, with goalies there are no guarantees of consistency of play on a year-to-year basis. But with Levi in the system I would be less reluctant to move UPL to get more consistent play from that critical position. I also agree with you that the success of the goalie is inextricably linked to team defense.

Your view makes sense. However, Byram has more value on the market than Samuelsson does. And getting Byram signed to a long-term contract here is going to be a challenge considering what the player will seek financially and role-wise. I thought that after the non-intervention incident when Samuelsson ended being sent to the suite that he stabilized his game and played soundly. It just seems more likely that dealing Byram with an add on or two can bring us back a top six forward or another thumper for the blueline. We shall see.