JohnC

The top line with Tage at center with two experienced and rugged wingers should be able to win their matchups.

How about moving Tage back to the 1C and Norris to the 2C? A Zucker/Tage/Tuch would make for an experienced and sizeable top line. Or a Benson/Tage/Tuch on the top line? My hope is that Quinn makes the leap forward and earns a role on the second line with Norris centering it. This is going to be an interesting camp to see how the lines get formed. I prefer to see McCleod as a 3C and with the ability to move up the lines when needed. I think most people agree with you that UPL's play is the most important issue entering the season.

I don’t care if specifically Mitts is added to this roster. As I have stated on a number of posts is that I wished that the GM would have added another second-line forward to the mix. @Taro T mentioned a couple of players that would be appealing. So far, that hasn’t happened. I find that disappointing.

How about players competing for positions and roles? If he is outplayed then his role is diminished. If he outplays players then he earns his spot. Who he displaces or doesn’t displace should be predicated on his play. I’m not bothered by internal competition because I see it as a good thing.

Adding a player like Mitts also has residual benefits due to his versatility as a center and wing. And as I stated in the prior post he has the ability to move up the lines when needed due to injuries or just to shake up the lines. Another benefit is that he would be useful on the second PP unit as a setup player. I don’t want to get fixated on Mitts as the player to provide more flexibility to the roster. If another player could provide the same utility to our current roster I would be receptive to it. And if the cost would be a second round pick, I would find that to be a good deal.

I’m not attempting to overrate his talent. But for me there is a simple metric: are the Sabres better with him, even in the short term, than without him? If he can be added for a draft pick that isn’t a first round pick, then I’m open to adding him. In this discussion I’m not looking at this topic from a big picture perspective. The issue is reduced to whether one thinks the team will be immediately better or not. I believe so.

When Tage was hurt Mitts moved up to centering the first line. The line continued to play at a high level. Is he a genuine first line center talent? Clearly not. But he has played as a second line center and at wing for us and played credibly. Even if he played at the 3C spot I would have no reluctance to bring him in if it was for a 2nd round pick. However, as others have said, a first round pick would be too pricey.

My point is simply that when you draft or acquire a more finesse oriented player, then that is what you get. We're not disagreeing here.

As you describe Ruff's authority, or lack of it, is a demonstration why this Pegula hockey organization is a failed organization that is structured in an unusual way. If Ruff doesn't have the authority to hire his staff at this point, then this organization deviates from how a normal franchise operates. It's ridiculous.

Players have different skill sets and style of play. Power and Samuelsson are not thumpers and rugged players. That's not their game and never has been. I would also say the same thing about Byram from a stylistic standpoint. The choice is you either get different players or adapt your defensive approach to their assets and not their liabilities. I, like you, am not familiar with Kesserling's play. What I do know is that when he filled in as a second-pairing defenseman as an injury replacement, he played well. If he ends up as the partner for Power, then Samuelsson most likely will move down to the third-pair. The makeup of the unit could end up being Byrum/Dahlin, Power/Kesserling and Samuelsson/Timmons. I consider that a respectable unit.

I agree that a first round pick would be too much for Mitts. However, if it was a second round pick, I would do it. I just think that our GM could have been more aggressive in adding a second line forward to the mix to create more flexibility to the lines.

What are you talking about? Profiling? Odd thing to say.

This is Ruff’s staff. If the owner is not allowing him to hire the staff he wants, then he took the job under conditions that most HCs wouldn’t accept. When he first took-over he inherited the staff. This is a new year. This is his staff. If there are problems within the staff, then it is his responsibility to address. If you believe that the Sabres are a well coached team, I’m confident that it is a minority view.

The coaching staff is Ruff’s staff. He inherited them when he first took over but kept them on the following season. Again, this is his staff!

Are you including Ruff in your assessment of the staff? And if you believe that Ruff is satisfied with the staff because he made no changes to the group, then isn't he the most culpable for its mediocre performance? And as you pointedly note, the same shiiiit goes on game after game. Well, if the HC is tolerating the sub-par staffing performance, then shouldn't he be held most responsible for the coaching inadequacies? What's apparent to everyone is that the ownership is third rate, the GM is third rate and the coaching staff is third rate. That's not a recipe for success!

Ruff is the HC. If the assistant coach is constructing a system that isn't working, then isn't it the HC's obligation to intervene and require an adjustment? The same responsibility applies to the system on the PP and kill units. If the system isn't working, then he is the one that should require a change/alteration in systems. If the assistant is so inadequate, then why wasn't he replaced this year. There is a hierarchy of responsibility here. If the HC isn't satisfied with the performance of a particular assistant, then he has the authority to replace him. Or does he really have that authority to make the change/s? HCs have different styles of coaching. Some are dominant in all phases of the game and others are delegators. Each coach has a system they are comfortable in. But let's not forget that ultimately the assistants are accountable to the HC. If the HC is comfortable with the status quo, then the problem lies with the HC. That's how I see it.

Terry Pegula is a third rate owner. KA is a third rate GM. Ruff and his coaches are a third rate coaching staff. How do you break through when you are dealing with so many liabilities? It’s a catch-22 situation that has kept this franchise stuck. The Sabres have become a dog chasing its tail franchise.

I’m not as harsh on Granoto’s looser approach to team defense as most others are. He was trying to get his players to play a more open style of game than the stricter and more rigid style that Krueger demanded. I think what Granato was trying to do was change their mindset from worrying about not making mistakes by rigidly adhering to the system instead of allowing his players to express their talents and play with less inhibition. In my view, Dahlin was a big beneficiary of that previous coaching change. I’m also aware that at some point that the players needed to play a more responsible two-way NHL game. As you point out.

I agree with your point about the importance of overall team defense that go beyond the goalies and blueliners. Coaches need to coach and hold all players accountable for how they play. If they allow players to play too individually at the expense of the team, then they are not adequately doing their jobs.

I wasn't able to read the link. But from the comments that have been made the underlying issue/question is whether our blueline unit is better with the additions made this offseason. Will the additions of Kesserling and Simmons upgrade the unit? If Kesserling becomes I suitable partner for Power, I think it will be an upgrade to that Power pairing. Will keeping Byram instead of trading him add to the unit? I would say yes. And will Samuelsson get healthy, regain his confidence and stabilize his game? As a third pairing player I think that would be a better situation for him. Will a Byrum/Dahling coupling turn out to be an upper echelon #1 pairing? With Dahlin it should be. On paper, the hope is that we will have three pairings where the players are slotted where they should be and not above what they are capable of.

If it was just draft picks, I would be open to do so. I agree with those who say a first round pick would be too costly, but for a lower pick I would be receptive to such a deal. The main consideration is whether adding him improves this roster? I would say yes.

Would you give up a first round pick for him? I would be open to it.

What you expected him to be is different from who he is as a defenseman. Just because he does’t fall within your vision on how someone with his size should play doesn’t mean he is a failure. What it indicates is that you are off the mark in evaluating him. Power is going to be an anchor defenseman for us. Especially for defensemen with his size, it takes time to fully develop. He was the consensus top pick in his draft year. And he was the right pick for us. I just don’t understand all the lamenting about him. It makes no sense to me especially when there are so many other players who are question marks on this team, most notably our goalie.

The Sabres’ organization is constructed and staffed the way TP wants it to be. It’s his toy to play with. He has the authority to make the substantive changes you listed. Will he make them? Probably not, at least right now. I really believe that it will take outside pressure (league office) to force him to act more competently.

TBD.