JohnC

Sam would have been more than worth it on a $7 M on a 5 yr deal with the Sabres. If Reinhart were on the Sabres, the rebuild timetable would be shortened. Not getting him signed to a long-term deal when he was willing to sign a few years back was one of the biggest blunders this franchise has ever made. This franchise's setbacks were mostly self-induced. It's maddening.

Krueger took a $9 M player in Skinner and turned him into a $150,000 scrub. Granato took the same player and made him into a $7 M player. He then put him on a revamped first line that can hold up with any first line in the league. You don't have to be an analytical wizard to understand the return on the dollars spent. Another player that has blossomed under DG is Tage. He moved him from the wing to the center spot. Now Tage is emerging as a worthy first line center and became one of our biggest scoring threats. Krueger had a tendency of caging players while Granato knowns how to open the door and unleash their talents. One of the biggest faults of Krueger when coaching players is that he straitjackets players that limits them while Granato adjusts to the player and maximizes their assets while also managing their limitations. That's what coaching is all about! Let's not even bring up Dahlin. Under Granato Dahlin is emerging as one of the top players in the league whose creativity and flow are something to marvel at. Under Krueger Dahlin became robotic and over-thought the game to the point of constant hesitancy. In a year and a half Krueger crushed the soul of his players and of the fanbase. The amount of damage the erudite coach did in his short stint is astounding.

Fitz in my view is a third or fourth pairing defenseman. I think there is a good chance that Samuelsson can be a second caliber pairing player. If not, a good third pairing player who could easily move up to the second pairing when needed.

Heck no! If you want him on next year's roster next then keep him on the roster and have him continue to grow and have chemistry with his teammates . It would make little sense to trade him for a medium pick and then risk losing him in the future. Let's not get cute and fool around. If you like him, then stay with him.

Of all the posts in this thread your posting of a picture of you and your son at this game was the coolest. Although the both of you probably froze your arses off, you and he will never forget this event. ⛄

I'm not knowledgeable enough about the play of the two players you mentioned. What I can say for sure is that for an inexperienced NHL player he already plays a mature game. I remember how posters were clamoring to bring him up from Rochester a lot sooner than he should have. He is a good example on how to develop players the right way. The AHL experience served him well. And that is a tribute to the organization for not moving him up to the big league before he was ready.

You really hit the mark on how out of touch the theme of the pre-arranged exchanges were. The trio in the booth weren't responding either to the game or to the audience of today. As someone else brought up it was like a group in a bar talking about the games and players of yesterday. As you noted it was a missed opportunity to promote the game to a more current audience. There were more than enough story lines associated with Toronto and Buffalo that they could have included in this game. They instead looked to the past instead of the game that was in front of them. Way off target and irritating to listen to. And as I said in a prior post I usually like Albert covering games. In this game he was neutered.

You are allowed to gush. But if you send him candy and a love note then you are crossing a line where he may end up calling security. 🏴‍☠️

Others have singled out the play of Samuelsson. Just to add to their recognition of his play when watching him the thing that sticks out to me is his efficiency. He plays a strong game but isn't noted for banging because he is so efficient at getting to and moving the puck out quickly. For a young player he plays a mature game. Risto was noted for his big hits but lacked the instincts of where to be positioned. Samuelsson has a cerebral way of playing the position that Risto doesn't, and will never have. I'm really impressed by him.

Because of the cold this was more of a whiskey than a beer game for the announcers.

And at least they comment on the game. Gretzky is arguably the best hockey player in the history of the game. Being in behind a microphone diminishes him.

Absolutely yes.

As you noted it seemed that the game was an afterthought while the focus was on Gretzky reminisces. It was horrible.

The broadcast with Gretzky in the booth was terrible. The broadcast was more about Gretzky's reminisces than it was about the game. I usually like Albert doing hockey games. It just seemed that the announcers were deferring to Gretzky instead of covering the game. The jolly jabs at Jonesy got tiresome and were inane.

The Cozens's hit on Mathews was clean. The broadcasters also said so. I'm not suggesting that you are saying otherwise. Just commenting on the clip.

One lesson that this game demonstrated is when in doubt shoot the puck. A couple of goals by Hinostroza and Krebs were fluky but that's hockey. Anderson was stout and efficient in this game. He was adept at moving the puck to a player to get it out of the zone. If I were giving out stars I would give the first star to Hinostroza. The second star would go to Anderson. I thought Krebs played well and showed more willingness to shoot. I also liked the play of Skinner. Prior to the game the analyst near the benches (Jones) noted that the Sabre bench was active while the Toronto bench was sedate. The play reflected the respective benches attitude. Something is very amiss with the Maple Leafs. Cozens is becoming the fighting spirit on this team. He is leading this team by his hard core style of play. The one negative aspect in playing on outside game is the condition of the ice. It makes it difficult to skate. At the end of the game the camera went to a smiling Pegula. I hope that is a sign that he is very invested in winning. Winning games over the past six games or so offers hope for the not too distant future. I'm hoping this offseason the organization uses some of its abundant assets to add a few more good players.

When watching Krebs play the talent is evident. He is a young player who needs to get stronger. There are episodes where you get wowed by his playmaking ability. And then there are spells where he is outmuscled off the puck and in his defensive responsibilities. Tage, Mitts and to a lesser extent Dahlin struggled early on keeping up with stronger NHL players. It took time for them to get stronger. Now you can see the results where they physically match up with the opposition. And the same issue applies to Quinn. Especially for Quinn and Krebs offseason conditioning is going to be critical for next season success.

The setting wasn't a court where statements have to be scrupulously and antiseptically accurate. His post game comments were made after a hard fought game where he was booed throughout. You don't think that emotions and some resentments can be exhibited in that type of setting? Let's get real here! The fans are entitled to express their feelings. And they do. And players are entitled to express their feelings. And they do. A player is honest in saying how he feels after a hard fought competition. What did you expect? A lawyerly response? He could have responded with an inauthentic pablum of PR platitudes. He didn't. Fans expressed how they felt about him throughout the game; and he expressed how he felt after the game. What is wrong with that?

Any decision you make is your decision. I have a tremendous respect for brave people like you who use their talents to help people in dangerous situations. As you point out the danger level is high now, and it will get even higher. Just a thought but if you wanted to go near the battle area it might be advisable to go to one of the bordering countries where you could help with the refugees and also the wounded who some would end up there. God bless good people like you who serve others while placing themselves at great risk.

I agree that the fans were more involved with responding to Jack than they were to the game. And I consider that to be sad state of affairs. As I said before I was ecstatic about the win rather than some post game comments from a player who stated what he felt. The fans are entitled to express their feelings; and the player is entitled to do the same.

I agree with your characterization. It was well known that Jack wanted out. I don't blame him for not wanting to be part of another rebuild. Sam also wanted out. Risto also wanted out. McCabe was not going to sign here. Jack is in a better situation for himself as are the Sabres considering the situation. It's a business where the parties involved look out for the best interest. It happens all the time in pro sports. I'm not bothered by it. There is nothing unusual about players wanting out of bad situations. That's the nature of the business.

And over the past year it has been quiet like a morgue.

Of course the response was out of proportion to what should have been the main story of a victory against Vegas. I was ecstatic about the win. What a traded player said in an interview after being booed the whole game didn't consume me to the extent that it has a lot of people. People can respond anyway they want within reason. A player is entitled to express his feelings in an interview as well. I would rather listen to a player give a genuine response than a bulll shiiiit cliche response.

I live out of town. Other than a short visit for a funeral I have not been in town for years. I watch most of the Sabre games on Directv's Centre Ice. So what's your point?

Much of the dramatic decline in attendance in Buffalo is due to a decade of a poorly run franchise. Look at the team's record over the past number of years? That's the biggest contributor to the decline in attendance. That's the reality.