JohnC

Hinostroza is not a top two line player. That's understood. But on the third or fourth line he would be a good fit. I also think that there has to be enough veterans to help support the development of the younger players. For sure, he is not a prominent player but there is a support role that he can provide. It may not be fashionable to discuss the lowers line but upgrading them and raising the floor of the lines helps in the building of a more well-rounded team/roster. With respect to Vogl's opinion that the players he mentions are going to bring good value if dealt, I highly doubt it. The returns on the departed players, including Miller, will be inconsequential.

I doubt that Hinostroza will be traded. Overall, he has been a good value addition. And I doubt that Bjork will be traded. He has value on the PK.

I agree with you that defensive effort can't simply be turned on/off like a light switch. But the reality with this team is that it lacks enough talent spread out throughout the roster. The organization is steadily adding young talent. But the process is far from complete. In my view we haven't reached the critical mass of talent yet that will allow this team to be a serious team. I get frustrated watching them because there are tantalizing interludes of good play that is followed by interludes of mediocre play. That is simply due to not being talented enough, at least at this stage. However, I'm not at the point of discouragement because when I see new players such as Samuelsson added to our young core it is a reason to be hopeful. It can be exasperating watching this team but I still retain a glimmer of hope for the near future. Attached is a link of a column on the game by Lance Lysowski of the Buff News that is a fair assessment of the game and situation. https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/observations-sabres-young-core-takes-flight-learns-another-harsh-lesson/article_165e493a-7a40-11ec-8396-1f8e3585fb53.html

He is our best player who has kept the faith in trying times. He has bought in and is carrying a heavy load that most young players couldn't handle. He should be saluted. 🍺

He's simply not the same player after returning from his injured. Granato said that because of the nature of his injury he was not able to practice shooting while rehabbing. It's apparent that it is still bothering him.

I agree with your take on the goalie issue. However, it is my sense that KA believes that UPL is ready or near ready to be slotted for the #1 goalie role. I believe he is taking a great risk in rushing the young netminder for that more prominent role. As like you, my preference would have been to make it a priority to bring in a goalie and give UPL a subordinate role to ease him into the higher stakes NHL game. It just seems to me that KA doesn't want to use up much cap space and assets to bring in a more upscale goalie. Considering where this franchise is with its cap situation it is an unnecessary gamble.

With respect to the highlighted comments this is where I am at. The GM has essentially wiped much of the slate clean from the inherited roster. Now he is at the stage of putting the pieces together to replace the jettisoned players. Are the younger players in the system ready to make the move up? By next year I believe a number of them will be. Will the GM wisely use the large cap space or will it not be utilized for the betterment of the team? On this issue I'm not sure what the plans are. I don't believe ownership wants his GM to spend to the upper limit, at least at this stage in the rebuild. I don't consider that to be realistic expectation. However, what I will be watching to see is whether the GM is going to wisely use his cap money to add enough mid-range players who can make this team better and provide a more positive environment for the young players. As it stands, they have been too exposed to persistent losing. It is corrosive. As @ducacek stated that is TBD.

Few people are making the claim that the rebuilding approach the GM is taking was the only course of action he could have taken. However, he chose a particular clean the slate course of action that was much more leaning toward futures than a hybrid approach that would have involved keeping more of his old core. Jack simply didn't want to be here any longer. (I don't blame him.) And he made it clear to the GM. In addition, the surgery issue was another issue where neither side was yielding. So the GM bided his team and got a reasonable deal for him. It is a fair criticism that this organization should have signed Rheinhart to a longer term contract a few years back. I'm not sure why an extension couldn't be done, especially when there were indications that the player was receptive to a longer deal? It then got to the point where Sam indicated that once he got to his UFA year he was going to depart. (Again, I don't blame the player for wanting out.) So he was dealt. The point I am making is that the GM made a decision that he was going to institute a full scale rebuild that was going to dramatically reshape the roster that he inherited. Was money a factor? Of course it was. That shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. He envisioned a roster not built around our unhappy super star player but a roster that had more talent spread around the roster. And that's where we are. How long will this excruciating process take? My opinion it will take three years. What our GM decided to do is take the standard rebuild approach that mostly relies on drafting and developing. That is the same approach that Detroit is taking under Yzerman.

There is a faction of responders who reflexively respond to every topic that this franchise has made bad hockey decisions for a decade. That is not a revelation to anyone who knows what a hockey puck is. So their reasoning becomes that the hockey staff has failed in the past so it will fail in the present and future. The issue that is confronting this organization is how does it turn things around from that inglorious past? This current GM has made the decision to jettison the former core (for a variety of reasons) and rebuild from the bottom/up. Once that decision was made it was going to take time to rebuild a competitive roster. That's the real world that the howling backbenchers can't accept.

I don't know what your response relates to?

We really don't know what transpired with the LaFontaine situation. He ended up getting paid off with a non-disclosure clause. There seemed to be too many chiefs in the tribe. The situation was not sustainable.

Some quick thoughts on this game: Hauser was the first star by far. If he didn't make those superlative stops in the beginning of the game when he was being bombarded this game would have been over shortly after it started. I'm impressed with Samuelsson efficient and mature game. He plays like a seasoned veteran. He never seems to be rushed. Olofsson was more aggressive in taking shots. That's a good sign. I like the Skinner/Cozens/Tuch line. I'm glad that Tuch is on this team. He is a big player who is also skilled. The last penalty call on Krebs was ridiculous. Right now, he isn't much of a factor. As long as he gets playing time I prefer that he stays with the big club than play in Rochester. He can learn more here than down there. I was impressed with Stutzle. A win is a win. This staggering team needs some positive reinforcement.

I, like you, was impressed with Samuelsson. Although he is a big player he isn't a banger. The two characteristics that stick out is his intelligence reflected in his positioning (rarely caught out of position) and his efficiency (quickly and smartly moves the puck out of his zone). If Risto played with the intelligence that the young Samuelsson already possesses he would have been an all-star. I also agree with you that Krebs needs to get stronger. However, for a young player such as him that can be remedied in the offseason. As far as his poor decision making that is due to his inexperience. Just keep playing him and he will learn on the job. If there is a year where mistakes can be absorbed without meaningfully hurting the team, this is the year for it.

I don't subscribe to the belief that this organization has little chance to succeed. I have stated before that I'm cautiously optimistic about the near future. But I'm troubled that the psychology of persistent losing can be a negative influence on players. ROR was a good player who wanted out. Jack was one of the best players in the league who wanted out. Reinhart wanted out. Ullmark wanted out. Risto wanted out. Each of the listed players were tired of losing and lost confidence that the organization had the ability to turn things around in a reasonable period of time. Dahlin is arguably the most talented player on this team. And he is a young player. However, he has known nothing but team failure without a sniff of the playoffs. The same losing scenario applies to our other young players, players who are expected to be part of our long-term core. It has to factor in when their next contract comes up to be negotiated. Next year, it is expected that more young players will be funneled up from the lower ranks to the NHL club, and some of them will be moving up sooner, sometime this year. In the end the most determinative factor for success in a team sport is the amount of talent. But I wouldn't be dismissive about the culture issue and that success breeds confidence and success while failure breeds negativity and less success.

Let's assume that Quinn becomes the player that many expect him to become. What players in the NHL would you compare him to from a style and potential production standpoint?

That's a good reason why the Peguals will be reluctant to sell off any of their business. On the other hand I can see them selling off a slice of their franchise to finance an upgrade in the arena.

Investing in a sports franchise is different in a large corporation in the business world. In the sports industry there usually stock shares and board of directors. The sports industry is qualitatively different from the economic world and dynamics of the business world in general. It's a different entity altogether.

Investment firms often invest millions of $$$ into businesses without expecting to get involved in any aspect of the operation. Their focus in on return on investment, including appreciation of the business. What is appealing to large scale investors in the business of sports is legalized betting in sports. There is an expectation of generating greater revenues from sports gambling.

Was it a challenge to take a pee? 😃

How did you handle the cold? I'm not trying to be funny but did the mass of exuberant people generate its own heat? Or did many within the masses resort to going to the flask for medicinal warmth?

The majority owner of a sports franchise would never agree to such a condition unless he/she no longer had an interest in running the franchise. In that situation the owners would simply sell the business, or at least the majority stake. That's not the case with the Pegulas.

I'm mildly surprised that Cozens was taken off of the Skinner/Tuch line. I thought that line played well together.

A minority owner in a sports franchise has little say in the franchise operation because the majority owner has nearly complete control on how it is run unless the majority owner wants to yield that authority. (I don't see that happening under the Pegulas. My opinion.) A good example of that is that the two minority owners of the Redskins sold their shares to Dan Snyder, the majority owner, because they had no influence in how the franchise was to be run. This is an example where the majority owner had the authority and the minority owners had little to none. The league made an exception with Dan Snyder's buyout by allowing him to borrow beyond the limit allowed in the league so he could buy the minority shares with borrowed money. The league made an exception in this case because it wanted the conflict between the minority share majority owners to end. However, I wouldn't be surprised if there would be some sell-off of the franchise in order to finance the upgrading of the arena which the Pegulas control. With respect to a future purchase clause to buy it all depends on what the contract states. (As you noted.)

At the draft a couple of years ago when Yzerman returned to Detroit to take over their hockey operation he was asked by a reporter how was he going to get the Red Wings back to the level of the glory days. He succinctly said: Draft and develop. He then walked away.

The Sabres are a thin team with a full complement of players when healthy. The margin between being presentable to being marginally competitive is small. The addition of Okposo, Tuck and Hagg made a big difference in this game.