JohnC

If Dahlin gets hurt and is out for a significant amount of time, this team is sunk.

Excellent analysis, especially as it is directed toward Quinn. Is Quinn going to elevate his game enough to not only not being a drag but rising it enough where he is an asset. A couple years ago, I thought he was going to be a real good winger. He not only didn't even plateau as a player but disappointingly, he declined as a player. Were injuries a factor in his sputtering? Probably so. When you look at the young group comprised of Power, Samuelsson, Benson and Quinn most of us expect improvement. The more critical issue is will each of them and as a group improve enough to be an elevating factor for the team. It seems that the GM is counting on that. For me, I just don't know. TBD.

I’m not saying anything that hasn’t often been stated that regardless what has been done unless we get consistent level of solid goaltending the Sabres will again be a floundering team. Is our GT unit capable of rising to the occasion? I’m not sure. Can UPL become a solid #1 goalie? Not sure. Looking back, the departure of Ullmark has never adequately been accounted for. That is an gross failure by the GM.

If Anderson is better than Bryan (your opinion), then why would the trading team include an additional asset in the deal? Acting out of frustration when there is no need to at the present time is not a smart strategy.

If bringing back BB is a status quo move then isn't that better than making a move that sets you back further? I don't agree that any move he makes will be inadequate. The JJP trade was a reasonable deal for us considering the circumstances. (He didn't want to be here.) It's certainly not impossible that a fair deal can be constructed, sooner or later, that will be beneficial. We seem to be going in circles here. What it appears to me is that you are making a negative assumption before an act has been made. What I'm suggesting is that it might be better to just wait before making a judgment.

The Sabres are certainly a better team with Byram than if the return for him is insufficient. So what if they kick the Byram issue down the road? If it ultimately leads to a better return, then that's a positive action, not a negative action. Most of us are aware that the Sabres have multiple issues to address. (In my view, the goalie position is the most critical issue.) What you are doing is conflating the Byram issue with the other team issues. That seems to be an unreasonable/unfair approach to take when discussing the Byram issue.

Ryan Smith by far. He's not the same owner who created a lot of commotion in Arizona.

What's the definition of "Deja vu"?

Being critical of KA's performance is like stating water is wet. It's obvious to all. Few people would argue otherwise. However, what you are doing is overlaying his overall performance to how he has handled the individual Byram issue. Based on your prior post, you seem to encourage him just to make a deal in order to end this ordeal. That would be the worst course of action that the GM could take. He's not obligated to trade him if the return isn't a fair return. He can keep him. As far as what would be a fair return for BB? I would take either a top two pairing or a top two-line player. If that type of deal can't be made, then just keep him. There is a lot of things to be critical of this flaccid GM. In my view it is not how he has handled this particular situation.

Are pungent smelling cups on sale? Do they come in a variety of sizes? Or is it a one size fits all item?

Why does he have to yield to an inadequate deal rather than just keeping him? What’s funny is that you are going to criticize him when/if he gets dealt for the return and if kept you’re still going to criticize him. Poor fellow can’t win. No matter where he goes he’s going to take a beating.

I respect your league wide knowledge.Give me a few names of veteran players who might be available and would be good pickups on a short-term deal like the the Zucker pickup was for us last year. Our unimaginative GM needs to scan the market for deals that are singles when home run pickups are out of reach. Getting better on the margins is better than not getting better.

This may be outside of this particular topic thread or maybe not (so I apologize for that indiscretion) but I would like to seek opinions on what it would take to acquire a player such as Rust?

If the Sabres should ever become a good and relevant franchise, I don't know how I would handle it. It would be so disorienting from my present normal. 😄

The GM made a dumb, undiplomatic and clumsy comment about the appeal of the area in his comments about attracting talent. What he should have said, and has said it indirectly recently, is that persistent losing has created greater challenges in attracting players. The irony is that Buffalo should be a destination franchise because of its location being near Canada and southern Ontario stretching towards Toronto where a lot of players and their families come from and still reside. And the second irony is that he and the owner have contributed to creating their own ghetto franchise by the inept way that they have managed this franchise. It didn't have to be this way. The solution is simply a greater application of competency. That would be medicinal.

Go back to drinking. Sometimes falling off the wagon is better than being on that broken wagon.

I agree with you that traded or not there needs to be more additions. Another way of looking at this issue is if you have to lose 50 lbs. you have to lose 30 lbs. first. You do what you can do to move forward.

Bryan is looking out for his own interests. There is nothing wrong about that. On the other hand he is currently contractually bound to the Sabres who have to act within their best interests. It’s simply part of the business.

Making a bad deal due to impatience is what bargaining teams want you to do. If you are not getting fair value back, then just hold on to your asset until you get a fair return.

The goaltending issue that I'm pointing out is not letting Adams and Ruff off the hook. It's the opposite of that. It's the most important position in hockey, just as pitching is in baseball and the qb position is in football. If that position isn't adequately staffed then even if good players are added to the roster, their talents will be squandered. If you don't think that I have been harshly critical of KA's roster construction and other decisions then you have not read my comments about his lackluster performance. I have said it many times that KA is a checkers player in a chess match. He's in over his head. I blame the owner for this weird hire for the most instrumental staffing hire for a hockey franchise. And I blame the silent owner for the fraudulent/nonexistent HC search when Ruff was hired. I hold the owner mostly accountable for this third-rate franchise that he has personally structured. So if you think I'm leaving the main character/s off the hook for this debacle of a franchise then you are very much off base.

I think he does. He's gambling that there will be enough internal improvement to be on the fringe boundary for a playoff team. The big issue is the goaltending. Is it good enough? He may think so. To put it mildly, I'm very queasy about that critical issue. Unless that positional issue is addressed, all the other roster machinations will mean little. It's a gamble where the house has the advantage over the novice at the table.

It's an ugly reality that players don't want to come here and even worse players here want out. The blame for this plight is internal. When you shoot yourself in the foot you don't run well. My worry is if the situation isn't turned around soon then players such as Dahlin, Tage and Tuch say enough. Get me out of here. In my view, I agree with you that there hasn't been much of a roster change. The biggest altering impact is not going to come from the recent roster alterations. It will be the caliber of our goaltending this upcoming season. That's the biggest issue for me and question mark for me. If the play from that position isn't elevated, then all the other actions don't matter. That's how I see it.

It appears that last year's lower line remake is being disassembled into another this year's remake. Step forward and then step back. It's called the cha cha strategy. Back and forth and back and forth.

If Byram is as good as he believes to be then possibly his best contract enhancing strategy should be to take is a bridge deal. He then will have the opportunity to demonstrate his current and future market value. The cap is going up so that should also increase his future value. The advantage for Buffalo is that if he plays well, he helps the team. And if his potential future salary becomes too big to handle, then his trade value also increases. What it comes down to for the GM is that a Byram trade either returns a commensurate asset or he is retained and helps the team right now. I have been a harsh critic of KA. But in his handling of the Byram situation he is doing it deftly.

I don’t walk away from the wounded. He’s in a self-induced state of manic-depression. I’m trying to uplift him. He’s resisting. I will not walk away from this challenge until I consider him to be a complete lost cause. He’s not there yet but he’s getting close to that line.