JohnC

Within this WGR link is the 15 min interview with Granato on the Howard and Jeremy show that you are alluding to. He has strong beliefs in how to develop players and improve teams. He's certainly doesn't have an old school hockey approach to the game. https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/authors/howard-and-jeremy

Your observation about the overall effort is spot on. No problem with that. But as you point out when the goaltending is so substandard (acknowledging that up to recently it has been solid) it does affect how your team plays, especially in your own zone (as you noted). In the games that the backstopping is good this team is competitive even when it is apparent that there is an imbalance in talent with the opposition. My worry is that the psychology of losing becomes more damaging on the younger players that you are counting on for the future when they haven't had any experience with the psychology of winning. The Sabres are clearly in the rebuilding mode with some good young pieces already on the roster. What bothers me, as it does most others, is I don't see what short term options there are to at least for the present stem the tide. What also bothers me is when the Sabres play at home they are playing in front of 3/4 empty arena. However, when the Sabres are on the road they are usually playing in front of a near capacity crowd. The Ranger game was an example of that. (I'm not telling you anything you don't already know because you regularly attend the games.) I'm not blaming the fans because they are expressing their dissatisfaction with their wallets. But it has to be deflating for the players when they take the ice.

Washington worked a pre-expansion draft deal with Seattle for them to select one of their goalies and then trade the player back for a second round pick. With a little creativity maybe we could have worked out a deal with Seattle in advance to select one of the exposed goalies and then use a draft pick for the selected player. Getting a better solution is preferrable over getting a predictably inadequate solution.

From a future perspective I have the same positive outlook that you have. That is to say that a foundation is being built with its young players. My biggest worry that has happened before with our core players is that systemic losing becomes corrosive and dispiriting. That is exemplified by ROR, Jack, Reinhart and Risto all becoming emotionally and psychologically fatigued by the constant losing resulting in each of them desperately wanting out. Each player had somewhat different situations but at its core the issue was losing and the inability to envision a change in that dynamic in the near future. As you point out the expected shaky goaltending (after some quality goaltending) is starting to manifest itself. The fear of contaminating the rest of the roster which you allude to is a big worry. What is the short-term answer? I don't know. This is an issue that is usually addressed in the offseason. The GM didn't have an adequate fallback position with regards to Ullmark. That oversight is a costly mistake that can reverberate throughout the rest of the roster.

Dahlin's soft back pass to Tage which put him in open space on his score was nifty. Dahlin seems to play a tighter and less free wheeling game than he has in the past. In my eyes he is playing a much more mature game. I hope he doesn't get discouraged with the mounting losses to better teams. I don't understand why anyone would single him out as a detriment.

After I saw the replays of the disallowed goal I didn't understand the call made against Eakon. It was such a marginal call because Eakon was being pushed by a Ranger and I didn't see much contact. I also thought that the Sabres had enough control of the puck when Ranger's scored after the penalty call. I thought Cozens touched the puck and our goalie did also. The Sabres have a lot less margin of error than most teams. Those calls were crushing. There is no hiding the fact that when a more talented team makes a push against a less talented team that ultimately talent prevails. That's what happened here. And that's exactly where we are at.

He ended up playing better than a number of pro players on that team.

When Power was on the World team with top tier pro players he started as a fringe defenseman. Based on his play his role increased and became a first of second pairing ?? player who got a lot of minutes in high pressure situations. He will undoubtedly earn a roster spot and important role with the Sabres in his rookie year. That's why he was the first pick in last year's draft and is shining in college.

Starting with this year I have felt that this is a three year rebuild. Assuming that the bumped up players don't get a NHL role that's ahead of their developmental stage it falls within the approach how most successful teams handle their prospects. Krebs was the top prospect in Vegas's system and was getting playing time with the big club. Samuelsson got some NHL time last year (and performed well) and probably ?? was going to make the roster with the Sabres this year before he got hurt. Quinn, JJ, along with Krebs will be getting a lot of playing time this year in the AHL. So it is unfair to say that they were rushed beyond their stage of development as happened with Mitts and Tage. So as you and others have projected it is likely that a half dozen of young (new) players will be on the roster next year. (I'm including Tuch to the list.) And as others have emphasized the big issue determining success to this rebuild deals with our near term goaltending situation. That's a big challenge that the GM has to address.

Why do you find it improbable that your list of young players won't make the Sabre roster next year? Which one would you exclude? Their roster spot is not automatic (maybe except for Power). Just because they move up the ranks that doesn't mean that they will automatically be thrust in top two line or top pairing roles. It's likely next year there is going to be an infusion of young talent. If the players in question are not ready they won't be called up until they are ready. That's how it works and that has been the declared plan. So it shouldn't be surprising.

Your comment is exactly the same comment that KA made when after he traded for him and then had him start off in Rochester. As you noted the GM wanted to get this young player comfortable in his new environment and give him a lot of playing time. Sometimes we forget how young some of these players are and the challenges they have to face dealing with being uprooted.

Excellent analysis. The one sentence that struck a chord is the sentence about the coach's ability to solve problems. Moving Tage to center was a terrific decision that not only better utilized Tage's talents but also addressed a critical position for this team. And how the coach has handled Skinner and put him in a position to succeed was masterful. He took a player who was buried by the prior coach and has gotten him revitalized as a player. In yesterday's game I thought that even though he didn't score a goal this was his best game. Salvaging a player that is not a factor and turning him into a factor is like bringing in a player from the outside to bolster the team. I can't say enough positive things about the coach.

It seems that Dahlin is simplifying his game instead of playing a more flashy style of play where he carries the puck for longer stretches. It's a more fundamental and mature approach to playing the defense. I, as you do, like his play. As you noted I was surprised that he was able to stay of the ice after getting hit with the puck. He was clearly hurt but stayed in the fray. That's to his credit.

I'm not sure if you directed your comment to me but I will still respond. Will UPL become a mainstay goalie in the NHL? I honestly don't know. That's why if you are going to error in handling him it is better to error on the side of giving him more time at the lower ranks in order to see if he progresses. It could be years before things click for him or it could be a shorter and quicker development. It also might not ever happen. Especially with goalies you just don't know. So even if he struggles in the AHL that doesn't mean that his playing experience is wasted. This is a case where waiting is better than rushing. Sometimes patience is rewarded and sometimes it doesn't produce what you expect. If you are going to error it should be by giving more time than less.

I'm in the camp that UPL should be getting a heavy workload in Rochester. Extensive playing time and maybe a playoff run with Rochester would serve him well to compete for a spot with the Sabres next year. The more important issue for the player and the franchise is what is best for his development. Playing a lot in Rochester would be better than playing fewer games in Buffalo at this stage of his career.

As I have stated to @Thorny and others I'm not anti-owners or even hostile to this new regime. It's universally agreed that the Pegulas have made a lot of mistakes that have kept this franchise stuck in the muck of mediocrity. However just as it took them a while to get things straightened out with the Bills I believe they have finally taken the right course of action for the Sabres. I'm very much an optimist that in the near future this franchise will be a success with the fans returning to the arena. There was a lot of skepticism (including me) when the Peguas hired KA to take over the operation. In my opinion KA has during his short tenure has done a more than commendable job. His hires in the front office and staff have been excellent. He made the right decision in replacing Krueger with Granato, and then hiring him on a permanent basis. By most accounts the drafting has been much better under him. The system is not necessarily loaded but it has a group of high end prospects who should be ready next year, if not sooner. My primary point in my recent posts is that the attendance even under the unique environment of covid is horribly bad. I'm not blaming the fans. But the reality is that the attendance figures are horrible. They are by far the worst in the league. I'm out of town. I watch most of the games on TV.

Taro was in the arena. Check with him. I have watched most of the home games on TV. What he believes are the attendance figures and a number of people who cover the team have similarly stated that there are maybe 4000 plus fans at the games. There is no need to be precise in recognizing that there are few people who are attending the games. We are last in attendance in the league by far. That's a fact.

I agree that it isn't a precise analogy. But the difference is still stark. Attendance-wise we are last by far. The attendance numbers are starkly bad.

The situation that Buffalo is facing with Covid is similar to what Detroit is facing in that they are both border towns and their teams have had a recent history of non-success but now are in my opinion are on an upward trajectory. You can review the attendance figures for yourself for all the franchises. The average paid attendance for Detroit is 16469. The average paid attendance for Buffalo is 7921. The actual number of people in attendance is in the range of 4000 plus. Nearly half the people who have paid for their tickets are not showing up. The local attendance figures are starkly bad. That's a fact. https://www.espn.com/nhl/attendance

I am one of the optimistic members who believe that the prospects for this team in the not very distant future is positive. Next year, I wouldn't be surprised if 4 to 6 young players in the system move up the ranks to accelerate the rebuilding of the roster. And what I also am encouraged about that although this roster is incomplete it consistently plays hard and overall I the team is entertaining to watch. I'm not overrating the quality of this roster or having a blind eye toward its deficiencies. I'm comfortable at where this team is at. However, what I do find disturbing is that although the announced attendance average is 7921 the actual attendance average hovers around 4000 in the arena. That's a concern, at least to me. Last night, while watching the game against the team's main rival played on a weekend night in arena where more than three out of four seats were empty. I find that to be very sad as to how low in fan interest this franchise has sunk.

Your extended response wasn't required to address the main point that I was making. I'm well aware of the impact of the covid border issue and I'm aware of the discount ticket issue on attendance. But that wasn't the primary issue. The issue is the dramatic drop in attendance even factoring in the other stressing issues. There were approximately 4000 people in an 18,000 plus seat arena. That means for every four seats three and more seats were empty. You don't think that is a concern? This was a weekend night game against our main rivalry. The paid attendance was 7942. Of those who paid for a ticket nearly half of them didn't bother to show up. You don't think that is a troubling issue? Detroit is a border town like Buffalo. And its team has been down like Buffalo has. Both teams now appear to be on an upswing. Detroit's average attendance is 16,469 while Buffalo's is 7921. You don't find the local market's lack of interest in this team something to worry about? Well I do. If you review the below link and look at the attendance numbers you will see how dismal the attendance situation is for Buffalo compared to the rest of the league. https://www.espn.com/nhl/attendance

The media market is different. Technology and the increase in news sources have changed the economics and business model of the media business. What I was referring to in my comments had to do with the level of apathy for the product. In the media business there is more interest in the product but it is much more fragmented now because there are so many different options. That dynamic doesn't apply to what I was commenting on.

This isn't a difficult concept to grasp. When the fans are enthusiastic with the product they are more likely to buy tickets at the designated price and attend the games. I'm not as concerned with the secondary market as you are. It is about having people actually attending the games. When you have a rivalry game at your arena that is (estimated) with two thirds of the seat vacant that is a disturbing situation. The problem isn't the secondary market and how it relates to fairness to the limited number of season ticket holders. The problem relates to apathy to the product you are offering. As it currently stands I find it very troubling.

Juggling is an art that some coaches are better at than others. Some coaches are simply too rigid and aren't flexible enough to experiment with line combos. Krueger was determined to bury Skinner while Granato was determined to try different things to put him in a situation to succeed.

When the time comes where there is a demand for tickets then not participating in the secondary market makes sense. When the arena is 2/3 empty for a rivalry game it makes little sense.