JohnC

You were too busy modeling your legs at the car dealership to be aware. 😃

I believe that the GM really wanted to keep JJP. However, JJP was determined to get out. It would have been a mistake to keep such a disgruntled young player who would be an UFA in another year. Was Peterka the best player in the trade? Probably so. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that this wasn’t a reasonable deal for us, especially if Kesseiring becomes a good partner for Power. As is often said: TBD.

You don’t make progress when you trade away NHL stars such as Eichel and Reinhart to teams where they become instrumental players for SC teams. The problem isn’t the young players you listed. The setbacks that this franchised has endured are self-inflicted. An accumulation of bad decisions has created a deep hole that we are still climbing out of.

Would you have a more positive view if Kesseiring gets paired for Power? And if Doan becomes a lower line energy player would your view of the deal be more positive?

Intriguing slotting for forwards and defenders. All your slotting makes sense except the Power pairing. I see him most likely paired with Kesseiring, as noted by@LGR4GM. What’s interesting with all the slotting you project is the flexibility of other mixing and matching. (As you also noted.) And what is also notable is that you see fewer people slotted higher than where they should be. That’s an indication that this roster is fuller than previous years.

Isn’t a generation of excuses enough for you? You get judged on your record. And if that is the measure, this Pegula franchise is a dismal failure. End of the story. The Buffalo Bills are a successful franchise in the same/similar area where the Sabres are located? Why such disparity between the two franchises? There is a major difference in staff running the respective franchises. No more ridiculous excuses when judging the Sabres. Your record is your record. You can’t excuse your way out that.

So you are concluding that from a contract and performance standpoint that he was a poor free agent acquisition? What do you expect that KA was going to get from him when he signed him?

That argument doesn't resonate with me. For one, everyone doesn't want to play for Vegas, and even if they did, that doesn't mean that the organization would want the player or be able to fit the desirous players onto their roster. There is no question that they stretch the cap rules but that doesn't mean that they are breaking it to the point where the league office takes punitive action. Vegas is a serious franchise committed to winning. The Sabres are a Pegula owned franchise that muddles along striving to be mediocre. The comparison between the two franchises is stark and embarrassing.

Why is it that a stretched-out cap team like Vegas with a lot more talent than Buffalo is always able to stay within the cap and keep winning? As an example, this offseason, they signed Marner to an extended rich contract. Vegas has had to ship out a lot of talent in order to bring in additional talent that allows their SC team to continue to compete for the SC year in and year out. Vegas is a serious franchise while Buffalo is a third-rate franchise that muddles along to be mediocre.

When a player falls into Lindy's disfavor the outcome is predictable. The player will see limited ice time or be benched and then sent packing. Both Clifton and Docker fell into this vulnerable category. Lindy seems to be an old school coach who when he makes a judgment on a player, it sticks. There are coaches who try to utilize and maximize talent on hand while there are coaches whose approach leans toward my way or the highway. Taking an overview perspective, from the ownership to the GM's office to the coaching staff in general, everything seems to be third-rate. When your boat is taking on water, how do you stay afloat when the bucket you are using to clear the water out has holes in it? The never-ending cycle of futility.

Today's politics are much different. It's become a blood sport where the issue becomes dominating the opposition and shutting them out. The fuel is anger. What's lost is the ability to listen. I'm a strong believer that you learn more from people who you disagree with than you do with only listening to people who agree with you. It expands your horizons/perspectives. It seems everyone is in their own closed silo with little desire to open the door to alternative views.

What's wrong with that? That's the nature of following a team or sports in general before the games are actually played. As of today, I haven't met anyone who is prescient. Even successful gamblers lose a lot. That's the nature of the beast.

Few people are categorizing him as a top line forward. He’s a lower line forward who plays a hard style of game.

My understanding is that KA wouldn't accept a one for one (JJP for Keisseiring) deal. So Doan was added to the deal to satisfy KA. How good will each of our new acquisitions play for us? TBD. For me, this was a fair deal for both sides.

I'm sure that Doan will be a good addition. On the other hand, I'm hoping/expecting that Kesseiring will be the more impactful addition in this trade. If he can become the suitable partner for Power, it will benefit the unit a lot by allowing the other defenders to be more properly slotted.

We seem to be dullards in a room full of bright students.

What’s a CT license? I don’t know what I’m congratulating you for but it’s obvious you worked hard for it. 🍺

Don’t forget the Doan add in the deal. It also addresses the roster construction issue by adding a more physical and less finesse style of player to the roster.

You make an excellent point that even if JJP was the best player in the trade, by adding Kesseiring it improves one of the team’s main weaknesses. It goes to your point about roster construction.

I read your post and it brought me back to my childhood when my Italian immigrant relatives, including my mother, would watch wrestling on TV and curse in Italian at the bad guys and the referees. To them, this was real. Their favorite wrestler of course was Ilio DiPaolo from Abruzzi (sic), Italy. He owned a successful restaurant called by his namesake. It should be noted that Buffalo was on the wrestling circuit with regular capacity crowds at the Aud.

He should have been playing the wing where the center handles the puck more and is the primary decision maker for the line. He was misused to the point where his assets were underutilized and his liabilities were accentuated. This is another example of many of bad coaching and a lack of flexibility and creativity on their part. This is the point that @mjd1001 keenly makes in a prior post.

There was a period of time during the Wilson ownership of the Bills where the attendance took a steep drop because there was a prolonged period where even ardent fans recognized that the franchise was not considered to be a serious franchise. That malaise happens not when there is a year or two downslide but when it is extended and when there is a belief that the ownership is not seriously invested in winning. To me, that malaise has happened during the extended tenure of the owner of the Sabres. The dichotomy between the football and hockey franchise with respect to how the fan base responds is noticeable to me. The football's fanbase is as rabid as ever while the hockey fanbase has steadily eroded. You would never see any fanbase take over the home field in football while it has happened when Toronto takes the ice against Buffalo in our own arena.

I don't know on what lines Quinn, Kulich and Benson will end up playing on. Even if one, two or three of these players end up on the top two lines, or not, I expect all three of them to have more goals than they had last year. Will these players make any headway? (Your question.) Of course they will. The issue then becomes how much so? I'm counting on Quinn to make the biggest scoring leap. (Recognize many others don't believe so.) The issue to focus on is not the goal scoring. The more substantive issue relates to the goaltending and blue line unit. I'm more comfortable with our blue line than with our goaltending. That will be the determining issue for success or not.

Cops get free coffee and Tim Hortons get added security. Punks and thieves are inclined to avoid the establishment because men in uniforms who drive cars with lights on the roof frequent the place.

Some women are assss kickers and others are ball crushers!