JohnC

Who gives a dam what is said on Twitter! The twitter world is comprised mostly of stupid noise. As far as the ADR surgery it is well known what the Sabres' stance is and what Jack's surgery stance is. There is nothing secret about that. And there is no secret that some teams are willing to consider ADR surgery for Jack if they acquire him. I simply disagree with you that the rumors circulating over this trade issue is portraying either side in a particular bad or positive light. Because of the injury and surgery factor for this high profile player it is a complicated issue that will take more time than the standard trade scenario takes.

On what basis are you concluding that the scoops favor Jack? Most of the scoops include packages of players and assets that a Jack deal would garner for the Sabres. I don't see how the rumors circulating help or hinder Jack or even help or hinder the Sabres. It's simply the swirling rumor mill that is part of the sports landscape.

I agree with @tom websterthat the NMC is an insignificant factor in the trading of Jack. The player wants out of this organization as badly as the organization wants him out. His mind-set is that staying with the Sabres is not an acceptable option. His hope is that he is traded before the NMC kicks in because he desperately wants out sooner rather than later so that he can get his preferred surgery and get back on the ice. As it stands there is one option that Jack is not going to consider. And that is staying anchored to the team that he is currently contractually obligated to. He is not going to say no to any other location that will get him out of here.

It's not too difficult to understand Pegula's general reluctance to not be willing to retain salary on a traded player. But in this particular Jack case (if it is really a factor?) he has to show some flexibility. The reason is that this is a unique situation where the player being dealt has a questionable health status, both short term and even potentially long term. The team taking him on is taking a risk for a player who still has to undergo a surgery on his neck. It's understood that the Sabres are in a rebuilding mode. Adding maybe two pieces from a Jack trade would certainly help to accelerate the rebuild. And it should be noted that the Sabres are around the cap floor. So if the holdup in a deal is due to the owner being unwilling to retain any salary then that would be very disappointing, and in my view self-defeating.

If there is a positive takeaway from this game it is the quality of goalie play. I can't think of one game in which I can say our goalies underperformed. Considering what most of us expected (including me) that is a pleasant surprise.

Who is saying otherwise? This isn't a revelation that you are making. It is stating the obvious for a rebuilding team.

There is no question that this team lacks talent. That's understood by people who are realistic. But in this game the more rugged and stronger team dominated the play around our net. And make no mistake about it physical statistics of a roster don't necessarily indicate how physically a team plays. In this game the stronger team controlled the play around our net. And as the game wore on it became more evident.

Excellent observation. Once LA starting working their offense down low instead of from the perimeter they controlled the play. They created congestion our net and it was difficult for the Sabres too move them. The stronger team prevailed.

You can also add in Ryan Johnson to the mix of prospects who are looking to make the big club in the near future. The below link was from the Buffalo News and written by Lance Lysowski. https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/tapping-into-offensive-talent-may-have-sabres-prospect-ryan-johnson-on-cusp-of-pro-career/article_a2a06b4c-123c-11ec-be65-5f1b5018e74c.html

I disagree that you can't have a sense of how your prospects will fare in the NHL. There is no doubt that shortly after the draft it is difficult to get a sense whether a prospect will be able to reach the NHL. But after two to three years post draft a prospect's status should be much better clarified. And evaluating a player's performance in the AHL should be even more clarifying. Peterka and Quinn clearly are showing a capability to move up to the big league in a year. It would not be a major leap to believe that Peterka will be a call-up at the end of this season. If you add into the prospect mix that includes Power and Samuelsson you can see at least four young players/prospects added to the roster next year. On top of that there is a core group of at least a half of dozen players who not only are on the NHL roster already but also have upside. The young core not only is getting bigger but also getting better. The point I am stressing is that at a certain stage one can get a sense of whether your prospects can play at the next level.

Was your brother's injury associated from a traumatic event or simply wear and tear? What time frame did the doctors say give for the rehab? If any of these questions are too private I will respect that. Just curious?

What made the Washington and Snyder tawdry situation more outlandish is that Goodell commissioned an investigation and would not allow a written report. He claims that he verbally received the report that he and the league commissioned. That is so absurd that he should be brought up before congress and be forced to publicly state what was in that report. I was listening to a Md/DC sports show and they were talking about what was in that report. Snyder is a weird and nasty guy with a Bonaparte small stature affliction. On the street it is called being an insufferable priiick! https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/07/01/nfl-no-written-report-investigation-washington-football-team-workplace-environment/

Then which option would you take that @Brawndopresented? Either option seems like a reasonable return to me.

It was bad enough that this situation wasn't handled properly in Chicago but even worse is that the evil doer was given a recommendation that allowed him to get a job at a school where he abused another person. When an organization doesn't respond properly and quickly when information is learned about an abuse the ripple effect gets wider. The punishment should be more severe. The Q coach may not be in Chicago now but he should be held accountable.

If you had the choice of getting Zegras and Comtois from Anaheim or Krebs and Tuch from Vegas for Jack which deal would you make? Let's not factor in any draft picks in this hypothetical trade.

I don't believe that Mitts should be factored in any trade for Jack. If Krebs is in a deal you are essentially trading Jack for Krebs. That in itself would make it an unbalanced deal favoring Vegas. That's why I would expect a player such as Tuch to be included in the deal. In addition, to financially make the deal work for Vegas they need to have a significant salary going out to somewhat balance out the incoming Jack salary.

I would take Krebs, Tuch and a first or even a second round pick for Jack. Tuch is on IR and his departing salary for Vegas would offset some of Jack's incoming salary. When Tuch gets healthy he is a first or second line forward for us. If you add Krebs to the group of Quinn, Peterka, Power and Samuelsson you can see the young core expanding in the not too distant future. These young players would thrive under the tutelage of Granato.

Maybe we will be drafting a little lower in the draft? 🙂 What's your opinion of Oskari Laaksonen who is in Rochester right now? Will he be ready to make the jump up next year or a year after? Is he at the minimum a third pairing caliber of player?

It's ironic that entering the season the goaltending staffing was the biggest concern for most of us (including me). In the first half dozen games where this team has played beyond expectations goaltending has not only been consistently good but it has been the main reason why this gritty yet incomplete roster has played beyond expectations. I don't know if it can hold up but to put it mildly I'm pleasantly surprised.

I disagree with your comments about Dahlin. As for Power I'm hoping that he lives up to his lofty draft status. The consensus of the draft analysts categorized him as an elite prospect. With respect to future of our blue line grouping it looks bright if you include Samuelsson, Johnson, Dahlin, Power and Joki. It's taking time to form but it is materializing.

I agree with you that there isn't going to be a quick return for a contribution from Levi. My guess would be 2-3 yrs. down the road. The shame of the Reinhart saga is that he could have been secured a couple of years ago. It's like taking a step forward only to then take two steps back. What was surprising is that it appears that that Risto returned more assets than Reinhart did. I would never have predicted that.

I was as much of a fan of Sam as anyone here. He undoubtedly would have been an anchor player for us. The failure to keep him in the fold was a reflection of the organization's incompetence. It is beyond being exasperated to know that he was willing to sign an extension a year or two before his contract would run out. A mistake is a mistake. So you move on. As @LGR4GMpointed out if Levi turns out to be our #1 netminder in a year or two then the complexion of that deal becomes a little bit more rosy. And based on his early play in top tier college hockey that is not an outlandish hope.

Dahlin like all players will be a better player when surrounded by more talent. I see that steadily happening now. And it helps that he is being coached by someone who has a more enlightened approach to the game.

I agree with your point that you don't know for certain who will turn out to be the best prospect. But I qualified my comment with the word arguably that he was the consensus best prospect. Even if other players turn out to be better than he turns out to be I still consider his selection as the right selection at the time.

Arguably we got the best player in this past draft.