JohnC

Granato has talked about Krebs on a number of occasions on WGR. He pointed out that the talent is clearly there, but you just have to be patient. He stated that the overriding issue for the coach and the organization is what is the best course to follow for his development. Right now, he believes that giving him some playing time and practicing with the team, even with some intervals watching from the team box, is the best course of action.

What was most encouraging about the St. Louis game is that you can see the remaking of this roster falling into place. We have a quality #1 line. That's obvious. But the most encouraging takeaway from this game is that the emerging Cozens's line, although very young, can be a good #2 line. This youngster line will be inconsistent, but in another year or two it will become an established second line. You don't have to be a hockey maven to recognize the flashes of talent that JJ and Quinn bring to the table. And Cozens who is a no frills player anchors this line like he is a seasoned vet. You have to give Granato credit for having the vision to put these three kids together and allow them to make mistakes and grow together.

I'm not knocking any player who was rated higher in this particular ranking exercise. What I'm confident in saying is that he was the right selection for this team in that draft year from a team value standpoint. What's impressive about Power is not only the obvious talent and potential, but how confident he is asserting himself in the offensive zone. He plays smartly and with confidence. He's not afraid to expand his game in the offensive zone. I really wasn't expecting that this soon. Dahlin has a more dazzling stye of play in comparison to Power who has a more contained style of play. Just think how good he will be in another year or two. Already, he is an anchor player for us.

I like you am speculating. But even if Johnson enters the free agency market and makes a judgment of which franchise would give him the best opportunity to play sooner in the NHL, it would be here. And from a competitive team standpoint it would be better for him to join a young team on the upswing than go with a more mature team on the downswing. Just my opinion.

So if unprovoked someone throws a snowball at @LGR4GMand breaks his nose you will be at fault? 🤡

I got a simpler and non-analytical approach to evaluating players and their play: Trust your eyes! When the numbers come in they usually reflect what you see.

Don Granato was on WGR yesterday for his regular Tuesday morning call in. When asked why the team was struggling, he pointed out that that one of the reasons was that due to injuries the PK was negatively impacted. He felt that it was a significant reason for at least a couple of losses. It's likely that Jost was picked up because of his PK utility. And the coach pointed out that the Samuelsson injury had a cascading effect on the unit because it resulted in players moving up the pairing ranks when they were not equipped to handle that elevation. I'm stating the obvious that Samuelsson is an important player for this team. He allows other players to more freely play to their strengths and back them up when they need it.

Just some quick and superficial observations about this game: The Tage line was dominant. Skinner has demonstrated his ability to make nifty passes. This line is building a cohesion and instinct for where each player is going to be. I was worried about Tuch's ability to accurately shoot. In this game he displayed a laser like hard shot that was quick off his stick. I was really impressed with the Cozen line. JJ is emerging. Slowing but steadily you can see Quinn gaining confidence and getting better. He'll get a confidence boost when he puts a couple of biscuits in the net. The coach was smart in putting these three youngsters together. I thought the Mitts line was inconsequential. It's remarkable how the loss of one player can have negative consequences for the pairings. Samuelsson is such a stabilizer on this unit. As @Brawndopointed signing him and Tage to an early contract was financially beneficial to this franchise. Yost was a good signing in that it added a little grit and mature play. If the Sabres had this level of PK this season we would have had a couple more wins. Scoring first seemed to make a big difference in giving this team confidence. I'm looking forward to the St. Louis game.

What did you hear that would make you believe that it is unlikely that he will sign here? Even if he considers all his options after his college career, signing with Buffalo would put him in a good playing situation. It seems to me that it is more likely than not that he will sign with the Sabres. Portillo is an altogether didn't situation. I would be surprised if he signed here.

You make an incisive point that internal competition in of itself is a positive dynamic for the team and for young players. Even if it relegates a younger player to the lower league that doesn't necessarily hinder a prospect's develepmont. By not rushing the young player you are more likely to enhance the young player's development. Having depth is not a situation that anyone should lament about. It gives you a greater ability to absorb the inevitable injuries and prevent your team from sinking when injuries do happen. The Sabres are an example of what happens when there is little margin for error. The boat is more likely to sink in troubled waters.

Kevin Adams was on WGR last year and was asked why he didn't re-sign Ullmark. The GM said that what Ullmark wanted was outside the contract parameters that the organization felt he was worth. Ullmark wanted a longer deal and more money than he signed with Boston. I have no criticism for a player who wants more to remain with a historically troubled franchise and who preferred to take less on a shorter term with a more stable franchise. It's called a loser's tax!

There is a middle ground that included adding a couple of additional players to create more depth. I'm not suggesting, or ever suggested, that the organization should go full throttle to address the short-term needs at the expense of hindering the development of our younger players. What I'm suggesting is the opposite of that. What I'm advocating for here is that adding a couple, or few more additional players would have given this roster more depth, and also more importantly provided more support to the younger players.

In general, I support the youth movement (draft and development approach) that is occurring. However, that doesn't mean that you can't augment that process with some reasonable acquisitions in the offseason, especially when you have a gaping amount of cap space. I like the additions of Lyubushkin and Comrie. But at the minimum another defenseman and goalie could have been added without displacing time for any of the youngsters. Even accepting the youth movement this team clearly had little reserve on the roster and in our system. Knowing that injuries are a fact of life in this crash sport. More could have been done and should have been done to enhance the roster. Our plummeting record speaks to that lack of preparation for the inevitable.

You are not comprehending the thrust of what I am saying. You are predictably distorting my comments to fit your narrative. What I am saying is that when a team takes the standard approach of rebuilding through the draft, it should also include bringing in support players to help bring along the young players. Steve Yzerman was involved with building cup teams in Detroit and Tampa. He then went back to Detroit to rebuild that roster. There is no question that his rebuild mostly centers around drafting and developing players. But if you examine this past offseason you would see that he judiciously added some veteran players to support his youthful squad. It's not a question of indiscriminately spending money. It's a question of being judicious and doing everything you can reasonably do to build a winner. Our record speaks for itself!

How about paying Ullmark the premium he was asking for to remain with this dystopian franchise? It wasn't an unreasonable amount considering that he had an option to go to a proven winning and playoff team instead of being with a franchise stuck in a generational malaise. And there is no argument that the premium charge to stay here would have squeezed the cap or hindered us in future contract actions. Ottawa had a deliberate teardown not that long ago because it wanted to completely remake that franchise and for business reasons. I'm confident that their rebuild won't last nearly a generation as our rebuild seems to be. The problem with the Sabre franchise isn't that it made a decision to rebuild. It's the faulty execution that has kept this franchise in an extended abyss. What makes me uncomfortable with your Ottawa comparison is that you are comparing our failures to another failed franchise. How about comparing us to Jersey or Seattle that is a new expansion team?

I've said this on a number of occasions so I apologize for the repetition: The long-term losing has had a corrosive effect to the point that players don't want to come here, and players already here don't want to remain here. (As you are pointing out.) The GM could have re-signed Ullmark who was requiring a premium (not exorbitant) price for staying here. The GM wasn't willing to do so. In my opinion the GM should have done so. As you warningly point out this bruised and battered fan base is dwindling. A greater degree of urgency in buttressing this roster should have been demonstrated in the last offseason. The current state of affairs is very troubling.

It could be worse. It can end up a generation. ☠️

I would argue that more resources ($$$) should have been used to bring in a higher end goalie in addition to the Comrie add. Bringing back an elderly Anderson who needs to be sheltered with limited playing time was not something I would have done. I have no problem with adding Comrie. But another goalie could have been added to the mix when a number of candidates were on the market. And as @Taro Thas frequently stated another defenseman could have been added to the blue line.

That period of time was a failure because too many bad personnel and contract decisions were made. But prior excessive and imprudent decisions shouldn't be a blanket argument to not better use available cap space to not only improve the roster but also put the young players in a better position to succeed. What I'm arguing here is that there is a middle position where judicial decisions on cap spending and personnel can contribute to winning more.

What would be the return if Mittelstadt was dealt? That's the conundrum when talking trades. It comes down to getting value back. When you send out an inconsequential player you definitely are not going to get back a consequential player unless it is packaged with high end prospects and draft picks. Would you take that option? The Sabres had Jack, ROR, Reinhart, Risto, Hall and Ullmark. What did they all have in common? They all wanted out because they concluded that they were stuck in an organization that had no ability to get itself out of the muck of mediocrity in a reasonable period of time. You see teams like Jersey make that quantum leap after a rebuilding process. And there are teams that had succeeded and then needed to retool after their cup contending lifespan came to an end. And then they do it. My fear is that this prolonged failure is corrosive and demoralizing on the players (and the fans) gets to the point where the next batch of our better players will want out when their contracts allow them to do so. I don't know what the answer is about this interminable slide into meaningless and irrelevant hockey. It's numbing to the point of being apathetic.

I agree with your argument of seizing opportunities to get better. However, those types of meaningful transactions usually happen at the trade deadline and offseason. I wouldn't rule out some fringe deals but I don't see KA going outside his often repeated mantra/strategy of building from within. I understand everyone's impatience but I just don't see any impactful transactions in the near future. Unless there is a total collapse I'm fine with his approach.

I believe that Lyubushkin is hurt. He's the type of player who plays up to his moderate talents. He adds value beyond his talent level because he adds an element of physicality that is not in surplus on this roster. However, when a player is limited talent-wise and has to contend with a plaguing injury then his utility is diminished. But that brings up the issue of missing the opportunity to acquire more depth players in the offseason when there were opportunities to do so. With respect to the impact of missing Okposo and whether there is a correlation or causation as to how this team plays when he is missing, it again goes to the issue of depth and roster fragility. Injuries are part of the landscape. What happens if Tage or Dahlin gets hurt? Is the ship then torpedoed? The Sabres have a number of promising young players in JJ, Power, Quinn, Samuelsson etc. But so do many teams. It's just the thought that this team could be out of playoff contention by New Year's is dispiriting. Just think that Jack, O'Reilly, Reinhart, Risto, Ullmark, Hall, Montour all wanted out and are now happier with their new teams. They simply got tired of being enmeshed in a losing environment. Will that depressing losing environment wear down players like Dahlin and Power to the point that they will seek better options when their contracts come up? Winning has a positive medicinal effect when wounded! Right now it is not at a level that will create a positive environment for the emerging players.

I agree with just about everything you said. There were opportunities this past offseason to get another quality third pairing type of defenseman that would have given the blue line more depth when the inevitable injuries happened. What makes it even more aggravating is that there was more than enough cap room to bring in another player, and also it would not have cut into the playing time and development of any of our young players on the backend. (I am more than sympathetic to @GASabresIUFAN 's frustration with the GM's seemingly passive attitude toward bringing in players from the outside that can help.) Granato has made it known a number of times on WGR that his first priority with working with young players is to emphasize the offense, then work on instituting a defensive system. It's apparent to anyone who is watching the games is that he better start putting more emphasis on the defensive side of the game. He needs to balance out the offensive/defensive ratio or this team will fall into another extended malaise. The problem I have with the PP is that the puck is being moved around the perimeter. Although the time of possession is high the high scoring chances are limited. Shoot the freaking puck and put more bodies around net! I was watching the game last night and I got the same sensation that I have gotten for a number of games: It seems that other teams are playing with more urgency and effort while the Sabres seem to be more complacent. When you are on an extended losing streak you have to play with more desperation. I just didn't see it last night. It's sad to say that I wasn't satisfied; I ended up turning the station to a NBA basketball game.

You make some good points. The difference I see between Johnson, the defenseman, and Portillo, the goalie, is that Portillo will competing with Levi who is on the same development timeline. Whereas in the Johnson case, he more likely will be able to earn a spot on the roster and play sooner because he will more quickly be ready to fill a need on the blueline. It's not inconceivable that he could play in the NHL in his first pro year. I agree with you that KA has to bolster the blueline. However, I don't believe it is going to be done on your timeline. I think that more likely it will be done in the offseason. I'm not precluding that he considers all his options. He would be a fool not to. But what I am saying is that after scanning the market Buffalo would be a good situation for him right away because there is a chance that he could earn a NHL roster spot sooner than if he went elsewhere. And as I said in the prior post I don't believe that the father factor will be as important an influence in his decision as you seem to think.

I'm aware that his father works for the Ducks. But why would that be more of an influencing factor than going to an organization that is more likely give him a chance to play sooner rather than later? From a career standpoint Buffalo would be a good landing spot, even after considering all the other team options. And the way the pro sports world functions you can be employed in an organization and then after a few years of franchise failures become unemployed. My point here is that where your daddy currently works shouldn't be as important a consideration as it may seem to be.