JohnC

Sometimes when things are not working for a line you change the players just for the sake of shaking things. The hope is that there will be a different dynamic. It won't be for long because Cozens will probably be back to centering for the youngsters very soon.

Someone else may have mentioned it but it would be interesting to see Krebs in-between Quinn and JJ. And then put Asplund on the Okposo and Girgs line. It seemed that the Quinn-Krebs-JJ line clicked in Rochester. Just a thought. Are these guys fully naked? If so, then this is pornographic. 🤡

I don't understand the argument that a player was part of the losing culture so that disqualifies his return, especially if he is an upgrade. Mitts, Dahlin, Skinner, Okposo, Girgs etc were also members of the team when the organization was run shabbily. It wasn't the players' fault that this was a dysfunctional organization that had little chance to be competitive. I don't know if McCabe is available. That really isn't the issue for me. What I would like to see is a McCabe caliber of player added to the mix to buttress our defensive unit. The cost shouldn't be too extravagant like a Chycrun deal would be. Our GM added Lyubuskin to the unit without giving up any assets. That was a solid pickup. Now that he seems to be fully healthy that addition looks even better than when he was plagued with nagging injuries.

When you use your credit card in Canada is the bill in American or Canadian dollars $$$? Just curious.

I'm not sure that he wouldn't want to come back. He felt stuck in the losing culture here. He got tired of it, like a number of other players. His sentiments are understandable. Then he signs with Chicago that is now undergoing a major rebuild. I would think that he would be energized coming back to a team that is on the rise. When he left there were no negative comments or whispers about him. It was just time for a change. Putting aside this particular player, it would be beneficial to get a similar type of rugged player added to the roster. Pairing Lyubuskin with a McCabe type of player would be a good addition to the blue line unit.

I would give up a second, or maybe two of them, for him if he was open to coming back. He would be a good partner for Lyubushkin or when needed on the second pair. That would make more sense than pursuing a high asset cost player like Chychrun.

You have every right to feel queasy about this game. The Sabres have played 4 games in 6 days on this road trip. If you include travel days, this has been an exhausting trip. In this month, the Sabres have played 15 games in 28 days. This is a compressed schedule---a crazy playoff type schedule in the regular season. To the Sabres's credit the they have consistently played with energy with only a few heavy legged games. attached is a link of this month's schedule. https://www.nhl.com/sabres/schedule/2023-01-01/ET

Don Granato was on the RK staff. When he took over, he said on a WGR broadcast that even when Skinner was being marginalized by the previous coach, he still was one of the hardest working players in practice. The bottom line is not only were Dahlin and Skinner grossly misused, so were all the players on the roster were. He had an archaic system in the modern world of hockey. Failure was unavoidable.

I forgot that specificity is a requirement. 🍺

Last year, Jack was coming back from surgery. It's still too early to make a conclusive judgment on the trade. I'm more than happy how it has turned out for Buffalo. But that doesn't mean that from a Vegas perspective it wasn't or won't be a good deal.

Excellent analysis. I wouldn't be surprised if Quinn and Peterka make strides this season. And next season I'm expecting much more from them. It's part of the growing process.

Is Erie a Buffalo or Pittsburgh market, or split?

Jack has been hurt. He was out of the line for a period of time. Is the injury plaguing him? I can't say for sure but I wouldn't be surprised. As far as changing positions on any issue, when the circumstances change that is what reasonable and open-minded people do. With respect to the Jack issue there are many people who are resentful of him because he wanted out. And it should be added that the GM also wanted him out. There is an emotion that is colored by hostility whenever the Jack topic comes up. What I can say for sure is that no GM in the league, including KA, would have made a simple Eichel for Tuch trade at the time. I'm a Tuch fan and I have become a Krebs fan. In my view the trade worked out for both organizations.

This is a tricky question. From a talent standpoint I would still take Eichel if it is a one on one deal. However, from a situational standpoint each player benefits from being where they are now. Now if you change the question to include Krebs, Tuch, a first round pick and additional cap space, then from Buffalo's perspective I would say Buffalo. But that doesn't mean from Vegas's perspective that they are unhappy with the deal. I have said before that this trade benefited Eichel and it benefited the Sabres. Each team makes their own calculation.

Whenever I watch the Sabres my eyes tell me that he is the best player on the ice. You make an interesting point about the Krueger fiasco and how it held back his development. Did it set back Dahlin's advancement to this point? I'm not really sure that it did because it appears to me that once the yoke of Krueger was released, the player quickly caught up with matching his talents with his play.

If the trade proposal would have simply been Eichel for Tuch, no GM in the league would have taken Tuch, including the Sabre GM. When all the calculations are done Vegas got what they wanted, and the Sabres got what they wanted.

Attached is a WGR link with two hockey segments. One segment is a 15 min segment with Paul Hamilton talking about the game, team and trade possibilities. And the other is a short segment talking about the insanity of the Ralph Krueger era. https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/authors/howard-and-jeremy-show

No. Give me another Lyubuskin type defenseman to add to the blue line unit. It will cost a lot less in assets. Quinn and JJ are going to be quality wingers in the very near future. We also have players in the pipeline that in another year or two will be ready to move up the ranks. In the next couple to few years the Sabres are going to have a cap squeeze addressing the contracts of our own players. Dahlin, Power and Cozens are going to warrant costly contracts. Stay mostly to the course that has been set. As we all can see it's working exceedingly well.

I agree with almost everything you said except your opinion on Skinner in this game. He was instrumental on two scores, the Tage and Olofsson goals. He's become more than a scorer; he's also a catalyst. Do you know where he got hurt? Was it the throat?

Attached are the standings. https://www.nhl.com/standings/2022/division

The tic tac toe goal was the play of the game.

There are a number of players who could be singled out for their performances. But one player who I thought was outstanding was Joki. He was more than solid in the defensive zone, and he is becoming more involved with the offense with his passing and shooting. Skinner's passing is becoming more obvious as the season advances. Tuch is a tremendous addition to the roster. He's a true power forward. Krebs is feisty. Comrie didn't face a lot of shots. But he made a number of high-end stops in the beginning of the first period that set this game up for a win. The trade Olofsson talk has slowed down. It should be silenced. This game was a good measuring stick game that demonstrated that the Sabres are a good team. And I'm confident that all the teams in the league are aware of it. No more flying under the radar. This is turning out to be an exciting season.

In this game, I thought none of our lines or defensive pairings were outplayed. That says a lot against this team with one of the best rosters and goalies in the game. Being faster and quicker against St. Louis isn't much of an accomplishment because our roster is constructed to be faster. But to out quick and out pace this high quality roster with a number of offensive studs is a testament to the quality of our lineup.

I agree with you that this may be the best this team has played in a period. We dominated a good team with an elite goalie. Our speed and tenacity dominated a quality opponent in the second period. The Tage goal was exquisite with two exceptional passes from Tuch and Skinner. As good as Tuch's was I thought Skinner's saucer pass to him was exceptional.

There is no good purpose to this thread. Go back to the first page on this thread where @Brawndoposts the family's request to respect their privacy.