JohnC

Quinn was voted rookie of the year in the AHL. JJ Peterka was voted on the all-AHL rookie team. They both are ranked high as prospects by people who follow the AHL. So you may consider this a dishonest ranking but I don't. https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/sabres-jack-quinn-named-ahl-rookie-of-the-year-after-dynamic-season-with-amerks/article_5d4a1bfa-c7f0-11ec-937a-5bc57bec6c24.html

I agree with you that Arttu made the right decision for himself. I wish him well.

I'm an Asplund fan. I just think that he would be a good fit with that more physical and defensive grouping. And if you include him on a line with Okposo you will get more offensive production out of a lower line than we have previously had.

I say this with no hostility but I don't know what the heck you are talking about.

What asset do you think you could have gotten for him? A six or seventh round pick in 2032? There is an underlining story to the departure of Arttu that is positive. It's that he wouldn't be able to make the NHL team because the talent base has increased to the point where he wasn't simply good enough.

Your logic is very odd. So if high end prospects/players such as Dahlin, Cozens, Quinn etc. are playing on a losing team, then you are questioning their selections even though they have individually or in time demonstrated they can play well in this league? If a team doesn't have adequate goaltending that allows it to be a competitive team does that mean that all the other players are failures? The success of a team shouldn't dictate how every player is evaluated. That makes absolutely no sense.

Simple solution: Move Asplund down to the Girgs and Okposo line and move Peterka to the Cozens and Quinn line.

I wholeheartedly agree with. Now is the time to have higher expectations for this team. It's not unreasonable to believe that this team should be in the playoff hunt up to the end of the season. Will they make the playoffs next year? I don't know. But if they are not playing meaningful games at the end of the season, I will be deeply disappointed. In my view if this team would have had Ullmark caliber of goaltending last year, this team would have been 10 pts better than the 74 pts they finished with last year. So if 84 points was the baseline entering this season then 90 pts should be an attainable goal this season. That doesn't put us in the playoffs but it does put us in the range with teams vying for a playoff spot.

I say this with no rancor but I don't know what you are talking about. We are like two ships passing each other in the darkest of night. We are simply passengers riding in different boats. That's fine.

The problem isn't that these Russian prospects will be permanently barred so much as their development might be set back if they are not allowed to play in NA in the next couple of years.

You may have forgotten but Cup winning teams such as Colorada and Tampa took a while to build their rosters up to get to get to their championship status. You may believe in magic but that isn't the reason why these two teams ended up drinking champagne out of the cup. It is a challenging and laborious process that takes time.

I agree with you about not making definitive claims about young players. You never really know for sure how they will develop. Some prospects will meet expectations while some wont. But when a team is rebuilding its roster it is more likely to have more young players playing than an established team will have. In reviewing all the young players you listed: Cozens, Krebs, Quinn and Peterka and Mitts they all have exhibited through their play that they deserve opportunities they probably wouldn't get on a cup contending team that has a more veteran laden roster. That's simply the nature where this team is.

That's reality. Sometimes the situation you are in is the situation you are in. If you can't handle it then it's your problem to work out. Not all problems are quickly resolved. The quick solution you are seeking is an imaginary solution conjured up in your mind. It does not exist in the real world.

My definition of team success: I will be disappointed if this team isn't in a playoff race up to the end of the season. I'm not predicting that they will (hope so) but they should be playing meaningful playoff implication games up to the conclusion of the season. And within my definition of success I am expecting the many young players to improve and become established NHL players. Comparing the current higher expectation to the previous realization that this team was sunk before the first puck was dropped in the opening game, I would say that would fall within my definition of success.

I look at the many line combinations that are being posted here. Most of them make sense. What's evident is now there is a depth in personnel and flexibility in roles that will allow the HC to reconstitute the lines when it's called for due to injuries and game and matchup situations. The coaches on this team will have their work cut out for them in putting the pieces together to get the right combinations. Fortunately, Granato is a flexible coach who is not afraid to try and retry player combinations. He's done an excellent job in putting players in a good position to succeed.

Sameulsson, Quinn, JJ, maybe UPL, Bryson, Power, Krebs etc were prospects who now matter. We now have a pipeline that is flowing with a large talent pool moving from the back to the front. That's how it's supposed to work.

If Mitts makes the jump as I think he will it's more likely than not that he will be part of the core for quite a while. As you indicate it comes down to production. His grooming stage is over with. Now it's time to produce. We'll just have to wait and see how things unfold.

There's a good reason for that. They are prospects.

I'm don't consider their comments absolute and ironclad. That would be naive on my part to rigidly hold them to their comments. However, Mitts, as does Cozens, fits the profile of players who are in the system and have been developed. It would not make sense (at least for me) to deal off a young player that appears (hopefully) has made the step up. Another reason that I can't foresee Mitts being dealt is due to his versatility. He not only can play both the center and forward position but has also expressed a willingness to do so. I'm not questioning whether other players will be brought in. I just don't see Mitts be subtracted in order for another addition.

I just don't see your expectations regarding Mitts coming to fruition. Granato said last year that Mitts was one of the best players in last year's training camp. Then he got hurt and was shelved until late in the season. I see him being either our 2C or 3C vying with Cozens for the higher role. In addition, Mitts, like Cozens, has the ability to play wing. So, his versatility would be an additional argument to keep him. Another reason that I can't foresee him be moved is that he fits the profile of how the GM wants to build this roster i.e. mostly building from within the system. I just see the organization counting on both Mitts and Cozens making the leap into becoming established players for this hopefully emerging team.

You get irritated with the notion of a big picture but that is the reality in this case since the installation of KA. It's not unrealistic to believe that the Sabres do end up in 7th place in the division. That would be disappointing but not necessarily indicating that the team isn't moving in the right direction. Anyone who believed that KA had a quick fix solution to remaking this roster and making this a serious Cup contending team was not being realistic. The GM would be the first person to tell you that it was going to be a challenging process. Upon his installation he gave an overview of how he was going to rebuild this franchise. He publicly acknowledged that it was going to take time. That's a harsh reality that many people refuse to accept because they are attaching the previous decade of failure onto his tenure. There are plenty of meaningful questions that should be asked of KA. Is the staffing and structure of the hockey operation demonstrably better? Yes. Is the drafting better? Yes. Is the roster filled with more talented young players who have upside? Yes. Was the right coach hired? Yes. I understand your impatience, everyone does. But if you want instant gratification you are not going to get it because that's not how things work in the NHL. Pointing out what has previously been done wrong is not much of a challenge. Recognizing what has been done right in a relatively short period of time may give you a more objective and optimistic picture of where this franchise currently resides.

The hockey operation with KA at the helm is currently running well. Why would you tamper with it by making a major personnel move within the hockey operation side of the organization? It's likely that Kim will require a lengthy recovery because of her health situation. But her role before getting sick dealt with the business and facilities side of the business. If she needs to step back from her responsibilities the person replacing her should come from the same side of the business.

You make an interesting point about the entertaining brand of hockey the coach promotes. It's a fast pace and north/south offensive style of play that is fun to watch. Rebuilding teams lose more than they win. That's not a surprise. More often than not when coaches recognized that their teams were outmatched, they typically resorted to suffocating the opposition with conservative defensive play that focused on stifling the opponent at the expense of suppressing their own offense. The emphasis is more on stopping the other team and not making mistakes rather than playing aggressively to win. It's gruesome to watch. It's soulless hockey that has little entertainment value in an entertainment business. Just compare how Dahlin and Skinner played under Krueger compared to being liberated under Granato? Needless to say, Granato was the right coach at the right time. KA's selection of Don G to be the HC was an exceptional decision that overshadowed any of his sound personnel moves.

Granato was the right coaching hire for the situation that called for a major rebuild. It is abundantly evident that he excels in developing young players. The big question is how is his team going to perform when there is an expectation that his team should be competing not only to make the playoffs but to be a serious cup contender? We know he can handle the stage one and two in a rebuild i.e. deconstruction of inherited roster and construction with young players. Can he excel at the third stage when the roster is mostly set and the young players have matured and are expected to compete when the stakes are high?

I'm more than happy with the Comrie signing. If I had my druthers, I would have preferred a second goalie being added. I'm just queasy about Anderson's durability as a backup. My sense is that KA is comfortable with UPL being next man up. We shall see if he is worthy of that trust.