JohnC

When Yzerman returned to Detroit after his stint with Tampa he was asked at his first Detroit draft how was he going to get Detroit back to prominence in the NHL. He tersely told the interviewer: I'll do it the right way: draft and develop. He then walked away.

The brave go where most people fear to go. Inhabiting the space of the opposition in order to unmercifully taunt them can be fraught with danger. Evidently, he fears not! The question is: Is he brave or foolish? I will leave that up to others who know him well. 🧨

You may not be aware of it but you got the look and posture of a heroic character.

Were you the model for Captain America? https://www.shutterstock.com/search/captain+america

Playoff hockey is great! The consistent intensity is remarkable.

You don't need to delete your responses, and neither do the people who responded to you. That doesn't mean that you have to further elaborate on the topic. If you get sanctioned for veering off topic, then you have become a member of the same disciplined membership faction that I am also a member of.

I rather deal with the multiple dribbles and drabbles than see a urologist. It's a deliberate avoidance of the harsh and often irritating reality of getting older. Better than the other option, just saying!!!!

I understand the nuance of your argument about the owner telling the GM that if a particular player needed to be moved, it had to be done prior to bonus taking effect. Is it true or not that the owner ordered the player to be traded prior to the bonus kicking in? I simply don't know what the actual inside story was. But given that unknown, if the owner told the GM that if the player was going to be dealt, it needed to be done prior to the bonus taking effect. That requirement was certainly a limiting factor in the return. If the GM was determined to trade ROR, wouldn't it make more sense for the GM to be willing to pay the bonus and get a better return from the team he was dealt to? There were reports that Carolina would have offered more for him but were not willing to pay the bonus. The point I'm making is that the issue of who ordered the trade is not the limiting factor in the return. It is the unwillingness of the dealing team not to pay the bonus for a player who no longer wanted to play in Buffalo. In my mind the onus is on the owner on how this deal materialized because of the financial consideration. And in this case, I understand and am sympathetic to the owner's stance if that is what happened.

It's not lying if you have your fingers crossed behind your back!🙃

Now that the talent base is increasing you can see a variety of credible options materializing when putting together lines. And in the course of a season when the coach juggles lines due to injuries or simply to change the dynamic of a line going stale you can see the flexibility the coach has to make the changes. I believe it was @dudacekwho made the observation that staff has the ability to assemble two credible second-caliber lines behind your first line, with Cozens and Mitts as your centers. If Quinn and to a lesser extent JJ can quickly make the jump to the higher league and comfortably fit in, then the line options increase even more.

I don't want to get into the exhausted pro and anti-Jack discussion. Assuming that Jack gets back to his pre-injury level, the Knights will be more than ecstatic about their trade for him. And assuming it does, the trade will still be an overall benefit for the Sabres because it helped to accelerate the reconfiguring and rebalancing of our roster. That's the hallmark of a good trade where both parties benefit. What will make this trade even more beneficial for us is if the draft pick gained is used to add a good prospect into our system.

I'm aware that many here have nothing but contempt for Jack Eichel. I'm not in that critical group. I'm just noting that Jack played with a broken thumb for six weeks. https://www.nhl.com/news/jack-eichel-injury-status/c-333985196

You look at our payroll situation right now. The Sabres are going to struggle to meet the cap floor, as it did last year. I'm aware that there will be a number of young players who when their next contract comes up will merit a significant raise. It's understood that because of the next contract cycle there will be an increase in payroll. However, (my opinion) the owners have lost a lot of money over the past few years. I see this team for the foreseeable being a low payroll team. My point is that the organization is going to count on cheap players longer than you think.

Let's not undervalue the restorative value of rest and time off. Heavy loads over a long period of time wears the body down.

To underscore your point, by keeping your picks and having a stable of prospects in your system your organization is able to handle the loss of a good player to the market. So, the net result is that you are able to move up a player from the system and have the financial wherewithal to participate in the free agent market, not necessarily at the top level but at the mid-tier level.

Tampa had two long cup runs. It has to have taken its toll. You can see that fatigue come into play where the other team seems to have that extra gear to make a push. It also doesn't help that their goaltender who is considered to be the best goalie in the game is not playing as if he is the best goalie in the sport.

It's likely that if there is a technical issue with his proclivity to missing long shots that it will be corrected. My biggest concern about him is durability. That is starting to bother me a lot. The thought of Anderson and UPL being our two top goaltenders to start the season next year would be a big gamble, and in my eyes be a mistake. There is a lot of good things happening with this roster. I would hate to see it sabotaged because of our goaltending situation.

The analysis of UPL's game that you just gave is the same analysis that Marty Biron gave on him. He stated that he was worried about his less than stellar ability to stop those long shots. To state the obvious: Those are deflating goals to let in!

For a team like the Sabres I don't see one targeted player be sufficient to complete our lineup. As @JoeSchmoe stated when factoring in the cost it makes more sense to retain your draft picks for entry level players and then apply your savings to sign mid-level free agents and trades . Kevin Adams has repeatedly stated the importance of keeping his draft picks to build up the organization's talent base. I just don't see him going the offer sheet route to address roster needs. It goes against what he has said in how he will rebuild the roster

If you look at our center group it includes Tage, Mitts, Cozens, Krebs and either Girgs or Asplund as our fourth line center. I just don't see the need for another more defensive oriented center. It might make more sense to add another bigger and scrappier winger like Asplund to the mix in order to have a more physical lineup. Or another approach that might me be more effective is to add another more rugged stay at home defenseman to the unit in order to assemble a bigger and tougher lineup. In general, I agree with what you are basically promoting. I'm just making the point that there are a variety of ways to get where you want to go to.

Within this link is a 25 minute WGR interview with GM KA. There is nothing startling new in this interview. He talks about some players such as Quinn, the goaltending situation, Tage, his analytics department, the player development approach in building a roster etc. Just a general observation when listening to the GM and Granato: There is a clarity and direction within the franchise that the organization is following. Without many new revelations it is still a good review of the season and direction this franchise is moving in. https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/authors/howard-and-jeremy-show

Is there a Tuch like big wing player who might be available due to cap pressures? If there is, I wouldn't be averse to give up an asset such as taking on the salary of another player and a draft pick in order to get a deal done. Vegas certainly isn't going to be the only team facing a cap squeeze.

Is the depth for prospects better or worse than next year's draft? I'm aware that is a difficult judgment to make right now but if the depth is equal to or better than next year's projection of prospects it would be a good situation for a team like the Sabres that has multiple first round picks. I prefer getting prospects into the system sooner than later. I'm happy with our draft situation

Why do you blame Jack for ROR?

I don't see much added to the roster this offseason. You and everyone else have called for a need for an upgrade in net. What happens if Anderson decides to play one more year? Does the GM accept him as a #1 goalie and UPL as the backup? That would be a horrible mistake not because Anderson can't play but because he lacks the durability that one can rely on. How about the durability issue with UPL? The GM needs to spend a large amount of money just to get to the cap floor. My recommendation would be to spend it on a goalie or two. My fear isn't that the GM seems invested in UPL as one of his goalies as it is his willingness to risk playing him as the primary goalie. That's a gamble that chills me. I separate myself from the crowd here regarding Joki. I'm very comfortable with him paired with Power as a second pair member. It's probable that another defenseman is added to the mix but I'm not sure it is going to be a second pairing caliber of player. Most likely it will be a defensive defenseman who will be a third pairing and a depth player. The Sabres need to spend a lot of money to just get to the cap floor. How are they going to do it? Don't be surprised if they again take on a contract or two for the sake of a credit as it did last year.