JohnC

One of his most impressive traits is that as a young player he has such a mature game. His positioning is fundamentally sound. He's one of our most efficient players. He's a big body guy who doesn't have to bang people too often because he is so effective in getting the puck out of his zone. When Dahlin is on the ice you can be dazzled by his style of play. With Samuelsson you don't notice him too much because he is so efficient and under control. His game represents substance more than it does style.

I never subscribed to the theory that one or two players in a team sport are going to be the salvation for a lagging franchise. The difference when Eichel joined the team in comparison to Power joining the team is that the Michigan player is being added to a more robust roster. Using that same line of line of reasoning, as talented as Dahlin is, he as an individual couldn't influence the outcome much against superior teams. The Sabres are approaching the point where talent is more evenly spread throughout the lineup. Good players playing on good teams are more effective than good players playing on less talented teams.

Your advice is spot on about getting the sequence right in prioritizing what has to be done. The only thing that I can add to your wise counsel is that very often when one is facing such a large and complex project it can be overwhelming. So sometimes when facing such a long term project it is productive just start off with a smaller and manageable tasks and getting them done. The psychology of completing a task, even if it is small in the grand scheme of the big picture, it can give you some confidence in dealing with the grand task of the remodel. Building off of your smaller success can give you the confidence to tackle the bigger projects that need to be done.

When he played in the World tournament with and against top tier pros he started with limited playing time. Based on his play he moved up the defensive pairings on his team in short order and earned top pairing minutes. In the end of the season games that I saw him although he made some mistakes he played without fear. With most rookies you have to be cautious about making predictions based on their early play. But even with the limited exposure he had with the Sabres last season it's an easy call to project him into being a top pairing caliber of player.

Owen Power was the first pick in the draft. The way he played in the World Tournament and in his introductory stint last year demonstrated that he was demonstrably better than the players you listed in your post. If you want to take a wait and see approach with most rookie players, that would be a reasonable approach to take. But there is a small pool of rookies who are clearly a cut above their rookie piers. And it is safe to say (for me) that he falls in that category.

Don't feel bad about the situation. Have you been able to find a good contractor who can help you put together a good plan to rehabilitate your home? The challenge is to find someone who is qualified and is honest to deal with. Once you do that then you can steadily do the upgrades that will make your home so much better. I'm like you in that I'm not very handy. However, I have been fortunate to have reliable contractors to do what is necessary to deal with the many issues that arise from owning a home.

Most people would agree that the Sabres will enter next season with an improved roster. That isn't a difficult judgment to make. The bigger issue then becomes have the Sabres improved more than Ottawa, Columbus or Detroit (teams in our strata) did this offseason? And related to that issue is did the Sabres improve enough to make up the difference in talent with enough teams that were ranked ahead of us from the prior season? I fall into the optimistic camp with this franchise. However, I'm not sure if we have leaped ahead of enough teams this offseason to become a playoff team. I'm confident that this team will be vying for a playoff spot up to the end of the season. However, will that be good enough for us to end up in a playoff spot? I'm not sure?

I want you to prove me wrong. I'm rooting against myself but not betting against my stance. 😃

The numbers you project at are realistic numbers next year but not in his rookie year. As @thewookie1has pointed out he has a pattern of acclimating himself in his first year at each level and then taking off in his second year. What's going to be intriguing to watch is the comparison in play between JJ and Quinn. The rate of development of our young players is going to make this season fun to watch.

Don't mess with the oldsters. They are tougher than you think. And some of them are good shots! https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2022/08/04/store-owner-shoots-attempted-robber-california-orig-llr.cnn

Vegas has other goalie options. The irony is that Lehner's injury and likely LTIR status benefits Vegas's tight cap situation. What the Lehner situation highlights is the importance of depth on the roster. And it highlights the fact that the most important position has a high injury risk rate. Maybe this question should be directed to @Brawndo?: Are bigger goalies more susceptible to hip injuries than smaller goalies?

What rumors about the owner selling the team are you referring to?

It's not even assured that Sheahan will be on the NHL roster. And if he is he will at best be a marginal fourth line role player. Why so much fretting over at best a depth player? If he is better than our current depth role players, then what's the complaint? Getting marginally better is better than not getting marginal better!

I have a different take on Joki. Whether he is on the first pairing or second pairing his role is as a complementing player to the primary player in the pairing. He's the subordinate player to the dominate player whether it is Dahlin or Power. That's what you want when pairing a player with a highly talented player who will dominate the puck. As you point out it seems that Granato believes that Joki has more untapped upside. Granato has been adept at putting lines and pairings together. Granato has shown that he is open-minded and flexible when assembling lines and pairings. I'm sure that he will not pre-determine a role for either Lyubushkin or Joki. Their play in training camp and even during the season will have them vying to be paired with Power. I lean toward Joki being paired with Power.

The big unknown for me is whether the success in the last third of the season was meaningful. Or was it a team that was out of the playoffs playing with no pressure because there were no playoff implication games. I'm leaning toward meaningful because during that end of the season stint the roster was belatedly healthy. And being healthy the team demonstrated that it could play competitively against all teams. (Not saying they were better than the upper echelon teams.) So my tepid prediction is that the Sabres will be vying for a playoff spot up to the very end of the season. Will they make the playoffs? Probably not.

We are two ships passing in the night. Where you are going is not where I am going. That's okay.

Peterson made the right decision for himself. No one can argue that it didn't work out well for him. Look at the list of players in your last paragraph. How many are still with the team? And how many of those players eventually wanted out? Yes, at that time this franchise was in a disarray. And it should be noted that Marty Biron has no axe to grind against this franchise. He bends over backward not to be too scathing with his criticisms. He said on the radio that losing Peterson was not a big loss because at that time when he bolted he would not have succeeded in Buffalo because the franchise was in a state of chaos.

Your first paragraph repeats a commentary that Marty Biron made when discussing Peterson's decision to become a free agent and sign with another team. He pointed out that there was a recognition by everyone in the business that the Sabres were in a state of disarray and was a franchise to be avoided if possible. He also opined that Peterson would not have succeeded here not because of his talent level but because at that time this franchise was in a situation where players could not succeed. Most people believe that the organization has been has stabilized and is functioning as a normal and competent franchise.

I believe that the Sabres will be competing for a lower rung playoff position up to the end of the season. Will they make the playoffs? I'm not sure. But as you indicate this team should be entertaining to watch. This DG coached team plays a fast paced north/south style of game that leans more toward the offense than defense. (Compare that to the stultifying play that Krueger promoted!) I'm hoping that the play during the last third of the season is a reflection of this team stepping up.

If Sabre fans get butt hurt over a prospect signing somewhere else they can soothe the pain with a soothing jelly lubricant to quell the fire. Player movements for a variety of reasons are part of all pro sports. That movement is now more evident in the college ranks. You just have to deal with it. The best way to handle these setbacks/departures is to have depth within the system so you are in better position to handle these losses.

Absolutely, running the hockey operation in a smart manner is all you can ask for. How do you expect to reach the point that you so vociferously clamor for? I'm not jumping on the proverbial bandwagon (your words) based on faith. I'm predicating it on what has been done during the tenure of KA and DG. If you can't handle the challenging process then that's an issue you have to deal with. I don't see any other way.

I'm in the camp that it's more likely than not that Portillo will become a free agent and sign with another team. When he gets to that free agent status he will see which team offers him the best opportunity to reach the NHL. That's his prerogative. I don't begrudge him using the system to pursue his best interest. That approach worked out well for Peterson.

An interesting debate could center around the question who one would prefer having in the system next season between Portillo or UPL? The UPL durability issue really concerns me. I wouldn't be surprised if Portillo exercises his free agent rights and moves on to another franchise.

My time frame is three years if you start with this season. In general terms I'm simply more optimistic than you are with our young core maturing together and stepping up to the level of becoming established good players. The list of young players that I'm counting on is expanding. They include Dahlin, Power, Tage, Cozens, Mitts, Tuch, Joki, Quinn, JJ, Krebs, Samuelsson and hopefully another player or two bubbling up from the system. As I and others have stated the biggest concern is the goalie position. That's where my uncertainty comes from. Only time will tell whether my more optimistic projection materializes. What I can say for sure is that the organization is making a lot of sound decisions that is putting this formerly erratic franchise on the right path to sustained success. That's all you can ask for.

I also heard Marty Biron make the comments about UPL on his WGR Show that @dudacekand @GASabresIUFANreferred to. His major criticism was that he had difficulty tracking the distant shots, even shots where he had a good sight line. Marty B wasn't totally down on UPL. He liked how the goalie utilized his size and his economy of movement when there was congestion around the net. But the issue of durability and giving up those long shots were liabilities that bothered him. Just a sidenote on UPL and the issue of his durability. I either read it or heard it on WGR that the coaching staff wanted UPL to take up yoga this offseason in the hope that it would improve his flexibility and help him to be more durable.