JohnC

I thought the Sox were systematically changing the seats to make them more size appropriate?

You bring up a key question about KA and what his time frame is to become a serious team? Is he going to be patient and let this team and organization mostly rely on the draft and develop approach to building a SC caliber team and organization? If he almost solely relies on the organic method of the draft and develop strategy without smartly utilizing his assets of cap space and extra picks to improve the roster, I think he would be making a mistake of not taking advantage of the situation. We haven't heard from @Thornyin a while. Everyone knows where he stands on this issue. He would forcefully argue to be aggressive in a responsible way to do what is necessary to get better sooner rather than later. I'm a little less zealous in the position he has but in general I'm in his camp. When you have an opportunity to get better, you should do it.

What are the ticket prices for the Red Sox? Are tickets usually available?

You hit the nail on the head with your point that every player that mattered improved. With this roster that means nearly everyone. And what is even more encouraging is that although DG is known for his ability to work with young players, the veteran players under his stewardship also demonstrably improved their play. Skinner and Okposo are good examples of that. When judging a coach, a core issue is how is the team responding to him? Is it getting better? Is it stagnating or tuning out the coach as the long season winds down? In this case while many teams out of the playoff race fade, this team played as if it is even more energized and determined to finish the season with a flourish. I'm far from anointing him as a top tier coach because it has yet to be determined how he would handle a more complete roster vying for the playoffs and seriously pursuing the Cup. However, considering the roster the coach had to work with I don't think that it is an exaggeration to say that he has done a masterful job this season.

The latest update reported by WGRZ. The authorities are still in the assessment stage. https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/work-continues-in-buffalo-to-save-uss-the-sullivans-buffalo-and-erie-county-naval-military-park/71-c3f1b0e3-675f-428a-b52f-9c446ac32c48

There is room for both Gergs and Asplund on the roster. What we have learned in spades this season is that team depth is an imperative. The season is a long and grinding marathon. I'm confident that both of them will contribute in their own way to make this a more well-rounded roster. And it should be noted that I am also an Asplund fan and have repeatedly argued on his behalf.

Your opinion is far from being sacrilegious but why would you want to trade Gergs? There is a role for him on this team and almost every team. He's a fourth line player whose style of play can be described as hard game, and he is also a good PK player. Considering what our cap situation is there is no current player whose contract can be considered onerous. The Sabres are starting to lose their deserved reputation as being a soft and mentally weak team. Based on their current play that description of them doesn't come close to applying to them. This player is a respected home grown veteran in a room full of kids. He's the type of player and person you want the youngsters to emulate. He's been here for the turbulent times and now this stalwart player/person is contributing to a team that is moving toward a positive situation. Don't be blinded by the lack of offensive stats. His value to this team goes beyond the numbers. He contributes in a meaningful way both on and off the ice. He not only should stay but he is a player you want to stay. If he weren't on this team the organization would seek out a player like him to add to the roster.

Just some quick thoughts about the game. What becomes a stark and obvious reality in the NHL is that the key to success is the quality of play of your goaltenders. The Sabres won because Anderson played well; and the Devils lost because their goalie let in a couple of brutal goals. Okposo's shot was a knuckleball shot that at the end of its course dropped off the table. Instead of flailing at it with his glove the goalie should have stayed in front of it. The next goal by Tuch was a bad angle ricochet shot off a VO breakaway. That was another bad goal let in. Both these goals were shorthanded goals. That sequence was the difference in this game. On balance we outplayed the Devils but not noticeably so. I thought VO played well. He has shown that he is not a specialist player but a good all-around player. Skinner is another player who I thought stood out. He has become one of our best passing forwards. The pass to Power when he was doing a whirly on the ground was a heads-up play and terrific! When watching the game and then trying to come up with who played well it is becoming difficult to single out players. Everyone is playing hard on both ends. There are no slackers. That collective effort is what has been impressive over the past month or so. That's players playing for one another. The player I have been watching most closely is Mitts because if he materializes as a good player that will give this team an added boost in the future. In my eyes although the point production hasn't been exceptional (it has been good) he has become one of our best two-way players. This was a player a couple of years ago who many thought was soft. Not now! He is an embodiment of what this team has become i.e. a young player who has bought in and who plays with effort. Power is going to be a special player. And what is already evident about him is his scintillating potential on offense and defense. You can already see ready to jump to the offense and then smoothly get back when the play goes the other way. As far as I'm concerned his best attribute is his hockey intelligence. It's so enjoyable watching this team play well and win. And this team is entertaining to watch. Keep it up!

Counting on UPL makes me queasy. You and others have mentioned it that his injuries may have stunted his development. I'm not sure if the best approach in handling him as a prospect is to play him full time in Rochester a little longer or to bring him up and play him up as a B goalie with less games under his belt? If I had to bet I think that KA is a true believer in the big goalie and will have him up in Buffalo.

A few days ago on WGR Biron was talking about UPL too often being flummoxed by long shots. He simply concluded: You just can't have that vulnerability at the NHL level. In that same segment he went through a list of all the goalies that KA might consider to bring in this offseason. He shredded the players on the list. The troubling reality is that the options are limited. And even when there was a good option on the list there were contract $$$ and no trade clause considerations that made the potential acquisition less likely.

If you are receptive to Anderson as your secondary goalie, then are you in essence saying that UPL should not be your primary goalie and be with the big club? My sense (opinion) is that KA will bring in a veteran goalie who can be our #1 goalie and have UPL as the secondary goalie. Speaking for myself when discussing the position I am very humble about evaluating players at this position. Sometimes the grade A player you expect to be good and who has played well in the past becomes a disappointment, while the second-rate player who has had a lackluster career and is added to the roster becomes a stalworth player for you. The players who play that position are so mercurial season to season and within-season. One way to support the goalie is to build a good defensive unit around that pivotal position. And that is what the organization is doing.

Playing under pressure when the stakes are high is so much different than playing stress free with nothing at stake. The bench response in this clip demonstrates that point.

I beg to differ. Shortly after the firing of Krueger and the elevation of Granato there was a noticeable change in how the team played. Although it took a while to get some wins, the quality of play was noticeably improved under is stewardship. This line of demarcation from futility to competitive play was before the Jack trade.

Don Granato was asked on WGR why his team was playing so well now after struggling for much of the season? His response was that for the most part he now has a healthy roster.

Don't kid yourself, this disgusting and repulsive behavior has been going on since this stadium was built. There have always been sober pigs who pissed in the sink because they didn't want to wait in line to take a proper piss. Simply too many disgusting slobs in one location! You can't shame the shameless.

As you well know I'm an avid fan of DG. It's indisputable that he has a talent working with young players in order for them to advance as players. What I find encouraging when judging DG as a coach is that the veteran players also improved under him as like the younger players. Veteran players such Okposo, Skinner (you noted) and to a lesser extent a player such as Tuch who was given a greater role all increased their production under him. Skinner is a dramatic example of his deft touch with an individual player. The coach with the cool blue framed glasses worked on improving this free floating veteran player whose psyche was badly wounded due to the bashing from his former coach. I personally thought that Okposo was a punched out veteran player who was rapidly fading to the end of his career. I was stupendously wrong about this prideful player. The central issue now when evaluating Granato becomes how does he handle a more robust and finished roster and competes for a playoff spot. As you have spoken about before there is a difference when coaching and playing when there is nothing at stake compared to when each game means something when seriously vying for the playoffs. Playing/coaching with little expectation and little to lose in every game is not a pressurized situation. When he and the team are under the stress of battling for a playoff spot that's when we can give a more encompassing and meaningful view of him as a coach.

The choo choo train that you are riding on is the same one I am riding on. I'm hoping that the goalie issue is a priority for him this offseason. I'm attaching a link from the Buffalo News that addresses this issue. https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/inside-the-sabres-questions-in-goal-loom-large-with-prospects-going-back-to-school/article_b2da8cc2-be58-11ec-b96b-bbf8502aa148.html

I simply have a different take on KA's first year. KA was not part of the hockey operations when he was hired to be the GM to replace the fired Botterill. So, he was not entering the job as a hockey strongman who had the authority to do what he wanted to do. I strongly believe (opinion) that Krueger and/or Pegula (as @Curt stated) were influential when KA took over as a GM in the hockey operation. If you recall this franchise was in turmoil and was not a typically run franchise. The owner was very involved in the decisions. The new GM didn't have the influence that he does have now. He had to bide his team and convince the owner to allow him to follow a rebuilding course that he was advocating for. There were also some reports (speculation) that the owner wanted Krueger to finish out the year because he was tired of paying off contracts for people who were no longer working. The team's disastrous descent gave the GM more than enough ammo to convince the owner to fire Krueger sooner rather than later. So I'm going to be more lenient than you are when assessing KA's performance in his first year because the situation that he took over was more convoluted and complicated than with other more normally run franchises. Again, that's my opinion.

You are correct that Reinhart would have signed a long-term deal years before if it were offered to him. He said so. But in typical fashion the organization blundered by not offering/signing him to a long term deal when it had an opportunity to do so. After that, when his contract was running out he made it known that he when he got to his UFA status he was going seek other opportunities. When an organization consistently makes bad judgments they predictably lose more than they win.

If Krebs wasn't added to the Jack deal I doubt that a deal with Vegas would have been made. It's understood that this youngster needs to get stronger but as a Sabre he is a keeper.

Too much conspiracy thinking for my taste. You are starting to frighten me.

I'm not sure what you are getting at. KA did have a plan when he first got the job. But the problem is that the owner did not agree to it. Eventually the owner did.

Players such as Krebs and Samuelsson are benefiting more from a developmental standpoint playing with Buffalo than if they were in Rochester helping the team to make a playoff push. As @dudacek stated Rochester is there to serve the needs of the Sabres and not vice versa.

Another distinction he had in comparison to previous GMs is that right from the start he had a blueprint that was appropriate for our franchise at the particular time. He believed in his rebuild strategy and has adhered to it. There were no deviations from it for a quick fix even when this team was facing turbulence. And it is my opinion that his most consequential move was the hiring of Granato to guide his young ship. He was the right coach for the time, circumstance and for the players he was presiding over.

https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/senator-chuck-schumer-calling-on-federal-government-to-help-save-uss-the-sullivans/71-f2aa3993-cb09-458f-b3bc-c5c8cc8c81e6