JohnC

Then Portillo issue should be buried for you. ☠️

I'm sure that Adams has leanings toward his goalie prospects, or prospects at any position. He's going to be patient and see how the situation unfolds. There is nothing else he can do other than have options if things don't go the way he wants it to. As far as staying in school and earning his MBA it is not going to hurt his hockey ambitions. On the contrary, it will enhance them. He will get more playing time in a big time college program and he will put himself in a free agent status and give him league wide options.

Keep an eye out for one of the two Russian goalies on Washington's team. It's likely that one of them will be dealt. I don't believe the price for procurement would be too high.

At this time KA doesn't know what Portillo is going to do after next year. There is a good chance that the college player in question doesn't even know what he is going to do after the next college hockey season. Making a judgment at this time on what the GM says or doesn't say about the player he knows is returning to college is a thin basis to make a judgment on what the GM feels about the player.

Portillo's priority was staying in school for another year. It wasn't what goalies he was going to compete against in the organization that drafted him. When Power was asked about his college teammate's intentions were he said that school was a priority for him and his family. At this point it is probable that Portillo will become a free agent. If and when he gets to that point, he will decide what is in his best interest as a player. Wherever he goes he will have to compete. It's the nature of the business.

The issue for the Russian prospects isn't so much whether they will be drafted as it is how it affects where they will be drafted? It wouldn't be surprising that if a drafting team has a choice of taking a non-Russian prospect in the same tier of a Russian player, the team will take the non-Russian player because there is less possible complication. On the other hand, with a team like the Sabres who have a lot of picks they are in a good position to take a highly rated Russian and deal with the added risks and complications. Miro at the 28 spot would be a steal.

Of all the returns that KA got for dispatching our old core (Eichel, Risto and Reinhart) getting Levi might be the most consequential player from that group. Just like with the Tage for ROR deal it might take a few years to fairly evaluate the trade that brought us Levi.

I agree that no top veteran free agents are interested in signing with the Sabres. And the Sabres are not interested in pursuing high cost, top tier free agents. That's not part of their repeatedly stated plan. The Sabres are choosing to mostly rebuild from within because that is the approach they wanted to take since the installation of KA. Who doesn't agree with the view that the GM needs to get a starting goalie? What's obvious is obvious! I'm very hopeful bordering on confident that a credible (not top tier) goalie will be added to the mix who will get most of the starts.

It's not surprising that many players weren't keen on staying with this unstable franchise. There were plenty of players who wanted out, and got out. That's the tumultuous past. It seems to me that since KA took over he established a rebuild plan that is being followed. There is a coherent plan that is being consistently followed throughout the organization. What's encouraging is that there is no more lurching forward and then backward with a mishmash approach to building a roster. The patchwork mentality of putting together a roster is the opposite of a longer view that KA is taking. I don't blame players like Jack, Risto, Reinhart, ROR and Ullmark wanting out. They recognized that the ship they were on had gaping holes and was sinking. It just seems to me that the hockey operation has stabilized and is steadily pursuing a vision that is attainable. The numerous failures of the past are easy to point out. The players now here want to be here and are invested in the team's success. Evidently, Ullmark wasn't a player who wanted to be here. That's understandable and is his prerogative.

The GM has been candid about how he is going to rebuild this roster. The veterans on the team know that the focus of the GM is on the young players and the future. They are smart enough to recognize that and accept the situation for what it is. If they didn't, they wouldn't remain on the team. Okposo is one of the veterans who knows that the GM is working on rebuilding this roster with mostly young players and prospects within the system. No one should be surprised.

I agree with you about Adams's high view of Levi. Paul Hamilton on WGR just mentioned that Adams brings up Levi's name more than any other goalie, including UPL. As I indicated in a previous post it seems that the GM's goalie strategy is to buy time until either UPL or Levi is ready to take over.

The Sabres are likely going to sign a goalie to be their #1 for next season. The goalie they sign is more likely to be a second-tier goalie who would be a short-term option. My opinion is that the goalie they bring in is going to be on a short term and a low to medium cost contract. The GM's horizon is longer than most of our preferred shorter horizon.

I agree with you that KA had it in mind for a long-time that if Anderson wanted to come back, he would be signed as a low usage backup goalie. The GM was waiting on getting an answer from Anderson about what his plans were. Once Anderson gave him an answer that he wanted to come back, he was signed. This option was always on the table. No surprise.

Marty Biron recently gave his opinion on the WGR Instigator Show on what he thought KA was going to do in addressing the goalie position. He stated that he felt that if Anderson wasn't going to retire that the GM would sign him in a short deal as a low-worked backup goalie. As we know that is exactly happened. He also stated that the next goalie he brings won't likely be signed for longer than two years---and maybe three years at most. That probably leaves out a goalie such as Campbell who would want a deal that was three years or more. Marty Biron felt that what the GM was trying to do is buy time for his prospect goalies, such as UPL and Levi, to be groomed as NHL players. Marty opined that he wouldn't be surprised if UPL started in the AHL and then was the first call up. His general conclusion/impression is that the GM is investing in UPL taking over the position sooner than many of us thought. It seems that the loquacious retired goalie believes that how everything shakes out revolves around how UPL plays.

How things fall in place will be determined by how UPL performs in training camp. I'm inclined to believe that the most likely scenario is for the GM to bring in another goalie with Anderson as the backup. I wouldn't be surprised if UPL starts off in Rochester and then is called up to the big club. If UPL shines in camp and earns a roster spo,t then it might unfold as you speculated that Anderson would be the 3rd goalie.

So what! There are a number of teams that have goalie needs yet how many of them have completed deals to address that position? Although there have been some player transactions made in the league so far it is a small percentage of transactions that will happen this offseason. It would be foolish to make a quick deal just for the sake of saying you did something when with a little more patience there should be more and better opportunities. As the draft approaches GMs more actively communicate with each other to do the spade work with the other GMs and player agents. Be patient and don't be so nervous. It will come.

Why is this signing for a backup goalie a bad PR move? I doubt anyone believes that Anderson is anything more than a backup who wouldn't player more than 20-30 games at most. As long as the GM signs another goalie who will be the starter before the season starts, what difference does it make? The Anderson signing isn't so much a big deal as it is a preliminary move to address the position. There is little doubt (at least for me) that another goalie will be brought in to start and carry the bigger load.

What favor was KA calling in from any team? He openly said for a year what he expected in a return for Jack. He wanted a medium aged veteran player who could play right away and still be in his prime, a high end prospect and a bevy of draft picks that included a first round pick. With the exception of getting a number of high picks back he met the expectations of what a Jack deal required. He wasn't doing anyone a favor or expected another franchise to do him a favor. It basically came down to each team computing what is the best deal they can get and what is in their respective franchise's best interest. Altruism and favoritism have nothing to do with getting a deal done.

KA has repeatedly stated that he would rather error on being patient with his young players and prospects than expend assets for outside talent. My sense is that he expects Mitts and Cozens to take the leap forward, as did Tage last season. As everyone knows the Sabres need goalie help. Even here I don't see the young GM giving up any significant assets, such as Quinn or JJ, to get a deal worked out. As I see it, if a deal is made for a goalie or even a defenseman, it will not be for a player/s that erode our young talent base. You and I have long agreed on our willingness to be more aggressive in adding talent to this emerging roster. I just don't see the GM exhibiting much boldness to accelerate the rebuilding process. He believes in the internal build model and has the patience to follow through on that model.

The injury was to the shoulder area. Don Granato talked about the VO injury when he was on WGR last year. He noted that when he came back after being out with the injury he was told by the medical staff he wouldn't do additional damage to the injury. But he was still playing with pain. It wasn't until the end of the season when he was mostly free of pain and played without hesitation. If you recall, l in the last third of the season he got his scoring touch back and was playing a well-rounded game. My central point is that the injury was a factor in his less than impactful play. When he more fully recovered he was a contributing and positive player.

There was a reason why Olofsson was ineffective for a long stretch of the season: He was hurt. The injury he had directedly impacted his shot, the most part of his game. Once he healed his play demonstrably improved. And what was most encouraging about his play is that he showed that he was more than a one-dimensional shooter. After he no longer was plagued with a sore shoulder, he played a more complete two-way game with adept passing and a responsible defensive game. It would be a mistake to allow a player that this team drafted in a low round and was developed within its system to go. If a reasonable deal can be worked out, he should be retained. This organization isn't at a stage where it has an over-abundance of talent. The GM is still working to add talent to the roster. If he left it would be a step back instead of continuing on with the rebuilding of this roster. I'm confident that a deal will be worked out.

You hit on the fact that he has become a more all-around player and not simply a one-dimensional sniper. He's a player that was developed in our system and worked to round out his game. After listening to KA on WGR it appears that the player wants to be here and the organization is working to get a fair deal worked out. This team is starting to acquire a number of goal scorers such as Tage, Skinner, Quinn, JJ who will spread out the scoring. As you point out the roster is starting to thicken creating depth so when injuries happen the team will be able to better absorb the losses and not be debilitated. The outlook is so much more encouraging than when the GM first took over. And by the way glad to see you back in action. You were missed.

Did Risto tutor him?

The one thing that I have observed about KA is that he is transparent. He has made no secret about what his philosophy is in rebuilding a team. Overall, I have been impressed by how he has operated. He is not going to panic when things go wrong or reach for short-term solutions. His model is the Carolina model where the talent is spread around. The primary criticism I have had with him is that I believe that he got blindsided with the Ullmark negotiation. In my mind he wrongly assumed that he was going to re-sign. He simply didn't have an adequate backup plan for the UFA goalie. I feel that this offseason he is going to be more attentive to having options for that position. In my opinion KA is not the type of GM who is going to make dramatic moves. (The Kane discussion doesn't resonate with me, at least for now, because it seems to fall outside his mostly build from within plan. He took over the job having a blueprint and has steadily and steadfastly followed the script that he put together. Overall, I'm happy with how he has run and guided this formerly troubled franchise.

There isn't a poster here who has addressed the goalie issue more than I have with the possible exception of@Thorny. It's gotten to the point where a faction of the population here find me nauseatingly repetitive and insufferable. I don't necessarily disagree with their judgment. ☠️