JohnC

The one player that intrigues me a lot is Arttu. I'm not sure if he is going to play center or wing this year or who his linemates will be. From what I saw last season he didn't look out of place in NHL. I really liked his quick shot. I'm hoping that he can score in the 15 plus goal range and contribute to dispersing the scoring.

You are the answer man! And I thank you for your service to this board. A simple question: Do you sleep? 🤡

I would nudge it up to at least 40% of the cost. If you want to make sure that the owner is invested in keeping the construction costs down then it is better to make him have more skin in the game.

In the discussion RR did give some cost estimates for some rehabbing projects within the stadium. Were these estimates independent engineers or engineers that they hired? I can't say for sure but most likely the costs he gave came from the firm they hired. This stadium is nearly half a century old. It has gone through a number of major renovations, some of which the Pegulas have paid for. Systems become outdated. There is a lifespan to the concrete. There comes a point where infrastructure such as plumbing needs to be replaced. I thought in the interview in a general sense he made a good case that applying funds to renovate an outdated facility is not as cost effective as applying those funds to a new facility. The issue for me is not whether there is a need for a new facility. For me it is evident. The issue is how much money are the owners going to contribute to building a new facility that will benefit his business? For me it should be very substantial.

Thanks. I'm wondering why? The question I asked you is whether Dreger or Freidman got paid for doing their segments? Or if they did it gratis in order to increase their social media audience?

I thought RR answered the question why a new stadium was needed very well. He pointed out that the current life-span of this stadium has been exhausted. He undergirded that point by pointing out the high cost to maintain the current outdated stadium made little sense when that money could be applied to a new facility.

To start off I agree with you that the KA should have made a more serious effort to add a higher caliber of goalie to the mix. Conjecturing: Just maybe the GM thought that UPL was ready to be added to the roster and that he didn't feel the need to crowd him out with another goalie who would crimp his playing time. If that is his thinking I agree with you that it would be a glaring mistake. It seems to me that UPL needs more time in Rochester in order to advance his career. If that is Adams's reasoning although I disagree with it at least there is some logic to it. I'm hoping, as you do, that another more credible goalie is added to the mix before the season starts. It just seems that Adams action toward the position is inexplicable lax. And that is very puzzling.

This is off-topic because the topic I previously responded to regarding the Instigator Show has been removed. I also received a notice that I don't have permission to respond to that topic. I received a notice from @Curt and @Brawndoregarding the topic but it did not go through. I'm curious as to what the problem is? I would appreciate any information about this subject. Maybe I'm being charged with another violation?

Whatever side of the Jack issue anyone is at regarding who is at fault for how things have devolved it is apparent that a separation is in the best interest of each party. I'm not a Jack basher, far from it. I understand his frustration and exasperation at where this franchise currently is at with respect to competitiveness. And I certainly understand why he doesn't want to be part of a rebuild that is in the works. I disagree with those who believe that he is the one who has damaged his market value because of how he has conducted himself in this sage. The issue comes down to his health status. Until that is clarified I don't see much movement. The one person I will give credit to is KA. He has handled this complicated and high stakes issue like a maestro. Once Krueger was dispatched our GM has handled his responsibilities with purpose/direction and overall very smartly.

If the wingers in the draft are rated higher than the centers then you draft the wingers. Not having highly rated centers in your system doesn't preclude acquiring centers through trades and free agency (less likely). I'm hoping if a Jack trade is made that we can get back a highly rated center prospect.

If Krueger would have been kept on much longer an emerging player like Mitts would have been submerged. I don't know how many wins the Sabres are going to garner this year but watching the younger players getting better is what is going to make this season interesting. I'm intrigued to see what his ceiling is. Is he a good 3C or capable of being a 2C caliber of player? If Krueger would have been retained a player such as Dahlin might like Jack be in the same category of wanting out in the not too distant future.

This is about a 30 min. link. https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/authors/howard-and-jeremy

A Dick with a capital D. I am not in the enlarged category of being anti-Jack. Putting aside his injury situation I understand why he wants out. Ideally, I wish he was healthy and was fully committed to the team. My preferred situation would be that he was back in the fold and revved up to play. For a lot of reasons that is not the case. At this point it is futile to argue whether it was the organization's fault or his fault why the situation is where it is. There is plenty of blame to go around. Like it or not where we are at is where we are at. As in some relationships splitting up is the best outcome for both sides. I'm hoping that a deal gets made that benefits the team and that also benefits him. When franchises falter there is more discontent. And that is what happened here.

I think you are right about the 3 yr. time frame needed to make a judgment on our prospects. But there is already a young core on the roster and a prospect pool that will be ready for the NHL in a year or so. If you add Quinn, Peterka, Samuelsson, Power, maybe UPL and Johnson in the not too distant pipeline you can see the critical mass of young players on this roster. If Jack does get traded the hope is that maybe two young players will be added to this growing pool of players. It appears that KA is determined to carry-out this strategy of developing your own players. Hopefully, the owners will give him the time and space to accomplish it.

The moral of the story you just told: Even a hard prick can be less emotional and more rational when it is in the Dick's best interest.

I just disagree with your take. What Jack knows is that KA is determined to get value for him. And the best way to have that happen is for Jack to demonstrate that he still has it in him.

Jack is not a fool. If he wants out that the best way to facilitate a trade is for him to demonstrate that he is back or near back to his old form. That is the best situation for him and the organization. Whether he is happy or not to play well is in his best interest.

My inclination is that he will need surgery to fix the core problem that he has. Even if he is getting better with rest and physical therapy that doesn't mean that the disk issue is fully addressed. If he continues on with the rehabbing until December, after which another assessment is made, and then it is determined that he can't play without making the injury worse, he will still have to decide which surgery will be most appropriate. No matter which surgery is chosen at that time it is unlikely that he will be able to play post surgery this season if it is delayed. I'm sure that KA's asking price is high. And it should be. In my view KA is handling this situation smartly. He is not going to give away a major talent unless the return is substantial. That's not going to happen until Jack demonstrates that he can return to his former level of play. What's becoming more obvious (to me) is that the Jack trade issue is going to take a lot more time to sort out. I have had disk surgery on my back. There were days prior to the surgery where I felt great. And there were days for inexplicable reasons I was stiff as a board. I see him getting the surgery sooner rather than later.

If Comtois (a @dudacekfavorite) was included with Zegras I would consider the deal. The ideal scenario in a Jack deal is getting a potential first or second line center plus some more. The center doesn't have to be a first line center right away but at least have the potential to be that caliber of player.

I agree with you that it appears that the new agent has changed the dynamic from stuck in the mud to some movement toward resolving the situation. It appears that Jack's side of the table has come to the realization that KA is not going to give up his valuable asset for pennies on the dollar. And the only way for him to be dealt sooner rather than later is to do whatever he has to do to demonstrate that he is healthy and capable of returning to form. The shame of the situation is that the surgery (whichever one) could have happened nearly two months ago. We still don't know for sure what is ultimately going to happen in this saga. However, to KA's credit he has handled this challenging high stakes situation well by not feeling forced to do something he doesn't want to do in order to be done with this mess.

Regardless what surgery he ends up having if he would have had the surgery 4-6 weeks ago the healing and rehabilitation process would be well on its way. If I had to guess I would think that he is going to have the fusion surgery recommended by the Sabres. I just don't see him getting the replacement surgery and risk having his contract voided. I'm not sure that is the case. It's just as likely that he and his agent recognize that until his health status is clarified he won't be dealt.

Although you have not fully returned to complete normal are you steadily getting better? Is the next month better than the previous month? As I said with Hoss I wish you the best. I don't wish this infection on anyone.

We fundamentally disagree. By constantly churning over GMs and coaches there is going to inherently be philosophical changes in the organization. It doesn't matter what the organizational structure or flow chart is because the philosophy on how to build a roster is going to change with each different GM. Murray certainly had a different approach to roster building compared to the diffused front office he took over for. And then when Murray was replaced by Botterill he had a different mind-set on not only building a roster but also in building-up the minor league system. And when Botterill was replaced by KA there was another shift in the approach to roster building and toward running the organization. And when KA took over as the GM I believe (some agree and others don't) that Krueger wielded the most influence in the hockey operation. The point I'm emphasizing is that this constant churning of staff had a predictable effect of destabilizing the franchise because there wasn't enough continuity and follow through to build a solid foundation. I'm just hoping that the Pegulas learn from their mistakes and allow KA and his staff the time and space to do their jobs

I have never said that everything the Pegulas have done is bad. So I don't know why you said that. What I did say from an overview perspective is that their stewardship has been poor as evidenced by their record. The reorganization was initiated during the Botterill tenure. The owners wanted him to dramatically cut staff. He refused to do it. He ended up being fired. He didn't get fired for his hockey performance. He got fired because he was unwilling to significantly cut the staff to the degree that the owners wanted. So he was fired. Then KA was brought on and it appears that Krueger gained a lot of influence during this period of time. Last year, under Krueger the wheels came off and KA seemed to become the most important person in the hockey operation. What has happened this past year since the departure of Krueger is that the organization has been re-staffed in a manner that most organizations are staffed. So what essentially happened was that the reorganization that was initiated by the owners was quickly changed to what normal franchises do. Why was another organizational change made? Its simple: The owners' austerity organization plan was an abject failure. I addressed the Pegula reorganization plan post Botterill. It was a failure. I'm not sure what you disagree with.

I don't want to get involved in repeated back and forth exchanges that are nonproductive and have a tendency to get nasty. All I can say is your observation is spot on.