JohnC

Added to your comments if Jack hasn't had whatever surgery that is chosen when training camp starts then his season may be in jeopardy. If he is not dealt the current position of the organization is that it is not going to approve the player's preferred surgery which supposedly has a shorter rehab period. My understanding is if he undergoes the fusion surgery the reported recovery time is 4 months. If you add this time to the mostly missed season last year then you are talking about a player who has not not played for nearly a year and a half. That extended period of time being on the shelf is going to add time preparing to play. There are many people who believed that the GM should only deal Jack if he can get full value. At least for this offseason that shipped has sailed. Because he is a damaged player that is not going to happen. The choice is to get whatever you can get or hold on to him with the hope that he can regain his health and value. It's a tough call for the GM.

I suggested to another poster who was battling the same Sabre blues to take a pause from following the team if it was making him so angry and frustrated. Those comments were misinterpreted that I was forcing the poster out. That was not the case and not my intention. When someone has reached their exasperation limit then it is time to take a break and use the interlude to refresh oneself. I'm not looking at this season from a typical perspective of the standings. That's not going to be my measurement of success. My attention is going to be on the young players. I will be watching to see how they advance in their game. There are a number of young players who I consider in the upswing category. Players such as Dahlin, Joki, Cozesn, Mitts, Bjork, Apslund, Thompson, Arttu, Olofsson, Samuelsson and Bryson with maybe others if the probable impending Jack trade brings in a return. On top of this list is there is another retinue of players who a year or two away from moving up the ranks. Those in that category are UPL, Quinn, Peterka, Power and maybe a few more. When you add both grouping you can see the nucleus of a core forming that refashions the roster. Where I disagree with you is in your assessment of KA. He has laid out a roadmap to remake this roster and in my estimation that is exactly what he is doing. Contrary to your view I believe that Krueger was more influential in addressing the last year's roster than was KA. There are many things about the recent history of this bedraggled franchise to complain about. If you allow yourself to be captured by the past problems it will spill over and contaminate your view on some of the positive things that are occurring. There is nothing wrong in taking a break in order to refill the tank that has been emptied.

Speaking of mouths: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9876135/Woman-31-worlds-biggest-mouth-winning-Guinness-World-Record.html

If the scenario happens as you described then what would be the problem with that? If UPL demonstrates in training camp that he can handle the backup role then so be it. Most of us believe that UPL will start the season in Rochester but it is not out of the realm of possibility that he earns a roster spot. Will it be the best course for his development to be a NHL backup compared to playing full-time in the AHL? My preference is for him to be a full-time player in the lower league. But it's not unusual that a few surprising developments happen when players compete in camp.

Why do you believe that the GM considers UPL ready for full time play in the NHL? As @LGR4GMpointed out a more than fair offer was made to Ullmark for an extended term (4 yrs) at an average of $4 M per year. If that is the case then it surely demonstrated that the intention was for Ullmark to be our #1 goalie. As I have stated in prior posts I thought it was a mistake for the Sabres not to sign Ullmark. After learning that Ullmark wanted more from the Sabres than from Boston from a salary and term standpoint I altered my position. I now firmly believe that the organization was prudent in not willing to go beyond the reasonable contract boundaries for a player of his caliber. And I'll go further in saying the in exercising financial discipline in the Ullmark negotiation the GM demonstrated that the organization is now going to be more prudent in handling contracts than it previously has. I, like you, believe that the our goaltending situation as it currently stands is inadequate. And I'm hoping that there will be some goalie options opening up in the market as the season approaches. If it doesn't I will be very disappointed.

Of course his concern about the center position is a legitimate issue. I'm not saying otherwise. Who disagrees that there is a center deficiency on this team? But repeatedly pointing out what should have happened doesn't advance anything in the Jack trade rumors topic. If a prospective trading partner doesn't include a top tier center prospect then the follow-up issue is what alternative trade packages can be acceptable in a trade deal. Where you are at is where you are at!

I don't understand what you want the GM to do? The main issue this offseason isn't about what should have or could have taken taken place in the past. It is about where you are and what are you going to do. Would of and should of get you nowhere other than spinning your wheels. Pointing out the many mistakes this franchise has made over the past number of years is like shooting fish out of a barrel. Those failures have been rehashed to exhaustion. At this point it is more productive and interesting to discuss what are some of the best options to address some of these issues.

Reinhart made the decision that he wasn't going to sign a long-term deal with the franchise. So he was dealt for whatever he could get. Risto basically said that he wanted out. So he was dealt. The Jack situation has reached a tipping point where he absolutely doesn't want to be here. So he will be moved. That's the situation the GM is. What's evident is that you can't always control the situation so much as adjust to the situation. That's life.

Then what are you complaining about? He decided to take a course of action and he is doing it. What's your point? Saying he should have done this or that at this point is moot. He's explicitly stated a strategy to rebuild and is following it. Lamenting that course of action gets you where?

No one that I am aware of disagrees with you that if a top tier center prospect can't be acquired in an Eichel trade or any other trade for that matter then it will have to be addressed in a future draft. If that's your only option then what else can you do?

The one person who understands that this is a multi-year rebuild is the GM. And he is the head of the hockey operation. Not only is the hockey operation aware that this is a multi-year rebuild but so is everyone else in the league. It is so obvious to all that even the blind can see it.

Of course you can sort out the talent on hand if you accept the obvious reality that this is more than a one year rebuild. Wanting to do something is not the same as being able to do something. There are a variety of ways to build a roster. If you get Drysdale and include Power to the mix in another year and add them to what you already have with Dahlin and Joki then you are assembling a top tier blueline. What's the matter with that?

Most people agree with you regarding the priority of the center position for the Sabres. But if a deal isn't there to be made in acquiring players such as Krebs and Zegras then you go to your next best options. Would I prefer Zegras over Drysdale in an Anaheim deal? Absolutely yes. But if Anaheim or Vegas is not going to budge in yielding one of their young centers then adding a prospective top one or two pairing defenseman such as Drysdale and a second line forward in Comtois would be a good fallback position. If one is realistic in accepting the reality that it is going to take another year or two to assemble enough talent for this roster to be a serious team then adding talent in general and then later sorting out the talent on hand is the right approach to take.

If Tuch was included in a Vegas deal with Krebs I would take a Vegas deal over the Anaheim deal. If Krebs wasn't included in the Vegas deal I would be more than happy with your proposed Anaheim deal that included Drysdale and Comtois. When you are rebuilding and are able to add pieces then you do so even if the positions are not being filled in the sequence you preferably want. The mentality should be to add as much talent as you can and then sort it out.

The one advantage of this trade is that the Sabres will be getting three players who can play next season. That would be in contrast to the Risto and Samson deals where we basically got futures. Of course I would prefer to have Zegras as the centerpiece of an Anaheim deal but if it can't be executed we are still getting two young players in Drysdale and Comtois with plenty of upside who can grow with the team. Just because it isn't the best option doesn't mean that it still can't be a good option.

We'll see.

I'm assuming that wherever Jack is traded that there will be a secondary player or two sent to Buffalo in order for the receiving team to offset some of Jack's contract cost.

Hall was being polite and not forthright. That's what you do when being introduced to the new market. I disagree with you about Hinostra's future attitude. He knows exactly what he is getting into. He's well aware that compared with the teams he has recently played for he will be given more opportunity to play.

Taylor Hall signed with the Sabres mostly because he got the rich one year deal that would allow him to be an UFA the next year. It was the best contract he could get under the circumstances that would in the not too distant future provide him with options. Hall previously played for Krueger so I'm sure that prior relationship was a factor. But it didn't take him too long to want to be liberated. And it was evident by his play. My point is coming to Buffalo was the right/best business decision for him at the time. The Krueger factor was a factor but not as much as some believe it to be.

I agree with you that most veterans with options wouldn't want to come to Buffalo. But when a player reaches the veteran status he is well aware of the nature of the business of not always being able to control one's destiny. Being in a business of frequent player relocation is an inescapable part of the business. If you are a FBI agent you don't dictate what field office you are assigned to. If you are a soldier you go to wherever you are sent. It's simply the nature of the business. Good organizations make wise decisions on getting players who are suited for their team and their location. So I'm not overly concerned about who the organization brings in because they have a sense who fits or doesn't.

I don't miss the days of Kaleta. Those days are long gone. Pat Kaleta was an earnest player who gave everything he had. In reality he was essentially a career AHL talent who was playing at a level he wasn't qualified for. I don't want any Kaleta caliber talents on this team. That's not a solution to anything. I don't expect the roster to be loaded with all-stars or all finesse players. What I expect is NHL players who are capable of playing at a NHL level and fulfilling their roles, even if it is a limited role. The Andrew Peters and Pat Kaleta type of players whose sole purpose was to create a raucous represent an era that is outdated. Thank god that dinosaur era no longer exists. Having that type of designated pugilistic player isn't the same as having a tough and grinding player on the roster. It simply is a waste of a roster spot.

Despite the fact that he didn't have much practice time to institute his style of play you can't deny that under him the play of the team was immensely better. And you have to factor in the fact that there was a concerted effort to play the young players in the system. And it should be noted that with Ullmark in goal before he got hurt this team did get some wins. Considering the challenging circumstances the record under Granato doesn't come close to illustrating how good a job he did with the players he had to work with.

Addressing the issue of playing a more entertaining brand of hockey let's not forget that last year it didn't take long for their style of play to change from a slogging style of play under Krueger to a faster paced and north/south style of play under Granato. (Which you noted in your post.) Even when the Sabres lost and were overmatched talent-wise they were noticeably more entertaining after the coaching change. Last year I literally stopped watching the Sabres. After the coaching change I was pleasantly surprised with how the team responded. It was as if it was liberated from the restrictions of the prior suffocating system.

Get some presentable goaltending added to the recipe, as you put it, and this team, shorthanded as it is, will be more entertaining. 🙂

I can appreciate your sentiments on giving full effort. In the NHL that is more of a given than not. However, success is mostly predicated on the level of talent as reflected in the NHL cup winner this year and most years. There are many reasons why the Sabres have struggled for the past half generation. Organizational and staffing turnover without question are contributing factors. But when all is said and done it comes down to talent and depth in the organization to fill in when needed. That's been the primary reason why the Sabres have struggled. I like you am encouraged with what the GM is doing. But make no mistake the franchise is going through a rebuilding process. If done smartly the process can to an extent be accelerated and the current product made to be more entertaining than a lot of the wretched hockey we have watched over the past number of years. Again, it's mostly about the talent.