JohnC

I don't know if Kulich would be ready for a 1C or 2C role. But if he could genuinely earn either role, that would be such a bonus in assembling the lines. The next issue is whether Norris can stay healthy and assume one of the two top center roles. Any way one looks at the prospective two top lines it is evident that another forward from the outside needs to be added. Just maybe KA is counting on Byram trade bringing back such a player if he is dealt? It seems that the GM is counting on Quinn, Benson and Kulich taking some major leaps forward. To understate our roster situation, the GM has a lot of "ifs" attached to it.

For all of his career he has been on competitive teams that usually make the playoffs. Now that he is at the tail end of his career I doubt that he would find it appealing to join a franchise that hasn't been in the playoffs in a generation and is recognized by most people in the business to be a third-rate operation. If he has a no-trade clause in his contract I'm sure he would say absolutely not going to that junk yard.

Hard no. Age and contract are troubling. The contract remaining bothers me more than the age. This deal should be more appealing to Calgary than it is to us. We all know that you are desperate to get the Bo issue behind us. But acting as if you are desperate doesn’t enhance your trade position, it hurts it. KA is adroitly handling the situation. When you are peddling an asset you don’t treat it as a hot potato asset you need to get rid.

Bo is going to act in his best interest and KA is going to act in the Sabres's best interest. It's likely that both sides in general know what the outcome is eventually going to be. To put it mildly, I'm not impressed with KA's overall work. But on the BB issue I believe that he is handling it properly. He's not going to be forced to make a panic move that will not get him the return that he hopes to get. And that is the right stance to take.

Perplexed.

I blame you for making me pee my pants. 😃 A silly GM working for a silly owner who has built a silly franchise where players elsewhere don’t want to come here and players already here want to escape from this clown show. So laughable and sad. You must have forgotten that he only plays checkers

When you are treading water and someone throws an anchor at you, you are going to sink at a faster rate.

She is a terrific moderator and is more than fair. She should have kicked this fool in the nuts and tell him to take a hike. I have been in a number of spats but not to that pissant level.

If Dahlin gets hurt and is out for a significant amount of time, this team is sunk.

Excellent analysis, especially as it is directed toward Quinn. Is Quinn going to elevate his game enough to not only not being a drag but rising it enough where he is an asset. A couple years ago, I thought he was going to be a real good winger. He not only didn't even plateau as a player but disappointingly, he declined as a player. Were injuries a factor in his sputtering? Probably so. When you look at the young group comprised of Power, Samuelsson, Benson and Quinn most of us expect improvement. The more critical issue is will each of them and as a group improve enough to be an elevating factor for the team. It seems that the GM is counting on that. For me, I just don't know. TBD.

I’m not saying anything that hasn’t often been stated that regardless what has been done unless we get consistent level of solid goaltending the Sabres will again be a floundering team. Is our GT unit capable of rising to the occasion? I’m not sure. Can UPL become a solid #1 goalie? Not sure. Looking back, the departure of Ullmark has never adequately been accounted for. That is an gross failure by the GM.

If Anderson is better than Bryan (your opinion), then why would the trading team include an additional asset in the deal? Acting out of frustration when there is no need to at the present time is not a smart strategy.

If bringing back BB is a status quo move then isn't that better than making a move that sets you back further? I don't agree that any move he makes will be inadequate. The JJP trade was a reasonable deal for us considering the circumstances. (He didn't want to be here.) It's certainly not impossible that a fair deal can be constructed, sooner or later, that will be beneficial. We seem to be going in circles here. What it appears to me is that you are making a negative assumption before an act has been made. What I'm suggesting is that it might be better to just wait before making a judgment.

The Sabres are certainly a better team with Byram than if the return for him is insufficient. So what if they kick the Byram issue down the road? If it ultimately leads to a better return, then that's a positive action, not a negative action. Most of us are aware that the Sabres have multiple issues to address. (In my view, the goalie position is the most critical issue.) What you are doing is conflating the Byram issue with the other team issues. That seems to be an unreasonable/unfair approach to take when discussing the Byram issue.

Ryan Smith by far. He's not the same owner who created a lot of commotion in Arizona.

What's the definition of "Deja vu"?

Being critical of KA's performance is like stating water is wet. It's obvious to all. Few people would argue otherwise. However, what you are doing is overlaying his overall performance to how he has handled the individual Byram issue. Based on your prior post, you seem to encourage him just to make a deal in order to end this ordeal. That would be the worst course of action that the GM could take. He's not obligated to trade him if the return isn't a fair return. He can keep him. As far as what would be a fair return for BB? I would take either a top two pairing or a top two-line player. If that type of deal can't be made, then just keep him. There is a lot of things to be critical of this flaccid GM. In my view it is not how he has handled this particular situation.

Are pungent smelling cups on sale? Do they come in a variety of sizes? Or is it a one size fits all item?

Why does he have to yield to an inadequate deal rather than just keeping him? What’s funny is that you are going to criticize him when/if he gets dealt for the return and if kept you’re still going to criticize him. Poor fellow can’t win. No matter where he goes he’s going to take a beating.

I respect your league wide knowledge.Give me a few names of veteran players who might be available and would be good pickups on a short-term deal like the the Zucker pickup was for us last year. Our unimaginative GM needs to scan the market for deals that are singles when home run pickups are out of reach. Getting better on the margins is better than not getting better.

This may be outside of this particular topic thread or maybe not (so I apologize for that indiscretion) but I would like to seek opinions on what it would take to acquire a player such as Rust?

If the Sabres should ever become a good and relevant franchise, I don't know how I would handle it. It would be so disorienting from my present normal. 😄

The GM made a dumb, undiplomatic and clumsy comment about the appeal of the area in his comments about attracting talent. What he should have said, and has said it indirectly recently, is that persistent losing has created greater challenges in attracting players. The irony is that Buffalo should be a destination franchise because of its location being near Canada and southern Ontario stretching towards Toronto where a lot of players and their families come from and still reside. And the second irony is that he and the owner have contributed to creating their own ghetto franchise by the inept way that they have managed this franchise. It didn't have to be this way. The solution is simply a greater application of competency. That would be medicinal.

Go back to drinking. Sometimes falling off the wagon is better than being on that broken wagon.

I agree with you that traded or not there needs to be more additions. Another way of looking at this issue is if you have to lose 50 lbs. you have to lose 30 lbs. first. You do what you can do to move forward.