JohnC

My understanding is that he could have gotten more gross money signing with Toronto or New York. However, the salary differential was narrowed because Florida has no state income tax. As it stood he was in a good situation playing with a good organization that was a perennial cup contender. Considering all the factors he was in a good situation and decided to stay in a good situation. The same scenario applies to Cirelli as a player and Tampa as an organization. In a year or two it is hoped that Cozens will develop into a 2C. So it doesn't make sense to trade for a top tier center and end up yielding a lot of assets for an already thin team. If I had to guess I would lean toward the front office making a deal for a player such as Anaheim's Adam Henrique to fill the position for the short term until Cozens is ready.

We in general are in accord. My primary point in my post on this Cirelli subject is that I believe it is improbable that Tampa has any interest in trading him to the Sabres. And I don't believe the Sabres are willing to give up the bounty in assets required to acquire him even if he is willing to sign a deal. As I said in my prior post Tampa is a well run organization that is known for its smart decisions. A lot of people thought that Tampa was not in a good position to sign Stamkos when he was a free agent. They got the deal done just as I believe they will do with Cirelli.

Does he have to sign? And if so what would be the length of the contract?

A few years ago when Stamkos was a free agent many people thought he would be too costly for Tampa to keep. At that time it was thought that the front runner in the bidding for his services would be Toronto where he was from. Tampa is one of the best run hockey operations in the league. And they are a perennial cup contender. Stamkos probably could have gotten more money from another team if he desired to leave. Instead, he stayed with a team which consistently wins and lives in a state that has no state income tax so some of the extra money that he could have gotten from another team is offset by the lower state income tax. As others have pointed out Tampa has to contend with a number of no trade clauses making it even more challenging to fit in a fair-value contract for a young star like Cirelli. I just don't see him leaving to go to a team like Buffalo even if he decides to leave. If Tampa was willing to trade him we would have to have him signed to a new long term contract before the deal could be made. There are a few second-tier 2Cs who could be available and would be less costly if traded for. That might be a more feasible and a more realistic route to take in our quest to find a suitable center for the second line.

This line as a checking line did serve its role very well. But the problem is that one of the glaring weaknesses of this team is its lack of secondary scoring. No one expects their checking line to be a high scoring line. But they still need to contribute more to the offense than what it currently does. From the standpoint of fulfilling their role this line may have been the most consistent line. But in my estimation you still need a few more goals to chip in with the scoring. Okposo fits in well with this line. Because of his contract it is unlikely that he could be moved. Larsson is good at taking draws and has some jam to his game. If a player is going to be moved I see it being Girgensons not because he doesn't serve a role but because it might be in his best interest and the team's best interest to have a change of scenery.

It may not be next season but there are strong odds that he will be the 2C or second line forward the following season. He is going to make the roster this year, and if handled properly and playing with the right players will be a contributor in his rookie year. He probably is more advanced that Mitts and Tage. Even as an 18 or 19 year old he is physically very developed with room to grow and very mature. The attacked link is a column on Cozens by Jordan LaBarber from NHL.com. https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/buffalo-sabres-prospects-rewind-dylan-cozens/c-316649574

Nylander didn't work out for us. He was dealt for Joki who is a better player. So that is a plus replacement. Mitts being rushed was a mistake. Will he be a player worthy of his draft selection? I don't know.

Thank you for your kind and welcoming words. I will add you to my short and exclusive Christmas card list.

When you draft 17-18 yrs old its not surprising that some kids are mature and others are not. Some quickly grow out of it while others have a slower progression. NHL hockey drafting is more unpredictable than NFL drafting because of the age differential when selecting. I'm not as critical as others on the selection of Mitts and Nylander because both players were drafted in the vicinity of where they ranked as prospects. And I still have some hope although not certain that Mitts could develop into a contributing player. As far as Nylander there should be no complaints about this traded player because he was flipped for Joki, who I believe is going to be a good player for us for a long time.

The Sabres drafted Eichel. Was that a mistake? The Sabres drafted Dahlin instead of a forward? Was that a mistake? Reinhart was the second pick in his draft. It was a reasonable pick. As you noted Cozens look good. And as you noted Mitts was rushed. However, that is not to say that he won't develop. Nylander, just like Mitts, was drafted in the vicinity of where he was ranked in his class. He ended up being dealt for Joki. So essentially his selection has turned out to be Joki who is capable of being a second-pairing caliber of player. Olofsson was developed in the system and has turned out better than one could reasonably expect. This organization traded for ROR and they got one of the best two way centers in the game. And that is what he was and is. But for a number of reasons that have exhaustively been discussed here he was moved. There isn't anyone who will make the claim that we didn't get shortchanged. We are not the only team in hockey that has moved disgruntled players because it wanted to dispose of a problem. I would have waited for a better deal but the organization made the decision that it didn't want him in the locker room. Will Tage turn out to be a decent player? I don't know. Young tall and lanky players take time to physically mature. Chara's early years were not impressive. KI'm not suggesting he is the caliber of player that Chara is but from a physical profile these tall and thin players take time to physically mature and fill out. It's easy to be an oracle and say who should have been drafted 3 to 4 yrs after the fact. When you draft 17-18 yr olds you never really now how the player will turn out unless the player is one of the few who fall in the can't miss category. But if you go back and review the players who were drafted they all fell in the range where they were ranked. How else are you going to do it?

What do I and the Donald have in common? I also wanted to buy the Bills when they were for sale. However, just like Donald I lacked the coinage. The difference between our efforts to buy is that I didn't have the PR apparatus to promote the delusion. Promoting a myth doesn't make it real.

Scandella was a superb mentor and complement to the young defenseman. Joki was 20 yrs old last year. His poise for his age and inexperience was impressive. I see a lot of upside with him. Internal improvement by our young players is going to be an important factor in making this team credible. You make a keen observation. I watched some of the old games on MSG during this hockey interlude. I didn't realize how good Tallinder was. Because he was so efficient and not a banger he was not a high profile player. But without a doubt this quiet player was an instrumental player.

Botterill has received some deserved criticism for his rebuild strategy of being too patient with his draft and develop approach. I'm sure I'm in the minority here but I believe it was to an extent working but the time required to take that route was a factor in his demise. He needed to be more bold and exhibit greater urgency to accelerate the rebuild process especially with Jack in his prime. There is not question that the ROR trade had lingering damaging consequences. But let's give credit where deserved. I thought the Jokiharju deal for Nylander was a terrific deal and the acquisition of Kahun for players who weren't going to be here the next year was also excellent deal. I thought Joki was our most consistent defenseman last year. I think he is going to be a gem.

Dudacek's standard extended responses are still considered succinct compared to Marty's meandering and exhausting responses. Marty is one of a kind. He can not be duplicated. Dudacek is a fine fellow but he is no Marty

Dudacek can't be Marty because the congenial and loquacious Marty gives longer open-ended responses that include frequent references about his sizeable twitter followers.

You make a good point. On the other hand my sense is that Skinner doesn't fit the mold of the player he prefers. The only time I have ever heard Krueger exhibit irritation in an interview was when he was asked about Skinner's diminished role on WGR. His response and tone was sharp and less than discreetly indicated that he was not satisfied with how he played. I may be reading too much into his tone and response. With respect to Johansson I thought playing him with Kahun and Olofsson at the end of the season was an interesting combination. They seemed to have a rapport and their styles of play seemed to mesh.

If Kahun becomes more of a good third line player than a genuine second line player the deal for him is still a plus deal for us. Getting more lower line production is a critical need for this team. You make an excellent point that this organization has for too long counted on "if" players. Not much has materialized from this category of players. However, when the "if" players are young players then over time some of those "if" players can turn into "can do" players. This organization needs some luck from its current batch of "if" players such as Tage-Mitts-Cozens-Kahun. We need some good fortune for the potential to be realized into production. Is it too much to expect or too soon to expect? Maybe, maybe not?

No to the first question. No to the second question. And no to the third question.

In general we are in accord. With respect to the highlighted section if you want an increased chance for Skinner to return to his prolific scoring form then the best situation for him is to be on the Jack line. I still believe that our first line should be made up of Skinner-Jack-Reinhart. While many want that line to split up for more dispersed scoring from another line my bias is to keep that prolific line in tact. When considering why Skinner was less effective last year compared to his first year a significant factor was the change in coaching and the system he installed. Krueger system relies on two way players. Skinner doesn't fit that model, and I don't believe he ever will. Krueger wants his line players to play a tight and responsible two way game. Skinner certainly can give a more earnest effort on the defensive side of the game but that's not where his value lies. He's a goal scoring sniper on a team that lacks potency. We should allow him to play to his strengths and be more tolerable of his deficiencies.

Your comments are the exact duplication of what Marty Biron stated when he was asked about Strome.

The bigger issue with these three players isn't so much with them playing together as it is whether individually they are good enough to contribute spread out among the lines. If two out of the three or four players (including Tage) demonstrate that they are worthy of their NHL roles, whatever it is, then that in itself will provide a team boost and allow for more cap flexibility to bring in a couple of good players. Last year I didn't expect Olofsson to be such a scoring factor. He made a leap from the previous year. Can Kahun or Joki do the same? Or maybe Mitts? Much is riding on the internal improvement of the young players already on the roster. As it stands I believe the most important young player that this team is counting on to elevate his game is Ullmark. With consistent goaltending this team is much more competitive.

Good observation. Your thoughts on Strome are the same as Marty Biron's thoughts. He felt that he was somewhat like Reinhart who is a heady player but was too slow for a 2C. He preferred a player who was faster and played a harder game.

What are the thoughts of trading our #1 pick for Chicago's Dylan Strome---straight up deal? This topic has been discussed on more than a few occasions on WGR's Instigator Show with Marty Biron saying no while the other hosts would be more receptive to making that deal. Craig Rivet has been vocal in his willingness to trade our first round pick or including him in a deal for immediate help at the 2C spot.

Being a legend in one's own mind is like being drunk on one's own delusion. Others might look askance at one's staggering inebriation but so what as long as you are happy with one self. ?

What do you have against incoherence? It gives you more opportunities to be right or make the claim that the other person misinterpreted your vagueness.