JohnC

I've heard from 3 or 4 draft analysts on the radio that if you stay in the top ten range (as you noted) you will come away with a very good prospect. And they all seem to agree that if you are drafting within the top three location you will come out with an exceptional prospect.

It's interesting that you brought up the Staal option because it was discussed on WGR's the Instigator Show. When that scenario was brought up Marty Biron stated that Staal had no interest in leaving Minnesota. Biron mentioned that the Bruins wanted to acquire him this year for a Cup run. Biron noted that Staal would not agree to the move. So although the option of getting a stopgap veteran 2C is a good idea it doesn't apply to an unwilling player like Staal.

You and I are in accord. But I'll even go farther than you on the Mittelstadt mishandling. He should instead have been sent to Rochester when he first entered the pro ranks and fully immersed in the AHL until he demonstrated that he was ready. Mitts has skills but physically and emotionally he was not ready. I hope that this mishandling due to force feeding the development process doesn't result in another Gregerenko (sic) situation, i.e. playing a touted prospect when not ready. My same reasoning applies to Tage Thompson. He should have sooner been sent to Rochester to get more playing time and more time to physically develop. It takes tall and lean young players time to physically mature before they are ready to play with the thicker men in the NHL. It might seem that I am contradicting myself but I'm not in saying if there is a young player ready to make the NHL leap it is Cozens. He probably isn't ready to be a 2C right now but from a physical and maturity standpoint he is ready to play in the big league right now. It's a moot point because due to the AHL rules he is too young to play in the league and too good to benefit playing in the juniors. He is our 2C in waiting, and that wait won't be too long.

Botterill thought that Mitts was ready for the 2C role. He grossly miscalculated and it was a factor in him losing his job. The past is the past and this offseason is a new offseason with opportunities to pursue. Can Adams and the new regime successfully address some of the major needs that have lingered for too long? I hope so. Attached is a 4 minute link from NHL.com with Marty Biron interviewing Cozens and showing some of his highlights. I don't know if Cozens will play any of the center positions this year but I do expect him to contribute. https://www.nhl.com/sabres/

I'll just take one of the players you listed and point out the complicating factors that make such a deal difficult to consummate. Nazem Kadri would have been a terrific addition to the Sabres. He would have filled the second line center role and added some toughness to the roster. But that deal was unlikely because Toronto had little interest in making a deal with a divisional rival that they often played. Even if the Sabres offered more than what Colorado gave up, Barrie plus other considerations, the Leafs wouldn't want to strengthen their cross the border rival. I'm hoping this offseason the new GM and his staff can make a deal for a credible second center. My only caveat is that under no circumstances am I willing to include Cozens in a deal.

What were the asking prices? I said it before and I will continue to maintain my position that using our first round pick for Cozens instead of dealing it away will prove to be the right move.

The price for Miller was a first round pick. That pick was used for Cozens. For me keeping the pick and selecting Cozens will prove to be the better course to have taken. If you have a different opinion that is fine. On the other hand I would have no reluctance to use this year's first round pick in a deal to acquire a second line forward. I have said it in other posts and without an qualification: Cozens should not be dealt unless it is a crazy deal that will benefit dramatically benefit us. In the real world I don't see that happening.

There is no question that there is a gaping hole at the 2C spot. Tell me who the GM could have brought in last year to play the 2C spot? The top 2 center positions are prized commodities. Teams that have them are reluctant to part with them unless the return is sizeable. The Sabres were a rebuilding team. They had numerous major needs. Filling those high level needs (second line caliber of players) was not going to happen in one offseason. The GM dangled Risto last offseason to attempt to address the second line. After scanning the market the return was not sufficient. Again, let me know who you thought could have been secured as a 2C last year and at what price? note: I didn't deliberately highlight the response. For some reason the post came back highlighted.

The ROR deal turned out to be a crusher that to this day reverberates. I understand why the GM felt that he needed to trade the disgruntled center who publicly let it be known that he wanted out. The GM was facing a bonus date for the player and he didn't want to be locked into a player on a long term contract who wanted out. The GM was in the early process of rebuilding the roster and didn't want an unhappy core player to contaminate the young roster. It doesn't take much hindsight wisdom to recognize that this was a stupendous mistake. In the deal with St. Louis we they weren't even willing to give up one of their top two prospects for one of the best two way centermen in the league. So Botts settled on Tage as a piece in the deal. Maybe he will turn out a good player but it is still in question. The moral of the story in the ROR saga is not to act out of desperation. If he needed to be dealt then you either get fair value in return or wait until you do. I also feel the same way in a proposed Risto deal.

He was a reasonable add for a reasonable price. Even though it is apparent that he is not a #2 center he is a solid and intelligent player added to a roster that needed additions. I don't want to get carried away because we have to see how things work out but I thought the Kahun-Johansson-Olofsson line showed some promise as a line in their short period together. It wouldn't surprised me if this line is put together Kahun ends up being the center. Botterill rightfully receives a lot of criticism. However, he should get credit for his deals for Jokiharju and Kahun without giving up much. Both of these transactions were sneaky good deals that are going to have long term benefits.

The issue for Ryan Johansen is not that I wouldn't give up Montour and a 2nd rounder for him as it is would I take him on for five more years at $8 million dollars. I would say no because I strongly believe that in a year or so Cozens could be a second line center, and for the immediate term give you playing time at a lower line. I don't see Tampa dealing Cirelli. They will work out something to retain him. Again, I'm not giving up Cozens. I would be willing to deal Risto and a first for Cirelli but I would have to secure his services on a long term deal first. Would I sign Hall for 7 years at $9 million? No, I don't think he is worth the annual cost or the length of the term. Again, Cozens for me is an untouchable. I will not yield on that issue. I'm confident that he will be a very good player and on his first contract he will provide the team with cap flexibility to pursue other good player/s that other teams can't afford to keep. Again and again, Cozens is an untouchable.

I agree with your take. Where I diverge a little is that the acquisition of a genuine second center is an expensive proposition that will be very costly, maybe to the prohibitive point. Your second option of focusing on a team that needs to shed salary is a more likely option. And even with that option it will require a lot. Maybe the best option for the short term is to acquire a veteran center who can play on the second line at an acceptable level. I think that Botterill had this approach in mind when he acquired Johansson. Let's not forget the hope is that Cozens will be ready to be the second center in a year or two.

As I stated in a prior post the value many are placing on our players is much higher than they actually have on the market. Both Mitts and Thompson have not demonstrated that they can develop into anything more than third line players, if that. As I stated before if you want to procure a second line center you will have to give up talent that will result in deficits in other areas. Under no circumstances am I dealing Cozens or even Joki. Maybe our best option is getting a veteran second tier second center who is more of a third line center as a temporary fix until Cozens develops into hopefully our second center?

I'm not sure how much value Montour has in a trade especially since his contract is either up or will be up in a year. It was widely reported last year that Botts sought to trade Risto prior to the season. Apparently the return wasn't as great as anticipated. So he was retained. There are many people who are forcefully advocating for a trade to get a second line center. The cost is very high.

I agree that there needs to be a second line caliber of player added more likely through a trade than through the free agent market. However it is done it will most likely be done within the framework of a dollar contract sent out in order to bring in a dollar contract. For the sake of argument what are our current biggest trade assets? Risto and our #1 pick seem to be our biggest market chips. As it stands it appears that Krueger likes Risto a lot because he adds an element of physicality that the unit doesn't much have. Other than McCabe the unit is staffed with skaters and finesse players. So if Risto is retained then what options does the organization has to build up one of the lines. Why not get a little radical and put together a youth line composed of Cozens-Mitts-and Tage? Is it too young and inexperienced? Probably so. But if Krueger can get it to play with some energy this would be an interesting and maybe even an entertaining option as a trial experiment.

Botterill believed in a strategy of drafting and developing in building a roster. His success was predicated on that approach. As it turned out the development process was not fast enough to salvage his job. That is not to say that his strategy was wrong. Are Mittelstadt, Thompson and Cozens ready to make the jump as NHL contributors? I don't know? My belief is if two of the three players do play as contributing third line players then there will be more puzzle pieces and flexibility to work with in order to assemble functioning (goal scoring) lines behind the Jack lines. (I believe that Cozens is going to be a gem but it's going to take at least another year or two to develop into a primary/core player.) At the end of the season Krueger played Kahun-Johansson-Olofsson as a line. This was a good skating line that was able to generate scoring chances. And because this was such a good skating line it seemed that Kahun and Johansson were each capable of playing the center position. I wouldn't categorize this as a second caliber line but it was in my mind a good third line. What is evident is that the organization needs to bring in at least one second line forward to create a line that can take some of the scoring pressure off of the Jack line. Getting a second-line center is not an easy task because you have to give up a lot to get that accomplished. If that can't be done then there is still a need to get a second line forward added to the roster. My preference right now is to have Jack playing on a line with Skinner and Reinhart. I would rather have that one potent line than disperse the wingers on lower lines that will make them less effective.

As imbalanced as it was our defensive unit was not the primary source of this team's struggles last year. Secondary scoring, non-existent second line, PK and inconsistent goal tending did more to hurt this team. Probably the biggest priority is getting a genuine second line center. If a major asset/s had to be dealt I would focus on that bigger need.

There are two sides to the equation. If you don't have a lefty on the roster then who are you going to give up to get one? I would rather work with what we got until a deal can be made to balance out the unit. If you can't get one in a deal that works for you then you work with the players you have. Acting out of desperation to fill a need is not usually better than working with what you got for the short term. In a cap system you can't always perfectly address all your needs. How you manage your limitations is an issue that all organizations have to contend with. As I previously stated I would rather play the more talented right hand player on the left side than play the less talented leftie on that side. It's not a perfect situation but you work with what you got until better options are available.

To be fair to Paul it had to be difficult for him or anyone else to cover this struggling and middling franchise for such an extended period of time. This Sabre team was not only irrelevant but also a boring team for a long time. It is difficult to manufacture excitement/interest when the cycle of mediocrity is constantly being repeated. It's hard to repackage a damaged product when the same thing is being delivered year after year.

As a unit it is not unfair to rate them as solid with an upside where Dahlin and Joki elevating the unit. I would rather have an a more talented right handed player on the left side than having a lesser left handed player on the left side. If there is an overbalance of players at any position you can when the time is favorable deal your extra assets to better balance your roster. My point is having an abundance of talent at a certain position is a problem (at least for the short term) not to complain about.

For the Sabres the debate about whether Sam is a first or second line player is misplaced. The value that Sam has is that he meshes well with Jack on the first line and brings to that line the important attribute of playing well around the net. The Sabres are composed of many players who prefer to play around the perimeter and few players who are willing to do the tough job of being a presence around the net where most of the goals are scored. It's indisputable that Jack is the most valuable player on the team. Having a player like Sam who increases Jack's production means that the sidekick player is the type of player you want to be on the Jack line. The issue shouldn't be where does he fit on another team as it should be how does he fit with the team that he is on.

I don't know how long he intends to play in Russia or how long our rights to would have lasted if exercised. But regardless his value in a trade or part of a trade is not something to be bothered about. I liked him as a player but his value as a trade asset was minimal and his departure as a player had an inconsequential impact on the roster. Player movements are part of the landscape in the NHL and happen to every team. In the end the player did what was right for himself and the organization did what was right for itself.

I doubt it. From what it was reported due to the tax law in Russia Pilut could be making nearly twice as much in Russia than he would playing in the NHL. And it is more likely that he will be given a lot more playing time in the Russian league than he would as at best a third pairing defenseman with the Sabres. I like Pilut a lot. He is a good skater and a smart player but he is not better than Joki who has a similar style of game. In a backhanded way losing a solid to good player like Pilut and not having it more than marginally affecting the unit is a sign that that unit has accumulated a good group of blueliners. A few years ago this unit was bereft a talent. Now it has a solid to good core. That's progress.

Has Paul Hamilton called Rochester American games and done some Niagara College Hockey games? I wish him well and hope he finds himself back in the business very soon. In my view he's a no frills reporter who is solid at what he does. He seemed able to be critical without being personally harsh. In general he was meat and potato type performer who was usually fair. I wouldn't mind seeing him doing Sabre hockey games as an analyst or as a substitute game caller.