JohnC

I don't understand your line of thinking. A player signs a one year deal that he hopes will put him in a good situation to burnish his stats and put him in a favorable situation when he goes back on the market the next year. What's wrong with that? You cite Skinner as an example that he is following. If that is the case then from the player's standpoint that is the smart thing to do i.e. get the maximum amount of $$$ with the longest term. It's a business not only for the owner but also for the players. If the signing of Hall with the NMC conditions is a bad deal it is a bad deal that the GM agreed to. No one coerced the organization to sign anything. Your portrayal that Hall was being disingenuous makes no sense. He was primarily looking out for his interest. Are you going to fault him for doing what everyone does when negotiating a deal? I agree with you that Hall was not the solution here because the so called solution has nothing to do with a particular player. The problem that needs solving relates to the ingrained ineptitude of this self-sabotaging organization that has been going on for half a generation. Hall struggled while on a poorly run franchise (as did most of the players on the roster); and he thrived when he left and went to a smartly run franchise. What a freaking surprise!!!!!!!

You are off the mark. The first year with Krueger Jack played well. He scored 36 goals and had 78 pts in 68 games. He was a +5 player for the season. https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/BUF/2020.html

I don't understand the notion of building the team around Dahlin, or any particular player. If you want to build a roster that wins then the best approach is to build a well-balanced roster, including the forwards and the goaltending. Most cup contending teams have 2-4 top shelf players that consume much of the cap with the rest of the roster money going towards players who support your core players. There is no doubt that Dahlin is one of the most talented players on the roster. But an elite performing goaltender who is capable of handling a heavy workload is more influential toward winning than an talented offensive minded defenseman. Jack is not only our best player (when healthy) but also our most dominant player. His elite skills have been squandered because there isn't enough talent spread around the roster to support him. I understand what you are saying so I'm not saying you are completely off the mark. For me Dahlin is a special talent to the point that I consider him a "no touch" player. But the Sabres still need many upgrades to become a serious team.

As like you I don't recall him expressing a desire to go to any particular place/location. What he has done is clearly and publicly express his dissatisfaction playing for a team/organization that for years doesn't even play meaningful end of season games, let alone make it to the playoffs. I remember a late season post game interview where he was asked about his thoughts on a come from behind win. He dejectedly said that this win and come back effort means little because we are playing with no pressure because we are out of the playoff race, and have been so for some time. The front office is going to learn rather quickly whether he wants to remain with the organization when they negotiate a new contract. I don't see him signing a deal that will foreclose his ability to leave after next year. I don't blame him for wanting to escape from this cluster situation.

Hall previously played under Krueger. It was a good experience for him. However, he got into a situation where things weren't working well for him and the team. That happens. However, the coach didn't adjust even when the wheels came off the wagon. If you think he was the only player who was frustrated and unhappy you are off the mark. It was a bad situation not only for most of the players but also the fans.

Almost every player under Krueger played worse than under Granato. Dahlin was a shell of himself playing under the ill-suited system that Krueger religiously adhered to while he was quickly energized as a player when Granato took over. For the most part although Hall couldn't convert his chances he continued to played hard. Maybe at the end when he knew he was going to be traded and the team was going through a youth movement he lacked much passion. Who could blame him for being dispirited when in such a depressing situation.

The Sabres acquired a player with a NMC. Consequently, the franchise had fewer options when seeking to move him. Not only is that not surprising but it was to be expected. So in the end the organization got the best deal it could within the limited options. I don't understand the vilification of a player who was able to include that clause in his contract when the team (Sabres) that acquired him didn't have to sign him with that clause. There is an effort to call the player disingenuous and insincere because he acted in his own best interest. Well, in whose interest did you expect him to act on behalf of? This befuddled staff signed a player with movement conditions. They got the best deal that they could under the conditions they agreed to. I don't understand what the problem is? If you are affronted that he wanted out and wanted to go to a more competently run organization then you should also be affronted by more members on the team who also want to escape from this landscape of entrenched futility.

The Italian Don was being polite. The primary reason why the Don was successful is because that which Krueger espoused he did the opposite. The same foundation that Krueger misused and ingloriously failed with the successor properly used and succeeded with.

You misread my comments. I said it was a business decision.

You don't think that when the Pegulas ordered the gutting of the scouting department and replaced the staff with a reliance on videos that it wasn't a business decision? You don't think that variable pricing for games isn't a business decision? You don't think that Pegula was the influencer in trading ROR before his bonus kicked in? Let's get real here.

There isn't a front office staff in the NHL that doesn't meet with their owner/s for an end of the season assessment and a strategy presentation for proceeding in the future. The Rangers' owner is Anthony Dolan. It is universally acknowledged that he is one of the worst owners in all of sports. He is one of the most mocked and scorned owners in all of sports. However, when he calls for a meeting of the staff they report because subordinates are required to report to their boss/bosses. What you don't seem to understand is that reporting to the boss/owner is an essential requirement of the staff's job. It doesn't matter whether the employees have a lot of respect or not for their owners' hockey acumen. It is an essential and required part of the job to keep the owner informed as to what is going on with the business that he owns.

I respectfully disagree that it is an uneven deal from the Ranger standpoint. In the exchange the Rangers not only get the best player in the transaction but they also get a top 10-12 player in the league. The three young players we get certainly have a lot of potential but it should be noted that the Rangers have a loaded prospect pool in their system and be able in short order make up for the departed players. If you want to buy something grand you don't open up the purse containing your coins. Rather you go to your wallet holding the highly denominated dollars.

Then if he is dealt we should look toward the west.

Put together a fair deal to LA for Jack that would be reasonable for them and for us. Put together a fair dal to NYR for Jack that would be reasonable for them and for us. Does a trade with NYR for Jack that gives us a return of Kakko, Lafreniere and K'andre Miller make sense for us?

The reason why I brought up the issue of whether Jack was in communication with the organization and with his teammates, even if it wasn't face to face, is I don't know to what extent he is estranged from the team and organization, or if that is the case at all? You bring up a great point that the Covid situation has altered the way people interact and has created complications that we wouldn't have thought of before. As you and @Brawndo have cited the requirement to quarantine after visiting a doctor in Colorado is an example of the restrictions involved with acting outside of your team's bubble. My suspicion based on nothing more than my gut is that the organization has already made a decision on how to handle the three players in question: Jack, Risto and Reinhart. My sense is that any player that the front office doesn't believe is invested in the team will be moved out with the hope of maximizing the return.

The Jack situation is very murky. We really don't know what is going on behind the scenes and what the communications are, and maybe more important what the tenor of the communications between the parties are. I don't even know where Jack was during the season. Was he around the team or was he back home? Was he working with the team trainers? Was he staying in touch with his teammates or was he out of touch? I don't know? Needless to say how this situation works out has major implications regarding the direction that this front office decides to go.

If Jack is using the injury and what is the best treatment to go forward as a smokescreen to move on to a better situation I'm not going to defend him. On the other hand it is not too difficult to understand how frustrating it is for him and others (Reinhart & Risto etc) to feel trapped in an organization stuck for years in the bottom of the standings. This organization has been one of the most unstable and erratically run organizations in the league. Their embarrassing record is a reflection of the constant turmoil. How many coaches and GMs with their different philosophies have the Peulas hired during tenure? I'm not sure what is going to happen this offseason? I don't know which of our primary players want out and which will be gone before the start of the next season. But make no mistake that the cause of this absurd predicament has more to do with the management of this franchise than it does with the players.

What's the saying that carpenters repeat before putting the saw to the wood? Measure twice and cut once. 🙂

You hit on the source of the issue beyond Jack's frustration with his plaguing injuries that has compounded his frustration with the organization i.e. not providing him with enough support to put him and the team in a position to succeed. The organization has had more than enough time to assemble a broader talent base to make this a more competitive and relevant team. The same organizational failure has affected Reinhart and even Risto's desire to remain with this carcass of an organization.

You are being exceedingly pessimistic. If Granato is retained and his fast paced style of play is installed I can see at least 4 to 5 players reaching the 20 goal mark. Of course the assumption is that our top two players aren't dealt. With Jack back to full health and form there should be a lot more PP goals that should be generated and provide other players with stats.

Jack was plagued with injuries and then put on the shelf this season because of them. When you watch the clips from the prior season exhibiting his blazing speed and powerful skating added to his powerful shot it is easy to forget how scintillating a player he was for us. How soon we forget! Can he completely regain his health when the next season begins? I'm not sure. If he does and ends up wearing another uniform this franchise will regret it. As you point out the entertainment value can't be replicated by anything brought back in a Jack trade. Especially for a franchise known for its irrelevancy that point shouldn't be casually dismissed.

What was so frustrating about him is his rigidity and inability to go outside of his own small box of ideology. When things weren't working out he would resort to doubling down on what he was doing (and failing) instead of trying something different. It's apparent that he didn't listen to any other voices in the room. When Granato, who was on his staff, took over he flipped everything around and in short order got results that were visibly better than what was previously done. Krueger was an accomplished talker. However, he wasn't much of a listener.

Excellent post and analysis. However, I have a slightly different take. Whether the players you mentioned are kept or dealt the rebuild or retool will not fall in the category of a total breaking down in order to start over again. For the sake of argument if Jack, Sam and Risto are dealt there will be some additional young players coming back who are NHL ready to add to the young core (Mitts, Dahlin, Thompsosn, Joki, Asplund, Arttu, Olofsson, Bryson, Samuelsson and assuming Ullmark re-signs) that already exists. The reason I have strenuously been arguing on behalf of Granato, regardless which way the front office decides to go, this roster is going to be very young. Granato has clearly demonstrated that he works well with a young roster and he is also adept and handling the more experienced players. And it should be noted that veteran players such as Okposo played better under the Italian coach than with the former more articulate coach.

I hope if Eichel decides to use a European surgeon it is not the same surgeon who amputated the wrong leg. https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/21/health/austria-amputation-wrong-leg-scli-intl/index.html

Even if Granato is the favorite coaching candidate doing an extensive search is in itself a useful exercise. The front office can learn what others outside the organization think of the roster and organization and how it can be better managed. Getting a variety of outside perspectives can provide ideas that can be useful in critiquing your own organization. Widening one's horizon is better than being insular, especially considering what you have been doing has not worked out well.