JohnC

There has never been a hint from anyone inside or outside the organization questioning Reinhart's effort and desire. Throughout his time in Buffalo he has been our most consistent player while playing for an organization shrouded in the fog of mediocrity. Your negative opinion is your opinion, you are entitled to it. I strenuously disagree with it. Even with players on winning teams that doesn't guarantee warm relations with the press. That's the human element that you won't be able to eliminate. Whatever the relationship is between any particular player/s I simply don't care. That's for them to work out.

Granato may be a first time coach at the NHL level but he has had a myriad of experience at many other levels. It should be forgotten that he was a coach of the year in the AHL. And although it was for a short stint he did more than a commendable job last year taking over for Krueger. What Granato excels at his previous job is developing young talent. If he is selected that attribute is critically important with the young roster he will be working with. I can't criticize anyone who is wary of Adams because of his inexperience at the position he holds because it is true.

I discount Hamilton's comments on Reinhart. This friction has been going on for a while. Ullmark also has a very frayed relationship with Hamilton. No one can question the attitude of Reinhart. He is one of the most honest and consistent players on the roster. Reinhart has in a classy and dignified way expressed his frustration with the status quo situation with this team not playing end of the season meaningful games. When all is said and done Reinhart will express his intention not through words but through the way he negotiates a contract. If he is not willing to have more than a one year deal that will give him an out the following year. My expectation is that he is going to be moved.

I apologize for repeating what I said in a previous post. If you go back to the interview that KA gave to the press after the Jack interview it is clear that he is going to move on from Jack and other players because he emphasized that he only wants player who want to be here and are bought in. The assumption is that Jack and his reps have communicated to the GM and organization that he prefers to be somewhere else. And the GM had emphasized in that interview that he doesn't want any players on the team who feel that way. Based on the reports on the active marketing of Jack and Samson the GM is acting on his stance.

If you can get in return a young player such as Zegras who may be a #1C, a gritty second line player in Comtois plus a high first round pick I would be willing to make the deal if VO needs to be added for the deal to get it done. The other side also has a say in a proposed deal. If this is the best deal you can get on the market then you take the plunge.

I would take that trade in a nanosecond. Why be concerned about giving up a fourth round pick when under the trade scenario we would have two high first round and 2 second round picks? In fact if Jack is traded to Anaheim I would hold out to retain Olofsson. If that was a deal killer I would then include him.

You are missing the point. Ullmark is relatively young and with a longer lifespan than exists for other positions. There is no need to belabor the point. We just disagree. No big deal.

Ullmark has steadily moved up the ranks from a developmental standpoint. I have never categorized him as a player with magical unforeseen ability (your words). What he has done is work his way up the system from the bottom to a credible starting goaltender. He's not elite and will never be. But it is not unreasonable to believe that he is a credible starting NHL net minder. I agree with you that this is a make or break year for Thompson to show what his talent level is.

When discussing goaltenders in contrast to forwards they have a much longer lifespan from productive standpoint. And with respect to Tage tall and long lean players take much longer than normal because it takes longer to physically fill out.

You are being overly punctilious.🤡

So what? Developing goaltenders usually take more time. He has gone through the system and worked his way up.

The core of the team will revolve around young players such as Cozens, Dahlin, Mitts, Thompson, Joki, Ullmark (if he signs), Bjork (if not taken in the expansion draft) and maybe Samuelsson and Bryson. Will there be some veterans added to the mix beyond Okposo, McCabe (if signed) who are currently not signed? Yes.

You are off the mark. Reinhart wants out and Jack wants out. Period! Their reservoir of patience has been exhausted. Both of these players have been with the team for years. Last season, the Sabres had the worst record in hockey. For these two guys, and more so for Reinhart, they will not be on the Sabres next season. The situation is not complicated. Samson has contract leverage. Odds are he will not be willing to sign an extended deal. The discussion about how it should be is irrelevant and wasteful. KA will be making his personnel decisions based on the reality of the situation. Common sense indicates that players who were our key players will soon be our former key players.

I respectfully but strenuously disagree. As I stated in another post I re-listened to KA's post interview after the Jack interview. He made it clear that he wanted players who wanted to be here. Reinhart is a classy person who stated clearly that he was tired with the situation he is in. And I'm sure in his exit interview with the GM that he mad it clear that it was time for a change for him and the organization.

That Jack and Sam issue has been settled. You would be better off focusing more on the return than on the inevitable departures.

I don't think that he hurt them either. It seemed to me that Granato who is good at slotting players was not afraid to pair him with the youngsters. The irony is that I thought Samuelsson played a more thoughtful and judicious game when paired with him.

If I had to guess I think Cozens will earn that moniker in a couple of years.

I know that my view of Risto is out of step with the majority. In my view he has had the misfortune of playing on a team where what was expected of him was beyond his skill set. It's safe to say that Risto is not a thinker on the ice who sees the field well. He doesn't have that field of vision and anticipation to read plays and never will for a top tier defenseman. The best way to use him was to simplify his game and have him play within his limitations that have nothing to do with his impressive physical attributes. In my mind he is a subordinate player on the second pairing. It's a shame that McCabe has been plagued with injuries because I think that he would pair well with him. One of the reasons why I look more favorable towards Risto than others do is that he provides some ruggedness on a team that lacks it. I recognize that I am an outlier on this issue. And I recognize that Risto will probably moved this offseason.

I agree with the general tenor of your comments but have a slightly different perspective. There is no doubt that the return for Jack, Reinhart and Risto won't be equal value. But that doesn't mean that we can't get good value back that will in the short term (next season) expand the young talent base and accelerate the rebuild. As an example, if in the return for our departing players we can get young contributing players such as Zegras and Comtois who can play right away and still have plenty of upside that will be a terrific start. Will we be a better team? I don't know? But it could result in a fuller roster of upside players. The precarious situation the organization is of its own doing. We are all aware of that. The slate won't be totally wiped out but it will be significantly altered. We have to accept the reality of it and go on from there. If handled right I believe we won't be in as bad a situation an many believe it will be. Needless to say this offseason is going to determine how far off the path or not so far we are off the path to credibility.

It's time that the franchise be run in an orderly and professional way. The situation that KA inherited included a coach he didn't hire and whose strongly held views devastated the operation. My impression of KA is that he is deliberative and detail oriented. He seems to recognize the importance of rebuilding the organization that was deliberately stripped. I like his Karmanos hiring. And I'm assuming that Granato will be hired soon. That will be a good hire. Yesterday, I again listened to KA's post season comments after the Jack interview. The repeated theme of his comments to the press was that he is excited about the enthusiasm of the young players. And he was close to being explicit that he was going to shed players who don't want to be here. So there is no mystery about what Jack, Risto and Reinhart's status are. Next year's team is going to be rebuilt around the young core who are bought in and committed to being here. Now let's wait and see what the return will be for these burnt out players who were tired of the situation they are in. Giving them a fresh start is the right thing for them and for the organization.

Thanks for the assessment. I still hold to my position that unless Zegras is included in a proposed trade it makes no sense to make the deal with them. My ideal scenario would be Zegras, Comtois and their top pick. I'm sure there will have to be some add ins but in general that would be a reasonable deal for us and a good if not great deal for them. Too many people forget how talented Jack is. If you also consider the trade of Samson and probably Risto we should be able to cumulatively get a return of four contributing players to the roster. If 2-3 of those players are second-line caliber players then our roster will be a little thicker and the makeup will be altered. Will the Sabres be a better team? Maybe not in the short run but in the near future it could be.

What kind of player is Comtois? Is he a second-line player? Others have described him as pesky and gritty. We certainly can use that type of player. I still hold that any Jack deal with Anaheim that doesn't include Zegras is a bad deal for us. A Zegras, Comtois and their first pick (we throw in one of our second rd picks) seems to be a fair deal for us.

I am not getting hung up with the analytics because the sample size is so small.

I think that Reinhart will be traded before Jack because it will be a less grand and multi-layered deal. If Jack is traded to Anaheim then Zegras has to be included in the package. If that doesn't happen then hold on to him or find another deal. I know I am outside the norm here but I believe that Risto will not be traded this offseason. My impression is that Granato likes him. And to his credit when a youngster was partnered with him (Bryson and Samuelsson) the coupling worked out reasonably well. He still can have value at the next trade deadline. With respect to working out a deal for Seattle taking any player we should just let them take whomever they want and not give up any chips to take someone else. Vegas built their roster by acquiring pre-expansion draft deals which in the end built up their team and diminished the teams they dealt with. Keep it simple. Lose who you are going to lose; draft Power with the first pick and put Granato behind the bench.

The crummy players you are critical of were brought in by the constantly changing hockey staff! You are aiming at the wrong target. A decade of erratic organizational behavior is a recipe for failure. Over the past decade if you add up the number of coaching and GM changes that have been made it adds up to 10 or so. That is not a recipe for stability. When your foundation is shaky the house is going to crumble sooner than it should. Let me remind you because you may have forgotten but the Sabres were the worst team in the league last year. Something is amiss and it is evident to most people who not only have their eyes open but also know where to look.