JohnC

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.

You are correct. It was either on WGR or with zoom conference call to the local media that he wouldn't stay as an assistant if someone else was hired. He said that his preference is to be a HC at whatever level. He said that is what he desires to do.

I respectfully but strenuously disagree with the gist of your response. There is nothing wrong with the owners requiring the hockey staff to keep them apprised on not only what is going on but also what their thoughts are on how to proceed. That relationship between staff and ownership happens to some degree with every franchise. Some owners are more involved than others. If the owners want to chime in and give their opinions that's their prerogative. They sign the checks. If the hockey staff can't explain what and why they are doing things to the people who are paying their salaries then they are deficient in an important aspect of their job i.e. communication.

The notion that you can mostly eliminate the human element out of the scouting department on the prospect and pro side of the hockey business is a testament to how out of touch they were in this realm. You point out that Hall was an inadequate player for us. You don't think that the quality of scouting was a factor for the mismatch? You pointed out that the recently dispatched coach was a luddite? Who hired that articulate luddite? I agree with you that in the short-term not investing in a conventional scouting department won't be as damaging as it would be in the longer-term. But the fact that this crazy notion of hollowing out a scouting department was a good idea in the first place was simply kooky. Now the organization is in a situation where it has to rebuild a critical department that was deliberately gutted. When it comes to rebuilding this particular department it will be more costly than if it was simply maintained. Over the Pegula tenure the Sabres have had one of the worst records in the NHL. It shouldn't come as a surprise. Foolishness is foolishness.

Whether it is pro football, basketball, baseball or hockey the evaluation of talent is at the core for any successful operation. Talent evaluation is not just about evaluating prospects but it also is a necessity for evaluating talent in the league so that smart decisions can be made when considering trades and free agent signings. The Pegulas have made a number of bad decisions that have handcuffed this franchise. One of their biggest mistakes is drastically cutting the scouting department and instead primarily relying on the tape for the sake of shaving off some expenses. When you have a nickel and dime operation in a talent based business you end up losing dollars on the saved penny.

Few people will criticize the Pegulas wanting to be kept informed of what is happening within the operation. That isn't the core problem that has for a decade kept this franchise sunk at the bottom of the pond. Of course they should be kept apprised of all the personnel decisions for the simple reason that they own the team and sign the checks. But that isn't the problem. The owners make the hires and they also do the firing of the staff. How many coaches and GMs have they gone through since they bought the team? When you keep churning through coaches and GMs with different visions on how to build a team then no one should be surprised with the organizational instability and consistent losing. How do you execute a rebuilding plan when it is constantly changing? The problem starts at the top and the solution resides at the top. Or to put it simply stop doing what you have done that has left this organization in a state of chaos and act with more intelligence and patience.