JohnC

I agree with your perceptive comments about the importance of adding veteran leadership to the group. However, I have a slight variation with your view on leadership. I believe what makes the Staal attribute of leadership more influential is that as a 2C rather than a lower line and fringe player he commands more influence because he will be more of an instrumental player. Okposo is an acknowledged leader in the room. Without question he is a character guy who is listened to. If he were more of a top tier player on this team I think his status as a voice in the room would even be more potent. Don't misinterpret what I'm saying. In general we are in accord. But my sense is that in most cases (not always) the higher contributor is in a better position to have his voiced heard. If even at his age Staal can maintain the level of play that he had at Minnesota this would be a tremendous addition.

Bingo. You hit the core problem of not enough scoring being one of the primary causes for the team's struggles. If the addition of Staal and the possible inclusion of Reinhart to second line result in Skinner returning to scoring form then the Staal addition positively reverberates beyond the addition of the second line center. It's stating the obvious that the Sabres lacked talent. But it was its lack of depth that sunk this team once it hit the inevitable injuries and struggles of players. An inability to fill the gaps when they arose made its early season success unsustainable. There is no question that this team has more depth and will be better able to handle players being sidelined.

That's not true. @PromoTheRobotwould want to see the MAC in one of the playoff rounds.

Looking at the lineup you posted the two players I am interested to follow in camp and learn what their roles will be are Ruotsalainen and Thompson. We sure could use some pleasant surprises.

I have been arguing to keep Samson on the first line with Jack. But if he moves to the Staal line and it results in him becoming more aggressive by shooting more and driving play then that expansion in role will not only serve him better but it will help to create a genuine second caliber line, something we haven't had in a long time. One of the keys to having a successful season is putting Skinnner in a position to succeed. Putting Reinhart on a line with Skinner does that. And adding Staal to the line also puts Skinner in a position to thrive. It's early yet to come to a judgment but the Staal acquisition was a terrific addition from a talent and leadership standpoint.

When you go against the family the blood will flow. The Godfather: Part 2 (7/8) Movie CLIP - Fredo's Death (1974) HD - YouTube

I would gladly take the 2-3 yr. timetable to get to the NHL. That would be well within the standard of time it usually takes to make it to the big league.

You pass the judgment you want and I'll pass the judgment I want. If you disagree that's fine. I'm not bothered by disagreements and can handle disagreements. I don't want to come on as being antagonistic but you are belaboring a point.

This is a hockey bulletin board where judgments/opinions are made before the fact all the time. When you make a bet at the gambling window you make a judgment before you place your bet---not after. That's the nature of the beast.

If you look at the additions as an example such as Staal and Hall and consider what was given up to acquire this combo (nearly nothing) I would with no hesitation say that it was a productive offseason. If you compare this regime's work product in one offseason compared to the prior regime's work product for the prior few years I would with no equivocation state that this current regime was better run.

You didn't correctly interpret what I stated. If you go back and look at what I stated what I didn't do is guarantee any results. (To be specific I said this team is capable of being a playoff team and not definitely a playoff team. That is clearly stated in my last sentence.) However, I did note that this roster was upgraded. I also stated that there is a greater coherency and conceptualization with respect to how this roster is being put together i.e. this team is faster and the scoring is better spread throughout the lines. I credited this new regime on how it more smartly functioned compared to the prior regime. I hope this response clarifies for you on what I actually stated.

The Dahlin show should also be aesthetically pleasing. And with him there will be a lot of "wow" moments.

Terrific post. Well thought out and expressed. As you point out not only are the pieces being assembled but what distinguishes this roster from the prior years is that there is a cushion of depth that we haven't seen for years. This team has a recent history of starting off exceptionally well and then falling like a boulder rolling down a steep mountain because there wasn't enough cushion to sustain a few injuries or substitute for faltering players. What is apparent entering this training camp is that there is internal competition vying for playing time. We haven't had enough talent before to fill the holes when they happened. I believe that this team is capable of being a playoff team even within this more challenging Covid manufactured conference. If they don't there still should be a recognition that this organization is being more smartly run and more aggressively run than with the previous administration.

You are astute in your observations. A couple of the priorities this offseason in reworking the roster is to get faster and to improve the secondary scoring. If you include the skating ability of our defensive unit and with the additions of Hall and Eakins to their respective lines this is more of a north/south and faster lineup. As you suggest with your last sentence about player evaluations the organization has conceptualized how it wants to build a roster and then brought in players who fit in with their concept. This is a good example of an organization that is cohesive top to bottom compared to one that is disjointed. You got to like what has been done and be optimistic.

I have one New Year's wish: I want to be stupendously wrong about Mittelstadt's prospects. If I am I will humbly admit my error in judgment and will also be gleeful. We had a number of members who have gotten sick from the virus. I want them to fully regain their health and wish them well.

That's impressive. But even if he is healed entering training camp playing a compressed schedule makes it difficult to have adequate recovery time during the season. It's going to be challenging for the players. If a player has an abdominal strain (a common hockey injury) during the season getting enough rest to properly heal means missing a lot more games.

It's going to be tough for Marchand and Pastrnak to come back from their surgeries and play a season with a compressed schedule.

You have accurately characterized my position. And as an addendum to your comment about my position as I have stated before I believe the the organization was willing to acquire an upgrade at the backup goalie position if the cost made sense to them. I have no doubt that our GM made overtures to other organizations but our GM couldn't get a deal done because he wasn't willing to pay the price. (Or more simply stated I agree with the last sentence in your post.)

I'm hoping this link is for the WGR Instigator Show where Krueger is interviewed in an 18 min segment. There are few surprising revelations about his roster and the challenges playing with a compressed schedule. He said he is going to rely a lot on sports medicine and science to handle the workload. He made a comment about Mitts and the good condition he is. The Instigators With Andrew Peters And Craig Rivet | RADIO.COM

You are getting carried away about motivations. You are giving your opinion and I'm giving my opinion. There is nothing more to read into my response.

You have an extraterrestial view on things. 🤡

I will not yield on this issue. ☠️ With Samson playing with Jack and Hall on the first line it is not unfair to consider it a top 5-7 first line in the league. Not only is this potentially a prolifically scoring line it is also a responsible two way line. (Still mostly an offensive line.) Although I disagree with your view I recognize the logic and sound reasoning for it. Another factor that needs to be considered is that because training camp is so short there might be more of an inclination to go with a line combo (Reinhart/Eichel) that you already know plays well together. Training camp is about to begin so we should soon find out what Krueger's thoughts are about the makeup of the lines.

I agree with what you said. However, I disagree with your opinion/conclusion that for the sake of the perceived upgrade for a backup goalie you should make a deal where you give up more (organization perspective) than what you get back in upgrade. If the issue were about the need to upgrade the starting goalie, then I would agree with you there should be a more aggressive effort to address that critical need. That wasn't the case here. The problem position that was under scrutiny was the backup goalie. I do believe, as most do, that the organization examined the market for another goaltender. The calculation was made that the exchange in assets to address a need didn't add up. Although many disagree with the outcome it has to be respected that there appears to be thoughtful analysis made on this issue.

Could you please put Reinhart back on the Jack line and make me happy? That would be a golden number #1 line. Olofsson on the #2 line would be fine with me.

You are giving to much weight to what has been said. You are overly parsing words made in a generic coach comment. Watch what they do. If the organization believes that it makes sense to upgrade the backup position they will do it. They haven't done it yet. I don't think they will before the season starts.