JohnC

I don't see the bringing in of an older hockey front office man with an overall distinguished record but also someone who is way past his prime as a solution to anything. LL was dispatched by another organization because it was time for a change and fresh start. Terry Pegula seems to be insulated from how normal franchises run and resistant to outside advice as to how to get his franchise out of its generational rut. Why is that the case? Because it is the way this stubborn owner wants it to be. This clueless owner has the ability to seek advice from many accomplished sources (free of charge) as to why the franchise he presides over is stuck. You don't have to formally hire someone to get some basic advice such as when you hire an ill-equipped person to be your GM, it is likely that the outcome won't be good. And he doesn't need outside expertise to tell him that when he hires someone who wasn't prepared do the job and has not succeeded at the job in five years, then keeping him on the job would never be the solution to digging yourself out of this quagmire of failure. Common sense 101! This franchise is a ridiculed franchise where players with no trade clauses usually have Buffalo at the top of their "not going there list". This is a franchise where many players not only didn't want to come here but where its own best players were aggressive in getting out. Until this obnoxiously stubborn owner decides to be receptive to common sense outside advice that is readily available to him, little will change. This billionaire with the big boat reminds me of the Washington Redskins/Commanders situation during the ownership of Dan Snyder. His interfering and ego driven style of management crippled that franchise for a generation. Once he left the scene with an enlightened owner taking over, the franchise quickly rebounded to NFL relevance again. That's what we have here under Pegula. We have an ownership problem. Until he changes the way he operates, the franchise will continue to fade into hockey oblivion.

We’ll just have to wait and see. I’m not making any predictions because I simply don’t know. KA has assembled a roster loaded with a lot of “what ifs” and “maybes”. That’s a bad way to do business.

Assuming Norris is healthy, how good is he? Is he a legitimate 2C with some individual scoring potential.

Do they still have the no facial rules? The era of dictating grooming standards to a 60s level is long past. How you play and how you conduct yourself are the more important issues. The hair issue on top and on your face are irrelevant and outmoded. Lou L was terrific hockey manager for his era. It's long past.

What's even more obvious and worrisome is that credible candidates have little interest in joining a Pegula owned team. It's widely known that the owner's overhanging presence has made this a pariah franchise to be avoided. Lou L has had an impressive career as a hockey executive. His era is over with. The most impactful change that has to be made is how the owner presides over the franchise. Until there is a change there, this franchise will be unappealing to qualified people who can put this flailing franchise on the right road.

The recommendation for the replacement GM would be his son , Chris. Our owner has given his franchise an identity i.e. peculiar and laughable. It’s so sad and enraging what this silent owner with the big boat has done to this infected franchise. He should be arrested for felonious stupidity.

The big question becomes whether Reimer is capable of playing at the same level if given a heavy workload. I'm not sure that he can. What I can say is that it would be a big risk to again assume that UPL can be a primary goalie for us. That would be a big risk.

Very thoughtful response. There are a variety of responses that when melded together should help this prostrated franchise get on its feet. @dudacek makes a strong case that improving our netminding would be very impactful. The Washington Capitals replaced their backstops from the market and added Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren for miniscule prices. That's what a good and enterprising can do and is paid to do. Is our GM capable of exhibiting similar wise market acumen? I'm skeptical about that. And as you illustrated with your list of blueliners, there are a number of attainable players to choose from that can better reshape and balance our unit. Can we afford to keep Byram with his expected contract demand? What is his value on the market if shopped? There is no question that Samuelsson's contract is higher than his production level. But that doesn't mean that this often injured player can't improve his game. @Thorny pointedly notes that an increase in goal production should/could overcome the existing defensive deficiencies. If one believes that our young forwards (Quinn, Kulich, Peterka and Benson) have more to draw from, then a large part of the solution might have an internal source. On top of that, there is an expectation that Norris should be more productive than Cozens, the player he was traded for. I don't want to inflate this team's current talent level. However, I don't believe that a dramatic change has to be made in the roster composition to make this team a playoff team. When you look at the inventory of our tradeable assets that include players, prospects and draft picks and what is needed to upgrade this roster, it appears to be reasonably doable. The issue then becomes is our hockey staff up to the task? That's where I become very troubled.

He does grow on you. What I like about him is that he doesn't overdo the analysis and try to complicate things that are simple. What he emphasizes are the basics, such as winning battles, net presence in both ends and covering your man in the defensive zone. I like Marty B. a lot and without question he is the better hockey analyst. But what he can't do better than Razor is be brief in the short intervals when he is supposed to inject his response. I hope Ray continues on doing what he is doing.

We got a collection of young players with upside. Now the challenge this offseason is to get a few more veteran players around them to put them in a position to individually and team-wise succeed.

These are two young players with upside and energy. I'm not complaining. The two young players who needs to step it up are Quinn and Power. My suspicion is that Quinn might be dealt for more veteran presence.

I'm not sure that is the case???? Not saying you are wrong but I believe that Kulich has much more offensive upside. I like the grittiness of Benson but not confident about his offensive production. Although, I would love to be proven wrong.

Send your resume to the office of curmudgeon. I’ll be at my desk reviewing your application. The first question you will be asked is whether you are good at making coffee. Another prerequisite for the job is the level of body stench. If you are above the tolerable level your desk will be located at the basement level. Good luck in your job pursuit.

What about a kid line with Quin/Kulich/Peterka?

If your top two players turn out to be better than Kulich, then that is very encouraging.

As you point out, addressing the goalie issue for next year is probably the most important issue for the GM this off-season. It’s too much of a risk to count on UPL. (As you noted.)

I appreciate your evaluation. When I asked the question it relates to how they would do in the NHL.

I appreciate the members here who are knowledgeable about the Amerks and the players. Simple question: Is Kulich the best player/prospect on the team? And is Levi going to soon surpass UPL as our best goalie prospect?

When discussing trades, a number of options are explored before a deal is settled on. That's the nature of most trade transactions. You consider option A, B, C etc. Negotiating a deal isn't a quick and neat process. As you point out, there are a lot of factors and considerations that impinge on what you want to do. Most often, you settled for what you can get instead of what you want. That's the mix-bag nature of the GM position. It's unreasonable to judge a GM on any one particular deal because there are so many inhibiting factors that we are not aware of. The way to fairly judge a GM is his body of work over a period of time. On that longer time frame, KA is a dismal failure. His record is his record. The source of the failure is the owner who selected him to be the GM, and even worse kept him on way beyond the time it was evident that he wasn't up to the job.

What the owner appears to be doing in his retention of KA is his refusal to acknowledge the mistake he made with his peculiar GM hire. To put it mildly, it was an out of the box hire for this ill-equipped person. The owner's stubbornness is crippling this franchise. It makes no sense.

As you point out, the Colorado GM made a player judgment and trade decision based on a roster construction and team need considerations. The trade decision wasn't simply based on an individual talent question as it was about rounding out a team i.e. making the team better. It seems whenever KA makes a personnel decision he doesn't look at from a broader perspective of how to make the team better. He sees pieces as individual entities instead of seeing how they fit together. He's a checkers player in a chess match.

It’s going to be interesting to see how the Byram saga plays out? Will he be kept or dealt? If kept, what will his contract be? If dealt, what will be the return? Just my opinion, I think he will be dealt. But I don’t know what his market value is because of his contract status. Intriguing off-season issue.

Which GM regularly has his team in the playoffs? Which GM regularly has a team that is usually a Cup contending team? It was rather quickly recognized that Mitts was not working out in Colorado. The GM then took a corrective action in short order. That’s how a smart and flexible GM works. Maybe you should reconsider your assessment?

Eichel sure was ecstatic that he forced his way out. Was the return sufficient? I would say no. Reinhart was certainly ecstatic that he after not being signed to an extension he declined to sign a belated extension. Was the return sufficient? I would say no. I'm certainly not putting Samuelsson in the category of those elite players. But I thought that after the "non-involvement" incident which resulted in him being benched that his play improved and became consistent. I do like Byram. But if I had a choice between keeping him or trading Samuelsson I would prefer keeping Sammy and try to get a good return for Byram. Samuelsson has been plagued with injuries that have impaired his play. If he can become more durable, a big if, I believe that he can be a solid contributor. There is no question that the blueline has to have a better mix. However, I'm not giving up on Sammy right now as a lot of others are. Sometimes not making a deal is the best deal you can make.

Just maybe being moved might be the right course of action for the player. On the other hand, that doesn't mean that he can't be salvaged to the extent that he can a solid contributor here. This team has been poorly managed and constructed. I thought when he came back after being sat out due to his reluctance to support a teammate that he played solidly and consistently. I would hate to see another Sabre player dealt and play well for another team.