JohnC

There is nothing mystical or innovative about coaching defensive structure. The concept/s is similar for most teams. The real issue is do you have the players (or enough of them) to play the harder and tougher brand of defense. The problem with the Sabres on the defensive end has more to do with roster construction and consistent goaltending. I'm not against upgrading the staff. But even with an upgraded staff you have to have the right mix of players to be able to execute the defensive plan.

It would be a mistake to take on his salary for a player whose style of play is a style of play that they want less of.(I'm aware that we would have to send back players with high contracts to make the deal work.) In order to work out a deal for him we would have to deal a combination of players such as Kulich, JJP, Quinn, Benson and Power. (Not all of them but at least 2-3 of them.) The Sabres have to make some moves this offseason to upgrade and re-configure the roster. Adding a player whose current organization is demanding greater effort on the defensive side of the game is not the add that the Sabres need. To this particular player I give a hard no.

If the owner hasn’t figured out what the main problem is after nearly a generation of ownership, then he is irretrievably hockey obtuse. If he wants to quickly figure out what the source of the problem is for his flailing franchise, he should go to the nearest mirror and see who it is.

You hit on the source of the problem that has plagued this franchise under his ownership: His unwillingness to seek out the right people to help him. This billionaire fellow is stubborn about how he operates. It's a closed system with him as the decider. It's not a surprise that this franchise continues to go in the same failed circle without an ability to break out of it to take a better course. Until a more competent group of people is brought in to run the hockey operation, the mediocre results will not change. I'm not saying anything that is very illuminating because it is so basic that even a dullard can understand. I simply don't understand why the owner can't realize that the people he selected have failed him and that they are not the solution to the problems they have created. This is basic stuff!

Failure is failure whether you make a lot of moves that don’t work out or take a more passive approach and let things play out and see how they work out. The issue is more about the wisdom of your decisions, not the quantity of them. Not every personal decision is going to work out for any GM, even the best of them. In the end, the scorecard is easy tabulate. What is your record.

You are right that Eichel wasn't the leader that McDavid was when he entered the league. He was immature. It shouldn't be surprising that a young star player felt entitled and didn't live up to his off ice responsibilities. As you keenly point out, he never should have been thrusted into a position of being a captain and team leader, especially when he was ill-equipped for that responsibility. That's as much of an organization's failure as it was his. This team had talented young players that should have been a part of their long-term core. But because of the staff's inadequacies it didn't know how to put them in a position to succeed. What you don't do is surround immature players with more immature players. That's a guaranteed recipe for failure.

I'm not going into the discussion about Quinn or any other particular player related to should he stay or not. What the Cozens trade demonstrates is sometimes a deal is more about changing the dynamic within the roster than it is about did we get back more than what we gave up. In return for Cozens, we got back Norris and Bernard-Docker. Norris was injured so he didn't play much. The hope is next year he will be able to be our 2C, if not higher. What also happened was that Bernard-Docker was added and Joki was dealt. It wasn't a major change, but it did change the makeup of the blueline unit somewhat. And what the Cozens trade also did is give Krebs more ice time and a greater role. With the current roster there has been a stagnation that has existed too long. The lineup needs to be jolted with fresh faces and different attributes from the new players. I'm not arguing that this offseason there needs to be a dramatic change to the roster. But what I am arguing for is that has to be some changes that alter the mix and changes the internal dynamics of this stale roster.

Whether the owner meddles or not is his prerogative as an owner. He can do what he wants and hires whomever he wants. The person he hired was unqualified to start off with and has demonstrated his ineptness. Who hired him? Who has kept him on? That's the point.

A number of players don’t live in the country. I don’t believe the organization has the authority to require the players to periodically call them back to be checked on.

It doesn’t take much imagination or hockey wisdom to conclude why this franchise has struggled for the past half decade, the period of time that the owner’s hand picked GM has presided over the hockey operation. The owner gambled selecting someone to be his GM who was I’ll-equipped to assume the most important job in a hockey franchise. I’m supremely confident in saying that no other owner would have even considered him for the job. To make matters even worse, there is no owner in the league, good or bad, who would retain a GM with his accumulated five year record. At least for me, it’s not too difficult to figure out why and who is most responsible for the ridiculous situation this franchise is in. A lot of fingers are understandably polnted at the current feckless GM. My finger is pointed at the silent owner.

The fan base is not falling for any "happy talk" about the team's future prospects from this hollow organization. The Sabres ranked fourth lowest in attendance with an average of 15,585 sold tickets per game. However, you can deduct two-three thousand fans who don't attend per game. The dismal reality has existed for a generation. So the true storyline is well known by fans and the hockey world. It is etched in stone and can't be erased.

He's working on it. 😀

The loss of Power for an extended period of time next year would be a big blow. However, injuries are a fact of life in pro sports, so you just have to deal with them. If there is anything redeeming about his injury it is something we know about in advance. What I would do is still similar to what I recommended in my prior post. I would keep Samuelsson on the first pairing with Dahlin and acquire a more defensive oriented second-pairing caliber to play with Byram on the second pair. I'm aware that Samuelsson receives reflexive scorn here but it appears to me that he has stabilized his game and is not hurting Dahlin's performance on the first pairing. Is Samuelsson a first pairing caliber of defenseman? I would say no. But if you can't attain the ideal then pursue the next best workable option. As you well know, it doesn't matter who Dahlin is paired with, he still shines. He deserves being in a better situation.

In some respects, not making the playoffs again makes this offseason more intriguing. Is the organization going to make enough consequential moves to get over the hump? This team/roster isn't devoid of talent. It basically lacks enough balance, toughness and experience to make them a serious team. When I say toughness, I'm referring to adding fighters. What I'm looking for is a couple more Zucker like talents whose play is more physical than finesse oriented. Will Norris be a legitimate #2 C? I don't know but hope so. We still need another second line forward added to the mix. A priority this offseason has to be finding a legitimate second pairing defenseman to pair with Power. And that player has to have the complementing attributes of being physical and defensively oriented. What this season has demonstrated is that when the team gets consistently good goaltending, this team is so much better. (Stating the obvious.) Is UPL the answer? I'm not sure. Is Reimer the answer? As the primary goalie I have major doubts. What's the answer then? I don't know? The GM has gambled on sticking with the young players such as Kulich, Quinn, JJP, Power, Benson, Krebs etc. Collectively, the concerning issue isn't their offense, it's their ability to play a two-way game. Unless that is done better, this team will have to deal with a sabotaging trait that has sunk this team since KA initiated his rebuild. TBD.

Whether he interfered too much or not are both indictments on him as an owner that he has miscalculated in staffing the franchise. He's the person who hired KA; and he is the person who has continued to retain him for the past five years. There isn't an owner who would have hired KA to be their GM; and there isn't an owner who wouldn't have fired a GM who has performed at that inadequate level for so long. Will KA continue on to be the GM next season? I don't know for sure but think it is more likely than not. If that is the case, then it is fair to say that the owner is the person who is most responsible for the failed performance not only during KA's tenure but also during the owner's tenure since he became the owner. The level of success is determined by the person at the top, and that is Terry P.

What I find bewildering is the owner's invisibility. Everyone knows that he's not much of a public speaker. That's not what bothers me so much about him. It's that while his team has been cemented as an irrelevant hockey franchise during his tenure (that has lasted close to a generation), there has been nothing but a sphinx act coming from the owner. Does he even care? Is this team simply a write-off for this silent billionaire? The response is nothing but crickets. A lot of the critical responses are directed to the GM. That's understandable. However, he's simply an unqualified person in a challenging job who is overmatched by the responsibilities. He's not the source of the problem for this plagued franchise, he's simply a reflection of it. Why would the owner select a person so patently unqualified that no other owner would have even considered him, let alone selected him to be their GM? It made no sense to hire him and it certainly makes no sense to have kept him after five years of unmitigated failure. What Dan Snyder did to the Redskins/Commanders in the NFL, Terry Pegula (without the sleaze) has done to this battered franchise. Both individuals were/are responsible for the demise of their respective franchises and fanbases. There is a dictum that fits both characters: Shameless people can't be shamed. This multi-year lingering situation is beyond being ridiculous. I'm so tired of this owner. I wish he would sell the team to someone who is serious in his responsibility as an NHL franchise owner.

Any assistant in the elite category (your words) is not coming here. Buffalo is an acknowledged dysfunctional organization owned by a well-known incompetent owner who likes to meddle. Why would anyone who had options go to a team where you know the situation is unstable? The same distaste for this putrid franchise is possessed by players who have NTCs and for players who are on the open market. Buffalo is a ridiculed and mocked franchise. If KA was sent packing by the silent owner, who would be interested in the GM position with an owner hovering over the operation? I can tell you for sure that anyone who is a credible candidate wouldn't even bother to apply for the job because they already know what the conditions are. It's up to the owner to alter his behavior and give this suffocating franchise a chance to breathe. So far, he hasn't given any sign that he is willing to get serious because he prefers playing with his toy. So the futility continues. It's a sad situation.

You may not be aware of it but you just made a potent argument to keep him. If as a replacement to Cozens he upgrades the 2C position, then that would be a better place to be in. The next issue if that situation materializes is who are going to be his wingers? There are a number of options to work with.

It’s not weird that a number of Canadians are not crossing the border. When you treat people disrespectfully, you are going to get less patronage. On the other hand, it won’t be surprising that a lot of Canadians come to the game and take over the building. It’s embarrassing! It’s a disgrace how much our obtuse owner has gutted his toy franchise. I wish he would sell the franchise and get lost!

When is he on the ice?

I'm not questioning Norris's talents when healthy. The problem is that Ottawa traded him primarily because he isn't durable. He comes to Buffalo and then quickly gets hurt or aggravates a prior injury resulting in him being out of the lineup for the rest of the season. So why would any team trade for him for a top 4 blueliner or a top 6 forward? That potential deal is beyond being unlikely. The Sabres need him to get fully healthy in the offseason and contribute as either a #1 or #2 C. We need to add another second line forward and another second pairing defenseman who can play with Power. I like Kulich a lot and see great potential. But having him at #1 or #2 C at this early stage of his career is putting him in a position that he is not ready for and hurts the team. I wouldn't mind seeing him centering a third line with Quinn and JJP or another forward. Our GM had a roster plan that was too accelerated for the youngsters. Instead of putting them in a position to succeed, he put them in a position to struggle. It's not surprising that a middling GM makes a lot of unsound decisions.

As you note, KA is a good example of the Peter principle. But let's not forget that he was hired by the non-talking owner because of that feature. He wasn't hired because he had independent and strong views on how to change the course of this meandering franchise. He was hired because he provided a cheaper rebuild plan that fit within the new stringent financial structure that the owner wanted to install. The owner desired a sycophantic weakling who would go along with what his new course for this franchise. We can talk about players and what is needed to improve the roster. It's meaningless until the owner either sells or comes to his senses on securing competent people to run the hockey operation. It wasn't until the owner did that with the Bills that they became a successful franchise in the NFL. The owner can be the stumbling block or the person who can change the fortunes of this plagued franchise. Until he decides to do that, there will be no hope. Jack wanted out, Reinhart wanted out, ROR wanted out, Ullmark wanted out, Montour wanted out etc. What happens when Dahlin says that he has had it. There's no hope playing with this unserious franchise! That's the course that this inept owner is on. He's crushing this franchise and driving it into hockey oblivion.

You are being unfair to Barney Fife. Mr. Fife had accomplishments in his chosen profession. In KA’s current job he is known to be a classic example of ineptitude. He’s gained longevity on the job through sycophancy.

One of my biggest complaints about KA is his inability to put together a balanced roster that can handle the different roles that are required to be a competitive team. He may be adequate at getting pieces but he isn't very accomplished at getting pieces that fit together that create a well-rounded team. A GM is supposed to have a broader perspective when putting together a team. He's simply too near-sighted to get the mix right to create a competitive team.

I used this one game as an example of a measuring stick, not the full scope of a measuring stick. What's the team record for the season and for the past number of seasons? That gives you a fuller picture of the hockey operation over an extended period. As you keenly noted, the Sabres have a number of needs, the same needs they had last offseason. They weren't addressed when they had the cap room and assets to do so. They didn't do it. (As you point out.) Who was the GM? The same then as it is now. Do you have confidence in this sycophant that he will smartly make enough moves to deal with the deficiencies that you listed? I don't.