JohnC

There comes a time when instead of looking back for solutions one should look forward. What our nostalgic thinking owner should start doing is evolve from his old mode of thinking of yesteryear and look forward to today's version of the NHL. If he hasn't learned from his mounting bad decisions over the past generation, then he's too stuck in the past to ever learn. This tiresome silent owner is too insular to consult with a variety of outside sources to get a more objective evaluation of his franchise and organization. This owner can hide behind his silence but what he can't hide is his team's record. It's embarrassing. A generation of failure in a cap system designed for the down teams to have advantages over the up teams is an absurdity. It's a level of ridiculousness beyond anyone's imagination.

Compare how the Washington Capitals have handled the last couple of years to how our minimalist GM has handled the past couple of years. The Capitals handled it smartly, and it catapulted the team. The Sabres handled it with timidity resulting the team sliding back. As you point out, the opportunities were there for us to advance, however the GM was frozen with fear. His record speaks for itself.

I'm with you. I'm really tired of his interminable incompetent stewardship that has lasted for a generation. He could make a tidy profit by selling the team thus enabling him to buy another aircraft carrier sized yacht. He has turned this franchise into being not only irrelevant but made it a joke franchise. He's a classic demonstration what an owner shouldn't do. He needs to find another toy to tinker with. Enough is enough of his odd ownership.

Your last sentence identifies one of the primary faults that has made KA a failure as a GM. His rigidity and unwillingness to adapt in a business of constant change has kept the team stuck. KA's draft and develop approach to rebuilding is a standard approach. There's nothing innovative about it. However, if you over rely on it without some enhancing moves, then not only will your team slide back but the young players you have will not have the support system that promotes their development. Another damaging effect is that constant losing is over time is poisonous to players mindset. The negativity sucks the joy out of playing the game. What's apparent is that the GM's stubbornness in sticking to his plan when a measure of flexibility was needed, has kept this franchise stuck while other teams have passed us by. It should not be forgotten that it was the owner who made this odd hire.

You may not know who to primarily blame but I do know: It's the owner. He has made all the critical hires and has structured the organization the way he wants it to be. The team has not made the playoffs since he became the owner. And because of his long-term mismanagement the fanbase has dramatically been eroded. Some issues are tough to figure out. This is not one of them, at least for me. You can keep looking but I've found the person most responsible for badly damaging this franchise. He can hide behind his silent act but he can't run away from the record. This is an easy issue to score.

The owner has made the critical hires. When he is trying to determine what the problem is he should look in the mirror.

I agree with your well-reasoned and stated comments with a slight deviation. With the assets this team does have with cap room and assets in the system, I believe that the GM has the coinage to make at least three solid moves to manifestly improve the roster. It's not unreasonable to believe that our GM has the resources to add a couple more Zucker/like players and a rugged defenseman to the blueline unit. I'm not counting on a blockbuster deal to upgrade this team. In my opinion, a few astute mid-level deals can make a difference. And the expectation/hope is that players such as JJP, Quinn and Kulich step up with their development. Does the GM have it in him to accomplish that? I'm not sure.

I'm not challenging Dr. C's credentials as being one of the best and esteemed doctors in his area of expertise. And I'm not disputing the issue of the quantity of surgeries in the area we are discussing here he has performed. He gave his professional opinion, and it certainly was well reasoned. But that doesn't mean that other opinions are less reasoned than the opinion that the Sabre doctor gave. As it turned out, the procedure that Dr. C would not sign on to was signed on to by another team's medical staff. And to reinforce the notion that it was the right, if not better approach for Jack, is that he came back sooner than if he had the Dr. C surgery, and his career has been going strong with no ill-effects from the procedure that he insisted on. The hindsight judgment has indicated that, at least to me it does. I also recognize that this was not an easy call/judgment for doctors. But in the medical profession, as in the legal profession, as in the scientific profession, as in the business profession, as in the military profession etc. tough judgments are made by highly trained and respected people without unanimity.

I have had two back surgeries. There are no guarantees about outcome. It worked out for me. In the medical profession there are a lot of judgments made on the best approach. That's why it's prudent to seek out other opinions before deciding on the approach.

You can be an acknowledged brilliant surgeon and have an opinion on a case that other prominent surgeons disagree with. That's not unusual in the medical field. What I can say in hindsight is that Vegas and Jack were right regarding the best approach for him. People have different treatments for cancer with different medical advocacies. In my view, the patient has the right to choose.

You make a great point about Risto and our poor handling of him/ players. It's well known that Risto was not a great thinker on the ice who had special intuit hockey traits. But that doesn't mean that with proper usage he couldn't be a good player for us. He needed to play in a simplified and structured system. He never was going to play a defensive role that required roaming and freelancing. As you point out, many here are screaming to add a physical defensive/defenseman. As usual, we squandered what we already had. Just stupid laid on top of stupid!

Pegula has owned the franchise for nearly a generation. If the reticent owner isn't aware of how successful NHL teams are constructed at this stage of his ownership, then he should be mandated to read NHL Hockey for Dummies. Something so basic to pro hockey is not difficult to discern. In addition, if he isn't regularly talking to the coach to get some feedback, then he's to blame for being out of the loop.

I agree with you that there are no guarantees with any surgery. However, Jack and his advisors certainly did extensive research as to the best medical course for his injury. Buffalo and their medical staff declined permission for him to have that procedure. He ended up being traded to a team that allowed that procedure. It worked out well for him. After he had the procedure that proved successful, other players had the same surgery for similar injuries. I do have the luxury of hindsight in assessing what happened post-surgery. That's why I'm concluding that Jack was right and the organization was wrong on the surgery issue. There's nothing unusual about premier medical people having respectful conflicting views on a health issue. But let's not forget that the Vegas medical staff allowed him to have the procedure that the Buffalo staff would not approve. Looking back, Jack and the Vegas medical staff made the right judgment. I'm aware that the league has a clause in the player agreement that requires a player to get permission for medical treatment. In my opinion, that rule should change where the player has the ultimate responsibility for his own health.

I’m confident that PTR and his wife will be treated well. That doesn’t mean that the Canadians are going to feebly respond when provoked. There are plenty of ugly Americans in the US. The PTR clan doesn’t fall in that unappealing group.

When you get kicked in the balls don’t expect a congenial response.

I'm just addressing the injury issue which after the fact proved that the player was right. There was a lot in stake for Eichel regarding his neck injury. He certainly did his research as to what was the best surgical approach for his injury. Although the procedure was considered experimental in the US, it was an accepted practice procedure in Europe. Europe is more accepting of new procedures because their medical system/s are more receptive in approving trial treatments. The American system is much more conservative in accepting new procedures. Whether that is a good thing or not is a different issue and a complicated issue. After the surgery, Eichel was able to get back on the ice sooner than if he would have followed the Sabre recommended procedure. And after Jack's successful outcome, other players had the same procedure. I can't prove it but I believe that this medical issue was used against Jack because they resented his desire to be traded. On this issue, I'm with Jack. And it should be pointed out to those who booed Jack that he wasn't the only player who wanted out of this amateurishly run franchise, so did Reinhart, Ullmark, ROR, Montour etc. I'm a harsh critic of our owner, GM and how the franchise has been run. But I will also acknowledge that notwithstanding the mistakes and questionable hockey judgments, the franchise is much more professionally run than before. There is less tumult and more order.

The Canadians will be warm and hospitable toward you. The problem isn't how they will treat you as how they have been treated by our current government through changing policies (tariffs) and demeaning comments. (Not being political---simply stating facts.)

I agree with your take on Cozens. It was obvious in his play that he was feeling the pressure with the constant talk about him being a subject in trade talks. I wouldn't be surprised if his play with his new team will be much better. He now has a fresh start and good chance to play in playoff games. Good for him. I wish him the best.

Players such as McCleud, Zucker and Greenway are not core/primary players like Dahlin and Tage are. However, they are tough players that round out the roster to give it strength and balance. These are the character players that make a team tough to play. Getting a core player in a trade or through free agency is tough to do. But if that is not achievable then adding more better secondary players is more attainable. One of my main criticisms of KA is that he has failed to properly construct a roster and get the right mix of players. What the Vegas game demonstrated is that even without our scorers, such as JJP, Kulich (injured in game) and Norris, the upgraded second-tier players kept us in the game against a superior opponent. I said this before (and so have others) that the mistake our GM made last offseason wasn't that he didn't do things to improve the roster, it was that he didn't do enough. If other teams improve at a faster rate than you are, then you are falling behind. And that is exemplified by the fact that teams that were in our tier last season, are now ahead of us this season. This was a GM miscalculation.

There is a difference between being better and playing better against the better teams. Although the Sabres have a better record against the lesser teams, it is against those lesser teams that we should have even a better record against. These are points that should be pocketed, not thrown away.

Some quick thoughts: This was an entertaining and a hard fought game. Overall, I thought we had the edge in play. Jack got booed every time he had the puck. It's a shame that we couldn't keep such an elite talent. (I have no interest in discussing why it wasn't meant to be.) I'm sure glad that we were able to keep both Greenway and Zucher in the fold. Both are tough players. Dahlin scored the goal with the goalie pulled. The person who was instrumental in the goal was Tuch who screened the goalie. Tuch is an important player for us that goes beyond the stats. He offers size, speed and toughness. I thought Bryam played well. The Sabres outshoot Vegas. I wish we were a little more accurate. It was mentioned in the post-game show that the Sabres play better against good teams and lapse against weaker teams. A sign that the team lacks maturity. I don't know what the attendance was but the crowd was into the game. One of my big resentments against the owner is that he has eroded a fanbase that could have been rabid and expanding if the franchise was managed properly. The Vegas player tried to get the puck to Jack at the end of the game when our net was vacant. His intention was good but it was a bonehead play that cost them the win. Dahlin shortly after scored with our goalie being pulled. Ottawa has 17 pts. more than the Sabres. Columbus has 12 pts. more than the Sabres. Montreal has 11 pts. more than the Sabres. Detroit has 10 pts. more than the Sabres. Teams in our talent group moved forward while we slid back. This is an inexcusable organizational failure. This was a good win. No complaints.

In the hockey business, you don't get stuck with local candidates for upper echelon jobs. Some top management positions, such as a GM position, are limited in availability. You usually get outsiders bidding for an opportunity to fill that type of position. In a team oriented business, if you have a choice for a high caliber person working remotely vs a high caliber person working on site, the smart choice (my opinion) would be to select the on-site candidate. Internal dynamics are a critical component in management. If you have a choice between regular face to face interactions vs mostly remote interactions, I would take the former. The Sabres are a failed operation. There are a variety of causes not associated with any one specific reason. So I don't want to over-inflate the remote working arrangement for this high-ranking staffer. My preference would be to have the upper echelon staff sitting face to face at the table when discussing important issues. I agree with you. Your 2 cents is a dollar's worth of advice.

There are certain players that can't be measured by stats. His ferocious desire to compete and win elevates everyone else. Leadership can't always be quantified. However, he's the personification of it. He doesn't tolerate slackers in the room. And everyone in the room knows it. He's a special player to be admired.

I read some evaluations of the trade from a few analysts. In general, it seems that it was an equitable deal for both teams. However, it was pointed out that the risk of the deal leans toward the Sabres because of Norris's injury history. As others are also noting, it was questioned why the Sabres gratuitously gave up a second-round pick? I'm not suggesting that our GM was outhustled in this deal. What I can say is that he didn't maximize his hand in this deal by unnecessarily giving up the second-round pick. With KA steering the ship, this franchise continues to remain stuck on the rocky shoals.