JohnC
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Posts posted by JohnC
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14 hours ago, Pimlach said:
Adams created “the narrative”. He said those words
What about Quinn getting hurt, and no proven player brought in? Instead he conducted an in-season round robin tryout for Rousek, Biro, Rosen, and Kulich. Meanwhile the team fell out of contention.
The forward group was so weak that Benson made the team, and at 18 he was clearly better than the group Adams brought up.
oh yeah, he brought in Robinson. Great.
Talk about willful ignorance and being dishonest.
I will judge him on his record Year 5 is coming.
Quinn got hurt in-season so I'm not going to excoriate the GM over not putting together a trade to compensate for the loss of Quinn. (His season-ending injury was a big loss.) However, if this offseason the GM doesn't make enough significant moves to upgrade the roster with the amount of assets he has in his pocket, then I'm going to be very upset and join your posse in chasing him out of town. I'm not expecting a blockbuster deal. What I expect is at least a couple to few acquisitions that will make this team better. It's time to exhibit a greater degree of urgency.
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10 hours ago, Hank said:
I think it's a great trade for both teams. Mitts is a really good player. Colorado had a hole at 2C since Kadri left, Mitts may be the final piece they needed for a cup run. If Colorado signs him in the summer I think they'll be very happy with him going forward.
As I said up thread, Byram not only upgrades the top pair, he'll make Dahlin a better player. His arrival also moves Mule to a more appropriate pairing making that pair better.
I'm sure most people would consider Draisaitl a top five center in the league, even though he's not the top line center on his own team. I'm not comparing Byram to draisaitl, but he was in a similar situation in so far as both of them were behind generational players.
You make a terrific point that by acquiring Byram to become a top pair or even second pair defender that it has a beneficial cascading effect of putting other defenders in a more appropriate role. His addition upgrades the lower pairings and allows the HC to play the top pair fewer heavy minutes every game.
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6 minutes ago, Doohickie said:
I went over to the Avs forum on HFBoards and told them Casey can play any top 9 position. Versatile as hell.
Last year, when Tage was playing hurt at the end of the season, Mitts took over at center while Tage played the wing on a lower line. The top line continued to be super productive. It's still too early to assess the trade of Mitts for Byram. It won't be surprising that this was a good hockey trade that benefited each team. We shall see.
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58 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:
You lost me at superior to another team. They are not superior to anyone. The Oilers showed yesterday they are not superior to the Sabres... Because they couldn't be bothered.
Fans can feel this way. God help us if the Sabres ever look past anyone.
You misread what I wrote. The Sabres certainly were the superior team when compared to Anaheim and Columbus, teams that they lost to. The losses to these inferior teams set us back in the standings. In general, the Sabres have a tendency to play to a higher level against superior teams. If you disagree with that, so be it.
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38 minutes ago, tom webster said:
It’s really kind of simple, if both players play their perceived potential, the Sabres got a top pairing defenseman for a second line center.
The added value that Mitts gave to the Sabres was that when needed he could be moved to the top line without it being diminished. Also, he had the versatility to play both the center and wing positions. Don't discount his versatility value. Don't misinterpret what I'm saying here because from the little I have seen of Byram, I am impressed. This was a good hockey trade for each team.
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8 minutes ago, Pimlach said:
The whole promote Krebs thing was all part of the trading of Casey. DG spews out 5hat Krebs’ play is driving him getting a look with better scorers. Did Krebs do much as a 4C to get a look at 3C? No, not on the scoresheet anyways. Krebs is young, still growing and developing, was expected to have playmaking skills, but this all looks like a promote from within.
The trading of Casey had a number of facets to it that went beyond the talents of a particular player. It dealt with the cap configuration and the length of his prospective contract. Casey was having a good year that increased his market value. It's a business. His cost for us was going to be high. Another facet to the Mitts deal had to do with altering the mix/balance of the roster. We got a legitimate first or second pair defenseman who had offensive skills. This was simply a good hockey trade for each of the trading teams.
I've heard Granato talk about Krebs on a number of occasions. It appears to me that he has a higher opinion of him and his potential than many here have. Is he going to be better than Mitts? I'm more inclined to say no. That's not to say that he won't become a credible third center with better wingers. That's an open question for me.
With respect to your postulation that the Krebs issue falls within the GM's philosophy of promoting within: Absolutely so. There's no question about it. The GM's often stated view is that it is better to build from within when you can without giving up assets. There's no hidden agenda here. For the most part, what he says he is going to do is exactly what he is doing.
Coming from a Mitts afficionado (me), from the little I have seen of Byram, I like this deal. You give up value to get value.
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11 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:
So you think they are playing good defense? Is that correct?
Yes.
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9 minutes ago, Pimlach said:
My biggest fear is they give Casey’s slot to Krebs. I think that is a drop off that negates the gain of Bryam.
Second biggest fear is they don’t sign any other forwards and backfill with unready prospects.
I really hope I’m wrong
The blueline unit is getting full. Dahlin, Power, Joki, Byram, Ryan Johnson, Samuelsson, Bryson, Clifton are in the mix. Will there be a trade in the offseason to add to forward group? It shouldn't be forgotten that Quinn who has played center should be back to health next season. This is going to be an interesting offseason. The GM has prospect, draft, and player chips to parlay. He needs to judiciously utilize them to improve the roster.
With respect to Krebs replacing Casey, I think that Granato has a higher regard for Krebs than you have. We haven't seen Krebs play with wingers who can score. Don't write him off just yet as the possible third line center.
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12 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:
I'm going to stop commenting on individual games this year I think. You can be excited by the win, but this is the late season illusion we get. Edmonton was absolute garbage today compared to what I saw when they played Boston a few nights ago. They got the quick one and fell asleep. We had another in the long list of low event games. This was so low event their "hit of the game" segment was about goal posts, because they couldn't find a solid body check to show.
Granato has FINALLY had enough with Mr. Lazy Giveaway Skinner and is in the process of Kreugering him. Will be interesting to see if this time the coach wins, or will Skinner kill another one. Either way could be a win for us.
So yay, but it's little more than exhibition hockey at this point.
I have the opposite take on what these games mean than you do. In general, for most teams at this stage of the season these are meaningful games. It seems that half the teams are either vying to get in the playoffs, or even if assured of a playoff spot, are playing to improve their position for a variety of reasons, such as home game advantages. The problem with the Sabres this season, as it was last season, is that it didn't play with the same desperation/intensity in the first half of the season. When reviewing this season, it will become apparent that for the most part this team was often lackluster against teams that they were superior to, the two Anaheim games standout to demonstrate that point. This team let too many points that were there for the taking to get away. When all is said and done, your record is what your record is. And you have to live with that.
It just seems that every time the Sabres win you diminish the win and make the assumption that the other team didn't care. And every time they lose you spotlight the loss. You may not recognize it but you are applying an inconsistent standard when the Sabres either win or lose. There isn't anyone here who doesn't recognize that this has been a disappointing season, especially when the expectations were high entering it. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't acknowledge the positive when it does happen.
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1 minute ago, Doohickie said:
Three stars:
Unless you're in Canada, eh? Then it was:
I'm not sure if Tage was ill or injured but he was playing hurt. There were a couple clips on the bench showing that he was in pain. It was a valiant effort on his part. He cares.
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5 hours ago, Marvin said:
I liked their appearance in the novel of The Godfather, where Fabrizio gets killed by Michael's men.
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For those who couldn't watch the game this is a 5 minute highlight. Within the link is a segment of the coach's postgame comments and player interviews.
.https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/recap-oilers-at-sabres-3-9-24-6348587710112
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Just now, Doohickie said:
Interesting: The Sabres top two goal scorers: Benched.
For whatever reason, Skinner is fading. Recently, he's become an invisible player on the ice with little impact. I don't know what the problem is but we need him to get going.
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2 hours ago, Flashsabre said:
Was Peterka injured or benched?
Peterka was benched as was Skinner. In Granato's post game comments when asked about limiting minutes for certain player, he said he went with those players who gave us the best chance to win.
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3 minutes ago, Pimlach said:
Hello Teammates, I missed another game. Sounds like we won twice.
UPL is really playing well. Hard to get too excited anymore but keep the wins coming. Play to win.
In the two games that you missed, Toronto and Edmonton, the Sabres played a hard two-way game throughout. Against two high-octane offenses we didn't give them much room to display their offensive talent. Both games were entertaining games. The shame of it is that we didn't play at this level in the first half of the season.
You know very well that I was a Mitts fan. Getting Byram appears to be a good hockey trade, This guy is good. Our blue line has become good and deep. Our goaltending with UPL has been stellar. In saying that in these two games our team defense and goaltending have led this team is quite a turnaround in how most of us viewed this roster.
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Some quick thoughts in an entertaining game: My first star for the Sabrees is UPL. It's really stunning of the metamorphic change in UPL's play. It seems that after every game as the season winds down, he solidifies himself as our #1 goalie.
I thought that Cozens and Tuch played really well. Cozens is becoming a threat on the PK.
I'm a Mitts fan. But the trade to acquire Byram was a good hockey trade for us. Byram is a genuine first pairing caliber defenseman. He has good offensive skills, and he can shoot.
Bryson is one of the big surprise players for me. He is a lower pairing player who is playing solidly. His goal was our big play of the game.
It's unlikely that the Sabres are going to make the playoffs. But from an overall roster building standpoint this front office has built a deep blueline. Compare that to where this unit was a couple years ago. And it appears that UPL has become a #1 goalie who is usually the main factor for our wins. What a change in how this team has performed i.e. our defense and goaltending are leading the play.
If you combine the Toronto and Edmonton game, the overview takeaway for me is that the Sabres' defense limited two high-powered offensive teams. In both games, the team played a responsible two-way game with effort throughout. We ended getting three out of four potential points. I'm not complaining about that.
This was an entertaining game in which I thought he had a slight edge.
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1 hour ago, SwampD said:
Sure seems like you do as well.
Seeing as slow starts are a continuing issue with this team, I cannot find the fact that it happened again encouraging. That was not a well played game by either team. Even the announcers commented on that fact.
We got a point. Yay.
There wasn't much of a flow to the game because neither team allowed much space when the other team had the puck. Both teams played a hard and tight game. If you think about it, the style of play of tight checking and more focus on defense is more associated with playoff hockey than regular season hockey. For me, maybe not for you and many others, that alteration in style of play in itself was a positive takeaway.
Where I disagree with your original comment is that you took a portion of the game (the beginning) and made it seem that it represented how the Sabres, in general, played that game. It didn't, at least as I see it. Our goalie continued his quality play, our blue line unit played well, and the lines played a tight and hard game all the way through. I consider that to be encouraging. You and the majority of others don't. Different eyes and different views.
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4 minutes ago, SwampD said:
Are you calling me a clown? Classy.
I did watch the whole game. And actually, the Leafs only got the first 6 shots on goal, not 9.
I know how to watch hockey, and if the outcome of the game was determined by SOG,... well, we would have lost that, too.
None of that has anything to do with the fact that no shots in the first 15 minutes of a game is not encouraging at any level, especially against a sick Leafs team. Nobody changes the goalposts like you.
Time for a break. I'm tired of people pissing on my leg and telling me it's raining.
You pointed out that the Sabres got no shots in the first 15 minutes. So what! Toronto controlled the play when the game began, then the tide turned the other way. It's the standard ebb and flow of a hockey game. You point out that some Toronto players were sick. So what! Our most productive offensive player (Mitts) was dealt before the game. This game was relatively even that was tied after three periods.
In general, the team played hard and well. They lost in OT and gained a point. If you want to characterize this game in a negative light, then that is your prerogative. If you didn't see any positive play in this game, then so be it. I saw this game differently. If you have problems with the divergence in opinion, big freaking deal.
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3 hours ago, SwampD said:
The Sabres had zero shots on goal for the first fifteen minutes of the game.
Encouraging indeed.
Did you fall asleep after the first fifteen minutes? Toronto got the first nine shots to start the game. After that, the Sabres got the next 12 shots. The Sabres ended up with 25 shots on net for the game (10-9-3-3) while the Leafs got 27 shots for the game (6-9-10-2). May I kindly offer you a recommendation: When watching the game keep your eyes open for the whole game. 🤡
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56 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:
It was a defensive duel. Not sure why everyone was so down on this game. Probably because we didn't score 9 goals. I thought the Sabres played a confident game stuffing the Leafs attack. Their only kryptonite was the play from behind the net.
It's remarkable to me that the majority of people can watch this game with a takeaway that this game was a disaster. I saw this game the same way you did. This was one of the Sabres strongest games from a defensive and effort standpoint. Toronto is one of the most prolific scoring teams in the league. They got one goal in regulation. In overtime, there is a lot of open ice, so there is going to be a lot of back and forth. We had our chances and couldn't convert. And it should be noted that Mitts, one of our most productive offensive players did not play because he was traded.
The Sabres ended up getting a point in an OT loss. If this team would have gotten a few more OT loss points this season, this team would now be in a better position. On how this team needs to play to be successful, I came away being encouraged. I recognize that this is a minority view. And the more I watch UPL play, the more he solidifies his position as the #1 goalie. That in itself is a positive step and is encouraging.
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Okposo is a class act as a player and person. He's the type of person you admire simply because of the dignified way he carries himself. The most impressive thing about Okposo is that it is easy being the upfront person on your team when things are going well. What he did well is maintain his professionalism and class while playing in an era where failure and discontent pervaded the environment.
A related question about player status surrounds Girgs. What's going to happen to him? Does he want to stay another year or would he prefer to have a chance to play in the playoffs with another team?
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10 minutes ago, Pimlach said:
... and the silver lining is the play UPL. I hope we have a real deal #1.
Levi is playing a lot of games in Rochester, trying to help them get to the playoffs. Exactly what should be happening.
UPL is a fascinating story. When making assessments about goalies you have to be humble about predicting how they will play from one year to another. One year the player is a king, and the next year the player becomes a peasant. It's a difficult and peculiar position to assess. How many people on this site wanted to dispatch UPL for another veteran retread. The same premature assessment was made by many on Mitts. Even a player such as Bryson who was scorned by many can turn out to be a useful player. When rebuilding a roster with young players sometimes judicious patience is a good strategy.
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4 hours ago, Pimlach said:
Leaning toward Levi as the starter was a big problem, and it was actually very stupid, and it was surprising that an NHL goalie was not brought in. Adams is doing the exact opposite of what Yzerman said about developing prospects - someone who actually did it and won in Tampa, and Tampa is still winning with his core. He said you DO NOT give your prospects NHL jobs until the earn them by beating out an NHL player. We have not had an NHL #1 goalie since Ulmark left. This season, with no veteran brought in, either UPL or Levi was going to get the job by default, but Adams kept Comnie around just because he is a nice guy I guess, all that did was clog things up and continue the regular season tryout fiasco.
You have to be a fool to think that Levi was going from NCAA to NHL #1 goalie after just 7 professional games, and to publicly proclaim you are "all in" on making the playoffs make him a bigger fool. That is exactly what Adams is, and that is just one reason the season was ruined before it started. Adams is LUCKY that UPL emerged because UPL's play in both the AHL and NHL was inconsistent and often mediocre - and that level of play can revisit at any time.
Want another sobering thought? UPL has been the BEST goalie in the NHL since January, and his team has fallen even further behind in the playoff race. That should tell you how many more holes and issues there are with this team - The roster and the coaching staff both need fix'in.
You can defend Adams all you want, but he is the main reason this team is once again on the outside looking in.
I'm not defending Adams at all. What I am doing is pointing out that the course of action that he did take was supportable. His strategy of staying the course within his mostly rebuilding from within appeared to be working based on the previous season where the team made a leap from 75 points in the 2021-2022 season to 91 points in the 2022-2023 season. I'm sure that he didn't count on our all of top gun goal scorers to have lesser years this season. And I'm sure that he didn't assume that our PP that was in high gear at the end of last season would falter at the level he did.
As you point, he miscalculated by not bringing in a few more experienced players to augment/support the youth movement as Yzerman did. The Greenway, Clifton and Eric Johnson pickups were good pickups to bolster the roster. In hindsight, he should have brought in 2 or 3 more mature players to round out the roster.
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Just now, Pimlach said:
Uh. Don’t think so. That was a week or two.
They wanted to give Levi the throne. They started him 4 straight games while carrying 3 goalies. Dumb things like that made the goalie competition last for months.
Two to three weeks went by before UPL got back to his current level. Even if it was two weeks, it took additional time for him to solidify his position as the primary goalie. I don't disagree with you that this regime was leaning toward Levi in the competition. That shouldn't be surprising considering how Levi played at the end of the year. He struggled more than expected. There was no question that there was a sorting out process. Was it avoidable or strung out too long? Not necessarily. In the end, there was a 3-way competition with UPL rising to the top. This is what happens when you have a young roster with spots and roles not completely decided on when going into camp.
Assuming that UPL continues with his current standard of play, I'm confident that there will be less vying for roles next season. My expectation (hope) is that UPL grabs the mantel, and Levi becomes the backup. And it won't be a shock to me if Levi challenges UPL for the primary goalie position. In retrospect, this season has been good for UPL from a developmental standpoint, and it also has benefited Levi's development by getting a lot of playing time in Rochester. It's a tough up and down process that has a lot of inevitable frustration built in.
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Some STHers will have to purchase resellers license per TBN
in The Aud Club
Posted
When not giving tickets to your family, how do you sell your tickets? Through resell vendors? It's unsightly when bowl seats that are bought are empty because they don't get used.