JohnC

The highlighted line summarizing the situation. It seems that the front office is taking the view that the permanent solution is going to be addressed at a later time. As you succinctly put it: Where we are at is where we are at.

I just don't see a trade with Buffalo materializing. I'm not even sure if KA is interested in Chychrun.

Did you watch this game? The goals he gave up were for the most part not his fault. I didn't say he was good or bad. That wasn't even part of the discussion. Pay attention to what is actually being said and not what you think the person said. You are distorting my comments to fit your narrative.

I'm not satisfied with him. But out of fairness, if you review the goals he gave up today, I would attribute almost all the goals to the porous defense in front of him. I've been strongly advocating another Lyubushkin caliber player to the unit. That would help all the netminders.

From our end of the proposed deal, I would make it. I don't see Arizona agreeing to your proposal.

I agree with you that the priority should be adding another defenseman to bolster the unit. It doesn't have to be a second-pairing caliber of player. A Lyubushkin third pairing caliber of player would be helpful. As others have mentioned some are available for a reasonable price. It's obvious that the GM is not willing to part with a high- end prospect plus additional assets to get Chychrun. I agree with his view. There are still other reasonable options. As far as adding another goalie it isn't worth discussing it because it is a farfetched proposal for our GM.

As you noted the play in their defensive zone was atrocious. It was simply weak. When his players left him exposed the opposition took advantage of it.

That's the track I'm talking about. 👍

Would you be willing to include Quinn in a deal for Chychrun? I wouldn't. Arizona is not going to deal him for chump change. They are going to want multiple high end prospects. I wouldn't recommend paying that price. I would prefer pursuing a Lyubushkin third pairing caliber player to bolster the blue line.

You have to admit that our defense in our own zone was loose and weak. I, like you, worry about a UPL's inconsistency. But most of the goals scored against him were not his fault. The play in the opposition's zone was troubling.

I didn't include Talbot in my response because I'm supremely confident that he is not in KA's wish list. He seems intent in juggling the trio he currently has.

I did go to school in Buffalo. There were more than a few who believed in corporal punishment. I'm not sure how many priests are teaching in the classroom today. Sad to say that there were some recent ugly accusations about some of them. The Lord will be the ultimate judge.

The solution to that particular form of corporal punishment would be to shave one's head. Their creative response would be to kick you in the arse!

The analytics experts who would scoff need to look up from their stat sheet and watch the games. Stats are a tool---not religious tenets that devotees feel an obligation to adhere to.

Absolutely not! I'm receptive to moving UPL down. I'm more inclined to making Anderson and Comrie the working pair for the rest of the season.

The Jesuits beat the freaking vocabulary into me! I remember one English teacher yelling at me: Don't tell me what you think it says, tell me what the words on the page say. Then he preceded to beat with a thick stick to imprint the point on my stupid arse! That is corporal punishment in the pursuit of edification. 🤡

You make a keen observation about Miller not only as a player but also as a person. He is thoughtful and cerebral to an extreme point. He's the type of guy that when interviewing you have to be careful with your words because he is going to thoroughly parse your words and cogitate before rendering a response. If you are looking for a post-game robotic cliche riddled comments at the podium, you don't want him to be standing at the podium. He's a unique and thoughtful fellow. If you are in a hurry he will drive you crazy.

I don't want to get into a look back "what if" skirmish here but how many more points do you think the Sabres would have had if Ullmark was our primary goalie? My guess would be 8-10 points. Would the "what if" salary and extra term cost have been worth it? I say yes. KA has made a lot of good decisions. In my opinion this was not one of them.

A functional NHL player with experience is going to help more than a young and more talented AHL player with limited or no NHL experience. It's not so much as being a positive factor than it is as not being a negative factor in these remaining games. Too much is at stake at this point of the season to bring up players who are not ready for these pressurized games. Vinny can play on a lower line moving up someone else to a higher line. This was the right move.

Are you sure that there is much difference with your cognitive function when you are sleep deprived compared to when you are not?

I'm sure they are asking for a first plus a high end prospect and player who can play now.

These "Panickers" you refer to were in a state of despair after the Toronto game. They wanted to tear the team and organization to shreds and start over. Check-out the posts after that game! After this successful two game Florida trip many of these same Casandras are now in a state of ecstasy extolling the virtue of the team and its staff. It's so silly. There is still a lot of games left where there will be a number of additional successes to enjoy and failures to lament. The pendulum is swinging back and forth at a furious pace. This playoff scenario is going down to the end of the season. You got no choice but to ride the wave and see where it takes you. No one knows for sure what the outcome will be. That's why this season has been so enjoyable.

No. The length of the contract makes him unappealing. I would rather give up less costly assets for a third pairing defenseman who is in the Lyubushkin strata.

Based on usage the coach seems to believe so. My preference would be for Anderson and Comrie to split time. There's no question that UPL has improved. But for me he is too erratic manning the pipes when the team is vying for a playoff spot. How Comrie is handled is even more intriguing to me than how Anderson is handled.

Every once in a while, he will give an inside scoop. For the most part his responses are so general that they are meaningless.