JohnC

Do chickens strut? I know roosters do but I haven't seen a chicken do the arrogant walk.

Few people have forgotten the pre-Granato days. Mention the name Krueger and you will immediately get a deluge of scathing comments. There is no question that Granato is one of the best developmental coaches for young players. That's step one as a Sabre coach. The next step in evaluating him is his ability to coach a team that becomes a serious cup contending team. The Sabres are not close to being at that stage yet. When he gets the Sabres to that next level then I will argue on his behalf that he is one of the best coaches in the league. I'm definitely a fan of DG. When it comes to the discussion that @dudacekhas proposed, I'm not going there yet.

The business model for sports networks and cable TV is rapidly changing. The upcoming generation has to a great extent cut the cable chord. Those involved in signing regional cabel sports deals not so long ago expected the audience and money flow to consistently increase. What we thought was a new business/media model has quickly become antiquated. The new technology has altered the market. Now the market has to adapt to that change.

This thread has become a slapping competition.

You gave a well-reasoned and thoughtful response. However, I still strenuously disagree with you. The one aspect that both Vegas and Seattle had as expansion teams compared to what other rebuilding teams undergo is a clean slate (roster). That's a critical difference/advantage that conventionally rebuilding teams don't have. Even if rebuilding teams want to dramatically rework their rosters, they have to contend contracts that are already committed. The goalie argument is something that we have discussed for a long time. There were goalies that we targeted last offseason. Some of them simply didn't want to play here. (Ullmark is somewhat of a different situation but not altogether different. Consistently losing is not an enticing appeal when pursuing players.) That unappealing situation also applied to defensemen on the market. Just because you want a particular player that doesn't mean that the player wants to come here. Who can blame players who have other options find the Sabres to be an unappealing destination. I see that that situation changing now. The Sabres are mostly rebuilding from within. It's the right approach. It's working out reasonably well. From my perspective the Sabres are a year ahead of where I thought they would be. Although not completely satisfied, I'm tepidly happy where this team is, and where it is going. Stay the course!

To the NHL's credit it created an expansion system where if new organizations are judicious with their scouting and procurement from available player pool, unprotected players, they should be able to be competitive right away. Vegas is the hallmark for that approach. That is a far different system that rebuilding teams such as Buffalo, Detroit, Jersey, Ottawa etc. have to contend with. While Vegas and Seattle can be immediately competitive with their new roster construction, the menu of players that conventionally rebuilding teams have to choose from is not available to them. It's comparing apples to oranges.

Within this WGR link is a 14 minute segment with Don Granato. In it he explained his reasoning to split up the lines. He said it was a way to refresh the original lines, or as he put it to disassemble in order to reassemble them. He is enjoyable to listen to because he answers the questions without the typical inane coach speak. He talked about Quinn and how highly he regards him. He has high expectations for him. He also discussed the impact that an extended break has when a team gets back to play. Good hockey talk. https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/authors/howard-and-jeremy-show

The metric I'm most interested in is the RECORD! When you say the other team stinks when your own team has essentially the same record, you are, if you are applying your own logic, saying your team stinks! As it currently stands, Detroit and Buffalo are in the same strata. If one team stinks---so does the other. Listen to @Thornyon this subject. He's being logical and you are not.

Listen to @Thorny. Check the standings. Why do you say Detroit is trash? They have the same number of points in the same number of games as we do.

That loose type of play is not playoff type of hockey. And it is not a style of play that works against superior and more disciplined teams.

Marty Biron is one of the better hockey analysts in the NHL. Don't let his congenial personality hide his substantive knowledge of the league. The one area that Mary is qualified to speak to is the goalie position. If you get a chance, go back to yesterday's morning appearance on WGR where he talks about Levi. To put it mildly, he is a believer in Levi. He's effusive in his praise of his quickness and ability to analyze the play in front of him.

I watched the first period and saw the clips this morning so I can't fairly say I had a feel for the whole game. From what I saw I thought Jost played well. It seems that putting players on the Girgs/Okposo line results in the player elevating their game. The Jost acquisition was a sneaky good pickup. The pass from Quinn to Krebs for his score was superb. He worked hard to get the puck and then had the vision to find the player who was in space to get off a quality shot. Quinn is going to be a prime player for us. Krebs is gaining confidence and is asserting himself. The return on the Jack trade with Tuch and Krebs here looks better and better as time passes. The Mitts chorus of critics should be silenced for the rest of the season. Just from watching highlights I saw the Sabres give up a number of odd rushes. This is a troubling trend. A win is a win. I can't say that the Sabres will make the playoffs but they definitely can stay in the race up to the end.

There are going to be superb big goalies whose style of play is predicated on utilizing their size to play the position. And there are going to be smaller and quicker goalies who use their quickness and analytical ability to diagnose plays to play the position. Just as in all sports, football, basketball, hockey, baseball etc. there will be no one physical profile to play a position. You are either good at what you do, or you are not.

The GM has added a goalie in Comrie, a defenseman in Lyubushkin and later, a center in Jost. In each addition no assets were given up. Are more additions outside of our system needed? Of course. It's undeniable that there are still needs to be addressed. The offseason is the better time when the roster can be reworked with trades and free agent acquisitions. There is no quick fix. And there never was! The rebuild for the Sabres, as it is for any team undergoing the excruciating process, is never always linear. The most meaningful question that constantly has to be invoked throughout the process is: Are we better off tomorrow than we were yesterday? Since KA was installed as the GM the answer has been a resounding yes. It's a frustrating process for the fans to withstand. You either go along with it or you jump ship. Then when the situation calms/stabilizes you get back on board. If that's what you want to do, then do it. I'm along for the turbulent ride.

That physical punishment approach would be the worst approach to take. What it would self-destructively do is give the players heavy/tired legs in their next game so that they wouldn't be able to keep up with the next opponent. I understand your sentiment of cracking the whip. The best way for the coach to get his point across about effort and playing smart is limiting playing time for players who seem to be lagging. The Sabres play Anaheim tomorrow. I expect a more focused and desperate play from the players.

I don't sympathize with your line of reasoning. There is no secret to what the GM's plan is to rebuild the roster and organization. He's publicly stated it literally hundreds, if not more than a thousand, times. He's going to primarily rebuild this franchise with his draft prospects. It's the standard "draft and development" approach. It's not a novel or a quick fix approach to rebuilding for any franchise. And when this type of endeavor is taken on it is rare that it is an even or smooth process. It takes time and patience. However, if you have been following this team there is no doubt that since KA has taken over the hockey operation, the trajectory clearly is upward. I understand your impatience and frustration. But the worst thing this front office staff can do is react to the frustration and deviate from the course that it is on.

This team has been plagued by an upsurge of odd rushes. It is catching up with the team. The problem is not only with blue line players or even the goalies. The forwards have to be aware of their defensive responsibilities, especially when linemates are in tight in their offensive zone.

The problem isn't Quinn. It's Peterka. He is struggling and not much of a factor. I'm confident that both players will eventually become second-line caliber of players. But right now one of the young duos is befuddled and not contributing much.

You don't like to be hugged? 🤡

Just me conjecturing but I think the impetus for jumbling the lines is the Quinn/Cozens/JJ line is struggling. Cozens's play is still very good. But it is not sufficiently elevating the play of JJ, and Quinn to a lesser extent. It's not unusual to juggle the lines just for the sake of changing the lines when they seem to go stagnant. Teams adjust to what you do---so teams have to respond with their own adjustments.

The notion that Portillo is afraid of competition because he wants to scan the hockey market to find the best employment option for him makes little sense. He was a diligent student who stayed in school because he was serious about his education. That shouldn't be something that warrants criticisms as it should be praised. If he believes that he would have a better professional opportunity somewhere else, then that is his right. As it is for anyone in any profession. He's acting within the rules of the profession, so why should he be criticized?

It's more of a third line, not a first or second line. I'm more than satisfied with how it is playing. They have a role and fulfilling it.

You know what that answer is! Stop toying with us! 🤡 There's no doubt that the inglorious Krueger stint was damaging for a lot of obvious reasons. But there is an aspect to Krueger's proclivity toward stifling talent that the owner should be furious over. It was not getting production value from dollars invested. It's like Pegula sinking in a lot of money in a location that is supposed to be filled with an abundance of gas only to draw a miniscule amount of gas that didn't come close to getting a return on one's expensive investment. Skinner was getting paid $9 per year. Under Krueger's suffocating approach Skinner was being used as a marginal $250,000 utility player. That made no sense. Let's not even bother with how he handled Dahlin! He took a player with expansive talents and deliberately crimped (castrated) him with his regimented approach to the game. Compare how Coach Don G in relatively short order regained the value that the players' possessed. Shifting gears a little, what you see now is that the players on the roster are being more properly slotted to their talent level. Our first is composed of first line players. The second line, although not currently fully developed, have young players who will in the not-too-distant future play up to their line status. The same goes for our first pairing and for the most part the second pairing. (I'm aware that some don't believe that Joki is playing on a pairing that is too high.) As the talent base increases the slots get more properly solidified. Not that long ago that wasn't the case.

It wasn't that long ago where I avoided watching this team because of its lack of entertainment value. Now, I have the opposite sensation ii that I am disappointed when I don't have an opportunity to watch this team. This team is now winning at a respectable rate, and it is an entertaining team to watch. How quickly things have changed.

You make a potent point that even the ascending numbers that have followed Mitts with the addition of Jost to the line don't alter the unshakeable narrative that many have of this particular player. And as you insightfully point out the other units you are playing with are a factor in the analytical numbers attached to this particular players. I have a recommendation for those who aren't capable of deciphering the actual numbers: Trust your eyes more than your ingrained jaundiced attitudes toward specific players.