JohnC

You misinterpreted the point the poster wanted to make. He wants a top 6 scorer who has a bonerrrrr.

Minnesota is one of the best teams in the league. We matched them, if not slightly played better. Their goalie was outstanding, making saves and not giving up rebounds. UPL was also superb. As others have said, if the Sabres consistently play at this level, they will be in good shape. One of the most encouraging things about this game was the play of Quinn. He played with more confidence in the offensive zone, getting off a number of good shots. Tage also got off a lot of powerful shots. You can see that Lindy is getting through to his team on how he wants them to play i.e. with structure and responsible play in their zone. I'm disappointed with the loss but am pleased with how this team played. The Sabres had no lulls in this game from what I witnessed. Not much scoring but a good game to watch.

Dahlin agrees with you. 😀 Kruger is an example that employers shouldn't get too enamored with job interviews. Some people are good at giving a presentation but not so good at producing.

I agree that odds are that he won't get another HC job. But that doesn't mean that he didn't do a good job developing young players during his brief tenure. As an example comprare how Dahlin played under Krueger vs Granato? The Sabres are now at a different stage where a more experienced NHL HC is more suitable. Now is about the now. That's where we are at. And getting from there to here has been an excruciating process, especially for the fans.

Granato was coaching a lot of young players. It was the GM who when he took over publicly stated that this was a rebuilding job that emphasized a "draft and develop" approach. Eichel was our best player. He was dealt. (Let's not reprise the issues about him.) Reinhart was also one of our best players. He was dealt. (Again, let's not go through that saga again.) It's not a surprise that a roster laden with young players is going to be inconsistent and lacking a defensive focus. That's a byproduct of having such a young roster. There was an expected trade off of how young inexperienced players play and how veteran players perform in the NHL. Was the GM's exceedingly youth-oriented approach the best approach? That's not worth debating because that was the organizational decision made by the GM with the owner's consent. I stand by my belief that Granato was the right coach to take over from Krueger considering the direction that was set by the GM. And the time came where a more experienced NHL was required to replace Granato. Different stages of the rebuild mandated the coaching change. We are now at a more mature stage where the emphasis on wining for today.

Great in diagnosing plays and is elite at tackling.

Granato is better than Lindy in developing young players. While Lindy is better than Granato in managing his lineup for NHL games. Granato was the right coach to take over from Krueger. And it is clear that Lindy was the right coach to take over for Granato. The big change is that players through their play determine where, how much or if at all that they play. It's easy to talk about accountability but it is more challenging to enforce accountability.

What conjectural proposal are you suggesting?

Would you be willing to give up a Kulick, Quinn, Peterka and more in a deal? I wouldn't.

I was originally critical of the Mitts/Byram trade. It was not because from a talent standpoint it was an unequal trade. The basis of my criticism was that I felt that Mitts was a versatile player who could fill a greater variety of roles than the player he was dealt for. Watching Byram play and getting more comfortable with his new players, I've come around (although not fully) to a large extent. A few years ago, our blueline had a dearth of talent and was a major liability. With recent additions of Power and Byram that unit is not only becoming a strength. And it should be noted that Clifton was a good complementary addition. Pieces are steadily being added to make this roster a NHL solid roster from a talent standpoint. And the best aspect of these young additions is there is more upside to draw from as time moves forward.

The difference now is that the ruffians are more likely to have guns on them. It's a different world now where an accidental bump can end up resulting in getting stabbed or even shot.

I'm open to any deal within reason that makes this team better. But that doesn't mean that I would be receptive to a deal such as acquiring a veteran player like Krieder at the cost of losing a player like Kulich, JJP or Quinn. Would Krieder or a similar veteran player help us in the short term? Probably so. But that would be at the expense of players who have a lot of upside for a competent veteran player whose upside is long past. I believe that the Sabres are at a point where they are good enough to make the playoffs as a low rung qualifying team this season. As far as being serious Cup contenders, in my opinion they are at least two to three years away from that loftier goal. Even if our GM made some nifty deals this season, we are still not close to being near that cup challenging level. Again, I'm not against making deals to improve the team. But there needs to be a recognition of where we are at and how far we are away before rolling the dice.

The most obnoxious people lack the ability to recognize their own obnoxiousness. When you are myopic you can't see very well.

It's basic arithmetic: Addition by subtraction.

I'm not suggesting that anyone is untouchable. That's not what I am arguing. But it makes no sense from a Sabre perspective to trade promising young players for fading and more expensive veteran players. The reality is that the Sabres are at a stage where at best they will be vying for a lower playoff spot. They are at least a few years away from being serious Cup contenders. So, if that team ranking is reasonably accurate, then it would make no sense to trade younger players for fading stars? I'm not inflexible on this issue. If a deal makes sense and enhances the roster, then make the deal. If not, then it makes sense to bide your time for the right deal/s at the right time/s.

It was evident for everyone to see by his emotional outbursts on the sidelines during the games. Some people with diva (self-centered) attitudes exhaust the room.

You don't have to look too far for examples of high-end prospects taking time from being mistake prone young players to top tier players. Dahlin is an example of that. Under Krueger he looked totally lost. Then under Granato, he was given the freedom to grow which allowed his game to exponentially improve. He's still young, but there is a lot more maturity to his game compared to only three years back. It takes time. Anyone who gets too focused on Power's current deficiencies are not seeing his current solid play and abundant potential to draw from.

Hedman is going to be in the HOF. He's always in the discussion for the best defensemen in the league. I'm not saying that Power will ever be in that class, but what you seem to discount when evaluating him is his inexperience. There is no such thing as instant development. It takes time. In the short period of time that he has played in the league he definitely has gotten better with the potential to get even better. The point I made regarding too quick judgments on players also applies to Byram. You have to consider that not only is he young but he recently went to a new team with a new coaching staff, philosophy and players. You have to accept that there is an adjustment period to this new environment. It may not be apparent to you but in his recent games he's seemed to play with more comfort with the players he has been paired with. A little more patience would serve you so much better. It wasn't that long ago that there was a large and loud chorus to dispatch UPL because he was a lost cause. Now he is the primary reason why this team has won more than in the past. I kindly recommend that you be more patient---it will serve you well.

Question #1: No. Question #2: No. Simple questions with simple responses.

What I have seen from him in his play this year is distinctly different from before he got hurt. Maybe, he is just overthinking (as you noted) because the coach is requiring more two-way play than the prior coach did? I had high expectations on him before the season started. For whatever reason he hasn't come close to matching my expectations. I'm certainly not giving up on him. As I said in prior posts, patience is both a virtue and tough to deal with. If he can return to form, it will give the team a big boost.

As you are indicating, it does take time for a new defenseman to adjust to his new partners, team and coaches. It's apparent that he is playing with more comfort in his recent games than when he started the season. In the beginning of the season, he was feeling his way. He's seemed to progress in adjusting to his new team.

It's much easier to acquire a stay-at-home defenseman than a good offensive defenseman. Another Clifton type addition would better round out the unit. Samuelsson regressed but hopefully he can regain the form that demonstrated that he would be a solid to good defenseman. This unit is starting to be pieced together. I may be on your over-rating club with respect to Power. I believe that he already is one of our no touch players. It should be taken into consideration that It takes longer for tall and lanky players to physically mature. So there is more potential to tap into. I'm high on him for his current play and expected future play.

A second-line winger who can score and a stay-at-home defenseman would better round out this team. It would be such a bonus if Quinn can regain his form. My concern about him this season is that it is not unusual for a player who suffered a serious leg to take an added year after healing to get the zip back to his legs.

Your eyes are too jaundiced. Byram is inarguably more of an offensive defenseman whose strengths are shooting and skating. He's not a rugged defenseman, and will never be. Expecting him to be a more two-way player is miscasting him as a player. With respect to Power, he's a tall and lanky fellow who can skate and move the puck. He's not a thumper and will never be. In my view, he's fast approaching being an anchor player for us and in the not-too-distant future he will be considered an upper tier defenseman. (My opinion.) I also very much agree that the primary reason why the Sabres won all the games on this road trip was due to exceptional goaltending. I'm ecstatic about that.

You noted the underlying reason why some people have a less than sterling view of his game. He's not a thumper and never will be. A lot of people have this stereotypical view that because he is big (although lean right now) that he should play a more physical style of hockey. That's simply not his game. As you point, the things he does do well at demonstrably override the things that he is not adept at from a cost/benefit tabulation. In a few years, he is going to be a top echelon defenseman and an anchor player for us. We are very fortunate to have him and Dahlin on the blueline unit. Byram is starting to look comfortable and is coming on. And just maybe in the future Samuelsson will get healthy, regain his confidence and be a piece of a very good unit.