JohnC

Attached is a link of an article from the Buff News by Ryan O'Halloran. The article dealt with the opinion of Kevin Weekes about the Sabres. He talks about players such as Dahlin, Tuch, Cozens and our veteran group. Much of this article deals with what is discussed here. Nothing really new but insightful about how this team is being reconstructed and its upward trajectory. https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/sabres-commitment-to-doing-unsavory-things-to-win-stands-out-to-analyst-kevin-weekes/article_9c99ce6c-a3fb-11ed-b4fc-3b12b6260c27.html#tracking-source=home-sports

Why don't you take a nice and leisurely hike up Mt. Washington? ☠️ https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/02/04/mount-washington-wind-chill-record/

I'm confident in saying that although Jack had better numbers with Krueger that he would have had even better numbers under Granato. Granato's more offensive scheme would have resulted in Jack not only getting better stats under him but also under his tutelage he would have been a better developed player. If you consider how many current players now thrive under DG compared when they played for the prior coach that supposition would have likely turn out to be true. I understand that both of us are in general accord on this topic with a slight variation. As you stated with no equivocation: Krueger was an absolute f***** disaster for this organization.

It's not surprising that anything that goes against your narrative means little to you. If you can recall, you made a statement that there was a 1% chance that he would be a NHLer. He was a first round pick whose chances of making it into the league were much higher than what you claimed.

Where did you come up with the 1% chance of Tage being a NHL player? He was a first round draft pick, the 26th player taken in the draft and was one of the key pieces that the Sabres's sought in the ROR deal. Of course, I didn't know that he would become the caliber of player that he now is. No one did! But I absolutely knew that he was going to be a NHL player.

Every player coached by Krueger became a diminished player, including Dahlin who was in the all-star game the past couple of years. Ask Skinner what Krueger almost did to his career.

That's probably not the case. He is serious about his studies and the computer field. He and Portillo are serious students who also play hockey at a high level. Both of these young men are interested in their careers post their relatively short hockey lifespan. They should be saluted for taking their studies seriously while engaged in high level college hockey .

Tage was never a bust. There was a longer development period for him due to his tall and lean build. He needed to physically mature and get stronger in order to handle the physical rigors of the league.

Sometimes people make decisions that turn out wrong yet you can understand why they made them. In this case it was simply a bad decision for a player that wasn't worth the bother, especially when there were comparable options. Dumb is dumb and stupid is stupid. It made no bloody sense.

My understanding is that his father was his agent??? Wouldn't he or the player's representation have made it known before the draft that he didn't want to be here? It's not as if he was a top tier prospect who you wouldn't want to pass on because he was such an enticing talent. At that point in the draft there should have been a number of options beside him.

That was a nifty pass. 🍺

You are not accounting for injuries. I don't know if any prospect will be ready to fill in for any of the top nine spots if injuries do happen. We'll just have to see who can make the jump. If you recall, UPL was expected to get a heavy workload in Rochester this season. Injuries to Comrie and the determination to keep Anderson's workload in check resulted in UPL playing more games in the NHL than expected. So far, he has done better than expected as a regular starter in this league. My point is that you never really know how the situation will develop. You have to adjust to the unexpected.

The Sabres could afford him but it doesn't want to.

As you point out the Sabres have less margin of error against superior teams. And as you also point out the Sabres are capable of beating the superior teams if they play at their maximum level. Where I disagree with you is that the Sabres do seem to play better (home and away) when there is a large and energized crowd. Apparently, they seem to feed off of the energy of the crowd. The record in front of big crowds in contrast to smaller crowds seem to indicate that.

That's not quite accurate. He was getting his arse lubricated and massaged on the bench. 🤡

To play that hardnosed and relentless Brind'Amour style for a full game is in itself impressive. It certainly isn't as aesthetically pleasing to watch like Colorado is capable of playing. But it is a grinding and full throttle brand of hockey that you have to respect. I was really impressed by how Carolina played last night (especially on a back to back.) As you said in a prior post their play is a reflection of their muscular coach.

The better team won. It had nothing to do with Granato being out strategized. Carolina has the second most points in the Eastern Conference. They are a more veteran and experienced team compared to the youthful Sabres. Every hockey analyst would tell you that Carolina is a cup contending team while the Sabres are at best a playoff contending team. There's a big difference between being a cup contender and a playoff contending team. The better team outplayed the inferior team and made fewer mistakes. No one should be surprised at the outcome. The outcome had little to nothing to do with coaching.

You have to give credit to the way Carolina played. All the lines play the same hard style of play on both ends of the ice. The lines are indistinguishable. The most impressive aspect of their game is how relentless they are throughout the game. There was some commentary prior to the game about how the Hurricanes would come into this game with tired legs after a back to back game that included a road game. That didn't materialize. The Sabres were loose with the puck, making a lot of bad passes. Too often they were intercepted with the visiting team pushing hard into the zone? How many odd man rushes did Carolina have when there were not enough players backstopping the play when we were in the offensive zone? Carolina's coach was miked up in this game. He didn't do a lot of yelling or exhibit any histrionics behind the bench. The players are coached well, and know how to play a Brind'Amour style of game. It's instilled in them. (If you can't play that hardnosed brand of hockey, you won't be on this roster.) They are a cup contending team, we are not. But that doesn't mean that our playoff contending team can't aspire to get to the higher stage that Carolina currently occupies. Needless to say, I was very impressed by them.

Absolutely not!

I was speaking in general. As you said Hull has been in the wilderness by himself for a long time.

I agree with you that it is not a new thing. But is it more prevalent for these public scathing judgments? I think so.

Cancelling can sometimes be even more insidious than being censored because a person can lose their career by having an opinion that goes against the mainstream. Sometimes saying something foolish or even ignorant shouldn't get to the point of losing one's ability to work.

There are people who due to religion, culture or simply personal views have different (less modern) opinions on race, women, sexuality etc. that are contrary to the mainstream/prevailing view on these topics. Often, these people do get excoriated and sometimes cancelled because of their minority beliefs. Although, I'm more likely to disagree with these less than enlightened/modern views, it has to be acknowledged that there is less tolerance for those holding those views. In addition, due to social media and the internet (modern communication) there is an intensity and swiftness of response that didn't exist a number of years ago to comments that are not aligned with the majority view. As an example: Dave Chapelle is a comedian whose views are usually very updated and liberal. He has made comments about gays and transgenders in his act that many found offensive. And because of it there were some who try to get him cancelled. He's a stubborn and strong-willed guy whose response was to double down on issues/responses that some considered controversial.

You make a strong argument that when Bryson is playing his lower pairing role, he does it reasonably well. When he is asked to play a higher role, his analytics take a tumble. There are players on this team that many people have a locked in negative narrative that is tough to shake. (With team success some of the narratives are softening.) Mitts, Olofsson and UPL are/were players whose critical narratives didn't match their actual play. What's changing now is that this team has accumulated and groomed enough talent where players are being more properly slotted.

It wouldn't be surprising if the Sabres make a deal or two at the deadline. However, I doubt that it will be for a top tier player who will command a high future salary. If there is going to be any acquisitions, it most likely will be for a Lyubushkin or Jost type player to fill out a lower line or pairing. If you listen to KA since he took over, he has made it clear that the primary avenue to roster building relates to players already in the system. I'm not suggesting that KA won't make a blockbuster type deal if the opportunity is available. I just don't see it happening this season.