JohnC

How can wins not be a goalie stat? That's a number/analytic that trumps every other number. That's what the game is about. UPL made some big stops that were a significant factor in the win. In this win I don't recall UPL allowing in a weak goal. There was one goal where the shooter put in a laser shot that was high on his glove side. On that shot I credit the shooter more than criticize the goalie .

Lyubushkin was a free agent signing. I consider him more of a third pairing defenseman. Both he and Jost were terrific pickups that cost us no assets. The GM did well with those acquisitions. Both of them fill needed roles and blend in well with their teammates. Instead of the Chyrchrun trade speculation that would be costly, and in the not-too-distant future squeeze the cap, more attention should be given to acquiring another Lyubushkin caliber player who would help to round out the unit.

Another player on that line who has demonstrated that he is more than a goal scorer is Skinner. He already has 27 assists. He made the quick pass to Olof who jumped into the open space when he scored. And as you noted it was Tage who made the pass from tight quarters to Power to end the game. It's not much of a surprise that our prolific top line is going to be the center of attention of the opposition. When option A isn't available, they are able to go to option B to contribute. In this game the two players on that line got the primary assists in this win.

I think that the negative perception of Mitts has lessened a lot because of his consistently good play for the past dozen games or so. Jost deserves a lot of credit for the elevation of the Mitts/Olof line.

As everyone else stated Anderson was our first star. The Stars could have had five goals during the first half of the first period. Our defense was scrambling and acted confused while Dallas was bombing away with great chances that our goalie magnificently stopped. The winning goal by Power was neatly set up by Tage. Ottinger was focused on TT and didn't account for Power who then seized on his opportunity. The smile on Power's face after his first goal of the season was beyond being radiant. I thought Tuch played a good game. He was relentless and all over the ice. Krebs is getting better and better. Quinn and JJ seem lost. Their play is inconsequential. If I hear any more trade Olofsson talk I'm going to have a conniption. Just stop it! He's a sniper who scores goals. Dallas is a top tier and a big and rugged team. With the exception of the first half of the first period, the Sabres, the road team, matched them. Tremendous effort and great win!

Comrie was hurt and out for an extensive period of time. It's difficult to assess a player, especially a goalie, if he rarely plays. Stats and analytics for a goalie can be deceptive when trying to make a judgment on a player when there is an insufficient body of work to judge from. We know for sure that Anderson won't be back next year. The organization needs to find out what he is capable of before entering next season.

Absolutely not! The rebuild strategy that the GM has constantly repeated since he took over the hockey operation is that he wants to broaden the talent base, not deplete it. Again, no!

I agree with you that the Sabres have the ability to go on another winning streak. However, the margin of error is small. Losing to teams that they should win, and having a bad spell that lasts for more than 5 games or so, will make their task even more challenging, if not out of reach. Prior to the season, I predicted that the Sabres would earn 90 pts and stay in the playoff race up to the end of the season. I'm hoping that I will be proven wrong but they appear to be in the vicinity of where I thought they would be. Taking a broader perspective it is safe to say that this team is on an upward trajectory.

As @dudacekhas pointed out Florida is starting to get settled and are stringing wins together. I don't see us finishing ahead of them. However, the Sabres are capable of passing the other teams you mentioned. Sometime soon, the Sabres need to get a winning streak together to better position us for an end of the season serious playoff run.

I ain't messing with this Texan, transplant or native born. You have a commanding presence. Those dagger eyes are menacing. 🤠

You and I are riding the same bus. Although the ride sometimes get bumpy, the destination is within view. The journey sometimes is enjoyable and sometimes exasperating but without a doubt there is an entertainment value in watching this version of the Sabres. The best move this organization made is getting rid of Krueger and replacing him with Don G. Krueger's version of hockey was simply soul crushing.

I agree with you that this organization will not be able to keep everyone, even if they wanted to. On the positive side that is an indication that the talent base has increased to the point where the cap will be squeezed as contracts come up.

During that ignominious losing streak if we could have come away with a couple to three losing points our position would look so much better.

As Shakespeare would say: Et tu, Brute!

I agree with most of your projections of players who will be here in the near future. However, the one player that DG favors more than fans do is Joki. I have heard him speak on more than a few occasions praising him as a player who has more upside to his game. I also believe that DG has a higher view of Mitts than many here. He repeatedly has noted that in last year's camp he was one of the best players in camp before getting hurt.

It won't be an issue of squeezing the organization for every penny that he can get. His agent will negotiate a contract that is a fair-market contract. It's not necessarily a precise figure but it will fall within a price and length range that other players have gotten with similar production and age range. As revenues go up for franchises, so do salaries. It's a business for players as it is for owners. Just because Tage may have gotten (in hindsight) a lesser value contract doesn't mean that Cozens and his agent will be satisfied with a below market contract. And make no mistake about it that the contract that Tage signed is more favorable to the organization than it is to the player. I'm not criticizing Tage for signing the contract that he negotiated. If he was satisfied with the offer, then good for him. However, that doesn't mean that Cozens or Dahlin have to sign below market contracts when their turn comes up to negotiate a deal.

In two years,he probably will decide to retire.

The issue isn't being greedy or not. It's about what is your market value? There will be contracts for players in his echelon of production. He will be getting the going rate. Most people agree in hindsight that Tage signed a contract that was less than his value on ice. Cozens's agent will not be adequately doing his job in representing his client if he accepts less than value contract like it was given to Tage.

I wholeheartedly disagree with your take that his contributions are more associated with his intangibles than it is with his actual performance. KO's goal scoring is not going to be very impressive. But his on ice play is a factor in this team's success. He's the most consistent player on this team whose hard and grinding style of play contributes to wins. At the end of close games he is going to be on the ice. He is not going to be one of the players that the coach leaves on the bench because he is a responsible and reliable player. Winning teams are composed of a variety of parts and roles. You are making a mistake if you undervalue the contributions that players such as Okposo and Girgs add to this team.

I agree with your general proposition that as this team gets better and its young players' contract timeline needs to be faced, it is going to be a challenge to deal with the cap puzzle. I'm not bothered by this challenge because it is a sign that this team has accumulated enough talent to warrant contending with the cap ceiling. That's a good situation to be in. Already, you can see what our core will be: (Dahlin, Power, Tage, Quinn, Cozens). Our GM will listen to all offers, reasonable or not. That's his job. I just think that right now the strategy of the GM for dealing with his roster is primarily to stay within the system, and only make secondary type deals like the Jost and Lyubush deals where he gave up no assets to acquire these two contributing players. You have to agree that KA has been candid about what his approach is going to be in the rebuild he took on i.e mostly internal development. Regarding the Devils offering two 1st round picks for a player such as Oloff or whomever, I just don't see it happening. Sometimes general trade discussions that happen at an early period can eventually materialize way down the road.

As you noted, the prospects you mentioned are at least a couple of years away from the NHL. Would other teams value a sniper such as Olof? Certainly. But he also has value on this team. One of the deficiencies that the GM/KA recognized when he took over was that the scoring was not adequately distributed. It was too one star based (Jack). The GM made it a priority not to become too dependent on a player, or even a line. Olof is a sniper who also raises the value of Mitts because he is more of a passer. My point is that VO offers a lot of production and value to the current team he plays with.

Okposo has been our most consistent (not best) player on this team. His level of play rarely wavers. If you doubt his value, then ask Krebs and the coaches how important he is to this team.

I'm aware that you were joking about VO in your recent post. And I'm aware that you have been a stalwart defender of Mitts (along with me). But come on now you have often advocated for him to be dealt. There is nothing wrong with having that opinion. I have been more wrong than right with many of my opinions. That's why we post here.

Arguably, Okposo has been the best captain in this franchise's history. He has been a stabilizing presence (even when not the captain) when this was a dysfunctional organization. He has been a factor in this franchise's transition from a bottom feeding team to a competitive team. He's also a recognized leader on and off the ice by his teammates and organization. He's the type of player and person that you can't measure his value by the numbers.

When @GASabresIUFANappears in his court case, his wise counsel is going to recommend that he argues that it was temporary insanity that made him such a zealot in arguing to trade this Swede. We all know that lawyers are challenging clients to work with. 🤡