JohnC

Getting better goaltending is the most important issue for me. I’m just so unsure about our goaltending group????

I would say no to such a deal. I suspect that most of the crowd here would say yes to such a deal.

If Robertson gets traded to the Sabres, we will likely be giving up at least two of our best young players to get him. There is no free lunch in this marketplace.

The issue isn’t whether the roster is the same or not (it isn’t). The issue is whether the players, collectively, play better. Will players like Benson, Quinn, Kulich, Power, Samuelson and UPL be better this season? Can’t say for sure but am Inclined to think so. You seem to be more pessimistic than I am. We’ll just have to wait and see when the season starts. What I’m not going to do is have a hardened viewpoint before the season starts, let alone before the preseason games begin.

As you seem to be saying: He’s his own worst enemy. All goalies have to deal with failures. How they handle adversity without allowing it influence their play is a prerequisite to successfully play the position. Is he mentally strong enough or too fragile to recover from lapses is the issue hovering over him. With him, I just don’t know?? A criticism I have for the GM is that he hasn’t come up with an adequate backup plan just in case. That’s inexcusable, especially considering the time he has had to do so.

If you watched him last year it was glaringly apparent that he was flailing in the crease. Too much movement reacting instead of playing with less motion and good positioning. To make an obvious understatement, he lost his confidence in a position that requires mental toughness. If he can regain his game and stabilize his play, that would be the most positive impact any player can have for this team.

I'm just as wary of UPL as a #1 goalie as you are. But that doesn't mean that he is a lost cause because of his poor performance last year. A couple of years ago, he gave an indication that he had the capability to be an NHL goalie. Then last year, he lost confidence and fell off the cliff. With goalies, how one plays in one season doesn't necessarily reflect how they will play the next season. It's a unique position played by mercurial players where predictions more often than not don't hold up. I'm not confidently making any predictions about him but I'm not writing him off just yet.

If the Sabres get average to above average goaltending, I will be pleasantly satisfied. Few of us expect top tier goaltending from the current staffing. So, if the goaltending moves into the middle of the pack rankings, it would be a major improvement. My sense with how Levi will be handled is, regardless how he performs in camp or preseason games, he will start off in Rochester getting a heavy workload. That's probably the best course of action for his development. And with the injury history of UPL it wouldn't be a surprise if he becomes our primary netminder sometime in the season.

Does anyone know what the ticket costs are for the Buffalo Bandits? Clearly, a better product and entertainment value.

Most people would agree with you that this is not a deep roster. But the difference between now and looking back a couple to few years ago is that we now mostly have players who genuinely can play the role they are assigned, at least starting the season. There are fewer situations where a lower line caliber of player is required to play on a higher line or pairing than his talent should indicate. As an example, Samuelsson playing a third pairing role makes sense compared to him being on the top pairing. I like how Krebs plays as a third or lower-line player, but he is a not a top two-line player. But as you noted with your post, there is little depth on this roster to cushion against injuries. A good example of that is when Dahlin, our best player, got hurt last year and the team spiraled into the abyss. I really wished that KA would have added another second-line caliber of player this offseason. It not only would have added depth but also created more flexibility as to how the lines could be formed. It's not a surprise that this cautious GM fell short.

This is a fair and balanced evaluation of both defensemen. Overall, Power is going to be a more balanced player than Byram. (As you point out.) On the other hand, when evaluating each of them you have to accept what their individual skill set is. Byram is more of an offensive player and less of a defender. And that offensive skillset defines his play. The key to each player is to find a partner that will allow each of them to accentuate their strengths and minimize their liabilities. From a broad overview of our defensive corps, I see a lot of our offense generated by the blueline. The key to get the most out of it is get the best match with each pair. It seems to me that right now Dahlin/Byram, Power/Kesserling and Samuelsson/Timmons are the most likely pairings when the season starts. This is a young group that has much more upside to tap into.

That's an incredible level. If I may ask, what were you drinking and how much? When you were in the hospital did the medical staff just monitor you and let the alcohol level come down on its own? I'm simply a minor league drinker who after three drinks needs to be assisted.

To the public/fans he certainly is silent. When's the last time you heard him make public statements about the direction of the franchise and his expectations? He's not a good public speaker so I don't expect much eloquence commentary from him. But that doesn't mean that he can't communicate his thoughts about his failed hockey team and what he is going to do about it through surrogates. When's the last time you seen him be interviewed or take questions from members of the media? It's not unusual for some owners to stay in the background. However, he's taken that invisible act beyond the boundaries of what is normal for a sports franchise owner. It's outright weird.

Jerry Jones talks too much, and Terry Pegula doesn't talk at all. The ying and yang of bad ownership.

There is such a disparity between how the owner oversees his football operation compared to the hockey operation. In the football operation, he ended up hiring a good coach and GM, and then without much interference allowed them to run the operation. Over the past five years or so, the Bills have been one of the most consistently well-run franchises in the league. Without question, it's a respected franchise in the league. In comparison, the hockey franchise has become a long-term stepchild that is not taken seriously in in the league. The silent owner's critical hires have gone beyond being bad to being simply odd. The hiring of KA made no sense other than he installed a sycophant who would allow him to intrude whenever he wanted to. And what's even worse is retaining him after his five-year record of abject failure. What followed was the fraudulent hiring process for a HC. It was a charade that fooled no one. The owner hired the person he wanted to in the first place, Ruff, and then amateurishly masked it as the end product of a legitimate search process. It seemed that nostalgia was the critical factor for the hire. Based on the record, it's not unfair to say that Pegula is one of the worst owners in the league. And based on the record, it's not unfair to say that KA is one of the worst GMs in the league. And few would argue that the Sabre's coaching staff that includes the assistants is a very accomplished staff. This is not a recipe for success.

You gave a very thoughtful and humanistic response. It's obvious that Mair has a serious drinking problem. He should be treated like others who have been involved in similar situations. He will certainly have to contend with the legal system that will direct him to a somewhat coercive course for first time offenders. What will the outcome be after he is directed into a rehabilitating setting? It depends on how seriously he takes the treatment. If he blows it off or just goes through the motions just to get this issue over with, he will then face bigger issues and more severe consequences. For those who blithely and reflexively say that he should be automatically fired, my response is that he is not a disposable human being who isn't capable of redemption. Addiction is a complicated and challenging issue to deal with. It affects not only the individual but the family and relationships around the person. We all know someone either in the family, friends and work circle who struggle to deal with what usually is a life-long tormenting battle. Anyone undergoing what he is currently undergoing needs support, not scorn and harsh judgment. And that doesn't mean that he shouldn't be held accountable for his behavior. I wish him well.

The legal process ran its course ending in acquittals. The legal standard was applied in the trial. And the outcome was acquittals for the accused. Because of the trial, a clearer picture of what happened in this tawdry episode is better known. The players should be allowed to place themselves on the NHL market. When teams are preparing their scouting reports on prospects character considerations are part of the evaluation. I wouldn't want any of them representing my organization. But that doesn't mean that they should be excluded from the profession if other teams are interested in them.

He was a worthy first person pick in that class. That's not to say that another player wouldn't have been a worthy pick for another team if they were making the pick. There is a difference between a tall player who can skate moving up the draft boards and a tall player who can skate being the first pick. With any player with that type of physical stature it normally takes more time to physically mature and reach a higher level. Tage is an example of that. Others can have their opinion on how Power ends up as a player. I'm in the column that very soon he will be an anchor defenseman for us.

Happy Birthday. We all appreciate your work in keeping this site going. 🍺

I don't understand the insistence of so many people for a player to play a game he is not suited for, and never will be. It's inarguable that Power needs to be more physical and responsible in the defensive zone. But he's not going to do that by knocking players on their derrieres. He's going to improve that aspect of his game with better positioning. Those who want to see him play like a gorilla and physically batter the players he is covering are going to be disappointed because it's not going to happen. That's not his makeup and that is not a style of play he is suited for. Assuming that Kesserling will be his partner (and maybe periodically Timmons) it should allow him to better accentuate his game which is skating and moving the puck out of the zone. There was a reason why he was the first pick in his draft year. That lofty draft position doesn't automatically make him a star but it is evident to me that he is going to be a very good player for us and eventually one of the better defensemen in the league. A side note: Dahlin, Byrum, Power, Kesserling, Timmons and Samuelsson seem to be a good group of talent. I expect a lot of our offense will be generated by the backside. The additions of Kesserling and Timmons should boost the unit.

I'm predicting that the Sabres will be competing for a playoff spot all season long. Will they finally qualify? Yes, if the goaltending is consistently respectable. That's the big question. Two years ago, UPL demonstrated that he was at a stage where it seemed that he was going to be a legitimate NHL starter. However, last year, he fell off the cliff Needless to say, he's a fragile player for a position that requires tough-mindedness. Handling failure is a big aspect of that position. Last year, the word resiliency was not part of his vocabulary. In @dudacek's excellent listing of his expectations for most of the players, a good summarization of the group is that the driving force for improvement will be internal improvement of our young players. The players I am very intrigued about who were on the roster last year are Quinn, Benson and Power. I'm hoping they have a leap year. And the new players that I will be following are Doan and Kesserling.

Where the heck are you coming from? You act as if I would be a critic if Tuch got signed to a long term deal. Your responses make no sense to me as it relates to this topic.

I just checked the Sabre site and it noted that the start date hasn’t officially been given yet. The first preseason game is against Columbus on Sept. 22. I suspect camp will start next week.

That all! 😀

Do you know how much he paid for his big boat?