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JohnC

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Posts posted by JohnC

  1. 15 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

    No one talks about Jarmo Kekalainen much. How much of these moves are due to his influence?

    I don’t know. I think that Ruff has been the most influential in encouraging the changes in reshaping the roster to being more physical and less finesse oriented. With respect to Jarmo, it is a good thing to have fresh eyes and different voices in the room. 

  2. 8 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

    Like everything else Adams does, he puts a patch on it until it blows up in his face and then panic throws all his assets at the problem. See RHD as another example. So yes, he's fixing the problem after years and years of thinking his pet projects would work out eventually. He's a reactive GM with no plan except what others give him. Ruff and Kekalainen clearly told him he needed more Doan in the lineup. 

    You make an incisive point about KA and how he functions. He’s not much of a visionary as he is reactive. And even recognizing that,  he had to be pushed by others to rectify problems that he hasn’t satisfactorily addressed. He’s a checkers player in a chess match.

    He’s basically a pedestrian tactician in a position that requires a stratisgist.

    • Agree 1
  3. 9 minutes ago, SwampD said:

    Talking about playoff spots this early in the season is pure folly.

    Just win.

    … and keep winning.

    No it's not. I don't know if the Sabres will get into the playoffs. No one does. But at the minimum, for the sake of the fans, it's important to stay in a realistic playoff race for most of the season. Falling by the wayside before the halfway point will ensure even more fans to fade away. 

    • Like (+1) 1
  4. The Sabres need to mathematically stay in the playoff race by the team they reach mid-season. They simply can't have extended losing streaks that take essentially take us out of the race. What's been encouraging so far at this early stage of the season is that our goaltending has been pretty good. I'm hoping that it will continue. 

    I won't be able to watch this game because it isn't available to me. As a consolation, I won't have to watch a game when Toronto fans take over the building. I just hate that embarrassing spectacle! The best way to contain that scene is to score early and win. 

  5. 1 hour ago, mjd1001 said:

    Some people become part of a 'club' or 'a team of their own' and can't say anything that goes against that narrative.  It’s becoming a bigger and bigger part of society.  Lets say you are a fan of a particular player in a sport, a member of a certain political party, a fan of a team or a driver...maybe a fan of 'the Sabres will never be good" or "fire Adams and Ruff at all cost".  In order to mentally stay in good standing with that 'club' or 'team' you belong to, it is very very hard to say anything against it.

    With respect to this particular trade, it was a fair-value trade for the respective clubs. I respectfully  disagree on how you are considering this trade by going beyond the specific deal by framing the assessment of it in “tribalism” evaluation terms.

    I’m not part of any “anti” club. Our GM made a good deal in this case. On the other hand, even with this transaction in the fold I consider KA to be a less than mediocre GM. That’s not an evaluation based on “tribalism”—-it’s an evaluation based on his extended overall record.

  6. 10 hours ago, 7+6=13 said:

    Then why can't you say we won the trade in your description?  Why does it have to be, it was good for both teams?

    I believe it was a good trade for each team. Each team was in a different situation and each team acted in what they perceived to be in their best interest. 

    • Like (+1) 1
  7. 8 hours ago, Pimlach said:

    I was happy to see Doan coming to Buffalo.  Word out west is that he played with a high motor.  Comparables to his Dad’s work ethic and personality were flattering, but can he finish?   That is the question.  So far in Buffalo he is making things happen and bringing a work ethic to the rink that Buffalo fans want to see.  

    It’s early, but Doan is settling in.  Hope the long winter doesn’t bother him, he is a desert kid. 

    Maybe a younger Zucker???? 

  8. 1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

    I think Norris' timeline was 1 month but I am not sure.  

    Tage is taking heat here at Sabre Space.  7 games with 1 goal, 4 points and a -7 is not helping.   He is pressing out there no doubt.  

    I expect he will get on a hot streak and the goals will come.  

    Tage appears to be pressing. As you well know, his goals usually come in spurts. Very often when you try to do too much, you end up doing less.

  9. 31 minutes ago, 7+6=13 said:

    So Kesselring was the throw in?

    No. It was part of a package. If either one of the two former Utah players were not part of the trade proposal, I don’t believe that the deal would have been made.

  10. 17 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

    Yeah,  Benson has a motor, so does Doan.  We need to add more players like this.  Maybe Helenius someday?  

    Kozak - I would not call him high motor as in high speed, but he plays smart-motor, he is steady and efficient.   When Mike Peca was an Amerks coach he spoke highly of Kozak and thought he had good potential.  

    I think we are seeing that now.  Maybe Kozak could project to a 10-12 goal 4C, and one that can shut down the opponent.  He looks sturdy and he plays a smart game.  He is just 22, but I can see him being a savvy vet someday.  His AHL days could be coming to an end and he has to clear waivers to go back to Rochester.  

    It will be interesting when UPL, Greenway, Danforth, and Norris come back.  If we keep 3  goalies for awhile what will we do with the excess forwards?

    Gertie will be waived.   

    Kozak vs Krebs is an interesting decision for Adams.  As well as Danforth vs Malenstyn vs Greenway.  

     

    Is Norris expected to come back this season? I'm aware that he has been injured prone but that was a big loss, especially for Tage. It seemed that last night Tage was playing a lot of solo hockey untethered to the line he was on. 

  11. 42 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

    This kind of garbage is what I've been railing over and distracts fans from the real problem. Don't just look at the end result (a goal) look at the comedy of errors that led to it.

    I agree with you that to get a full picture on a play it goes beyond the end result. The general point that was made by the analyst is the importance of the attention to detail. And the clip he showed demonstrated that point. It began with an advantageous situation in our zone to losing the puck, resulting in the play going the other way. The too often haphazard play shouldn't be a surprise because for the past number of years the Sabres have been a very young team not sufficiently instilled with how to play a more mature and responsible game. As time goes on the younger players are getting more experience and the roster is being steadily reshaped/augmented with more experienced players. Hopefully, that augurs a better future. 

  12. 25 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

    When do we trade Dahlin and Thompson? 🤔

     

     

    The analysis backed up by the clip was fair. In close games the attention to details is the difference between winning and losing, especially playoff hockey.

    I thought that Tage’s game was too much a singular game and not enough in sync with his linemates. He seemed to be pressing to score and forcing play instead of letting the game come to him. 

    • Like (+1) 1
  13. 6 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

    So far, so good. 

    Screenshot-20251023-082018-Chrome.png

    Screenshot-20251023-081932-Chrome.png

     

    When evaluating a trade like this sometimes the stats don’t tell the full story. The added value that Doan adds go beyond the offensive stats. In my view, the Sabres are better and more balanced team with him. And if Kesserling plays up to expectations, this will become a terrific deal for us. And that is not to say that it won’t be a good deal for Utah.

    • Like (+1) 3
  14. 2 hours ago, North Buffalo said:

    I said when the trade went down you guys were going to like him... I watch a lot of late night out west hockey and he was a growing force last year.

    I didn’t watch him play before he came to Buffalo. It seems to me that he was a young developing player with them who is now crossing the threshold  to being a regular and established NHL player. 
     

    What I like about him is that in Buffalo he recognized that he had an opportunity to play, and he has seized that opportunity. Another thing I like about him is that he knows what type of player he is (physical and net presence) and stays true to his game. He’s not a floater but rather a hard charger. He was a terrific addition.
     

    I’ve been a harsh critic of KA, but in this case he made a team improving hockey deal. 

    • Like (+1) 2
    • Agree 1
  15. Doan and JJP are two different players with different abilities and attributes. From a talent standpoint, JJP is more talented, especially offensively. But from a roster building standpoint, Doan adds something that was desperately needed. 
     

    I’m sure Peterka will do well in Utah. And from a Utah perspective it was a good deal for them. On the other hand, from a Sabre standpoint, it addressed a big need for us. If you factor in the addition of Kesserling in the deal, then it was a beneficial deal for us. In general, this was a fair deal for both franchises.

    • Like (+1) 2
  16. 8 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

    When you look at all Adams moves since the Eichel trade it pretty much reads as the  "what not to do" bible for GMs.  

    Yet, there he is in his 6th year at the helm.  

    For the sake of the discussion, what would happen if the GM, coach and much of the staffing in the organization were replaced? What would be the mindset of an empowered GM taking over the players on the team and in the system. Would there be a major clearing house and major blowup of the roster or would there be some astute tweaks to the roster that would make a consequential difference? I lean toward some tweaks rather than going through another excruciating rebuild. 

    I live in the MD/DC area and saw the dramatic change with the Washington Commanders with the departure of the former owner and a complete remake of the organization staffed by sycophants. Putting aside the ownership issue, could an organizational remake quickly get this meandering franchise on track, or would it be another situation where you have to go through another laborious rebuild process while the disillusioned fan base continues to erode? 

  17. 8 hours ago, Pimlach said:

    Is Adams living rent free in Georgia ?  

    A factor in any discussion about making deals to improve the team is underpinned by who is making the deals. Judging the cumulative performance of dealer is a fair consideration. If you went to a surgeon who botched a hemorrhoid surgery by mistakenly plugging the hole, would you go back to the same surgeon to correct the butchery? 

  18. 14 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

    I don’t think moving him now, if we get a decent D back, hurts the defense at all since Power is inept in the D zone.  Byram made Power expendable and Mtrka will likely made Byram expendable.  This whole plan of 6 fast puck moving D was a joke the day it was formulated.  We need guys who can actually play defense.  Maybe Kesselring is one of the those guys.  I hope he is.  

    You are overrating Bryam. If you trade Power, you are creating another big hole for an already incomplete team. Makes even less sense if KA is executing the transaction. It would be like going back to the same inept surgeon who botched your surgery.

    2 hours ago, #freejame said:

    Power looked lost multiple times last night. 

    So did Tuck and Tage.

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