JohnC

I have a dramatically different take on the area hockey market. It is a fertile hockey market that has been laid to waste by an owner who has crushed its potential due to hideous incompetency. The fan base has steadily been shrinking because of his foolish stewardship for a generation. Fans who are unwilling to spend money on a lackluster team/product are the ones who are showing good judgment.

If you believe I’m a supporter of KA, you have grossly misread my posts about him. I’m almost as contemptuous of him as I am of the big boat owner.

Do you believe that either Quinn, Kulich, Power or Benson will be traded before the season starts? I don’t.

It’s not about hope. It’s simply that we have different judgments on players.

Helenius is not off- limits for me. I’m not dooming anything. If one believes that the young players you listed will be better players next season and thereafter (as I do), why would I want to see them dealt?

Absolutely yes he was on my no trade list. No secret about that. But go back to my post saying why that it didn’t play out the way I and even the GM wanted it to.

The Peterka situation was completely different from the players mentioned. JJP made it clear to the organization that he wanted to get the freak out of this ghetto franchise. He was not going to sign a new contract and was going to allow his contract to run for another year so he could be an UFA. The GM publicly stated that he wanted to keep him. The player essentially said F no! Once traded he quickly signed a new contract with Utah. In my view, the GM handled the situation reasonably well.

I understand your position but with respect to the young players named I still strongly say no. And, it is sad to say that even if our young players were dealt the return would not be adequate because good players have little desire to come to this shunned franchise. This is a sad and pathetic situation to be in.

If you trade Quinn he will be a 30 goal scorer for the receiving team. He is a “Hell No” player for me, and so is Power. If NOBODY on a losing roster is immune from being traded, does that mean Dahlin is also a candidate to be traded? Please don’t go crazy on me due to pent up frustrations. 🙃

Not open to trading Quinn, Kulich or Power. These three players are ironclad do not move players for me. That is not to say that I won’t consider other high end prospects and draft picks as currency to get more immediate help.

I wasn't suggesting the return wouldn't be immediately helpful. However, I still disagree. I just believe that these two players have a lot of upsides that would turn into production. Especially for Quinn, I see him producing next season. And with Kulich, I see a lot of potential that will be realized soon.

It would be a mistake to deal Kulich and/or Quinn for veteran players. If that should happen this would be another repeat tormenting scene where the players that were in our system and developed here ended up thriving wearing someone's jersey. The two players that you listed are players that we are counting on to make enough improvement where they will be positive contributors to this team. It seems to me that they have shown enough potential where we should stick with them. At least for these two players I would stay the course.

When you read these accounts of how the operation functions or may not function it just demonstrates how this is such a third-rate operation. There is little clear line of authority or even internal communication system. The lack of organizational structure is so obvious that whether one is talking about a sports franchise or any enterprise for that matter, the outcome is going result in failure. This is a Pegula designed organization. The hiring of a GM had no order or process to it other than it was an owner hiring. To say the least he made an odd selection. The same goes for the hiring of Ruff to be the HC. There was no genuine coaching search. The hiring process was a charade that was obvious to everyone. It was a nostalgic hiring by the inscrutable owner. (I'm not debating the issue whether Ruff was a good hire or not. I'm focusing on the fraudulent process.) If you ask me what is the role and influence of Karmonos, Jarmo and even Ruff relative to the GM, my response is I don't know? There seems to be no clear lines of authority. On top of that layer of confusion is an owner who presides over this hollow structure and interjects his thoughts whenever he desires to. For him, it's just about what he wants to do i.e. acting on his whimsical thoughts. Any franchise in any sport that is operated in the same disorderly way the Sabres are run is going to be a failure. This is a Terry Pegula failed production. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

I don't see KA making any other moves of significance. He's placed his bet on the young players that include Quinn, Kulich, Benson, Power and even Samuelsson. His biggest gamble is betting on UPL as his goalie. A couple of years ago, he showed promise; while last year he developed a lot of bad habits and regressed. For the most part, KA has not deviated too much from counting on the players within the system. He's also made a few good deals, such as for McCleod, Zucker and Greenway to better round out the roster. In my view, the blue line is improved so that might be a factor in UPL playing better. Will the Sabres make the playoffs? I think that it is attainable if the blue line unit and our big goalie play consistently solid for the season. Am I confident about the upcoming season? Anyone who fairly evaluates this roster can't be fully confident about the upcoming season. However, if the two things fall into place regarding the goaltending and blueline unit play better, then at least we should be in the playoff race for most of the season. I'm aware that I'm being squishy in my prognostication but that's how I see things playing out.

The reason why the wallets in the area are not opened for the Sabres is because the product has consistently been inadequate. Compare that to the Bils and the Bandits where the wallets are opened and the seats are filled? If you count southern Ontario and the surrounding region as part of the hockey market, then the market is wider than many people portray.

Old and new school hockey people don’t like the Sabre approach for the primary reason that it hasn’t work. There are a variety of methods to success. The problem for the Sabres is that it is ineptly implemented.

There is no question that Krebs played his best last offseason. But even acknowledging that what is his upside and highest role? I don’t seeing him being able to earn a top two line role. However, he should be able to play well as a third or fourth line player. I’m not pushing to get rid of him because he is a contributing role player. But if he was included in a trade deal that brought us back a second line caliber of player, I would be receptive to that type of deal.

One person to watch is Tuch. If he decides not to sign another contract this season it will be very troubling. It will let everyone know that he is riding out his contract and considering better options.

Even in the best run franchises, the hockey people are going to make misjudgments on personnel decisions. It's the nature of the business. In the end, it's the body of work. As you point out, squandering a first round pick on Lehner, a player who turned out to be very troubled, was one of the big miscalculations. Murray was good at blustering but wasn't too adept at doing the day-to-day work required to build a successful franchise.

Your last paragraph's point that this fervent market has been squandered is what has been so galling about the Pegula ownership. As an out-of-towner, I watched a Buffalo Bandit game on TV. The arena was filled to capacity and the fans were rocking the place. They were having a marvelous time. I said to myself that if Pegula was wiser in how he managed the hockey franchise, the building would be filled on a regular basis. It's really embarrassing to see the Toronto fans take over the arena when they play us in Buffalo. The irony is that if the owner knew what he was doing, he would be making money instead of worrying about losing money. He's a good example of being penny-wise and dollar foolish. It need not be that way.

The difference is that when Toronto got Matthews they were more successful in adding talent around him. After the Sabres got Eichel they were not very successful in bringing in enough support players to maximize his talents. And the same roster building failures can be applied after using a high draft picks to acquire Dahlin and Reinhart. The Sabres squandered the significant assets they had on hand.

Yes. That's exactly where we are at. We are on an icy and snow filled road without snow tires. Slippery and dicey situation that calls for luck beyond one's control.

Do you really think that I’m unaware of the limitations of KA? Have you read my posts about his lack of ability as a GM and his less than mediocre performance during his tenure? You may expect him to act beyond his ability but I don’t.

You don’t believe that it is true and an inhibiting factor in pursuing higher level players?

KA is the GM. Did you expect boldness and creativity from him?