Archie Lee

Yeah, we need to find the next best coach that has ever lived to beat arguably the current best coach who has ever lived.

They had what seemed like a normal 3 game setback, losing 1-0 to Minnesota, 4-3 in OT to Vancouver and 3-0 to the Islanders. Normal for the last 2 years anyway. Then the Colorado game. Then the press conference. Then the Pegula visit. In hindsight, it was rather quaint how upset we were after the Colorado game. As though things could not have gotten worse from there.

There are fewer than 10 NHL teams that have 3 centres producing more points than McLeod. I don’t think he is close to a write-off. He’s pretty much what you want in a 3rd line centre.

Not that The Athletic's rankings are the be all and end all, but if you accept that they have some merit and you believe in the general idea that it is good to accumulate top players, then getting Pettersson for some combination of 3-4 assets that don't include Dahlin, Thompson, Tuch and Power, is probably a sound decision. Pettersson would be our top player (according to the Athletic's rankings) with the four Sabres I list also making the top 120. Pettersson gives me some cause for worry. Also, I don't like the idea of Adams making a big trade. In a vacuum though, parting with Cozens, Byram, and one of Benson, Quinn, or Peterka, for Pettersson, would likely be viewed as a deal that makes us a better team. This would be particularly so, if it is not the only move and steps are taken to: - get Dahlin and Power the right partners - make a decision on Samuelsson and his contract - keep Zucker and Greenway or add similar players in their place - address the back-up goalie situation - address the coaching staff The problem I have, is the more you consider all of the additional moves that need to be made, the more obvious it becomes that we just don't have a GM who is up to it. So it ends up being the addition of an $11.6 million player with some questionable commitment, to an environment that is rather soul-sucking. Not a great combo.

True. But we had Pegula, Adams, Granato and when we decided to make a coaching change we went for the easy nostalgia hire over an actual search. At the time of the Eichel trade, Vegas had Foley, McPhee, McCrimmon and DeBoer, and when they decided on a coaching change they went out and got Bruce Cassidy. Pettersson would not be coming to anything that resembles a Vegas environment.

On balance, I agree. I would prefer the Sabres move out a couple of young roster players for veterans more ready to win now, and keep their top pick. The challenge is: which young roster players. Kulich has moved himself to the front of the line in value amongst our under 23 forwards, I think. He looks like a centre. Pettersson/Kulich might be a legit one/two centre punch, with McLeod, Krebs, Kozak, Helenius being pretty solid organizational depth.

I’m torn. On the one hand, a big change is needed. On the other hand, I really don’t want Adams to be the architect. I just think he needs to be removed from his GM role and if he makes a Pettersson trade it likely signifies that he and Ruff will be back next year. I think the evidence is now overwhelming that both are not currently good at their jobs. If I had my choice between the two of them being involved in big roster moves or a different GM and head coach overseeing significant but quite a bit more subtle changes, I would choose the latter and it’s not close. On Pettersson’s value. It’s tricky. Obviously he has been a star player. He has high draft pedigree and is still young. He’s a real centre and is quite good/responsible defensively, to go along with 80-90 point potential. But, his offence has declined 2 years in a row. His contract is huge. Fair or unfair, there are questions re: his commitment. There are enough negatives that there should be some drag on his value.

Because there are a lot of players in the NHL aside from Ehlers and Necas. Because we have been able to convince lots of players to take Sabre money.

I think there is zero evidence to support the conclusion in your last sentence.

Yeah, I don’t know what to say. He looked so tentative. Such an obvious spot where he was the first forechecker and needed to be on top of the d-man. So often this team (this isn’t on just Quinn obviously), just fails to do the fundamental things that are part of winning.

If you have the game recorded, watch our dump-in with around a minute left just before the Oilers miss the empty net goal. Watch the effort Quinn gives on the dump in. It’s something.

Where this argument falls apart I think, is that there are lots of good NHL players who don’t have trade protection. Also, there are lots who will sign with the Sabres as UFAs (in my opinion). Adams traded for Tuch, Greenway, McLeod and has signed Clifton and Zucker as UFAs. Maybe these aren’t star players, but they are solid to good players all of whom played playoff games before coming to the Sabres. Had Adams made 3-4 additional moves for players in this category between June 2023 and August 2024, we would be in a different place in my view. If Adams can’t give money away, it is a problem of his own making. He waited too long to make meaningful moves and the team has regressed back to where it was when he fired Krueger.

Here is something that people might find interesting re: who Power and Byram get paired with. This is according to Dobber Line Combinations. Byram’s primary even strength partner this year is Dahlin at 442 minutes. Second for Byram is Power at 221 minutes. Power’s most common partner? Byram. That’s how we treat our 21 year old 1st OA. That’s how we protect our young kids. Power’s partner is an afterthought. He has never had a partner.

I think there was an obvious pivot point for Adams and the franchise and that was the summer of 2023. Whether "the plan" to that point had been successful due to smart decisions or luck, it is nonetheless the case that they did manage to get to 91 points and play better than Deluca .500 hockey. Any culture of winning that had developed, though, was first stunted by Adams doing next to nothing in the summer of 2023, and then obliterated by him rolling back the same core of young players in the summer of 2024, to inhabit the most important roles on the team. Adams either outright misjudged the skill and readiness of his young talent, or he failed to create the proper environment for continued growth (or both). Regardless, the level of failure is enormous.

The team needs a culture change. The little play within the play that is emblematic of the Sabres occurred with just under 4 minutes to go. The Sabres are down 1 and on the PP. The puck is in Calgary’s end and squirts up the wall to Wolf’s right. Thompson and Pelletier have a brief puck battle. Thompson chooses the wrong side of the puck and makes no attempt to utilize his 7” and 40lb size advantage and is easily outmuscled for the puck and Pelletier clears it down the ice. Again and again we lose these small battles that make a difference in games. I don’t know the answer. I don’t want a tear down. There is no player that I wouldn’t consider dealing in a hockey trade, but moving any youngish established player (Dahlin, Thompson, Tuch, etc) for futures would be beyond crazy. Ruff is not the answer. The mistakes we saw from Dahlin, Thompson, and Power tonight, were the kind of mistakes that we did see from Eichel and Reinhart when they were here. Every player makes mistakes, but we do not seem to be able to bring in the right coach to establish that such mistakes are not acceptable. Early in Cassidy’s time in Vegas, he called out Eichel for poor efforts. Adams can’t return. A new GM has to get a chance to establish a new culture with new coaches and some strategic roster moves. If Adams is back then there is no reason to expect anything but a minor variation on what we have seen this season.

The Sabres are getting good offensive value out of their top 3 d-men. There are 3 teams in the league, Colorado, Columbus, and Vegas, whose top 3 scoring D have combined to produce more points this year than Dahlin, Byram, Power. I think you can keep all 3. I think we need to pair one of Byram or Power with Dahlin and find a stable veteran D to pair with the other (Cody Ceci was available this off-season and, occasional mind-cramp aside, would have been a good partner for Power or Byram). Maybe Samuelsson can still be that guy. He has perhaps been our most disappointing player. I also think that our coaching, including head coaching, is below average. Dean Evason, with a couple of different assistants, would have been a better choice, after an actual coaching search.

I agree that we don't need a blockbuster trade. The reality though is that our young, under 24, players, would not return a star player. Power would be the exception I think. One for one, our young players would return the medium range veteran talents that you refer to. The Capitals are a veteran team with two players on their roster who were under 24 to start the season. There is no room to bolster your roster with medium range veterans, while also giving meaningful ice time to 6-7 forwards under 24.

I agree with you that Power is very likely to go on to go great things in the league. I also agree with an earlier comment you made, in a different thread I think, that rather than trade players like Cozens and Power we should try supporting them. But, to add impact players of a certain age, experience, and skill-set, means giving up assets that are valuable. We are not likely to acquire an impact veteran player without trading one or two players from our highest end of young assets (Power, Cozens, Byram, Peterka, Benson, Quinn, Kulich, Helenius, 1st rd pick). There is no player in that group who I want to see go, and we all have our untouchables or prefer not to trade players. But in the right trade for the right veteran…

Sorry to have come across as taking issue with your post. I take no issue with it. I just disagree with your view that UPL has "tended to spit the bit" when challenged. I would argue that every effort was made to give the job to Levi last season and that the net was never UPL's until UPL won the job. I would argue that once he won the job, as a young goalie without a long-term contract, his position was always precarious. I would argue that the Sabres starting this past season by rotating UPL and Levi, made pretty clear that the organization still saw them as equals or close to equals. Your view is that UPL only started to play well this year when (because?) Levi played poorly. I don't see it that way. I think UPL is a young goalie who since getting to the NHL has been under constant pressure to win and keep a position (like probably all young NHL goalies). One might argue that there has not been "legitimate" competition for the starting position since UPL arrived in the NHL and that the only player to step up and take the starting role has been UPL.

I like Kulich and Kozak (and Krebs) and I am excited about their futures. So, I am not criticizing the original post or dismissing the notion that these players will potentially be important pieces going forward. I just think this is similar to what we did with Cozens when he was 19-21 (and Quinn, Peterka, Benson, Power, Levi). When a young player has a good game or does something well, we tend to project a near future where they continue to do that thing well and them building on it by improving in other areas. That next level of improvement doesn't always happen though, or it doesn't happen as quicky as hoped/needed, or the development isn't linear. I'm not advocating for the trade of any specific young player. However, unless we are prepared to be content with awaiting the year where through patience alone the team's combined level of talent, age, and experience, reaches a critical mass that pushes us into the playoffs, then some of these young guys need to be traded.

I think as general statements, all that you say here is fair and accurate. But, I also think it is a touch (just a touch) dismissive of how bad our environment is for goalies. Just take the end of last night’s game and the save that UPL had to make with 2 seconds left (on a scoring chance that never should have occurred). It’s fair to say that #1 goalies do make saves like that. Game to game though, you really can’t expect a goalie to continually bail you out. UPL, and Levi and Reimer, play in an NHL environment where the onslaught is coming at some point, or at multiple points, almost every game. That’s tough. And if you have a stretch where for any reason you aren’t at your best, the results are going to be bad.

We have some young centres who are better at face-offs than the Thompson/Cozens/Mitts trio. Krebs has been good through the year. McLeod also. Kulich’s % on the night and year is not great, but he won two important face-offs cleanly. Face-offs in general have been a rare area of improvement this year.

Went to bed after 2 and just finished watching P3. Kulich was fantastic. Not just in the goals but on the draw. Faceoffs matter when they matter and he won the faceoffs leading to goal 3 and leading to getting the puck out cleanly with seconds left (though we still gave up a scoring chance). Over the course of the season we are seeing young players take turns showing us what they might be. Nothing shocking about the fact they have not been able to sustain their higher levels of play. Factor in that there are so many young players on the team and it is not a surprise we are out of it again. Prepare for the spin that “We knew it was always a possibility it would be a tough year” and that “We need to remain patient and trust the process”.

I continue to find it incredible that it has just become an accepted part of the game that a stick is likely to break at an inopportune moment.

Agreed on Levi. I’m not out on him by any means. There is still some runway. I hope he goes back to Rochester and takes them on a long playoff run. In the off-season, hopefully a new GM gets a chance to objectively evaluate our goalie depth and make a determination on whether a vet needs to be brought in to challenge for one of the spots on the NHL roster. The environment in Buffalo has not been great for a goalie, let alone a young one. Right now, the goalie from our recent past that Levi most closely resembles (to me), is Carter Hutton. His size forces him to be active. Being active can take him out of position. As you state, traffic pushes him deep, makes him small and susceptible to screens and deflections. I’m not sure he has the raw athleticism of a Saros, that will allow him to overcome this. I think he plays in the NHL. I don’t think he is the answer as a longterm #1.