Per Friedman The Sabres are Open For Business

[Curt]

1 minute ago, sweetlou said:

How are they different? They both see the ice well and make good passes.  Both play better on PP because they have more space and are not pressured.  They both lack any type of board game or physical toughness. Seems like the same type of player to me!!

I think Reinhart is a much better player at ES.  Better passer, better decisions with the puck, better on the boards, better in front of the net.  I think Reinhart does a lot of things well at ES, while I don’t think Olofsson really does anything above average there and should be in the bottom 6.

Reinhart is good on the PP too, though Olofsson is probably more dangerous.  Their skill sets on the PP are totally different.

[carpandean]

I hope KA is open to trading just about anyone, but I hope he hasn't decided that he has to trade anyone (other than expiring contracts.)  We cannot afford O'Reilly-type "I have to take the best offer that I get" trades, especially for someone like Reinhart.  Decide what you need to get back, and then take the best offer that is more than that.  If there isn't one, then don't trade him.

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, sweetlou said:

Olofsson and Reinhart are the same type of players.  They are smart with the puck, score on PP but don't offer much else on 5 on 5 hockey and do not play a gritty game.  Out of these two players whichever one gets you the best return gets moved.

Haha what? Lol no honestly what the *****? 

I want you to go look up even strength scoring for Reinhart and Olofsson then come back. 

[Thorny]

6 hours ago, steveoath said:

Problem with all this speculating is who is going to take our crap? We are the worst team in the league. 

One thing people discount is the likelihood of other teams to account for a “Sabres tax” on players ie - view them as likely to look much improved in an upgraded environment 

3 hours ago, Curt said:

All Reinhart has to do is go to arbitration this offseason, take the one year deal for however much, then he is a UFA after next season.

We should have locked him up so long ago. 

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, sweetlou said:

How are they different? They both see the ice well and make good passes.  Both play better on PP because they have more space and are not pressured.  They both lack any type of board game or physical toughness. Seems like the same type of player to me!!

They aren't but like other posters here, you made up your opinion on Sam and evidence won't change that. 

Olofsson has 10 even strength goals in his career over the last 2 years. 

Reinhart has 4 this year and 17 last year. 

But they are the same player? That's just flat out wrong. 

[triumph_communes]

Roster is mostly fine change coaches 

[mjd1001]

If its true, it doesn't surprise me about Reinhart...

-He is a restricted FA again. Maybe part of the reason he didn't sign a longer term deal is HE didn't want to commit here for long term. Remember, hes been with this organization for longer than Jack...hes now in the prime is his career and hasn't even sniffed a single playoff game.

-We have always heard rumblings that he would prefer to play someplace out west, closer to 'home'.  Doesn't he still live in Western Canada in the offseason?

I can picture this as a situation where recently, he had one of those 'conversations' with Adams saying he'd be OK with being dealt...maybe even subtly ask for it. Not a trade demand, nothing public, but something where he put it out there to Sabres management that hes ready to move on.

 

Anyway, I'm fine with this. I think this roster is vastly overrated in terms of talent. Too many people have taken a players 'best' season and projected it to what they should be every year....or are holding too much stock in their draft status.

The talent on this team is what it is....many of these players have been through a few coaches on this team, a few systems...and after years we see the core of this team just isn't that great.  The roster needs an overhaul if you want to be a top 10 team. This roster won't cut it.

Edited March 7, 2021 by mjd1001

[Derrico]

8 hours ago, jahnyc said:

Are Eichel and Reinhart still close friends?  If yes, and you trade Reinhart, are the Sabres then prepared to trade Eichel after the season, because you would have to expect that he will be even unhappier than he already is with the current state of the team.  I understand that Eichel does not make decisions for the team as to who to trade or keep, but trading Reinhart would have to be just another thing to push him to want to leave the Sabres.

I’m done coddling players.  I remember skinner having that big year and we just had to sign him long term to show Eichel we’re serious about winning.  I still love Eichel and this team will go from bad to a disaster without him but it’s bad for the overall franchise to put any player above what’s best for the team.

Also, can our next coach actually be a hockey coach and not a ***** soccer coach?!  I would particularly like one who wants to coach his team during games.

Also, while I’m here, when there is an OBVIOUS weakness like goaltending this year and 2C last summer could it actually get addressed?  I’m not talking with a jimmy vesey we can convert to C or a Hutton got his eyes fixed prayer.  I’m talking about being a big boy organization and making a substantial move to address the obvious weakness.  Real teams do these things all of the time.  So can you.  
 

Very last thing I promise.  You tell us you’re paying to staff an analytics department.  Either listen to what they are saying or if you are then you need a new analytics department.  Some random Sabrespacer with a ridiculous name like Liger should not be 100 times smarter than your entire analytics department!!  In a salary cap era it is nothing short of an embarrassing failure to be outside of the playoffs for this long and still be so far away.  

[3putt]

I realize that message boards are for ranting and venting, but looking at the situation strategically, the last thing the Sabres need is a firesale.  Why? The people doing the selling are not competent to execute it. Until the Pegulas do something they have never done in their history, admit they are not competent, then you are simply resetting the cycle on the washer.  Until they create a structure where they have no say over any decision other than whether they wish to continue to own the asset, the team is doomed to repeat its mistakes.  They have 2 possibly 3 of the toughest things to acquire in building a quality team. A #1 center, a#1 d and a possibly 1a or b center (possibly because we have not seen Cozens at C).  The goaltending has been an issue since Miller left but you can buy your way out of the problem. You can’t buy your way out of Okposo Skinner and if they sign Hall, Hall, who looks like he is headed down that path.  

Anything done without an admission of fault by the Pegulas, and a willingness to step aside and let amMike Gillis or Rutherford have total control, will simply end up the same way. In 3 years most hear will want to run Cozens out of town because he wasn’t the answer like they do Jack and Sam. Or Quinn or Peterka fill in the blank.  They will say they are stained with losing and need to be exorcized, when the only two people who have been here for the full run of futility are Terry and Kim Pegula.  
 

And I will preempt the Bills comparison. Remember who put the list that included McDermott together? Doug Whaley. Someone with league insight and history. That McDermott wanted his own GM and convinced TP and KP is a nice story, that they may actually believe, and may actually be true, but it wouldn’t have happened without someone with experience and knowledge particular to the endeavor initiating it. They got lucky no doubt but it started with someone who had knowledge they do not. It also happened in a league environment where contract mistakes can be easily rectified with waiver. That is not how it works in the NHL.  And that simple, but major difference, along with no guarantee of tv revenue makes running a successful NHL beyond the purview of most owners.  To be successful, they need people who understand the dna of the league better than they do.  
 

They have had 10 years, and we are no farther ahead, and on face woefully behind, any semblance that the Sabres only reason for existence is to win the Stanley Cup. Step one in any crisis is to admit you have a problem. I have not seen any indication the Pegulas see that they are the problem.  I hope they don’t compound that by letting their latest intuition, hiring a futbol executive to coach and a junior development coach to manage, further erode any possibility that a qualified senior executive team would sign on after gutting a talent pool that simply needs the right leadership.  Players play. Coaches coach. Managers manage. Owners own. The players didn’t sign Cody Eakin. The player’s had no ability to ***** can Hutton and get a legitimate NHL goaltender. The players didn’t load up a team with too many people of the same handedness on w and d, nor did they hire a guy who needs to hire others to fill out the chalkboard in the final 2 minutes of a game.
 

The Pegulas and their chosen did.

[Thorny]

If they trade Sam, I sure hope they are keeping an eye on the right wing. What’s the plan right now, Cozens stays at RW going forward, and Quinn? 

2 minutes ago, 3putt said:

I realize that message boards are for ranting and venting, but looking at the situation strategically, the last thing the Sabres need is a firesale.  Why? The people doing the selling are not competent to execute it. Until the Pegulas do something they have never done in their history, admit they are not competent, then you are simply resetting the cycle on the washer.  Until they create a structure where they have no say over any decision other than whether they wish to continue to own the asset, the team is doomed to repeat its mistakes.  They have 2 possibly 3 of the toughest things to acquire in building a quality team. A #1 center, a#1 d and a possibly 1a or b center (possibly because we have not seen Cozens at C).  The goaltending has been an issue since Miller left but you can buy your way out of the problem. You can’t buy your way out of Okposo Skinner and if they sign Hall, Hall, who looks like he is headed down that path.  

Anything done without an admission of fault by the Pegulas, and a willingness to step aside and let amMike Gillis or Rutherford have total control, will simply end up the same way. In 3 years most hear will want to run Cozens out of town because he wasn’t the answer like they do Jack and Sam. Or Quinn or Peterka fill in the blank.  They will say they are stained with losing and need to be exorcized, when the only two people who have been here for the full run of futility are Terry and Kim Pegula.  
 

And I will preempt the Bills comparison. Remember who put the list that included McDermott together? Doug Whaley. Someone with league insight and history. That McDermott wanted his own GM and convinced TP and KP is a nice story, that they may actually believe, and may actually be true, but it wouldn’t have happened without someone with experience and knowledge particular to the endeavor initiating it. They got lucky no doubt but it started with someone who had knowledge they do not. It also happened in a league environment where contract mistakes can be easily rectified with waiver. That is not how it works in the NHL.  And that simple, but major difference, along with no guarantee of tv revenue makes running a successful NHL beyond the purview of most owners.  To be successful, they need people who understand the dna of the league better than they do.  
 

They have had 10 years, and we are no farther ahead, and on face woefully behind, any semblance that the Sabres only reason for existence is to win the Stanley Cup. Step one in any crisis is to admit you have a problem. I have not seen any indication the Pegulas see that they are the problem.  I hope they don’t compound that by letting their latest intuition, hiring a futbol executive to coach and a junior development coach to manage, further erode any possibility that a qualified senior executive team would sign on after gutting a talent pool that simply needs the right leadership.  Players play. Coaches coach. Managers manage. Owners own. The players didn’t sign Cody Eakin. The player’s had no ability to ***** can Hutton and get a legitimate NHL goaltender. The players didn’t load up a team with too many people of the same handedness on w and d, nor did they hire a guy who needs to hire others to fill out the chalkboard in the final 2 minutes of a game.
 

The Pegulas and their chosen did.

We’d be selling assets we’ve made to look their worst selves due to incompetent coaching and management, and the incompetent management/ownership would be doing the selling 

Tread carefully 

[Scottysabres]

Just now, Thorny said:

If they trade Sam, I sure hope they are keeping an eye on the right wing. What’s the plan right now, Cozens stays at RW going forward, and Quinn? 

I'd like quality coming back. Any identified players that a 1 for 1 for Reinhart.

Eichel is a different story I'd surmise. 1 for 1 is a tough het for him I'm guessing.

[mjd1001]

3 minutes ago, Scottysabres said:

I'd like quality coming back. Any identified players that a 1 for 1 for Reinhart.

Eichel is a different story I'd surmise. 1 for 1 is a tough het for him I'm guessing.

The thing is..if Sam wants to go, you may not get what you want for him.

I said in an earlier thread, he is a restricted FA, but if the guy wants to go out west and really thinks his career is wasting away here...there is a very good chance he has privately told Adams he wants out...and in the offseason resigning him here is going to be a tough sell. 

If that is the case (and, my opinioin, it seems very logical) you might just be looking for a 'good enough' trade because you don't have many other options.

[LabattBlue]

So I just took a peek at the Sabres front office staff. 
 

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/team/staff

 

Who is it that is helping Adams at the NHL level?  No assistant GM & no one with the title of pro/nhl scout...where is the director of pro personnel?

 

For fans who want HC and player changes ASAP, be very scared. There is only  one position that everyone should get behind and that is an experienced PoHO.  Until then, this FO scares the heck out of me.  I’ve said it before, except for dumping the pending UFA’s at the TDL, I want ZERO ACTIVITY from them. 

Edited March 7, 2021 by LabattBlue

[Thorny]

If we trade Eichel, our best hope for C is Cozens (if we move him there) who's yet to play an NHL game at C, with almost literally nothing after that without getting into the Staals, Eakins of the current roster. Who I'm pretty sure we don't want a part of going forward. Who's the future 2C? And imagine if Cozens stays at wing. 

If we trade Reinhart, our best hope for RW going forward is Cozens again, if he stays there. And if he moves to C, we have little at RW. KO? Quinn?

This just illustrates the fact that any trade of Eichel or Reinhart certainly has to have a large current roster component, we can't trade these guys for prospects and picks. 

Edited March 7, 2021 by Thorny

[mjd1001]

31 minutes ago, Derrico said:

Also, can our next coach actually be a hockey coach and not a ***** soccer coach?!  I would particularly like one who wants to coach his team during games.

 

Where does this come from? Why do people keep repeating it, and can everyone stop saying it because it is untrue.

-Ralph played hundreds of hockey games in Europe when he was younger, and well as many in international competition.

-He was a HOCKEY coach in Europe for most of the 1990s (at least 5 seasons).

-From 1998 to about 2010, he was the head coach of the Swiss national team(hockey), many international competitions including the olympics. 

-He was a scout in the NHL, he was an assistant coach in the NHL, he was a head coach for the Oilers in the NHL.

-He was an advisor/consultant for Canadian Hockey helping them with their 2014 Olympic hockey team.

-He coached Team Europe in the NHL/Hockey world cup.

-He was an executive for a couple years, not a coach, but an EXECUTIVE for a soccer club.

So, how is he even close to a soccer coach?  He played hundred of hockey games as a player, he has been an NHL scout, and NHL assistant coach, and an NHL head coach (combined for many years and hundreds of games).  He coached hundreds of games in the European hockey league, and has been a coach of hockey for years and years in international competition.

You may not like him as the Sabres coach, but he has spent decades and hundreds (if not well over a thousand) games playing, scouting, and coaching hockey at a high level..and to my knowledge ZERO as a coach in soccer.

Edited March 7, 2021 by mjd1001

[Doohickie]

20 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Where does this come from?

Well for starters, my eyes tell me he is clearly not a hockey coach.

[Thorny]

30 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Where does this come from? Why do people keep repeating it, and can everyone stop saying it because it is untrue.

-Ralph played hundreds of hockey games in Europe when he was younger, and well as many in international competition.

-He was a HOCKEY coach in Europe for most of the 1990s (at least 5 seasons).

-From 1998 to about 2010, he was the head coach of the Swiss national team(hockey), many international competitions including the olympics. 

-He was a scout in the NHL, he was an assistant coach in the NHL, he was a head coach for the Oilers in the NHL.

-He was an advisor/consultant for Canadian Hockey helping them with their 2014 Olympic hockey team.

-He coached Team Europe in the NHL/Hockey world cup.

-He was an executive for a couple years, not a coach, but an EXECUTIVE for a soccer club.

So, how is he even close to a soccer coach?  He played hundred of hockey games as a player, he has been an NHL scout, and NHL assistant coach, and an NHL head coach (combined for many years and hundreds of games).  He coached hundreds of games in the European hockey league, and has been a coach of hockey for years and years in international competition.

You may not like him as the Sabres coach, but he has spent decades and hundreds (if not well over a thousand) games playing, scouting, and coaching hockey at a high level..and to my knowledge ZERO as a coach in soccer.

You are correct.

But he’s not an NHL coach, I know that, at least 

[Doohickie]

I guess it's time to trot this nugget out, eh?  And a whole month before the trade deadline.

 

[Thorny]

No meaningful games in March in a season that started in January lol

[Curt]

49 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Well for starters, my eyes tell me he is clearly not a hockey coach.

 

39 minutes ago, Thorny said:

You are correct.

But he’s not an NHL coach, I know that, at least 

While you guys are not wrong.  Calling him a soccer coach is just a lazy, tired insult that’s gotten very old for me to read as well.  I mean, there are so many basic, legitimate criticisms of Krueger to present, that no one should need to be making silly statements like that.

[Thorny]

6 minutes ago, Curt said:

 

While you guys are not wrong.  Calling him a soccer coach is just a lazy, tired insult that’s gotten very old for me to read as well.  I mean, there are so many basic, legitimate criticisms of Krueger to present, that no one should need to be making silly statements like that.

Agree 

[Marvin]

9 hours ago, Andrew Amerk said:

I don’t think you know how the expansion draft works. 

Yes, I do.  We will certainly lose 1 of those players.  I just wanted to know what out base is before anything happens this season.

If I were GMKA, I would seriously consider protecting only 8 skaters off that list: Skinner, Eichel, Reinhart, Dahlin, Borgen, Bryson, and two of Jokiharu, Ristolainen or Olofsson.  Thank God Cozens is exempt.

[Doohickie]

21 minutes ago, Curt said:

 

While you guys are not wrong.  Calling him a soccer coach is just a lazy, tired insult that’s gotten very old for me to read as well.  I mean, there are so many basic, legitimate criticisms of Krueger to present, that no one should need to be making silly statements like that.

I don't call him a soccer coach.

[bunomatic]

26 minutes ago, Curt said:

 

While you guys are not wrong.  Calling him a soccer coach is just a lazy, tired insult that’s gotten very old for me to read as well.  I mean, there are so many basic, legitimate criticisms of Krueger to present, that no one should need to be making silly statements like that.

I like to call him ‘ not exactly a hockey coach ‘

[Kruppstahl]

3 hours ago, Curt said:

Whoa, I think this is flat out wrong.  Olofsson and Reinhart are not at all the same type of player.

Olofsson and Reinhart are not the same player at all.

Olofsson is lost 5 on 5 and is a PP specialist; he has a great shot and great release and not much else.  I'd have him on 3rd or 4th line and on the first PP unit.  

Reinhart is a complete 5 on 5 guy who has proven he can produce points with Eichel, or away from Eichel.

If only he could drive his own line, which has shown he can't do.  His defense isn't strong enough to play the center position either.  

Both are finesse guys, but Reinhart gets his points whereas Olofsson only gets goals (now and again) on the PP.