Around the NHL 2021-22

[Norcal]

3 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Darnell Nurse was drafted in 2013 and will be 27 in a couple weeks. He is in his 7th season. 

He's fully developed and he was 23 the last time he topped 40 points. 

He's their Risto

Wow, he got old fast lol

Ok, he's their Risto 

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

 

[Taro T]

28 minutes ago, \GoBillsInDallas/ said:

 

Stealing a page from the Calgary Hitmen.

More teams should do so.  Seems like a lot of fun for a great cause.

[Doohickie]

On 1/21/2022 at 6:24 AM, Buffalonill said:

 They spoiled ***** when they tried  signing hall  long term instead of Sam

The Sabres never tried to sign Hall to a long term contract.  (Thank God.)

[Doohickie]

On 1/21/2022 at 9:36 AM, Brawndo said:

Reinhart should have been signed long term when His ELC was done.

Adams was already moving forward from Rotten Core v2.0.  The rest of the world didn't know that yet.

On 1/21/2022 at 12:21 PM, Buffalonill said:

You honestly think if hall didn't have a good year they wouldn't have chosen hall over sam ?

See my last post.  Neither one of them was coming back.

[Doohickie]

On 1/21/2022 at 1:42 PM, LGR4GM said:

 

Who wants to tell them? 

 

"A first and other pieces isn't completely out of the question for him."  That's rich.  Are there any (other) GMs that would be stupid enough to do that?

[LGR4GM]

The 2019 2oa pick is currently behind the 2019 8oa pick in points and goals

[Brawndo]

9 minutes ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Adams was already moving forward from Rotten Core v2.0.  The rest of the world didn't know that yet.

See my last post.  Neither one of them was coming back.

Reinhart was signed to a two year bridge deal in September 2018 after His ELC expired when Botterill was GM

 

If Adams is that much of a Visionary, He should play the lottery 

[Brawndo]

5 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

The 2019 2oa pick is currently behind the 2019 7oa pick in points and goals

To further this, the 7th OA in 2019 has five less points than the 2019 2nd OA and 2020 1st OA combined,

[Doohickie]

On 1/21/2022 at 5:04 PM, thewookie1 said:

I’ll be honest, I think the Oilers have it worse than us. We have little expectations and feel generally disappointed most seasons with lingering hope for the future. Oilers fans are convinced they are Cup contenders every year only to end up being inept and scrambling. I guess it more of a continuous gut punch in the dark versus Buffalo’s staring down of the punch.

I feel exactly the same way.  We're at least a year ahead of them in our respective re-rebuilds.

[Doohickie]

On 1/21/2022 at 7:35 PM, bunomatic said:

Getting a guilty pleasure reading posts from Sabres fans where they point the finger at the craptastic season the Oilers are having. Easing the pain of being a fan of an equally inept organization. Keep it coming boys. 

What part of Misery Loves Company don't you get?

[bunomatic]

1 minute ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

What part of Misery Loves Company don't you get?

I get it. Thats why I pointed it out.

[LGR4GM]

18 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Reinhart was signed to a two year bridge deal in September 2018 after His ELC expired when Botterill was GM

 

If Adams is that much of a Visionary, He should play the lottery 

I think Adams was worried he needed to rebuild and jettison the core but also hoped he could fix it. The 18 game losing streak sank that. I read him in the summer of 2020 being unsure if what he has would work. 

[Doohickie]

57 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Reinhart was signed to a two year bridge deal in September 2018 after His ELC expired when Botterill was GM

If Adams is that much of a Visionary, He should play the lottery 

Adams signed him to a one-year contract in 2020.  That's what I'm talking about.

39 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I think Adams was worried he needed to rebuild and jettison the core but also hoped he could fix it. The 18 game losing streak sank that. I read him in the summer of 2020 being unsure if what he has would work. 

I think Adams wanted to rebuild and jettison the core but the Pegulas disagreed.  So they came up with a one-year plan both sides could agree to and the losing streak proved to the Pegulas that Adams was right.

[Brawndo]

4 hours ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Adams signed him to a one-year contract in 2020.  That's what I'm talking about.

I think Adams wanted to rebuild and jettison the core but the Pegulas disagreed.  So they came up with a one-year plan both sides could agree to and the losing streak proved to the Pegulas that Adams was right.

The Original Post you initially responded to was about the fact Botterill should have signed Samson to a long term deal after His ELC expired. 
 

Like you mentioned, Samson was done with the Sabres after the His 2 year deal expired  and was counting the days until UFA. 

[Doohickie]

4 hours ago, Brawndo said:

The Original Post you initially responded to was about the fact Botterill should have signed Samson to a long term deal

I missed that.

[Broken Ankles]

  Sam Carrick gets a nice shot on Nick.  This whole thing started when Foligno intimidated or attempted to intimidate Drysdale.  At the next commercial break Gibson gave Nick a waffle to the mouth followed by Getz getting engaged.  Anaheim has an edge to them. 
 

 I had to ask myself how did the Bruins sign Rask for $1m annually.  Then I checked out his 4 starts.  Not good. A sv% of .857 and GAA of 3.87.  Before tonight.  Both will get worse after a 5-3 loss. 

[PerreaultForever]

On 1/23/2022 at 10:41 AM, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Adams signed him to a one-year contract in 2020.  That's what I'm talking about.

I think Adams wanted to rebuild and jettison the core but the Pegulas disagreed.  So they came up with a one-year plan both sides could agree to and the losing streak proved to the Pegulas that Adams was right.

I saw it as more of a hail mary. Skinner wasn't getting it done again so one last chance to give Eichel a big name scoring power forward type. But who knows, it was a horrible decision whatever it was,

Speaking of Hall (sort of) Rask is really stinking it up in Boston since his return. He's been horrible, Dell like. 

Anaheim is legit. Doing a rebuild right. 

[Doohickie]

43 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

I saw it as more of a hail mary.

I kind of feel like it went down like this:

KA:  This Eichel build just isn't working.  Let's tear it down and do it right.

TPeg:  But Eichel is the Golden Goose!  And we just brought in a coach he likes!

KA:  Okay, we'll throw everything at him that we can get and see how it works out.

later....

TPeg:  Uh... this isn't working.

KA:  Okay, rebuild it is!

...but it was what Adams wanted all along.  I think he honestly tried to give TPeg and Krueger what they wanted, but it just.... wasn't good.  And when he came in he already had big ideas about a rebuild.  He'd been around the organization in various capacities and no doubt knew what the dressing room was like.  He knew Eichel wasn't the answer, that Reino was frustrated, that Risto was entertaining but ineffective.

The difference between Adams and previous GMs is that the Pegulas knew Adams.  They trusted him.  And he knows how to listen to them and get them to where he wants them to be.  I really think he proposed the rebuild when he arrived but when it was nixed he didn't fight them, he didn't submarine their directions.  He gave them what they wanted and they saw for themselves that a new direction was needed.

I could be totally wrong about this, but it's the narrative that's entrenched itself in my head and I have yet to see evidence that contradicts this worldview.

So far I think KA has made one inexcusable error:  He trusted that Ullmark would stay.  He missed that big time.  With goalies in the pipeline he didn't want to give big money and term to Ullmark or any other goalie that would have made a difference this year.  He knows there will be cap issues by the end of Ullmark's contract and thinks he has goalies in the system that will assume that load by then. 

Many here disagree with that sentiment and I can't really argue.  We could be close to being a playoff team if we had a decent goalie.  On the other hand, if (once Linus was gone) a new goalie was brought in and was less than successful, it could have been a morale buster for the team... or something?  I don't know where Kevyn is on the goalie thing, other than he's trying to be patient. 

So he grabbed a couple of "Plan B" goalies in Dell and Anderson and that has sucked too.  But at least they weren't sold as playoff contention goalies and KA still has flexibility to improve the position this offseason (I hope).

The injury bug and the Covid uncertainties probably would have derailed the Sabres this year even if they had retained Ullmark.  It's been a rough season.  So maybe it was good that Adams didn't invest too much in goaltending this year?   I dunno.

He may be right about UPL, Portillo and now Levi.  But if he doesn't get us to them, he won't last long enough to see his build come to fruition.  So I think he's gotta get UPL some mentoring help next season.

Edited January 25, 2022 by The Ghost of Yuri

[PerreaultForever]

That could be right. It might have been simpler though, and somewhat influenced by the Bills.

Terry might have wanted to sign the big name (Hall) despite KA (possibly) advising against it. When it didn't work, TP might have finally thrown up his hands and said okay, try it your way, I give up.

See I think his mindset might finally have changed because of the Bills approach. TP was a big hockey fan, and I think had an idea in his mind of what he wanted, thought he knew best since he thought he understood hockey. For the Bills, he knew he had no idea about football so left that to the people he hired. The contrasting result has now changed his mind about hockey and we are now in a new era where he expects results but isn't interfering.

That's my hope anyway. 

[Dreams Burn Down]

7 hours ago, Broken Ankles said:

  Sam Carrick gets a nice shot on Nick.  This whole thing started when Foligno intimidated or attempted to intimidate Drysdale.  At the next commercial break Gibson gave Nick a waffle to the mouth followed by Getz getting engaged.  Anaheim has an edge to them. 
 

 I had to ask myself how did the Bruins sign Rask for $1m annually.  Then I checked out his 4 starts.  Not good. A sv% of .857 and GAA of 3.87.  Before tonight.  Both will get worse after a 5-3 loss. 

I'm not sure which is more impressive, Carrick's first right or Foligno getting right up from it.

[Doohickie]

6 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

That could be right. It might have been simpler though, and somewhat influenced by the Bills.

Terry might have wanted to sign the big name (Hall) despite KA (possibly) advising against it. When it didn't work, TP might have finally thrown up his hands and said okay, try it your way, I give up.

See I think his mindset might finally have changed because of the Bills approach. TP was a big hockey fan, and I think had an idea in his mind of what he wanted, thought he knew best since he thought he understood hockey. For the Bills, he knew he had no idea about football so left that to the people he hired. The contrasting result has now changed his mind about hockey and we are now in a new era where he expects results but isn't interfering.

That's my hope anyway. 

Pretty much the same.  I just (admittedly) filled in more backstory.

[PromoTheRobot]

Kraken AHL team jersey reveal in Palm Springs.

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/kraken/krakens-ahl-affiliate-in-palm-springs-eager-to-open-new-arena-begin-inaugural-season/

[inkman]

11 hours ago, Broken Ankles said:

  Sam Carrick gets a nice shot on Nick.  This whole thing started when Foligno intimidated or attempted to intimidate Drysdale.  At the next commercial break Gibson gave Nick a waffle to the mouth followed by Getz getting engaged.  Anaheim has an edge to them. 
 

 I had to ask myself how did the Bruins sign Rask for $1m annually.  Then I checked out his 4 starts.  Not good. A sv% of .857 and GAA of 3.87.  Before tonight.  Both will get worse after a 5-3 loss. 

Unfortunately, compared to the Sabres, almost every team has an edge to them. 

[Taro T]

18 hours ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

I kind of feel like it went down like this:

KA:  This Eichel build just isn't working.  Let's tear it down and do it right.

TPeg:  But Eichel is the Golden Goose!  And we just brought in a coach he likes!

KA:  Okay, we'll throw everything at him that we can get and see how it works out.

later....

TPeg:  Uh... this isn't working.

KA:  Okay, rebuild it is!

...but it was what Adams wanted all along.  I think he honestly tried to give TPeg and Krueger what they wanted, but it just.... wasn't good.  And when he came in he already had big ideas about a rebuild.  He'd been around the organization in various capacities and no doubt knew what the dressing room was like.  He knew Eichel wasn't the answer, that Reino was frustrated, that Risto was entertaining but ineffective.

The difference between Adams and previous GMs is that the Pegulas knew Adams.  They trusted him.  And he knows how to listen to them and get them to where he wants them to be.  I really think he proposed the rebuild when he arrived but when it was nixed he didn't fight them, he didn't submarine their directions.  He gave them what they wanted and they saw for themselves that a new direction was needed.

I could be totally wrong about this, but it's the narrative that's entrenched itself in my head and I have yet to see evidence that contradicts this worldview.

So far I think KA has made one inexcusable error:  He trusted that Ullmark would stay.  He missed that big time.  With goalies in the pipeline he didn't want to give big money and term to Ullmark or any other goalie that would have made a difference this year.  He knows there will be cap issues by the end of Ullmark's contract and thinks he has goalies in the system that will assume that load by then. 

Many here disagree with that sentiment and I can't really argue.  We could be close to being a playoff team if we had a decent goalie.  On the other hand, if (once Linus was gone) a new goalie was brought in and was less than successful, it could have been a morale buster for the team... or something?  I don't know where Kevyn is on the goalie thing, other than he's trying to be patient. 

So he grabbed a couple of "Plan B" goalies in Dell and Anderson and that has sucked too.  But at least they weren't sold as playoff contention goalies and KA still has flexibility to improve the position this offseason (I hope).

The injury bug and the Covid uncertainties probably would have derailed the Sabres this year even if they had retained Ullmark.  It's been a rough season.  So maybe it was good that Adams didn't invest too much in goaltending this year?   I dunno.

He may be right about UPL, Portillo and now Levi.  But if he doesn't get us to them, he won't last long enough to see his build come to fruition.  So I think he's gotta get UPL some mentoring help next season.

Umm, 1 minor quibble w/ your very interesting story.

By going into that season w/ only Hutton & Ullmark, he DID help submarine that season.  Personally, don't believe it was intentional.  He did come close to a deal for a goalie on at least 3 different fronts, so he did try.  But ultimately, he failed & between Eichel never being healthy & Ullmark breaking, not having another goalie ensured the team would sink to the bottom of the pool.