The Johnson watch has started

[Sabres Fan in NS]

I would have suspected that this thread was started by @inkman.

[Marvin]

Has there been any explanation for him not signing?

[Dr. Who]

52 minutes ago, Marvin said:

Has there been any explanation for him not signing?

I have not heard any, but he is entering Jack Eichel territory with me.

[PromoTheRobot]

3 hours ago, Marvin said:

Has there been any explanation for him not signing?

It's because he's a little...

[kas23]

15 hours ago, Dr. Who said:

I have not heard any, but he is entering Jack Eichel territory with me.

Coddling territory

[Brawndo]

16 hours ago, Marvin said:

Has there been any explanation for him not signing?

He does have one more season of eligibility left at Minnesota as the NCAA granted an extra season for athletes secondary to Covid. 
 

It is not lost on me that the Sabres announced the Novikov contract the same day that Logan Cooley decided to go back Minnesota. I wonder if Johnson was waiting from Cooley to decide and he is now going back as well. 
 

Another possibility is he is waiting to see if his Dad will be retained as an assistant by the Ducks New HC, with plans to sign there after August 15th if he does.

[Weave]

Dead to me.

[Pimlach]

18 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Ya, Nashville's an interesting one to watch. Trotz coming in, one would assume he will want to rebuild in that hard nosed work ethic mold he's always coached with but whether or not they are building or still tearing down is hard to say. They weren't that far off even with the tearing down so they might see themselves as just a few players away. idk. Will be interesting to see what they do. 

Trotz to Nashville.  Nashville will be back and they will be hard to play.  

It amazes me how out of touch Pegula and his GMs were with hiring head coaches.  Rolston, Nolan, Bylsma, Housley and Krueger - Epic bad choices.  Unfathomable that these were our HC's during the drought.  

[Pimlach]

15 minutes ago, Weave said:

Dead to me.

[Pimlach]

46 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

He does have one more season of eligibility left at Minnesota as the NCAA granted an extra season for athletes secondary to Covid. 
 

It is not lost on me that the Sabres announced the Novikov contract the same day that Logan Cooley decided to go back Minnesota. I wonder if Johnson was waiting from Cooley to decide and he is now going back as well. 
 

Another possibility is he is waiting to see if his Dad will be retained as an assistant by the Ducks New HC, with plans to sign there after August 15th if he does.

Two possibilities and two more reasons to turn the page on this guy.  

[DarthEbriate]

13 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Trotz to Nashville.  Nashville will be back and they will be hard to play.  

It amazes me how out of touch Pegula and his GMs were with hiring head coaches.  Rolston, Nolan, Bylsma, Housley and Krueger - Epic bad choices.  Unfathomable that these were our HC's during the drought.  

Only 2 of them are even defensible. Disco Dan had the Cup-pedigree with Pitt, and also had played for Anaheim under Babcock and would work the heavier style team GMTM was wanting. Housley was one of the hot assistants (based on NSH's D) leaguewide looking to make the jump that offseason and what better place than a team you played for? They even went out and added Montour for him -- Dahlin/Montour, Risto was still young then and maybe even salvageable, the D-pipeline looked good for that setup. Then, they went and Kruegered it.

I guess Nolan was defensible, too, as long as knew understood he was bantha fodder for the McEichel tank.

[Doohickie]

27 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Rolston, Nolan, Bylsma, Housley and Krueger - Epic bad choices.  Unfathomable that these were our HC's during the drought.  

Unfathomable?  More like, logical.  Of course we would have a playoff drought with that lot.

[The Jokeman]

28 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Trotz to Nashville.  Nashville will be back and they will be hard to play.  

It amazes me how out of touch Pegula and his GMs were with hiring head coaches.  Rolston, Nolan, Bylsma, Housley and Krueger - Epic bad choices.  Unfathomable that these were our HC's during the drought.  

Bylsma wasn't a bad coach IMHO, it's just GMTM failed to bring the right guys or just the combo of Eichel, O'Reilly and Kane was just a toxic group. Toss in Lehner was horrible in shoot offs for whatever odd reason. 

[Archie Lee]

17 hours ago, Marvin said:

Has there been any explanation for him not signing?

Thomas Vanek had the best speculative explanation I have heard.  He was on After the Whistle speaking on the subject a couple of weeks back.  Vanek pointed out that as Johnson becomes a UFA Aug 15th, he can wait and see how the draft and free agency period shakes out.  He basically has the luxury of waiting, scoping out the NHL landscape with regards to player depth and pick a place where he wants to go and where he has the best chance to be in the NHL this coming season.  I hadn't thought of this until I heard it from Vanek.  It makes sense.  If the Sabres trade for a #4 at the draft and sign a 6-7 in free agency, then Johnson is likely Rochester bound (indeed, the Sabres may already have advised him that their plan is for him to be with the Amerks).  There may be teams out there though, who advise Johnson he has a chance to be on the NHL roster and whose off-season defensive acquisitions/losses make clear that it is a legitimate possibility.  

[Marvin]

One problem besides the coaches was that the GMs failed to ice a complete NHL roster from 2013-2020.  First was the terrible Tank, where Ted Nolan had a roster where maybe half the forwards and half the defencemen belonged in the NHL.  The roster for Bylsma had some decent players, but the bottom third of the forwards and at least half the defence were at best suspect.  Housley famously had 2 lines and an over-supply of RHD with Dahlin and Ristolainen learning on the job.  Krueger had the best line-ups on paper, but he was the worst coach the Sabres have ever had, including Rolston.

Contrast the Tank teams to 2 seasons ago.  2 seasons ago, we had iced a team entirely with NHLers, albeit with a slew of 4th liners, 3rd pair defencemen, and roster filler when healthy.  That team built a foundation where the young players would not get continually overwhelmed and could grow.  Meanwhile, the Tank team traded away players who played too well.  The Tank team set the table for The Dismal Dozen by creating an acceptance of losing and the beginnings of the toxic atmosphere.

The coaching wasn't great, but the GMs failed at their jobs by icing teams where 1/3 - 1/2 of the roster got caved in shift after shift.

[Eleven]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

Trotz to Nashville.  Nashville will be back and they will be hard to play.  

It amazes me how out of touch Pegula and his GMs were with hiring head coaches.  Rolston, Nolan, Bylsma, Housley and Krueger - Epic bad choices.  Unfathomable that these were our HC's during the drought.  

 

1 hour ago, DarthEbriate said:

Only 2 of them are even defensible. Disco Dan had the Cup-pedigree with Pitt, and also had played for Anaheim under Babcock and would work the heavier style team GMTM was wanting. Housley was one of the hot assistants (based on NSH's D) leaguewide looking to make the jump that offseason and what better place than a team you played for? They even went out and added Montour for him -- Dahlin/Montour, Risto was still young then and maybe even salvageable, the D-pipeline looked good for that setup. Then, they went and Kruegered it.

I guess Nolan was defensible, too, as long as knew understood he was bantha fodder for the McEichel tank.

The clarity of hindsight is a wonderful thing...I don't remember too many people here being down on the Housley and Balsam hirings at the time.  Quite the opposite; people were excited. 

As for Johnson, I don't care whether he signs or not, but I do want him to make a decision now so that the Sabres can plan.  As I said a couple of months ago, the team should give him a deadline.

Edited May 22, 2023 by Eleven

[Dr. Who]

2 hours ago, Archie Lee said:

Thomas Vanek had the best speculative explanation I have heard.  He was on After the Whistle speaking on the subject a couple of weeks back.  Vanek pointed out that as Johnson becomes a UFA Aug 15th, he can wait and see how the draft and free agency period shakes out.  He basically has the luxury of waiting, scoping out the NHL landscape with regards to player depth and pick a place where he wants to go and where he has the best chance to be in the NHL this coming season.  I hadn't thought of this until I heard it from Vanek.  It makes sense.  If the Sabres trade for a #4 at the draft and sign a 6-7 in free agency, then Johnson is likely Rochester bound (indeed, the Sabres may already have advised him that their plan is for him to be with the Amerks).  There may be teams out there though, who advise Johnson he has a chance to be on the NHL roster and whose off-season defensive acquisitions/losses make clear that it is a legitimate possibility.  

That's plausible, but let's try this hypothetical: would you rather be playing in the NHL for a bad team that has an immediate opening or be first call up from the AHL for an up-and-coming team that drafted you? I can understand the desire for options, but KA has been patient and treated him well so far as I can tell. That also ought to count for something. TIe should go to the team that drafted you, but maybe that is an outlandish thought nowadays.

[kas23]

3 hours ago, Weave said:

Dead to me.

Pretty much. This guy could be battling with future teammates in helping the Amerks playoff run. Instead, he’s probably sulking somewhere. 

[Marvin]

1 hour ago, Eleven said:

 

The clarity of hindsight is a wonderful thing...I don't remember too many people here being down on the Housley and Balsam hirings at the time.  Quite the opposite; people were excited. 

As for Johnson, I don't care whether he signs or not, but I do want him to make a decision now so that the Sabres can plan.  As I said a couple of months ago, the team should give him a deadline.

I wasn't a regular on the board when Bylsma was hired.  I had read on Penguins boards how he stunted young players' development and was inhibiting Crosby's and Malkin's play.  So I was suspicious of his system's style for the job and his temperament with the young non-stars.  But he had won a Jack Adams award, so I was willing to give him a chance.  He fell to my lowest expectations.

Housley looked like the hot hire and he brought a much better system.  But I heard he had problems in the locker room.

[Quint]

3 hours ago, Archie Lee said:

Thomas Vanek had the best speculative explanation I have heard.  He was on After the Whistle speaking on the subject a couple of weeks back.  Vanek pointed out that as Johnson becomes a UFA Aug 15th, he can wait and see how the draft and free agency period shakes out.  He basically has the luxury of waiting, scoping out the NHL landscape with regards to player depth and pick a place where he wants to go and where he has the best chance to be in the NHL this coming season.  I hadn't thought of this until I heard it from Vanek.  It makes sense.  If the Sabres trade for a #4 at the draft and sign a 6-7 in free agency, then Johnson is likely Rochester bound (indeed, the Sabres may already have advised him that their plan is for him to be with the Amerks).  There may be teams out there though, who advise Johnson he has a chance to be on the NHL roster and whose off-season defensive acquisitions/losses make clear that it is a legitimate possibility.  

Vanek is very hockey smart. I heard him say he'd like to be a GM someday. Briere and Drury are GMS, why not Vanek? His troubles are behind him and he is now mature. Buffalo would be smart to hire him in some capacity.

[Pimlach]

3 hours ago, Eleven said:

 

The clarity of hindsight is a wonderful thing...I don't remember too many people here being down on the Housley and Balsam hirings at the time.  Quite the opposite; people were excited. 

As for Johnson, I don't care whether he signs or not, but I do want him to make a decision now so that the Sabres can plan.  As I said a couple of months ago, the team should give him a deadline.

I was very hopeful about Housley but a lot of fans here were not.  Disco Dan didn’t require great insight or hindsight to know there were reasons why a young SC winning coach was on the outs.   Of course maybe he does better with a championship ready cast like in Pittsburgh?   

If the people running the team had any actual insight we wouldn’t be talking about hindsight so much.    I expect the GM to know more than the fans.   

Johnson doesn’t need a deadline unless you want to send him away for sure.  I don’t see that Johnson’s signing should impact team planning.  Adam’s knows that he needs to improve the top 4.  Johnson is not going to be the guy to take the 4D spot from Jokiharu anytime soon.  Adam’s must make a move to bring in a veteran.  

If Johnson decides the Sabres are a good move for him there is a place in Rochester for him to start his professional career.  

Edited May 22, 2023 by Pimlach

[Doohickie]

3 hours ago, Dr. Who said:

That's plausible, but let's try this hypothetical: would you rather be playing in the NHL for a bad team that has an immediate opening or be first call up from the AHL for an up-and-coming team that drafted you?

The one with the bigger paycheck:  Bad team with immediate opening. 

2 hours ago, Marvin said:

I wasn't a regular on the board when Bylsma was hired. 

Are you saying you're regular now?

 

 

 

 

So the fiber is working, eh?

[Doohickie]

1 hour ago, Quint said:

Vanek is very hockey smart. I heard him say he'd like to be a GM someday. Briere and Drury are GMS, why not Vanek? His troubles are behind him and he is now mature. Buffalo would be smart to hire him in some capacity.

I was with you until the last sentence.

[Doohickie]

4 hours ago, Eleven said:

As for Johnson, I don't care whether he signs or not, but I do want him to make a decision now so that the Sabres can plan.

They can plan just fine.  Assume he's not going to be part of the Sabres org going forward.  There.  Done.

If they make a trade for a 4D, how would the presence (or not) of Johnson affect that?

[shrader]

6 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

They can plan just fine.  Assume he's not going to be part of the Sabres org going forward.  There.  Done.

If they make a trade for a 4D, how would the presence (or not) of Johnson affect that?

Hell, they may already know he's decided to move on.  If that's the case, you don't go out an announce it so that you retain any trade value that might still exist.