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And he's got the old man smell and droopy lid. Amirite?

I think Benson is already a good two-way player, and putting him on a very offensively minded line is just good line construction. Let Tage Tage and let Benson cover for him which he's pretty good at already (and Tage is okay backchecking too, just saying having a player like Benson around let's him concentrate on the offense more).

LOL, he needs to be bought out.

If Adams and Ruff are still the braintrust in 5 months... Yes, Kulich is centering a top 6 line with McLeod as 3C to either be a) the defensively responsible one for JJP/Quinn, or b) to for a defensive matchups line with a combo of Greenway/Zucker/Benson. Power-JBD is pairing two and you hope hope hopehopehope that JBD becomes Hronek. Thus far I've not seen that. I've seen a mild upgrade from Joker and a better shot blocker, but for the folks clamoring for hits, JBD throws fewer hits per 60 than Joker did. He's still not the guy. Samuelsson is Adams' guy. That contract is going to work out, by golly. Eventually that A is going to look just right on the sweater.

If you say so. Patrice Bergeron 68 games in the minors (lockout) Charlie McAvoy 4 games in the minors David Pastrnak 25 games in the minors Brad Marchand 113 games in the minors David Krecji 94 games in the minors Pavel Zacha 7 games in the minors Jake Debrusk 68 games in the minors Hampus Lindholm 44 games in the minors Charlie Coyle 47 games in the minors Taylor Hall 26 games in the minors (lockout) Tage Thompson 80 games in the minors JJ Peterka 70 games in the minors Rasmus Dahlin 0 games in the minors Alex Tuch 60 games in the minors Ryan McLeod 91 games in the minors Owen Power 0 games in the minors Jack Quinn 60 games in the minors Zach Benson 0 games in the minors Jiri Kulich 123 games in the minors Mattias Samuelsson 65 games in the minors Looks to me like Benson is an outlier, but otherwise, how is the minor league experience of these Sabres different than the core of a 135-point hockey team?

One simple JBott issue was following TM. It was two radically different team constructions from heavy/LA-wannabes to puck-moving D/Nashville-wannabe (with Housley). Everybody's gotta have their guys and the switch created a massive roster reset. Luckily, they were gifted the best PMD they could have gotten in Dahlin in JBott's 2nd season. JBott's most glaring error, though, was then pivoting during his own term from Housley to Krueger. Housley was bad, but at least go get a proven NHL retread coach who will coach up the defense but also knows how to handle the puck-moving D and bring out the best with the players you've acquired. Don't hire the motivational speaker who used to coach Switzerland to clog everything down and pray for the goalie to steal World Championship game here or there and whose only NHL season already 6 years in the past resulted in a 19-29 record (19-22-7).

I guess you could argue he won the Jokiharju trade...? I thought for sure the comp would be thomas or kyrou in the ROR trade. Thompson not being good would have made that trade an absolute disaster beyond what it already was.

Actually, no. Hiring Ruff to be POHO is precisely the sort of thing a hapless organization that hasn’t seen the playoffs in 14 years and thought it would be a good idea to have Adams as the GM, would do.

I read that Philly is the most likely destination for him. Can't understand why he doesn't want to sign with Tampa, a winning culture and the best coach in the league. It is ridiculous if he refused when they didn't want him in the playoffs.

He is going to control where he signs. The story is he wanted to sign and play with the Lightning for the playoffs. They said no as they had no cap space to put him on the roster. Think of the Vesey situation. He refused to sign here and I don’t see why Howard would be different. From a Sabres perspective, do we really want or need another young forward?

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/buffalo-sabres-locker-cleanout-press-conferences-top-quotes-kevyn-adams-lindy-ruff It's interesting reading some of these comments in print. 1) On Norris - Adams knew he was injured, but "we did this for long-term reasons." I take that to mean Adams believes Norris is part of his core going forward. 2) On Byram - "Bo had an excellent season." "I think he had a nice season." "He's a good player." So which is it Kev? By the way he isn't a good player. He is a talented offensive D who was terrible when not paired with Dahlin. The most telling remark "Lets bring in a really, really good hockey player and see how it shakes out." I translate that mean a highly talented player that Sabres management had no idea what to do with. 3) On Kulich - "tremendous rookie season." "he's definitely a center." "He's very sound defensively" Is there any question that he's one of our top 3 centers next season? 4) On UPL - "I believe in UPL." (Ruff) " I have a huge amount of faith in UPL" This despite lousy stats in all his pro seasons except one. The best news from the comments on UPL was the acknowledgement by both Ruff and Adams about how poor the defense is. From Ruff - Until I get the team to clean up some of the poor puck play, it's going to be hard on any goalie." From Adams - We need to play better in front of him." Does this mean that might actually work hard this offseason to actually fix the defense or is it more talk and hope that the young players miraculously improve defensively? 5) On JBD - "JBD is pretty simple with the puck and makes good decisions." Thinks he is a good pair for Power. 6) On Power - Adams admits he's failed to support him properly. " I haven't been able to get that right person (to play with Power)." Seems to completely ignore Power's lack of physical play, poor puck decisions, poor positioning and general regression as a player. https://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/after-struggling-and-getting-scratched-sabres-mattias-samuelsson-thrived-late/ 7) Adams on Samuelsson - Strong play in the final weeks (when paired with Dahlin). Wants him to "attack the offseason and be ready on Day One next year." Does this mean Adams has no plans to buy him out or trade him this offseason? Has anyone seen the comments on other players?

Oh they each had their own individual ineptitudes... kinda like choosing between eating dogs&*^ , barf, and having a bird catch you looking up with your mouth open.... LOL... Too much???

Anyone know more about Isaac Howard? Just won the Hobey Baker. I guess there’s concern Tampa might not be able to sign him. I read he plays with grit. Could he be a possible target?

Lots of fun things to do in the Green Bay and greater Fox Cities area.

Bet you get a lot of posters to Zelle you 5 bucks lol 🤣

This is something that I wish they would focus on... I think McLeod and Tuch would be much better for Benson as they are better 2 way players than JJP and Thompson, Norris... I dont really know... but this is part of my point.. Nothing wrong with Zach, but is he developing at a pace and in the right direction that we are looking for... Almost like Power in a way.. are we just letting them both free lance and hang or are we getting them the right personnel and focused instruction to develop.

I think both statements are true in the end... but to your point AHL time is not throwing the baby out... I think at this point Benson going to the AHL is probably not realistic or neccessary IMO... I do think they need to be thoughtful about who they are playing him with, what situations the put him (and that includes looking to get him focused in all situations as I believe he can be a great 2 way player) and give him a plan of focus with goals... like, your are going to play more PK now.. we need you to do x,y,z... and allow him to focus on some wax on wax off stuff ... I can't prove it, have no knowledge of it or have anything to base this on other than my eyes.. but it seems to date he has just been put out there to freelance and play... moving around from line to line... etc... I would like to see more focus for him because I think he could become a cornerstone guy...

I think it's pretty damning that Pegula can't be bothered to deal with his hockey team because of the NFL draft. Really shows his priorities.

Good news is there's a bunch of talented high motor guys in that 5-10 range. Then there's some that might slide to round 2.

Beane can lead a horse to water, but he cant drown it.

Isn’t that a better track record than an organization that hasn’t seen the playoffs in 14 years run by a former player who had no coaching or management experience before being tapped to run that hapless organization?

An intelligently run operation would have serious search efforts for top level jobs. Not this shambolic organization. Acting on an owner's whim instead of serious analysis is the standard operating procedure. It's done in this superficial and self-sabotaging way because that's how the owner wants it done. When you own the toy and you desire to play with it, then you do so.

Can’t argue with that.

The question is why hasn’t he seen for the last 5 years?