Mango

Why? Before Thompsons injury JJP and Mitts were playing the best hockey of either of their careers. Quinn is coming off of a very major injury. Why on earth would you want to handicap JJP after he has been one of the best all around forwards on the roster? That seems like a move to help Cozens at the expense of Mitts and JJP.

When I first read this, I nod my head and go "oh yeah, I get that, of course." But it doesn't pass the sniff test once to take even a casual dive. With the emergence of Mitts, Cozens has been pushed down the depth chart. Even now he is centering the second line because Thompson is coming back from injury. Cozens has spent decent time as a third line center this year, and no real time on a first line. He was our second line center last year. I am failing to see how Cozens is getting tougher looks from opponents after moving down the depth chart.

The PP to end regulation into OT was unbelievably bad even for a team with a terrible PP. They had a million PP opportunities tonight, our inibility to put out a real NHL PP cost us more than anything tonight. The level with play was a lot better tonight. I will give them that. But the biggest or next biggest problem with this team is what we saw when Robinson had the boarding against Barron. Everybody on the ice threw down immediately. And at the end of the period said “eff you, we’re doing this”. Then when Skinner gets cross checked in the ground, everybody stands around and does nothing. This team needs balls.

The PP to end the third and start OT was embarrassing. Our PP has been bad, but that was something else.

1st period. - Tages game is lights out. - PP sucks. Power is part of that. Out of position, losing possession too often, not keeping it in, forcing a reset. Try RyJohn there. 2nd Period - If that hit from behind happened to the Sabres they’d all stand around and watch. - They would never throw down at the end of the period either. 3rd period - Tying it up early changed the entire flow of the game. - Great effort from Muel to cover the open puck in the crease. - Levi made some saves but he was also bailed out too. - Somebody should have Gallagher head for that cross check. The period was already physical enough, it was needed. - That was the most embarrassing PP to end the period. - What an embarrassing PP to end the 3rd OT - Embarrassing PP continues 4o3 SO - Levi was not good.

Don’t forget Greenway. The forward group has missed his play.

JJP is probably the best winger on the team right now. And playing way better than any stretch Quinn put together last yea by a huge margin. I am not putting Quinn down, but on top of that he is also coming off a tough injury with his achilles. There is no way a “Quinn has been better to date”. It’s not close. Once Tommers goes back to center, Mitts is firmly the next best or even 1a/1b C. Throwing JJP back with Cozens in that scenario will purely be to use JJP to get Cozens and Quinn going. Not because it’s a line that is or will be good in the short term.

Quinn isn’t healthy, Cozens isn’t restored, and while Tuch has been good at times he has yet played his best hockey this year. Im not super confident projecting 2-3 guys like Tuch, Cozens, and Quinn on top lines who have yet to play top 6 hockey.

The NHL game is bigger, faster, stronger, therefore more draining to exist in, let alone improve for a young goalie prospect. Levi needs the AHL like cyclists, runners, rowers, and triathletes need steady state. You don’t get better at running the 1500m by going out and racing it everyday. That’s not how that works in physiology, refining skills, or mentality get better in a league with 80+ games.

He got the first 4 games of the season. Then when he came back he played every other game for the better part of November until he went down to Rochester. He was enshrined in the 1 position while we waited for UPL/Comrie to decide who would back him up. Levi has played his best hockey when he comes in rested and controlled from lesser leagues. Ie the NCAA and AHL. I think he needs steady maintenance work in the AHL to bring up the bottom of his game to a more consistent level as well as refining the top of his game.

After rattling off all the defenders, it occurred to me, does Stillman ever make it back to the big club? Admittedly I watch very very few Amerks games. How does he look down there? edit: Stillman* stupid autocorrect. I’m an idiot but not that much of an idiot.

Comrie is a problem. I totally agree. But when it comes to Levi and the goaltending situation Long term, I think it is best for the FO to lie in the bed they made. Even if it means keeping the better player in the AHL.

The kid has always been laser focused on playing with the big club. But part of the HC/GM's job is navigating and steering them in the right direction. A lot of elite athletics is being super independent and totally in control of your own progression. But the HC/GM needs to provide bumpers, direction, and even road blocks at time. He got the same vibe, that "OK I did my time. Look how much I learned. I am back now". But 2-3 live game reps don't make any changes permanent in any elite sport. I get he is vouching for himself to be on the team he would prefer to be on. But if he really thinks a week has made a permanent improvement and he's picked up anywhere near everything he can in the AHL, to me that means he needs way more time in the minors to get his head right. That isn't how anything works in athletics. I think Levi could be a totally different goaltender with another 20-25 games in the AHL and 5-10 more games in spot duty in the NHL.

Thought the same. Muel seems to have been able to steady power a bit more than Joker. Although he had a couple bone head plays out of position. I would seriously consider permanently moving Ryan Johnson up with Dahlin.

More practice reps. More live reps. Ramping into an NHL schedule rather than drowning in it. Lesser game than the NHL so he can actually improve on some things rather than white knuckle it with varying success. And one thing I find important in absolutely anything anybody does anywhere is more opportunity to stack wins. Not necessarily wins in the win column. But wins day in and day out in super small parts of his game, lifestyle, prep, body maintenance, etc.

Somebody posted this excerpt from Dunne on TBD. It immediately made me sad about the Sabres. A lot wrong in both orgs right now, but this is a great reminder that even when one team wins, Buffalo has a major ownership problem. “The Rex Ryan stories are legendary for all the wrong reasons. As one goes, coaches hollered for a player to enter a game on the sideline… only there was one problem. The player was up in a suite because the coaches forgot to tell him to dress. “The f--ker had to run down and put his ***** on and go play,” said one ex-Bill, dying in laughter. “Rex was retired on the job. Those guys were drinking beer by 4 p.m. every day during training camp and just partying. It was a ***** show.” The moment that broke that Bills team was when Rex and a batch of his assistants rented a bus to attend a World Series game in Cleveland three hours away during a game week. This isn’t a culture of fear to Mike Zimmer proportions. Players actually do have complimentary things to say about McDermott and even the coaches who felt his wrath weren’t necessarily afraid of him. Rather, it’s a dreary work environment.”

The best thing for this team is making the best long term decision for Levi. I know he could maybe play here and get us a few more wins. But the best thing for us to have the best version of Levi long term is to let him get more reps in Rochester.

@PromoTheRobot I am sorry but I can’t help myself. Decades have passed since my 15th birthday and I am not sure I have grown up…like at all.

This is the perfect spot for Levi’s development. Or anybody else in Rochester for that matter. Having a team, line, position, etc. that they can plug and play successfully in spot duty. It’s time to start setting the rest of these kids up for success instead of grin and bear it.

I have some thoughts but first some thoughts on the state of the union. That was good and entertaining hockey tonight. It would have been fun if they lost 3-1. Part of people plugging into this team is them playing games like tonight. There would be a lot less torches and pitch forks if this team was fun to watch on a regular basis.

I like that all your posts are formatted like an AIM away message from 2002.

I think they are all good pieces. But they aren't complete enough to carry anything. The goal for the next season should be to move Greenway and even Tuch to the 3rd line. That doesn't meaning let Kulich struggle on the wing to find his NHL game. That means immediately upgrading those two positions in the top 6. Those two guys have the skill set to play that line, and they can put pucks in the net. A pipe dream would be to do it internally. Something like: Skinner - Thompson - Cozens JJP - Mitts - Benson Greenway - ??? - Tuch If you can get some return on Skinner you could move JJP up and if Quinn finds his game he can play the second line. (Does anybody else have a tough time with formatting on SS compared to TBD. My spacing is sometimes wonky and impossible to fix. @SDS)

Wow, you must have love being a Bills fan. But also, I sorta get this one. I’m a big fixer in my professional and personal life. It’s my sweet spot. It’s really helpful in one of those endeavors and not the other.

You could probably trade Kulich for an entire 3rd line.

This is the most frustrating part. There are guys who can play hockey on this team and they seem to just float around out there for 40 - 50 minutes. Like Skinner was lights out in the 3rd. That was good hockey from him.