dudacek

Do some people think Adams plan is to wait until the kids get older and better and then announce one summer “they’re finally old enough, we’re going to try to win now!” then promptly make a whole bunch of splashy acquisitions? That’s how it sometimes feels around here. It’s process-driven: playoffs aren’t “the goal” they are a byproduct of the goal. The goal is steady, internally driven improvement leading to sustainable long-term contention. There’s never going to be moment when Adams says “game on” and flips a switch. This is the game. Please do if you can. Glad to hear you had the opportunity to ask him directly.

These clips are - head-and-shoulders - the best marketing thing ever to come out of the Sabres organization. I’ve laughed out loud at every one. My wife and daughter - who barely tolerate my Sabres obsession - ask about when the next one is coming out.

I think he’s pretty clearly talking about his salary cap situation in 3-5 years and how he is (in @Randall Flagg’s world much too) cautious about signing or acquiring contracts now that will handcuff him in keeping current players later.

Can we be in agreement that, for Adams, this season was largely about building culture and giving the kids responsibility to see how they respond? Maybe he agrees next year is critical, but what he is saying is that this year told him that his “core” is already here and he doesn’t need to sacrifice major assets to add a core piece. I guess what I’m saying is I haven’t seen you (or too many others) screaming for big changes. Everyone wants to add a good goalie, a top 4 defenceman and some physical strength and defensive acumen. What makes you think Adams doesn’t see the same things and is unwilling to address them? At the start of this year, he had no idea Dahlin Cozens Tuch and Thompson were the studs they have become. He had no idea how Comrie, Luukkonen, Samuelson, Power, Bryson, Mittelstadt, Quinn, Krebs and Peterka would respond to being leaned on over a full season. TLDR: last summer he didn’t really know what he had, this summer he has a much better idea. Seems to me he has already started the process of addressing its holes with the concepts of Stillman and Greenway. Personally, I’ve seen reason to hope that can and will continue into the summer without chasing Bo Horvats. Seems to me your issues amount to: “he hasn’t done those things yet, and he hasn’t promised me he will.” Guess we’ll see.

Shesterkin is listed at 6'1, 189, Saros at 5'11, 180, Levi at 6'0" 185. For practical purposes — how much space they take up in a NHL net — is there really any significant size difference between Devon and two of the league's premier goalies?

We get it. He has a plan, you don't like it. You don't see the improvement of the past two years as being meaningful enough, and you don't see it continuing without a course correction. He says patience, you say ***** off, I want it now. Nothing new here.

Meh, nothing bizarre about it at all. The bold and his "very calculated" are speaking to the same thing. He's just saying he's not going to be acquiring Bo Horvats. There are only so many long-term high-salary slots on the salary cap chart, and those are being allocated to the Thompsons, Cozens and Dahlins, with space reserved for eventually adding the Quinns and the Powers and the Levis. It's not new, it's not difficult to understand and it doesn't preclude him from making the team better now.

In Donnie’s presser today, he was asked about Selke candidates and about Cozens in that context. He talked about a player who can close on a puck carrier so quickly and efficiently they simply have no options. He said they spend a lot of time working with Cozens about the when. He also said he thinks Cozens has the skill and the will to be that player, but, through how he answered, left the impression he still believes there is a ways to go. My read in the context of your post is that coaching is happening but the learning isn’t complete. And I’m sure Donnie would tell you that’s because Dylan needs more reps to make better reads. I gotta say that every time I hear a presser like today where they talk about actual coaching development strategies and game tactics, I’m left impressed by the way our coach breaks the game down. The idea that some have that he’s a neophyte just doesn’t ring true listening to him speak.

I think most scouts identify their guys at 15 and chart their progress until they are draft eligible. Guys who appear on the radar late - like a Jack Quinn - at least are playing in one the prime draft feeder leagues, where they can be measured against their peers. In Levi’s pre-draft year, he was playing midget hockey, not junior A, or even junior B. The amount of 17-year-olds playing Midget who go on to make the NHL is very, very small, period. Add to that the fact he had a pedestrian season that year and he was on no one’s list. His draft year, he was outstanding, but in a junior league that is to the CHL what the ECHL is to the NHL. The only reason he was even drafted at all was because Roberto Luongo had a relationship with him and pounded the table for Florida to take him with their final pick. His post-draft year he played 7 games. He was brilliant in those games, but he was playing for a stacked Team Canada team with a history of not developing goalies. He entered camp as their #4. It was pretty easy for some to dismiss him as someone who got hot. So when he tore up college at 20, it was the first time a lot of scouts really started to see him as someone they should be paying attention to. And they’ve seen small goalies excel at that level before. (To be clear, I don’t buy into any of the above at all, I agree with you. I’m just explaining what I meant by his path working against him, in terms of industry perception. There’s a smaller body of work and a lot of misperceptions to overcome.)

I've been clear for months on my position: he is the best prospect in the organization and will be a worthy successor to Miller. The only question is when.

Good post, but I'd aim higher. The Sabres have played very few games with all of Dahlin/Mule/Power/Joki/Boosh in the lineup. I just did a quick count of games where both Joki and Mule were dressed up until the end of February. Our record was 18/10/4. One more defenceman of their quality would make such a difference.

I've brought this up before: the industry as a whole is far less high on Levi than Sabres fans (and presumably Kevyn Adams) are. They recognize his athleticism and attention to detail, but he just doesn't tick the goalie boxes, particularly his size and the path he has taken. Many are skeptical his success will translate to the highest levels.

Sorry guys, I respect most of your hockey takes, but you are out to lunch on this shootout debate How the heck do you have any idea how good any of the Sabres are at shootouts? How many times have you seen them take one? 10 max for most of them, probably less? The team had taken 5 all year before last night. Donnie has months worth of watching them take dozens, if not hundreds, of attempts in practice, plus a library of analytics to lean on. He’s also up close in the dressing room and on the bench to see where they are at the moment. Not buying you know better, sorry.

This. It seemed like he's kinda crafty and with decent hands, but the thing that stuck out most was how he was always headed to the net.

It absolutely is.

This times 1,000. I don't think the fans fully grasp the mental health aspect of situations like that. The guy I worry about is Kisakov, who seems less skilled than Kulich in the language area, and unlike Kulich doesn't have a countryman like Rousek to lean on. Throw in the political turmoil his homeland is embroiled in and his lack of success on the ice, and that is a recipe for issues. It's no surprise to me that Mogilny developed a fear of flying. I hope the Sabres are taking care of that kid.

I'm wondering how well this ever checks out. I think @Thorny has the right of it. The NHL just doesn't seem to work that way. The "better team" is no more of a factor than "current streak" or "how long since you last played" or "what time did your flight come in" or "they were out late" or "who is hurt, or playing hurt" or "where was my wife last night?" or "coach sure is being a DB" or "what goalie is going to show up" or...you get my meaning. Anecdotally, things like getting blown out by undermanned Nashville then knocking off playoff-bound New Jersey seem more rule than exception. If Tage is still hurting, this is the one to rest him. I wonder if Anderson is done save a swan-song farewell in the last home game.

As much as I think the "starting Levi means we've given up" line of thought is utter *****, and as much as I am skeptical of Comrie's ability to play consecutive good games @DarthEbriate is right: let's not overthink this.

Just for the record since we tend to get caught up in how well Kulich is doing for a 18-year-old. He’s 8th among goals for rookies and 17th for points. Overall, he’s 41st in goals and 95th in points. He’s a top 6 AHL player, but he’s not a dominant one. And he’s clearly at least a step behind where Peterka was a year ago and 2 below Quinn. I don’t think anyone should be pencilling him into the NHL roster in October.

Needs to be said that no goalie has ever been traded for such a big haul in the current era. Best return I can find for an established top goalie like Saros was when the Canucks got Shawn Matthias and Jakob Markstrom for Roberto Luongo. Which is kinda like Saros for Levi and Greenway. The best return I can find for a goalie at all, is the 9th overall pick for Corey Schneider, who was 27 and coming off three consecutive seasons of .927 or better playing 30ish games a year behind Luongo.

They'll have to really tank the final three weeks to miss. If my math is correct any combination of Amerk regulation wins and Senator regulation losses that equals 6 should get them in. Top 5 in the division make it. 2 Utica: 71 points, 9 games left 3 Syracuse: 68, 10 4 Rochester: 67, 10 5 Cleveland: 63, 11 6 Belleville: 62, 8 Real battle looks to be versus Syracuse for the 1st-round bye

Precarious?

In my view, every good NHL goalie should be able to pitch a shutout based on the way the teams were playing in front of Comrie last night. It’s sad how unusual that kind of defensive effort has been for the Sabres skaters this year. What’s even sadder is how unusual it’s been for a Sabres goalie to make all the saves he should save. We’ve become so conditioned to expect subpar goaltending that good goaltending looks great.

This is what I mean by suspicious

You're not as far off as you might think. It’s just not going to happen as quickly as you want. Those are the guys who will be there when we are good