dudacek

So it was confirmed by Adams and Granato today that there will be a captain, it’s been discussed extensively this summer. It will be announced before the start of the season. Adams made reference to finalizing “the leadership group”. Donnie talked about Okposo Anderson and Girgensons being great veteran leaders who aren’t threatened by the younger guys, but also how there is a large group of guys following them who can be leaders and who they want to clear the way for them to continue being leaders. He also talked about a captain not being the same as being a leader, about a captain needing to get into the faces of his teammates, and about the difficulties of younger guys acting like a captain toward older guys. I found it interesting how the next two questions, maybe coincidentally, led him to launch into descriptions of Thompson and Dahlin that made them sound a lot like players who would be on that next tier. It occurred to me that the three veterans that they trotted out to the media today - Okposo, Thompson and Dahlin - struck me very much as the likely C and 2 As.

Granato said the breakdown of lines and squads in the early days is mostly about making sure rookies were matched up and interacting with vets. It’s cultural. Lines will start becoming a thing as they head into October.

Interesting how Donnie put some of the injury issues from last year on the team being young, eager to overachieve and not yet versed in their ability to be efficient. Ice time over the last month of the season: Dahlin 24:05 Jokiharju 22:17 Power 22:05 Samuelsson 21:41 Fitzgerald 15:11 Bryson 14:21

Quotes from Donnie on Quinn and Peterka: “I don’t think about them showing me they’re ready…they’ve earned the right, we know them, these are guys that are going to help us. We know they are going to help us.” “Where they’re at in the process, that’s what we need to evaluate.” ”We want them to be in our lineup.” Sounds to me like there’s a pretty wide landing pad.

The results on the ice have been inconclusive, though they seem pointed in the right direction. But that's not all Terry and Kim care about. The results in the market have been good: the media have largely bought in and the results are showing in ticket sales, attendance at fan events and the general buzz in the community — in the streets and on-line. It's amazing how far attitudes have come in just a year. And the results inside the building seem to be outstanding: we're attracting and keeping off-ice talent and people seem to like working for the Buffalo Sabres. If you don't believe the words coming out of the mouths of players like Tuch, Cozens, Dahlin, Thompson, Anderson, Hinostroza and Okposo, go back and watch Jerry Forton's interview at the end of the draft again. I think it's pretty standard in the NHL for an owner to extend a GM going into the final year of his contract if he's happy with the job being done. It's not much more complicated than that.

This is true. But what he is calling “soft tanking” is different, It’s about not using all the assets (cap space, picks, prospects) at your disposal to make the team as good as you can right now. I think Adams believes it will accelerate development of the prospects and build culture. I think @PerreaultForever thinks Adams believes it will keep the team low in the standings where they can accumulate more and better assets.

I don’t think for Adams it’s about making the playoffs this year versus 24/25; they are looking to build a team that once it makes the playoffs will stay there for a decade. There’s been no lying involved. Separately, I think Adams has more faith in his staff, his players and their development than you do. You’ve posted a lot on here about culture but you don’t seem to have lot of patience for the time and effort it takes to establish it.

Fantastic piece. Really showcases what I like about this kid: smarter than everyone else with the hands to execute.

Nothing I’d like to see more than Zemgus to be here for the good times. He deserves it. The guy’s been suffering as long as we have and never stopped pushing.

I think the fan base loves JJ but is still underrating him a tad. My lasting impression of JJP was his playoff dominance. He was so good against a couple nasty teams. He is such a strong, explosive skater, his hands and vision are very good and he competes hard. He has all the elements, including the intangibles, to be a legitimate first-line NHL winger. His ceiling is as good as any forward in the organization. For this team to become a true contender someone will have elevate beyond their hype like Bergeron and Kucherov did. JJ’s our best bet to be that player. I think he makes the team and is a making an impact by the end of the season.

Or for Gold: Olofsson Mitts Asplund Peterka Cozens Hinostroza

Gold has the top D, Blue the 1st line. Guessing combos from today’s groupings: Skinner Tuch Thompson Olofsson Cozens Mitts Quinn Krebs Okposo

Sabres Skinner Thompson Tuch Olofsson Mittelstadt Okposo Asplund Cozens Hinostroza Girgensons Power Dahlin Samuelson Jokiharju Bryson Lyubushkin Comrie Anderson In the NHL mix Quinn Krebs Peterka Bjork Sheahan Pilut Fitzpatrick UPL Amerks Mersch Biro Murray Rousek Kulich Weissbach Kisakov Malone Rosen Cedarqvist Kozak Pekar Clague Priskie Davies Laaksonen Prow Subban Cincinnati Warren Jobst Olischevski Passolt Tischke Elliot Berzolla Houser Warm Reserve Bloom Savoie Nadeau Poltapov Östlund Neuchev Costantini Huglen Konecny Richard Sardarian Marjala Rotkovic Karlsson Sjodin Von Barnekow Johnson Komarov Lindgren lyckasen Novikov Sova Levi Portillo Leinonen

Just noticed the training camp roster lists Girgensons as a LW, Thompson as a RW, and both Asplund and Hinostroza (?) as centres. Mitts, Krebs and Cozens all centres as well, as are Savoie and Kulich. Not sure if this means anything in terms of early plans, I’m guessing not.

I think 3 things have to happen for the Sabres to make the playoffs: 1) Someone (most likely Cozens or Mittelstadt) has to emerge as a 60-point threat driving a 2nd line with Tuch or Olofsson. 2) Either Comrie or UPL has to take the reins as .915 starter 3) Owen Power will have to have an immediate impact

He's been a presence throughout most embedded videotape this year and we haven't seen him utter a word. I'm sure that's deliberate. I would imagine that with Kim's health issues Terry hasn't been as present as he normally is with the Sabres and the Matt has been designated to be the family presence. It will be interesting to see how active that presence actually is, and how that evolves.

Seth Appert likes to point out that JJ Peterka had just 3 goals at Christmas time. My favourite Peterka numbers are 7/5/12, as in the numbers he had in just 10 playoff games. Peterka had an historic season for the Amerks — the third most productive AHL season by a U20 player ever. But even more impressive than his overall numbers was the meteoric rise that his game took during his first year in North America, starting as a promising but raw 2nd-round rookie and finishing as perhaps the best player on the ice. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=226507 Despite overwhelming numbers that seem to indicate he’s done all he needs to do in Rochester, fandom seems mixed as to whether Peterka will or should be a Sabre. It’s not a size issue, not after he took a brutal pounding from Utica and Belleville without missing a stride. Besides he’s an explosive, powerful skater with a squat 190-pound hockey player’s frame. And it’s probably not a defence issue, not after listening to Mike Peca extol the virtues of his two-way growth during development camp. It’s more a numbers game, where some don’t see a top 6 role for him and don’t want him in the NHL if he’s not being used in that manner. What do you expect from JJ Peterka?

Pretty much everything the Sabres have done since Krueger was fired has been the result of faith in people and a plan. This is simply more of the same. It's a different look for professional sports. Even if it wasn't the Sabres, I'd like to see it succeed.

The whole idea of a “soft tank” is predicated on the idea that the Sabres don’t actually believe that playing Cozens/Krebs/Mitts/Power/Quinn etc in prominent roles is the best way to develop both them and the team. Which makes Adams and Granato and Appert and every other acolyte in the front office a really good liar. Im going to go with Occam’s Razor on this one.

Botts was awful, but that’s not why he was fired.

I can’t remember which coach/exec it was (it may have been more than one), but in the aftermath of Krebs excellent play at centre in the AHL playoffs, it was said “we want him/see him playing centre.”

Each so perfectly fit team needs through a moneyball focus that I’m a believer.

Haven’t looked at the Atlantic, but I think the top 4 in the Northeast slip while the bottom 4 improve. Buffalo and Ottawa could get 85-90, Detroit maybe 5 points behind them and the Habs about 60ish? Leafs and Lightning 100-110, Boston and Florida 95-105. I think it is possible one of the teams could implode in the same manner Vegas did last year and will make it a rest. I can’t tell you which one, but Florida’s defence corps is awful, the pressure on Toronto is immense and the Bruins are aging and without their best players early. Tampa has lost their depth and without Vas would be vulnerable.

@PerreaultForever's point of view is basically the same as the Athletic's: assign value to players who have proven they have it. They might be "new" going back to last fall, but Lyubushkin, Power, Samuelsson, Quinn, Krebs, Mitts, Tuch and Peterka combined for 28 goals last year and Eric Comrie has won 13 games in his career. I don't agree with him, but let's not pretend he doesn't have a case.