dudacek

You guys are wrong about Dahlin being soft. Im telling ya

Krebs showing why they wanted him.

Bring this one home boys. Please. The way we finish and Houser looks early this is far from over.

Philly on a 10-game losing streak. Philly also the team we finally beat to end last year’s epic 18-gamer. They beat us 4 times during that streak.

Skinner Mitts Tuch Olofsson Thompson Asplund Girgensons Cozens Okposo Bjork ??? Hayden Jankowski Caggiula Dahlin Jokiharju Power Pysyk Bryson ??? Butcher Anderson Tokarski ??? = salary dumps we take on to help cap-strapped teams Hinostroza, Eakin Hagg and Miller traded for late picks. Butcher, Hayden, Jankowski Caggiula available if there’s a market, but they won’t get much and we need players because this is what I want to see making a playoff run in Rochester: Peterka Malone Quinn Mersch Krebs Murray McInnis Ruotsalainen Weissbach Jobst Biro Pekar Samuelsson Fitzpatrick Johnson Prow Schuldt Laaksonen UPL

Weird eh, how Sam Reinhart improved his defence so much this year? -28 last year to +11.

You guys can both be right. I'm not sure exactly when the worm turned, but January's Taylor Hall was a legit top 6 winger who pushed play and created chances, but was snakebit when it came to scoring goals. By the time the trade deadline rolled around, he was a god-awful excuse-me player collecting a paycheque and doing his best not to get hurt before he could engineer his trade to Boston.

More needs to be made about the “A” on his jersey. Especially in the context of that locker room speech Granato gave a few weeks back when he told the team they needed to watch Rasmus and learn to approach the game the same way. Remember 6 months back when we were talking about how part of this season was giving space to allow new leaders to emerge? Public perception of where Rasmus is lags well behind organizational perception. I’m firmly on Granato’s side on this one.

So much this. Dell’s results were acceptable on a night where Pysyk and Hagg seemed to be trying to hit bonus clauses for number of turnovers, but he is an awful goalie. The games where we play OK and lose big are inevitable.

We tend to focus on what the scouts get wrong, but 2020 to me is interesting for how a lot of the not-universal projections are bearing out. ”Byfield probably has the best collection of tools, but he’s going to take time” ”Raymond might be the most talented player in the draft” ”Sanderson has what it takes to be a #1” ”Don’t sleep on Quinn, that kid’s development curve is ramping up so fast” ”Not sure about his upside, but Lundell might be ready now” ”Jarvis is better than you think”

Peyton Krebs is working his ass off, but he needs to recognize that the NHL isn’t as fast as he thinks it is. Putting him out in the last minute was a nice confidence boost by Donnie and a great example of how this season is more about winning tomorrow than winning today. Alex Tuch has been a far better power forward than Evander Kane ever was here.

It’s system. Granato encourages his players to go for it, attack and push the play. That’s why we lose 5-4 more often than 1-0. It’s talent but not just while defending. Talent will allow us to react better in coverage, transition better, and keep the puck down the other end longer. The system will lead to defensive breakdowns. More talent would allow us to better execute the system, minimize the breakdowns and score more to overcome them.

DeLo has been an NHL regular for 5 seasons since and pretty good in his role. Zach Redmond played 3 more NHL games. Under-the-radar vintage Botterill trade.

Not sure what you are looking for. Samuelsson played well and Granato rewarded his playing by playing him a lot. By well, I mean that he consistently eliminated his man to blunt rushes and negate scoring chances and safely moved the puck out of trouble, using a rare (for the Sabres at least) mix of obvious physical strength and mental poise.

I gave him a pass on the Hall trade. I believe the Hall signing was instigated by Krueger and ordered by Pegula. I know you disagree.

Have we had a game yet when we haven't had at least 3 of these starters out? Skinner (2 games) Mittelstadt (35) Tuch (32) Olofsson (8, playing hurt) Thompson (3) Asplund Girgensons (6 and counting) Cozens (3) Okposo (2 and counting) Hinostroza (3 and counting) Eakin (5) Caggiula (21 and counting) Dahlin Jokiharju (16) Bryson (7 and counting) Miller (7 and counting) Hagg (13) Pysyk Anderson (10 weeks and counting) Tokarski (6 weeks and counting) I count 9 regulars (Mitts, Tuch, VO, Hiney, Drake, Miller, Hagg, Anderson, Tokarski) with week-to-week injuries or worse and the season isn't half over yet. With the Sabres reporting record, maybe KO, Zemgus and Bryson are poised to join them. Add UPL and Subban as call-ups. That can't be normal.

Murray is really good at PP netfront at the AHL level. Surprised he hasn't had more of a look there.

McCourt was a huge whiff. On paper he was going to take the torch from Perreault. In practice, he was out of the NHL in 3 years. It would be like Elias Petterson or someone like that doing the same thing today.

Dale McCourt was a still young #1 overall pick coming off an 86 point season. Foligno was a 3rd year #2 overall player who had already put up 30 goals 70 points and 200 PIMs. Gare and Schoeny were the heart and soul of a legit contender. What a blockbuster.

I wonder how those trades would have been received in today’s Internet world?

Blue jersey significant? Isn't yellow non-contact?

Looks to me like this is what they’ve been trying the past few games. Skinner and Tuch are being involved more, and Dahlin is rotating deep at time. Not having the threat of Tage or Victor shooting makes us easier to defend. Especially with Casey out and Dahlin being the only crafty passer.

This is my take on Adams' tenure so far, fantasy as it may be: Situation: He gets hired, mostly on a whim and without a full resume, with marching orders from Pegula to purge the hockey department. Verdict: Pass. He does what he was hired to do. It's not clear yet whether the people he kept were the right ones, but the people let go haven't hurt. Situation: Eichel immediately rebels, saying if this is a rebuild, trade me. Krueger convinces the Pegulas that the team is not too far away. Adams is told to pacify Jack and give Ralph the players he wants to give the core one last shot. Verdict: Pass. He convinces Eichel to hold off on the trade request, and acquires Hall, Eakin and Reider at Krueger's request on short-term deals that don't burden the team long-term. Situation: He inherits a roster with questions in goal, an obvious hole at 2C and playoff aspirations. Verdict: Fail. In his first significant move as GM he brings in Eric Staal to play centre. The price - Johansson plus some cap savings - is fine, but Staal is huge bust. His decision to stick with the oft-injured Ullmark and the terrible Hutton also blows up in his face. His depth signings are a mixed bag. Sheahan is fine, Irwin is not. Situation: short months after stripping his scouting staff, and hampered by a short season where he didn't get a chance to view prospects, he conducts his first draft. Verdict: Pass (but it's early). He challenges his staff to reset their list through the lens of "upside," as defined by skill and the desire to improve, veers from the public consensus to take Quinn, and trades up for Peterka. A year later, both of his top picks are looking very promising. Situation: The Sabres suck, coming back from a COVID outbreak to establish themselves as the worst team in the league and looking terrible while doing it. Verdict: Pass. He fires Krueger, albeit too slowly, and heads to Florida to present the Pegulas with his plan to rebuild the Sabres, and, by most accounts gets their blessing. At this point, to my mind, he stops being the franchise front man, and starts becoming its architect. Situation: The Sabres are a last-place team in need of a new plan. Verdict: TBD. Adams decides to rebuild the hockey department with a focus on drafting and development, and the roster based on "players who want to be here" which I translate to mean "fix the culture". He decides to move on from the failed previous core, accumulate picks, prospects and cap space, and use the existing, unproven "Blinding Light Brigade" as his starting point. I like his organizational focus on talented self-starters. Given the fact that his good players no longer wanted to be here, and the malaise surrounding the organization in general, I think it was probably the choice I would have made. Situation: The Sabres were operating with an inexperienced, skeleton hockey operations department. Verdict: TBD, but promising. Acquiring a connected, veteran assistant GM with 3 cup rings and 20 years experience in Karmanos filled the most obvious hole. Adding a handful of scouts was good and necessary, but choosing to keep that department lean while significantly beefing up the analytics and player development staffing instead was an interesting, progressive tack. Integrating the analytics team into the overall department was an important move. The hirings there have been acclaimed, for what that's worth. Meanwhile, I can't recall a group of Sabres prospects that have shown more progress. The analytics staff helped select them, and the hockey development staff is overseeing their progress. Situation: Taylor Hall is a pending UFA. Verdict: Pass. Hall had a complete NTC, was coming off a horrible performance, and wanted to go to Boston. He had to trade him and he got what he could. Situation: Brandon Montour is a pending UFA. Verdict: Fail. I'm sure he took the best offer he had, but a right-handed D with Montour's track record should have garnered more than a 3rd. There was an option to retain salary. I wonder why that wasn't exercised. Situation: Eric Staal is a pending UFA. Verdict: Pass. Getting a 3rd and a 4th for a player who had deteriorated as much as Staal had and is now out of the league was a job well-done Situation: Linus Ullmark is a pending UFA Verdict: Fail. Ullmark should have been signed before the deadline or traded. Adams was either played, or he gambled and lost. Situation: The Sabres need a head coach Verdict: Pass. Don Granato was hired primarily to develop the young talent already on the roster and keep the room together through what was bound to be a tough season as far as results go. So far, so good; the kids have stepped up and the team seems more focused and together than it it has in years. It has also generally been better to watch. Honestly, I don't think Donnie is getting enough credit for keeping this team out of the basement. Adams dumped 7 of a bad roster's 8 best players for no immediate return, and didn't give him an NHL goalie. Situation: Sam Reinhart made it clear he was not going to sign a long-term contract. Verdict: Fail. Sam would have been a perfect bridge player for the core between the bad years and the good, not only in the leadership way of Okposo, but also on the ice, like Tuch. Sure he wasn't signing long-term this past summer, but the opportunity was there the previous summer and Adams chose not to pursue it. Given that the package we got in July would probably still be available at this deadline, why not keep him around in the hopes of helping the kids while trying to change his mind? Devon Levi still has the power to change my mind. Situation: Rasmus Ristolainen was a year away from UFA status and it wasn't clear if he was going to re-sign. Verdict: Pass. I wasn't a Rasmus hater, but it was time. Getting the 13th pick in the draft for him was stunning on its own. Adding the adequate Hagg to fill part of the roster hole and a 2nd was a coup. Situation: He comes into his 2nd draft with a multitude of picks including the 1st overall, and a much deeper, more developed hockey department, including Karmanos and Ventura. Verdict: Pass. A year ago there was doubt about Power's upside. This year has obliterated that doubt; he looks every inch a top-pairing defenceman in the making. Beyond that, Rosen has disappointed. The Russian 2nd-rounders look OK and later picks Novikov, Bloom and Nadeau are intriguing. We're a few years from knowing anything, but their approach was refreshing and thoughtful. Situation: Jack Eichel demanded a trade Verdict: TBD. Adams was put in the worst of situations here. He had to make the trade he knew he was going to lose. And he had to do it with Jack's health and treatment controversy shrinking the market and complicating the return. The ask — the equivalent of 4 1st-rounders — was an entirely fair starting point. The fact that he almost got that given the circumstances is to his credit. I would have happily flipped pick 13 in last year's draft for either Tuch, or Krebs, and we also got the Vegas 1st. I think Adams tried to hold out for more after finally getting Tuch and Krebs on the table but caved last-minute on the 4th piece after Vegas leaked the fake Calgary rumour to undermine those talks and Jack threatened to ***** all over the Sabres to Friedman. The fact that he did not have to take on a bad contract is a point in his favour. Basically, for me, Adams gets and A for effort, but his overall grade will be based more on how the team progresses without Jack than on how good the pieces turn out. Situation: With so many key departures, he needed to completely reshape his roster for this season. Verdict: TBD. Adams decided every move this year would be made through the lens of putting the future ahead of the present, and he adapted three guiding principles to make that happen: He was going to develop his best young roster players by using them in key roles He was not going to commit significant assets or cap space into new players who he did not see as being part of this team when it got good. Prospects would be kept away from the big club and in situations that allowed them to dominate. IMO, the first is mostly working, with the Dahiln and Thompson growing a ton, and Jokiharju and Cozens improving more slowly. Bryson and Asplund looked good initially but have stalled. Mittelstadt unfortunately has been wracked by injuries. R2 is the only disappointment and the only one who didn't get time in a key role. And the 3rd looks real good so far, with Quinn, Krebs, Peterka, Power, Samuelsson, and Levi dominating at their current levels, and Luukkonen seizing his NHL opportunity. As for the 2nd, it's hard to judge without knowing what else might have been on the table. In terms of bang for the buck, Hinostroza was a good pickup, while the others — save Butcher and Dell — have all been fine in their roles. It's not hard to wonder why a veteran RHD or middle-six forward could not have been added without blocking a prospect or paying a price we were going to regret. Trusting a developing club to a 40-year-old pulled out of retirement, two minor leaguers and an unproven prospect in goal is the definition of pennywise and pound-foolish. But basically 2 only matters if it breaks 1 and 3. This season is only about setting the table for next. Will the kids be better? Will the cap space be used? Guess we'll find out. I need this year to mean something by next year actually starting to show a payoff.

From the article: Projected bubble NHL All-Star and top of the lineup player 1. Shane Wright, C, Kingston (OHL) Jan. 5, 2004 | 6′ 0.5″ | 185 pounds Oct. 2021 Ranking: 1 Tier: Projected bubble NHL All-Star and top of the lineup player Skating: NHL average Puck skills: NHL average Hockey sense: NHL average Compete: Above NHL average Shot: High-end Background: Wright is the captain and a top player for a top OHL team in Kingston. He was a top two line center for Canada’s U20 team at the world juniors. He scored 9 goals and 14 points in 5 games at the U18 worlds as a U17 player leading Canada to gold. He was granted exceptional status to play in the OHL as a 15-year-old where he scored 39 goals and 66 points in 58 games. Analysis: Wright is the top prospect in the 2022 NHL Draft. He’s a very well-rounded center who has no noticeable flaw in his skill set but also does not have a ton about his game that gets you overly excited. He can skate and handle the puck like an NHLer. Wright’s game translates because of his compete and direct style of play. He takes pucks to the net and plays with pace. He can pull up to make a tough pass but he prefers to take pucks to the interior or shoot. His shot is his main weapon and the main reason I think he can become an NHL star, showing the ability to pick corners from long range consistently. Off the puck he’s competitive and responsible, showing maturity beyond his years. He projects as a No. 1 center in the NHL due to his all-around play but probably won’t be an elite scorer in the league.

So according to Pronman, Wright is the best guy and Wright is also a Cozens-level prospect.