dudacek

Nashville’s Juuse Saros is the smallest, 5’10” 180 Levi is 6’0” 185 Quick is 6’1 215, Cal Petersen 6’1”, 185 Sabre starter Dustin Tokarski is 6’0, 198

Almost to a man the list includes hard workers, who play fast and are extremely competitive. None of them have Tuch’s size, in fact overall, size does not to be a priority at all. Fearlessness, however, is. I believe Tuch is the first NHL player Adams has acquired at the pro level that he has any intention of keeping.

We’ve spent a long time saying that a committee of Sabrespacers with access to the Internet could draft better than the Sabres, and not just for effect. The key to being a good franchise is to not only identify the talent, but to find value in assets that others are missing. There is no doubt Devon Levi is better than the Internet and/or the industry thought he was. There’s a pretty good case that same thing can be said for Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka. And we are seeing signs of this for many of our 2021 draft picks. Will we be saying the same thing in a year about Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch and our 3 1st rounders next June? Does the Adams team of Crowe/Karmanos/Forton/Ventura/etcetera actually know how identify good hockey players? Wouldnt that be something?

I believe.

I think the responses to my posts are indicative of the fanbase’s feelings for Power. In and around the draft we heard tons about his lack of production and how he didn’t have enough high-end skill. He’s smashed those concerns, so people move on to toughness and zone entries. I honestly think the fan base has collectively decided the Sabres can’t have nice nice things and are giving themselves reasons not to get excited by him because they can’t bear to be let down again.

Is this why he consistently gets touchdowns instead of interceptions in the red zone?

Patience. Patience.

For me personally, the fact that Jack and Sam gravitated to Evander Kane of all people tells me who Jack was at 20. May have been Tim Murray’s biggest mistake.

At one point, I’m pretty sure he did. I’m pretty sure he lied. Adams didn’t fire everyone to launch a rebuild just like Botterill wasn’t fired in order to launch a rebuild. That was all about being economic and efficient and Botterill not being on board. I think a case could be made though that Jack just automatically assumed a new GM would mean some kind of reset, and that his state of mind was already considering a trade request. It reinforces earlier whispers that Jack wasn’t well-liked by alumni and rank-and-file staff around the team and arena. But I don’t know that it was at all a factor in the decision to trade him.

A question we were debating prior to the season was whether trading Jack was Adams’ idea first, or Jack’s. One of the theories was that Jack found out that Adams was floating his name out there and reacted. It’s clear that theory was wrong. The rumours from last summer about Jack being shopped weren’t about Adams responding to calls, they were about Adams doing his due diligence on Jack’s trade request. You can debate what path Adams wanted to take when he took over (ultimately he initially chose the path of Staal/Hall/change Jack’s mind) but you can’t say that the idea of trading Jack came any where other than Jack. It would be really interesting to see what options would have been on the table last summer had they acted on Jack’s request immediately.

Damn, I thought I could write more clearly than that. I feel like you’ve got the wrong impression about nearly everything I wrote. I’ll repeat, straight from Jack Eichel’s mouth: he went to the team and asked to be traded when Botterill was fired. https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/video/jack-eichel-explains-things-went-sideways-buffalo/?show_id=13373 Jack (again from his mouth) was willing to play for the team post-surgery to rehab his value. You seem to be arguing whether or not they should have done that, which is not my point, or my conclusion. My point was ownership had the power to authorize surgery and chose not to. I never said it was Terry’s plan. I’ve concluded that once Jack wanted out, Terry said “fine, trade him, but I’m not retaining, and I’m not authorizing the surgery.” In other words, I’ve treated that ungrateful brat like a king and he’s not walking out of here on my dime. He didn’t plan the Eichel trade, as Weave said, he handcuffed it. And I agree entirely with your last paragraph, other than the idea that Adams dictated that position to Terry. I believe Terry was embarrassed by the ROR trade and told Kevyn he was not going to set a deadline on this: hold out until he got what Kevyn deemed as fair value.

I’ve done a lot of reading and listening since Thursday and have come to some definite conclusions about a handful of items we extensively debated in the Eichel speculation thread. 1 Trading Jack Eichel was not Kevyn Adams’ idea. Straight from Jack’s mouth, in the immediate wake of Jason Botterill being fired he went to the team and said I can’t handle more rebuilding, if you’re going to reset, trade me to fuel your reset. The Taylor Hall/Eric Staal thing was an attempt to change his mind, but the idea was Jack’s. 2 Terry Pegula put restrictions on what Adams could do in terms of handling the Eichel situation. Some people maintained the Sabres could not authorize ADR for purely medical or insurance reasons. I say the fact that the Knights are authorizing it as evidence that is simply not the case. I can’t see why the exact same options available to the Knights were not available to the Sabres. Both Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid underwent treatments different than that recommended by their team’s medical staff based on building a case of supporting evidence in the same fashion Eichel did. Someone chose not to agree, and I believe that someone, logically, was Terry. I also believe that Adams inability to consider salary retention in an Eichel deal was a mandate directly from ownership. It has been reported by several insiders that this situation got nasty. Yet neither Eichel, nor Adams seemed to have anything other than positive words for the other. The “nasty,” I think came between an owner who felt betrayed by his former golden child and the golden child who was not used to be told “no.” I think Terry was determined that once Jack was gone, he was not going to see another dime. Finally, I think Terry was perfectly willing to hang on forever if that’s what it took for the right offer to come through. He was determined he was not going to end up with another ROR deal and had instructed Adams to do exactly that. 3) Kevyn Adams earned my respect I don’t think he got fair value for Eichel, but I also don’t think he ever was. He got a good, young NHL player under contract for term, at a position of need. And, almost as important, that player is a walking ad for being happy to be a Buffalo Sabre. He also got probably the best centre prospect he was ever going to get, with the added bonus of that player fitting the “Sabre” mould he is trying to create. And he got two lottery tickets without adding a cent of bad cap. I think he was placed in an exceedingly difficult situation yet still may have emerged with viable pieces for his rebuild as well as a modicum of respect from his peers and his fan base. Time will tell, as always, but he did far better than I thought he was going to. Again, I am so glad this is over. Looking forward to seeing how the pieces come together, with increased confidence in the hand at the wheel.

IMO, management is much more interested in seeing what Bryson/Joki/Dahlin can learn and do with increased responsibility than in propping them up. They re also far more interested in using their capital on drafting more Ryan Johnsons and re-signing more Henri Jokiharjus than investing it in Craig Rivets and Robin Regehrs.

Beware the hair

I'm not sure if this is rhetorical or not, because you've said you're familiar with the words. Look who he is invested prime assets in: Quinn, Peterka, Tuch, Krebs, Rosen, Poltapov, Kisakov... competitive players who play fast, at least up front.

In the season Cale Makar turned 19 he put up 5 goals and 21 points in 34 games. In the season Quinn Hughes turned 19 he put up 5 goals and 29 points in 37 games. So far in the season where he will turn 19 this month, Owen Power has 2 goals and 12 points in 10 games. That lack of offence thing isn’t looking like much of concern so far.

Marcus is the only one I miss. Nothing against Carrier or Deslauriers, but shrug. Lemieux is a punk and he plays like a punk. A classless, me-first distraction - no wonder he’s on his 4th organization in 8 years.

I don’t think Adams has said he wants good people, per se. He’s said he wants players who want to be here and wake every day focused on making the Sabres better. Is that Kane? Two years at $10.5 million fits our cap. Depends on the price, don’t it?

You’re thinking of Asplund

Like many of us here, I never expected this year to be about the Sabres winning games and chasing a playoff spot. It was about creating a culture, passing the torch, and seeing how our developing players responded. I see 10 players on the NHL roster who the Sabres brass have been auditioning for roles on this team when it gets good. The season is now a month old and these are my takes on their progress so far Jokiharju Incomplete Cozens As many feared, Cozens seems to be putting the success and failure of the team on his shoulders before he is ready. I see some flashes of his speed and skill mixed with some major gaffes, mostly to do with lack of strength. He plays a power forward’s game but he’s not powerful enough to do so yet at this level. Simultaneously, he is one of our best 12 forwards, and in over his head. I think Donnie has handled him well, but Kevyn has to be debating whether he would be better off in Rochester. Ruotsalainen The thing that sticks out to me with R2 is the size of the fight in the dog. His goal last night was a textbook example of his want. The other thing is how he has struggled with his defensive zone reads at times at centre. More than any other prospect, he has been asked to play a role outside his normal game, with no PP time or shifts with skill players who can think offence at his level. I’m not sure if the plan is “learn how to defend at an NHL level and we’ll give you a shot up the lineup,” or if the team actually sees his future in the bottom 6. He’s clearly been the 12th forward and it’s hard to say whether or not he’s earned more. Dahlin I loved the way Dahlin started the year. I thought his D-zone coverage and strength on the puck and in battles were much improved, and his entries and exits were things of beauty. Not sure if it’s chicken or egg, but he stopped being the Sabres best player around the same time the Sabres stopped playing good hockey. I think overall he’s been better than the Internet gives him credit for, but he has certainly had his rough moments the past week or two. His horrible penchant for embarrassing plays coupled with his lack of big plays and his draft status is going to always make him a lightning rod for criticism. He is leading the team in ice time, he’s put up decent counting stats and he has a positive Corsi. The Sabres needed him to take a step this year and so far he hasn’t. Mittelstadt Incomplete Olofsson Some might consider Olofsson too old to be “developing”, but he started the season with less than 120 games played. I think a player generally needs at least 200 before we know who he is. And before he got hurt, it has looked like Victor had taken another step. To my eyes, he’s very clearly changed his approach from complementary player, to a guy who wants to be a leader and a difference maker. One could make a strong argument he has been the Sabres best player, and his counting stats and analytics back that up. He has continued as a PP weapon, but it has been his ES play that has opened eyes. He’s been used as a 1st-liner and so far has been fully up to the task. Thompson I honestly don’t think Thompson’s play has received enough attention on here. When the year started, many of you questioned his ability to be an NHL player at all. No one thought for a second he could be an effective top six centre, let alone one who has simultaneously been effective defensively and the team’s most creative, dangerous forward. Instead of brain-dead passes and toe-drags we’ve seen a player who can evade checkers, carry the puck effectively through traffic and get it to the net. Instead of making turnovers, he’s creating them. He’s showing himself to be a legit middle-six player and maybe more. And maybe we need to start taking the idea of him actually being a centre for this team long-term seriously. Asplund I fell in love with Rasmus Asplund’s game during the rookie tournament during his first pro season. There are players who draw the eye with their flash, or their bash, and then there are players who don’t, but if you actively watch, you see how well they do all the little things correctly. I call the latter the Patrice Bergeron factor, and at that level he had it. It took a while to show up at the AHL level and even longer at the NHL level, But we are seeing it now. Asplund is a dog on a rat out out there. I don’t see his counting stats continuing, but his analytics should and he looks like he can be a very effective NHLer in a Hecht role. Bryson I didn’t know if this kid was an NHL defenceman going in to the season. I thought he fell off last year after a good start and had doubts about his size. He’s making me a believer. Even at the NHL level his skating stands out, especially with the puck on his stick. He gets up-ice so fast and squirts through traffic. And his feet and body positioning are serving him well in 1-on-1 situations. One thing I’ve noticed about Bryson is his easy confidence. Unlike Cozens and Dahlin, he doesn’t carry the team on his shoulders. He’s got a Cornerback’s mentality and he just competes. I look at the success of guys like Krug or Grelzcyk and I start to wonder if he might follow their paths. Bjork The Sabres talked Bjork up as a player with untapped potential when they plucked him from the Bruins. I haven’t seen it. I see speed, I see puck skills and I see effort but none of those things delivered in more than the occasional flash. Bjork has yet to get more than a few brief glimpses in the top 6 and I think that’s because he doesn’t process at a top-6 level. I also don’t see the battle or the instincts to make him an effective bottom-sixer either. He’s a bit of an eager lost puppy out there and I’ve seen enough to move him from the “developing” list to the list of JAGs. What has Sabrespace seen so far?

@K-9 that was not meant to imply you’re inflexible, just to make clear I was sharing my opinion, rather than debating yours. I disagree with your conclusion, but I get where you’re coming from and I’ve found the give and take worthwhile.

Which guy in the top 10 aside from Wright looks most like an “Adams” Sabre? Im talking competitive, fast, relentless, good teammate.

Still waiting for signs that Adams actually plans to weaponize that space instead of just being “economic and efficient”

Hey, UPL only let in 2 last game. Baby steps. 🙏 And Bloom is only 6 months older than Wright. How good is Wright?

I thought Dylan was pretty good last night as well. I don’t blame his linemates for his inconsistencies, but a look at RW with Mitts and Skinner until Tuch claims that spot is worth a try.