dudacek

So have it, why do you like the guy and why has the recent progress of the team given you hope?

I am skeptical that Eric Johnston and Conor Clifton are enough to fix the defence and I really hope that both Adams and I are right about Devon Levi. I certainly would have liked to see him acquire a better insurance policy in net and a more certain top 4 defenceman. I also think Adams has done a tremendous job fixing the culture, installing hope for the franchise, building a cohesive hockey department, and accumulating a fine collection of young talent, and that the Sabres are on the verge of being successful, but I guess we need another thread for that.

I think most fans are over being a bad team. I think most fans are on board with development if it leads to contention and on board with contention if it leads to championships. And I think most fans were fine with last year in the context of what came before, but they wan’t be fine with a repeat of last year. Or did you honestly think we were going to go from the .330 team of 20/21 to Stanley Cup contender in 22/23?

Didn’t you call me out when I said essentially the same thing about the way you view the Sabres?

I think that’s where a lot of the tension around here comes from: most of us can see how close we are, and it’s been so long since we've been here (2016? 2009?) that we’re terrified it will be frittered away. So suggestions that we’ve already made it, or that we’re the same old Sabres, are frustrating as hell. At the edge is absolutely the wrong time to give up, or to ease up: dig in and get over the hump.

I missed this earlier. Saying no competence has been shown given the hole we were in 2 years ago and what has happened since demonstrates a ridiculously narrow definition of competence. It’s no less blind than JohnC’s definition of success.

I gotta say, that’s not what Thorny has been saying at all. He’s not talking about last year. Hes talking about whether or not Adams has done enough for this team to take another step next year.

Adams had one of the best offensive teams in the NHL and missed the playoffs by a single win. I don’t think his job ahead of this summer was overly complex, even within the overarching mandate of sustainable success: cut the goals against enough to become a perennial playoff team. Now there are many ways to make this happen and I will judge his off-season on the results of his decision in each: Coaching: Adams decided to keep the people responsible for league’s 29th ranked PK and its 26th ranked defence intact. The head coach said it is easier to coach defence than offence, implying strongly that offence and accelerating player development were his initial priorities. Granato is now saying the time for gaining experience is past, that youth is no longer an excuse, and that players will be held accountable for their errors. He has raised expectations that defence and situational awareness within the system will be more of a point of emphasis this season. There has been no suggestion that the system itself is being changed. Changing the forwards: The Sabres are, as the Twitterverse says, ‘running it back’ this year. The most significant change up front actually happened at the deadline last year with the addition of an out-of-shape Jordan Greenway, who was 1/3 of one of the NHL’s best defensive lines in Minnesota the 2 seasons previous to last. The team did not add a bottom-six centre, instead bringing back Tyson Jost as a UFA and choosing to lean on some mix of Mittelstadt, Krebs, Cozens and Thompson for their hard matchups. They have not moved their perceived “weakest link” up front defensively, Victor Olofsson. Instead, he is the odds-on favourite to fill the middle-six hole created by the injury to Jack Quinn, one of the team’s more defensively responsible youngsters. Changing the defence: While Adams stood pat with his top 3, he made his biggest off-season moves here, first adding Riley Stillman at the trade deadline, then Erik Johnson and Kyle Clifford in free agency. All 3 look like calculated efforts at finding upside and/or fit. Clifford will get a shot at top 4 minutes here after showing well in spot duty in that role with Boston while excelling on the 3rd pair. He brings edge and own-zone competence, while playing Granato-style hockey. Johnson is expected to be James Patrick circa 1999: savvy and a professional presence to supplement judicious situational usage. He can still skate and remains a mammoth human being, but he is no longer young and his contributions last year were questionable. Stillman was bad for the Canucks, but considered a better fit for the Sabres system. Like Clifford, he’s no tough guy, but he does bring some edge in a 6/7 role. The fact that Jacob Bryson frequently got top 4 minutes in the 1st half of last year and is now fighting off challenges from Kale Clague and Ryan Johnson to hold on to the 9th spot on the depth chart is indicative of how much deeper the team has become. It remains uncertain that this team has a playoff-calibre top 4. Changing the goalies: Most of Kevyn Adams’ eggs are in Devon Levi’s basket. His skill and charisma were obvious in his 7-game stint last year. His track record is impressive. The list of recent goalies who have carried an NHL load at his experience level exceedingly short. The fanbase antipathy for UPL is very high for a 24-year-old rookie with a winning record on a bad defensive team. His other numbers provide reason. Some remain hopeful Eric Comrie is more the competent backup he was during his last season in Winnipeg, than the Dustin Tokarski he’s been his other 8 professional seasons. Adams has decided - at least thus far - that he will get competent NHL goaltending in some form out of this trio. Penalty-killing: The Sabres penalty killing last year was the worst in franchise history. It was also the area the team did the most to address in the off-season. Both Clifton and Johnson are very good penalty killers and should be notable upgrades. Never having to use Bryson and Fitzgerald on the PK any more has to help. Granato talked about Johnson making everyone around him better here. There was a lot of auditioning going on last year, both on the blueline, and up front. Last year was Dylan Cozens’ first on the PK, Peyton Krebs didn’t start playing that role until the 2nd half (where he was 2nd in PK ice time) so there was definitely some learning on the job going on. Girgensons was probably the only “good” PKer up front, but the GM is betting Krebs, Quinn, Cozens and Tuch have the proper skilllset to do well there, maybe Greenway as well. A key will be setting up a proper rotation early and letting them find a groove. The most important change, however, will be more big and timely saves. Will Levi’s focus and athleticism make a difference here? Experience Adams seems to be putting a great deal of emphasis on this in 2 ways. First of all, Krebs Quinn Peterka Power Samuelsson and UPL now have a full season behind them; Thompson, Tuch, Cozens, Dahlin and Mittelstadt now have a full season of being “core” behind them. He’s betting they will all be better all-around players for it. Secondly, he has been very judicious in his choices of the veteran supplements he’s chosen to nourish his young core. He brought back Girgensons and Okposo because the tone they set is the tone he wants and he added Clifton and Johnson for the exact same reasons, plus the pedigree of playoff success with successful franchises. He’s very specifically chosen this mix and avoided “mercenaries”. Finally, he’s also betting that his 3/4 from last year (Mule and Joker) will not suffer the same injury issues that have plagued them for the 2 previous seasons, and that the likes of Kulich, Rousek, Savoie and Biro are ready to step up and match up defensively should injuries strike up front. Those are his choices when continued growth (read playoffs) is absolutely the mandate. He wears the results.

In terms of how they are perceived among the fanbase and around the league? That’s fair, but it’s also fleeting if they cough up an 84-point season next year.

I think when people talk about teams making moves they tend to focus mostly on who they added and not who they lost, or what they need. Case in point was Andrew Peters gushing over the Leafs: Bertuzzi, Domi, Reaves and Kilngberg, all veterans I’ve heard of! Im not saying these guys can’t be good additions, but I will say that you are collectively adding some talent and some edge, but you are also adding a group of mercenaries who tend to take bad penalties, make defensive miscues, don’t do well with structure and haven’t produced up to their reputations in recent years. And, at the same time, you have subtracted O’Reilly, Kerfoot, Bunting, Holl, Acciari, Schenn, Simmonds, Engvall Sandin and Aston-Reese, some of whom played significant roles in last year’s team. Isn’t the more pertinent question how well have they addressed the perceived weaknesses of last year’s team: the goaltending, play without the puck and the playoff worth of the core 4? It’s a significantly different team than the one they were icing prior to the trade deadline, but is it actually better?

It’s possible to think Adams has done a good job of fixing the culture, building the hockey department, acquiring and developing young talent, and resetting the team on the positive path over the past 2 years, yet still question the decisions he has made this so far summer.

What single word would you use to describe his summer.

Yes, he’s prudently put him himself in a good position with contracts and with young talent. Now that he’s in that position, can he execute the right steps to transform potential to contender? He appears to have had a pedestrian summer so far, in terms of addressing what most of us considered needs. Maybe there’s more to come. If not, we’ll see if he’s done enough. We’ve moved from preparing and into doing, don’t you think?

Isn’t that mostly based on the Tage deal? Cozens and Samuelsson seem fair, but are only “good” based on projection, not performance. And the decision to bridge Dahlin remains an open question. Johnson, Comrie, Lyubushkin, Girgensons, Okposo and Jost aren’t anchors by any means, but they are all on the generous side for what they bring. Olofsson is not looking good. Adams seems to have primarily used his glut of entry-level deal savings to overspend short-term on the bottom half of the roster. Like a lot of what his done with development, he’s primarily used being bad to his advantage, contract-wise. We should reserve judgement until the decision-making gets harder.

Could this be roster in 2027? Benson (23) Tage (30) Tuch (32) Peterka (26) Cozens (27) Quinn (27) Kulich (24) Krebs (27) Savoie (24) Wahlberg (23) Östlund (24) Poltapov (25) Dahlin (28) Samuelsson (28) Power (25) Johnson (27) Novikov (25) Clifton (33) Jokiharju (29) Levi (26) Luukkonen (29) (Rosen, Mitts, Rousek, Kozak, Nadeau, Neuchev, Kisakov, Komarov, Lindgren, Strbak…) Of course trades and the cap will happen and players will develop differently than expected, good, or bad. But that is a ton of talent in their window at the same time.

So when do we expect these guys to arrive as full-time NHLers? Seems to me that last year’s rookies marked the last chapter of the first wave. 2018 Dahlin 2019 Olofsson, Jokiharju 2020 Cozens, Thompson, Mittelstadt 2021 Samuelsson, Bryson, Asplund 2022 Power, UPL, Krebs, Quinn, Peterka 2023 Levi, Rousek? Savoie?, Kulich? 2024 Savoie, Kulich, Johnson? Benson? 2025 Johnson, Benson, Östlund? Rosen? Kozak? Poltapov? Kisakov? 2026 Poltapov, Östlund, Rosen, Novikov? Nadeau? Neuchev? Wahlberg? 2027 Wahlberg, Lindgren? Komarov? Richard? Strbak? McCarthy? 2028 Strbak, Leinonen? Ratzlaff? Miedema?

Spuzzum has always been a favourite.

I gotta say you confuse me when you say things like Oscar Steen and Jacob Lauko are good 2-way bottom sixers and call Jordan Greenway fringe. The Bruin pair have a combined 49 NHL games in 7 years of pro hockey and have yet to fully crack an NHL roster. Greenway has been a pro for 5 years and an NHL regular for every one of them.

I think @PerreaultForever simply doesn’t think the Sabres have any bullies so by definition any team that has one is grittier. It doesn’t really matter if the Sabres aren’t scared, until the other team is scared. Meanwhile, the grit level of key Sabres like Mittelstadt, Cozens, Thompson, Power and Dahlin is found lacking, while the same of key Senators like Batherson, Norris, Stutzle, Chabot and Sanderson is ignored. The experience thing is interesting. The Sabres have one Stanley Cup ring (Johnson) as do the Senators (Tarasenko). The Sabres have four players with significant playoff experience: Johnson has 55 games, Tuch has 66, Jost 46 and Clifton 46. Greenway has 22 and Okposo 24. The Senators have 2 players with a ton: Tarasenko 97 and Giroux 95. After that, Hamonic has 22. That’s it.

I doubt Comrie is capable of performing well enough over 2 or 3 weeks to outright win the backup job. That’s not a shot at him as much as an acknowledgment that age, history, contract and waiver status all stack the deck significantly in UPL’s favour. However, it is possible UPL could perform poorly enough to lose it.

And how does the NHL dictate who wins the Vezina? Bribing the voters or blackmailing them?

They aren't bigger, aren't more experienced, aren't more battle proven, aren't faster, aren't more competitive, aren't deeper...? Where's does this come from?

The biggest difference between Buffalo and Ottawa on paper is the prospect pool, Buffalo’s remains strong while Ottawa’s has mostly graduated. Their NHL rosters look similar enough at this point that a few surprise or disappointing individual performances could tilt the balance in either direction. Stutzle and Tkachuk are studs. Sanderson is going to be very good. Norris is back. I suspect each team will be a thorn in each other’s sides for years to come.

This makes me wonder: how many jobs are ever outright won in training camp? What I’m saying is teams have a ghost roster in their heads where 20-ish guys are on the team, 5ish guys are in the mix for the last 3 spots, and 20ish guys are expected to be sent down. Sure, the bubble guys are fighting for those last 3 spots, but how often does a guy outside that bubble change minds with his training camp? Is there any chance Levi isn’t on the roster come October? Does Brett Murray really have a shot to be the 13th forward? Can Kale Clague or Ryan Johnson, or Jacob Bryson make the team over Eric Johnson? How bad would Peyton Krebs have to perform not to be in Buffalo? Don’t get me wrong, there are battles for spots most years, but not many guys are actually participating in those battles.

It seems to me from an outsider’s point of view that many Americans have fully bought into some ideas about post-secondary education that aren’t necessarily true: An education needs to be expensive to have value. You must go out and get a degree as soon as you’re done high school. You need to “go away” to college. The name of the institution on the degree matters more than the knowledge it carries. A cost-benefit analysis of your options post-degree is less important than figuring out how you can afford the degree itself. You can figure out whether it’s the right field for you, and how you’re going to pay for it later.