jad1

After last season I was hoping I would never have to hear the words "draft lottery" again for the rest of my life. And yet, here we are.

I agree with wanting a scoring 3rd line, like the the RAV line. Okposo, Sheary, and Mitts aren't going to get you that. Olofsson and Nylander with ERod might be a better choice for the third line. Casey and Tage are in limbo, both should start in Rochester next season. Thompson should be trade bait and Mitts should be on a short leash. Eichel, Skinnner, and Reinhart would give the Sabres a dominant first line. Botterill needs to build the 2nd line almost from scratch. Maybe Sheary stays there, but Botterill needs to find a couple of 20+ goal scorers at center or wing by trade or in FA.

He definitely looks good. It would be great if he fills a top 6 forward slot next season.

They should bring him back next season at the right price. 15+ goals, can fill in on every line, veteran with the right attitude. He'd be a good role player.

NHL games? 200 games is almost 3 full seasons, which is too long to judge if a player has the ability to adjust to the speed of the NHL game. And Tage is half-way there, with un-promising results.

Dahlin might be still getting used to the speed of the game, but he's 18 and put up 41 points this season. Tage is 3 years older and had 12 points this year. Not to be too harsh, but that's the difference between a rising star and a bust. And the extra weight won't help Thompson, because he's not a physical player. He's not a Carrier or even a Girgensons. The most disappointing thing about him is his lack of physical play.

106 games to get used to NHL speed? I think he has more problems than that. And entitlement is the only reason Thompson spent almost the entire season on an NHL roster this year. Botterill should find a GM who is similarly awed by Thompson's physical giftedness so he can package Tage in a deal for a player who can actually play NHL hockey. In other words, he needs to give Thompson the ol' 'Cliff Pu.'

Here you go: Luke Adam: 90 Career NHL games, 15 goals, 11 assists, 26 points, -11 Tage Thompson: 106 Career NHL games, 10 goals, 11 assists, 21 points, -34

Because the Pegulas have been consistent in firing coaches after 2 years (Ruff, Nolan, Bylsma, Rex) and in just about all cases, they've been right to do so. They make their mistakes when they hire the new coach.

Good effort boys! Take Thursday off! (As if they need to be told to do that!)

Right now, this season would be Skinner's 3rd best season, so it's not a career year. He's in the neighborhood of a 25+ goal and 50+ point average per year player. Stafford scored 20+ goals 4 times in his 15 year career. So, no real comparison in the risk of signing these two players. Let Skinner walk, but Botterill better have a replacement in mind to play on Eichel's wing. The best way to blow $10 million a year is to put Sheary and Thompson on Jack's line.

I would argue that it cost them this season. A 55 point player would look pretty good on the 2nd line, behind Eichel, Skinner, and Reinhart. Buffalo has 3 top six forwards right now. 2 if Skinner walks. That means next season, Botterill has to add three or four 55-point players to the roster. It's an almost impossible task to add that number of 55-point players to a roster in one off season. So, barring a miracle from Botterill in the trade and FA market this off season, next season could make it two lost seasons.

You can see what Murray was trying to do to quickly rebuild the team. He drafted Eichel and Reinhart, traded for O'Reilly and Kane, and signed Okposo and Moulson as free agents. In a couple of short years he tried to build the top six fowards. It didn't work out, mainly due to Okposo and Moulson. The Sabres need a GM better than Murray, but as a fan I appreciate Murray's urgency with his plan.

Yeah, I think the point is that it's extremely difficult to acquire legitimate top 6 fowards in the NHL. You can't be cavalier with these guys, because they're difficult to replace (case in point, losing Drury and Briere for nothing basically destroyed the Sabres franchise). When Botterill realized that he wasn't going to be able to trade Kane for a top six foward, he should have tried to work a deal with Kane to keep him long term. Despite Kane's shortcomings, not replacing his contributions on the ice has set the franchise back years.

Nolan might have them play with more grit, but the team would definitely play with more structure in the defensive zone under Ruff.

It further emphasizes how bad the O'Reilly and Kane trades were. Not getting NHL-ready prospects in return for top 6 fowards adds years to a rebuild that Botterill himself sabatoged. The Sabres do not have a potential 2C for next season currently in their pipeline. Botterill traded a first rounder he acquired in his doomed trades for Montour. Montour is a good player, but he hasn't helped the overall team defense, and he doesn't fill the top 6 forwards gap. There's no urgency in Botterill's plan, and it's going to cost him.

There are 17 other players I'd blame on this team for getting the coach fired before Eichel (and one head coach).

They play poorly in their own zone, lacking fundamentals and positioning. The goaltending is average to poor. The top forward line could only carry the team so far. The team could have used an infusion of talent mid-season, but received none. Bad coaching, over-matched players, and a GM who decided to sacrifice a playoff run for a Calder Cup run.

They had 3 first round draft picks in the draft. They got Skinner for less than that. Teams have traded for top six fowards for late first rounders and mid-level prospects (see O'Reilly and Kane). Botterill could have made a deal if he wanted to. Unless you believe Mittelstadt will vastly improve next season, Botterill is going to have to look outside the organization to build a legit 2nd line. Unless he overpays in FA, he's going to have to finally make a deal in the off season.

That and the constant fundamental mistakes the team makes in its own zone has to be extremely frustrating.

Skinner has the 1000 yard stare. Not a good sign.

I don't know, give guys like Nylander or Olofsson a shot earlier in the season? Give Smith or O'Regan or Smith a shot? Make a blockbuster trade for a guy like Duchene and have Pegula open up the wallet to sign him long term? Trade for an older vet like Eric Staal who could improve the 2C position and mentor the young guys on the team?

This team broke right around Xmas. The top line couldn't carry the weight, and the GM refused to bring in secondary scoring, and the coach couldn't figure out how to get more out of the roster. If the Sabres had a 2nd scoring line that could take pressure off the first, and a defense that could give the forwards confidence to take chances in the offensive zone, Skinner, Eichel and Reinhart probably would have had a stronger finish. It's an example of what happens when a team tries to get through an entire season with 4 good players and a high school coach, and a clueless GM.

And Sabres finished with 62 points last season under Housley, 16 fewer than they finished with under Bylsma the season before. The Sabres results under Housley are catastrophically bad.

That's a good sign.