Dr. Who

Yep, but ours are on the Titanic.

Prescient. Let's see if there is any kind of significant add to the top 6.

This is a rhetorical question, right?

Given the lack of change in the assistant coaches, how confident can one be that the anemic power play will at least achieve mediocrity? Shorter leash for UPL is good. Let's hope Lyon or Levi is a valid alternative. I do think they are marginally better. Resign Byram, bring in Roslovic, or trade for a better top 6. I'd like to spend futures on the latter, but I am skeptical about that happening.

Kev thinking makes me nervous. Your inference is likely correct, though.

Too bad there's no roll back to Hasek in the cards.

So smart. We are such bright fellas. Why is the board so negative?

1) No one is really expecting the Cup. Failure is missing the playoffs for 15 years in a row. 2) Folks want this to be an entertaining part of the year. When your regular season is habitually disappointing, it is common for the off-season to be a time of hope. Problem is when the off-season moves are predictably underwhelming, and the accountability for those making decisions appears close to non-existent. I'd say the general consensus is the team on balance may be slightly better or the same as last year, barring further changes, which would mostly be provided by trade. Everyone is hoping, but the majority has lost patience. I am with the majority here. I'd feel better about things if the goalie situation was stronger. If someone steps up, that would palpably increase the chances of breaking the historic record of playoff absence.

Two minutes in the penalty box. I break the name down into two small bits: By Ram, Byram. If they keep him or trade him for a comparable D with maybe a different skill set, fine. They still need to add a top 6 to the offense. If they trade for offensive help, they need to trade futures for a top 4 D. Either way, I think they need to add somewhere to more plausibly field a team that could break the endless playoff drought.

Yes, I understand. I was just saying in the context of whether or not the Sabres are "paralyzed," i.e., unable to pursue a big ticket free agent, all those fellas are signed with someone, so there is no urgency of that sort.

Probably they were not paralyzed in the sense that the big ticket FAs likely were not interested. But if you are keeping money in reserve dependent on whether you are going to match an offer sheet or sign Byram to a contract, presumably one isn't using that cap space to go after an Ehlers, for instance. Regardless, at this point, they can wait it out if they want.

I don't see a suggestion there. It's an observation. We don't spend to cap, do you disagree? Didn't KA say that they were proactively dumping salary so that offer sheets for Byram could be matched?

Rational, and offers a bit of hope; seems like it would take a near miracle for even this to happen.

KA isn't trading Power, so it's immaterial.

The level of ineptitude is mind-numbing.

I think Rosen is a tweener. It's a year early for Helenius. They're betting on Quinn.

That one would surprise me, with an obvious opening at goalie. There's enough terrible to dwell upon.

If #10 is true, just utterly unforgivable. And it probably is true.

Meanwhile, the inexplicable and the dumb are completely in their wheelhouse.

"For some reason there's a love affair with doom and gloom" is your overall interpretive conclusion as to the motivation behind folks speculating: that's your own bias regarding the nature of the board, which you've expressed quite often. The question of whether the Sabres are better is in flux, so obviously some figured in what they thought likely (a trade of Byram), and others held off, and based judgment on what is true right now. I don't see that kind of variance as proof of an odd desire to "paint the worst picture," though it is true that a self-destructive madness can overcome a group when conditions turn in a certain direction. I hardly think that is what is happening on this board. In my judgment, the current roster is not a playoff team, so the offseason is a failure if it remains more-or-less what it is now. You can make an argument that the team is marginally improved overall. I'm not certain that is correct, but it is not ridiculous. What happens in the next week or so will be much more telling, so pausing on making pronouncements until there is greater clarity is actually the most prudent course.

You'd have to turn Byram into futures and picks, and use that as part of the package to get Robertson.

It's not for "some reason" as if it were unfathomable and irrational. There is a long history of ineptitude, which quite naturally produces skepticism. There is also inconsistency. Don't block the young players. Then when they hit on one who doesn't want to be here, you end up trading the unblocked. Handedness didn't matter on D, and now it does. They were all finesse, and now we have discovered the need for grit. I like the current shift, but the GM does not inspire confidence. The change is not coming from principle, unless it is someone else behind the altered criteria, which is quite possible. If Byram is not traded, the D is fine. I think he's probably going to be traded, but it's not as certain as it seemed a few days ago. They should bring in veteran competition for UPL, and let Levi season another year. I rather doubt that is their plan, though. They need to bring in a top 6 winger. There's cap room to do it, but most folks are rightly concerned that we won't spend, because TP has been cheap. You can conjecture various reasons, but the cheap part is undeniable, or should be.

I would agree with the view that you probably need to add to get Robertson, but this is a solid plan.

I really can't imagine KA pulling off those kind of deals, especially in a compressed timeframe. I agree. I'd love to find a way to get Robertson, though.

AI can't really think. It's autocorrect on hyperdrive.