JohnC

I was watching part of the Islander/Carolina game. The Islanders are a tough and grinding team. I just couldn't stay tuned to the game. When they play there is little entertainment value and soul crushing to watch. There are plenty of legitimate criticisms to make about the Sabres. However, you can't deny that they play an entertaining brand of hockey.

The Florida game is so important. https://www.nhl.com/standings/2022/wildcard

How long has KA been on the freaking job? Three years, not eleven. You are blaming him for the ills of the past. That makes no bloody sense.

The spell check needs to be checked. Not cursed at. 🍷

I certainly do know because the coach talked about the switch on WGR. It was a deliberate changing of position for a player he previously worked with. And it should be noted that before Tage was drafted he played the center position. You are the person making an assumption, a wrong one at that.

His starting point for KA's rebuilding isn't when he took over. His starting clock goes back to when Pegula took over, around 10 years ago. That's the source of our fundamental disagreement when each of us assesses KA's work as a GM. This particular GM took over around three years ago. He came in with the intention of fundamentally altering how this franchise operated. In three years, he got rid of the old core and reshuffled the remaining roster. He literally rebuilt the organization from top to bottom, restocked the depleted farm system and has this team competing for a playoff spot. In my view, that is a relatively fast turnaround. In his view, it's never good enough.

How did he do in his first game against a good team?

I saw Levi on the ice meditating. I became entranced and ended up walking through my glass door. Obviously, I'm easily influenced. It was a bad time to run out of band-aids. 🙃

As a staunch Sabre fan I have a simple request: Stop watching the games. The fortunes of this team may dramatically change. 🤡

No. Not Savoie or Kulich. Maybe Rosen in a deal? I would give up first round draft pick/s if it were required. If it seems that I am equivocating, it is because I'm not sure. The more I hear about Rosen coming along as a player the less enthusiastic I am to deal him.

The move to center was not based on luck. Granato coached Tage in some tournaments where he played center. So, he had some familiarity with him before he got into the league. It was a smart decision by an astute coach whose forte is working with young players.

The goalie I would love to add is Saro, maybe even Demko. They are under a short enough term for us to allow our young goalies to develop more. As far as what is the GM willing to give up, I'm confident that he is not willing to give up one of our prime prospects. My concern isn't over mentoring any of our young goalies. My main concern is getting a dependable goalie who can anchor this emerging team. The time to do it is sooner rather than later. My sense, based on just my gut, is that the GM is going to stick with what he has in the system. Is that the right course of action? I really don't know.

Odds are that additions will be made in the offseason. As far as the timeline and speed of it, I'm more than satisfied with the pace. In fact, in my view it is a year ahead of schedule. If you are not willing to be patient, you are going to frustrate yourself. Be a little more patient and in moderation drink a little more. It will calm your self-induced agitated nerves.

I'm simply stating an opinion based on what I believe KA's instincts are in making such a consequential goalie decision: I don't think he is going outside the organization to make such an impactful deal. If I had to guess, I would speculate that he would ride the wagon that has Comrie, UPL and Levi riding on. Again, this is my opinion/guess: I think that he is going to backdoor the goalie problem by bringing in a quality defenseman or two to shore up that unit. The failed Chycrun deal influences my thoughts on that issue. On this issue, you and I are taking the same bus.

He would have been an interesting consideration. He signed with the Predators for a 3 year and $4.35 M deal. The Sabres have a large stable of forward prospects in their system. It's likely that the organization felt that it would be better grooming and sticking with the players in their own system.

And to a lesser exgtend moving Mitts to the wing salvaged what was a descending career. When one tabulates all the personnel and coaching decisions that have been made since the installation of KA, the overwhelming proportion of them have worked out. And sometimes not doing something turns out to be a good decision that many of us are not even aware of.

Every deal isn't going to be a major deal. The GM added Lyubushkin to the unit in the offseason. And during the season he added Spellman, a lower pairing player. In addition, there was a serious attempt to deal for Chycrun. It didn't materialize. Other additions were made during the season such as adding Jost and Greenway. None of the additions were significant deals but they were deals that improved the team and its depth. The major element to improving this team is going to be internal improvement from the young players and drawing players from within the system. That is the approach the GM said he was going to take when he took the job, and that is exactly what he is doing. From an overview perspective, the approach he laid out and is following is working. You may not disagree with that assessment but that's okay.

I would bet that Savoie would more likely be on the third line with Mitts. When Granato was recently asked about Greenway on WGR, he said that he is playing impaired and that next year he expects him to be better. He added that he coached him before and strongly believes there is more to his game to draw from.

If I'm not mistake didn't Anderson already play a Florida game? I'm with you that I would go with Levi.

I wonder if playing in an area near where his family resides will be a factor in playing the veteran?

The drafting of Quinn and moving up to get Peterka were good draft moves. And getting Tage, Samuelsson and Cozens re-signed sooner rather than later were good future hockey and cap decisions. The trade of Reinhart that resulted in getting Levi could prove to be one of his most impactful personnel decisions. (As others have already stated.) From the staffing side replacing Krueger with Granato and then giving him the position on a more permanent basis made a tremendous difference on the team and individual players. I'm sure Dahlin and Skinner would agree.

I remember when Granato was talking about Quinn and Peterka and the organization's thought process about keeping them down for more developing in the AHL. The coach and staff concluded that both players outgrew the AHL and little was to be gained keeping them in the lower league. The same line of reasoning applies to Savoie. Since the AHL option is foreclosed it makes more sense to jump him up to the Sabres. I can see him on the third line with Mitts.

The GM did make a serious move to trade for Chycrun. It didn't work out. What moves are you hypothetically advocating for?

In yesterday's pregame meeting with the press the coach said that he is still day to day. He said the player is getting better and close to getting back into action. He said he may or may not play against Florida. Translation: Maybe plays. Is that helpful information? No.

In my estimation, he is best suited to be a winger on a third line. (As you noted.) In addition, he also adds value because of his versatility. He can be moved to the center position, even to a higher line due to an injury, and acquit himself well. He's certainly not a first line center but on a temporary basis he can adequately fill a void. I also see his value on the second PP unit. In general, I would say that he is a solid player. He has a role on this team.