JohnC

You and I are riding the same bus and going to the same destination on this issue. Give me a version of Lyubushkin and I would be happy. Where I slightly vary from your position is that I don't see the Sabres making a trade for an authentic top two pairing player because I don't see our GM willing to include in a trade one of his top tier prospects. It is very likely that the trade partner would want that type of asset coming their way. (Consider what KA was not willing to give up to acquire Chycrun.) Another consideration is that Don G thinks more highly of Joki than many here. As you well know I talk him up more than most here.

Let me add to my original post that if there are quality blue liner prospects whose rating are equal or in the same range as forward prospects in this draft, there is a need to add defensemen to our prospect pool which is very small, if not existent.

The GM saw an opportunity to acquire a second pairing caliber player who still had term and a very reasonable contract. So he seriously pursued a deal. He had a quality offer, if not better offer, but the dealer went somewhere else. I don't think that it is likely that a second pairing type of defenseman will be on the market who has that term and salary reasonableness. And if there is a trade possibility at the draft and offseason, I believe that a high-end prospect will be required to consummate such a deal. Based on his history I don't see our GM willing to include that type of prospect in a proposed deal. You have made the same observation that I have on Lyubushkin's recent play. Recently, it has been solid or better. If the Sabres added another blueliner who is similar in performance, it would thicken up the lower half of our blue line unit. Limiting minutes to players such as Bryson and Clague is addition by subtraction. And it would give the unit more depth with players who are merely depth players.

Even if the Sabres draft a defenseman early on in the draft it is unlikely that the player will be on the roster for at least another two years. If the Sabres add a defenseman in the offseason, odds are that it will be a Lyubushkin third-pairing caliber of player who will bulk up the lower pairing group. There's nothing wrong with that approach. As it stands Power is thriving while paired with Joki.

I like listening to the Hockey Guy. However, I'm not in the mood to listen to 37 minutes of his rankings. Where does he have Buffalo ranked? And who are the three lowest ranked teams?

What your post demonstrates is that there are a number of considerations to factor in DG's decision. I agree with you that Greenway has to be in the lineup very soon. Isn't having difficult choices to make for game day lineups a refreshing problem to have? It wasn't that long ago where AHL caliber of players were the replacements. No. That Girgs/Yost/Okposo line is playing well and has an important role.

I thought the Samuelsson penalty when he went down to block a shot was the worst call or at least one of the worst calls in this game.

Now, the Hinostroza issue also becomes tricky. Since his call-up he has been playing well on a line with Cozens and Mitts. There are a number of considerations to juggle here regarding who sits or plays. I have confidence in Don G making the right choices when juggling players.

I thought Peterka played well in this game. And very recently he has worked to put himself in position to have scoring opportunities, something he didn't have for an extended period of time. The issue of sitting JJ is a tricky issue.

It's funny how two people can watch the same event and come away with very different views. I thought Comrie played well. I would have given him the first star of the game. In the first period, he was superb. I wouldn't rate his performance as being exceptional, but from my perspective he played consistently well throughout the game. The one goal in the third period when Tampa was shorthanded, he was left naked on the doorstep of the crease with no support. If this caliber of goaltending was consistently evident this season, the Sabres would be a team that would be chased for a playoff spot.

There was nothing perplexing about the acquisition. He was a third or fourth pairing type of player who was going to take minutes away from Clague and Bryson. That's exactly what many here were clamoring for, and doing so for a long time. Many here wanted to acquire Chycrun. As it turned out so did our GM. When, after the fact, it was explained that the Sabres made a legitimate offer to Arizona that may have surpassed Ottawa's offer then that issue was put aside.

I was going to make a comment about penalizing you for improper usage but I won't.

Attached in a link from NHL.com showing the playoff standings. https://www.nhl.com/standings/2022/wildcard

What he helllll are you talking about? Are you now the gestapo police for emojiis!

Perception for some people is their reality. That doesn't mean that they aren't spacemen crazy.

Stillman used his head in this game. 🤡

That fellow on the chair is tall enough not to need a chair for the work you are not paying him for. 🤡

It's part of the fun but not the reality. 🤡

KA has added Comrie, Lyubushkin, Yost, Stillman and recently Greenway. In a short period of time the lower half of the roster is being bulked and toughened up. None of the deals could be categorized as major deals, but collectively they were purposeful and solid deals that make this a more balanced roster.

Who hated him? Where did that come from?

Quick notes on the game: My first star goes to Comrie. Especially in the first period he played strong. Sameulsson played well. He's strong and efficient. That masks how well he played. Power is a stud player. He's so positionally sound. He outmuscles players without thumping players he's engaged with. Because of that you don't notice him outmuscling players to get the puck back. You can see him getting more confident on offense. Lyubushkin had an excellent game. He got a lot of ice time. He's solid. The pass of the game was from Mitts on the back board to Hinostroza for a score. Quinn is getting better and better. On his goal he made a subtle move to the middle to get off a clearer shot. He's going to be an ace goal scorer for us. The GM has added Yost, Lybush, Stillman and recently Greenway. The roster is getting tougher and bigger. This season the Sabres have beaten a lot of upper echelon teams. When we get good goaltending we can beat any team. Certainly not claiming that we are in the top tier yet but when the netminding is at a quality level this team is good. Happy to see the youthful crowd enjoy a good home game win as I did. We are going to be in the playoff hunt up to the end of the season. I'm not predicting that we will get in but I'm optimistic. o

Giving credibility to the advice offered on hockey bulletin boards is like giving credibility to the advice on stock market bulletin boards that promote crypto currency. If you take it seriously you will be impoverished. 🤡

It's not an issue of replacing Dahlin. The problem is when a starter is sidelined there isn't an adequate supply of players within the unit to temporarily fill the void until the player returns. You are not going to replace a player such as Dahlin with an equal talent. (Obviously so.) Being able to fill the hole with a competent player or not creating a big deficit by the player who ends up moving into the lineup is the issue that needed to be addressed.

I wouldn't be surprised if he adds another defenseman in the mold of Lyubuskin in the offseason. If you add Johnson to the pipeline, who in a year or so will be a third or fourth pairing blueliner, you can see depth being added to the unit. Will the GM go bold and acquire a second pairing caliber of player? I'm not sure that he will. What the injuries to Tuch and Dahlin demonstrate is that right now this team has an inadequate amount of depth to absorb injuries when they occur.

You make a good point that these lower line players can contribute more offensively than previous lower line players. They certainly are not upper line players but they do add more grit with some scoring ability. Improving the lower lines adds better balance to the roster. Not major deals but good deals.