JohnC

The Sabres could afford him but it doesn't want to.

As you point out the Sabres have less margin of error against superior teams. And as you also point out the Sabres are capable of beating the superior teams if they play at their maximum level. Where I disagree with you is that the Sabres do seem to play better (home and away) when there is a large and energized crowd. Apparently, they seem to feed off of the energy of the crowd. The record in front of big crowds in contrast to smaller crowds seem to indicate that.

That's not quite accurate. He was getting his arse lubricated and massaged on the bench. 🤡

To play that hardnosed and relentless Brind'Amour style for a full game is in itself impressive. It certainly isn't as aesthetically pleasing to watch like Colorado is capable of playing. But it is a grinding and full throttle brand of hockey that you have to respect. I was really impressed by how Carolina played last night (especially on a back to back.) As you said in a prior post their play is a reflection of their muscular coach.

The better team won. It had nothing to do with Granato being out strategized. Carolina has the second most points in the Eastern Conference. They are a more veteran and experienced team compared to the youthful Sabres. Every hockey analyst would tell you that Carolina is a cup contending team while the Sabres are at best a playoff contending team. There's a big difference between being a cup contender and a playoff contending team. The better team outplayed the inferior team and made fewer mistakes. No one should be surprised at the outcome. The outcome had little to nothing to do with coaching.

You have to give credit to the way Carolina played. All the lines play the same hard style of play on both ends of the ice. The lines are indistinguishable. The most impressive aspect of their game is how relentless they are throughout the game. There was some commentary prior to the game about how the Hurricanes would come into this game with tired legs after a back to back game that included a road game. That didn't materialize. The Sabres were loose with the puck, making a lot of bad passes. Too often they were intercepted with the visiting team pushing hard into the zone? How many odd man rushes did Carolina have when there were not enough players backstopping the play when we were in the offensive zone? Carolina's coach was miked up in this game. He didn't do a lot of yelling or exhibit any histrionics behind the bench. The players are coached well, and know how to play a Brind'Amour style of game. It's instilled in them. (If you can't play that hardnosed brand of hockey, you won't be on this roster.) They are a cup contending team, we are not. But that doesn't mean that our playoff contending team can't aspire to get to the higher stage that Carolina currently occupies. Needless to say, I was very impressed by them.

Absolutely not!

I was speaking in general. As you said Hull has been in the wilderness by himself for a long time.

I agree with you that it is not a new thing. But is it more prevalent for these public scathing judgments? I think so.

Cancelling can sometimes be even more insidious than being censored because a person can lose their career by having an opinion that goes against the mainstream. Sometimes saying something foolish or even ignorant shouldn't get to the point of losing one's ability to work.

There are people who due to religion, culture or simply personal views have different (less modern) opinions on race, women, sexuality etc. that are contrary to the mainstream/prevailing view on these topics. Often, these people do get excoriated and sometimes cancelled because of their minority beliefs. Although, I'm more likely to disagree with these less than enlightened/modern views, it has to be acknowledged that there is less tolerance for those holding those views. In addition, due to social media and the internet (modern communication) there is an intensity and swiftness of response that didn't exist a number of years ago to comments that are not aligned with the majority view. As an example: Dave Chapelle is a comedian whose views are usually very updated and liberal. He has made comments about gays and transgenders in his act that many found offensive. And because of it there were some who try to get him cancelled. He's a stubborn and strong-willed guy whose response was to double down on issues/responses that some considered controversial.

You make a strong argument that when Bryson is playing his lower pairing role, he does it reasonably well. When he is asked to play a higher role, his analytics take a tumble. There are players on this team that many people have a locked in negative narrative that is tough to shake. (With team success some of the narratives are softening.) Mitts, Olofsson and UPL are/were players whose critical narratives didn't match their actual play. What's changing now is that this team has accumulated and groomed enough talent where players are being more properly slotted.

It wouldn't be surprising if the Sabres make a deal or two at the deadline. However, I doubt that it will be for a top tier player who will command a high future salary. If there is going to be any acquisitions, it most likely will be for a Lyubushkin or Jost type player to fill out a lower line or pairing. If you listen to KA since he took over, he has made it clear that the primary avenue to roster building relates to players already in the system. I'm not suggesting that KA won't make a blockbuster type deal if the opportunity is available. I just don't see it happening this season.

Especially for a young goalie, I would rather make a judgment on his recent play than his prior play. There is no question that UPL's play for the past 15 games or so has been good. The current level of play of UPL is a major factor why we are winning at the rate we are. Is this period of time long enough to make a judgment on him? Not definitively, but certainly encouraging. As you point out with your posts on Demko, evaluating a goalie is extremely difficult. There are periods where a goalie can sparkle for a period of time, and then for a variety of reasons, some inexplicable, descend into the abyss. Sometimes a change of teams can temporarily resuscitate the play of the goalie, only then to again falter. There are less than a half a dozen elite goalies whose standard of play is consistent over a number of seasons. For the majority of the pack, it is difficult to predict how the goalies are going to perform. A shining star goalie in one season can turn out to be a dim star the next season. When it comes to evaluating goalies the best approach to take is to be humble when assessing goalies.

You make a good point. The coach assessed his roster and moved players that best suited their talents and the needs of the team.

This is a WGR link with Granato's regular Tues spot on WGR's Howard and Jeremy Show. Within this 20 min link he talks about the development of Power, Krebs and UPL. His comments about the influence of Okposo and Girgs on the youngster were insightful. And he also noted that Krebs has had some influence on the play of the oldsters. When the coach talks about developing players such as Power and UPL he understands that making mistakes are part of the learning process. He stressed that he doesn't want the players to be inhibited by the fear of making mistakes. Don Granato talking hockey is in itself a learning experience for hockey fans, especially for dummies like me. (If this link was previously posted, I apologize for the redundancy.) https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/authors/howard-and-jeremy-show

Maybe so. What I can say now is that their record is impressive, especially when many analysts were predicting that they were a team that was going to slide back. As you said: We shall see.

It really wasn't a risk to move him to center. The coach was involved with Tage in the lower level when he did play center. The coach placed this gangly built player in a position that maximized his unique talents. That's a combination of astute talent evaluation and good coaching.

Most of the prognostications that I read prior to the season indicated that this group/players would be on the downside and the team would start to slide back. Many analysts prior to the season indicated that now was the time to start refreshing the roster with younger players. At least for this season they were wrong.

They are the personification of their coach. To consistently play that grinding style of play in a long and depleting season is quite impressive.

Everything you said about the Canes is true. They are an impressive team. Although they are not a flashy team, they are a relentlessly grinding team that doesn't allow you to relax. It's a top to bottom hard-working roster with no one player sticking out. Boston is known for their toughness. Carolina had them backpedaling all game long. They are an impressive team.

The difference is that Quinn, JJ and to a lesser extent got playing time in Rochester. Although Krebs's stint in Rochester was short it served him well. It just seems that Savoie got caught up in the birthday abyss. I would rather see him getting extensive playing time in the WHL and get the extra year to physically mature. Does that happen much?

The Sabres have played against a number of top-tier goalies. He's one of them. He's a Cup caliber goalie.

Neither do I. Not's not to say that it wouldn't be an intriguing line for a short spell. It's going to be interesting to see where Krebs is placed next year, especially if he continues with is progression!

Joki isn't going anywhere. I have heard DG talk positively about him and his upside on many occasions. He likes his game as a supporting second pairing defenseman. Especially after watching the last dozen or so games you can see Joki being more confident and assertive in the offensive zone. He's not going anywhere unless a deal is so appealing that you couldn't afford to retain.