JohnC

The one similarity that applies to the ROR and Jack departures is that pervasive losing is corrosive and creates an environment where players want to get away from. It becomes dispiriting to the fans and players. I'm confident that this team and organization has turned the corner where there is atmosphere is more positive and the players are enthusiastically invested in. I do believe in the credo: that success breeds success.

I don't think anyone put Ullmark in the special category. Not even the front office of the team he played for considered him as an upper tier goalie. That was evident by the limit of the contract that was offered to him. But it shouldn't be forgotten that the team had a winning record when he was in net for us, even with a lesser team. The criticism I and others have had with the GM is that it was well known that Ullmark was in his UFA year. And it was apparent that he was stringing the organization along up to the point where his contract ran out. The GM should have been better prepared with a fallback position if the player decided to seek other options. And if the Sabres would have gotten Ullmark caliber of goaltending last season this team would have had in my estimation (opinion) at least 10 more points in the standing. That certainly would be a higher staging point entering this season.

Comrie is our expected #1 goalie entering the season. Does that continue making the position a question mark? Of course it does. Until we see him play as our primary goalie for an extended number of games, we simply won't know. The best I can say about the current goalie situation is that I'm hopeful. That's simply where we are at.

I, like you, consider this the second year going into the third year of the KA rebuild. In my view Krueger was the most influential person in the hockey operation in the new GM's first year. If our time frames are accurate KA should be given credit for the fast pace of this rebuild. One of his biggest accomplishments is in rebuilding the gutted hockey operation, and following that task his restocking of the talent base. In his short tenure he made two consequential personnel hires. He brought in Karmonos and installed Granato as the interim and then full time coach of the Sabres. A lot of good decisions that are now becoming evident.

During the Jack saga I can't recall any criticisms of Jack by his teammates either publicly or anonymously. I'm not saying that he was warmly embraced by everyone in the room. And I am not saying that he was even the leader in the room who was most listened to. It was evident to all that Jack was going to be dealt and was no longer going to be with the team. To their credit his teammates acted with class and maturity in this highly charged public conflict between the player and the organization. There is no doubt that Jack wanted out. And there is no doubt that the GM wanted him and the old core gone so he could start anew. It's simply something that regularly happens in the hockey business. In the end it appears to have worked out well for the parties involved. The stereotypical portrayal of a villainous Jack who sabotaged the room when he was there is a fiction.

You are smartly underscoring the point in this assembling of line exercise that having depth and lineup flexibility is essential in succeeding in this grinding and roster depleting sport. Some teams get hit by it more than others, but all teams are impacted by it to a degree. That became evident when the team got most of its injured players back for the last third of the season. There have been a number of suggestions here about who to put on the lines. Although the lines are different most of them make sense. That's a good sign that there is plenty of roster flexibility entering games and within the games as the situation dictates. What's apparent to me is that the talent base is increasing to the point that it should be able to compete for a lower rung playoff spot (assuming the goaltending play is improved). Entering the season I'm more encouraged than I have been for a long time.

I know the discussion primarily relates to the ranking of prospects but if you include the young players already on the roster to this discussion (such as Dahlin, Cozens, Mitts, Joki, Tage, Samuelsson, Asplund, Bryson and stretching the age boundaries to include Tuch) you have in place a roster that has plenty of internal growth and upside. If the last third of the previous season was a harbinger of a maturing roster and if added to the prospects that you listed that would be moving up to the NHL roster, then most of us should be optimistic about the near future. The issue then becomes how long will it take for this expanded group to gel? (Of course I'm putting aside the goaltending issue for this discussion.)

Quinn was voted rookie of the year in the AHL. JJ Peterka was voted on the all-AHL rookie team. They both are ranked high as prospects by people who follow the AHL. So you may consider this a dishonest ranking but I don't. https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/sabres-jack-quinn-named-ahl-rookie-of-the-year-after-dynamic-season-with-amerks/article_5d4a1bfa-c7f0-11ec-937a-5bc57bec6c24.html

I agree with you that Arttu made the right decision for himself. I wish him well.

I'm an Asplund fan. I just think that he would be a good fit with that more physical and defensive grouping. And if you include him on a line with Okposo you will get more offensive production out of a lower line than we have previously had.

I say this with no hostility but I don't know what the heck you are talking about.

What asset do you think you could have gotten for him? A six or seventh round pick in 2032? There is an underlining story to the departure of Arttu that is positive. It's that he wouldn't be able to make the NHL team because the talent base has increased to the point where he wasn't simply good enough.

Your logic is very odd. So if high end prospects/players such as Dahlin, Cozens, Quinn etc. are playing on a losing team, then you are questioning their selections even though they have individually or in time demonstrated they can play well in this league? If a team doesn't have adequate goaltending that allows it to be a competitive team does that mean that all the other players are failures? The success of a team shouldn't dictate how every player is evaluated. That makes absolutely no sense.

Simple solution: Move Asplund down to the Girgs and Okposo line and move Peterka to the Cozens and Quinn line.

I wholeheartedly agree with. Now is the time to have higher expectations for this team. It's not unreasonable to believe that this team should be in the playoff hunt up to the end of the season. Will they make the playoffs next year? I don't know. But if they are not playing meaningful games at the end of the season, I will be deeply disappointed. In my view if this team would have had Ullmark caliber of goaltending last year, this team would have been 10 pts better than the 74 pts they finished with last year. So if 84 points was the baseline entering this season then 90 pts should be an attainable goal this season. That doesn't put us in the playoffs but it does put us in the range with teams vying for a playoff spot.

I say this with no rancor but I don't know what you are talking about. We are like two ships passing each other in the darkest of night. We are simply passengers riding in different boats. That's fine.

The problem isn't that these Russian prospects will be permanently barred so much as their development might be set back if they are not allowed to play in NA in the next couple of years.

You may have forgotten but Cup winning teams such as Colorada and Tampa took a while to build their rosters up to get to get to their championship status. You may believe in magic but that isn't the reason why these two teams ended up drinking champagne out of the cup. It is a challenging and laborious process that takes time.

I agree with you about not making definitive claims about young players. You never really know for sure how they will develop. Some prospects will meet expectations while some wont. But when a team is rebuilding its roster it is more likely to have more young players playing than an established team will have. In reviewing all the young players you listed: Cozens, Krebs, Quinn and Peterka and Mitts they all have exhibited through their play that they deserve opportunities they probably wouldn't get on a cup contending team that has a more veteran laden roster. That's simply the nature where this team is.

That's reality. Sometimes the situation you are in is the situation you are in. If you can't handle it then it's your problem to work out. Not all problems are quickly resolved. The quick solution you are seeking is an imaginary solution conjured up in your mind. It does not exist in the real world.

My definition of team success: I will be disappointed if this team isn't in a playoff race up to the end of the season. I'm not predicting that they will (hope so) but they should be playing meaningful playoff implication games up to the conclusion of the season. And within my definition of success I am expecting the many young players to improve and become established NHL players. Comparing the current higher expectation to the previous realization that this team was sunk before the first puck was dropped in the opening game, I would say that would fall within my definition of success.

I look at the many line combinations that are being posted here. Most of them make sense. What's evident is now there is a depth in personnel and flexibility in roles that will allow the HC to reconstitute the lines when it's called for due to injuries and game and matchup situations. The coaches on this team will have their work cut out for them in putting the pieces together to get the right combinations. Fortunately, Granato is a flexible coach who is not afraid to try and retry player combinations. He's done an excellent job in putting players in a good position to succeed.

Sameulsson, Quinn, JJ, maybe UPL, Bryson, Power, Krebs etc were prospects who now matter. We now have a pipeline that is flowing with a large talent pool moving from the back to the front. That's how it's supposed to work.

If Mitts makes the jump as I think he will it's more likely than not that he will be part of the core for quite a while. As you indicate it comes down to production. His grooming stage is over with. Now it's time to produce. We'll just have to wait and see how things unfold.

There's a good reason for that. They are prospects.