JohnC

I agree with you that if a young player isn't getting much playing time, then it would be better to hone his skills in the AHL. What I'm not worried about is having too much talent competing for roster spots. Internal competition is a good situation to be in and not a situation to be concerned about. As in every season, there are going to be injuries or players who are struggling. Having reserves (players in the AHL) to fill in is better than losing players in Buffalo without having adequate replacements. When Samuelsson was injured last season, this team struggled. It wasn't so much because he was an indispensable defender as it was the unit lacked enough quality depth to hang on until he returned. Answering your question about which players would I purge? I'm not sure what Girgs contract demands are or what Okposo's intentions are? I wouldn't mind keeping both if deals can be worked out that is acceptable to them. If forced to make a choice I would take Girgs over Okposo. On the other hand, Okposo has earned the right to decide whether he wants to play another year or not. Will Olofsson be on the roster or will he be traded? I don't know. We'll just have to see how this plays out.

In the cap era, it is even more important to have a stock of prospects to replace the players you can't keep because of contract and cap pressures. When you get to the point where your roster is full of talent, tough decisions are required to decide who to keep and who to let go. Those tough decisions are backed up by young players who are moved up through the system. To the GM's credit, not only has he stocked the system with good prospects who will replace the departed player, he also smartly extended contracts, sooner rather than later, and got good bargains for his core players. Overall, good management of resources.

There are a few members here who are knowledgeable about the players in Rochester and their prospects as NHLers. Right now, I would think that Kulich, Rousek and Savoie (currently in the juniors) are not that far away. And from what I gather from listening to segments on WGR, Rosen is showing that in the not too distant future he will move up the ranks. The issue for him right now is to get stronger. That will naturally happen as he gets a little older. Without a doubt, the Sabres have one of the better pipelines in hockey. The GM has done a fine job.

The league has an office of player safety that reviews so called "predatory hits". Even if the referee misses the call in the game, the league has the ability to review the play after the game, Then, it will make a ruling on the appropriate punishment if required. The health risk associated from fighting and reckless hitting is not so much about incidents as it is the accumulation of them and the aftereffects post career. It's a tough sport with inherent risks, as are all sports. However, it doesn't need to be a reckless sport.

Great analysis and write-up. As you point out, the Sabres growing core of prospects are close to being ready for the higher league. If you add Savoie to your list, it becomes even more impressive. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Kulich,Savoie and Rousek on the NHL roster at some point next year, with Rosen needing another year to get stronger. By all account, it seems that he is coming on. The GM has to be given credit for adding to the prospect pool instead of subtracting from it for deals that benefit the Sabres for the short-term. What's evident is that the short-term and long-term prospects are look promising for this franchise.

If you were given an option to add two 4/5 tweener defenders or one #4 defender, which option would you choose? In this case I would take quantity over quality.

Of all the players that have left due to the shuffling of players after KA took over, the one player I wished that we could have kept is Montour. I've watched him in a few games during the season and a few games in the playoffs. My takeaway is that he was one of the better players on the ice. I'm not sure if he would be better paired with Power or Dahlin but definitely he would be playing on one of our top two pairings.

An interesting issue is how does Torts fit in with the new appointees who are now his bosses? What happens when Torts is instructed to play the younger players more? If his response is no because he is trying to win more games, is this front office going to quickly dispatch him? It's my impression that Torts is a strong-willed and stubborn person who doesn't seem amenable to being told what to do. It's going to be interesting to see if this new configuring of the staff meshes with the current coach.

Fighters do a lot of clutching and grabbing when they are engaged in a matchup. But they also throw punches to the head. You don't have to do a detailed statistical analysis to determine that it increases head injuries. And you don't need to have a medical background to recognize that over time the repeated hitting to the head could have serious health repercussions. More often than not fights between players from opposing teams agree in advance to go at it. In reality, they are mostly pre-staged fights for a variety of reasons. It makes no sense to me that on one hand there is a lot of pontificating about player safety, and then on the other hand an activity is allowed that does jeopardize player's safety. Fighting is not allowed in the college game. Anyone who has watched college games recognizes that it is a physical game. No fighting is allowed in Olympic hockey. Yet, it is compelling to watch. In one of Spellman's first game as a Sabre he got in a fight to demonstrate his toughness to his new teammates. The opposing fighter hit him in the head with a gruesome head shot. It was a quick dispatch. Spellman got close to being knocked out and went down. He's lucky that his season and his career were not ended in one of his first games with his new team. For what? To demonstrate that how tough he was? Football is very physical. Fighting is not allowed. Basketball is a very physical sport. Fighting is not allowed. Fighting in the NHL has dramatically declined compared to the era before. It's time to stop with this archaic remnant of this game. You don't need fighting in this tough sport.

I'm reluctant to admit it but if I had the choice between keeping one player, between Girgs and Okposo, I would prefer retaining Girgs. Okposo has been a wonderful leader on the ice and in the room. But he, more than ZG, would have a more difficult time playing a full season without fading as the season grinds on. My sense is that the GM believes that Okposo, more than Girgs, has earned the right to call it quits when he wants to do it. It's a tough call more from a human aspect than a hockey aspect. What's positive about this discussion is that the Sabres have crossed the threshold where it now has options, mostly from within their own system, to fill out their roster. The GM has often talked about the importance of having enough talent where there is internal pressure where players are pushing players to get better. We are now at that point.

Savoie could start off the season in Buffalo and do a stint before going off to play in a World Tournament. I would guess that Savoie would be on a line with Mitts and possibly Greenway. Once Savoie is playing outside of the country Kulich could move up from Rochester and then play on the same line with Mitts. If KO and Zemgus are back then Krebs would center that line. If Zemgus moves on, I could see Kulich either joining that Krebs/Okposo line or playing on a line with Mitts and Greenway. Trying to figure out who will be left out is a good problem because it indicates a level of depth that the Sabres haven't had in a long time.

It was the Ralph Wilson and Jeff Littman business model. When your owner and his primary business financial advisor refuse to adapt to the new reality of professional sports and its new economic model then you get left behind. Especially at the later stages of the declining owner, this franchise was a dilapidated used car competing against tuned-up Ferraris. There is no question that Pegula made a lot of mistakes when he first took over. But eventually he assembled the right staff and the football franchise is one of the better run franchises in the NFL. And fortunately, although belatedly, the owner has put together the right staff with his hockey franchise. Now this team is ready to become a serious team in the NHL. And everyone in the business is aware of that turnaround. (You need Google Chrome to bring up this Buff News link.) https://buffalonews.com/news/polian-bills-contract-miscalculations-were-not-on-my-watch/article_f2a047e9-6f86-560a-98b1-f221d9f368ac.html

It's just not qbs that struggle because they get drafted into bad situations. Poorly managed organizations create hurdles for players in all the positions. Look how bad the Bills were prior the McDermott/Beane era? There is no question that a highly rated qb prospect is going to have more challenges on a bad team than a more talented team. But there are still ways to smartly manage that situation. For one, don't play the young qb right away. And if you are going to play him as soon as possible it is better to provide him with an adequate OL and good coaching support to help the qb have a better chance to succeed.

I can't answer your question about sites that grade the draft experts. I just don't know. However, prior to the draft I heard on a couple of shows the claim that maybe 40% or less of the first round drafted qbs work out. It's a tough and humbling job to evaluate players at all positions, but especially for the qb position it is much tougher task.

Josh Allen can throw the long ball and also hit the long ball. He won the home run contest in this charity evident. (Use a Google Chrome browser to bring up this link.) https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/josh-allen-micah-hyde-charity-softball-game-sahlen-field/article_ef39ee32-ed10-11ed-9171-e7d100bdb407.html#tracking-source=mp-homepage

How many jobs has Torts had? It seems that there are coaches suited for different stages of development. Some coaches excel working with a young roster while other coaches are more comfortable working with a veteran lineup. There are old school coaches who are less flexible and insist on taking a "my way or the highway" approach. In the cap era with contract considerations that can be a recipe for internal conflict. There is no question that Don Granato falls in the spectrum specializing working with young players. The challenge for him is that now that his roster is close to being filled, how will his approach work? Anyone who listens to him talk about the game and his roster knows that he is very adaptable to individual players and changing circumstances. We are now at the point where it is all about your record. Expectations are now up; now it is all about the record.

Florida should be happy with that trade. But so should we. It took some time to appreciate the return (Tage) for ROR. If Levi becomes the goalie that we hope he becomes, the Reinhart deal might turn out to be the most consequential deal from dispatching the old core. And that includes the Eichel deal. And from all reports Kulich is a top tier prospect who should be ready in a year or two, if not sooner. Good for them and good for us.

What that article shows is that there are a number of options to consider. Even if we can't get a #4 defender, there are a number of 4/5 defenders that would strengthen that unit. And those tweener type of defenders can be secured for a reasonable price.

I'm not sure what your cat is telling me. Did it work? 🙃

If you have google chrome try using it as the browser to bring up this link.

No draft analyst is going to be always right on the challenge of projecting how a college player will do well in the pros. The Clausen draft was 13 years ago. He was stunningly wrong on that pick. On the Josh Allen pick he was stunningly right while many analysts thought that Allen was simply too inaccurate of a passer to succeed in the NFL. Will he be right in his assessment of Levis? I have no clue.

One draft analyst who had Josh Allen rated as his top qb was Mel Kiper. He stuck by Allen throughout much of the ranking process. Mel K also was one of the draft analysts who rated Wil Levis very highly. It will be interesting to see how his pro career turns out.

Attached is a link from the Buffalo News listing some of the defensemen who might be available in trades and from free agency. Many of the players will be available because of their respective team's cap pressures. Boston and Vegas might have players on the move because of their tight cap situation. What's apparent is that the Sabres have a number of options to pursue this offseason. What's interesting about the list is that Granato has had a relationship with a number of players. https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/can-the-sabres-add-an-impactful-top-four-defenseman-this-summer/article_db0bec46-e917-11ed-b609-afcc88145cb4.html#tncms-source=login

If Levi wasn't on our team, I would be receptive to signing Hellebuyck and paying a premium price for him. That isn't the case. This is just my opinion but I think our GM is projecting Levi to be our long-term #1 goalie. I just don't see him giving up significant assets for this top tier goalie.

It's probable that if Winnipeg were going to trade Hellebuyck, they would want a prime prospect, such as Savoie or Kulich, included in a deal. If that were the case, I would say don't make the deal. There is no question that if Hellebuyck was added to our roster, it would make this team a factor in the league. And if he were to be acquired, it would be a mistake to bring him on unless an extension was agreed to. My sense is that based on how our GM values his premier prospects, he would not make such a deal.