JohnC

Next year Krebs, JJ and Quinn are likely going to be added to the Sabre roster. As young players they should have a lot of upside. If you presume, as I do, that Cozens and Mitts are ready to make strides in their respective games as NHL players, you can see the roster filling out. And let's not forget how impressive Power was in his introductory stint at the end of the season. You can see the organic (players within the system) growth of this roster. This offseason, the GM doesn't need to bring in a quantity of players to round out this roster. Just a few judicious additions, that must include a quality goaltender, will continue to keep this team on an upward trajectory. For the most part internal improvement and internal competition will propel this team. Even the skeptics have to acknowledge that compared to a year or two ago what was thought to be a very dark situation has turned into a very bright and hopeful situation.

Great shot of the crowd. That picture of a filled arena with a boisterous crowd gives me hope that if Buffalo can be a serious team next year the crowds will return in Buffalo.

Are you implying that when I am called stupid (as I'm often called) there is a chance that I could be receiving a back handed compliment? Is that what you call the power of positive thinking? 🙃

I agree with everything you said. With respect to Skinner his effort could never be question. However, playing for Krueger he was like a fish out of water. There was little cohesion between him and his linemates. He seemed disconnected from his linemates. On the other hand with his first line members this season there was a cohesion and fit that didn't exist under Krueger. How many high quality passes did he make to put his mates in a position to score this past season compared to the previous wasted year? And as you keenly pointed out Granato allowed the player/s to utilize their assets and upgrade their weaknesses. There is two sides to this coin of player development: good coaching and player receptivity to it.

Your comments about Skinner are not off topic. As with Tage, coaching was a critical factor in each player stepping up their game. In each case the coach got the player to emphasize their assets and improve upon their individual weaknesses. Granato made the observation about Skinner that even when he was metaphorically exiled by the previous coach, Skinner still remained one of the hardest working players in practice.

Granato demonstrates the value of coaching and player development. And this player development doesn't only apply to the young players. If you look at Skinner and compare his play under Krueger and Granato it is a stark difference. Krueger took a $9 M player and turned him into a $250,000 scrub. Under Granato the same player became a productive $6-7 M caliber player. How's that for regaining value on a locked in contract? It shouldn't be surprising that Okposo has been revitalized and is playing as well as he has in his career under the coach with the cool blue framed glasses. Overall, KA has done an excellent job. The most influential decision he has made is elevating Granato to the HC position. You can't overvalue the positive ramifications of that coaching selection.

A while back Granato was on WGR and talked about Thompson's shooting and his high rate of scoring goals this season. The advice he gave TT last offseason and this season that he seemed to take to heart is to get his shot off quicker rather than delay to maneuver around for a more open shot. The coach stressed that with the caliber of his powerful shot that he didn't need to wait for a better positioned shot. The coached worked to change his mind-set from being a precision shooter to being more of a bulk shooter. It's obvious by the results that the player was receptive to what his coach was advocating for.

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/buffalo-supermarket-mass-shooting/index.html

Is JJ the fastest skater on the Amerks? He has a high gear motor!

I agree with your comments. As far as the cap situation being negatively influenced by too many players requiring pay increases that isn't a problem that one should lament over. It's a problem that although challenging to handle indicates that you have a number of good players who will soon have to get paid more. That's a situation to celebrate! All good teams have to make tough personnel decisions as who to keep and who to deal because of cap considerations. I would rather be in that situation than be in a situation where your roster is filled with low cost mediocrities resulting in plenty of cap space. And as you note, the key is to draft and development well so that you have a steady stream of replacement players. What is encouraging is that I see KA not only following that draft and development model but also impressively executing that model. The train is moving in the right direction. The only thing that can knock this train off course is not adequately addressing the goalie situation.

When Yzerman returned to Detroit after his stint with Tampa he was asked at his first Detroit draft how was he going to get Detroit back to prominence in the NHL. He tersely told the interviewer: I'll do it the right way: draft and develop. He then walked away.

The brave go where most people fear to go. Inhabiting the space of the opposition in order to unmercifully taunt them can be fraught with danger. Evidently, he fears not! The question is: Is he brave or foolish? I will leave that up to others who know him well. 🧨

You may not be aware of it but you got the look and posture of a heroic character.

Were you the model for Captain America? https://www.shutterstock.com/search/captain+america

Playoff hockey is great! The consistent intensity is remarkable.

You don't need to delete your responses, and neither do the people who responded to you. That doesn't mean that you have to further elaborate on the topic. If you get sanctioned for veering off topic, then you have become a member of the same disciplined membership faction that I am also a member of.

I rather deal with the multiple dribbles and drabbles than see a urologist. It's a deliberate avoidance of the harsh and often irritating reality of getting older. Better than the other option, just saying!!!!

I understand the nuance of your argument about the owner telling the GM that if a particular player needed to be moved, it had to be done prior to bonus taking effect. Is it true or not that the owner ordered the player to be traded prior to the bonus kicking in? I simply don't know what the actual inside story was. But given that unknown, if the owner told the GM that if the player was going to be dealt, it needed to be done prior to the bonus taking effect. That requirement was certainly a limiting factor in the return. If the GM was determined to trade ROR, wouldn't it make more sense for the GM to be willing to pay the bonus and get a better return from the team he was dealt to? There were reports that Carolina would have offered more for him but were not willing to pay the bonus. The point I'm making is that the issue of who ordered the trade is not the limiting factor in the return. It is the unwillingness of the dealing team not to pay the bonus for a player who no longer wanted to play in Buffalo. In my mind the onus is on the owner on how this deal materialized because of the financial consideration. And in this case, I understand and am sympathetic to the owner's stance if that is what happened.

It's not lying if you have your fingers crossed behind your back!🙃

Now that the talent base is increasing you can see a variety of credible options materializing when putting together lines. And in the course of a season when the coach juggles lines due to injuries or simply to change the dynamic of a line going stale you can see the flexibility the coach has to make the changes. I believe it was @dudacekwho made the observation that staff has the ability to assemble two credible second-caliber lines behind your first line, with Cozens and Mitts as your centers. If Quinn and to a lesser extent JJ can quickly make the jump to the higher league and comfortably fit in, then the line options increase even more.

I don't want to get into the exhausted pro and anti-Jack discussion. Assuming that Jack gets back to his pre-injury level, the Knights will be more than ecstatic about their trade for him. And assuming it does, the trade will still be an overall benefit for the Sabres because it helped to accelerate the reconfiguring and rebalancing of our roster. That's the hallmark of a good trade where both parties benefit. What will make this trade even more beneficial for us is if the draft pick gained is used to add a good prospect into our system.

I'm aware that many here have nothing but contempt for Jack Eichel. I'm not in that critical group. I'm just noting that Jack played with a broken thumb for six weeks. https://www.nhl.com/news/jack-eichel-injury-status/c-333985196

You look at our payroll situation right now. The Sabres are going to struggle to meet the cap floor, as it did last year. I'm aware that there will be a number of young players who when their next contract comes up will merit a significant raise. It's understood that because of the next contract cycle there will be an increase in payroll. However, (my opinion) the owners have lost a lot of money over the past few years. I see this team for the foreseeable being a low payroll team. My point is that the organization is going to count on cheap players longer than you think.

Let's not undervalue the restorative value of rest and time off. Heavy loads over a long period of time wears the body down.

To underscore your point, by keeping your picks and having a stable of prospects in your system your organization is able to handle the loss of a good player to the market. So, the net result is that you are able to move up a player from the system and have the financial wherewithal to participate in the free agent market, not necessarily at the top level but at the mid-tier level.