JohnC

Hard no for me. How is acquiring a 34 yr old who has 4 years left on his contract for $7 M per year a good idea? His trade value in a few years means he will be even less productive with a high-cost per annum still remaining. The bigger concern is not what will you get back but who would want to trade for him at that point. You would be stuck with him and his onerous contract/value wise. Your logic in your post is illogical. On the one hand you say he is having an overpriced Zucker season and then say we should seek another overpriced veteran like him whose production is poor. If you made the same contradictory argument in the courtroom the judge and jury would look at you in askance. Being desperate and exasperated doesn't mean that you have to be foolish and self-destructive. Please stop with the nonsense.

I predict that the Sabres will win tonight. Desperation will be a factor. A few words of caution: I have been wrong six consecutive times. Caveat emptor.

Can you sing? https://www.google.com/search?q=record+album+covers+sinatra+with+hat&oq=record+album+covers+sinatra+with+hat&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i160l3.23445j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=j0VL_h9e0vkIHM&imgdii=BvWKhvmJKhVe7M&pvs=0

You may not be aware of it but that picture is of @Pimlach when he was young. He was called the "Buffalo Stud". The young ladies not only swooned over him but they also had posters of him on their bedroom walls. He got so exhausted playing the manly part that he had to leave the area to get more rest. 😁

Why do you say that Cozens isn't fit because of his less than stellar offseason workouts? What are you basing that view on?

Let me add to my brief and less than illuminating response. Especially in the covid period, he was hemorrhaging money with his hockey and hospitality businesses. He responded by demanding an austerity strategy that was going to cut a lot of staff and gut the scouting department. The GM, Botterill, was not on board. So he was fired. I have little criticism for the owner for taking the severe cost cutting measures in an economically challenging time. I also would have had little problem with the KA hire to replace Botterill if it would have been on a temporary basis until he could find a more competent GM. This is the point of demarcation where the organization lost its way. That's not to say that the hockey people prior to the GM change didn't also make a series of bad decisions. The owner made an inexplicable and indefensible decision to hire an ill-equipped novice to manage a complex operation in a highly competitive field. That boondoggle decision by the owner has kept the franchise stuck in mediocrity. And so in my mind, the blame for the laughingstock state of this franchise is on the owner. The Buffalo area hockey market that includes southern Canada and parts of Penn. is a good hockey market. He has killed it with his foolish stewardship that has lasted for nearly a generation. It's maddening and sad. It didn't have to be this way.

Agree.

If you have been going to Bills' games for 18 years you are aware of the end of the Wilson era where there was little hope. And then the difference when Pegula took over and eventually hired McBeane to run the operation. Since then, in the Josh Allen era it has been a joyful and entertaining experience. Nothing but rabid full capacity crowds. The model is there for the owner to follow. Hire the right people and step out of the way. It's a commonsense formula that successful franchises follow in all pro sports.

During the covid period, he was certainly hemorrhaging money in his hockey and hospitality businesses. He went on an austerity budget with the hockey organization and got rid of lot of the hospitality businesses. There is nothing unreasonable about how he responded during that period. However, he wasn't alone dealing with the challenging cash/flow situation. So was everyone else in the business. Insisting on a spartan budget for the organization that resulted in a lot of job losses was an understandable response to that catastrophic economic environment. That tumultuous period has been over with for at least three years. What has kept this organization sunk are the accumulated bad hockey decisions made by the GM, the person he hired. Paradoxically, if he would have hired the right people to run the hockey operation, not only would this team be more competitive but also his cash flow would be more robust with the added attendance and customer expenditures. What he has essentially done is kill the market for his product. That's not only bad business but also dumb business. As the saying goes: Penny wise and dollar foolish. $$$$$$$

Quinn is not playing. He's watching the games from up high in the arena. If that isn't a serious response by the coach, then I don't know what is.

I have made this point in other posts so I apologize for the redundancy. The owner has successful business/sports models to follow. They are the Bills and the Bandits. It's not complicated: Choose wisely and let them make the decisions in their areas of expertise. There is no excuse for this owner's stupidity and stubbornness. Doesn't he watch the games? If he had any pride, he should be embarrassed that the other owners don't have much regard for him and his inert organization.

It's inarguable that both Cozens and Quinn are struggling. But both players are immensely more talented than Kosak. That's not to say that either is producing to their talent level. I'm simply not agreeable to replacing either player on the roster with a grinder. Kosak played solidly with the big club. And that experience should help his development and better prepare him for the next time he's called up. For me, I think allowing one's frustration to dictate this particular move will help the team. I'm not on board with it.

If the organization would be foolish enough to replace Kosak for Cozens, it should shut the lights off and get out of the business.

He played well, hard and the right way. Good for him. We got Greenway back so his spot was taken. Playing with the big club has to have been a good experience for him and his development. Some of the more experienced and touted young players should use him as an example to follow.

Right now, Samuelsson doesn't have much trade value. I would rather see him back on the ice and producing. If he's basically a third pairing player, then so be it. Then you trade him if you can get a reasonable return.

I don't believe that Samuelsson is a malingerer and less than eager to get back on the ice with his teammates. It's just that some players are simply more durable and have better luck staying healthy. Samuelsson has stated that he put in a lot of work in the offseason so that he would be less injury prone. It hasn't worked out well for him. It's good to see Greenway back. He's a solid player who doesn't get much attention, but he is a positive player for us.

Are Samuelsson and Greenway back in action for this game? If so, that is very surprising to me.

The coach is a straight shooter who is not afraid to unload. He may not have enough of the right players to play the way he wants them to play. But that doesn't mean that he isn't going to hold them accountable. He's the right coach without the right roster mix. That's not a coaching problem as it is a GM problem. I predict a Buffalo win. What does that mean if it materializes? Not much in the grand scheme of things.

I wouldn't deal Cozens. I would prefer playing him on the wing. In the international tournaments he thrived as a winger. Our misguided and less than visionary GM had the opportunity to re-sign Mitts and have him center the second line. Without a doubt, Byram is playing very well. But from a roster construction standpoint, it would have made more sense to keep Mitts and then put him in as a second-line center. In addition, Mitts had the versatility to also play wing or even move up to the center the top line when Tage gets hurt. Just think, we had Eichel, Reinhart and Mitts on the roster. That would have been quite a center spine for this team. All are gone while this team continues to spin its wheels and get nowhere. Our GM is a checkers player competing with chess players.

If you lived in a well-managed and upscale development, would you be interested in moving to the ghetto for the same rental price? It's gotten to the ridiculously low point where your best players want out and players on the outside resolutely don't want in to your place. Pathetic and shameful!

There is not one organization in the NHL that would have considered KA for a GM position other than this one. And there is not one organization that wouldn't have fired KA for the work he has done during his multi-year stint other than this one. Without a doubt, the position is a challenging multi-faceted position. One essential quality that the position requires is an overseer of a franchise is having a wider perspective associated with what type of roster he wants to build, and then going out and getting the pieces so that they fit. A person can be a great scout or coach and still not be suitable for the position because the job requires a broader vision than most people even in the hockey business don't have. I don't want to lay all the blame of this franchise's problems on this congenial and earnest fellow. But the obvious fact is that he was not suitable for the job when he was hired, and his accumulated work product underscores that assessment. It's gotten to the sad and also laughable point where its best players desperately wanted out and got out. Only to thrive with their new teams while their former teammates continue to be stuck in a losing situation playing in front of a diminishing fan base. It's sad and pathetic.

Pathetic, just pathetic.

I predict that the Sabres will win today. I'm suffused with overwhelming confidence about the outcome. I want to have @SwampD have one less day of despair. He deserves a respite, even if it is for the short term.

It certainly could get worse if the GM makes foolish decisions acting out of desperation.

My point is simple. Bad decisions by mediocre staffing result in predictable outcomes. And this has been going on for almost a generation. That's what makes this situation such an absurdity.