JohnC

The GM's job, by its nature, requires the person to know what is going on both on the ice and in the locker room. When the situation becomes so visibly untenable, he would be a blubbering incompetent not to recognize what was going on. The GM formally, and informally, keeps in contact with the players and staff. In this case it would be difficult not to realize what was going on. The challenge for the GM was how to present the situation to the owner so that he would approve of the remedy.

You didn't need a mole to understand the disaster that was unfolding right in front of everyone.

I understand your view and perspective. However, I disagree agree with it. All you can ask any coach is to maximize the talent he has to work with. No question that he has done that. He took a number of players who were playing substantially below their talent level (ex. Dahlin, Skinner and Mitts etc) and put them in a position to succeed. What more can you ask of him? There is certainly more to do and evaluate him on. As the talent level rises the expectations will increase. As it should. As it stands, he has done a marvelous job, at least in my opinion.

He has said it on numerous occasions that last offseason when there were a number of coaching vacancies he had no interest in applying for any of them. He stated that the only head coaching job that he wanted was the Buffalo job. I'm not sure if it was KA who put DG on Krueger's staff. If KA was responsible for adding him to the staff, and then elevating him after the firing of Krueger, he deserves a lot of credit.

Attached is a link from Sabres.com. Within the link is a 6 min post game interview by Granato (lower right hand corner). The coach is terrific at summarizing the game and players. I thought the comments by Tage post game about the team and its attitude were interesting. If someone already posted the link I apologize for the redundancy. https://www.nhl.com/sabres/

I didn't read all the posts that were made about the game. I was commenting on my observation that is consistent with what you noticed.

The biggest positive takeaway from this game was the play of Olofsson. He seems to have confidence back in his shot. And on top of that he is playing a much more well-rounded game. Getting him back to his sniping play is like adding another good player to the roster. Those who believe he should be dealt are misguided. He adds value to this roster. The general takeaway after watching this game is that this team doesn't quit when it gets behind. In this case although they were significantly behind they just kept at it. This is a mentally strong cast of players. There were a lot of big plays in this game. One of the biggest was a pass from Mitts ??? to Tuch for his tying goal at the end of the game. I believe the Sabres have earned points in six consecutive games. The tide has turned!

Even with an infusion of talent next year Carolina, Tampa, Pittsburgh, healthy Vegas and Rangers will still be ahead of us in the talent pecking order.

The Levi signing issue was talked about on WGR with Paul Hamilton. There are complications to signing him right away. If you sign him now do you then assign him to Rochester where UPL is playing? Do you assign him to Buffalo for a short stint and jump him ahead of UPL who should be next in line for the NHL? The simplest and maybe the best approach for the Sabres is to sign him to a contract a little later on (assuming he leaves college) and start him off in Rochester next season. If Levi decides to stay in school another year it wouldn't be the worst thing for the player or the organization. I still believe that he will leave college this year and go pro. Whatever he decides I'm fine with it.

Go to Logan at 9 PM and then sleep on the plastic chairs. What's the problem? Can't you overcome some adversity and discomfort? Think positively! You will be the first in line to check in for your flight. 🛌

There is another way at looking at this OT issue and how it is scored/rewarded and interpreted. On the positive side you finished with a tie in regulation. And then the second act follows where you lose. What it comes down to is that you get a point for the tie, and the winning team gets the extra point for the win in the post regulation time. I'm aware that a lot of the traditionalists are upset with the OT and shoot out scoring. I'm not one of them.

https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2022/03/25/man-punches-southwest-employee-hartsfield-jackson-airport-meade-hln-mxp-vpx.hln

The Sabres have gotten points in five consecutive games. That in itself is progress and something to be happy about. And within the same season it seems that this team has recently made noticeable strides. It's certainly not a fluke due to a favorable schedule. We are keeping up with some of the better teams in the league both at home and on the road. As @dudacekhas often noted Dahlin is consistently playing like one of the best defensemen in the league. He makes plays that most blueliners in the league aren't capable of making, and he seems to do it with ease. He's a special player and a joy to watch. He's been good all season long but it seems that after his all-star appearance he has raised his performance to another level. Right now Samuelsson is our second best blueliner. He's consistently good. His pass to Asplund for his rare score was exceptional. Power will be a much needed addition to the defensive corps when he joins the team. It seems to me that Tuch's play has dropped. He's not playing poorly but he's not the same player that he was a number of games ago. Maybe other teams are giving the top line more attention? I thought that Tage and Tuch were below par in this game. Okposo has been our most consistent player this season. Skinner was at fault for the too many players on the ice. It was an atypical lazy play for him. This Granato coached team exhibits a lot of character. This is not a weak-minded team that can't handle adversity. When they are behind they keep playing their game. I strongly believe that if the front office smartly handles the offseason and with the addition of some of our top prospects this team should be battling for a playoff spot next season. It would be a challenge to do but it is doable.

I don't know what Levi's intentions are but I'm sure he would want 1st round money. He would be a fool not to expect it. And I'm sure that the Sabres would have no problem giving him first round money because he is a player they targeted in a major deal. And based on his play this year he has more than met their high expectations of him. Levi has had a whirlwind year. He was involved in a major trade, had a sterling college year, participated in the Olympics and then without much of a break played in the college tournament. It wouldn't be surprising to want to take a little break (as you noted) to rest and map out the next stage of his hockey career. It's my opinion that he is going to soon sign a pro contract with the Sabres. From a hockey career and financial standpoint it makes a lot of sense.

Just think that he paid for the disciplinary service and she is the one having the most fun. I wonder what the going rate was?

You make an interesting observation about the GM and the trade for Levi. KA targeted Levi in the Reinhart trade that included Florida's next year's pick, a probable low first round pick. In the trading of Risto and Jack the GM got good value. At the time of the Reinhart deal, especially in comparison to the return on Risto, it seemed that the Sabres got shortchanged. Now it wouldn't be surprising that the acquisition of Levi might be the most consequential of those deals. It seems that our GM is invested in Levi. And as you point out that is telling.

Luongo was his primary mentor. Levi is a smart kid and is aware of the business of hockey. He will do what is in his best interest. From the outside it would seem to be signing a pro contract as soon as possible and get the clock running on his entry level contract. In the end, he will do what he feels is in his best interest. Odds are that he will sign a pro contract sooner than later. Just my opinion.

Of course, I'm disappointed in not getting the win. However, @SwampD has a perfectly pitched response/sensation about this game that I have, and suspect most of us have. The Sabres were a little raggedy in this game compared to the previous games but that had a lot to do with the quality of the opposition. We matched them in effort and opportunities. The missed shot by Olofsson at the end when the net was open was excruciating. But let's not forget that the Capitals also missed on some golden opportunities. If I were handling out starts to our side I would give the first star to Skinner. He got two goals and would have had one or two more goals if it weren't for the exceptional stops of the opposition's goalie. My second star would have gone to Tokarski. Although he was brutal in the SO he kept us in the game. I'm a coach Granato fan. If anyone wants to get a good perspective on this game and his team watch his postgame comments. He knows where his team is at and where it is going.

He was up with the NHL team. He got hurt and then went to Rochester. The organization decided to keep him there. In the last offseason after they weren't able to sign Ullmark it went and signed a 40 yr old goalie on a minimum contract. What does that tell you? It tells me that it felt it had a goalie prospect close to being ready to move up to the NHL. If you interpret their actions differently regarding the position, then that's fine. In my prior post, I stated what Granato said on WGR. He stated that he felt that UPLat this stage could develop as much in the NHL as in the AHL. That's what he said. How he is currently being handled is how they want him to be handled. There is no iron clad approach to this player or any player for that matter. The organization alters its approach as the situation changes and how they see fit. And it should be noted that on WGR Granato said that Quinn was playing at a level above the AHL. He stated that he felt that his development curve would be better served in the NHL than in the AHL. Quinn is currently playing in the AHL.

I have heard Granato talk on WGR on a couple occasions about what UPL status is as a prospect. My impression is that he is as much an advocate for the young goalie to be in the NHL as is KA. The coach made the point that from a developmental standpoint he felt that the player could learn more as a NHL player than as a AHL player. If the organization doesn't bring in another veteran goalie next year, then it would be obvious that the organization is invested in the big young goalie.

I think you are missing the point about the highlighted comment. There are teams that clearly are at a higher tier than Buffalo is. That's a fact! Teams such as Calgary, Carolina, Tampa, Florida, Colorado etc. The reality is that we are at a lower tier. Again, that's a fact! I don't see how anyone can deny that categorization. However, that doesn't mean that we can't be competitive with those teams when this team plays to its max and with good goaltending. This organization is rebuilding. Those running the organization publicly admit that. We have brought in more talent with the trades of our previous core that spreads the talent around more than before the trades (as you point out). But where we are now is not where we need to be to be in the higher tier of teams that were mentioned in order to become a serious cup contending team. Anyone who has been following this team recognizes that it is on the right track. And anyone who has a scintilla of objectivity recognizes that this team still has a way to go (less distance than before) to get to the level that would make this team a SC contender. I hope this elaboration clarifies the issue for you.

Quick impressions on this game: Of course Tage gets the first star. The second star should go to Anderson. Over the last half dozen games or so what is apparent is that when we get good goaltending we are able to match the opposition, even if they are more talented. In general, I would say that we slightly outplayed the Penquins. There were at least three occasions where we controlled the offensive zone and the opposing defense ended up scrambling and getting exhausted. This was a game where other than Tage with his laser shot it was difficult to determine who were our better players because everyone was working hard on both sides of the ice. Over the past half dozen games or so against good teams the Sabres have played a tight and cohesive game. The one negative about our play is on the draw. Collectively we are bad at it. Tuch is a tremendous addition to this team. He has a multiplier effect of making his linemates better. Three wins in a row against good teams. More importantly for more than a half dozen games (with the exception of one game) this team has been playing well and hard. The optimism meter is trending up.

You bring up an interesting issue about Mittelstadt: What level of a player is he? As you pointed out he can tantalize you with some sparkling plays but do they represent his overall game. What I saw last year after Granato took gave me a lot of optimism about him and his potential. This year it has been tough to evaluate him because of his injuries and recovering time. There are 19 games left in the season. It would be great to get a better sense of what he is capable of. If he can demonstrate that he can be a factor for this team and be another young player added to our young core it would be such a bonus. With respect to Olofsson my view of him appears to be a minority view. I would prefer to keep him as a lower line player and also a player on the second PP unit. Upgrading the lower lines by adding more scoring punch is something this franchise hasn't had in a long time. The one problem that isn't a problem is having too many players competing with one another and providing depth.

Getting grammar correct can be nettlesome. Fortunately, posting on the internet doesn't require a high standard of accuracy. I feel very comfortable in that low standard environment. Let's not discuss spelling! One of the greatest inventions of all time is spell check. Even there, I sometimes falter. In the eyes of the punitive Jesuits, I am a failure. 👨‍🎓