JohnC

If the Sabres would have had an Ullmark caliber of netminding this season in my opinion the Sabres have at least 10-12 more points in the standings. The second goal that Tokarski let in was a shot that a below average NHL goalie would stop 99% of the time. It was a crusher!

I can't say for sure if we can add a goalie from the scenario that you put together. But what I am saying is that given our cap situation, reservoir of picks for the next couple of years and teams being forced to make tough roster decisions because of their cap stress there will be opportunities to add a few more good players to the young players that will soon move up the ranks. I support what KA is doing to reconstruct this roster. But what I am advocating for is to be a little more aggressive this offseason to upgrade the roster and quicken the timetable to become a serious team. The few fans who attend the game deserve it. A half generation of irrelevancy is depleting.

With respect to the highlighted segment that is not what I am advocating for. I believe that a quality goalie can be added in a judicious trade. Because it wasn't done last offseason it unnecessarily hurt the competitiveness of the team.

You are creating scenarios that don't come close to what I have been saying. Hockey is a cap sport. When teams bring in a high talented player like Jack or any high end talent they often have to balance out the high yield acquisition with a shedding of a contract of a quality player. As was mentioned in prior posts teams had to deal off players in order to maneuver in the expansion draft. As I noted Yzerman made a good goalie acquisition for Detroit last year in such a scenario. And it was done at a bargain price. To be honest I don't know what you are getting at. You make it seem that it is better to foreclose trade and the free agent market (mid-range pickups) in order to maintain what you already have in players in assets. Parlaying your assets in a judicious manner is a way of improving team. That's simply my point. A little creativity and initiative in addressing your incomplete roster is a good thing.

Detroit traded for a goalie in an expansion year for a minimal price. You don't think that the Sabres couldn't have competed with the Detroit offer? Washington made a prearranged deal with Seattle to reacquire a goalie they lost in the expansion draft for a second round pick. When you sit on your hands and do nothing you end up sitting on your hands when there are opportunities to be explored to find talent! Last year, when Ullmark was an UFA the GM didn't have a reasonable fallback position if the player decided to move on. That is on the GM. On top of that he did have an opportunity to sign Ullmark but the condition was that he was going to pay a $$$ premium compared to what Boston offered. The GM declined when he was in a bottom tier cap situation. The GM could have signed him at the higher cost without having a consequential effect on our cap situation. The main problem is not the GM not signing the goalie who was on his team. However, I do have a lot of criticism for him in not having an adequate backup plan if he couldn't get him signed. In addition, would I be willing to give up a first round pick in a package to acquire a player of the caliber of Tuch this offseason? As long as it wasn't our highest first I would absolutely do so. Being a passive participant when competing with the other teams working hard to get better is going to get you to continue on the long road of irrelevancy.

I respectfully disagree. Tage and Casey have been in this organization for around four years. They have not witnessed success. My genral point is that this organization has to have a greater degree of urgency in turning things around. I believe that after the trade of Jack, Reinhart and Risto there needed to be a reset. This offseason there needs to be a greater degree of urgency and energy in adding talent to this roster. I'm not suggesting foolishly giving up assets for short term gain as much as I'm suggesting more creativity in adding talent to the roster for next season. I believe in the step-by-step approach to getting better. That doesn't mean that the pace can't be quickened.

The players you mentioned have known nothing but losing as Sabres in NHL games. That's my point. My contention is that by playing on a competitive team with meaningful games up to the end of the season it will enhance their development even more. And coming from winning backgrounds prior to entering the NHL doesn't mean that they won't be worn down by the constant losing after they become pros. Ask yourself why did Jack, Reinhart and Risto who experienced success prior to entering the pro league eventually wanted out? It wasn't because they enjoyed the experience of constant losing. I agree with you that the fans for a long time have known nothing but losing. They deserve better. Quality goaltending doesn't solve all the team's problems associated with a lack of talent. But it's not only a good start but also a necessity.

The gratuitous lack of attention of the goalie position by the GM really bothers me. The Sabres have a lot of young players on its roster who have known nothing but losing. My contention is that by having competent NHL goalie play on a regular basis that allows your team to be consistently more competitive and enhances the development of the younger players. Also, as enthusiastic as Tuch is coming back east to Buffalo how long will it take before the constant losing and less than competitive situation here dispirit him like it did with Jack, Reinhart and Risto? It shouldn't be forgotten that Tuch left a cup contending team. It's acknowledged by all that the Sabres are rebuilding. That doesn't mean that you can't be competitive while the process is going on. You do that by having competent goaltending. That wasn't done here. And that could have been accomplished within a reasonable price as it was done in Detroi. Yzermant traded with Carolina for a goalie in the last offseason. https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/31863098/carolina-hurricanes-trade-goalie-alex-nedeljkovic-detroit-red-wings

I agree with how you calculate the plus/minus in the trade of players. If Jack regains his health and plays at his previous level there is no question that Vegas comes out ahead in the trade. Jack is an elite player who in my mind is a top 15 player in the league. However, given the situation with him wanting out and the GM wanting him out layered on top of the impasse on the surgical procedure the Sabres got a reasonable (not equal) return for him. The one positive way of looking at this deal from a Sabre perspective is that by adding a couple of good players in the return who can play now plus the expectation/hope that the future first round pick will be a future contributor the Sabres will be widening the talent base on the NHL roster. The failure to add talent when Jack was here that would have provided him with more support is clearly an organizational and not a player failure. Jack made the decision that he needed to be moved. It worked out for him in that he is with a cup contending team. Reinhart also made a decision that he was not going to sign a deal and give up an opportunity to become a UFA in another year. He ended up in a serious cup contender. Which of these two players is more happy? Just maybe in a few years if Levi turns out to be a #1 goalie for us the Reinhart can deal turn out to be the most consequential deal for us from the departing core?????

Does anyone know what the timetable is for Quinn to return to action?

Most apologies are manufactured and pro forma. Nothing unusual about that. The best approach is to get out a prefabricated response and then slink away and be silent.

There has been such a deep reservoir of bad juju for this plagued franchise that my bad juice wouldn't be noticed. ☠️

I just hope that Portillo doesn't follow the Cal Petersen model where he stayed in school longer to sign a FA deal with the LA Kings. It worked out well for him. Isn't it refreshing to be talking about players and positions that have an abundance of prospects who will be competing with one another? That certainly beats having a dearth of prospects in the system. What has become apparent is that the goalie position has a high rate of injuries. Can't have too many! UPL has shown glimpses that he can be a NHL goalie. What he has also shown is that he is prone to injuries since he was drafted by the team. If I had to make a bet on our eventual long term goalie my money is on Levi.

In the long run it is not inconceivable that the Rheinhart trade could end up being the most consequential trade from the trading away of our previous core. Kudos to our scouting department. It took a number of years to fairly assess the ROR deal because it took time to determine what caliber of player Tage was going to develop into. If Ryan Johnson turns out to be a good NHL player then the ROR deal looks better than it originally looked like when the deal was made.

Attached is a WGR link with Granato on the Howard and Jeremy Show. This is a 15 min segment. He talks about a number of players and some prospects such as Power and Levi. He indicated that he believes that Tuch has more to offer because he is in a situation where his role is expanded compared to when he was with the veteran Vegas team. He stated that UPL should be back soon. He's always a good listen. https://www.audacy.com/podcasts/howard-and-jeremy-20258

The combination of arrogance and stupidity are a toxic mixture. He demonstrated how not to act/respond to a sensitive issue. What this fool doesn't realize is by the ignorant way he responded to a legitimate question he made the issue even more prominent. My takeaway seeing that clip is: What a flaccid priiick!

The biggest problem does not revolve around the captaincy as it does the dearth of talent. Whether Tuch or Okposo becomes the captain has little bearing on how each of them can influence the rest of the squad. They can have the same influence as captains or not just by the way they conduct themselves. You don't have to be a designated leader in order to lead. This organization is in the process of incorporating young players onto the roster. They need more of them. It's going to take time.

This was a different and separate appearance on the Instigator Show. I want to make clear that I'm not suggesting that Jack was a bad dude because that was not the case. He did a lot of charity work with children with cancer where he wasn't seeking attention. However, there was a sense of entitlement that the organization to an extent fostered. It was a big mistake in designating him captain when he wasn't ready for it. And the organization responded to his demands/requests for bringing in players when it should have been a strictly organizational matter. However the Jack issue is framed I side with him more than the organization. Overall, the organization failed to construct a competitive team in a reasonable period of time because of its repeated miscues. Jack's major fault (which in mind is not a fault) is that he was an intense competitor who wanted to wim. He felt stuck in a bad situation. So he made it clear that he wanted out. His position was understandable just as much as the organization's position of moving on was understandable. Each side acted in their own respective interest. I wish Jack good health and nothing but the best. He's in a good situation being on a veteran and cup contending team. And the Sabres made the right decision in deciding to reset and rebuild. This type of departing scenario happens everywhere in all sports. It's part of all sports and relationships.

Gionta on the Instigator Show a while back did make comments about an entitled young player not treating everyone in the building with respect. He also talked about how a leader should conduct himself and behave professionally. He didn't specifically mention a name but everyone knew who he was talking about. The GM also made less than oblique references on WGR on how he expected players to represent the shield and the city. He stated that the standard was not being met by all. Everyone knew who he was talking about. I'm not a Jack basher. He got stuck in a dysfunctional system and understandably wanted out. But there were issues associated with the environment/culture that needed to be changed. It was obvious by numerous comments emanating from the inside what was going on. For outsiders who were less than clueless it was not too difficult to discern what the situation was.

I didn't watch the game but saw the clips. As you noted it was evident that Vegas has more talent and physically is stronger. When Vegas scored it seemed that the Sabres were scrambling while the opposition had structure. And as you point out the goalie deficiency can't be hidden. It has to be better addressed in the offseason. The Sabres have some young players (Mitts, Quin) who are injured and some young players in the pipeline (Peterka, Power) who will soon be added to the roster. It's just going to take time to solidify an incomplete roster. It's apparent that when there is no margin for error for a thin team it is a vulnerable position to be in. That's where we are at.

One attribute that is noticeable when watching him play is his speed. I was surprised how fast and how well this big power forward could skate.

That twirling device is also used to stretch the necks of people whose necks are too short.

When I read the column the first thing that came to mind was that the hiring of Don Granato to steward the influx of young players is the key to success. If a standard coaching hire was made from the carousel of NHL coaching retreads, the rebuild primarily based on the development of young players would fail. It just seems to me that from the top of the organization, to the coaching staff, to the young players and mentoring veterans everyone is in sync. There is a coherency to the plan that is being followed.

If a player has a debilitating case of hemorrhoids is it described as a mbi (middle body injury)? ☠️

What is LBI? Is it lower back injury?