JohnC

Does anyone know what the nature of Mitts's injury is? Is it the wrist, forearm, abdominal or whatever? This state secret mentality toward longer termed injuries is stupid.

What @Taro Tand @LGR4GMare saying is that three to five young players are going to be added to the roster bumping out lesser talented players. That's how the rebuilding process works. No doubt that having such a large contingent of young players replacing the JAG placeholder players will not necessarily be a smooth transition. But it is a transition that is better made sooner than later. The young players moving up will be more talented than the more veteran players they replace. But because of their lack of experience there will be adjustments that will result in short-term setbacks for the team. One way to mitigate against the adjustment problems is to phase these players onto the roster starting this year. Samuelsson and maybe one of the top three prospects could be added to the roster sometime late in this season so there will less of a transition for some of these players. The rebuilding plan has been laid out; and the rebuilding plan is being executed. It's usually not a smooth and even process. But it is a process that you work through. In general, I'm encouraged by how this rebuilding process is transpiring. I don't want to get off topic but as it has been said by many before if you get the goaltending position secured it will promote the enhancement of the development of the young players and the team in general.

The standard approach in rebuilds is to jettison your experienced and higher cost players for future assets. You build from the ground up around your younger and cheaper players. My point is that Adams was well aware that the accumulated salaries would be dramatically down in the early stages of the rebuild. Eventually, those upside young players would require higher salaries when their contracts come due. My point is that Adams was well aware that salaries would be significantly down when he started executing his rebuild plan.

Granato was on WGR yesterday and said that the injury that Olofsson had affected his shooting. As he heals more he should be able to get his shooting prowess back to where it was before being injured. Do you want to see an example of good coaching? It is not only represented by Skinner scoring more goals but it becomes more evident in Skinner putting in a lot more energy fighting for the puck and doing his best to be defensively responsible. Also, he may be the most passionate player wearing a Sabre jersey. And it should be noted his passing (maybe too much) is as good as it has ever been with him. Coaching matters!

Over the past three games against upper tier teams the Sabres have played a different style of game. There is a greater emphasis toward the defense. As@Thornyhas suggested the change in style of play may be attributed to placing more emphasis on protecting the young goaltender. Although the outcomes in these past three games may be a little disappointing (some of it due to flukish reasons) the major shift in the quality of play can be attributed to the goaltending of UPL. He has been a rock. How does it translate for the rest of the season? When it comes to judging young goaltenders (and goaltenders in general) it's better to be humble and say I'm simply not sure. What I can say about UPL is that he has shown glimpses during this short stint that there is enough raw talent to indicate that he can play at an NHL level. If the franchise can get that position locked down sooner rather than later this rebuild can be accelerated. Beyond the team's nondescript record what is encouraging is the play of the young players such as Tage, Dahlin, Asplund, Bryson, Cozens, Olofsson (playing hurt), Joki, Mitts (currently injured) and maybe UPL can be placed as emerging players. The critical issue regarding these young players is whether they have shown enough to solidify their status as NHL players? I would say yes. And the next critical issue is whether they have more upside? I would again say yes. If you add that to how our top tier prospects are playing in Rochester then one has to be encouraged about this team's reconstruction. Again, I don't want to get carried away in evaluating this team based on a short stint of quality play. However, although there are going to be struggles and backsliding during this season you can see the rebuilding blueprint being executed. I strongly believe that the seeds for success have been planted. The question becomes does the owner have the patience and wisdom to see it through?

UPL has strung together three consecutive good games against good teams. In this game, as with the other two, he made a number of exceptional stops that kept us in the game. What is impressive about him is that he plays with a lot of calmness. He's a big player who utilizes his size. I wonder if the crowd that has complained about Dahlin and wanted him to be sent down to Rochester are changing their tune? I thought that Dahlin was superb in this game. Either Dahlin or UPL would garner the first star if I was voting with the other person getting the second star. Okposo has been the most consistent player for the Sabres this season. Tage is getting better and better. He still has some upside to draw from. Good win.

I don't know who from the Sabre organization pushed to acquire Levi in the Reinhart deal. The person who has touted and mentored him for a long time is Roberto Luongo. I believe that Luongo who worked for the Panthers was influential in his selection with a 7th round pick. It's not inconceivable that if he goes pro next year he could be our #1 or #2 goalie prospect in our system. https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/devon-levi-an-outlier-canada-world-juniors-hockey-1.5856330

If UPL plays as he has in the past couple of games, I don't see him being sent down. The issue comes down to whether he is going to get extensive playing time with the big club. If he isn't because of inadequate play, he will be sent down. Whether it is in the NHL or AHL he has to play a lot and continue working on his game.

@GASabresIUFANregarding Samuelsson he did get some introductory playing time last year. I'm sure it was a beneficial experience for him. This year he is getting more playing time and a higher role than he would with the Sabres. I wouldn't be surprised if he is called up sometime this year. If not, playing a lot in Rochester is certainly not going to hurt his development. On the contrary it will benefit him more than if he had limited minutes in Buffalo. I'm sure you will agree that he is on the doorstep of arriving at the big club, and then staying there for the long-term. R2 did get playing time this year, and I believe some last year. He was sent down because he wasn't much of a factor. He is far from being a consequential player to waste energy over. And although I like Murray's size and willingness to play around the net he is also a less than a consequential player. The JAGs that you are directing your ire towards are veterans who at least for the short-term can provide some leadership for this young locker-room. You don't need to get so concerned over our numerous JAGs. They will steadily be dispatched and replaced with the younger fellows. That's the plan and that's the standard process in a rebuild.

The GM has made a conscience decision that he would rather have the kids get extended playing time in Rochester that would enhance their development as opposed to getting lesser playing time in Buffalo. Could Quinn, Peterka and Krebs replace some of the JAGS now and help the team? I'm not sure about that. Maybe so. What's more likely to happen is that after a full or near full year in Rochester these players will be on the Sabre roster next year. If you add Samuelsson, Power and Tuch to the mix you are looking at half a dozen players who will be added to the Sabre roster next year and moving out some of the JAGS that you are lamenting about. The emphasis is on the development of the prospects over the marginal benefit of moving them up the ranks a little sooner.

The manner one reacts to how this season is unfolding is an individual decision. If one views this season simply from a standing and points perspective then the sensation is going to be deep disappointment. That's now how I am evaluating this season. The GM has been candid about what the direction of this franchise is before the season started. He explicitly has stated that this is a rebuild. Not a partial rebuild but a full blown tear it down rebuild that revolves around the young players. That was demonstrated by his public desire to trade our best players before the season started. The Jack trade saga was visible for everyone to see. There were no behind the scene whispers about the GM's determination to trade Jack for future assets. It was openly declared and known by everyone inside and outside the building what was eventually going to transpire. So when I watch Tage, as a center, play beyond my expectation then I am going to appreciate it. When I see UPL, who has had some recent struggles, play two consecutive stellar NHL games against superior opponents then I am going to put it in the plus column, especially considering that the overall goalie play has been dismal for us. (I still realize the position has to be addressed.) Sometime this season Tuch is going to be cleared to play. And the hope is that Krebs, Peterka, Quinn, Power and Samulsson will be added to the roster next season moving out some of the bland JAGs on this roster. So what we are looking at is the roster being injected with at least half a dozen players that will reshape and bolster the roster within a year or so. It's maddening to observe how this franchise has been mismanaged over the past decade. It didn't have to be this way. The chorus of criticism that this franchise has received is well deserved. But if you only focus on what has been done wrong and not what is happening to repair the damage, you end up being angry and frustrated. I'm just not going to do that to the degree that many others are. I prefer to look forward and not backward. What's behind us is a self-made catastrophe manufactured by gross ineptitude. However, what's in front of us looks more appealing to me. That's where I am coming from.

There is a plausible explanation why the Sabres are losing a majority of its games. It's not a mystery. Most of the teams we are playing are more talented than this rebuilding team. A person can be a devoted Sabre fan and still recognize that uncomfortable truth. You don't have to be analytical wiz to recognize that. All you have to have is a penny's worth of objectivity when watching the games. Right now, the Sabres don't have enough talent to be a serious team. It may an uncomfortable fact to acknowledge but it is an obvious reality.

The reason that I and some others are more upbeat about this team after watching the Ranger and Capital games is not the outcomes. It is the stellar play of a young goaltender who many people were wary of. Most people who follow the Sabres recognize that this is a very incomplete team. That's not a surprise. But also, most people understand that even with an incomplete roster the biggest weakness of this team is its goaltending. In the past two games against a couple of the better teams in the league the Sabres held their own primarily because of the play of the goaltender. Considering how our goaltenders have been playing that should be a reason to be happy about. I understand where the Sabres stand in their rebuild. But that doesn't mean that being pleasantly surprised by the play of UPL isn't a reason to be encouraged.

There is a demonstrable difference in the play under Krueger than under Granato. Should there be a celebration in the better play under the replacement coach? No. But there is nothing wrong in acknowledging the reality that a less talented team consistently has kept up against more talented teams which didn't happen at the end of the prior coach's tenure. And as you stated it was exceptional goaltending by a young goalie that many people are unsure of that played at a high level and kept us in the game. That should be a reason for positivity. And it shouldn't be surprising that the team with more firepower outshot the team with less talented offensive players.

I got the same sensation about this game as you did. If you combine the Ranger game with this game that also included good goaltending and sustained effort those are positive takeaways. In both games it was evident that the opposition was more talented. And in both games it never seemed that we were overmatched. That in itself is encouraging. Of course there is still a long way to go before this team becomes a serious team. However, the trajectory is up and the entertainment value is there. Baby steps forward is better than baby steps back.

As you noted the Washington broadcasters made more comments about our individual players and recent play in this game than in a typical Buffalo covered game. There was simply a lot more detail in their coverage than the shallow coverage of the local broadcast team. Maybe it is due to fresh eyes calling the games rather than the home team broadcast that has become jaded covering this team for the past number of years. As you indicate the contrast in quality of coverage is clearly evident.

One of the advantages of being a team that has a losing record is that bad rulings against you don't have serious playoff implications when the games are finally tallied. What would have been difficult to tolerate is missing out on the playoffs by a point or two because of a bad call that affected a game. That's not the situation that this team is in. The more important takeaways in that game beyond as it was in the Washington game is that UPL played well and the team competed well against a more talented roster. Although it might not be satisfying it is encouraging.

Declaring Dahlin a bust right now is an absurdity. You and I are travelling in parallel universes that will never meet. What you see is not what I see; what you believe is not what I believe. For many Sabre fans the inglorious past is coloring the views about this team and its direction. That is understandable.

Utter freaking nonsense. Just because a player is the first player selected it doesn't mean that the player is automatically designated to be a transformational player. His talent is his talent. Just because you expect him to be something beyond what he is doesn't mean that he is a failed player. I said it before and I will say it again that when evaluating the talent on this roster he is one of the least issues one should be concerned with. It's not his fault that this organization has not provided him with the support he needs for the team to be better than what it has been. And that same line of thinking applies to Jack and Reinhart when they were here.

I don't always agree with your takes. But I want you to know that those of you such as @inkman @dudacek, @Brawndo, @Norcal and others who follow the Amerks and report on them are providing us with terrific information on the prospects. Especially when this season is more about the future than the present your contributions are much appreciated. I salute you guys and if applicable gals. 🍺

When evaluating a player such as Dahlin you have to ask what type of player is he? He's not a stalworth defender in the defensive zone, and probably never will be. That's not his game. He excels when he is moving out of his zone and entering the offensive zone. I agree that he makes a lot of mistakes that lead to chances. But that is due to the fact that he is doing more than he should, and his pairing support doesn't adequately cover for his mistakes. In general, beyond this game I'm more than satisfied with is play. He's not playing with a roster that is robust. So his mistakes are more likely to be taken advantage of than if he played on a better team. When you look at this roster and individual play he is not (in my view) a player that you need to worry about. I think with Rasmus the negative view of him relates more to one's outsized expectations than to his actual play.

I agree with the general sentiment. It's the same one that I have. However, where I have a slightly different take is that the GM doesn't have to take on a high contract or even a long term goalie this offseason to upgrade the position enough to uplift this team. He can get a good goalie who not only immediately upgrades the position but also helps the organization buy itself more time to deal with that critical position. Is our long term goalie already in the system? Maybe? However, having a good bridge goalie helps this team in the short and long term. It's an issue that needed to be better addressed last offseason, and still needs to be addressed this offseason.

A better and more impactful trade still needs to be made. A stopgap deal is inadequate for what this organization wants to accomplish.

I don't see any way where Power won't be on the Sabre roster at the start of next year. Will he be a first or second-line defender? How he plays in camp will determine that. He played in a World Tournament with pros. He quickly worked his way up to a top tier role, even outshining some of the vets. The more he played the more responsibility he was entrusted with by the coach. Unless he struggles in camp (which I doubt) I see him on the big club roster.

What last night's game demonstrates is that even when the other team has more talent, with good goaltending you can compete with the opposition. As you highlighted it is an imperative that the GM enters next season with another quality goalie who can keep this team competitive while its roster gets steadily bolstered. As you and others have consistently stated that having a major deficiency in goal undercuts what the organization is trying to accomplish in the rebuild. What should have happened last offseason needs to happen this next offseason.