JohnC

The point I was making is that the Sabres can't control how the other side conducts itself in this saga. KA has been steadfast and non-public about the issue. The other side has created more commotion to little positive effect. In my mind as challenging as this situation is the GM has handled himself well.

Hamilton, Ontario is part of the Sabre market. It might overlap with the Toronto market but people from Hamilton do follow and attend games in Buffalo. Anyone who is foolish enough to buy a Sabre season ticket for the garbage product on the ice will again learn that they will be challenged to give away tickets to games that they can't attend. Playing one outside game in Hamilton is not going to change that embarrassing fact. The Toronto games played in Buffalo are to a large extent populated with Toronto fans who are willing to play premium prices (that are still less than their home game tickets). So there will be a larger outdoor venue that will increase the paltry revenue that the Buffalo fans generate for home games. Again, this is an inconsequential one game issue that has little to do with the fanbase's lack of interest in a team that has been for a long time uninteresting. The meaningful issue is assembling a team that can compete and be entertaining. To that issue there is no quick or easy solution. Everything else is BS!

Whether this game is outdoors in Canada or inside the arena in Buffalo it has little to do with getting the withered fan base back. Putting a credible and entertaining team back on the ice is the solution to regenerating interest in this team. That's the challenge. Everything else is inconsequential.

How did the Sabres overplay their hand? The GM played this complicated situation that was foisted on him as well as one can expect. As it stands no team is willing to give up top tier young players or prospects for an injured player whose future health status is not known. When healthy Jack is a top 10-15 talent. So unless there is a reasonable offer made for him the best approach is to wait until Jack is restored as a player and then get back to the market to see if a deal can be made that benefits the organization. The Sabres can't control what Jack and his representatives do. What they can control is what they do. Considering what his options are our GM is handling this situation adroitly. The template not to follow is the ROR trade. To their credit that is not the script that the organization is not following.

Most cap projections are that the cap will go up in a couple to few years down the road. If the cost of bringing in players such as Rossi, Krebs or Zegras and other assets (as examples) that would be a worthwhile exchange. This roster needs to be rebuilt, the quicker the better. If the cost is a salary retention of $2.5 per yr for a few years that would be a reasonable transaction. Maybe a better approach might be taking a player and his contract back to somewhat offset the Jack contract that the receiving team will have added to their books.

Very often when a high cost player is dealt a player who is not at the core of the deal is included by the other team to offset some of the added contract cost. In a sense that has a similar effect of retaining some portion of the departing player's contract. The benefit for the Sabres is that they would be able to get some utility out of the returning player.

Not necessarily. If the Sabres aren't willing to let their asset to go for less than what they have him valued at then Jack is smart enough to recognize that his doorway to getting out of here is to demonstrate to the his potential suitors that he is back to his old form. And that means for the organization and him to get what they want he will have to play. If he gets the fusion surgery he might not play at all this season. If he gets the surgery that he wants he might not play until the second half or later this season. It wouldn't be surprising that a full season will pass before Jack will be able to show on the ice what he is capable of.

If Arttu, Mitts, Cozens, Dahlin, Joki, Thompson, Bjork, Asplund, Samuelsson and maybe Bryson all play better that would be a good sign. Next year Power, Quinn and Peterka and maybe UPL should be added to the mix. Ryan Johnson might be another year away? Will a Jack deal add another prime player or two to the prospect pool not far from NHL ready? I'm not sure a deal will be made until his health situation is clarified. Those who are arguing that this year is going to be a tough year are probably correct. Our subtractions of Reinhart, Ullmark and probably Jack will leave gaping holes on a roster that was already thin to begin with. From a won/loss standpoint it is going to be a tough year. Can this team at least be entertaining and provide future hope? I think so. My big worry is that unless there is an upgrade in our goaltending situation it will undercut whatever progress that can be had. Watching a franchise go through a rebuilding process is tough to digest. Either the organization is fully committed to it or you end up taking short cuts that extend the rebuild time. There is no other way.

I'm inclined to agree with you. There were reports in Washington that they didn't want to lose Dillon, a defenseman, who was exposed in the draft. So it appears that a side-deal was made for them to take Vanecek and then give up a second round pick to get him back. I'm just hoping that this front office is not satisfied with the current goalie staffing and is willing to seize opportunities to upgrade that position. As it stands it is very troubling. As I have previously stated the organization made the right decision not to pay the contract that would have been needed to retain Ullmark. But in the short run it put the Sabres in a bind.

The article I cited said that his agent asked for a six year deal. Did we counter it? I can't say for sure.

I agree with you about the military situation. But to a lesser degree this compelling of vaccinations is happening in colleges, jobs and even entertainment settings. No one should be forced to get it yet there are settings where if you aren't vaccinated you can be excluded from the job or setting. I have no problem with that exclusion.

He wanted a longer term and more to play in Buffalo than Boston. From his perspective I understand why. As I said before he did what was right for him and the organization made a decision that was right for them.

In the military the soldiers will soon be required to get vaccinated whether they want to or not.

My mistake. They traded him back to Washington.

There was a golden opportunity for the Sabres to acquire a good young goaltender who may even turn out to be better than Ullmark because he is more durable. Seattle took Vitek Vanecek from Washington in the expansion draft. And then traded him back to Seattle for a second round pick. He would have been a marvelous pickup in a trade for a second round pick, a higher pick than what Washington had to offer. That would have been a terrific fall back position.

Ullmark is a good goaltender. He is not worth a 6 yr contract at $6 M per year. The organization put itself in a bind with the extended and overvalued Skinner contract. And because of that they lost some roster flexibility that can't get out of it. The organization placed a value on Ullmark and wouldn't go outside their value of him. That's the right way to run the operation. There are things that one can validly criticize the GM for. This is not one of them.

According to some reports Ullmark through his agent was asking for a 6 year term for $36 m from Buffalo. He ended up signing a 4 yr contract with Boston for $20 M. The amount of money he wanted certainly was a factor but the the 6 yr term he was asking for was more problematic. The organization made the right decision in not signing him. Ullmark did what was right for himself and the GM made the right decision for the organization. https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/linus-ullmarks-exit-opens-door-for-ukko-pekka-luukkonen-to-be-sabres-starter/article_7af9bba6-f0af-11eb-935d-07125018f070.html

It is undebatable that a rebuild is happening. But I disagree with you that the trading of Reinhart and Risto indicate a desire to bottom out in pursuit of a particular player in the next draft. Reinhart and Risto were dealt because of their contract status. They were going to be UFAs in the following year. So it made sense to trade them for whatever you could get. There is little additional information needed to be added to the probable Eichel trade. (It might happen a lot later than most people want it to be.) He doesn't want to be here and be a part of the rebuild. I understand his stance and am not critical of it. If this was a deliberate bottoming out do you think that Dahlin and Cozens, Joki, Mitts etc. wouldn't be placed on the market? Just because the Ullmark negotiation didn't work out that doesn't mean that the course of this franchise was going to be dramatically altered. And by the way considering what Ullmark wanted the organization made the right decision by not meeting his demands. Anyone who has an iota of objectivity recognizes that this year's team has a way to go before being a playoff team. But the best way and quickest way to get back into becoming a contending team is to follow the plan that it has set out i.e. continue and stick to the rebuild with players who are bought in. There is no other way.

Of all the people involved in the local hockey scene the one person I consider to be the most knowledgeable about the Sabres and the league is Marty Biron. He is not the type of person to stylistically be harsh with his criticisms and judgments but his opinions are usually spot on. Behind his congeniality is a lot of hockey knowledge.

Terrific analysis. Putting the front office in order and assembling a quality staff is a priority in having a competent hockey operation. Granato was the right hire for this young roster. He wasn't immediately installed. There was a review that he and the other candidates were subjected to. Based on how he handled the team last year there is no doubt that he was the favored candidate. In this year's draft there was a near unanimity by the hockey analysts that our overall drafting was sound. It seems to me that KA is more of a collaborator than a controlling executive. For him coming to the right decision requires a process that has a lot of inputs. There is no quick fix. Getting back to being a serious franchise is going to take time. The goaltending position certainly has to be a priority that needs to be addressed. As you and many others have pointed out the issue hovering over this troubled franchise is whether the Pegulas are going to allow this regime the time and space to do their jobs. The model the Pegulas need to follow are the Bills.

I'm just as concerned with the current goaltending situation is as you are. But that doesn't mean that the situation that exists now is going to be the same situation when the season starts. How about waiting a little longer to see what happens before throwing in the towel before the bell rings?

It's really sad that some people are so out of touch with the real world and allow themselves to be influenced with such nonsense. What's even more frightening is not that some people can be swayed to their detriment to the point where their life is endangered but it is the number of people who fall in that ignorant category. (I am not using the word ignorant to gratuitously mock anyone.) It's the size of this group that falls in this gullible category. That worries me a lot. Reasoning and facts simply don't penetrate this hardcore faction.

Disseminating false information is not necessarily illegal. However, it can be if the claim is made by a doctor. If someone is so ignorant to act on false statements that are so absurdly outlandish I don't see where it is a crime. What it means is that stupid behavior can be deadly to the practitioner. If a parent gave these animal vitamins to a child in order to protect a child from the virus that would be a crime associated with negligence. But if an adult person is ignorant enough to believe something so ridiculous and act on it I don't see where it is a crime.

Apparently it is.

There are a lot of insane and crazy things said and promoted coming from a variety of outlets. You can't control the content of all outlets. A little common sense and intelligence goes a long way. I don't wish anyone any misfortune, especially when it comes to health. But when you do something as hazardous as taking animal vitamins you are doing it to yourself. Again, I'm not wishing anyone any bad consequences but this type of moronic behavior is self-afflicted. In this case ignorance can be deadly.