JohnC

The vaccinated are upset with the unvaccinated. And they should be. The entities that also should be very upset with the unvaccinated are the insurance companies. Having to pay out a lot of money to cover the medical costs of those unvaccinated who get sick and require comprehensive medical treatment must make them angry. So what should happen next. When the rates are determined for the next billing year it goes up for everyone in order to cover the costs of treatments that could have been avoided. What is the solution? There should be clauses in the insurance policy that if one foregoes being vaccinated for a designated category of illnesses the rates should be higher for this anti-vaccine population or the coverage will not be provided for those who contract the virus after willfully decide to go unvaccinated. There should be consequences for reckless behavior.

Who is your source? Is it your imagination?

I understand your sentiment and I feel it to. But the problem is that there are too many people who have not gotten the vaccine who not only are making themselves vulnerable to infection but because the pool of unvaccinated is still so large it is resulting in not only more infections variants but variants that are also capable of infecting the vaccinated. While the vaccinated are not getting seriously sick they become carriers of the of Covid and infect others. My biggest worry is that these new pernicious variants will become resistant to the current vaccines and will require new vaccines to provide protection. So the cycle repeats itself. It is the sabotaging of the community that has acted appropriately. Freaking insane!

Jack certainly wants out of Buffalo but that isn't his biggest concern. Far from it. The issue that is consuming him more than wanting to play elsewhere is his health situation. He very well knows that if he fully regains his health and gets back on the ice to play at his pre-injury level that he will be on the market with many suitors. Jack may be young and impetuous but he isn't a dummy. He may have found a doctor/s promoting a procedure that will quickly get him back on the ice but he and his advisers know very well that the predominant medical view from the best surgeons who deal with his type of injury are recommending a procedure that will keep him off the ice for maybe this season. Jack can get any procedure he wants. But after the procedure there are no guarantees that he will be able to return to form, and maybe even not play again. So I don't see him cavalierly breaking his contract and giving up his guaranteed money. Any way you look at this issue it is a very complicated situation for the player from a health and playing standpoint. The bottom line is that there are no easy solutions.

I wish you and your family the best. I just don' understand how people can minimize this health crisis that has killed more than 600,000 people and has affected millions more. They are living in their own delusional world and are sabotaging the efforts to deal with this pernicious virus. It's frustrating and maddening.

I have had surgery for spondylitis a long time ago and then disc surgery maybe a dozen years after that. Each surgery allowed me to return to normal pain free living. Much of that health outcome can be attributed to a healthy lifestyle that included regular workouts. What I can say is that after the surgeries that gave me relief there are things that I could not do and would not do, such as contact sports. For the sake of this discussion let's put aside the surgery that Jack prefers and discuss the fusion surgery that is recommended by the doctors in the field. If you look at the recovery time of 4 months for this surgery and you consider when it might happen it seems more likely that Jack won't play this season. I said this before and it drew harsh criticism. I'm sticking to this assessment. Even if he does return to the ice this season it probably will be sometime late in the second half of the season. And if he does play it will most likely be on a very limited basis. It isn't a surprise to me why a top 10-12 player in this league who is on the market is not attracting much in the way of offers. So far not one team is willing to give up a top tier young center prospect for him. That is an indication that other teams also are wary about his current and future health status. I hope my pessimistic view of this situation is wrong for Jack and the organization's sake. It seems to me that maybe the best outcome is for Jack to have the recommended surgery and then undergo the extensive rehab in order to get back to form. Then he should be placed back on the market. However, if he does get traded before the surgery I will be pleasantly surprised.

It's politically more advantageous to take the position that less support rather than more support in using taxpayer money for a stadium project that mostly benefits a billionaire owner. And I will go so far as to say that more western NY voters would also favor that position.

I'm not worried about the NMC. If he gets his health back and regains his form then his value will exponentially increase. If a team that he doesn't want to go to makes the best offer and refuses to go there then keep him. Jack clearly wants out. I'm confident that there are few places he wouldn't want to go to rather than staying here. I just don't see that limiting clause being so limiting.

Where do you get your data from? A Qanon website? When I hear people speak crazily about the vaccines I get so frustrated and angry. The vaccines have been a blessing that has given us a degree of freedom that we lost at the height of the pandemic. Now it seems that we are going back to that hellish period because of this lunatic cultish fringe with the mindset that is anti-science and and rationality. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/08/09/dick-farrel-dies-covid19/

If UPL demonstrates in training camp that he is not in over his head and is the best option as a backup then it is very possible. I would prefer he start in Rochester but the advantage of sticking with the big club is that he will get plenty of practice time with a good goalie coach and be mentored by a supportive veteran goalie.

If a person doesn't want to spend money or time on an inferior product then he/she shouldn't. Everyone has a different tolerance level. What's the point of constantly lamenting about something that is evident to all. If the situation is dire then the next obvious question is what are the solutions? Is there a course of action that will get this team to a better point? If so, what is the timeframe? That's where my focus has been this offseason and will be this season. Howling at the moon might be cathartic but after a certain point is it useful?

Everything you said about the subtractions creating a talent deficit is true. But if you review the players on your departure list there are factual reasons why they are no longer here. Montour, Risto, McCabe and Reinhart were in contract years where they were not going to re-sign. So even if the team wanted these players they made individual decisions to move on. So they were dealt for whatever could be gotten back. Even if the return was not commensurate with the talent it was better to get something than retaining in the short term for nothing in the near future. With respect to Ullmark the organization made the right decision not to give him what he wanted. Keeping him at a gilded contract level would have been a poor value decision. And although I like Borgen he is an easily replaceable player. There is no need to go over the Eichel situation. Whether it is sooner or later he will be dealt. Much of it has to do with his decision and also the organization's decision to reboot the roster. The point that I am making is that the decision to rebuild with the younger players makes a lot of sense. There really wasn't another feasible option. Would it have been better to rebuild around Jack and Samson? No. For the simple reason that Samson was not going to sign an extended contract and Jack understandably didn't want to be a part of a rebuild. I'm not arguing that the organization didn't put itself in this bad situation with their ingrained ineptitude. But when you make hard-decisions you have to make a cold-blooded assessment of where you are and what are the best options to move forward. In my judgment KA has made the right call in cleaning the slate with the old guard and moving on.

When the Pegulas bought the Bills they made some crazy staffing decisions such as hiring the then recently fired and buffoonish Rex Ryan. The disastrous results were predictable. After going through a number of bad hires they finally got it right with the hiring of McDermott. What they got right is not simply hiring the right person for the job but also empowering him to run the football operation without interference. The results are evident. The organization went from being ridiculed to now being a model football operation. I'm just hoping that he will take the same approach with KA and this staff. Whether one agrees with the rebuilding strategy at least there is a coherent plan to follow. Now success or failure is predicated on the execution. Will the owners have the fortitude and patience to follow through with the strategy? That's the challenge.

The biggest mistake the owners could make is to not give this regime the time to implement their rebuilding plan. The biggest mistake the owners have made throughout their reign is constantly churning through coaches and GMs. It is this instability that has repeatedly set back this franchise. The lack of follow through and this constant starting and stopping with new rebuilding plans has not only not advanced this franchise but has repeatedly set it back. Continued foolishness leads to predictable results.

Added to your comments if Jack hasn't had whatever surgery that is chosen when training camp starts then his season may be in jeopardy. If he is not dealt the current position of the organization is that it is not going to approve the player's preferred surgery which supposedly has a shorter rehab period. My understanding is if he undergoes the fusion surgery the reported recovery time is 4 months. If you add this time to the mostly missed season last year then you are talking about a player who has not not played for nearly a year and a half. That extended period of time being on the shelf is going to add time preparing to play. There are many people who believed that the GM should only deal Jack if he can get full value. At least for this offseason that shipped has sailed. Because he is a damaged player that is not going to happen. The choice is to get whatever you can get or hold on to him with the hope that he can regain his health and value. It's a tough call for the GM.

I suggested to another poster who was battling the same Sabre blues to take a pause from following the team if it was making him so angry and frustrated. Those comments were misinterpreted that I was forcing the poster out. That was not the case and not my intention. When someone has reached their exasperation limit then it is time to take a break and use the interlude to refresh oneself. I'm not looking at this season from a typical perspective of the standings. That's not going to be my measurement of success. My attention is going to be on the young players. I will be watching to see how they advance in their game. There are a number of young players who I consider in the upswing category. Players such as Dahlin, Joki, Cozesn, Mitts, Bjork, Apslund, Thompson, Arttu, Olofsson, Samuelsson and Bryson with maybe others if the probable impending Jack trade brings in a return. On top of this list is there is another retinue of players who a year or two away from moving up the ranks. Those in that category are UPL, Quinn, Peterka, Power and maybe a few more. When you add both grouping you can see the nucleus of a core forming that refashions the roster. Where I disagree with you is in your assessment of KA. He has laid out a roadmap to remake this roster and in my estimation that is exactly what he is doing. Contrary to your view I believe that Krueger was more influential in addressing the last year's roster than was KA. There are many things about the recent history of this bedraggled franchise to complain about. If you allow yourself to be captured by the past problems it will spill over and contaminate your view on some of the positive things that are occurring. There is nothing wrong in taking a break in order to refill the tank that has been emptied.

Speaking of mouths: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9876135/Woman-31-worlds-biggest-mouth-winning-Guinness-World-Record.html

If the scenario happens as you described then what would be the problem with that? If UPL demonstrates in training camp that he can handle the backup role then so be it. Most of us believe that UPL will start the season in Rochester but it is not out of the realm of possibility that he earns a roster spot. Will it be the best course for his development to be a NHL backup compared to playing full-time in the AHL? My preference is for him to be a full-time player in the lower league. But it's not unusual that a few surprising developments happen when players compete in camp.

Why do you believe that the GM considers UPL ready for full time play in the NHL? As @LGR4GMpointed out a more than fair offer was made to Ullmark for an extended term (4 yrs) at an average of $4 M per year. If that is the case then it surely demonstrated that the intention was for Ullmark to be our #1 goalie. As I have stated in prior posts I thought it was a mistake for the Sabres not to sign Ullmark. After learning that Ullmark wanted more from the Sabres than from Boston from a salary and term standpoint I altered my position. I now firmly believe that the organization was prudent in not willing to go beyond the reasonable contract boundaries for a player of his caliber. And I'll go further in saying the in exercising financial discipline in the Ullmark negotiation the GM demonstrated that the organization is now going to be more prudent in handling contracts than it previously has. I, like you, believe that the our goaltending situation as it currently stands is inadequate. And I'm hoping that there will be some goalie options opening up in the market as the season approaches. If it doesn't I will be very disappointed.

Of course his concern about the center position is a legitimate issue. I'm not saying otherwise. Who disagrees that there is a center deficiency on this team? But repeatedly pointing out what should have happened doesn't advance anything in the Jack trade rumors topic. If a prospective trading partner doesn't include a top tier center prospect then the follow-up issue is what alternative trade packages can be acceptable in a trade deal. Where you are at is where you are at!

I don't understand what you want the GM to do? The main issue this offseason isn't about what should have or could have taken taken place in the past. It is about where you are and what are you going to do. Would of and should of get you nowhere other than spinning your wheels. Pointing out the many mistakes this franchise has made over the past number of years is like shooting fish out of a barrel. Those failures have been rehashed to exhaustion. At this point it is more productive and interesting to discuss what are some of the best options to address some of these issues.

Reinhart made the decision that he wasn't going to sign a long-term deal with the franchise. So he was dealt for whatever he could get. Risto basically said that he wanted out. So he was dealt. The Jack situation has reached a tipping point where he absolutely doesn't want to be here. So he will be moved. That's the situation the GM is. What's evident is that you can't always control the situation so much as adjust to the situation. That's life.

Then what are you complaining about? He decided to take a course of action and he is doing it. What's your point? Saying he should have done this or that at this point is moot. He's explicitly stated a strategy to rebuild and is following it. Lamenting that course of action gets you where?

No one that I am aware of disagrees with you that if a top tier center prospect can't be acquired in an Eichel trade or any other trade for that matter then it will have to be addressed in a future draft. If that's your only option then what else can you do?

The one person who understands that this is a multi-year rebuild is the GM. And he is the head of the hockey operation. Not only is the hockey operation aware that this is a multi-year rebuild but so is everyone else in the league. It is so obvious to all that even the blind can see it.