JohnC

She is really cool. 🤡

You are not alone in being fully vaccinated and getting infected again. Rich Eisen also had the same experience. By getting vaccinated you probably got a less severe outcome than if you weren't vaccinated. I wish you the best. https://www.audacy.com/929espn/sports/nfl/rich-eisen-reveals-breakthrough-covid-touts-vaccines

If it is so then that is an exciting development. We are starting to assemble a good young group with Dahlin, Joki, Samuelsson, Johnson and Bryson. If he comes out after his hockey season this year will he be ready to join the big club roster or will he need some seasoning in Rochester?

Is he a better defensive prospect than Samuelsson or Bryson? Samuelsson really impressed me with his positioning and instincts. If Risto had his smarts he would be an anchor player for us.

I doubt that Skinner would waive his NMC if he felt that there was a chance he would be taken. And I don't believe that it makes any sense for Seattle to take Skinner and his onerous long-term contract, even with inducements to take him. In order to induce Seattle to take him the Sabres would have to give up some significant assets to make this unrealistic scenario to happen. The Sabres are a rebuilding team that can't afford to jettison critical assets because we don't have much excess to give away. There is a simple explanation why Skinner gave it up his NMC clause: He was helping the organization with a small chance that he would have to move.

If Granato can get Skinner in the scoring range that you listed it would be like adding a good free agent to the roster. Skinner will never produce up to the level of his salary but he still could be an important goal scoring contributor on a team that struggles to score. Krueger did a lot of damage with not only his dinosaur coaching philosophy but he also made a number of bad personnel moves. As an example the Cody Eakins addition with his two year deal never made sense. And it was starkly evident when he was on the ice.

I agree with everything you posted up to but not including your last comment that Adams prefers straight futures. As you stated it is a safe assumption that Jack is going to be the best player on either side of the deal. But in order to get a fair-value (not equal return) is to get some young upside players who can play right away. A deal that you have been touting and fits in with your thesis is a deal with Anaheim that includes Zegras, Comtois and their 3OA pick.

The concept that if I don't experience something it doesn't exist or it is so far away from me it is not my problem but an issue for others is a damaging attitude from a preventive health perspective. People are exposed to different information silos. One silo informs and the other misinforms. Two different realities with one of them difficult to penetrate with the truth. It's frustrating, sad and deadly.

As you indicate he is another player whose assets have to an extent been squandered/misused because of the lack of overall support. The reality that over the past decade this team hasn't been built up enough to create a roster talented enough to emphasize each players talents and minimize their individual liabilities. Over the past decade there has been more regression than progression. And then people criticize Jack and other players for their frustration being stuck in this sea of futility. I'm far from being discouraged. I believe that our young GM has an established direction he wants to lead this franchise toward. Steadily he is putting together a quality staff and is receptive to input from others. He had a credible coaching search process that resulted in the right selection. He's checking the right boxes. I'm cautiously optimistic.

You nailed it on the head. On a good team as a 2B second pairing defenseman he would excel. There is no question that he makes a lot of mistakes. But because our goaltending has been less than mediocre and our scoring ability is feeble his mistakes are magnified. There is question that he is not a very cerebral player but in the right situation his strengths would be magnified and his vulnerabilities would be less exposed. In my view he is a player who get unfairly stigmatized.

WGR's Instigator Show today he talked about how other teams more positively view Risto than the home crowd does. He said that when he talks to the scouts and other teams' staffs the general view is that he is misused and overplayed. He pointed that it should be recognized that playing on a bad team doesn't enhance his play. Ray's thoughts on Risto is that if his playing time was more limited and his role of usually playing against the top players on the other teams were more limited he would be more effective. He also stated that there is plenty of interest in him as a player from other organizations.

I'm sure you are very professional and polite. However, when talking to these hesitant patients do you say to yourself WTF is the matter with you? If you can't think this issue through you got to be freaking stupid. I have a nephew who lives in Arizona. I asked him if he got vaccinated and he said no. I asked him why not? His reasons were lame. I'm aware that people have different political inclinations but allowing the vaccination issue to become a political issue is discouraging. For me getting vaccinated was a blessing and liberating. I just don't get it.

Fantastic work. Thank you.

Can you give a few intriguing players who might be available with our second round picks? And some very upside and not necessarily high profile prospects who have slid down the board who might be available when our second round picks come up?

His willingness to put himself in jeopardy (as unlikely as it may be) in order to help out the organization could be interpreted that he is bought in to the Granato era. He knows that Granato is a coach that will do everything he can to enhance his play. By allowing himself to be exposed in the upcoming expansion draft he is demonstrating that he wants to take an action that will benefit the team.

Are the Green Bay Packers going to trade Aaron Rodgers because of his public campaign expressing his dissatisfaction with the organization? Do you really believe that when he returns next season his play is going to decline because of his disgruntlement? If the Packers decide to trade him it will be when it suits them and the return is in the best interest of the franchise. The argument that it is possible that Jack's disgruntlement will affect his play and the room also has indicates that it is not necessarily true that it will. And to the question of whether I have worked with people who are not happy the obvious answer is yes. In those situations those miserable people were explicitly told to do their jobs or assume the consequences for not doing so. Where I strenuously disagree with you and your like-minded posters is that there is nothing in Jack's history to suggest that he would not give a maximum effort or be disruptive, even if he wasn't totally happy with his situation. He's a fierce competitor who wants to win and a fierce competitor who finds it difficult to accept constant losing. That's an attitude that should be praised, not condemned.

What is the basis that Eichel is at the stage of being irretrievable in his desire to leave the Sabres? When asked at a exiting press interview about his situation he candidly responded that there was a disconnect between himself and the organization regarding what was the best course of action in his treatment. That description of situation was true. Is Jack unhappy about the team's inability over the course of his four or five year career to be given the support to allow him to play on a competitive team? Of course he is. And so are a lot of other players on this team. I would think less of him as a competitor if he were passively accepting of this literally bottom feeding situation. Let's not forget that the Sabres had the worst record in hockey last year. It doesn't matter that he was out of service and watching the games from the team box or from his couch because what he (and we) witnessed didn't provide much hope for the near future. Is it surprising that Eichel would want out? Of course not. I would be more surprised if he was accepting of the status-quo. Is he totally bought in that this new regime can turn it around? Of course not. This befuddled organization has ineptly functioned while he has been here so why shouldn't he have a negative viewpoint? As I stated before I believe that it is more likely that he will be traded than not. If the return on a trade is reasonable it might be better for each party to move on and have a fresh start. But if the value isn't there in the exchange then the Sabres should keep him until it is in the organization's best interest to move him, if that is the course they decide to take. The worry that an unhappy Jack on the Sabres would affect his play or poison the room is nonsense. Reinhart was our best player last year. How happy was he?

Let's assume that he wants out? What does that mean? Does it mean the organization should deal him if it they can't get a fair return in a trade? I would say no to that scenario. If the organization believes that he will have more trade value when he is in better health and his play has returned to an elite level, then the Sabres should keep him until a more favorable time to make a trade. Do you think that Reinhart was happy last year? He wasn't. He publicly expressed his displeasure being out of playoff contention again. Yet he still played at high level. Risto was certainly not satisfied being in the situation he was in again. He didn't mask his feelings. Yet he played with his standard effort. There is no team in the league that doesn't have some players who are disgruntled in some form because of a variety of reasons. It could be for contract reasons, playing time or bad relationships with the coaching staff or other players. Being unhappy doesn't automatically mean that a player won't play well. In the Jack situation it is more likely to have an opposite effect because he would have an incentive to showcase his talents in order to make him a more tradeable commodity for the Sabres I believe that if a reasonable deal can be made a trade will happen. But if a deal can't be worked out that satisfies the organization it should bide its time until a deal can be made that makes sense for them. No more ROR trade boondoggles!

Linus has steadily gotten better during his development time. Getting his level of play for a full season puts us in contention for the lower rung playoff qualifiers (assuming a fair return on the traded players). That would be a significant jump up. However, as you well know there are legitimate concerns about his durability. If the Sabres and he don't come to terms this offseason it will most likely be because he doesn't want to be here. The GM needs to bring in another goaltender, or maybe two, this offseason.

Some people like chocolate while others like vanilla. I liked the "doink". Personal preferences usually can't be explained. I have nothing but admiration for @SDS because on his own time he provides a service that will never satisfy everyone. I thank him and salute him for his efforts. 🍺

As you suggest too many of the angry crowd are too willing to stoke themselves into a self-induced frenzy. An interview that was simply a hometown puff piece has turned into act of disloyalty to the team he plays for. What's next? Because he has an irritating New England accent it is a sign that he hates Buffalo? The interpretations coming from that interview are silly.

You sir are a provocateur. When you see a bear walking down the street do you go up to it and poke it? 🤡

Don't fret. One of the benefits of being the 31st ranked team is that it has little to offer and little to lose.

I used to hear a sound when someone responded to my post. I don't hear it now. Am I going deaf? Or is it an individual setting issue or a general change in settings?

I'm open to trading Jack to any team if the return is fair value. But make no mistake about it that if Jack is traded to an already Cup contending team such as Vegas it will elevate a team that is already at a high elevation. The Rangers over the past few years in their rebuild have assembled a talented young roster and a deep prospect pool in their system. If you add Jack to their lineup, even with some talented young players coming back to Buffalo in the trade, they will become a serious cup contender.