JohnC

I'm fine with it. In comparison to Jack and Sam if the Sabres decide to trade him at the next trade deadline his value should not decline very much. He's a second pairing forward who should be the 2B defenseman. Make him play a simple game and you will get more out of him. He's one of the few bangers on this non-banging team. In my opinion he gets unfairly scorned.

I'm not going to make the assumption that he will develop into a Hedman caliber of player. However, when 80%-90% of the analysts rate him at the top of their board then I am comfortable with his selection. The hope is that if the Sabres can work out a deal with Anaheim or another high drafting team we should be able to come away with a very good forward prospect. In addition, if Jack is traded there is an assumption/hope that a top tier young player will come back in return. Let's not try to outsmart the rest of the pack. Go with the highest rated player on the board.

I disagree. Jack is a top ten talent in the league. Even if he is not able to play when the season starts the prognosis for the long term should allow him to play next season. I agree with you that right now none of us know for sure. When it gets to the stage that a team is seriously interested in acquiring him they will have their medical staff examine him and make a judgment about his health status.

I agree with you. He's been around the business since he was a toddler. Pop's will provide good guidance along with his agent.

You are making the assumption that the broken Jack can't be fix. I think otherwise. I'm flexible on his trade value. I would accept Zegras and the 3OA and walk away satisfied if a better offer couldn't be found elsewhere.

He was unhappy. I'm sure he isn't foolish enough to put himself in a situation where he loses control of his ability to move on in the near future. And I'm sure that he is savvy enough not to rely on a gentleman's agreement to the other party who then contractually has control. Sam is a good guy and an earnest player. He's not a bumpkin when it comes to the business side of the game.

A Jack trade with Anaheim that includes Zegras, Comtois and a 3OA would make me happy. If by chance Reinhart was retained I would be even more happy. If you then upgrade the goaltending this Granato team is competitive and more enjoyable to watch.

If you had a choice between Newhook and Zegras who would you prefer?

I would be ecstatic to re-sign Reinhart. Ultimately, he is the person who will determine through his contract stance what his fate will be. My sense is that he wants out. Zegras is a player I am intrigued with. After watching clips on him I can understand why Anaheim is reluctant to include him in a trade deal. A trade with Anaheim in which we got Zegras, Comtois and their pick would be a reasonable Jack trade return. I continue to maintain my stance on Power. We can't go wrong with him as our first pick. And if we get Anaheim's 3OA pick in a trade that would allow us to select either Eklund or Beniers. That would make my Power stance even firmer.

Neither is Power. If some people believe that Eklund and Beniers are better than Power then it would be a good pick. But the consensus in this draft is that Power is the highest rated player. If the Sabres believe that he is the highest rated player they should select him. If not, then select the player at the top of their board. If the Sabres work out a trade with Anaheim there is a good chance that the Sabres can come away with Power plus one of the two other players. Ideally, if Jack is dealt to Anaheim the best scenario would be to acquire Zegras plus another player (Comtois??) and a 3OA pick which could result in the selection of either Beniers or Eklund.

Is he still rehabbing?

The projected lineup you propose makes a lot of sense. But I have some minor differences. First, assuming Jack and Sam are traded I don't see a #1C coming back. I'm not bothered by that downgraded exchange. What I want/insist coming back in a Jack trade is a young center who will project as a future #1C. A Zegras, Bynfield or LaFreniere caliber of player who should be able to assume that critical role in the not too distant future. In my examples Bynfield may take the longest to play as a 1C. But I still would find him as an appealing return in a deal. I noticed McCabe is not included in your listing. I'm not sure what his health status is when the season starts. My preference for the first pick remains Power. I understand why others prefer a forward but I'm sticking to my preference. As @freesternoted there is a good chance that Samuelsson starts the season with the big club. He's a big guy who although very young is a mature player. If Risto had the same level of thoughtful play he would be an anchor player for us. As you noted the goaltending situation right now is vacant. Upgrading that position will do more to instantly improve the team than any other action.

Risto's best role is to make him a #2 on the second pairing. And since he isn't much of a thinker his game needs to be simplified. He can be useful on the PK and on the second PP unit. Good coaches put their players in a position to succeed rather than in a position to fail.

How many people would be satisfied with being mired in a losing and dysfunctional work environment that has gone on during their employment? It would be abnormal and even disappointing if Jack or anyone else was accepting to such an environment. Jack is passionate about the sport and intensely competitive. There is no one who works harder in the offseason to prepare for the season. (Maybe too hard to his physical detriment.) There is a portrayal of him that he is being selfish and disloyal and maneuvering to jump ship. What he wants more than anything is to be in a situation where he has a fair chance to be on a competitive team. While injured and watching the games from his couch what did he see? He saw a team that quit under a coach who was not fit to be a NHL coach. Last year under Krueger the Sabres didn't even look like a normal NHL team. They were atrociously bad and unwatchable. The team ending up having the worst record in the league. And this is after he had been on the team for four or five? years. Not only is that not progress it is regression. And still people want him to have a sunny side disposition. That in itself is weird. Maybe this is a situation where he and the team reached a point where it is in everyone's interest to move on and get a fresh start. But make no mistake this befuddled organization squandered an opportunity to build around one of the best players in the game. The main culprit here is the organization that not only failed him but also the fans. Ineptitude is costly!

For one thing Jack is still a young player and the most talented player on the team. If the coach would be foolish enough to limit Jack's playing opportunities in order to better develop the other younger players he should be fired for stupendous stupidity. It may be wise to lessen his minutes in order to keep him fresher but that decision relates to getting more out of him per ice time. This roster is going to be relatively young. The younger players will earn playing time based on their play. Their development will not be at the expense of a player who will (other than the goalie) be the most important factor in winning. Once your roster is set you play the game to win. Granato knows that is the first priority as a coach.

Everything in your post is purely speculative. There is no question that he and the organization disagree on the treatment for his injury. There's no secret about it because both parties have publicly commented about the issue. Is Jack unhappy with the dysfunctional and losing situation he is in Buffalo? Of course he is. It would be abnormal if he was not. Does he want out? I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. But what he hasn't done is make any public comments about whether he wants to be here or not. And he isn't the only player who is tired with the situation here. It shouldn't be surprising that other players have publicly made it known that they wouldn't mind, if not prefer, a change of scenery. I believe that Jack is probably going to be traded. However, the questions about his health status may end up preventing or delaying a deal from being consummated because the return at this point wouldn't be adequate enough. Where I disagree with many here is that the target of criticisms shouldn't be so much directed toward the frustrated players as it should be directed toward the organization that has stumbled for nearly a generation.

He's in a strong enough position where he doesn't have to do anything he doesn't want to do.

I respectfully disagree. If the Sabres would not have agreed to the restrictive clause he wouldn't have signed here. The organization decided to agree to the clause that Hall insisted on. It was a reasonable position for the organization to take.

On the Hall issue I understand your stance but disagree with it. If the Sabres would have stubbornly refused to move Hall because of the NMC was prohibiting us from getting a better deal then how would we have benefited? Getting nothing for him? Not only did we get a second round pick and Bjork in the trade because of his departure the organization was able to give more playing time to a young player/s and better assess them. The bottom line is that the team agreed to terms with Hall with the restrictive clause. No one forced the organization to agree to it. In my mind the Sabres made the best of the situation that they could.

Beside the ROR trade what other trade are you including in the ignominious category?

As you point out there is nothing in his history to suggest that he would behave in a disruptive way if he wasn't moved. His health situation and how to address it are complicated medical issues, especially for a young player who is passionate about the sport. He may be wrong as to what is the right treatment for his injury but the reason for wanting to risk a short cut in his treatment is so that he can get back on the ice as quickly as possible. Although he may be misguided it is understandable why he wants to take that riskier course of action. The overlay over the Jack situation is that he is tired of the losing and lack of team success and progress. It is the same overlay that clouds the Reinhart situation. In my estimation it is more probable that Jack is dealt than not. But if he is not and his health is restored the outcome will result in the Sabres being a better team. For those who doubt that outcome I suggest you watch the highlights of the goals he scored in 2019-2020 season. The talent is stunning! How soon we forget!

What is true is that this organization is not recognized for its competency and stability. That surely is a disqualifying factor for a segment of the players on the market and players with NMC. This franchise's maligned reputation is well deserved. But to put things in perspective a lot of players don't want to go to many locations for a variety of reasons. Some players don't want to play out west while some players don't want to play north of the border. The NY area teams may appeal to some players while others have no interest to play in that high cost and densely populated areas. As you point out the misconception that Buffalo is an undesirable destination is an exaggerated notion. In fact, if Buffalo can regain its footing there should be a lot of appeal because its location is close to where a lot of players reside just north of the border. And it shouldn't be forgotten that this hockey market has the potential to be an vibrant hockey market once the franchise reestablishes its credibility.

The Sabres do have leverage. They don't have to trade him.

The deal I would find reasonable is Zegras, Comtois (you frequently tout) and 3OA. Ideally, I would prefer to get a player who can eventually be a 1C in a Jack deal. I saw some clips on Zegras and was impressed. I can understand why Anaheim is so reluctant to give him up.

Hall was brought in on a one year deal. The organization was aware of the complementary role that he was expected to play. He was brought in to play on a line with Jack. Jack got hurt and Hall kept missing the opportunities he had on a line with Jack and not with Jack. Needless to say the Hall acquisition didn't work out. However, it wasn't a crazy or unreasonable pickup. It was a one year tryout deal that if it didn't work out each of the parties could walk away from each other. A lot of people are critical of Hall's NMC in his contract. I'm not one of them. If the Sabres were not willing to accept the clause he wouldn't have signed with us. He ended up being traded to Boston where he played with better players. It shouldn't be much of a surprise that in a better environment he ended up playing well. Maybe without the NMC the Sabres could have gotten more in a trade but the return we did get for him was more than a decent return for a player who was going to be an UFA. (I do like Bjork.) There is a lesson to be learned here. The best way to get production from any player who is currently on the roster or added to it is to build up the supporting cast. There are no quick fixes or shortcuts. The more talent that is added to the roster the greater probability that the other players will be more productive. If this organization wouldn't have been so atrociously inept in roster building just maybe the omni topic of discussion of trading Jack and Reinhart would never have happened.