JohnC

The core of the team will revolve around young players such as Cozens, Dahlin, Mitts, Thompson, Joki, Ullmark (if he signs), Bjork (if not taken in the expansion draft) and maybe Samuelsson and Bryson. Will there be some veterans added to the mix beyond Okposo, McCabe (if signed) who are currently not signed? Yes.

You are off the mark. Reinhart wants out and Jack wants out. Period! Their reservoir of patience has been exhausted. Both of these players have been with the team for years. Last season, the Sabres had the worst record in hockey. For these two guys, and more so for Reinhart, they will not be on the Sabres next season. The situation is not complicated. Samson has contract leverage. Odds are he will not be willing to sign an extended deal. The discussion about how it should be is irrelevant and wasteful. KA will be making his personnel decisions based on the reality of the situation. Common sense indicates that players who were our key players will soon be our former key players.

I respectfully but strenuously disagree. As I stated in another post I re-listened to KA's post interview after the Jack interview. He made it clear that he wanted players who wanted to be here. Reinhart is a classy person who stated clearly that he was tired with the situation he is in. And I'm sure in his exit interview with the GM that he mad it clear that it was time for a change for him and the organization.

That Jack and Sam issue has been settled. You would be better off focusing more on the return than on the inevitable departures.

I don't think that he hurt them either. It seemed to me that Granato who is good at slotting players was not afraid to pair him with the youngsters. The irony is that I thought Samuelsson played a more thoughtful and judicious game when paired with him.

If I had to guess I think Cozens will earn that moniker in a couple of years.

I know that my view of Risto is out of step with the majority. In my view he has had the misfortune of playing on a team where what was expected of him was beyond his skill set. It's safe to say that Risto is not a thinker on the ice who sees the field well. He doesn't have that field of vision and anticipation to read plays and never will for a top tier defenseman. The best way to use him was to simplify his game and have him play within his limitations that have nothing to do with his impressive physical attributes. In my mind he is a subordinate player on the second pairing. It's a shame that McCabe has been plagued with injuries because I think that he would pair well with him. One of the reasons why I look more favorable towards Risto than others do is that he provides some ruggedness on a team that lacks it. I recognize that I am an outlier on this issue. And I recognize that Risto will probably moved this offseason.

I agree with the general tenor of your comments but have a slightly different perspective. There is no doubt that the return for Jack, Reinhart and Risto won't be equal value. But that doesn't mean that we can't get good value back that will in the short term (next season) expand the young talent base and accelerate the rebuild. As an example, if in the return for our departing players we can get young contributing players such as Zegras and Comtois who can play right away and still have plenty of upside that will be a terrific start. Will we be a better team? I don't know? But it could result in a fuller roster of upside players. The precarious situation the organization is of its own doing. We are all aware of that. The slate won't be totally wiped out but it will be significantly altered. We have to accept the reality of it and go on from there. If handled right I believe we won't be in as bad a situation an many believe it will be. Needless to say this offseason is going to determine how far off the path or not so far we are off the path to credibility.

It's time that the franchise be run in an orderly and professional way. The situation that KA inherited included a coach he didn't hire and whose strongly held views devastated the operation. My impression of KA is that he is deliberative and detail oriented. He seems to recognize the importance of rebuilding the organization that was deliberately stripped. I like his Karmanos hiring. And I'm assuming that Granato will be hired soon. That will be a good hire. Yesterday, I again listened to KA's post season comments after the Jack interview. The repeated theme of his comments to the press was that he is excited about the enthusiasm of the young players. And he was close to being explicit that he was going to shed players who don't want to be here. So there is no mystery about what Jack, Risto and Reinhart's status are. Next year's team is going to be rebuilt around the young core who are bought in and committed to being here. Now let's wait and see what the return will be for these burnt out players who were tired of the situation they are in. Giving them a fresh start is the right thing for them and for the organization.

Thanks for the assessment. I still hold to my position that unless Zegras is included in a proposed trade it makes no sense to make the deal with them. My ideal scenario would be Zegras, Comtois and their top pick. I'm sure there will have to be some add ins but in general that would be a reasonable deal for us and a good if not great deal for them. Too many people forget how talented Jack is. If you also consider the trade of Samson and probably Risto we should be able to cumulatively get a return of four contributing players to the roster. If 2-3 of those players are second-line caliber players then our roster will be a little thicker and the makeup will be altered. Will the Sabres be a better team? Maybe not in the short run but in the near future it could be.

What kind of player is Comtois? Is he a second-line player? Others have described him as pesky and gritty. We certainly can use that type of player. I still hold that any Jack deal with Anaheim that doesn't include Zegras is a bad deal for us. A Zegras, Comtois and their first pick (we throw in one of our second rd picks) seems to be a fair deal for us.

I am not getting hung up with the analytics because the sample size is so small.

I think that Reinhart will be traded before Jack because it will be a less grand and multi-layered deal. If Jack is traded to Anaheim then Zegras has to be included in the package. If that doesn't happen then hold on to him or find another deal. I know I am outside the norm here but I believe that Risto will not be traded this offseason. My impression is that Granato likes him. And to his credit when a youngster was partnered with him (Bryson and Samuelsson) the coupling worked out reasonably well. He still can have value at the next trade deadline. With respect to working out a deal for Seattle taking any player we should just let them take whomever they want and not give up any chips to take someone else. Vegas built their roster by acquiring pre-expansion draft deals which in the end built up their team and diminished the teams they dealt with. Keep it simple. Lose who you are going to lose; draft Power with the first pick and put Granato behind the bench.

The crummy players you are critical of were brought in by the constantly changing hockey staff! You are aiming at the wrong target. A decade of erratic organizational behavior is a recipe for failure. Over the past decade if you add up the number of coaching and GM changes that have been made it adds up to 10 or so. That is not a recipe for stability. When your foundation is shaky the house is going to crumble sooner than it should. Let me remind you because you may have forgotten but the Sabres were the worst team in the league last year. Something is amiss and it is evident to most people who not only have their eyes open but also know where to look.

To put it mildly we are not a destination location. When you build a ramshackle house no one wants to reside in it. Adding talent will mostly be done through trades and internal player development.

I'm with you. At least Zegras and their pick or walk away from the table.

I respectfully but strenuously disagree with your view of Jack. Jack didn't fail---the organization did. Because of the systemic ineptitude starting with the owner this franchise has been erratically run for a decade. Jack isn't the only player who wants out. There are others who are fed up with the disorganization that has led us to again being the worst team in the league. The organization has a lot to do to internally to right the ship.

You hit on the critical issue: What is the timeline to regaining a level of respectability? I can't say for sure. But I do believe that if the multiple trade scenarios materialize and the multiple deals are managed well that this team can be reconfigured to the point that it will be a more competitive team with a visible upward trajectory. The key is getting better goaltending and coaching that is attuned to the young roster. I'm counting on a Granato hiring.

If you were tasked with putting together a trade deal with Anaheim for Jack what would be a reasonable deal for both sides?

I agree that there are a lot of big ifs. If Jack is healthy we will not get an equal value deal. I'm very aware of that. But that doesn't mean that an acceptable deal can't be made. And if an acceptable deal can't be made then don't trade him.

I understand your sentiment. But if Samson and Risto want out and have contract leverage to force a trade then moving the players while they have more value makes sense. The same line of thinking applies to Jack. If he is not fully committed to the direction that the organization is taking then it makes sense to move him. This organization has made a lot of blunders. It has resulted in a level of stagnation where players want out. I don't blame the players. Sometimes when the franchise is in a state of stagnation decisive jolts of action need to be taken to revive the carcass. Whether one likes it or not that's where we are at.

If you look at the listed teams what they have in common is that they have multiple assets that include young players who can play right away. Will we get an equal value deal with a Jack trade? No. When Jack is healthy he is a top 10 -12 player who will rack up impressive stats. If KA ends up trading Jack, Samson and Risto this offseason and handles it smartly the Sabres will have a chance to reshape its roster with the new additions. Will we be a better team? If the goaltending is upgraded and with the infusion of young talent this team will be more competitive than it has been in its recent past.

I told you I am not Italian. I am a Sicilian. There is a difference. Sicilians run their businesses differently. ☠️

That's not true. I identify as a Sicilian. In my value system if you do me wrong or don't show me enough respect it is acceptable to shoot you. Honor has to be upheld. ☠️

If there is a Jack trade I think it is going to take time to construct. The trade deal that I am more attentive to right now is a Samson trade. Because it is going to be less complicated I anticipate it happening before an Eichel deal, if that materializes. That is the transaction that I will be watching for. As exhausting as these potential trades are this has been an interesting and intriguing offseason. Who would have thought that being at the bottom of the heap can make your team the most followed team in the offseason?