JohnC

On the WGR clip he seemed to be knowledgeable and his presentation was excellent. Despite his place of origin I was impressed. As the draft approaches I would like to hear more of his opinions.

Is he Andrew Peters brother?

I posted this link before so I apologize for the redundancy. I thought the discussion here fits with the discussion on the board. The attached 10 min link from June 3 is a segment of Chris Peters on WGR. Much of the interview dealt with Power and some other prospects. He also talked about Beniers. He felt that for him that there was enough of a gap between Power and Beniers to take the defenseman over the more needed forward. https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/authors/howard-and-jeremy

Thanks for the clarification of the original deal. I may be wrong because it is difficult to discern motivation. But I think that the uniquely talented PK got caught up in the star persona and self-promotion trap. And much of that self-marketing effort didn't endear him to his teammates. I didn't watch the series but trust your opinion Weber being the best player on the ice in the Toronto series. But as good as his play is and can be measured in stats he is also a "glue guy and presence" whose contribution can't be measured by stats alone.

I doubt that Granato would be stridently challenging Krueger's method in managing the team when he was a subordinate. That is not to say that he wasn't in his lower position encouraging change. What the internal dynamics were when he was an assistant coach we don't know for sure. What we do know is that shortly after he took over the team dramatically changed its strategy and every player played better. Increased production in itself is a persuasive argument in his behalf for his hiring as a HC. Trust your eyes.

Sounds a lot like when he is playing for Buffalo.

When Montreal traded PK for Weber I thought that they were making a big mistake because of the age differential. As it turned out they got a rock of a player who is still playing at a high level (as you noted) and Jersey ended up with a player who is more into flash on and off the ice. Montreal has a lot of young players on its roster. Weber's mature presence is a good example for these young players to follow.

For those of you who have watched the IHF series how has Tage Thompson looked?

I strenuously disagree with the idea of hiring Granato as the HC and then dictating who his assistants will be. That is a recipe for disaster. I'm a strong advocate for Granato to be the HC. If he is hired then he should have the authority to choose the assistants he is comfortable and compatible with. In addition, if Granato is the selection you wouldn't want subordinates he is not familiar with who might have different philosophies and approaches to handling players. Undercutting a coach with staff members he doesn't want (whoever the coach is) can create a divided staff before the next season begins. The next coach should be able assemble his own staff and be allowed to succeed or fail on his own merits.

Chris Peters was on WGR talking about this draft and talking about Power. He addressed the issue of Power vs Beniers. He was complimentary towards Beniers but felt that Power would be the best selection. As of now my stance is to not over-think the draft and simply take the best player. He also pointed out that the Sabres have two scouts who are very familiar with Power. This is a 10 min. segment. https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/podcasts/howard-and-jeremy-20258/06-03-chris-peters-from-the-talking-hockey-sense-podcast-422618288

Making tough decisions is part of the job. There is no way to avoid them. It's a complex job and a multi-faceted job that has to be faced. I simply don't believe that trying to avoid issues resolves issues.

Yes. 🙂

I'm not as concerned with the handedness of our defensemen as most are because what we have now doesn't necessarily mean that there won't be changes in the group in the near future. If Powers is our selection he probably won't be playing right away. My point is that there is still time to draft a player like Power and still have time to resort the unit.

If Owen Power is the caliber of player who can be an anchor defenseman why would the Sabres give up the opportunity to draft him? The KO contract will come off the books in a couple of years so that contract issue will resolve itself. Although you are not going to get a bang for the buck with KO he is still a useful lower line player, and also a mature presence in the locker room that is going to get younger. And as a poster previously posted he has a no move clause. So that fantasy desire is not going to happen for him or for Skinner. Teams are not dumb. They are reluctant to take on your mistakes unless you give them a sweetheart deal.

I'm not sure if you correctly read my post. I said I would swap (exchange) first round picks with the Rangers if I could get LaFreniere, Kakko and Smith. In that deal we would get the Ranger's lower first round pick. I would also consider giving them our second round pick (keeping our first round pick) for the aforementioned trio. Where you and I diverge is that I place more value on the upside of LaFreniere and Kakko than you do. And another factor that needs to be taken in consideration is that other teams are going to be wary of Jack's health status which will have a dampening effect on a trade deal.

I don't know how you could come away with the judgment that Sabre fans this year were complaining about the play of Reinhart. It's the opposite. Most fans would acknowledge that he was our most consistent and best player. You are never going to get unanimity when assessing a player but the overwhelming consensus this year from fans and people covering the team is that he had a terrific year.

I understand what your point is about the reality of the limitations of this roster. Few can argue otherwise. But I also understand the point that KA was making about the required collective attitude that the players have to have in order to succeed. You have to have players who believe in the direction and style of play that is being set by the coach. Even with younger and lesser experienced players there was a stark difference in energy and resilience between playing for Granato than with Krueger. KA made some very revealing comments about the exit interviews for the younger players who were optimistic about the future while some of the players who have been exposed to long term failure lacked enthusiasm about the future. Risto basically said in his exit interview that he didn't care whether he was retained or not. Reinhart (one of my favorite players) was candid in saying that he was tired of not playing meaningful games at the end of the season every year. My opinion is that Risto, Reinhart and Jack will be dealt because they have been worn down by being exposed to such long-term failure. They can't fake their lack of belief because they don't actually believe and they can't fake their lack of enthusiasm about being here because that is not what they feel.

If a deal was made with the Rangers I would insist on Kakko, LaFreniere and if possible add K'Andre Smith. If I had to swap first round picks or give up a second round pick for this young trio I would do it. My minimum would be Kakko and LaFreniere for Jack. If not I would look to the west. If the Rangers were receptive to this deal but wanted our first round pick I would be open to it if we at least got back their second round pick.

I'm very sure that Krueger was influential in the Hall signing and other signings such as Eakin last offseason. I'll carry it out further that the newly installed GM deferred to Krueger. It isn't surprising that different organizations have different structures with different power centers. In some organizations coaches have more say than others with respect to personnel decisions. There isn't a strict definition as to what is the best way to conduct business. When a franchise has struggled for half a generation in an environment of constantly changing coaches and front offices the paltry results from that instability shouldn't be surprising. As I have stated in prior posts I am not an irredeemable pessimist. I'm hoping that Granato is signed as the coach and that KA and his staff are given enough time and space to be set a course and follow through. As we all well know this constant state of flux is a pathway to nowhere.

The organization is not arbitrarily denying anyone the medical choice they want. They are following the advice of medical experts who are advising them what are the best practices for such an injury. It is not surprising that there isn't unanimity in treatment by doctors. But as a first step the medical consensus is to take a conservative approach to treatment and then go on from there. If the conservative approach isn't working then surgery may be required. Then the issue becomes what type of surgery is most appropriate. That is another issue to wrestle with. It just seems to me that the organization is being very responsible in the more conservative position they are taking.

With respect to the first highlighted segment that is the main issue that needs to be addressed before there is meaningful change. You are getting caught up in a micro issue of a single transaction when the problem is with an organization that makes an accumulation of decisions that are deadly crushing. If he had such an inglorious history then why was he signed? If his contract was structured in such a way that made the franchise vulnerable then why did the organization agree to it? That's my point!

You act as if I am demonizing the owner. I'm not. There is plenty of blame to spread around. And I'm not absolving anyone. As far as Hall it was the front office's decision to sign him and construct the contract in the way it did. So I have no fault with him wanting to go to certain teams and not others. The NMC was in the contract that he and the organization signed. The lesson that I take away from the Hall episode that many others don't is that the production of a player is significantly influenced by the environment that he is in. It was a negative situation here for him (as it was for a lot of other players) while it is a positive situation for him in Boston. The Pegulas have owned the franchise for 10 years. How many HCs and GMs have they hired during their tenure? Do you think that this revolving door of staff is a major factor in the franchise's instability and dismal record? I do. I'm not an irredeemable pessimist. What this bottom feeding and mocked franchise needs is stability and a direction (blueprint), and then have the fortitude to follow through with it. I'm a strong advocate for Granato. No one can deny the dramatic change in play after he took over. And I believe that KA has to be given the authority and time to execute his plan. That is not to say that he should have been hired for the GM position. It is also essential that the scouting staff be rebuilt and given the resources to properly evaluate prospects and pros. Gutting the scouting department to save pennies on the dollar was beyond being stupid. From a competitive standpoint it was self-sabotaging.

If you can figure out the point that I have been making then so be it.

We're both going in circles. I agree with you that he didn't need the Hall situation to learn anything new. As you aptly stated he has plenty of experience based on his own decision-making to draw from. But there is also an obvious lesson to be learned by the Hall trade: A player in a bad situation is less productive than a player in a good situation. What's obvious is obvious.

If you can't figure out the obvious then so be it.