JohnC

If Jack is using the injury and what is the best treatment to go forward as a smokescreen to move on to a better situation I'm not going to defend him. On the other hand it is not too difficult to understand how frustrating it is for him and others (Reinhart & Risto etc) to feel trapped in an organization stuck for years in the bottom of the standings. This organization has been one of the most unstable and erratically run organizations in the league. Their embarrassing record is a reflection of the constant turmoil. How many coaches and GMs with their different philosophies have the Peulas hired during tenure? I'm not sure what is going to happen this offseason? I don't know which of our primary players want out and which will be gone before the start of the next season. But make no mistake that the cause of this absurd predicament has more to do with the management of this franchise than it does with the players.

What's the saying that carpenters repeat before putting the saw to the wood? Measure twice and cut once. 🙂

You hit on the source of the issue beyond Jack's frustration with his plaguing injuries that has compounded his frustration with the organization i.e. not providing him with enough support to put him and the team in a position to succeed. The organization has had more than enough time to assemble a broader talent base to make this a more competitive and relevant team. The same organizational failure has affected Reinhart and even Risto's desire to remain with this carcass of an organization.

You are being exceedingly pessimistic. If Granato is retained and his fast paced style of play is installed I can see at least 4 to 5 players reaching the 20 goal mark. Of course the assumption is that our top two players aren't dealt. With Jack back to full health and form there should be a lot more PP goals that should be generated and provide other players with stats.

Jack was plagued with injuries and then put on the shelf this season because of them. When you watch the clips from the prior season exhibiting his blazing speed and powerful skating added to his powerful shot it is easy to forget how scintillating a player he was for us. How soon we forget! Can he completely regain his health when the next season begins? I'm not sure. If he does and ends up wearing another uniform this franchise will regret it. As you point out the entertainment value can't be replicated by anything brought back in a Jack trade. Especially for a franchise known for its irrelevancy that point shouldn't be casually dismissed.

What was so frustrating about him is his rigidity and inability to go outside of his own small box of ideology. When things weren't working out he would resort to doubling down on what he was doing (and failing) instead of trying something different. It's apparent that he didn't listen to any other voices in the room. When Granato, who was on his staff, took over he flipped everything around and in short order got results that were visibly better than what was previously done. Krueger was an accomplished talker. However, he wasn't much of a listener.

Excellent post and analysis. However, I have a slightly different take. Whether the players you mentioned are kept or dealt the rebuild or retool will not fall in the category of a total breaking down in order to start over again. For the sake of argument if Jack, Sam and Risto are dealt there will be some additional young players coming back who are NHL ready to add to the young core (Mitts, Dahlin, Thompsosn, Joki, Asplund, Arttu, Olofsson, Bryson, Samuelsson and assuming Ullmark re-signs) that already exists. The reason I have strenuously been arguing on behalf of Granato, regardless which way the front office decides to go, this roster is going to be very young. Granato has clearly demonstrated that he works well with a young roster and he is also adept and handling the more experienced players. And it should be noted that veteran players such as Okposo played better under the Italian coach than with the former more articulate coach.

I hope if Eichel decides to use a European surgeon it is not the same surgeon who amputated the wrong leg. https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/21/health/austria-amputation-wrong-leg-scli-intl/index.html

Even if Granato is the favorite coaching candidate doing an extensive search is in itself a useful exercise. The front office can learn what others outside the organization think of the roster and organization and how it can be better managed. Getting a variety of outside perspectives can provide ideas that can be useful in critiquing your own organization. Widening one's horizon is better than being insular, especially considering what you have been doing has not worked out well.

You are correct. It was either on WGR or with zoom conference call to the local media that he wouldn't stay as an assistant if someone else was hired. He said that his preference is to be a HC at whatever level. He said that is what he desires to do.

I respectfully but strenuously disagree with the gist of your response. There is nothing wrong with the owners requiring the hockey staff to keep them apprised on not only what is going on but also what their thoughts are on how to proceed. That relationship between staff and ownership happens to some degree with every franchise. Some owners are more involved than others. If the owners want to chime in and give their opinions that's their prerogative. They sign the checks. If the hockey staff can't explain what and why they are doing things to the people who are paying their salaries then they are deficient in an important aspect of their job i.e. communication.

The notion that you can mostly eliminate the human element out of the scouting department on the prospect and pro side of the hockey business is a testament to how out of touch they were in this realm. You point out that Hall was an inadequate player for us. You don't think that the quality of scouting was a factor for the mismatch? You pointed out that the recently dispatched coach was a luddite? Who hired that articulate luddite? I agree with you that in the short-term not investing in a conventional scouting department won't be as damaging as it would be in the longer-term. But the fact that this crazy notion of hollowing out a scouting department was a good idea in the first place was simply kooky. Now the organization is in a situation where it has to rebuild a critical department that was deliberately gutted. When it comes to rebuilding this particular department it will be more costly than if it was simply maintained. Over the Pegula tenure the Sabres have had one of the worst records in the NHL. It shouldn't come as a surprise. Foolishness is foolishness.

Whether it is pro football, basketball, baseball or hockey the evaluation of talent is at the core for any successful operation. Talent evaluation is not just about evaluating prospects but it also is a necessity for evaluating talent in the league so that smart decisions can be made when considering trades and free agent signings. The Pegulas have made a number of bad decisions that have handcuffed this franchise. One of their biggest mistakes is drastically cutting the scouting department and instead primarily relying on the tape for the sake of shaving off some expenses. When you have a nickel and dime operation in a talent based business you end up losing dollars on the saved penny.

Few people will criticize the Pegulas wanting to be kept informed of what is happening within the operation. That isn't the core problem that has for a decade kept this franchise sunk at the bottom of the pond. Of course they should be kept apprised of all the personnel decisions for the simple reason that they own the team and sign the checks. But that isn't the problem. The owners make the hires and they also do the firing of the staff. How many coaches and GMs have they gone through since they bought the team? When you keep churning through coaches and GMs with different visions on how to build a team then no one should be surprised with the organizational instability and consistent losing. How do you execute a rebuilding plan when it is constantly changing? The problem starts at the top and the solution resides at the top. Or to put it simply stop doing what you have done that has left this organization in a state of chaos and act with more intelligence and patience.

Would you be more receptive to a trade to the Rangers for LaFreniere, Kakko and a high end prospect who potentially would be ready for the NHL in a year or two? I would.

This is just my sense (opinion) and it corresponds to your perception of the direction that Adams wants to take. As you are inclined to believe I think that he wants to trade Eichel, Risto and Reinhart and start anew with his own imprint on the roster. His position is defensible if he can get a good return on his assets. The stumbling block is that unless he maximizes the return on Jack the setback for the team will be greater than it needed to be. That's why the imperative is to get Jack healthy and productive to increase his value if he is marketed.

Buffalo's my hometown. I have been gone for a long time but it's still a part of me. Jack is an intense competitor. I can understand his frustration. What makes me upset is how this franchise has been erratically run by the owners. It is outrageous that in a cap system that a franchise can be anchored to the bottom of the shiiit pile for so long. It makes me mad and it makes me sad.

If Jack returns to form that should add to the scoring. And it will certainly improve the potency of the PP. Is it inconceivable that Skinner become a 25 plus scorer again? Maybe under a less suppressive system he will? Will players such as Thompson, Cozens, Mitts and Arttu be more productive? I just think that although there are not many scoring dynamos on the roster there is enough scoring talent spread around to make us more competitive. Can we add through trades and acquisition a couple of productive players that will improve the goal production? I think so.

Why do you say that Jack despises Buffalo and everyone in it? Clearly he is frustrated and exasperated with the organization and its inability to add enough talent to provide a suffient support system around him. What player isn't tired of the extended futility? I'm not against trading Jack if the return is high enough to bolster the roster in the near term (not necessarily immediate.) The best way for that to happen is to get Jack playing at the elite level he previously played at and then make a decision about him when his value is higher.

It's in his and the team's best interest for him to get healthy and return to his elite form. If he returns to form and decides that he needs a change of venue then his value increases. The most influential thing that the Sabres can do to improve the team is upgrade the goaltending. Assuming that Ullmark is retained that is a very attainable task. Risto certainly is an asset that can be exchanged for a second-line player. And the younger players should continue to get better. After the coaching change the team played better. And they did it without much practice time and with a slew of injuries that included an extensive list of non-NHL replacement goaltenders. I strongly believe that with some judicious moves this team can be contending for a lower tier playoff spot. That isn't a lofty goal but it would be a leap forward.

What is DFL?

It is tough to extrapolate anything from this unique Covid and Krueger season. Our goalie situation for much of the season was dire, and after the belated jettisoning of Krueger the team was injected with a lot of young players who got a lot of playing time. It should also be factored in that there wasn't much practice time due to the compressed schedule, and especially after the coaching change not working on the change of systems and players' roles didn't help the cause. In spite of the lack of practice time the players adapted well to the change in the system. I'm not suggesting that your more negative view of the roster than what I have is not merited. You are likely to be more right than I am. Is it fair to make a more positive judgment about this team from the last 22 games or is it fairer to use your larger sample size to base a prediction for next season? Neither might be the right answer because the biggest influence in changing the dynamic for this team is what is going to be done in the offseason.

I really don't know how things are going to transpire this offseason. If the front office with the consent of the owners decide that its time for a major remake with our big three (Risto, Reinhart and Jack) being moved then I don't know what this roster is going to look like. It doesn't necessarily have to be catastrophic if handled adroitly but the timeline for reasonable contention will be set back. I'm not down or up on the prospects for this team. I just don't know????

Are you toying with @GASabresIUFANemotions with that projection? 🙂

I don't understand why you are so pessimistic? Retaining McCabe should be doable. So should re-signing Ullmark. If Risto is dealt the return should at least be a second-line forward. So your checklist is steadily being worked through. With respect to keeping Jack or Reinhart I don't know? My sense (guess) is that they are both going to be dealt. Needless to say this is going to be a an intriguing offseason. I have schizophrenic feelings entering the offseason: trepidation and excitement.