JohnC

Your response captured my sentiment. The way this extraordinary virus offseason is setting up there is a lot of financial stresses that are going to drive many personnel decisions for a number of teams. Patience may result in better bang for the buck deals the longer we wait. However, as like you, I want to see some preliminary action that will for the short term satisfy my craving to start the process of upgrading and reshaping the roster. I'm not greedy. I just want to see some initial action that will inspire more hope and optimism.

Vegas, an expansion team, under the stewardship of George McPhee, their GM, did the most masterful job of putting together an organization and also staffing it's franchise of players in an expansion draft than any GM has done in any pro sport. Making all those side deals to take and not take players in the expansion draft was creative and impressive. Not only did he put together a roster that immediately played in the Stanley Cup championship series but it has remained as one of the top tier teams in the western conference and league. McPhee in assembling his first roster didn't go for the blockbuster approach rather than make a lot of small to medium personnel decisions for the right type of players who fit their intended roster design. If to a smaller extent our new GM can replicate what the Vegas GM did then the Sabres should be able to finally get over the hump. It's not about acting with brilliance. It is about the accumulation of a lot of sound hockey decisions with a little creativity thrown into the mix. It's doable!

He would be a better fit as a forward on a Staal line with maybe Skinner as the other winger????

Trading down a spot or two is a reasonable tactic to take but that is not the more likely scenario. It is more likely that a team desiring to move up is farther down the draft board moving you beyond your tier group. And what you are not accounting for is that other teams that you don't suspect can move ahead of you in your lower position. You can't control for those surprise movements of other teams moving up to pick one of the players that you are eyeballing. My preference considering where we are drafting from is simply make the pick. It should result in a high quality prospect. If you go back and read my prior response it stated that if a scenario came up where a trade was offered for an established quality player and an exchange of picks I would consider it. So contrary to what you stated I am open to trade options but I'm also leaning toward caution.

Craig Rivet has been highlighting on his WGR hockey show recently that Marchessault is a player who is likely candidate to be moved because of the salary situation in Vegas. What is squeezing Vegas is their desire to get Lehner signed. Marchessault may be a necessary casualty due to their tight cap situation in order for the organization to put the salary puzzles together. The Sabres are very well positioned compared to many teams to get some good quality deals done.

When evaluating this draft it would be misguided in taking an historical approach to it. Each draft year is different. Assessing it from a historical perspective can be deceiving compared to assessing this draft year. It is likely that if the Sabres maintain their draft position they will come away with a second line caliber of forward, or maybe even better. And in this draft there is a clump of players from 4-10 or so that from a ranking standpoint are indistinguishable/interchangeable. As I said in a prior post it would be a mistake to play it cute and try to outsmart others. The advice that most people are advocating for is to follow your draft board and make your pick when your turn comes up. That is the right approach to take. This may sound contradictory but I do see a scenario where I would be willing to trade down. If a trade offer was made for a moderately young second line caliber of player for an exchange of first round picks I would seriously consider the offer. As with every trade discussion it comes down to what is the return. If Tampa offered Cirelli and an exchange of picks I would make that deal.

Don't overthink the situation. Take the best player when your turn comes up to go to the podium.

If he was periodically moved up to the second line to mix it up a little and was given some opportunities on the second PP unit where he could hover around the net I believe that he could be a 15 goal scorer. He's a character guy and player. He's an asset that not only won't hurt you but will help you in immeasurable ways. I'm sure Krueger is the type of coach that understands and appreciates what he brings to the table.

I also listened to Friedman on WGR. I suspect the reason why he is more vague than usual about what is going on in Buffalo and around the league is the uncertainty caused by the virus and how it will impact the next season. As it stands no one knows for sure when the season will start. And it is probable that few fans, if any, will be allowed to attend the games. It isn't even certain that a full season will be scheduled. And although the cap figure is already established for the next couple of years the internal cap is going to be a lot smaller for a lot of teams. That will have tremendous repercussion on what the transactions will be around the league. My sense (guess) is that I don't see Buffalo making any blockbuster deals. What I do see happening (hoping for) is a few bargain deals for solid players with teams that are financially stressed. I'm also more inclined to believe that the Sabres will keep their pick. Attached is a column by Paul Hamilton who works for WGRZ and addresses some of the issues already noted. https://www.wgrz.com/article/sports/nhl/sabres/hamilton-its-great-to-talk-buffalo-sabres-hockey-but-will-there-be-a-nhl-season/71-6233be48-1290-4068-861f-4de81deef633

If I'm going to trade away next year's first round pick I would rather do it for a moderately young second line player that can help us this year. As I have repeatedly stated before I would be willing to trade our first round pick this year if the offer warranted it. If not, then keep the pick and make the right pick. From where the Sabres are positioned in this draft it should result in adding a talented prospect. When all is said and done this organization has to be more proficient and consistent in making sound hockey decisions. Eventually, when you do that it will be exhibited with better performances on the ice. It's not magic; it's basic competence.

Attached is a WGR link with Sportsnets' Sam Cosentino talking about the draft. This is a 9 min segment that discusses many of the prospects that have been discussed on this site. He makes the point that after the first pick the players in the next 10 players or so are still very high quality prospects. https://www.radio.com/wgr550/authors/howard-and-jeremy

You can be a tad smallish and still have grit to go along with your superior skills. When drafting the time tested approach is to go with the best player on your board. If you want to add size and grit to the roster there are other means to do that. If Rossi is on the board when we pick (improbable) and he is our highest rated player he should be selected.

In the top 10 to 12 there are a number of players whose rankings are bunched together. Anaheim could move down a bit and still come away with one of their options, either A, B and C and still be more than satisfied. If we are going to keep our pick I would prefer to make our selection from our current spot and use the asset that would have been used to move up to use it in a trade to address another immediate need.

If Montour is moved and Miller gets his playing time then that deal becomes more palatable. It seems as if Krueger has an appreciation of Risto that will result in another blue liner being moved out. If that transpires then I hope the departing asset brings back a good forward.

If we keep the pick and stay pat we'll come away with a good prospect. What I'm hoping for is at least one of the defensemen getting selected pushing down a forward. From most of the draft sites that I have looked at the top 10 has had little variation.

If you blew up the team for picks and young players odds are you would be at a worse situation in a couple years because it would be extremely difficult to match the current elite players in Eichel and Dahlin to build around. To put it bluntly: Perish the thought. 👽

Whether this alleged story has substance or not it is not too difficult to imagine that this "I want out of here" storyline coming from Jack to be a farfetched consideration. If the Sabres continue to be mired in this decade long muck of irrelevancy and if the team prospects don't change soon then this probably meritless report can develop into a actual story. Does anyone doubt that being stuck in this systematic losing was a factor in ROR becoming disillusioned wearing the Sabre sweater? I not saying that ROR was not without some fault in that departure scenario but long-term losing understandably does have a corrosive effect on an individual. Jack is a highly competitive individual who openly exhibits his frustrations. What is called for in order to forestall such a thin rumor from becoming a reality is for the front office to take aggressive actions this offseason to upgrade this roster. If trading our first round pick can accelerate the roster upgrade then I would be receptive to making that move.

Hard work is definitely a talent. I'm not going to get entangled into a verbal gymnastic argument about calling it a "skill", "talent" or an "attribute". Being able to consistently maintain that maximum level of effort is not an ability that a lot of players, even gifted players, can do. The essential ingredient that makes for a great hockey player is not the elite talent so much as attaching that exceptional talent to maximum consistent effort. And on the flip side there are a lot of average talented hockey players who have carved out successful long careers because of their ability to always play at full throttle level. Again, hard work is a skill/talent.

The public life doesn't always reflect the private life. People are usually more complicated than their public persona would indicate. I'm confident that if Staal was so shaken by the trade he would have after some thought made the decision to retire. And I agree with the view that he wasn't necessarily happy with the trade and if he had the choice to stay he would have. But he's not in a business that allows for it or had a contract that would have given him a say. Again, I'm not worried about his state of mind when he plays for Buffalo. He's a terrific addition.

The Patrick Berglund situation is much more complex and different than the Staal situation. There were some mental health issues that were exacerbated when he was traded from a location that he was comfortable with and away from a support system that he had in St. Louis. That's far different from the Staal case. I say this with no intention of being disrespectful but Staal is a much more resilient person who could handle a late career move than the more fragile Berglund who had trouble dealing with the move. I will re-emphasize that I have no concerns about Staal's mental state with the Sabres. If there were issues in that area he would have retired. https://russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2019/01/18/patrik-berglund-on-the-mental-health-issues-that-forced-him-out-of-the-nhl-you-shouldnt-feel-the-way-i-felt-when-youre-living-your-dream/

What you are describing in your post is the reality of life and the work arena. In pro sports you usually get drafted by teams and locations that are not your first preference. That's the unalterable nature of that business. Staal has played in the NHL for around a dozen years. You don't think that he is aware that he is subjected to the same uncontrollable decisions made by organizations requiring player movement through trades and cuts like everyone else? That's the business. I have no doubt that Staal isn't fully happy with being traded to Buffalo. Will that negatively affect his state of mind and influence how he plays? Although you believe it can I don't believe so. If Staal was bothered by the trade to the extent that he didn't want to alter where he and his family currently resided he could have simply retired. Without a doubt he has the financial wherewithal to be in a position to say no to the deal and go on with his post career. That's not what he chose to do. As I stated in a prior post Staal is a person of integrity who through his honest effort on the ice doesn't cheat the game. He accepted coming to Buffalo (happy or not) and will do what he has always done in his long career i.e. give his best effort and be an exemplary teammate. You may have concerns about his state of mind but I don't.

What the heck is GZF? I am totally perplexed. Assuming there are more additions made to the roster I think there is going to be some line juggling. But that's based on conjecture. Only time will tell how he puts together the top two lines. For what it is worth I still believe that Skinner should be on the Jack line.

Congratulations! Right in public view you are morphing into a mellow commentator. Let's celebrate. 🍺 The third line with Kahun/Cozens/Fast that you composed is intriguing. Krueger will have a challenge fitting together the right pieces to the line puzzle. I suspect that there will be a lot of line juggling in the early part of the season.

That's the point. If he didn't want to be here he could have declined the trade and retired.

I know you get irritated when it is suggested but I still believe that there is a possibility that Cozens will be our 3C. As you indicate regardless of the position there still needs to be a few more upgrades added to this roster to make this a credible team. We have the wherewithal to get it done. It's up to this new staff to have the wisdom to execute the plan.