JohnC

Next to Eichel he is at the front of the room when it comes to team leadership. Okposo has a role on this team which he does well. Admittedly, he is overpaid but that is not his fault. On a team with a number of young players and on a team that becomes fragile when dealing with troubled waters he is a stabilizing force. He's a leader and contributor on this team. I don't understand the desire to move him at this point.

Our views are different but not in a grand way. Where we do distinctly differ is that I don't see him developing into a second line caliber forward even if he ends up playing on a lower line due to a congestion of forwards. Your projected upside for this player is higher than my projected upside is for him. What I see is the Nylander reprise where there will be episodic impressive plays packaged in a bigger box of middling play. Again, I hope I am wrong and will be eager to admit it if proven so. When in doubt trust your eyes.

We seem to have different assessments of Mitts. Regardless what his current role is I don't foresee him ever becoming a second line caliber of player. What you see as his potential is not what I see. I'm far from having any animus toward this young player. I would not only be very receptive to be proven wrong I would be ecstatic to be proven wrong. However, I see Cozens in a year or two being a second line forward and in a couple to three years I see Quinn becoming established as a second or higher line forward. And I wouldn't be surprised if Arttu moves ahead of Mitts in ranking within the organization. What it comes down to is that the players you envision Mitts beating out is not the envision I have for him. What I see is what I see.

My takeaway from reading your response is that at best he is a functional third line player getting 4th line minutes. What you are saying is that his potential is limited below the top two lines. Even if he does secure a lower line role he will be an inconsequential and very replaceable player. I have stated many times that I want to see Mittelstadt succeed. If he turns out to be better than I think he will be I will not hesitate to admit my mistake and extoll his virtues. Maybe he won't be a failure but that doesn't mean that he will be a success. It more likely will mean that he will be middling. As of now I put him in the Nylander category where you want him to be better than what you see. You eventually have to get to the point where you have to trust your eyes more than your fawning heart.

The extended physical toll must be exhausting and dealing with the uncertainties and unpredictability of this pernicious virus must be mentally straining. An indication of a good person is someone who is dealing with one's own challenges and yet is still able to support others who are undergoing their own challenges. You have a good heart. Just wishing you the best.

When you try to make a rule to deal with the exception you end up with an atrocious rule. A smart organization worked within the rules to benefit their team. What they did has been done before. They should be saluted for their creative thinking and ability to maneuver within the rules to benefit their team. The argument that it went against the spirit of the rule makes little sense because different people interpret the spirit issue differently.

They worked within the rules. Did they take advantage of the rules? Of course they did. What did you want them to do? Not take advantage of the rules to benefit the team?

You deal with the circumstances that you are confronted with. What Tampa didn't do is make some premature decisions this offseason because they felt they were forced to with the impending contracts for young talents. They bided their time and dealt with the situation at the right time for them. Showing patience and timing the market was the right move.

Instead of resenting creative thinking it should be lauded. Working the cap in order to shape your roster in its essence is a hockey deal.

Whether it is luck or a manipulation of the system the organization was able for the most part keep their talent laden team in tact. Without question this is one of the best run organizations in hockey. Their extended record of success is a testament to that.

Ottawa is putting together a foundation for being good in the future. And you also have to give credit to Tampa for dealing with a tough cap squeeze by smartly maneuvering to keeping their talented core. Tampa has been a well run organization for quite awhile.

The two writers' comments are very similar to what has been stated here such as will there be teams that are expected to be ahead of us falter? If so, our chances of getting into the playoffs increase. The writers noted a number of a lot of unique factors to this virus season such as the change in conference, compressed schedule and repeatedly playing the same teams where this is no past history to draw from and make informed judgments. What is frustrating is that both writers agreed that under the regular format the Sabres had a better chance to qualify for the playoffs than under this year's adjusted format. What the Sabres need is to repeat their recent history of having some early season winning streaks. We sure could use a jack rabbit start in this condensed season. We'll just have to see how this plays out.

The Sabres don't have an inherent bias against either of the two players. They have an interest in both players succeeding. If you look from a contract standpoint and from a ranking standpoint expressed by which player was called up last year it indicates that the organization has more confidence in Tage as a player than Mitts. I want our former first round pick to make the roster and be productive. He's still young and may have some untapped upside. But his limited play in the NHL and AHL has been far from good enough to assume that he will earn a roster spot or if he does reach a level of play other than being a utility and reserve player. The best developmental course of action for Mitts would have been for him to start the season in Rochester and get heavy duty playing time. (That's not what he is going to get in the NHL right now.)And from there earn his way onto the NHL roster. He would be better prepared for the bigger stage. Because of the existing Covid world resulting in the delay of the AHL season that scenario is not going to happen. There is too much at stake for this lagging franchise to commit to a player and hope he does well. In the abbreviated training camp he has to show that he has elevated his game and be a factor. For me he is a player that I want to see do well but he's not a player that I'm counting on doing well. Let's just wait a little longer and see what he has to offer.

I don't understand why Krueger didn't change his PK strategy after it struggled so much. There were at least three games and 6 pts lost due to horrible PKing. As you noted his passive and back off philosophy didn't work. What bothered me was his reluctance to change his approach. I'm hoping that he shows more flexibility and receptiveness to deviate from his philosophy when it is not working. I like you are higher on Ullmark than others are. I'm counting on him to continue with his upward trajectory. And the less Hutton plays the better he does play when called upon.

I agree with every thing that you stated. Will any of the teams that have been ahead of us for the past number of years take a step back? I hope so. As you point out we will have a better opportunity to qualify if one of the teams with a history of being above us falters. And as you point out improved scoring is going to be a key issue for us to make to the post season. What I'm counting on is both Hall and Skinner regaining their scoring form. If they do our chances dramatically improve.

As you and most of the cohorts here point out the big question mark is the goaltending. I agree with that point to a large extent. But I also believe that if Ullmark can play at the same level that he did before getting hurt and with the added scoring upgrades this team should be in contention for a playoff spot. Last year, Hutton was a disaster. Was his precipitous decline due to his eye problems? I'm not sure how much it was a factor. Marty Biron who is a good evaluator of goalies has repeatedly stated that he is comfortable having Hutton as a backup as long as his games are limited. When Ullmark got hurt and his load was increased he faltered as Biron predicted he would with the added workload. And as Biron has stated in his evaluation of last year's team he felt that the biggest deficiency of the team was its lack of scoring. I'm hoping with the offseason additions that problem will be ameliorated. I'm not foolish enough to make a declarative statement that this team will be a playoff team. But I do believe that this team will be in contention for a playoff spot up to the end of the season.

The difference between good enough and not good enough is not significant. Adding a few players like Hall and Staal not only are good individual additions but they also elevate the players they are playing with. I'm hoping that with Staal as a 2C it will make Skinner a much more productive player. When you are a thinly talented team like the Sabres were last year the margin of error is very slim. A few inevitable injuries can have a major plummeting effect compared to a team with more depth that can better absorb the setbacks. I don't think it is unfair that this team will have more all around depth. In general, this year's team will be faster, more potent and the players who underperformed with their new coach last year, like Miller and Montour, should have a better grasp of his system. Our PK last year was near the bottom in rankings. That was a focus this offseason with some additions. So hopefully there will be an upgrade with this specialty unit. As it has often been stated one of the biggest question marks entering this season is its goaltending. However, I thought Ullmark played adequately as a #1 goalie for us. When he got hurt it was very damaging. If he can again play at the same level as he did last year with a better team in front of him his upward trajectory should continue. I'm not trying to be a blinded homer who overestimates his team. I certainly don't consider the Sabres to be an upper tier team. But I also think it is a fair-minded to believe that this team as it is currently constituted should be able to compete, if not qualify, for a playoff spot.

We'll see. I'm not as fixated on Hutton as being a major drag as most. If used sparingly such as once every three games or so he is acceptable. If a deal can be had for another goaltender I'm open to it. Without having any special inside information I think the front office is going to stand pat with what its got. My early attention is going to be watching to see if Hall and Skinner can get back to their standard scoring form.

I'm not sure about that. I think what he has now is what he is going to start the season with. This is a brief training camp where the lines and rotations will need to be quickly established. And after that due to injuries there will be plenty of lineup changes and experimenting. Because of the tight cluster of games will probably be more injuries and less opportunity to heal and recover. The ability to maintain a modicum of health is going to be an important factor for all teams. This is going to be a very unusual hockey year.

If you consider what the contract expectations would be for an improbable Cirelli signing the Staal trade was a good fallback deal for us. We got a player who can play 2C and it left us with room to sign Hall on a one year deal. If Cozens is expected to be our 2C in a year or two a Cirelli deal, which would have been a long term deal for us, would not have made sense. Our GM smartly maneuvered in this offseason market. He didn't overreach and maintained flexibility for the future. Well done!

I'm not rooting for him to fail. Quite the opposite. I want to see him succeed. Two players you cited in KO and Girgs are different style of players who are more suited for grittier and more rugged roles i.e. lower line roles. As a player he is more of a finesse type player whose style of play is more suitable for the top two lines. As of now I don't see him coming close to earning a top two line assignment. This is a make or break year for Mitts. I acknowledge that he is still very young and there is time for him to grow. But the problem with the youth defense is that even as a young player I haven't seen enough progression to his game. I'm not requiring him to make a giant leap forward but I do expect some steady growth to his game. My sense about Mitts is that he is similar to Alex Nylander in that he can show flashes of sparkling play that deludes one from the reality of his more often pedestrian and uninspiring play. I want your assessment of Mitts to be more right than my assessment of him. But my head (my eyes) are not matching my heart. I'm rooting for him. But odds are a player like Arttu moves ahead of him and his slide will continue to the point where he becomes a non-factor. I want to be wrong about him and I will be rooting for him.

Why do you project mid-season for him to grab a permanent spot in this lineup? If he doesn't earn a regular third line role when the team begins the season after the abbreviated training camp then that is a testament where he stands in the organization. Mitts has been an easy target for the bulk of the fandom to dismiss as an irretrievable prospect. I'm not in that discordant chorus. But it is apparent to me that if he doesn't beat out the other mostly young players he is vying for playing time his ranking in the organization will be on a downward trajectory when it will become obvious to all that he is a player no longer in this front office's plans. Cozens will inevitably move ahead of him as a player. Will Arttu? Quinn is in the pipeline and the projection for him is a first or second line forward in a couple to three years. So if he doesn't show very soon that he can contribute then I don't see Mitts moving up the ranks as I do see him sliding down the ranks. There is a window of opportunity for him this season. But that window is starting to close in this organization. It's up to him to show what he can do. If he can play at this level it will become obvious. If he can't play at this level it will also become obvious.

Texas was very cavalier about the virus until it started spiraling out of control. So the hard core resistant governor and his political cohorts out of fear had to change course. So even Texas has mask mandates. So if one doesn't want to be a Texas scofflaw just follow the protocol. ☠️ Mask Laws - COVID-19 & Texas Law - Guides at Texas State Law Library

That means that you are not abiding by the Covid stay at home protocols. You are a scofflaw. 😛

There are a number of players that I will be following. One of them is Skinner and another is Tage. The most important player could be Ullmark.