JohnC

How else are you going to make a salary argument if you don't use other player stats as comparisons when making a case for a particular salary range? It's the way it is done in all sports when negotiating in an arbitration setting or when negotiating with management outside of an arbitration structure.

Quinn has been subjected to a couple of unfortunate injuries that have kept him off the ice for extended periods of time. However, if you watched him in his small sample size of games it is evident that he has the potential to be a good first or second line forward. If I had the choice of keeping either JJP or Quinn, I would without hesitation take Quinn. Not only am I happy that we have him, but I'm also excited to see what he will do this season. I'm confident that he and Power are going to take a quantum leap forward in their games this season.

If Benson is in a proposed deal: Absolutely not. If Quinn is in a proposed deal: Absolute not. If JJP is in a proposed deal: Absolutely not. There can be a reasonable trade to work out for a Zegress trade. None of them should include the three players you mentioned.

If they insist on Benson I emphatically say no. End of conversation. I would be willing to give them Krebs, a high-end prospect or two (Kulich, Johnson, Rosen) and Joki. I would not give up next year's first round pick, a second would be okay. My sense is that KA is more inclined to not make a deal for a second line forward but instead stick with his plan of building from within.

Great point. This team needs to get greater net presence. It's current inability to do so demonstrated that the makeup of the team was inadequate and too inclined to play at the perimeters. I thought that Benson and Greenway were two of our best inside players. That's not good enough. I'm hoping that Lindy will instill and require a different mindset in that critical area of the game.

Did you read my post? I said the opposite. It's well known that you do attend local hockey games, and also football games.

Absolutely! But the biggest difference is that the product is not only better but also the team over a sustained period has been one of the top teams in that particular sport. For nearly half a generation, the Sabres have been in a state malaise due to its own organizational incompetence. As a result, the arena is often half full with a sleeping and too often agitated crowd. If the Sabres become a serious team in this league instead of being one of the most irrelevant franchises in the sport, the arena will be full and the place will be rocking and rolling. A half a generation of ownership/organizational incompetence has suffocated this market to near death. However, I do see the tide turning in a positive direction.

I'm not commenting about the facility because I'm not as familiar of it as others are. (You certainly are.) What I can say as a distant observer, as demonstrated by a Bandit playoff game with Toronto, the arena was bursting with a raucous and frenzied audience. The full house was rocking all game long. The fans were having a great time. If the Sabres can turn things around and become a serious team, that arena will come back to life. When that happens, you will not be hearing so many complaints about the less than comfortable accommodations in this weathered facility. What it comes down to is the product.

Can UPL play at a Vasilevskiey level for a large portion of the season? I don't think so. But what I'm more confident of is that his baseline level of play should be at a consistently solid to good level. I'm basing that projection on what I saw from him last year for an extended period of time. Can I say for sure that he will do that? No. No one can. What I also expect is better team defense based on the improvement from the reconstituted lower lines. I also expect that with Samuelsson back in the lineup and with the addition of a more comfortable Byram, better blueline play. This is a good group. It's far from being a muscular group but it is an excellent skating group with enough grit coming from Samuelsson, Clifton, Dahlin, and to a lesser extent Power. In general, this is a more well-rounded group whose collective play should help the goalie in net. With Lindy behind the bench there should be more consistent responsible two-way play. That's another factor that should help our goalies. As far as who will end up being our primary goalie between UPL and Levi, assuming it comes down to that. Let them compete and determine their role. What's likely is that injuries will become less of a spoiling factor because of the added depth. To put things in perspective, compare our goalie and blueline situation a few years back to what it is now? Both of those groups have significantly been upgraded. (My opinion.) I'm fairly positive (not excessively confident) about the upcoming season. TBD.

When Lindy was first announced as the coach, he went on WGR. He talked about the same issue you just noted about squeezing out points when you are not playing your best. He observed that in a long and grinding season it was impossible for a number of reasons for a team to play at its highest level. He pointed out that getting single points when your play is lacking add up over a long season. That can be the difference between making the playoffs or not.

It would never happen because Toronto would not permit it. As it is, Terry P has more than enough on his hands with the two franchises that he owns in western NY.

Looking over your four categories what is striking is that all four categories are attainable. Nothing you listed can be considered unrealistic. Making that judgment indicates to me that this team has accumulated enough talent to expect it to be a reasonable expectation. I'm expecting the Lindy factor will bring things together. In my view, if we get the UPL caliber goaltending (from whomever) that we got last year, that should be the most influential factor.

If Levi ends up during the season supplanting UPL, that would mean that UPL faltered. That would be a setback for the team. It really doesn't matter to me which one eventually becomes the primary goalie. As I said in the prior post, if we get the caliber of goalie play that UPL provided in the second half of the season, from whomever, that could be the difference between making the playoffs, or not. I'll take all the loser points we can get, especially on the road.

He's what you call multifaceted good.

@Taro T, you are our designated arena expert. I took it upon myself to bestow that honor on you. Your crown is being shipped by UPS. It will soon arrive. Since you possess so much knowledge on the arena you should be able to answer some questions about it. Since Pegula has exclusive rights and control of the arena, is he solely responsible for upkeep and improvements? And does his company get all the revenue when the building is leased out for concerts and events?

There certainly was a determined faction that wanted to jettison UPL before the season started last year. However, the majority of criticism towards KA relating to the goalie position is that he did not have an adequate backup plan if UPL proved not to be ready. That specific criticism was warranted. The goalie position is tough to evaluate year to year. One year a goalie looks like a future star. The next year, that former star becomes a flameout. I have said it a number of times (and so has @Taro T) that if UPL plays at the same level that he did last year, the Sabres should be playoff participants. It should also be noted that over the past few years this cautious GM has put together a good assemblage of blueline players. I'm aware that some critics want more muscle added to the group, but in general it is a talented young bunch. We shall see.

You are right that the organization is in a better situation than before( Ullmark period) if they end up losing UPL. There will be more cushion to absorb such a loss. But there is a follow up position to take. Without question, the Sabres are now in a better situation if he remains with the team, even if Levi or Reimer prove to be credible goalies. This constant churning of players that we have invested in developing has had this franchise spinning its wheels. This cycle of futility will continue when you continue doing things that have kept you stuck as a franchise. If this team can get the level of goaltending that he provided us last year, this team could/should?? make the playoffs. (My opinion. )

Considering how this franchise has been run, adding a person who holds players accountable is a good start. What's normal for most franchises wasn't the norm for this faltering franchise. It's about freaking time! Do I know that he will turn things around? No. What I do know for certain that if they didn't bring in an experienced coach who has a history of being in control of his players, this team would continue to be a meandering and mediocre team competing against serious teams.

The interview process was a sham and a charade. If Lindy was the GM's preference before this insincere and hollow search was announced, then simply pick him. I don't appreciate having smoke blown up my derriere.

I understand your perspective. We are all familiar with it. But the calculation for determining success is simple and understandable: your record. If the GM was right on UPL, then that is to his credit. But being right in judging a player doesn't tell you much how he is doing overall. Assembling a roster obviously is not an easy endeavor because of the multiplicity of factors that go into it, especially the limitations that the GM has to work with regarding resources. But being right on an individual player assessment is not a persuasive argument for judging someone on how well he is doing his job. I believe that the GM made the right decision in hiring Lindy. And I believe that he has had a good offseason in addressing the structural imbalance of his roster. Let's remember that the correction being made on the roster relates to the deficiency in the roster that he assembled the prior year. And it's inarguable that the correction that he seems to have made this offseason is a correction that he could have made last season.

I understand what you are saying about what the main goal should be for this franchise. Most of us agree with your point that not having serious aspirations to what your goal should be, in itself, is a disqualifying flaw. Although I don't always agree with @Thorny there's an absurdity to not being able to qualify for the playoffs for 13 years. You cited Toronto not qualifying for a decade as being a team that also had a bad run. But the Sabres are worse than that ignominious run by three years, and still counting. The Washington Capitals won the Cup in 2018. Ever since they have been in a steady rebuild as the cup players have gotten older and have been phased out. And yet, they have made the playoffs in 5 of the past 6 years of roster changing. And if you include their cup crowning year up to today, they have been in the playoffs 13 out of 15 times. The glaring reality is that the Sabres systemic failure is a result of their own mistakes, starting with the owner. The constant flux in the hockey operation caused consecutive rounds of instability. There should be no surprise with the outcome. I'm not a harsh critic of the GM. When he took over he laid out a roadmap and gave a direction to this aimless franchise, and for the most part he stuck with it. That's my problem with him. His inability to adjust when he had opportunities to do so. He simply was too cautious in his approach and willingness to deviate from his rebuilding plan. (My opinion.) Overall, he has done a good job this offseason in identifying structural problems with the roster, and then addressing them. He also made the right coaching decision, although the hiring process was a sham. What the GM did this offseason should have been done prior to last season. It was another lost opportunity. The continuing cycle of futility gets not only tiresome but more intolerable. In general, I agree with @Thorny's mind-set of being less tolerating and being more demanding.

No, I don't. I see this team at best as being a bottom qualifying playoff team. That's what I'm shooting for. When evaluating your team you can't do it in a vacuum. You have to compare your team to the better teams in the league. We are not there. I can appreciate your enthusiasm but I rather reside in the world of realism. Have the Sabres gotten better. Absolutely. So what! You don't think other teams have made moves to get better? As far as expecting a blockbuster deal being made this offseason, I doubt it. Next year? I'm not worried about next year because my focus is on this year.

If the question would have been which franchise is the most irrelevant franchise in the league, it would be in the running for the top spot. Generational futility is an absurdity especially when the system is designed to give advantages (draft and waiver pickups) to the worst teams to prop them up. Yet, the Sabres are still stuck in the muck of mediocrity. It's ridiculous and shameful.

I don't believe the issue is wanting out or not. He has a self-interest in getting the best deal he can get. What's most likely to happen is that he will sign a bridge deal before he officially goes through the process. (Opinion.) From a Sabre standpoint I don't believe that it would be wise to give him a long-term deal, especially when Levi is in the system close to being ready to move up to the NHL.

The move back up to draft JJP has to be one of the best draft day moves this franchise has made in a long time.