JohnC

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.

How many other teams do you believe would have given up a second-round pick for him? I don't believe any other team would have done that. Even acknowledging that over-payment, it was worth it for us. However, I just don't see any other team coming to the same conclusion/judgment.

I have argued that the Sabres giving up a second-round pick for this fourth line player was worth it. We had an excess of draft assets to fill this fourth line need. (I still maintain that position.) However, from a league standard of valuing assets, it was an over-pay. That's an acknowledgment that the Sabres are not a normally run franchise. It is in a desperate situation because of its own failed operation. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that this stuck franchise feels compelled to do things that other franchises wouldn't do. You can see the Lindy influence in the GM's transactions this offseason. Regardless what the price was to rectify the imbalance in this roster, that critical issue at least has been addressed. There is a difference between accumulating talent and putting together a team. At least now you can see more coherence and thought in putting together a roster.

The roster is better balanced now with the upgrade of the lower two lines. I would love to see another second line forward added before camp opens up but I'm not confident that it will happen. So assuming there will be internal improvement by the young players such as Power, Quinn, JJP, Benson, Byram etc., the issue comes down to the play of our goalies. If UPL can play at the same level as he did last year, then we should have a good opportunity to make the playoffs. If his play regresses without Levi picking up the slack, then I see them again on the outside looking in. If I had to predict a young player making a quantum leap forward, the player I would pick would be Quinn. I also see Power making the jump. Power is not a flashy player but I do see him being an anchor defenseman this season.

On this team, Tuch is a genuine first line player. Let's get freaking real here: The best we can hope for right now is that the Sabres will vie for a low rung playoff spot. If you want to talk about your fantasy hockey world that is not grounded on reality, then do so. I'm not into that fantasy world.

Who is advocating for Tuch to be moved down to the second line? If there are people in that minority camp, it is a very small camp. It seems to me that the first line is solidified with JJP/Tage/Tuch. There are a variety of interesting line combinations that validly can be made. Where Benson ends up is one of the more intriguing issues, along with whether a player such as Kulich can impress enough to make the jump to the big league. If a second line player is not brought it, what are the ramifications for the next two lines? As @dudacek points out, it is an interesting time of year to postulate. It's going to be interesting to see if Lindy's eyes reflect the consensus views of the members hers. I see Lindy being more of a juggling coach than a static lineup coach. We shall see.

Assuming Assuming a top 6 forward is not added, the issue of where Benson is placed vs Zucker is not troubling to me. They'll compete for line roles in camp and when the season begins. And I suspect that Lindy will periodically be interchanging them at game time and within the games. Eventually, it will sort itself out. What will be Krebs role? Will he be forth line player or will he become a spare part who becomes a utility player? He'll influence that decision in training camp and during the early season games. I like seeing this internal competition. It's better than players securing roles because of a lack of competition. What's apparent to me is that if the GM can add another second/third line forward, he will be creating a lot more flexibility and depth within the next two lines. My hope is that the cautious GM will make a deal to bring in that type of player. Will he? I'm not sure that he will?

No.