JohnC

Pervasive negativity can turn into a neurosis if left unchecked.😄

Those are reasonable suggestions. On the other hand, I do like the Zucker, McCleud and Tuch line. That is a manly line that can also score. That line also embodies a tougher brand of play that this team needs more of on a consistent basis. A few smart moves can reverberate positively throughout the lineup. That was evident with the return of Greenway last night.

I agree with you that we don't currently have the center to properly place Cozens. That's one of the reasons why I had reservations about the Mitts deal. (However, I do like Byram.) Our roster is miscast. My recommendation would be to deal Byram plus assets (draft picks and prospects) and get the caliber of center to move Cozens to the wing. How do you do that when your GM is a dullard and lacks the imagination to make such a deal?

I agree that our views are mostly in sync. I slightly disagree with you in that I have a higher estimation of his play as a winger. He's has more of a grittier makeup than a visual player that a center should have. Or another way of saying it is that he's the type of physical player that many people are screaming for to add to this roster. I don't need this organization to declare that Cozens will be moved to the wing where he is more suited. What we need is bringing a suitable 2C center so that he can be moved to the wing position. I believe that Sabres do have an asset in Cozens that is being squandered because this organization lacks the wisdom and imagination to fit players in the right position to maximize their talents. Powers is a no touch/trade player for me. However, although I like Byram, if we could get the caliber of center we need to move Cozens to the wing, then I would make that trade. My sense is that Cozens is going to be dealt; and my sense is that he will thrive in a better managed organization.

As I have stated in other posts, Cozens is being mishandled. He should be playing wing instead of center. In the international tournaments, when placed on wing with talented centers, he has thrived. You make an excellent point and observation that Cozens is putting too much pressure on himself. You can see it in his play and reactions to mishaps. My recommendation is to put him on wing where there is more basic play and less thinking.

I have made the point (and so have many others) that making a few more judicial moves in the offseason that brought it would have made a significant difference that would have sustained this team when facing turbulence. Instead of losing confidence when facing adversity, as they did in that ignominious non-winning streak, the team would have had enough maturity to deal with setbacks. The GM felt that the youngster laden roster was on an upward trajectory. So he was complacent in addressing the roster misconstruction. What is well known in all sports is that there is not always a smooth and even trajectory for young players. There are advances and setbacks. That's the norm. Was it a money consideration or miscalculation on his part? Probably both factors came into play. And what irritates me to no end is that what was needed to be added was very attainable and manageable to do. separate note: I have a much different view on Cozens than you do. There is a good chance that he will be dealt. And it wouldn't surprise me that when wearing another uniform he would perform much better. He needs to be on the wing with a good center. He's being mishandled here.

Others have astutely brought up the issue of the repeated squandering of leads that has tarnished the season. I don't want to overstate the effect of one player but having a more veteran presence, as exemplified by the return of Greenway, does make a difference in withstanding the predictable onslaught from the losing team when the tide turns against you in a game. I strongly believe that if the GM would have added another one or two Zucker or Greenway-like veterans to this youngish roster, it would have made a big difference. I'm confident that if that roster maturity deficiency would have been addressed, this team would not have had a 13-game winless streak that from a playoff standpoint has sunk the season.

Bown is a terrific name. It's somewhat unique yet not so exotic that a bearer of that name will have to be subjected to school yard ridicule. What makes it appealing is that there is a meaningful cultural history behind it. That's in contrast to my name John whose history relates to a toilet and excrement. 😄

Some quick thoughts on this game: I thought Greenway changed the dynamic of his line and influenced the game. Not a dynamic player but strong, tough and smart. He was a factor on his line and in Cozens having a good game. The two big plays in this game was Greenway hanging on to the puck and moving to an open area and scoring early in the game. The second big play in this game is when Dahlin cleared the puck out of the goal area when UPL last sight of it behind him. There was a Ranger ready to pounce on the puck but Dahlin reacted first. Tage had a big game. His most impressive goal was when he was in tight quarters and muscled his way towards the net to score. I paid close attention to the Power/Samuel pairing. They weren't noticed because they were fundamentally doing their jobs. Samuelsson was solid. The defensive play of our forwards was excellent. On the broadcast it was mentioned that there were a number of scouts in the arena. My suspicion was the main center of attention was Cozens. I don't want him traded. If dealt, he will be another young Sabre player playing well for another team. I hope Tuch is not hurt too bad. The Zucker, McCleud and Tuch line is a tough manly line that can also give you some scoring. Dahlin is our best player and an elite defenseman. He deserves to have an opportunity to play in the playoffs. This was a good win in front of a capacity crowd. The Sabres have won 5 out of 6 games. That 13 game winless streak sunk this season. The Sabres should have had around 10 more points. What the return of Greenway demonstrated is that a veteran presence is invaluable. One game at a time. Let's go for 6 wins out of 7.

Is Samuelsson expected to play?

We are where we are because we continue to do what we do. And so the cycle of futility keeps on keeping on.

I have not suggested that we should trade to get Mitts back. That ship has sailed. My primary point about that deal is that from a roster construction standpoint it was not a beneficial deal. What I do believe is that it would make a lot of sense to add a 2C to this roster and move Cozens to the wing where I believe he is more suited. I have said it a number of times (so I apologize for the repetition): KA is a checkers player trying to play chess. He's simply overmatched.

I like Byram a lot. In general, his play has been more than solid. However, from a roster standpoint, I thought that it made more sense to keep Mitts and put him at 2C. That would have allowed Cozens to move to the wing where I believe he is better suited. Is it likely that we get Mitts back? No. Our GM simply lacks the insight and vision to smartly assemble a better-balanced roster. It is an imperative that our GM procure an experienced player to play 2C. I like Kulich a lot but I don't believe that he is ready for that role.

If a credible 2C can be added to the roster it would reverberate positively for multiple players. What becomes apparent is that our ill-equipped GM is deficient in assessing his own roster. A properly built team goes beyond just adding players. It requires more thought.

A hard no to drafting Marner instead of Jack. We took the second best player in that draft. And at least for me, that rating of players was clearly right. The Jack saga was really about an indictment of a failed organization than it was about the disgruntlement of a particular player. And I'm not diminishing Marner's talents. He's a terrific player. I would love to have him. The problem is that he would not allow himself to be exiled to this imprisoning franchise.

Put Cozens on wing where he is more suited. He doesn't have the required center instincts. I'm resolute in my position that Power is going to be a top tier defenseman in this league. Patience is required. With respect to Quinn, I don't know what happened to him. Not long ago, I thought that he was a better prospect than JJP. He seems to have lost his confidence and has become subsumed in a losing environment. The systemic dysfunction in this wretched organization has infected a number of players. That angers me more than the underperformance of any one player. This stultifying environment breeds failure. What happens when Dahlin says I have had enough? I don't want to be stuck in thin sinkhole while I watch my peers have success. Get me the f......k out of here!

The Sabres have been bad for a generation. That's an ignominious accomplishment that few organizations are capable of achieving.

There is no question that Josh Allen is a great qb and is the main driving force for the team's success. But it should also be acknowledged that he was drafted by the Bills' front office while other teams bypassed him. No one can deny that the Bills are and for a number of years a well-run franchise. The Bills organization is a respected organization because it is competently managed. That can't be said about the hollow Sabre organization that has failed for a generation. There is a good reason why this hockey franchise is not only an irrelevant but also a laughed at franchise where many players don't want to come to and where many of its best players demanded to get out.

I don't need the owner speak. However, I do expect someone in the organization to regularly explain what they are doing and why they are doing it. The Sabres are in the sports and entertainment business. Communicating with the public/customers is a basic part of any business. Consistently losing your fan/customer base (in any business) without communicating with it is a recipe for a failed business. And that seems to be the self-sabotaging business model that the owner is following. The empty seats on game day are a testament to that reality.

The dissolution of this once proud franchise starts and ends with the non-talking owner. This situation with the Sabres is both weird and incomprehensible. This silent owner also owns the Bills and Bandits. Both are resounding successes on the field and at the box office. In both cases, he allows the quality staff in each franchise to manage the operation. With the Sabres, he has done the opposite. He installed a patently unqualified person to be the head of the hockey operation. The outcome was predictable. Apparently, the owner prefers having a sycophant at the helm so that it would give him more room to play around with his toy. Terry Pegula has become the Buffalo version of Danny Snyder, former owner of the Washington Commanders. What both have in common is a talent to destroy a franchise and dramatically erode a once robust fanbase. The worst part of what has happened to the Sabres is not that they are perennially bad, which they are. What's even more demoralizing about this ridiculous situation is that this franchise has become an irrelevant franchise to the extent that the hockey world ignores it.

Our organization is such a state of chaos and dysfunction that there will be no quick fix to this mess. At least with Karmonos, he had the requisite experience a normal GM candidate would have when considering for the most critical position in an NHL franchise. The hiring of Adams without bothering to search for legitimate candidates was reckless and insane. The appeal that he had to our sphynx owner was that he was going to start over with not only less expenditures for players but also within the organization. The analogue to that non-existent GM hiring process was the charade hiring process for the HC position which ended with Ruff being selected. Everyone knows that the coaching search was a charade with him being preselected for nostalgic reasons. Both the GM and HC hiring process were outlandishly foolish representing the dysfunction within the franchise led by the inept owner. Karmonos came from the Pittsburgh system. It knew how to build around McDavid, a generational talent, winning Cups. What did our stupid organization do? It drove out our generational player, Eichel, and others such as Reinhart. (I recognize that Eichel is not at the McDavid level but he is still in an elite talent level. He's a player you build around, not trade away for pieces.) In this forum we talk a lot about players, trades, analytics etc. Until order is brought to this chaotic and hollow organization, little will change. That is not to say that there won't be some glitters of success but it won't take long for the hollowness and fragility of this franchise to bring us back to the ugly reality of how hollow our franchise is.

I appreciate your comments on her original appearance and Cyrus's tribute song. What you point out is that in hindsight, after many years have passed and more is learned, there is a better understanding what Sinead's perspective was regarding the pope and the church. History gives us a fuller and better understanding of a situation than our immediate reactions to what at the time was considered a provocative act. The knowledge we have now regarding the ingrained evils of the abuses well known within the institution of the church, and not so well known outside of it. Very often victims are not heard when they cry out. But after time has passed and more is learned the victims are finally listened to and heard.

I'm not advocating the trading of either one of these players. But if one of them needs to be dealt I would prefer that it would be Byram. I simply don't understand your disdain for Power. If he were to be shopped every team in the league would be interested in dealing for him.

If Byram is better than Power on PP2, then play him there. You don't need to trade either one of these players even if one of them is supplanted on the PP unit. As almost everyone agrees, it makes a lot of sense to bring in a more rugged to the unit. That doesn't mean any of the two mentioned players have to be moved. It's time this hollow organization realize that it needs to add talent, not subtract it.

Byram and Dahlin play well together. Each player is a good fit for one another. Bryam's style of play meshes well with Dahlin's, and not so well with the other defenders. These players combined are two of our most effective players. What you see as a problem is not what I consider to be a problem.