JohnC

Tuck is a second line talent. If he is playing on the third line for a team that's a good indication that the team is either loaded with talent or that its roster building strategy is to spread the talent around instead of focusing it on the top two lines. If the Sabres trade Tuch it would be another franchise crushing mistake that has kept this rickety franchise stuck in its own muck of mediocrity.

There is no need to blow it up and go further backwards. The owner needs to fire the GM or give him another task (facilities manager?) and empower a competent person to take over the position. He gambled on an unqualified person due to financial considerations more than hockey considerations. It ended up blowing up in his face. If he allows a qualified person to do the job without interference, this franchise would be in such a better place. As it stands, this team has talent on the roster and within the system. What's missing is how to manage one's assets and how to address one's liabilities. A capable person who is allowed to do the challenging GM job can quickly steer this franchise back on course.

In all probability, KA is going to make some moves just to show that he is doing something. However, I don't want him making any major trades that in all likelihood would set this franchise back even further. The owner made a ridiculous decision to hire this ill-equipped individual to be his GM. The silent owner has kept him on the job for five years. His inglorious record is beyond being abysmal. Enough is enough.

If a new owner took over the franchise and hired the right person to oversee it, there wouldn't be a need to completely start over as if it were an expansion team. The right person in place should be able to make enough right moves to reshape this roster with the assets he already has in place. I don't know what our current silent is thinking. What I can say is that I'm tired of him and his foolishness.

I have a different view. It makes a lot of sense to make a blanket statement that I don't want this incompetent GM (selected by the owner) to make any moves, especially significant moves. When one has been on the job for five years and has demonstrated one's incapacity to improve and construct a logical roster that is competitive, then it makes sense to let the season run out as is and allow someone who is capable enough to assess one's roster and be intelligently involved in the hockey marketplace. If I were supposed to have surgery and learned that the doctor who was scheduled to perform it was incompetent, you bet that I would postpone the surgery and further explore better options to perform it.

If Alex Tuch doesn't want to squander his career, he should take the take the Reinhart, Ullmark, Montour etc. road and not sign an extension. In that way he will put himself in a position to scan the market and sign with a normally run and less shambolic franchise. This hollow organization better get serious about its competitiveness because there will come a point where Dahlin will follow the Eichel model and let this lame organization publicly know that he wants out of this imprisoning franchise. Our silent owner has destroyed this franchise and eroded the already fading fanbase. It's both sad and maddening.

The Krueger hire was a reasonable hire or at least it was a conventional hire. He coached Edmonton and had experience with international teams. His best attribute was that he was a good communicator who could impress those listening to him. I think his art of persuasion influenced Pegula when he interviewed him. It didn't work out for him here presiding over a lot of young players. He emphasized rigid structure which inhibited the play and development of the young players. (How Dahlin was handled is an example of that.) It didn't work out here, so he was fired. That happens. However, the KA hire was really an odd hire. His appeal to the owner related to cutting costs and starting over with less costly young players. His hire is an owner boondoggle that set back this franchise. I want to make it clear that I don't consider KA to be a disaster as a GM as much as he is a mediocre GM who is less accomplished than the GMs he is competing against. As others have said, he made some solid moves over the past offseason. However, not enough of them to keep up with the competitors. It was a lost opportunity.

It's not the quantity of unorthodox hires that has plagued this franchise as it is that the most important hire in a hockey operation was an odd pick. That selection reverberates throughout the organization. When your top man is below the norm for the position---you can't escape from it. In pro sports, whether it is football, basketball or hockey, if you flub the GM selection you are handicapping your franchise. And that's what happened with the Sabres. I'm not suggesting that KA is a disaster because he has done some good things. However, what I'm comfortable in saying is that compared to the other GMs in the league, he is substandard.

The least important issue for this team to upgrade itself in the near future is its position on the draft board. There are moves to be had this offseason associated with trades and free agent pickups (medium type players) that this team can make to improve this roster. With KA as the GM making the decisions on this roster and league talent is that likely? I'm not ruling it out but to put it kindly, I'm not flushed with optimism. I strongly believe that as this roster is currently constituted this team will continue to lag. However, with a few smart moves this this roster can be better balanced and stronger. The GM placed a major bet on the youngsters hoping that they will continue to make strides. Some of them have while others have regressed. Hopefully, as a group there will be more development. The team play has gotten better, and the recent record has reflected it. We'll see---I'm just not sure.

It doesn't matter whether the non-talking owner is involved or not involved in the hockey operations. However he wants to function as an owner is his prerogative. What is manifestly clear is that during his near generational tenure is that his franchise, based on its record, has failed. His most impactful acts relating to his franchise relates to the people he personally selected to run the operation. And because of his poor personnel judgment the franchise is considered a failure by people in the business.

The GM was premature in giving extended contracts instead of bridge deals to Cozens and Samuelsson. Yet, with Reinhart the GM refused to give him an extended contract when he had the opportunity to do so. So the player acting in his best interest pursued the free agent avenue and forced the team to trade him when he wouldn't sign a contract with the tea so that he could be a free agent. So many organizational miscalculations and so many setbacks. Just stupid decision making.

Why are you reluctant to categorize Tage as a 1C? It seems to me that a JJP/Tage/Tuch with other variations at wing is a solid one line. The bigger issue is how is the second line going to be constructed. I would put Cozens at wing on the second line and go from there. I would prefer acquiring a quality 2C from the market but not sure that is a reasonable expectation.

I'm more optimistic about him as a player than you appear to be. However, I'm making that judgment with some reservations. I'd be a blind fool to be overly confident with an excessive optimistic prognostication. The mistake that this GM has made (my opinion) is that his expectations for the young core were too high, at least for the short term. The GM needed to add another Zuker and Greenway type veteran players to better support them. As an example, Greenway is far from being an elite player. Yet, his tough presence and smart play has had a positive effect on the players he is playing with. We needed a couple to few more of those players on the roster when the season started. We'll see how it goes. In general, as the recent record demonstrates, the overall play has been better. That's encouraging.

I'm focusing on the hockey franchise. He has made some very poor critical hires that has kept this franchise stuck in the mud for nearly a generation. What's perplexing is that he had the right people in place to run his successful franchises. That's not the case with the hockey franchise. And that's on him. I'm not as down on the near future prospects of the hockey franchise. However, what we have been subjected to for so long is inexcusable.

Maybe the hometown owner has to seek better counsel when making major hires for the organization? As an owner, he can do whatever he wants. He can be intimately involved in the operation or take a laissez-faire approach. That's his prerogative. What can't be denied is that the franchise's record during his ownership speaks for itself. It's embarrassing and a disgrace!

As far as Cozens being a long term solution at #2C, I would say no for the reasons that have often been stated by me and others. I strongly believe that he is most suited to be a winger on the second line. Cozens has recently received a lot of merited criticisms for his play this season. It's evident that he has been pressing since the extension and assistant captain designation. And let's not forget that a couple of seasons ago he had 31 goals and 37 assists for 68 pts. Those numbers should not be dismissed when considering whether to keep him or trade him. Last night, he showed that he can be an asset for this team. My fear is that if dealt he would fall into the category of dealt young players who thrived in better run organizations.

You smartly targeted the young group that has not stepped it up to the expectation as being the underlying reason for in general has been a disappointing season. On the other hand, there has been an uptick in play in members of that particular group. Cozens, Power, Sammy and Quinn have been playing better. They certainly are not making quantum leaps forward but over the last half dozen games or so their play has improved. Cozens was the first star last night. And he deserved that accolade. Quin has also recently played better. Not dramatically so, but better. I thought Samuelsson played really well last night. He was positionally sound and played within the structure. Much of his malaise most likely can be attributed to him being constantly hurt. Will the organization mostly bring back this group? Probably so, especially if the Sabres continue to play better. But as you point out with your last sentence, what needs to happen to meaningfully improve this team is making the few required moves (not necessarily dramatic moves) at the positions you noted to make this team a more serious team. Side note: Kulich is a bright prospect. The issue I have is whether he can be a legitimate #2C and address that critical need, assuming Tage goes back to #1C? That would be a big risk entering next season. My preference would be to go out and get a #2C. We have the assets to make a deal without creating other big needs.

The coaches have been very judicious in managing the minutes he plays. He usually is in the range of 16-18 minutes.

Samuelsson, Quinn and Cozens are playing better. Not dramatically so (although Cozens's play in this game was noticeable) but to a level where they are positively contributing instead of being invisible and no impact players. That's encouraging.

No question that Cozens played well. We needed him to and he did. In his last few games he has played better. I didn't watch the whole game so others can respond to my observation that Samuelsson is playing better. Not flashy but just solid. Greenway is not a stat player. But it seems that his big presence on the ice has uplifted the play of others. He's not the fastest player but he is one of the best positional players on this team. He's a big fellow who plays big. He's like a tree trunk that can't be moved. The Sabres have won 6 out of 7 games. The team is starting to have a home game advantage. Let's keep it going.

If he is in the vicinity of being an Alex Tuch play, I'll gladly accept it. I agree with you that Tkachuk is in a higher strata. That's well known.

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Your last paragraph is where my scorn is directed toward. Bad decisions lead to bad outcomes. This organization handcuffs itself with its own mediocrity. A lack of sagacity is a sophisticated way of saying inept and stupid.

A few years ago, he scored 31 goals and had 37 assists. You may be dismissive of that production but I'm not. Cozens is not a finesse player. He's a grinder who has shown that he can score. We need more players, not less, who play with a degree of physicality. I would love for him to get back on track. Right now, he's pressing and playing with too much self-manufactured stress. If he could get back to the form that he demonstrated a couple of years ago, I would be more than pleased.

I'm not sure if you are agreeing with me or not. That's okay. Eichel is not a fool and is going to cavalierly jeopardize his career by undergoing a high risk surgery when there were alternatives. The surgery that Vegas allowed and that Jack wanted was a surgery that was considered "an acceptable practice" surgery in Europe. Europe is known for approving new techniques than the more cautious US medical system. And in hindsight, the surgery worked out so well for Jack that other players followed suit and got the same procedure done. There is no question that the owner was upset with Jack when he expressed his desire to get out of this pissshole franchise. He's a competitor who wanted to win and didn't see that happening here. He was right. He left and ended up the cup on a consistently good team. The GM and owner who wanted to screw him to this day preside over a flailing franchise. What would have been a better approach for this dumbasssss organization. How about allowing to get the surgery and getting healthy sooner so this asset would have more value on the market. The owner was too caught up with his own ego to get back at Jack at the expense of setting this franchise back even further. And let's revisit the Reinhart situation. He was willing to sign an extension. But the GM declined. So this top tier player ends up getting to his UFA year where he needed to be dealt for pennies on the dollar. How stupid was that! I repeatedly have stated that the prime source for this franchise's extended failure is the obtuse owner whose main attributes are stubbornness and lack of self-awareness with respect to his hockey knowledge.