JohnC

It doesn't matter whether it is Bush, Clague, Bryson or Stillman. On this team they are at best fourth pairing or utility players. Whether you deduct A or B or C or D, why get so exercised over the departure? Bush moving to Anaheim is a better situation for him. You should be happy for him. I wish him well.

At the end of the season playoff push, Lyubush's minutes were severely curtailed. The coach lost confidence in him and his pairing partner. He was mostly stuck on the bench with the top two pairings taking over their minutes. In the offseason, the organization brought in two defenders. The writing was on the wall for this proud player. I wouldn't be surprised if he/agent went to the GM and expressed his desire to move on. And it wouldn't be surprising that an organization that stresses the importance of players wanting to be here accommodated him. However, this trade issue is examined, it is apparent that he wasn't in the team's plans, and the player recognized it. It appears that the organization did the right thing for the player and the organization.

There isn't an organization in the league that would rate Lyuboosh over Joki. I can understand why you are not attracted to Joki's style of play but there is no question that Joki is a better player. By the end of the season, Bush ended up as a fringe player for us whose minutes became very limited. There was a reason for his loss of playing time: It was his substandard play. At the end of season he was considered a liability.

https://thehockeywriters.com/cody-hodgson-promising-career-cut-short/#:~:text=Hodgson's one-year deal with,final year (in Nashville). The condition is malignant hyperthermia. It can be life threatening.

I was surprised by the Lyubush trade. But let's put things in perspective. As it stands, he would have been a fourth pairing defender. So no matter how the unit shakes out I'm not going to get perturbed by this fringe roster issue. If this departure ends up giving Ryan Johnson an opportunity to play sooner than expected, it might work out for the better. There is a side to the Lyubush transaction that if put in perspective is encouraging i.e. the roster is accumulating a quantity of talent to the point where roster spots are getting tougher to earn.

I doubt that his trade had anything to do with bringing in a goalie. This trade has me perplexed. Even if he were on the fourth pair, he not only would have upgraded the lower pairings but was good enough to move up to the third pairing when injuries hit. Ryan Johnson will probably start the season in Rochester. It won't be a surprise if sometime in the season he will be wearing a Sabre jersey.

When there was a Rick J night in his last season calling games the place was sold out. That was at a time when the building was usually noticeably less than filled. They weren't there for the game so much as they were there to show their respect and pay tribute to the man behind the mike. That display of gratitude and affection says it all.

I don't see a Pesce deal happening for Buffalo. Based on how he has operated since he took over as a GM, I don't see KA giving up assets for a one-year rental. Another factor is that he has a couple of credible prospects in the system (most notably Ryan Johnson) who are not that far away from moving up the ranks. This deal for this player is very unlikely to happen.

What's happening with this franchise isthat it is accumulating enough talent to the point where a player who has second-line ability plays on a third line. Instead of categorizing a line as #2 or #3, we actually have or in the process of having a 2A and 2B lines. The talent surplus allows for players to move up and even down the lines and still retain productivity. When Mitts was moved from the third line to the first line because of Tage's injury, that line not only didn't falter but it thrived. Needless to say, this is a good trend.

Dahlin fits the bill of a defensive star and Tage "might" fit the bill as an offensive star. Maybe not too far in the future Power might be categorized as a defensive star. There are a number of young players such as Quinn, JJP who as young players will become good players. I consider Cozens a good young player now.

I'm hoping that Krebs, JJP and Quinn (injured) were going to take a step up this season. Could you imagine how much better Krebs would be if he possessed a finishing touch? He's got the vision but right now not the shot. The players have so many young players with a lot of upside to draw from. The GMs plan was to build from within. And that's what is going on now.

I wouldn't put them in that special category if the standard is being elite within the NHL talent pool. That is not to say that they won't be good players. I like both players, and especially with Quinn you can see episodes of high-end play. Anyone who has seen Crosby, McKinnon and McDavid play can quickly recognize that they are in a category that neither Quinn nor JJP will probably ever attain. I'm still very happy that both players are on the team. Would I consider Eichel to be an elite player? Yes.

After reading some posts about which players have the potential to be stars I thought of related topic. Would you rather have a star on your roster or would it be better to have 3 upper tier players who are an echelon below the lofty star level? Another aspect to that issue is it better to have one elite line and then three solid lines or would it be better to have a good top line supported by three good lower lines. The same line of reasoning can also apply to the defensive pairings.

The costs have gone up because the costs have gone up since the blueprints of the stadium were made. Where did you come up with those spiraling costs you noted and why are you attributing them to graft, corruption and the unions? The timing of building this stadium is in the midst of dramatic increased costs in materials and labor costs. Sometimes the building environment rapidly changes for a variety of uncontrollable reasons and have absolutely nothing to do with political inclinations. All I can say is that you are not only way off the mark but you have also allowed your political leanings to distort the facts of the situation. You have been very forceful in not allowing even minor political coloring of discussions on this board. Others have noted that you have not lived up to that standard. Now I know what they are talking about. It's clear that in this case you should penalize yourself for violating the code that you have established. This is a case of full-frontal hypocrisy.

I agree with you that the extended period of mediocrity turned off a lot of players looking for another destination. I'm sure that perception has changed to a more positive view now. As you point out no one area is going to be attractive to every player. Some younger players might prefer living in the NY or LA area. The older and more family oriented players might prefer medium towns such as Buffalo, Columbus, Detroit, Carolina etc. Some players would embrace being coached by a hard-arses such as Torts. While others couldn't tolerate that type of oppressive disciplinarian. As the saying goes: Different strokes for different floks.

Responding to your last bullet point, Buffalo's location should be an attractive consideration for players because so many of them come from the Toronto and southern Ontario area. As an example, Power's family can attend all his home games.

The issue isn't "who cares" or "doesn't care" about a young player. The Sabres are at a point where they are genuinely competing for a playoff spot or more. If the organization believes that Comrie gives them a better chance to win as a backup goalie, then he should be the backup goalie. If the organization believes that UPL is the better option as a backup, then he should be the backup. The Sabres missed the playoffs by a point or two last year. The margin of error is small. Players compete for their roster spot. How else should it be done?

Thanks for your knowledgeable response. I agree with you that other considerations such as the issue of opportunity to play and best situation from a variety of standpoints override the money issue.

I have a tax question that has been talked about on the radio before as it pertained to money directed towards building a stadium. Do players on an opposing out of state team pay the state taxes for games in the visiting jurisdiction. Isn't it comparable to a worker for a company paying the required tax for the location he is working in?

The concern shouldn't be who will be exposed to the waiver wire or not. If Comrie beats out UPL for the backup role and he is lost to the waiver wire, then so be it. If UPL beats out Comrie, then he gets exposed. The Sabres are at a stage where they have the talent to seriously compete. The priority issue now is who will be the better backup and give you the best chance to win when inserted into the lineup. None of us knows for sure how our goalie ranking will turn out. The expectation is that Levi will be the primary goalie and the other two goalies will compete for the backup role. I doubt that the organization is going to carry three goalies as they did last year. If I had to bet I would place it UPL being the backup goalie. The bottom line is that the players competing for the backup role will determine their own fate. And that's how it should be.

Moreso with Comrie than UPL, if he is sent down I don't think he will be picked up by another club. I think UPL would be more appealing to another team. At the end of the preseason most teams are making tough decisions on their final cuts. As I said in the prior post, if one of the two is picked up you just move on deal with it.

Odds are that two goalies will be on the NHL roster and third goalie will be sent down to Rochester. If the goalie sent down gets picked up, then so be it.

Within this WGR 28-minute link is a discussion on Sabres Live with Mathew Fairborn. In the first part of the discussion he talks about Olofsson. In the end of the appearance he discusses the goalie situation. Good talk about the upcoming season and the roster. https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/hosts/sabres-live

Just a general comment about your proposed lineup. It's a good lineup with a number of players with much more upside to draw from such as Power, JJP, Krebs, Samuelsson, Mitts (because he will be playing with better linemates) and Greenway (because he should be coming into camp healthy and better conditioned). And with the increase in the talent base there are a lot of interchangeable parts to work with when injuries happen. The Quinn injury is a frustrating setback. There was a consensus that he was most likely to be a breakout player in the young group.

No one's lecturing you. I don't give a dam what you think. Just don't respond back. You act as if you are the final authority on things, especially when there is a difference in views. You talk about me responding in a condescending manner when that was not the case. You are projecting your own arrogance. At times you are insightful and at times you are insufferable. (In general, I don't like communicating with a harsh tone. Doing so has the tendency of lowering the discourse level for everyone.) With you, I have no compunction doing so. You are being ridiculous. The problem is that you lack the self-awareness to understand how you are behaving. Just go take a hike and use the ignore button.