JohnC

I enjoyed the segment. At the end, the issue of having three goalies on hand was discussed by Hamilton. He made the point that it is unworkable.

Training camp and the season are so much more fun than the quiet interlude prior to the season. Some people expected a lot more action in this offseason. (I didn't.) It seemed to ruffle some feathers when their expectations for action weren't met.

If the thread was deleted, then why are posts continued?

Why was my post deleted? I don't know who is responsible but whoever did it should provide an explanation.

Could someone explain to me why my post was deleted? And why did I get a message from @Doohickie "do not have permission to view this topic? What the freak is going on? If someone has a problem with my innocuous post, there should be an explanation made instead of some inexplicable deletion.

Do you consider him to be a second-pairing caliber of player? And do you consider that the additions of Johnson and Clifton to the team strengthens the unit?

With respect to the issue of waiting on talent my response is simply, yes. With respect to how many more years am I willing to wait: My response is that we are there right now, this upcoming season. This team that has mostly been assembled is a playoff team. (My opinion.) If this team doesn't make the playoffs, I will be deeply disappointed. We have gotten to this point because the GM acted smartly and patiently.

I would absolutely wait on players such as Benson, Savoie, Kulich etc. That would be the smart and right thing to do. If you want sustainable success you have to draft wisely and put the right support system in place the talent in the system. And that has been done during the tenure of KA. When your strategy in roster building is working well, you don't change your course of action because you are impatient.

No. I would keep Olofsson and hope that he can play a more balanced game. Quinn getting hurt might give him an opportunity to play, even if it is on a lower line. The hope is that he regains his game and increases his value as an asset to be dealt. He may not be an all-around player but he still can shoot. That's a valuable trait that a lot of teams covet.

I don't want PR headline grabbing moves. I want intelligent and thoughtful moves that will allow this historically befuddled organization to have sustained success. Our GM is on the right track and moving in the right direction. What you are recommending is going to put this franchise back in the ditch filled with fetid water. You are Ying and I am Yang.

I'm more than happy that our GM didn't trade away picks and prospects for a top tier goalie such as Helly, a goalie who would be an UFA after one year. The Sabres used their first-round pick to draft, Benson, a highly regarded prospect. Yet, you and many others preferred to gratuitously deal it away for a one-year rental. That makes no sense to me. (It should be noted that not one team in the draft traded away their first-round pick for a player.) I would love to have acquired Pesce. But I wouldn't have given up this year's first round pick for him. Our GM ended up acquiring Clifton and Johnson to add to the thin blueline. What did he give up? Nothing! I thought that was a nifty fallback move to get two contributing players in an area of weakness at reasonable contracts. As I pointed out in a prior post, the Sabres improved by 16 points from the prior season. This is a roster made up with a lot of young players. You don't think that in general the young players will get better? I do. So, what is your recommendation? It's not to continue doing what has worked but to change course and resort to making short-term, expedient deals that have proven not to work for this franchise. That makes absolutely no sense! You and others have repeatedly stated that taking the expedient approach that you are recommending guarantees the franchise a playoff spot next season. That is not necessarily true. And if it were, it doesn't mean that if the GM continued on with the course he is on that this team wouldn't be a playoff team. Our GM has falsely been accused of taking a status-quo approach. That is not an accurate description on how he has operated. He dealt away our old core and in return he has gotten good value. He has made a few smaller deals such as acquiring Jost and Greenway to incrementally improve the roster. He recently added two defensemen on reasonable contracts, and gave up nothing. His drafting since he took over has been solid. My recommendation is to continue doing what he has been doing. Stay the course!

I will be watching to see how the organization handles Kulich this year. Will he be given an opportunity to fill the roster spot left open by the injury to Quinn? Or for developmental reasons will the organization decide to make him a central player in Rochester so he will get an abundance of playing time in a variety of roles? It won't surprise me if Rousek makes the roster and becomes a fourth line player for us. I'll also be interested to see how Savoie is handled. What happens if in his introductory stint he plays like a dynamo? Will he stick on the permanent roster? There are so many interesting questions regarding the roster this upcoming season. It sure beats discussing the roster when there was a paucity of talent to work with.

It's likely that Joki will be pushed down to the third pairing. I consider him to be a 4/5 player. You constantly show your desire to jettison him off the roster as if he is an anchor on the unit. He's not. You are correct that DG doesn't publicly denigrate a player who is a liability. However, in the case of Joki he does go out of his way to not only praise his play but also to point out that this young player has more upside to offer. It just seems to me that your scorn for this player doesn't match his actual play. Lybushkin is another story. He was a disappointment. Maybe injuries were a factor or he had difficulty playing in this faster paced system? I see him being pushed down in the pairings. I like the two players KA brought in to shore up the blueline. Clifton is likely to be the player that moves Joki down to the next pairing. Johnson is 35 yrs old. I don't see DG giving him workhorse minutes. His value is going to come in to play in the PK. And needless to say that is an area of great need.

The Sabres improved 16 pts from the previous season. The core for the most part is now established. And most of this core is young and expected to get better. Most of the changes that are being made upgrade the lower half of the defense and lines. It seems to me that if the Sabres continue on the same course it has been on for the past few years, the trajectory will continue to point upwards. You are correct that much is depending on the play of Levi. I'm comfortable in saying that he is a better option staffing the goalie position than what we had for much of last season. Is it a risk to depend on such a young player? Of course it is. If you want a guarantee, you are not going to get it. That's what sports are all about.

Buffalo is never going to match the defensive style of play that Boston plays. Each team has a different philosophy, and its rosters are built around their respective philosophy. Buffalo is a more offensive and faster paced team. In order for Buffalo to make the leap forward it doesn't need to replicate Boston's style of play; it simply has to alter its style a little more to play a more balanced two-way game. What we need to do to be more successful is replicate how it played at the end of the last season. And the two additional blueliners added to the roster should help to do that.

Not only is our defense upgraded with the additions of these two player but also our PK should be improved. Improving the PK is an aspect of the game that needed to be addressed. And it appears that has been.

Entering this season, the bigger issue/s than the play of the goalies (regardless which one is inhabiting the position) is the play of the blueliners, the PK unit and more responsible two-way play. Simply put: team defense. That's the bigger issue that circumscribes the goalie issue. What makes me more encouraged than most here is the end of the season's tighter play during the push for the playoffs when Levi was mostly entrusted with the position. That demonstrated that the team can play that brand of hockey when determined to do so. And as I see it, with the additions that were brought in, the Sabres should be better in the areas that I was concerned about before the acquisitions. The sunglasses that I wear are rose colored. I'm seeing things with an upbeat tint. 🏒

You are very astute in recognizing that KA is committed to the moneypuck approach to building and running a franchise. That adherence was bravely applied to the Ullmark saga. Last year, he talked about the Ullmark saga and explained on WGR what his stance was toward the player and his philosophy in genera. He clearly stated that he and his analytical staff established a value for him, and he was not willing to go beyond it. (As it applied to this player, I disagreed then and now. Too inflexible for me. I believe that his decision cost us a playoff spot.) In general, I agree with your observations with the exception over the goaltending situation. You know my often-stated position so there is no need to rehash. In my view acquiring Levi and watching his performance at the end of the season altered how I viewed the situation. Is it a risk depending so much on a young goalie? Yes. Is it worth the risk to take? As I see it, yes. With respect to your last paragraph and the questions you present, I am a little more sanguine than you. I expect better defense from the blueline, better PK, more responsible two-way play from the lines and internal improvement from many of the young players on this team. I'm in the cautious optimistic category.

I think that you are getting too fixated on Stillman. As someone else said we got a player who is on the team for a player who was unlikely ever to make the team. I'll make that swap any day. Incremental improvement is better than no improvement. Stillman is likely to be a fourth pairing player. That's exactly where he belongs. As you and others point out both Johnson and Clifton should help to improve the PK, a major vulnerability for this team. So, both of those players address a couple of major defensive issues that were apparent last year. Most contributors here are advocating for the GM to be bolder in dealing for another higher-level defenseman such as Hanifan or Pesce. I wouldn't bet on it happening because I believe that the coach has a higher opinion of Joki than most people have here.

Thorny, You are irrepressible and consistent. You are going to wear out that downward pointing thumb! 🍺

One of the fun aspects of being a fan is play-acting as a GM. There's nothing wrong with that. It's the normal behavior that fans in all sports have.

The attached link is an article by Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News listing the goalie options. After he goes through most of the options it becomes apparent that for a variety of reasons (some of them due to contracts) that taking a status quo approach is the best approach for now. And in this article it becomes clear that the GM is invested in Levi as his primary goalie. The young goalie's end of season play solidified his standing with the GM. https://buffalonews.com/sports/columns/sabres-goaltending-mike-harrington/article_aa571c14-19a6-11ee-9cdb-4319459758a2.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

I don't see Johnson on the second pair with Power. At his age, 35, regularly playing extended second pair minutes would be too taxing. There may be end of the game situations where he would be moved up but for the most part I don't see him getting more than 15 to 16 minutes on a regular basis. His value is going to be on the PK. And that will be an important role for him.

Of course, he is trying to improve his roster, as is every GM in the league. He has made deals. Maybe not to your satisfaction but he has sealed the deal on a couple of defensive pickups. And that was his priority since the season concluded. From a general standpoint, he is doing exactly what he said he was going to do i.e. focus on building from within. And that's exactly what he has done. GMs frequently talk with their fellow GMs during the season and offseason. A fraction of the feelers they put out end up coming to fruition. That's true for all GMs. You made the point that I'm implying that he is in general happy with his roster entering the offseason. Based on how he has performed I would say yes he is. There may be more tweaks to the roster but as it stands is as it stands. I'm more than comfortable with his approach.

I'm glad that the GM kept the first-round pick and used it to take Benson.