JohnC

I just believe that KA has a higher opinion on Comrie and UPL than most here have. We'll just have to wait and see. On the other hand, I see the GM being more aggressive in pursuing blueliners this offseason. His line of thinking may be that by improving the team defense you will be improving the play of our goalies.

Saros signed a $20 M contract in 21. So, Saros would more likely be dealt in a couple of years when his contract is close to expiring. In the meantime, a combo of Saros and Levi should provide this team the level of goaltending that would make this emerging team a serious team rather quickly. Although @GASabresIUFAN would be ecstatic with this scenario, I don't think it is in alignment with what KA plans on doing. I think that the GM will stick with the goalies that he has in his own system.

You sited the complicating feature associated with UPL. A decision will have to be made about him and his prospects as a NHL goalie. UPL and Comrie will be competing for the backup role. This is my opinion as of now: Comrie is going to be the primary backup. What does that mean for UPL? His tenure in the organization will be tenuous. Could the opposite happen? Yes.

There was a period of time in the season when Nashville was struggling. There were some reports that they were considering some form of rebuilding. Saros would have been one of their major assets that they could parlay. As it turned out the team got itself together and did better in the second half. So, trading Saros is less likely now. That's doesn't mean that it couldn't happen because their long time GM recently retired. New GMs are more likely to be less committed to players that they didn't select.

How about Olofsson, UPL and a #1 pick to Nashville for Saros?

Anyone who has listened to KA over the past couple of years has heard him repeat the same message that you stated: Be patient and let the process run its course. If you review the players he has brought in over the past year such as Jost, Greenway and Spellman to add some depth to the lower half of the lineup, none of them required significant assets to add them to the roster. And the word organic , which you used to describe the process, is one of KA's favored words when talking about his emphasis in how he is going to rebuild the roster. He has also repeatedly stated that when it comes to prospects, he would rather error on the side of giving them more playing time at the lower levels with the expectation that they will be better prepared when they get the call to move up.

What do you think his value is on the market? Stale donuts don't have much value unless you are a dunker.

JJ is 21 years old. This was his first year in the NHL. I don't see him scoring as many goals as Quinn but I do see him solidifying himself as a second-line player. Next year I can see him and Quinn make a leap forward. I'm really excited about Quinn/Cozens/JJ line.

I don't think that many fans who have watched Quinn this season are underselling him. He has given glimpses that he is going to be a very good player in this league. I see him as a first line talent. The person who I think is being undersold is Peterka. He certainly has struggled during this season. But when watching him over an extended period of time, you can see the talent. The Quin/Cozens/JJ line is an emerging line composed of young players who will continue to get better. What's exciting to consider is that Quinn usually takes an adjustment year when he is moved to a higher league. Next year, he will be an important player on this team.

It's very probable that Levi is going to be our #1 goalie. UPL was drafted in 2017 and is 23 years old. Ullmark was drafted in 2012 and is 30 years old. It wasn't until last year, when he was 29, that it was evident that he could be a mainstay NHL goalie. Why would the GM give up on a young goalie who is already in the system? If another team claims him because he is out of options, then so be it. I believe that Levi is going to be our primary goalie next year with Comrie as the secondary goalie. That doesn't necessarily mean that the GM will jettison UPL out of the system next year.

Ullmark was drafted in 2012. It wasn't clear until last year that he could be a good goalie in the NHL. He'll be 30 in July. Ukkoi-Pekka Luukkonen was drafted in 2017. He is 23 yrs. old. Do you think that the GM is going to give up on him at this still early stage in his development? I don't. If another team claims him because he is out of options, then so be it. But making a too quick decision on his prospects as a NHL goalie would be a mistake. I believe that the GM is not willing to make a determinative judgment just yet. If he was included in a package that brought back a high quality goalie, I would not object. Right now, I see Levi as our #1 goalie next year with Comrie as our #2 goalie. I also see UPL in the mix.

You are making a mistake if you are going to be captivated by the comparison in AHL stats between Ullmark and UPL. UPL has had a number of surgeries (hip) which resulted in a long and exhausting rehabilitation process that setback his development. There is no question that UPL had his struggles this year. He also played well. He's still young Does that indicate true development and NHL potential? I don't know. Has the GM given up on him? I'm not sure but don't believe so. You seem to be convinced that Comrie and UPL are not goalie options for next year. I don't think your position aligns with the GM's thinking. Again, that's my opinion. I think he is more receptive to Comrie as the backup than you are. I will say that your position and my position on Levi as the present and future goalie do coincide.

What if the GM believes that UPL has a potential to be a good NHL player? Should he trade him? It took Ullmark a number of years before he reached the NHL and developed in the NHL. Now he is doing well in Boston. A Vezina candidate. Of course, the team in front of him enhances his play. Should the GM go out and get another more established NHL goalie? I simply don't know. I don't believe that the GM has given up on Comrie either. (My opinion). If I had to predict what the GM is going to do it would be bulking up the blueline rather than making a change with our netminding staffing. I just don't see KA giving up significant assets for a goalie such as Saros. Is that a gamble? Yes.

There's no disputing the fact that Skinner was terrible playing for Krueger. He was like a fish out of water. His play dramatically changed after the coaching change, as it did for Dahlin and others. Skinner was never going to succeed in a Krueger system, just as Dahlin was never going to reach his potential under that same rigid system. A coach has to work with the players he has on hand, dealing with their strengths and weaknesses. Krueger wanted to force the players to adapt to his system instead of adapting to the specific talents of the players. That ability to adapt is what distinguishes Granato from Krueger.

Of course, Ralph was going to be loved during an winning streak, just like any coach would be. However, his body of work is deemed a failure because it is a failure. There is no other way to evaluate his tenure. The Krueger era and post Krueger era are stark contrasts. It's not too difficult to come to a judgment about his stint as a coach here.

The appeal for Kaleta was more derived from him being a Buffalo area guy and a good guy. He didn't have much talent to draw from, but he always gave maximum effort. He was a lesser version of Rob Ray. Very often nostalgia clouds the reality. I believe that he works for the Sabres in community relations. Good for him.

I'm not sure in this era that Kaleta is good enough to make the Rochester roster?

I'm confident that the GM will bring in players on defense to strengthen and add dept to that unit. The pursuit of Chycrun demonstrated that an upgrade was needed on that unit. On the other hand, I don't think that he is going to bring in another goalie unless he trades UPL for another goalie. The organization got a glimmer of what Levi is capable of, and my sense is that they are going to rely on him as their primary goalie with either Comrie and UPL as the backup.

Attached is a link of Granato's postgame comments. This is a 3 minute segment. He made some comments on Mitts. This link was taken from Sabres.com. https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/don-granato-postgame-41423/t-277822760/c-16618251

Tage is likely going to be the center for the top line. But when he got hurt and Mitts moved up it became evident that when Mitts is assigned more talented offensive finishers, he becomes so much more productive. In his short stint with the Tuch/Skinner line he stood out and thrived. The real issue is what line is Mitts going to be on? And will it be at center or wing? My preference is to keep the Quinn/Cozens/JJ line intact. Just a number of interesting issues to consider for next season.

The story you have fictitiously created about Jeff during the Krueger era is categorically wrong. On a WGR segment, Granato was asked about Skinner and his quick resurrection under him. The coach pointed out that even when Jeff was essentially exiled by the previous coach, he still assiduously worked on his game in practice. While Jeff was getting limited minutes in games, his practice habits never dropped off. This is what Granato witnessed and so stated on the radio. Your memory of the gruesome Krueger era is far from being accurate. The verbosely talented coach idiotically believed in his outdated system and forced players to play within in. Jeff as a player had attributes that would never work in the coach's restrictive system. The same stultifying system straitjacketed Dahlin, Tage and most of the other players on the roster. The coach's approach to the game and his religious devotion to his system never made sense. You work with the players that you have, including their strengths and weaknesses. It's like a baseball manager ordering his single hitter to concentrate on hitting home runs, and your bulky home run hitter to concentrate on hitting singles and stealing bases, and the basketball coach ordering his rebounder who has no shooting touch to shoot more three-point shots, and your track coach having his sprinter running the distance races and your distance runner run in the sprint races. It made absolutely no sense. The team's dismal record attested to that failure. It shouldn't be a surprise that when Granato took over, even when the wins didn't come right away, the style and level of play dramatically changed. You mentioned Jeff and going behind the dumpster to smoke. That's not the real story. The real story is that the coach metaphorically threw the player into the dumpster and set it on fire. The end of the story is that the coach is gone and relegated to the ash heap of failed coaches while the player is still playing with passion and is thriving.

As I said in another post, this coach has proven to be adept at putting lines together. Next season is going to be interesting on who they bring in and how the players are assembled. What a dramatic change in atmosphere and expectation about this team entering next season. It's really exciting. This has been such a fun season.

I do like Mitts with Tuch and Skinner. Granato has been very adept at putting players in a position to succeed. Moving Krebs to an Okposo/Girgs line demonstrated that. Granato is good at assembling lines and when needed juggling them. I have a lot of confidence in his judgment on the line composition issue.

There are so many options to consider when assembling lines next year. The issue with Tage is if he is on a Cozens line, which player plays center. I think Tage at center takes less of a pounding than at wing. On the other hand, I like Cozens as a center. I find the Quinn/Cozens/JJ line to be an emerging line. I'm not making any declarations about lines right now because I'm just not sure.

Just some thoughts after watching this game. Should the coach consider having Mitts center the first line with Skinner and Tuch? Over the last dozen games or so Mitts has been one of our best players. So many line options for the coach to consider for next season. Tuch has speed. His acceleration is tremendous. His nifty move to get away from a player he was engaged and then that quick release was impressive. It seems that Mitts and Skinner are feeding off one another. Levi played well. He had one soft goal. What is impressive about him is he is so mentally tough. When a goal is scored against him it does not affect his play. If the Sabres had the caliber of play that Levi presented in his end of season stint all season long, how many more point would the Sabres have garnered? 10-15? It's going to be interesting to see what plans the organization has for Olofsson next year. I thought he played fairly well. The Krebs goal was a bizarre play that I haven't seen before. The defender actually shot it in while entangled with Krebs. This game didn't have many heavy hits but it was a fast paced up and down game. I enjoyed it. The future is bright. What makes it even brighter is Levi. Who would have thought that when KA traded Reinhart and got Levi in return that the deal could maybe be more consequential than even the Eichel deal? I enjoyed the season. As exhibited by the end of season flourish, this team has a lot of heart and character. They never quit. I salute them.