Carmel Corn

So this tells me Panarin is staying put and that Columbus is "all-in" for winning this year. If Columbus resigns him, it will cost an extra R1 pick....steep price. So if GMJB could get an offer of two R1 picks for Jeff Skinner, does he take it and hope we resign him in the summer?

Aside from a Skinner deal, I would guess that GMJB would not want to fall into trap of another Kyle Okposo FA signing scenario with a long term commitment. So don't expect a big name FA rental signing on Monday. If he were to make such a move, it would not be until after the next CBA, where ownership is hoping to cap the length of term to something much more reasonable (ex. maybe 5 years vs. 8 years).

Good showing last night...definitely some positives. That being said, what I'd like to see is a consistent continuation of last night going forward. Too much "two steps forward, one step back" lately. The Florida game was almost 3 games in one....first period was pure lack of interest and fire. Second period was fantastic...even had a lead going into the third. Third period was a complete collapse. Last night was strong game (except maybe the 3-on-3 part). The question is whether this team can avoid the Jekyll and Hyde personality.

I've wondered this before....but it seems like the Sabres never practice 3 on 3 hockey.

Thanks and I sincerely appreciate your checking back. We are definitely good to go....ready for the next topic :) I remember watching the 2012 draft...In all fairness to management, the draft "experts" all seemed to think Grigorenko was a slam dunk....big, skilled and a perfect fit for a team like Buffalo needing centers at the time. People would have been shocked if we did not take him. Soon afterwards, along came Girgensons. My recollection there was that those same experts thought of Zemgus as a real 'warrior' who would play hurt and still give max effort. Every year optimism is high after the draft that we have some real gems that will blossom into future studs. Unfortunately, that optimism fades and here we are again talking about players we should have taken....ah yes, hindsight is 20-20 vision!

That wasn't me claiming that :)

I really don't get your point. The point I am trying to make is fairly simple....our draft history has not produced an abundance of successful/impactful players (whatever rounds). If you want to defend the Sabres 'stellar' draft effectiveness by saying we are no worse than other teams, then be my guest and good luck with that! IMHO we are living with the result of being too cheap with our scouting resources and relying too much on video, etc.

Anybody interested in a scenario where they do a surprise trade (rental) to get more picks/prospects and then resign him in the summer? They may lose the ability for an 8 year deal though. Lot of risk with this, but then again how much leverage do we really have if we don't move him....we may still lose him anyway.

Beaulieu will be gone. I would have liked to have seen more of him this year....felt like he was part of the solution vs. part of the problem. Otherwise....they'll "stay the course"

You make a good "Point" there! (Sorry)

Risto is the closest thing we have to spine on this team. Everybody else avoids from it to the point they'll pull a muscle just to miss having any contact.

That was a butt-ugly game....more 'bricks' than the great wall of China last night.

Ha! One might be able to argue that the league should have put up the safety netting behind the zones a few years earlier than they did.....due to Z's tendency to shoot just a little bit high. Come to think of it, he could have been the prototype for a hockey "launch angle" analysis like they do in golf.

My memory of Z could be failing me, but I think Risto has a little more offensive upside as well.

Too soon to judge for me. He has played more than I might have expected. He has certainly made some rookie mistakes as well. I wish his shot was a bit stronger, but that will get better. In his defense, he has been constantly subjected to playing with different defense partners, which is a general complaint I have with the coaching staff. I would also like to see him on the left side more.

So no Bob Corkum to the rescue?

I don't see it that way....people have been suggesting this for quite a while now. It's not an Olof Pilar thread.

Not deflecting at all....my point is that we drafted poorly and that is a key reason we are where we are.

OK, let's do this. Here is the history of our R3 - R7 Picks since 2010. How many of these picks have played for the Sabres and how much impact have they made? I would argue that our drafting history since 2010 has been poor by any measure. The vast majority have played "0" games in the NHL. This is not cherry-picking. 2010 3 68 Jerome Gauthier-Leduc Canada D 0 2010 3 75 Kevin Sundher Canada C 0 2010 3 83 Matt MacKenzie Canada D 0 2010 4 98 Steven Shipley Canada C 0 2010 5 143 Greg Sutch Canada RW 0 2010 6 173 Cedrick Henley Canada LW 0 2010 7 203 Christian Isackson United States RW 0 2010 7 208 Riley Boychuk Canada LW 0 2011 3 77 Daniel Catenacci Canada C 11 0 0 0 0 2011 4 107 Colin Jacobs United States C 0 2011 5 137 Alex Lepkowski United States D 0 2011 6 167 Nathan Lieuwen Canada G 7 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 .906 2011 7 197 Brad Navin United States C 0 2012 3 73 Justin Kea Canada C 0 2012 5 133 Logan Nelson United States C 0 2012 6 163 Linus Ullmark Sweden G 26 0 0 0 0 9 13 0 2 .917 2012 7 193 Brady Austin Canada D 5 0 0 0 4 2012 7 204 Judd Peterson United States C 0 2013 3 69 Nicholas Baptiste Canada RW 47 7 3 10 20 2013 5 129 Calvin Petersen United States G 0 2013 5 130 Gustav Possler Sweden RW 0 2013 5 143 Anthony Florentino United States D 0 2013 6 159 Sean Malone United States C 1 0 0 0 0 2013 7 189 Eric Locke United States C 0 2014 3 61 Jonas Johansson Sweden G 0 2014 3 74 Brycen Martin Canada D 0 2014 5 121 Maxwell Willman United States C 0 2014 6 151 Christopher Brown United States C 0 2014 7 181 Victor Olofsson Sweden RW 0 2015 4 92 William Borgen United States D 0 2015 5 122 Devante Stephens Canada D 0 2015 6 152 Giorgio Estephan Canada C 0 2015 7 182 Ivan Chukarov United States D 0 2016 3 69 Cliff Pu Canada C 0 2016 3 86 Casey Fitzgerald United States D 0 2016 4 99 Brett Murray Canada LW 0 2016 5 129 Philip Nyberg Sweden D 0 2016 5 130 Vojtech Budik Czech Republic D 0 2016 6 159 Brandon Hagel Canada LW 0 2016 7 189 Austin Osmanski United States D 0 2016 7 190 Vasily Glotov Russia C 0 2017 3 89 Oskari Laaksonen Finland D 0 2017 4 99 Jacob Bryson Canada D 0 2017 7 192 Linus Weissbach Sweden LW 0 2018 4 94 Matej Pekar Czech Republic C 2018 4 117 Linus Lindstrom Cronholm Sweden D 2018 5 125 Miska Kukkonen Finland D 2018 7 187 William Worge Kreu Sweden D

Let's look at the R1 and R2 picks each year since 2010. Are we happy with the results? 2010 1 23 Mark Pysyk 2011 1 16 Joel Armia Finland RW 180 26 32 58 54 2012 1 12 Mikhail Grigorenko Russia C 217 22 42 64 30 2012 1 14 Zemgus Girgensons ₪ Latvia C 348 44 57 101 103 2012 2 44 Jake McCabe United States D 215 10 37 47 118 2013 1 8 Rasmus Ristolainen Finland D 346 31 120 151 171 2013 1 16 Nikita Zadorov Russia D 222 11 37 48 243 2013 2 35 J.T. Compher United States C 90 16 12 28 24 2013 2 38 Connor Hurley United States C 0 2013 2 52 Justin Bailey United States RW 52 5 3 8 8 2014 1 2 Sam Reinhart Canada C 249 65 75 140 44 2014 2 31 Brendan Lemieux Canada LW 9 1 0 1 21 2014 2 44 Eric Cornel Canada C 0 2014 2 49 Vaclav Karabacek Czech Republic RW 0 2015 1 2 Jack Eichel United States C 209 73 104 177 76 2015 2 51 Brendan Guhle Canada D 21 0 5 5 10 2016 1 8 Alexander Nylander Sweden LW 7 1 1 2 0 2016 2 33 Rasmus Asplund Sweden C 0 2017 1 8 Casey Mittelstadt United States C 6 1 4 5 2 2017 2 37 Marcus Davidsson Sweden C 0 2017 2 54 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 2018 1 1 Rasmus Dahlin 2018 2 32 Mattias Samuelsson

My take....he has played on a bad TEAM his entire career (vs. him being a bad defenseman). Being asked to be too much when he may be more suited to a number 3 or 4 guy vs. top 2. "But that is easily replaced if we want to"....my response to that is "Easier said than done"

Tough challenge indeed for this current squad. I always felt there needs to be a 'critical mass' of new vs. old thinking in order to change the old thinking. It's not done with just one player or even a new captain. Also, it is a rather awkward situation in that our anointed captain is maybe not the ideal person to lead the 'unlearning' process. Change can maybe start with one person, but it will quickly die unless others visibly buy-in and infect the others with the same attitude.

Risto brings something that 'analytics' fail to capture. Let's refer to it as the 'macho' factor. With Risto, our score is maybe 2.0 out out 10.0. If we trade him away, we go down to -1.0. He is the only reason why other teams do not confuse the Sabres with the Buffalo Beauts.

Nice 2nd....hope to see that same version of the team in the 3rd!

Don't get too attached....he may be somewhere else by this time next week.