GDT: Wild at Sabres 7PM 11-22-2017, MSG

[Thorner]

Offense starts in the defensive zone. The least bit of pressure and the breakout collapses.

Good point. But I've seen enough of the offense being terrible to know they just aren't very good, either.

[hockeyhound]

We all know first hand that this statement is untrue.

 

:lol:

 

:beer: Stayin Positive 

[Thorner]

Jordan Nolan has more two goal games than Jack this year. Nolan also equalled Jack's career high for goals in a game, today.

Edited November 23, 2017 by Thorny

[Claude Balls]

Housley's post game was bad. Seems the Pegulas have two head coaches that have no clue what their locker rooms are like. Nolan pretty much summed it up himself. And Phil has no clue what or how the players feel about each other? Sounds like OBD has the same issues.

[3putt]

It’s so sad when you see a loved one so lost and are completely helpless to lead them home.

Put a candle in the window....

[GASabresIUFAN]

Whenever we hire a new GM everyone automatically assumes he will be better than the last GM. At this point I see no evidence that Jason Botterill is an upgrade over Murray. Just about every guy he signed is terrible thus far. We shall see....

What key player did Jbot sign? Last I looked Pouliot was his biggest FA and he has been good. He acquired Scandella who is our top D and Pommers who is playing on our top line in trade and they have been fine. The rest were depth players like Josefson, Tennyson, Antipin (a TM recruit), Nolan, Baloo and a backup goalie. Not exactly a list of 1st and 2nd line players.

 

The dead weight on this roster are all still TM acquisitions, such as Gorges, Moulson, KO, and Bogo. How are they Jbot’s fault?

 

Jbot and his AGM Sexton look like they turned around Roch pretty quickly despite having a very limited supply of quality Sabres draftees to play there. Ullmark, Guhle, Malone, Cornell, Fasching, Bailey, Baptiste and Nylander are the only draftees on Roch. That’s only 8 players of a 23+ man roster of what is supposed to be a developmental league.

[Cityo'Rasmii]

The absence of Risto coupled with the softness of our D in general really exposes the terrible goaltending sad to say. . .

 

My take is that Pouliot and Scandella are playing like they want to be here. . . I want Gus here but geeesh he can't hang onto the puck at all

 

Meanwhile, I have my beer goggles

Edited November 23, 2017 by tfighter

[PromoTheRobot]

Equaled out by softies at the other end.

Just speed watched the game. Not exactly a goaltending clinic for either side.

[Iron Crotch]

What key player did Jbot sign? Last I looked Pouliot was his biggest FA and he has been good. He acquired Scandella who is our top D and Pommers who is playing on our top line in trade and they have been fine. The rest were depth players like Josefson, Tennyson, Antipin (a TM recruit), Nolan, Baloo and a backup goalie. Not exactly a list of 1st and 2nd line players.

 

The dead weight on this roster are all still TM acquisitions, such as Gorges, Moulson, KO, and Bogo. How are they Jbot’s fault?

 

Jbot and his AGM Sexton look like they turned around Roch pretty quickly despite having a very limited supply of quality Sabres draftees to play there. Ullmark, Guhle, Malone, Cornell, Fasching, Bailey, Baptiste and Nylander are the only draftees on Roch. That’s only 8 players of a 23+ man roster of what is supposed to be a developmental league.

 

It's his job to sign guys who make the team better, not just a bunch of "depth players" who are all basically just bodies skating around and earning a paycheck. Scandella is a cast off from the Wild - he wasn't going to be in their top-4, yet he is our big acquisition. The Habs couldn't wait to get rid of Beaulieu. Pouliot has played for half the teams in the league for a reason. Nolan was a waiver wire pickup. Antipin is a marginal KHL prospect (I do like his progression thus far). Zach Redmond for Deslauriers? Josefson? Griffith? ...what has he done to make the team better? I get that the awful pipeline in the organization isn't his fault and a couple of bad contracts (e.g., MattyMo) aren't his fault. But, jobs are on the line and GMs don't have unlimited timelines these days. I'm not sure he can afford to go with a "5 year plan" given this team has been terrible for years now and the fans aren't buying the "we need to be bad before getting good" story any more.

[Kruppstahl]

http://www.wgr550.com/media/audio-channel/11-22-paul-hamiltons-thoughts-wild-sabresmp3

[Huckleberry]

http://www.wgr550.com/media/audio-channel/11-22-paul-hamiltons-thoughts-wild-sabresmp3

 

Was thinking over the summer we could use a coach like Tortorella :p

[Huckleberry]

You can say about Samson what you want, but he is good when he gets into the dirty areas.

In 10 years of watching the sabres i don't think I have ever seen any player so good at redirecting pucks.

[Sabre fan]

Okposo is horrible. He is dangerously close to Moulson and Leino territory. What a waste. Used to be a natural goal scorer. That’s ALL gone.

over in the "trade Jack" posting I stated we should trade him for John Tavares becuase he (Tavares) makes anyone he plays with look great, as in Moulson and Okposo. Jack, on the otherhand, needs great linemates to look good. Two totally different players, and I think tavares is amazing at making linemates look far better then they are. I also think leino was made to look better when playing with Phiily's top center Giroux. he (Giroux) also makes other players look better.

Edited November 23, 2017 by Sabre fan

[Stoner]

Kind of a delayed reaction... but no one seemed to question Jordan Nolan when he said players need to be challenged when they screw up. He said it almost as an outside observer. He is on the team, you know. Why doesn't he say something? Is there some kind of pecking order? Can Larsson get in Eichel's face? Can Tennyson challenge ROR? Not for nothing, that TV shot of the Sabres entering the ice always shows Eichel as the caboose in the line, or maybe second to last. He's the alpha dog, in reverse. I imagine you get in his face at your peril. Ask HAFSSHCDDB.

[Weave]

Kind of a delayed reaction... but no one seemed to question Jordan Nolan when he said players need to be challenged when they screw up. He said it almost as an outside observer. He is on the team, you know. Why doesn't he say something? Is there some kind of pecking order? Can Larsson get in Eichel's face? Can Tennyson challenge ROR? Not for nothing, that TV shot of the Sabres entering the ice always shows Eichel as the caboose in the line, or maybe second to last. He's the alpha dog, in reverse. I imagine you get in his face at your peril. Ask HAFSSHCDDB.

 

Or Gionta.

 

I think our biggest problem is Jack, that big contract, and the fact that we tanked to get him has made him untouchable.  And he plays like it most of the time.

[ubkev]

Kind of a delayed reaction... but no one seemed to question Jordan Nolan when he said players need to be challenged when they screw up. He said it almost as an outside observer. He is on the team, you know. Why doesn't he say something? Is there some kind of pecking order? Can Larsson get in Eichel's face? Can Tennyson challenge ROR? Not for nothing, that TV shot of the Sabres entering the ice always shows Eichel as the caboose in the line, or maybe second to last. He's the alpha dog, in reverse. I imagine you get in his face at your peril. Ask HAFSSHCDDB.

Well, I can certainly tell you not going to get in anyone's face, ever. That's ROR. If I hear one more sad ass clip of him saying "I've got to do better." I may just snap. Shut the up, Ryan! Just shut the up you wimp! Grow a set and lead or tell the media that you, a grown ass man are a coward who lacks what it takes to lead.

 

Bunch of freaking Nancy boys.

[GASabresIUFAN]

It's his job to sign guys who make the team better, not just a bunch of "depth players" who are all basically just bodies skating around and earning a paycheck. Scandella is a cast off from the Wild - he wasn't going to be in their top-4, yet he is our big acquisition. The Habs couldn't wait to get rid of Beaulieu. Pouliot has played for half the teams in the league for a reason. Nolan was a waiver wire pickup. Antipin is a marginal KHL prospect (I do like his progression thus far). Zach Redmond for Deslauriers? Josefson? Griffith? ...what has he done to make the team better? I get that the awful pipeline in the organization isn't his fault and a couple of bad contracts (e.g., MattyMo) aren't his fault. But, jobs are on the line and GMs don't have unlimited timelines these days. I'm not sure he can afford to go with a "5 year plan" given this team has been terrible for years now and the fans aren't buying the "we need to be bad before getting good" story any more.

TM took us down the road of big time acquisitions and this is how we got in this mess in the first place. The new GM walked into a terrible situation and has only begun re-tooling the roster. Because of TM’s bad acquisitions and the large contracts that came with them, Jbot had limited cap space to maneuver with. Kane, Moulson, Ko, ROR, Risto, Gorges, and Ennis were all here when he was hired and they represented about 38 mill of our cap, leaving about 37 mill to pay another 16 players. (Or about $2 mill per player) At that number all we could afford, especially after retaining Lehner and the Ennis trade were depth players.

 

He did great getting rid of Ennis’ deal and turning him into Scandella and Pommers, but that move also eat into our cap. Retaining Lehner, who like it or not, earned a new deal last season with his good play, but Jbot smartly kept to a one year deal, also eat into our cap. In addition, at least on paper, our top six forwards looked decent to good last year. ROR, Jack, KO, Sam and Kane all had decent to very good seasons. So given all that, where did you want Jbot to retool?

 

The defense was his first priority.

1) He acquired Scandella, who was only traded because they had young cheaper player in Brodin read to take on Scandella’s role. This is what happens in a cap world. That doesn’t mean Scandella isn’t a top four D.

2) We all like Antipin, but he was not acquired to be a top pairing guy. He was also a TM recruit, who Jbot agrred to keep.

3) Baloo has been a disappointment, but a 3rd rd pick for a former 1st rd pick who at only 24 had a 20+ season from the blueline was a risk worth taking. He also wasn’t acquired to play top line minutes.

 

Remember he already had McCabe, Risto and Bogo (plus Gorges and Falk also under contract) here when he got here. All three under contract and proven NHL players who should have worked under Houlsey’s system. However with Bogo yet to play, Risto out also and McCabe logging bigger minutes then intended, it’s no wonder the D and therefore the team is in disarray.

 

I would have loved to see him acquire a another top D, but what asset did we have to acquire said player without future destroying our pipeline? Jbot is no fool. He knows we don’t have enough depth, but the only way to develop that depth longterm is to draft and develop it in the AHL. This is the course he has taken. It’s why Ullmark and Guhle are still in Rochester. It’s why Asplund, Pu and Mittelstadt will play in Rochester next season.

 

Rome wasn’t built in a day. If Jbot wants to fix this properly he is going to take 3 years, slowly clear out TM’s failed acquisitions and let the kids develop correctly. Will it work? I’m not sure, but this is the only course left to us. Our pipeline is still missing enough D and our current AHL forward prospects don’t look like NHL players with the exception of Smith. I reserve judgement on Nylander until he plays 10-15 games.

Edited November 23, 2017 by GASabresIUFAN

[Gramps]

Hard to hold guys accountable when most likely you are not doing your own job. Time for Housley to healthy scratch a few of them and skate their arses off to see if that works. Although it probably won't as the main problem is the lack of motivated talent on this team with the exception of Kane. Combine mediocre goaltending with a below average defense and there you have it. And a college kid soon to be making $10mil who seems to think he's above playing hard every shift. At least Nolan has work ethic. 

Edited November 23, 2017 by gramps

[Iron Crotch]

TM took us down the road of big time acquisitions and this is how we got in this mess in the first place. The new GM walked into a terrible situation and has only begun re-tooling the roster. Because of TM’s bad acquisitions and the large contracts that came with them, Jbot had limited cap space to maneuver with. Kane, Moulson, Ko, ROR, Risto, Gorges, and Ennis were all here when he was hired and they represented about 38 mill of our cap, leaving about 37 mill to pay another 16 players. (Or about $2 mill per player) At that number all we could afford, especially after retaining Lehner and the Ennis trade were depth players.

 

He did great getting rid of Ennis’ deal and turning him into Scandella and Pommers, but that move also eat into our cap. Retaining Lehner, who like it or not, earned a new deal last season with his good play, but Jbot smartly kept to a one year deal, also eat into our cap. In addition, at least on paper, our top six forwards looked decent to good last year. ROR, Jack, KO, Sam and Kane all had decent to very good seasons. So given all that, where did you want Jbot to retool?

 

The defense was his first priority.

1) He acquired Scandella, who was only traded because they had young cheaper player in Brodin read to take on Scandella’s role. This is what happens in a cap world. That doesn’t mean Scandella isn’t a top four D.

2) We all like Antipin, but he was not acquired to be a top pairing guy. He was also a TM recruit, who Jbot agrred to keep.

3) Baloo has been a disappointment, but a 3rd rd pick for a former 1st rd pick who at only 24 had a 20+ season from the blueline was a risk worth taking. He also wasn’t acquired to play top line minutes.

 

Remember he already had McCabe, Risto and Bogo (plus Gorges and Falk also under contract) here when he got here. All three under contract and proven NHL players who should have worked under Houlsey’s system. However with Bogo yet to play, Risto out also and McCabe logging bigger minutes then intended, it’s no wonder the D and therefore the team is in disarray.

 

I would have loved to see him acquire a another top D, but what asset did we have to acquire said player without future destroying our pipeline? Jbot is no fool. He knows we don’t have enough depth, but the only way to develop that depth longterm is to draft and develop it in the AHL. This is the course he has taken. It’s why Ullmark and Guhle are still in Rochester. It’s why Asplund, Pu and Mittelstadt will play in Rochester next season.

 

Rome wasn’t built in a day. If Jbot wants to fix this properly he is going to take 3 years, slowly clear out TM’s failed acquisitions and let the kids develop correctly. Will it work? I’m not sure, but this is the only course left to us. Our pipeline is still missing enough D and our current AHL forward prospects don’t look like NHL players with the exception of Smith. I reserve judgement on Nylander until he plays 10-15 games.

 

It's convenient to blame the past GM, certainly most of the players are hold-overs, but has Botterill acquired anyone who has helped or looks like they will help this team? Maybe Antipin... maybe. Possibly Scandella for a couple of years?

 

...from what I'm seeing, the team is noticeably worse this year and it looks to me like the guys we removed from the roster (Gionta, Foligno, Ennis, etc.) brought more than the guys we added. Botterill added salary by acquiring Pommer and Scandela (combined almost $10 million). All other acquisitions are basically terrible players. Not a one of them has helped this team thus far. We have one guy who scores goals (Kane) and he'll be gone soon. Then what? Again, I just don't see the fans wanting to sit around for another "tear down" and take years to rebuild type of situation. Murray didn't draft worth a crap and squandered assets... but he also acquired the few decent forwards we have on this roster. Botterill needs to figure out a way to get some difference makers either by winning a trade or two or via free agency in the summer... I honestly don't think he will keep his job long enough to see it through if his goal is to try to rebuild via the draft. I think the fans are too restless for that give our history over the past several years.

[Huckleberry]

Well canadiens fans did warn us about Beaulieu , he blacks out a couple of times a game and does something incredibly stupid.

Especially if he tries something fancy.

[Taro T]

TM took us down the road of big time acquisitions and this is how we got in this mess in the first place. The new GM walked into a terrible situation and has only begun re-tooling the roster. Because of TM’s bad acquisitions and the large contracts that came with them, Jbot had limited cap space to maneuver with. Kane, Moulson, Ko, ROR, Risto, Gorges, and Ennis were all here when he was hired and they represented about 38 mill of our cap, leaving about 37 mill to pay another 16 players. (Or about $2 mill per player) At that number all we could afford, especially after retaining Lehner and the Ennis trade were depth players.

He did great getting rid of Ennis’ deal and turning him into Scandella and Pommers, but that move also eat into our cap. Retaining Lehner, who like it or not, earned a new deal last season with his good play, but Jbot smartly kept to a one year deal, also eat into our cap. In addition, at least on paper, our top six forwards looked decent to good last year. ROR, Jack, KO, Sam and Kane all had decent to very good seasons. So given all that, where did you want Jbot to retool?

The defense was his first priority.

1) He acquired Scandella, who was only traded because they had young cheaper player in Brodin read to take on Scandella’s role. This is what happens in a cap world. That doesn’t mean Scandella isn’t a top four D.

2) We all like Antipin, but he was not acquired to be a top pairing guy. He was also a TM recruit, who Jbot agrred to keep.

3) Baloo has been a disappointment, but a 3rd rd pick for a former 1st rd pick who at only 24 had a 20+ season from the blueline was a risk worth taking. He also wasn’t acquired to play top line minutes.

Remember he already had McCabe, Risto and Bogo (plus Gorges and Falk also under contract) here when he got here. All three under contract and proven NHL players who should have worked under Houlsey’s system. However with Bogo yet to play, Risto out also and McCabe logging bigger minutes then intended, it’s no wonder the D and therefore the team is in disarray.

I would have loved to see him acquire a another top D, but what asset did we have to acquire said player without future destroying our pipeline? Jbot is no fool. He knows we don’t have enough depth, but the only way to develop that depth longterm is to draft and develop it in the AHL. This is the course he has taken. It’s why Ullmark and Guhle are still in Rochester. It’s why Asplund, Pu and Mittelstadt will play in Rochester next season.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. If Jbot wants to fix this properly he is going to take 3 years, slowly clear out TM’s failed acquisitions and let the kids develop correctly. Will it work? I’m not sure, but this is the only course left to us. Our pipeline is still missing enough D and our current AHL forward prospects don’t look like NHL players with the exception of Smith. I reserve judgement on Nylander until he plays 10-15 games.

The D absolutely was the priority & due to injury it's been a tire fire. Bogosian, who when healthy is the 3rd best D-man, has yet to take a shift. Scandella, who is tbe 2nd best (arguably 1st), started the year on the 3rd pair recovering from the hip. And Ristolainen, who's never had injury issues, has now missed 10 games w/ no immediate return in sight.

 

Housley did not trust Antipin early, but he's now gaining trust playing on the 2nd pairing and playing at the end when a goal (as is always necessary w/ this team) is necessary at the end.

 

If they ever get healthy & can put Risto-Marco; McCabe-Bogo, & Antipin-Falk out, they finally have an NHL-caliber D-corp. Not expecting that until after Christmas at the earliest. Get at least 5 of those guys out there & this team will play at a playoff qualifying pace. Sadly, they will already have been 10-15 points back of a playoff pace by then.

 

But they NEED to have Bogosian gone & replaced next season or they'll be in the same situation w/ the D. Ideally Antipin would be ready for 2nd pairing & Guhle 3rd, but that partner for McCabe for next season will likely have to be brought into the system. Still hating that they didn't take either Chychrun or Sergachev.

[Claude Balls]

Well, I can certainly tell you not going to get in anyone's face, ever. That's ROR. If I hear one more sad ass clip of him saying "I've got to do better." I may just ###### snap. Shut the ###### up, Ryan! Just shut the ###### up you ###### wimp! Grow a set and lead or tell the media that you, a grown ass man are a ###### coward who lacks what it takes to lead.

Bunch of freaking Nancy boys.

Yeah, I'm thinking ROR is a little bitch. He praises his body with yoga and all that BS, but I think it's gotten to his mind. He sucks, and to think I thought he deserved a C? Wtf!!! This team is a circus. The smaller the car is, the more clowns come out. Wtf TP?? He has been mighty quiet lately.

[nfreeman]

TM took us down the road of big time acquisitions and this is how we got in this mess in the first place. The new GM walked into a terrible situation and has only begun re-tooling the roster. Because of TM’s bad acquisitions and the large contracts that came with them, Jbot had limited cap space to maneuver with. Kane, Moulson, Ko, ROR, Risto, Gorges, and Ennis were all here when he was hired and they represented about 38 mill of our cap, leaving about 37 mill to pay another 16 players. (Or about $2 mill per player) At that number all we could afford, especially after retaining Lehner and the Ennis trade were depth players.

 

He did great getting rid of Ennis’ deal and turning him into Scandella and Pommers, but that move also eat into our cap. Retaining Lehner, who like it or not, earned a new deal last season with his good play, but Jbot smartly kept to a one year deal, also eat into our cap. In addition, at least on paper, our top six forwards looked decent to good last year. ROR, Jack, KO, Sam and Kane all had decent to very good seasons. So given all that, where did you want Jbot to retool?

 

The defense was his first priority.

1) He acquired Scandella, who was only traded because they had young cheaper player in Brodin read to take on Scandella’s role. This is what happens in a cap world. That doesn’t mean Scandella isn’t a top four D.

2) We all like Antipin, but he was not acquired to be a top pairing guy. He was also a TM recruit, who Jbot agrred to keep.

3) Baloo has been a disappointment, but a 3rd rd pick for a former 1st rd pick who at only 24 had a 20+ season from the blueline was a risk worth taking. He also wasn’t acquired to play top line minutes.

 

Remember he already had McCabe, Risto and Bogo (plus Gorges and Falk also under contract) here when he got here. All three under contract and proven NHL players who should have worked under Houlsey’s system. However with Bogo yet to play, Risto out also and McCabe logging bigger minutes then intended, it’s no wonder the D and therefore the team is in disarray.

 

I would have loved to see him acquire a another top D, but what asset did we have to acquire said player without future destroying our pipeline? Jbot is no fool. He knows we don’t have enough depth, but the only way to develop that depth longterm is to draft and develop it in the AHL. This is the course he has taken. It’s why Ullmark and Guhle are still in Rochester. It’s why Asplund, Pu and Mittelstadt will play in Rochester next season.

 

Rome wasn’t built in a day. If Jbot wants to fix this properly he is going to take 3 years, slowly clear out TM’s failed acquisitions and let the kids develop correctly. Will it work? I’m not sure, but this is the only course left to us. Our pipeline is still missing enough D and our current AHL forward prospects don’t look like NHL players with the exception of Smith. I reserve judgement on Nylander until he plays 10-15 games.

 

Excellent post.

 

 

It's convenient to blame the past GM, certainly most of the players are hold-overs, but has Botterill acquired anyone who has helped or looks like they will help this team? Maybe Antipin... maybe. Possibly Scandella for a couple of years?

 

...from what I'm seeing, the team is noticeably worse this year and it looks to me like the guys we removed from the roster (Gionta, Foligno, Ennis, etc.) brought more than the guys we added. Botterill added salary by acquiring Pommer and Scandela (combined almost $10 million). All other acquisitions are basically terrible players. Not a one of them has helped this team thus far. We have one guy who scores goals (Kane) and he'll be gone soon. Then what? Again, I just don't see the fans wanting to sit around for another "tear down" and take years to rebuild type of situation. Murray didn't draft worth a crap and squandered assets... but he also acquired the few decent forwards we have on this roster. Botterill needs to figure out a way to get some difference makers either by winning a trade or two or via free agency in the summer... I honestly don't think he will keep his job long enough to see it through if his goal is to try to rebuild via the draft. I think the fans are too restless for that give our history over the past several years.

 

I agree that Botteril can't just embark on a 5-year rebuild solely through the draft, but I doubt that is the entire plan. 

 

I also think you are underrating Scandella -- I think he's a top-3 defenseman here for the next 5-7 years.

 

 

 

The D absolutely was the priority & due to injury it's been a tire fire. Bogosian, who when healthy is the 3rd best D-man, has yet to take a shift. Scandella, who is tbe 2nd best (arguably 1st), started the year on the 3rd pair recovering from the hip. And Ristolainen, who's never had injury issues, has now missed 10 games w/ no immediate return in sight.

 

Housley did not trust Antipin early, but he's now gaining trust playing on the 2nd pairing and playing at the end when a goal (as is always necessary w/ this team) is necessary at the end.

 

If they ever get healthy & can put Risto-Marco; McCabe-Bogo, & Antipin-Falk out, they finally have an NHL-caliber D-corp. Not expecting that until after Christmas at the earliest. Get at least 5 of those guys out there & this team will play at a playoff qualifying pace. Sadly, they will already have been 10-15 points back of a playoff pace by then.

 

But they NEED to have Bogosian gone & replaced next season or they'll be in the same situation w/ the D. Ideally Antipin would be ready for 2nd pairing & Guhle 3rd, but that partner for McCabe for next season will likely have to be brought into the system. Still hating that they didn't take either Chychrun or Sergachev.

 

 

Another very good post.

[Thorner]

The D absolutely was the priority & due to injury it's been a tire fire. Bogosian, who when healthy is the 3rd best D-man, has yet to take a shift. Scandella, who is tbe 2nd best (arguably 1st), started the year on the 3rd pair recovering from the hip. And Ristolainen, who's never had injury issues, has now missed 10 games w/ no immediate return in sight.

Housley did not trust Antipin early, but he's now gaining trust playing on the 2nd pairing and playing at the end when a goal (as is always necessary w/ this team) is necessary at the end.

If they ever get healthy & can put Risto-Marco; McCabe-Bogo, & Antipin-Falk out, they finally have an NHL-caliber D-corp. Not expecting that until after Christmas at the earliest. Get at least 5 of those guys out there & this team will play at a playoff qualifying pace. Sadly, they will already have been 10-15 points back of a playoff pace by then.

But they NEED to have Bogosian gone & replaced next season or they'll be in the same situation w/ the D. Ideally Antipin would be ready for 2nd pairing & Guhle 3rd, but that partner for McCabe for next season will likely have to be brought into the system. Still hating that they didn't take either Chychrun or Sergachev.

The bolded is SO key.