Botterill Interview with NHL.com

[SabresBillsFan]

No matter what most you guys think. Not many quality free agents are going to be heading to Buffalo unless they overpay big time. Buffalo needs to get their ***** together real soon or their will continue to be a mass exodus of players out of Buffalo in hockey and in football. It just feels like they are a farm team for the NHL and NFL. I have been saying for years the key in Buffalo is drafting and developing since Buffalo is not on established players most wanted destinations to play in.

[klos1963]

17 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Enough with the Barry Trotz worship.  Islanders have 83 points but have been losing as of late. 2015 they had 101 pts. 2016  they had 100.  2017  they dropped to 94 and only last year fell off and ended with 80. They are not a one year turn around. They drafted well and have some good young talent and got lucky with a born again Lehner (who stunk a few nights back though). The impact of Tavares leaving was over estimated with that team and Trotz defensive game covers for the loss of offense, that's all. They aren't going to win anything this year.

You can be cynical and negative if it makes you happier, but the fact is everything JBot said in the interview is true and I am glad to hear he will be sticking to the development plan. What would sink us here is abandoning that for some sort of free agent based win now. The cap is sorted, the farm system is solid and improving, the future is bright, it's just not going to be instant.

The Islanders are much are already ahead of last seasons point total , after losing Tavares. Trotz is an excellent coach, won a cup last season.  Did anyone expect the Islanders to improve after losing their best player?

[Brawndo]

10 minutes ago, SabresBillsFan said:

No matter what most you guys think. Not many quality free agents are going to be heading to Buffalo unless they overpay big time. Buffalo needs to get their ***** together real soon or their will continue to be a mass exodus of players out of Buffalo in hockey and in football. It just feels like they are a farm team for the NHL and NFL. I have been saying for years the key in Buffalo is drafting and developing since Buffalo is not on established players most wanted destinations to play in.

With Apologies to Jeff Skinner who waived his NTC to come to Buffalo, Pittsburgh or Toronto. 

[klos1963]

17 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Enough with the Barry Trotz worship.  Islanders have 83 points but have been losing as of late. 2015 they had 101 pts. 2016  they had 100.  2017  they dropped to 94 and only last year fell off and ended with 80. They are not a one year turn around. They drafted well and have some good young talent and got lucky with a born again Lehner (who stunk a few nights back though). The impact of Tavares leaving was over estimated with that team and Trotz defensive game covers for the loss of offense, that's all. They aren't going to win anything this year.

You can be cynical and negative if it makes you happier, but the fact is everything JBot said in the interview is true and I am glad to hear he will be sticking to the development plan. What would sink us here is abandoning that for some sort of free agent based win now. The cap is sorted, the farm system is solid and improving, the future is bright, it's just not going to be instant.

I don't see how our farm system is anything special. Is there anyone really banging on the door ready to have an impact on the Sabres?

2 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

With Apologies to Jeff Skinner who waived his NTC to come to Buffalo, Pittsburgh or Toronto. 

Not a free agent at the time. I think it will be tough to attract high end free agents, doesn't mean impossible, but many more attractive options out there for players to go.

[Brawndo]

16 minutes ago, klos1963 said:

 

Not a free agent at the time. I think it will be tough to attract high end free agents, doesn't mean impossible, but many more attractive options out there for players to go.

Hence the I added waiving his NTC to come here. Skinner, with his Full NTC had as much say over which team he went to as an UFA would. 

The LA Kings also made an offer to the Canes, but Skinner refused to wave to go LA. 

Many NHLers grew up and still have family in Southern Ontario.

Okposo was considered the Number One UFA in his Class by many and he signed here. 

And as poorly as their teams have been performing on the ice, players like Moulson, Kane, and ROR mentioned how well they were treated by the Pegulas. 

Zac Dalpe who played on the 2014-15 Sabres, one the the worst teams in NHL History praised the Organization when Skinner called him to talk about waiving to come to Buffalo. 

The idea that no one will sign here because Buffalo  has been disproved many a times.

 

In terms of Football, Buffalo does have a worse rep amongst players, so there is some more truth to that. 

[klos1963]

1 minute ago, Brawndo said:

Hence the I added waiving his NTC to come here. Skinner, with his Full NTC had as much say over which team he went to as an UFA would. 

The LA Kings also made an offer to the Canes, but Skinner refused to wave to go LA. 

Many NHLers grew up and still have family in Southern Ontario.

Okposo was considered the Number One UFA in his Class by many and he signed here. 

And as poorly as their teams have been performing on the ice, players like Moulson, Kane, and ROR mentioned how well they were treated by the Pegulas. 

Zac Dalpe who played on the 2014-15 Sabres, one the the worst teams in NHL History praised the Organization when Skinner called him to talk about waiving to come to Buffalo. 

The idea that no one will sign here because Buffalo  has been disproved many a times.

 

In terms of Football, Buffalo does have a worse rep amongst players, so there is some more truth to that. 

 I think the draw of working close to home plays a big factor and that helps the Sabres. I didn't no one will sign here, I still think it's more difficult than many other cities. It is a 'hockey town' and that helps.

[Kruppstahl]

23 hours ago, jsb said:

 

You guys need to form a duet,,,, Here's a song for you, should be a hit with your ilk

"Oh Boterill had a team   EE Aay EE Aay ooooh

And on his team he had some suck  EE Aay EE Aay ooooh

With a suck suck here and a suck suck there, here a suck, there a suck everywhere a suck suck

Oh Boterill had a team   EE Aay EE Aay ooooooooooooooh"

That's what you sound like most of the time, add something to the discussion or just sit back and sing.

 

Add something to the discussion.  Like "Go Sabres!" "We can do it!" "Whose sweater are you buying in the gift shop?!"

That sort of thing?

 

 

[SDS]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

The idea of the Sabres diving big into free agency has been underplayed, IMO.

One aspect of the O'Reilly and Kane trades is how they cleared the decks for other core players to be acquired, either through trade of free agency.

We are going to have about $25 million to spend this summer, with Ullmark, McCabe, Girgensons, Larsson and Rodrigues (altogether maybe $10 million?) to replace or resign.

FYI, I'm all in on your evaluation of the team. It's definitely a sanity check against my own thoughts.

Nature abhors a vacuum. In absence of real information, fans are often too willing just let their imaginations go down the well of despair. JB has said many times - they will go after good players with term if it makes sense. Obviously, with FA - he gets to set the term.'

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the GM of the Sabres wants to win as much as the fans do. As such, I'm certain he is kicking the tires on every player that fills a need, is the right age, and can be a part of the future. (as well as signing the players needed to keep the seats warm while he searches for that better talent).

[dudacek]

I made a major error in that post. It does not account for Skinner.

Still leaves us with money to play with, but more like $5 to $10 million.

[nfreeman]

I too expect JB to take a few big swings this summer, both in trade and the UFA market.  Of course, success will largely depend on the willingness of the other side.

It sounds like if they walk away from a couple of RFAs and/or trade Risto, they will have cap room for a high-end UFA.

Holy mackerel would it be amazing if they landed Duchene (who will turn 29 next January) or Karlsson (who will turn 29 this May).

[jsb]

 

1 hour ago, nfreeman said:

I too expect JB to take a few big swings this summer, both in trade and the UFA market.  Of course, success will largely depend on the willingness of the other side.

It sounds like if they walk away from a couple of RFAs and/or trade Risto, they will have cap room for a high-end UFA.

Holy mackerel would it be amazing if they landed Duchene (who will turn 29 next January) or Karlsson (who will turn 29 this May).

We bought Okposo at 28, that didn't turn out so well considering we have 4 more full years of him. Are we really going to go that route again?? I'm not sure we want to go that way until we are really able to compete at a higher level.

[nfreeman]

1 hour ago, jsb said:

We bought Okposo at 28, that didn't turn out so well considering we have 4 more full years of him. Are we really going to go that route again?? I'm not sure we want to go that way until we are really able to compete at a higher level.

Well, expensive UFAs are certainly a risky proposition, but I don't think the KO experience means that all high-end UFAs should be avoided.  Toronto seems pretty happy with Tavares, for example.  A high-end center to supplement Jack and move Mitts down the rotation seems like it could unlock all kinds of benefits in the forward group.

[7+6=13]

On 3/6/2019 at 4:52 PM, Sabre Dance said:

JBot and the rest of the front office are trying to build the team like they're building a house.  Lay the foundation, put up the framing, then the outside sheathing, a roof, drywall, mechanicals and then paint and carpets.  That's fine, but you're not going to be moving into your new home for quite a while.  Maybe they need to try prefab. 

A prefab house goes up quicker but doesn't last as long, less quality and no customization.  

So it's get into the playoffs even though we'll never contend for a cup.  Or wait on the playoffs, so we can have a multi year run at the cup.  

Pick what you want I suppose. 

[Stoner]

32 minutes ago, 7+6=13 said:

A prefab house goes up quicker but doesn't last as long, less quality and no customization.  

So it's get into the playoffs even though we'll never contend for a cup.  Or wait on the playoffs, so we can have a multi year run at the cup.  

Pick what you want I suppose. 

This is the essence of Darcy's Suffering speech. Six years ago next month. So is the approach a good one, but it hasn't been properly executed, or is the approach flawed?

[Carmel Corn]

33 minutes ago, 7+6=13 said:

A prefab house goes up quicker but doesn't last as long, less quality and no customization.  

So it's get into the playoffs even though we'll never contend for a cup.  Or wait on the playoffs, so we can have a multi year run at the cup.  

Pick what you want I suppose. 

IMHO, A multi-year run at the cup will require a great deal of patience from all as it can only be achieved via consistent success in drafting.  Yes some trades and FA signings can fill some critical pieces, but you have to have a pipeline of young talent to challenge year after year.  Trades will sometimes come with strings attached like taking on salary dumps which can hinder your ability to sign your own RFA's worth keeping.

The question is how patience can we all be and how good is our front office in scouting and drafting?   After GMTM, I wish to avoid a repeat of a "win now" strategy.  We'll see how well that works for Columbus.

[7+6=13]

21 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

This is the essence of Darcy's Suffering speech. Six years ago next month. So is the approach a good one, but it hasn't been properly executed, or is the approach flawed?

 

When Darcy made that speech Hodgson lead our team in points with 44.  44.  For an entire year.  That team had to be gutted.  

I don't see any parallels to the speech Darcy gave and JBots message.  

[Ogre]

6 hours ago, SDS said:

FYI, I'm all in on your evaluation of the team. It's definitely a sanity check against my own thoughts.

Nature abhors a vacuum. In absence of real information, fans are often too willing just let their imaginations go down the well of despair. JB has said many times - they will go after good players with term if it makes sense. Obviously, with FA - he gets to set the term.'

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the GM of the Sabres wants to win as much as the fans do. As such, I'm certain he is kicking the tires on every player that fills a need, is the right age, and can be a part of the future. (as well as signing the players needed to keep the seats warm while he searches for that better talent).

Having grown up a QC fan I can understand why people would go there. Fan fatigue. I stuck with it through the bottom dwelling, the hometown hero signing, friggin Lindros....they turned it around on the ice after the Lindros haul, but it was never the same. The fans were fatigued. The Canadian dollar was taking a hit.....Aubut was looking for a Provincial bailout but the citizens weren’t about to subsidize millionaires, not in the state their lives were in...ironically I arrived in WNY in ‘95. I was an instant Amerk fan but tried liking the AVs....Couldn’t do it. I fell for the blue n gold... 

Love your team but don’t let it anger you to the point that you throw it away. It ain’t worth it.

[7+6=13]

IMO, we have 4 contracts between our offense and defense that we're getting more production than what we're paying.  That is an alarming thing.  

[Brawndo]

13 minutes ago, Ogre said:

Having grown up a QC fan I can understand why people would go there. Fan fatigue. I stuck with it through the bottom dwelling, the hometown hero signing, friggin Lindros....they turned it around on the ice after the Lindros haul, but it was never the same. The fans were fatigued. The Canadian dollar was taking a hit.....Aubut was looking for a Provincial bailout but the citizens weren’t about to subsidize millionaires, not in the state their lives were in...ironically I arrived in WNY in ‘95. I was an instant Amerk fan but tried liking the AVs....Couldn’t do it. I fell for the blue n gold... 

Love your team but don’t let it anger you to the point that you throw it away. It ain’t worth it.

Quebec losing their team only to have them win the Stanley Cup a year later is one of the biggest gut punches to a fan base in sports history 

[Ogre]

6 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Quebec losing their team only to have them win the Stanley Cup a year later is one of the biggest gut punches to a fan base in sports history 

Yup. That’s why I have a really hard time with the fan angst here..

[dudacek]

47 minutes ago, 7+6=13 said:

IMO, we have 4 contracts between our offense and defense that we're getting more production than what we're paying.  That is an alarming thing.  

Reinhart, Rodrigues, Dahlin and Skinner?

[PerreaultForever]

12 hours ago, klos1963 said:

I don't see how our farm system is anything special. Is there anyone really banging on the door ready to have an impact on the Sabres?

Not special (yet). They are winning though. Building a winning culture perhaps. It's all about the structure for long term growth and development. We haven't had that for a long time and I think we finally do. JBot can't draft and sign everybody instantly. These things take time when you start at the bottom with an empty cupboard. 

[Jacque Richard]

Time is on your side. And the  Fan base gets more frustrated waiting for a competitive team.

[TrueBlueGED]

Your semi-regular reminder that Duchene's reputation is better than his game. I'll hate the world if we give him a gigantic contract. 

[Brawndo]

3 minutes ago, TrueBlueGED said:

Your semi-regular reminder that Duchene's reputation is better than his game. I'll hate the world if we give him a gigantic contract. 

The Sabres giving Contracts to Jeff Skinner and Matt Duchene in the same season might make True’s Head Explode