Official Don Granato Named New Sabres Head Coach

[NAF]

8 hours ago, Eleven said:

There was no downside to the Hall acquisition.  The problem was the trade.  Adams was had.  

I don't really blame Adams for the trade -- Hall sucked and tanked his value, then utilized his NMC and made executing a trade beneficial to the Sabres near impossible. I like Bjork and think Bjork and a second is a decent return concerning the circumstances.

[Pimlach]

Hall showed us exactly who he is.  Ten years later and he is still is not a guy you can build around. 
 

He is a role player.  
 

 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

2 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Hall showed us exactly who he is.  Ten years later and he is still is not a guy you can build around. 
 

He is a role player.  
 

 

Which is what he was brought here to be.  It just turned into a terrible situation all round.

[Thorner]

On 7/2/2021 at 1:42 PM, Doohickie said:

The biggest disappointment to me arising from JBot/Krueger era won't be losing Eichel, it will be losing Reino.  I like to think that somehow KA will figure out how to keep both but I'm prepared for them to be gone.  If I could keep only one at this point though, it would be Samson.

I'd definitely choose Eichel because he's so much better, but I'd take either

[Pimlach]

3 hours ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Which is what he was brought here to be.  It just turned into a terrible situation all round.

Note to KA.  Dont’t pay role players $8m.  Pay that to your fixtures, your leaders, to the players that care.  

[kas23]

53 minutes ago, Let's Go B-Lo said:

At 8m a year you aren't a role player, you need to be a main cog.

Unless your name is Skinner…

[Thorner]

46 minutes ago, Let's Go B-Lo said:

That's why you don't give him that contract. It was stupid when they did it and it's even worse now.

And that was Terry's idea. 

Who does not meddle. 

[JohnC]

9 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Hall showed us exactly who he is.  Ten years later and he is still is not a guy you can build around. 
 

He is a role player.  
 

 

Hall was brought in on a one year deal. The organization was aware of the complementary role that he was expected to play. He was brought in to play on a line with Jack. Jack got hurt and Hall kept missing the opportunities he had on a line with Jack and not with Jack. Needless to say the Hall acquisition didn't work out. However, it wasn't a crazy or unreasonable pickup. It was a one year tryout deal that if it didn't work out each of the parties could walk away from each other. 

A lot of people are critical of Hall's NMC in his contract. I'm not one of them. If the Sabres were not willing to accept the clause he wouldn't have signed with us. He ended up being traded to Boston where he played with better players. It shouldn't be much of a surprise that in a better environment he ended up playing well. Maybe without the NMC the Sabres could have gotten more in a trade but the return we did get for him was more than a decent return for a player who was going to be an UFA. (I do like Bjork.) 

There is a lesson to be learned here. The best way to get production from any player who is currently on the roster or added to it is to build up the supporting cast. There are no quick fixes or shortcuts. The more talent that is added to the roster the greater probability that the other players will be more productive. If this organization wouldn't have been so atrociously inept in roster building just maybe the omni topic of discussion of trading Jack and Reinhart would never have happened. 

 

 

[Scottysabres]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

Hall was brought in on a one year deal. The organization was aware of the complementary role that he was expected to play. He was brought in to play on a line with Jack. Jack got hurt and Hall kept missing the opportunities he had on a line with Jack and not with Jack. Needless to say the Hall acquisition didn't work out. However, it wasn't a crazy or unreasonable pickup. It was a one year tryout deal that if it didn't work out each of the parties could walk away from each other. 

A lot of people are critical of Hall's NMC in his contract. I'm not one of them. If the Sabres were not willing to accept the clause he wouldn't have signed with us. He ended up being traded to Boston where he played with better players. It shouldn't be much of a surprise that in a better environment he ended up playing well. Maybe without the NMC the Sabres could have gotten more in a trade but the return we did get for him was more than a decent return for a player who was going to be an UFA. (I do like Bjork.) 

There is a lesson to be learned here. The best way to get production from any player who is currently on the roster or added to it is to build up the supporting cast. There are no quick fixes or shortcuts. The more talent that is added to the roster the greater probability that the other players will be more productive. If this organization wouldn't have been so atrociously inept in roster building just maybe the omni topic of discussion of trading Jack and Reinhart would never have happened. 

 

 

Historically,

Hall = 1st overall pick

The plan worked, the Hall signing was a success.

[Andrew Amerk]

7 hours ago, Let's Go B-Lo said:

That's why you don't give him that contract. It was stupid when they did it and it's even worse now.

They gave him that contract because he scored 40 goals on the top line. 

He hasn’t sniffed the top line since. Who is the real idiot?

[sabremike]

For the 8 billionth time: Skinner got that contract with the idea him and Jack had incredible chemistry and that this gave us a superline for the next 8 seasons. The first thing they did after he signed was take him off that line and pair him with a collection of dreadfully awful players and to the surprise of no one smarter than a cucumber it ended up being a disaster.

[freester]

13 hours ago, Thorny said:

And that was Terry's idea. 

Who does not meddle. 

No evidence whatsoever that Terry not Botterill was responsible for the horrible Skinner contract. People love to blame the Pegulas when it was the incompetent GMs who caused the Sabres to be in the position where there at. You can blame the. Pegulas for hiring the 3 incompetent GMs and that is fair  

 

[PromoTheRobot]

8 hours ago, Andrew Amerk said:

They gave him that contract because he scored 40 goals on the top line. 

He hasn’t sniffed the top line since. Who is the real idiot?

He was on the top line a bunch last season and did diddly squat. 

[Stoner]

9 hours ago, Andrew Amerk said:

They gave him that contract because he scored 40 goals on the top line. 

He hasn’t sniffed the top line since. Who is the real idiot?

Jeff.

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

He was on the top line a bunch last season and did diddly squat. 

We are starting to agree on things.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

He was on the top line a bunch last season and did diddly squat. 

Mostly, if not all, without Jack.  That's the big difference.

[pi2000]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

He was on the top line a bunch last season and did diddly squat. 

"top line"

He had a career low average time on ice per game last season... by almost 4min per game.

Combine that with a career low shooting %, and yeah there won't be much production.

Free Jeff Skinner

 

[SDS]

Skinner’s slump started a 1/4 season prior to his contract. It was just overlooked. 

[Stoner]

You don't sign someone to a huge contract based on the idea he is locked to one player's hip and that combo is always going to work.

How many coaches have to put Skinner in the doghouse to realize he's the problem?

Just score a goal once in a while, eh?

[nfreeman]

If DG can unlock Skinner, it will be quite an accomplishment and will make a difference on the ice.

I think he might be able to do it.  Skinner to me looked last season like he had lost his mojo.  DG seems like an underachieving-forward-whisperer.

It would sure be nice to add a 40-goal scorer back into the mix.

We’ll see.  

[Eleven]

8 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

If DG can unlock Skinner, it will be quite an accomplishment and will make a difference on the ice.

I think he might be able to do it.  Skinner to me looked last season like he had lost his mojo.  DG seems like an underachieving-forward-whisperer.

It would sure be nice to add a 40-goal scorer back into the mix.

We’ll see.  

I agree with all of this, but who's going to be the center feeding Skinner the puck?

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Just now, Eleven said:

I agree with all of this, but who's going to be the center feeding Skinner the puck?

Jack.  Maybe Samson.

[Eleven]

Just now, New Scotland (NS) said:

Jack.  Maybe Samson.

I'm fine with either or both, but I really don't think Reinhart is going to be back here.  

Eichel, the Sabres have control over, and it's beginning to look like a possibility to me that he will start the season as a Sabre.

[freester]

16 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

If DG can unlock Skinner, it will be quite an accomplishment and will make a difference on the ice.

I think he might be able to do it.  Skinner to me looked last season like he had lost his mojo.  DG seems like an underachieving-forward-whisperer.

It would sure be nice to add a 40-goal scorer back into the mix.

We’ll see.  

He won’t be successful without a quality Center. Jack barely played and was not healthy, Staal is a 4th line Center that we put on the 2nd line. I don’t feel that we currently have a first or second line quality center if we move Reinhart and Jack. 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

16 minutes ago, Eleven said:

I'm fine with either or both, but I really don't think Reinhart is going to be back here.  

Eichel, the Sabres have control over, and it's beginning to look like a possibility to me that he will start the season as a Sabre.

I really believe that both will be Sabres long-term.

Jack has a contract and I believe Samson will be signed to a cap friendly 7, or 8, year deal.

[Doohicksie]

15 minutes ago, freester said:

I don’t feel that we currently have a first or second line quality center if we move Reinhart and Jack. 

IF we move Jack and Sam..... Something has to come back.  And if we move both, a top 6 center has to be part of the mix.

4 minutes ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

I believe Samson will be signed to a cap friendly 7, or 8, year deal.

I want some of what you're smoking.