The Sabres need to move on from Mattias Samuelsson

[DarthEbriate]

5 minutes ago, inkman said:

I’d be stunned if Donkey wasn’t suiting up for the Buffalo Sabres this fall.  He hasn’t been healthy scratched. No signs of him falling out of favor with the team. Fans just hate him. Nobody in the organization cares about the fans otherwise they wouldn’t keep ragdolling us with this hysterically bad roster.  

Lots of reasons he'll be back: Alternate captain = leader. PK defender. Never give up on a young defenseman too early. Pegula doesn't want to pay for a buyout or retention for that many years for someone not to be here. Sheevyn probably wouldn't get good value in a trade without retention. 

[Thorner]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

I’d be stunned if Donkey wasn’t suiting up for the Buffalo Sabres this fall.  He hasn’t been healthy scratched. No signs of him falling out of favor with the team. Fans just hate him. Nobody in the organization cares about the fans otherwise they wouldn’t keep ragdolling us with this hysterically bad roster.  

Honestly, ya, the letter sort of seals it. But then again maybe not, did Cozens have one?

Edited March 13 by Thorner

[Pimlach]

3 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

But shouldn't Ruff, with 30 years of coaching experience, have been able to do that already? And then, because he's the future POHO, he could give Adams the shopping list to go get a defenseman who fits the need?

Why do you think he Ruff is the future POHO?   Will he leapfrog Adams to this position?  

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

Why do you think he Ruff is the future POHO?   Will he leapfrog Adams to this position?  

I see it as an option. I think the title could be different, but it would be fulfilling that role. He's Pegula's friend so he can play the czar/overseer without having to learn the GM side. (Why would Ruff want to be a rookie GM and have to get into dealing with agents, etc., and contract negotiations?) From the owner's perspective, it'd be easier to keep Sheevyn as the GM and have them both report to Pegula -- sort of like a few NFL franchises had run in the '00s-'10s with coach/GM on equal footing reporting to the owner (notably the Seahawks with Schneider/Carroll).

Adams could also leave the GM spot, but still remain as the Wormtongue POHO good angel at Pegula's shoulder because, you know, he listens.

[PerreaultForever]

Move on from him absolutely, but get rid of him before we add a competent D core? That's impossible. We tossed Gilbert and Jokiharju away so Bryson is now top 6. We need to add D before we subtract any more no matter how much they suck. 

[mjd1001]

Power. He got an assist last night, but that is his first point in 8 games.

I expect him to have his ups and downs defensively, but he has vanished from any impact on the offensive end.  He also hasn't scored a goal in 20 games, and has 1 goal in his last 32 games.

Edited March 13 by mjd1001

[Rasmus_]

This may be the worst contract on the team.  Hes still young enough, but the ability to stay on the ice is questionable at best.

[Richard Noggin]

Muel wasn't wearing a Letter tonight. I expected this thread to cover that potential development. So...what gives? 

He definitely hasn't behaved like a team leader recently (ZERO heart or fight in him on multiple occasions when his teammates needed him), but did he actually have the designation revoked? That seems like a rare move. 

[dudacek]

Tuch, Cozens, Samuelsson and Thompson were rotating the ‘As”. The 3 holdovers still are.

Samuelsson’s problems are similar to what buried Cozens:

• he’s a good kid who was handed a mantle of leadership before he earned it and before he was ready.
• he was not given the support in the room or on the ice to deal with bumps and the pressures
• he’s not as good a player as the organization thought he would be when it gave him that contract.

Basically, he’s a quality person handed responsibility he was not ready for by an organization that failed to consider what happens to even good people when they are put in situations they aren’t qualified to handle.

[Pimlach]

8 hours ago, dudacek said:

Tuch, Cozens, Samuelsson and Thompson were rotating the ‘As”. The 3 holdovers still are.

Samuelsson’s problems are similar to what buried Cozens:

• he’s a good kid who was handed a mantle of leadership before he earned it and before he was ready.
• he was not given the support in the room or on the ice to deal with bumps and the pressures
• he’s not as good a player as the organization thought he would be when it gave him that contract.

Basically, he’s a quality person handed responsibility he was not ready for by an organization that failed to consider what happens to even good people when they are put in situations they aren’t qualified to handle.

Yup.  Too much, too soon.  It breaks people down, especially when they care.  

[Doohickie]

On 3/13/2025 at 3:03 PM, mjd1001 said:

Power. He got an assist last night, but that is his first point in 8 games.

I expect him to have his ups and downs defensively, but he has vanished from any impact on the offensive end.  He also hasn't scored a goal in 20 games, and has 1 goal in his last 32 games.

This didn't age well  😛 

[JohnC]

16 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Yup.  Too much, too soon.  It breaks people down, especially when they care.  

The description that @dudacek gave to the Samuelsson handling is incisively accurate. There was an over expectation that resulted in a contract that he couldn't match with production. That's an organizational failure that impacted the player's performance. (As he pointed out.) However, if he becomes a good third pairing defenseman, who could move up to fill in when injuries occur, then I'm fine with it. What this fumbling staff have too often done, especially for the young players, is force them to be slotted too high before they are not ready. Cozens is another example of mishandling the talent on hand. 

As you and others have repeatedly stated, make young players earn their roles instead of bestowing roles that can't be handled at the time. There are so many examples of mishandling players and instead of enhancing careers end up derailing careers. 

[Pimlach]

20 minutes ago, JohnC said:

The description that @dudacek gave to the Samuelsson handling is incisively accurate. There was an over expectation that resulted in a contract that he couldn't match with production. That's an organizational failure that impacted the player's performance. (As he pointed out.) However, if he becomes a good third pairing defenseman, who could move up to fill in when injuries occur, then I'm fine with it. What this fumbling staff have too often done, especially for the young players, is force them to be slotted too high before they are not ready. Cozens is another example of mishandling the talent on hand. 

As you and others have repeatedly stated, make young players earn their roles instead of bestowing roles that can't be handled at the time. There are so many examples of mishandling players and instead of enhancing careers end up derailing careers. 

Just read an article on Mitts in the Boston Harold.  Mitts said it himself, he came up too fast and needed time in the minors.   So did Thompson for that matter.  The mistakes predate Adams, and it all goes back to tanking and tearing the team down to the bare studs with no signs of any players that cared about the logo on the sweater.   

I will be watching the Boston rebuild.  They did it once already since we tanked and they drafted McAvoy and Pasternak.  Now those two are their Core.  Zadorov is their answer for Chara.  Lets see what they do from here.  

[Night Train]

Excuses aside...he's just not good. 

Looked awful on that 2nd Boston goal and that's his norm. No physical game for his size.  Giveaway machine . 

[BlowLeafsBlow123]

3 minutes ago, Night Train said:

Excuses aside...he's just not good. 

Looked awful on that 2nd Boston goal and that's his norm. No physical game for his size.  Giveaway machine . 

He's cooked. If they can find a sucker this offseason, they need to strike. I'm sure he'd love to end up in his hometown of Philly and I'd gladly let them repeat the Risto trade 🙂. Obviously you're not getting much in return, but you might be able to move him just because he's a large, youngish defenseman. 

[inkman]

We hate him because he ***** 

[HumanSlinky39]

Early on he looked like a good stay at home defenseman who was responsible in his own end. That's what got him this contract, but once again, it was Adams falling in love with the "potential" of his young core and handing out a contract without waiting to see how that player built on early promise. I have zero doubt if he's moved that he will become a very good 2nd or 3rd pairing defenseman because most other teams in this league know how to develop talent. The Sabres approach seems to be "oh, you look like you could be pretty good, have at it kid!" without any actual thought or consideration given to how to develop that talent. The weight/expectations of that contract, along with failing to surround him with good veteran player(s) to learn from has stunted his development. We're seeing the same thing with Power. Frankly, it's a miracle (and a testament to his ability) that Dahlin has become as good as he is. Imagine where he'd be if he had a proper organization to develop him...

[LGR4GM]

21 minutes ago, HumanSlinky39 said:

Early on he looked like a good stay at home defenseman who was responsible in his own end. That's what got him this contract, but once again, it was Adams falling in love with the "potential" of his young core and handing out a contract without waiting to see how that player built on early promise. I have zero doubt if he's moved that he will become a very good 2nd or 3rd pairing defenseman because most other teams in this league know how to develop talent. The Sabres approach seems to be "oh, you look like you could be pretty good, have at it kid!" without any actual thought or consideration given to how to develop that talent. The weight/expectations of that contract, along with failing to surround him with good veteran player(s) to learn from has stunted his development. We're seeing the same thing with Power. Frankly, it's a miracle (and a testament to his ability) that Dahlin has become as good as he is. Imagine where he'd be if he had a proper organization to develop him...

Owen Power has one of the top 5 defenders in the world on his team. To suggest Power doesn't have a good veteran to learn from is poppycock. 

Powers problem is age, wilford, and overall experience. 

[BlowLeafsBlow123]

4 hours ago, HumanSlinky39 said:

Early on he looked like a good stay at home defenseman who was responsible in his own end. That's what got him this contract, but once again, it was Adams falling in love with the "potential" of his young core and handing out a contract without waiting to see how that player built on early promise. I have zero doubt if he's moved that he will become a very good 2nd or 3rd pairing defenseman because most other teams in this league know how to develop talent. The Sabres approach seems to be "oh, you look like you could be pretty good, have at it kid!" without any actual thought or consideration given to how to develop that talent. The weight/expectations of that contract, along with failing to surround him with good veteran player(s) to learn from has stunted his development. We're seeing the same thing with Power. Frankly, it's a miracle (and a testament to his ability) that Dahlin has become as good as he is. Imagine where he'd be if he had a proper organization to develop him...

I keep saying...he's probably the best d-man in the league if he's on one of the top teams. Imagine him with Colorado, he'd be racking up points. That said, not sure he's ever going to be at Makar's level offensively ... that dude is Bobby Orr for all intents and purposes. Not sure I could ever see Dahlin pacing for 30ish goals.

[SABRES 0311]

I think Muel and Power have been playing better but I am cautious. Multiple years of lost coverage or soft play isn’t made up for by a good stretch. 

Plus we need to look at if they are what we need now or in five years. I lean towards selling some future to build the now.