GDT- Buffalo Sabres @ Florida Panthers - Saturday 4/12- 6 PM ESPN+ and MSG

[Pimlach]

55 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I think it's a mistake to use 1 game as a measuring stick. The issues the Sabres have didn't change or get revealed yesterday. 

They need a top 6 forward, 2 top 4 defenders, and a goalie. The same things they needed last offseason. 

Throw in a 4th line heavyweight, unless we have to have Dahlin, Tuch, and Thompson fighting.  

It is amazing that with all the draft picks and prospects that we still need the same things the past 2 years.  

It wasn't long ago we were ahead of Montreal and Ottawa in the standings and we had the "better" prospect pool.  Yet, they are in and we are 11 points out.  

[Pimlach]

13 hours ago, Stoner said:

Who's here in 2025?

I will be.

[JohnC]

2 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Throw in a 4th line heavyweight, unless we have to have Dahlin, Tuch, and Thompson fighting.  

It is amazing that with all the draft picks and prospects that we still need the same things the past 2 years.  

It wasn't long ago we were ahead of Montreal and Ottawa in the standings and we had the "better" prospect pool.  Yet, they are in and we are 11 points out.  

One of my biggest complaints about KA is his inability to put together a balanced roster that can handle the different roles that are required to be a competitive team. He may be adequate at getting pieces but he isn't very accomplished at getting pieces that fit together that create a well-rounded team. A GM is supposed to have a broader perspective when putting together a team. He's simply too near-sighted to get the mix right to create a competitive team. 

[Pimlach]

41 minutes ago, Weave said:

I actually thought Kulich showed excellent awareness.  He saw it coming and stopped skating and got his hands up to protect himself.  Its the only reason he didn’t end up concussed on the play.  His arms took the brunt of it and prevented him from hitting his head on the ice when he went down.

I’m guessing it was a set play that Quinn didn’t recognize as a suicide pass in that situation.  Kulich did have the awareness to give up the puck and protect himself.  My take is “well done kid”.

Ive warmed up to Kulich considerably.  Seems a potential keeper.

It just a really good thing that Gadjovich did not hit him in his gloves.  That would be a serious penalty.  

[PromoTheRobot]

2 hours ago, North Buffalo said:

Panthers know how to play playoff hockey... take no prisoners... Sabres played about as tough as they can... which shows me how far they have to go to compete... going to be a long off season...

The Sabres really need a goon. Another Rob Ray enforcer. No one on this team knows how to fight. It's great they will stand up for their teammates but all they are getting is their ***** kicked. They need someone who other teams would think twice about.

[pi2000]

Youngest team in the league will always be behind the 8-ball when it comes to physicality and toughness.

That said, for the most part, they've drafted and developed well.   Just too many of the same type of prospects at this point.   Smallish to medium sized perimeter skill.   Which is fine, but at some point you need to draft to fill other roles as well.

This is where a POHO would've helped, providing a strategic direction.   Identifying weak spots and orchestrating a plan to address them.

Instead we have Terry making those decisions 😣

[Pimlach]

1 minute ago, JohnC said:

One of my biggest complaints about KA is his inability to put together a balanced roster that can handle the different roles that are required to be a competitive team. He may be adequate at getting pieces but he isn't very accomplished at getting pieces that fit together that create a well-rounded team. A GM is supposed to have a broader perspective when putting together a team. He's simply too near-sighted to get the mix right to create a competitive team. 

Adams is not adequate at anything accept maybe listening to his boss. 

He took no ACTION during the losing streak.  Instead he held the most embarrassing press conference of any GM in team history, and the negative media attention actually made the team even less of a destination and reinforced the negativity that surrounds the team. 

Then he let his boss give the boys a pep talk and a day off, only to get whacked by the Canadians that evening.   We lost 7 points to Montreal this season.    Yeah, that worked out great. Another season that was essentially over by New Years Eve. 

Finally, he trades Cozens at the deadline and gets a guy with an $8M cap hit for the next 6 years who you cannot count on to be in the line up.  

But why would I worry about the cap hit?  They don't spend to the cap anyway.  

I am really hoping Adams gets fired in the next week.  

 

[pi2000]

1 minute ago, Pimlach said:

Adams is not adequate at anything accept maybe listening to his boss. 

He took no ACTION during the losing streak.  Instead he held the most embarrassing press conference of any GM in team history, and the negative media attention actually made the team even less of a destination and reinforced the negativity that surrounds the team. 

Then he let his boss give the boys a pep talk and a day off, only to get whacked by the Canadians that evening.   We lost 7 points to Montreal this season.    Yeah, that worked out great. Another season that was essentially over by New Years Eve. 

Finally, he trades Cozens at the deadline and gets a guy with an $8M cap hit for the next 6 years who you cannot count on to be in the line up.  

But why would I worry about the cap hit?  They don't spend to the cap anyway.  

I am really hoping Adams gets fired in the next week.  

 

Agreed.

However, Terry needs somebody he can control and no GM worth their salt would take that position. 

I'm afraid nothing will change until Terry either sells the team or relinquishes strategic control to a qualified POHO.   

[Sidc3000]

1 hour ago, Weave said:

I actually thought Kulich showed excellent awareness.  He saw it coming and stopped skating and got his hands up to protect himself.  Its the only reason he didn’t end up concussed on the play.  His arms took the brunt of it and prevented him from hitting his head on the ice when he went down.

I’m guessing it was a set play that Quinn didn’t recognize as a suicide pass in that situation.  Kulich did have the awareness to give up the puck and protect himself.  My take is “well done kid”.

Ive warmed up to Kulich considerably.  Seems a potential keeper.

It happened so quickly Quinn may not have even realized that the panthers player was coming off the bench. It was only a few feet from the bench.  

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

I used this one game as an example of a measuring stick, not the full scope of a measuring stick. What's the team record for the season and for the past number of seasons? That gives you a fuller picture of the hockey operation over an extended period. 

As you keenly noted, the Sabres have a number of needs, the same needs they had last offseason. They weren't addressed when they had the cap room and assets to do so. They didn't do it. (As you point out.) Who was the GM? The same then as it is now. Do you have confidence in this sycophant that he will smartly make enough moves to deal with the deficiencies that you listed? I don't. 

I have 0 confidence in Adams

[Archie Lee]

51 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Adams is not adequate at anything accept maybe listening to his boss. 

He took no ACTION during the losing streak.  Instead he held the most embarrassing press conference of any GM in team history, and the negative media attention actually made the team even less of a destination and reinforced the negativity that surrounds the team. 

Then he let his boss give the boys a pep talk and a day off, only to get whacked by the Canadians that evening.   We lost 7 points to Montreal this season.    Yeah, that worked out great. Another season that was essentially over by New Years Eve. 

Finally, he trades Cozens at the deadline and gets a guy with an $8M cap hit for the next 6 years who you cannot count on to be in the line up.  

But why would I worry about the cap hit?  They don't spend to the cap anyway.  

I am really hoping Adams gets fired in the next week.  

 

In Adams’s tenure they have typically ended their seasons with a win or multiple wins at home. I will never cheer for a Sabre loss. But there could be a silver lining to losing the last two at home this year. Maybe ending the season on a 4 game losing streak, having Montreal and Ottawa pass us in their rebuilds, knowing the discourse that exists league wide about how directionless the team is, will drive Pegula to make the rationale decision to move on. 

If you are going into year 6 with a GM, and that GM is going into the final year of his contract, and you are not sure if the GM should be extended, then the GM should be fired and replaced. It’s not complicated. 

[Believer]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

I am really hoping Adams gets fired in the next week.  

 

Makes at least two of us.

Adams is an abject failure as GM.

Does Pegula can Adams, Ruff or both of them?

Shake the bottle.

[Broken Ankles]

2 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Throw in a 4th line heavyweight, unless we have to have Dahlin, Tuch, and Thompson fighting.  

It is amazing that with all the draft picks and prospects that we still need the same things the past 2 years.  

It wasn't long ago we were ahead of Montreal and Ottawa in the standings and we had the "better" prospect pool.  Yet, they are in and we are 11 points out.  

   They need at least three guys who want to throw both fists and bodies.   One can be your 13th forward who plays when needed.  Another forward who can be added to a middle six line and not be a liability.  And the third is a defenseman who can clear the front of the net, and drop the gloves on occasion.  For me, the target for the forward is Rempe from the Rangers.   NY has a dire cap situation this year and is in need of younger skill players to develop.  Rempe got a bad reputation for some questionable hits and fighting far too frequently early on.  He is 6-9 and only 22 years old.  If there is any chance that his curve is like Tage, he grows into his body in two years.  If you watch Rempe he’s taken off the puck quite easily by veteran players who understand leverage.  But again he is only 22.  This guy could be Wilson with 20 goals and 20 assists after he figures things out.  Maybe Rayzer could help him develop his technique.  Who does it take to pry away Rempe?  If you take Kreiders $6.5 aav as a cap dump, how much does it go down?  

Edited Sunday at 04:12 PM by Broken Ankles

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, Broken Ankles said:

   They need at least three guys who want to throw both fists and bodies.   One can be your 13th forward who plays when needed.  Another forward who can be added to a middle six line and not be a liability.  And the third is a defenseman who can clear the front of the net, and drop the gloves on occasion.  For me, the target for the forward is Rempe from the Rangers.   NY has a dire cap situation this year and is in need of younger skill players to develop.  Rempe got a bad reputation for some questionable hits and fighting far too frequently early on.  He is 6-9 and only 22 years old.  If there is any chance that his curve is like Tage, he grows into his body in two years.  If you watch Rempe he’s taken off the puck quite easily by veteran players who understand leverage.  But again he is only 22.  This guy could be Wilson with 20 goals and 20 assists after he figures things out.  Maybe Rayzer could help him develop his technique.  Who does it take to pry away Rempe?  If you take Kreiders $6.5 aav as a cap dump, how much does it go down?  

I don't think Rempe will ever be a consistent 20g player. He has 3 goals total in the NHL over 57 games. If Rempe is good and such a deterrent or what not, why are the Rangers missing the playoffs? At most I'd give up a 2nd rounder for him. He's got that 4th line 7-8g, 10ish assists vibe going.

I will say you're right about his size, he could need 2-3yrs to develop but Rempe has never been productive at any level. Most goals he's ever scored in any season is 17, so it's exceedingly doubtful he gets to 20 in the NHL with regularity. Thompson by comparison is certainly similar, I just think it's somewhat of an outlier in his case. Thompson has 19g in 34 ncaa games which hinted at more production. I also think Thompson might be more exception than rule. 

The summary of this is I would trade for Rempe but I'm not sure I trust in a projection that gives him upper 3rd line lower 2nd line production. 

[thewookie1]

3 hours ago, Broken Ankles said:

   They need at least three guys who want to throw both fists and bodies.   One can be your 13th forward who plays when needed.  Another forward who can be added to a middle six line and not be a liability.  And the third is a defenseman who can clear the front of the net, and drop the gloves on occasion.  For me, the target for the forward is Rempe from the Rangers.   NY has a dire cap situation this year and is in need of younger skill players to develop.  Rempe got a bad reputation for some questionable hits and fighting far too frequently early on.  He is 6-9 and only 22 years old.  If there is any chance that his curve is like Tage, he grows into his body in two years.  If you watch Rempe he’s taken off the puck quite easily by veteran players who understand leverage.  But again he is only 22.  This guy could be Wilson with 20 goals and 20 assists after he figures things out.  Maybe Rayzer could help him develop his technique.  Who does it take to pry away Rempe?  If you take Kreiders $6.5 aav as a cap dump, how much does it go down?  

I have zero interest in Rempe because I honestly don't see him being anything more than a muscle brain who has more in common with John Scott than Tom Wilson. 

I have zero need to win any fights ever, we need more guys willing to answer the call but I don't need any sort of specialist. I want to win games, not fights, and fighting specialists tend to be a complete waste of cap, roster and ice time. 

[PerreaultForever]

6 hours ago, Weave said:

I actually thought Kulich showed excellent awareness.  He saw it coming and stopped skating and got his hands up to protect himself.  Its the only reason he didn’t end up concussed on the play.  His arms took the brunt of it and prevented him from hitting his head on the ice when he went down.

I’m guessing it was a set play that Quinn didn’t recognize as a suicide pass in that situation.  Kulich did have the awareness to give up the puck and protect himself.  My take is “well done kid”.

Ive warmed up to Kulich considerably.  Seems a potential keeper.

Oh I like Kulich. Have liked him since we drafted him. Sabres as a whole just have this tendency to skate full out and assume nobody's going to get in their way. They need to learn when to turn it on or off more and how to avoid these things. Pick their moments. It's part of the problem with too many young guys on the same roster. 

As for Quinn, I would prefer him traded. 

[Weave]

34 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Oh I like Kulich. Have liked him since we drafted him. Sabres as a whole just have this tendency to skate full out and assume nobody's going to get in their way. They need to learn when to turn it on or off more and how to avoid these things. Pick their moments. It's part of the problem with too many young guys on the same roster. 

As for Quinn, I would prefer him traded. 

I dunno.  I think a play where he saw the hit coming in time to react and avoid the worst of it is a strange play to criticize for lack of awareness.  Awareness is what prevented an injury there.

[PerreaultForever]

5 hours ago, Weave said:

I dunno.  I think a play where he saw the hit coming in time to react and avoid the worst of it is a strange play to criticize for lack of awareness.  Awareness is what prevented an injury there.

Well I see your point so let's say we're 50/50 on that one. I originally just wanted to post against the "illegal hit" idea some people have (not you). He had enough awareness to avoid the worst of it, but not enough to slow down or avoid it. If Torts was coach that pass from Quinn would get Quinn a long sit down.