JohnC

BB's legacy is well established as the best coach in the modern history, if not the total history, of the game. So there is no fear that his legacy will or should be tarnished from now on. There is another aspect to the Brady departure. It gives the unlikeable coach an opportunity to further enhance his legacy by continuing to win without the greatest qb in the modern era of the NFL taking the snaps for his team. I don't understand your description of the franchise being a crap show? How can that be? For the past generation it has been the most successful team in the NFL by far coached by the same coach. BB remains the coach because he wants to be the coach. When he decides that the doesn't want to do it any longer he will be the one to make that decision. I say this respectfully but I don't understand your reasoning for your perspective.

Coller is well rounded in his knowledge of sports that includes football, hockey and I also believe he is well versed in golf. He is also committed to the analytical side of sports. I always liked him as a straight up and no gimmick sports commentator. I wish he was still involved in the local western NY sports scene.

Let the mock drafts begin: https://www.draftsite.com/nhl/mock-draft/2020/ One player ranking: https://www.draftsite.com/mydraftsite/mock-drafts/nhl/2020/player-rankings/

I don't know if anyone else posted this WGR Howard and Jeremy interview with a former WGR host who now works in Minnesota. He gave a glowing commentary about Diggs's talent and production. He made the observation that Diggs is a high intensity player and personality. This link is 15 min. If someone else posted this link I apologize for the redundancy. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/03-17-matthew-coller-from-skor-north-in-minnesota-on-stefon-diggs

I won't be surprised if in the near future there is going to be a similar San Francisco home clamp down on most urban locations. If that will help to shorten this health crisis/scare then I wouldn't be against it. That is not to say that I still wouldn't complain about it.

The gym that I go to closed down until further notice. The county pool that I swim at closed down until further notice. As each day goes by there will be more closures and restrictions to social interactions. We are in unprecedented and uncharted territory.

It's unlikely the season will resume. The experts are unanimous in predicting the virus situation in the upcoming months will get worse. The players are now dispersing and going home. So even if there is a return date they will have to practice together for some time before resuming games. In addition, before returning the players will have to be tested for the virus, and it is probable that some will have the virus and will have to be quarantined. The health of the players and the surrounding population is obviously the most important consideration. From a hockey developmental standpoint players such as Mittelstadt and Ukko-Pekka needed all the playing time they could get in the AHL for their individual progression.

How do you know that they won't soon work out a payment plan for the temporary workers for their events? This health crisis is moving stunningly fast with little knowledge of what is going to happen in the near or longer future. Right now no one knows for sure how long the league will be closed down for, or even if the season will continue. I'm sure the Pegulas are aware of the financial hardships these workers are immediately going to be subjected to. But that doesn't mean that they can instantly come up with the mechanics (workable solution) to pay for the mostly temp workers who work week to week on uneven schedules. That in itself is going to be a challenge to work out. The NBA and NHL owners are all in similar situations. Many teams are owned by one owner and there are teams owned by many owners and some by conglomerates. So there might be complications for each franchise to come up with a payout plan if they so choose. So if the Pegulas wait a little longer to see how this issue is in general handled instead of jumping the gun with an ill conceived and unworkable plan why not wait a little longer before making a judgment about their good-will and generosity?

Promo, How's this recruiting class look? And is the coach adding any JUCOS?

What they could do is based on the current revenue stream project what it would be for a full season. Or another option might be keep the current salary cap for another year, or maybe at the current level add an agreed percentage to that base for projected income growth. I really don't think that the salary cap issue is going to be a difficult issue to resolve between management and the players. There is another factor that might come into play. It wouldn't be surprising if the league had insurance to cover some of the lost revenue due to an unforeseen catastrophic event.

You exasperatedly asked me last year when will the Sabres be a competitive team ? Last year I said they were two to three years away from that point. I still stand by that prediction. Botts is entering into the last year of his four year contract. I want to see him finish his contract with no extension offered until the season is concluded. If he doesn't smartly utilize his cap space this offseason to augment the improvement of the younger players I will not only join the lynching mob but I will provide the rope and scaffolding. After what has happened with the cancellation of the NBA season (temporary or maybe not for this season) odds are soon there will probably be a similar stoppage with the NHL. For some local hockey fans it might be a relief.

I have a respectful disagreement on your assessment of the current GM. Where I agree with you is that the Pegulas made some big hiring mistakes when they bought the team. And they made some big mistakes in their approach to quickly turning things around by throwing a lot of stupid money for ineffective players. In my opinion Botts had to deal with some of the mistakes of the past that set this franchise back. I'm well aware that my opinion is a minority opinion.

You are correct that the Warriors will be playing their upcoming games in an empty arena. It's interesting to note that Joseph Lacob, the owner of the Warriors, has an educational background in epidemiology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Lacob

In the past season or so our GM has added Joki, Skinner, Miller, Kahun and Johansson without giving up much. He understandably gets a lot of criticism from the frustrated fan base. I'm one of the few people here not singing from that discordant chorus. It takes time.

As BillsFan4 noted he will be a restricted free agent in July. I'm not very worried about him leaving because it is a good situation for him here. And he is a good fit with his current line mates assuming that the line stays in tact. His style of play enhances Johansson, and Johansson's style of play enhances his style of play. https://www.nhl.com/news/conor-sheary-evan-rodrigues-traded-to-pittsburgh-by-buffalo-for-dominik-kahun/c-315487244

I agree with you that Johansson is more suited to be a winger than a center. Krueger did point out that Kahun has played the center position and has the right makeup (instincts) to play the position. However, he explained that he didn't want to overload him with that responsibility right away. It wouldn't be surprising that if that line is kept in tact that sometime this season or most likely next season Kahun will get an opportunity to demonstrate whether he can handle that pivot responsibility.

The attached link is a column on Kahun by Jourdan LaBarber writing for Sabres.com. The column indicates that he is happy playing with the Sabres and that he fits in well on a line with Johansson and Olofsson. It's very early to make a judgment on his play but his early play has been very good. This was a terrific deal by the GM who shed players that this organization was not committed to and in addition he gained some cap relief. Botterill made a terrific deal in trading Nylander for Joki. And to a lesser extent if you factor in the cap benefit realized in the Kahun deal for the two departed players this is also an excellent deal. https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/buffalo-sabres-dominik-kahun-practice-report/c-316083514

I agree with your comments. I'm not sure that he is going to be ready to play the center position on whatever lines. Maybe another alternative if he shows enough ability is to temporarily play him as a winger as a prelude until he is ready for the more challenging center position. Kahun is currently playing as a winger although he has played the center position. Ultimately, it is going to be up to him to demonstrate what he is capable of. While you give odds of 50/50 my odds are more favorable at 75/25 that he will be in the NHL next year. I wish that the league and those involved in the CHL could come up with an agreement that allows exempting one or two high end players to the AHL per parent club. Maybe mandating a fee to the clubs for losing those top shelf players?

Thank you for the information. Based on what you stated I believe that he will be on the Sabres next year. I'm not sure another year in the juniors will enhance his development while if he could go to the AHL it would enhance is development.

Obviously, from a standing standpoint the season is lost. And based on the team's play there are issues that have to be answered in the offseason that determine how the GM handles the offseason. (Assuming he is retained. I want him to finish the last year of his contract. I'm aware most others don't.) Taking an overview of this disappointing season there are a couple of major needs. It is obvious that upgrading the goaltending and constructing a legitimate second-line are deficiencies that desperately need to be addressed. Is Ullmark the answer as our #1 goaltender? I'm not sure. His performance against the Capitals demonstrated in a game that he can play at that level. That doesn't mean that he can do it on a consistent basis. In yesterday's game he played a very composed game and came up with big stops. I couldn't fault him on either of the two goals Washington scored. The most impressive part of his performance was that he allowed few rebounds, a hallmark of Hutton. I don't want to get carried away with the play of Kahun but in the few games that I have watched him I've come away very impressed. He can skate, has good instincts and can shoot. He may be a better prospect than Mittelstadt! Can someone let me know whether Cozens is eligible to play in the AHL next year? I thought I read somewhere that because of his age he will have to either play in the NHL next year or be sent back to the juniors?

The first star in this game belongs to Ullmark. Beyond his stops what made his performance outstanding is that he gave up few juicy rebounds. Ullmark was exceptional in the shootout. In this game he played as if he is a #1 goalie. Is he a #1 goalie? I'm not sure---that still needs to be determined. What is clearly evident is that for the remaining part of the season he is our primary goaltender and Hutton is the backup. I thought that our defensive corps played well in this game. The Kahun pickup is a good pickup. I thought the goalie interference call on Skinner although technically correct was a marginal and bad judgment call.

As Lurker pointed out in his response to you the defining issue is the level of talent simply doesn't match the teams that bypassed us. Compared to most teams not only is this roster less complete but as the season grinds on the lack of depth comes into play. Over the past few years the Sabres lacked a quality defensive corps and enough scoring talent spread around the roster. Our defensive corps has been upgraded to the point that it has some extra talent that could be offered in a deal to better out the roster. I wouldn't be surprised if Risto is traded for a second-line forward. So with that unit there is an upgrade and progress. The secondary scoring issue still is inadequate. As I see it not having a credible second line is a glaring deficiency that has crippled us. Until a couple of second-line players are added to complement/support Skinner this team is not going anywhere. Even with a unit that doesn't have enough scoring beyond the first line what has been crushing this team the most this year is the inadequate play of its goaltenders. Yesterday's game against the Penguins certainly illustrated that point. I'm not saying that the Sabres are better than the Penguins because they clearly are not. But when you watched that game the difference wasn't the five on five play as it was giving up those soft goals that can deflate a team that has trouble scoring. If you take an overview of this season and assess the play of our goaltenders and the play of our PK unit are major factors for this disappointing season. Assuming the GM is retained can he fix those units and make this team more competitive? The shame of the goaltending issue is that if we had the cleaned up Lehner of today instead of the troubled Lehner when he was a Sabre this team would be in a better position. If you want to make this roster more mentally tough the solution is to add more talent.

Attached is a link of Paul Hamilton on WGR. This is a 12 minute link. The last part of the segment Paul H. reports that the GM's strategy to rebuild the team still revolves around the "draft and develop" approach as the centerpiece of the upgrading of the roster. This link is informative as to what the GM's mindset is toward rebuilding the roster. If you only want to listen to a portion of it the 9 min to the end of the segment is the most interesting. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/03-06-paul-hamilton-with-howard-and-jeremy

I've always felt that the owner was the driving force to get rid of ROR. I agree with you that by not giving him the bonus his value was severely diminished. From a hockey value standpoint it was a self-inflicted wound. On the other hand I can understand the owner's disgust toward a player on a lucrative long term contract and whose bonus clause was approaching and publicly stating that he doesn't want to be part of your team. It certainly wouldn't surprise me that the owner ordered the GM to get rid of him before the bonus clause kicked in. The Blues had two or three prospects in their system who were rated higher than Tage and were nearly ready to make the jump to the NHL. They were adamant that they would not include the higher rated prospects in a deal with us. Because we didn't have the leverage in a deal with them or any other team (as you noted) we settled. In this case being strategically more patient would have been the smarter thing to do. However, when the boss directs the underling to take an action he is obligated to follow orders.

The attached link is a column by Ryan Kennedy of the Hockey News. This link was taken from the SI site. He offers some recommendations on how to improve the team next year. This is a relatively short article. His primary suggestions address the penalty kill struggles and goaltending. https://www.si.com/nhl/2020/03/03/how-to-fix-the-buffalo-sabres