JohnC

I respectfully disagree with the general thesis of your response. That is not to say that it isn't an excellent and well reasoned response. In my opinion where you are wrong in your thesis is that I don't believe that the large cap space is going to be used for a top tier free agent. That is very unlikely. What I do believe is that our GM is in a good position to trade a player like Risto and/or Montour who have value and in return get a second line player or two who will be a relatively high cost player. Another point where I disagree with you and others is that the mid-tier free agents that he has brought in such as Vesey and Johansson are not failed players. They are simply players who are playing on lines above their talent level because there is currently a lack of talent and depth on the roster necessitating them to fill a void. The area that needs critical attention this offseason is the second line. Right now the only second line caliber forward is Skinner. And it is undeniable that his goal scoring talents are being severely diminished because the players he is playing with are not good enough to maximize his talents. That's what happens when there is a dearth of talent. Players end up playing on a line or defensive pairing above their talent level. As an example, although Scandella received a lot of unfair criticisms from the harsh critics here as a third pairing defenseman he was a solid player. As a first or second pairing player he is inadequate. That same line of reasoning applies to a player such as Vesey. He is a third or fourth line caliber of player. He playing on the first line with Jack is an absurdity. But it is understandable why the erudite coach put him on the higher line. It was due to injuries on a team that already was thin. I would have put Skinner on the first line when Olofsson got hurt but the coach for a variety of reasons declined to move him up to that line. If you take an overview of this season most of us can agree that our goaltending has been mediocre this season. If we would have had the cleaned up and restored Lehner who played at level he played with the Islanders or the Blackhawks is there any doubt that his team wouldn't have earned between 8 to 10 more points? In my estimation the biggest mistake that the owner could make is fire the current GM. This organization needs more continuity and stability, not less. This organizational lurching back and forth is not a solution as much as they are are acts of frustration. My recommendation is to allow him to do his job this offseason and next season and then make a determination whether to keep him or not. This was never a quick fix project. And that is the reality that a lot of exasperated and frustrated fans have difficulty facing. Again, I appreciate your well thought out response but I respectfully disagree with it.

We are going in circles. I respectfully but strenuously disagree with your general perspective. We will have to agree to disagree and move on. I say this with no rancor. The cap was a factor but not the biggest factor. He wanted to reshape the roster and cap structure. Last year, I was asked by an exasperated K-9 when I thought this team would be a more serious team. I said between two and three years (starting from last year). I hold to that schedule. This is a critical offseason where he needs to add some talent to fill some critical needs. If he doesn't accomplish that he will be replaced.

I don't understand your weird obsession with this year's cap stress. As to which players in that UFA category came from which regime who freaking cares? New GMs usually don't come in and completely clean the slate from their predecessors deeds. What you refuse to acknowledge is that we are in good shape from thw cap the cap standpoint entering the offseason. Whether the UFA remains or are dispatched is this GM's responsibility. And how he handles those player and contract decisions inside franchise and for players he wants to bring in are solely his responsibility. Please stop fixating on this year's cap stressed situation because I have no clue what your point is. The bottom line (whether you agree or not) is he handled the cap during his tenure so that in a reasonable period of time (this offseason) he would have greater flexibility to make personnel decisions. That's exactly what happened. And that is what you are obsessively complaining about. Find something else to make you neurotic! Every year you create a different bogeyman for you to obsessively chase. Last year it was Housley. This year you are insanely obsessed with this year's cap situation even though next year that situation will be dramatically different. What's next for you crazy zealots? Are you going to blame Botts for the scary spread of the coronavirus?

The cap fixation for this year is not a problem; it is a solution. The team has a number of players on expiring contracts that will allow the GM a great deal of flexibility to sign his players next year such as Reinhart, and sign players such as Dahlin etc. when their contracts come up. The GM's approach is not short term for immediate results like the previous GM took. It takes time. In Fantasy Hockey you can get quick solutions. In the real world of NHL it doesn't work that way.

This isn't magic where you wave a wand and pull a rabbit out of the hat. It takes time to remake the organization and roster. He has been on the job three years. In the first year he had to rehire a new staff and do a full analysis of the hockey system, top to bottom. Over the next two years he has overturned much of the roster. I'm suggesting that this team on the precipice of anything special but I do see talent systematically being added. Your fixation on what you perceive to be Botts' cap mess makes no sense to me. He put the franchise in a good cap situation for next year and beyond. He essentially did what the Bills did under McBeane in that they were willing to structure their cap so that it stressed the system in the short-term in order to open it up for the longer term. And that's exactly what he did. Next offseason the franchise will be in a good cap situation because for the short term he because of the manner he handled it in the short term.

The organization is in a good situation with their cap next year that should allow them to make some moves next offseason. Your neurotic fixation about the cap stress this year makes no sense. It was his cap stressing strategy this year made up of a number of expiring contracts that will allow him flexibility next year. Will he be able to take advantage of it? That's the issue. We'll see. Restructuring the cap is not an automatic action because contracts are locked in. So it takes time. The GM steadily acquired his players and the contracts he would sign them to. That's what has been going on during his tenure. I have repeatedly said for the past couple of years to your deaf ears that there was not going to be a quick fix to the roster that the GM inherited. While you were fixated on the deficiencies of Housley as a coach you missed the more important issue of the talent gap. I believe that he is systematically addressing that issue. You don't. What do we currently have? We have a very good first line. We also have a young and emerging defensive unit. Our checking line in Okposo-Larsson-Gergs is also very accomplished in their role. Our biggest deficiency is our second line. The only genuine second line player is Skinner who is being diminished as a player because of the caliber of players he is playing alongside of him don't complement his shooting talents. That's the biggest issue that needs to be addressed. I truly believe that next year is going to be our bump up year. I say that because of our cap situation we should be able to bring in a couple of good players. And based on the GM dangling Risto I see a trade being made in the offseason to bring in a second-line forward/center that will help balance out this roster. In addition, we have a number of young players who I'm confident will continue to get better. Be patient!

You often repeat that the current GM created a cap mess that straitjacketed the franchise. That's the opposite of what happened here. His roster is nearly half full of players on expiring contracts. He is going to be in a good position to add talent because of his cap strategy. Is he going to take advantage of that situation this offseason? I can't say for sure. But let's wait and see. You cite the Rangers as a model franchise. They have been mediocre for a generation. Are they much better than us? I'm not so sure. Arizona was bad for a long time and accumulated a lot of draft picks. So they are now reaping some of the benefits from those gilded picks. Are they much better than us? Yesterday's game against a well rested team when we were on a visiting back to back doesn't represent much. You bring up losing Lehner as an organizational mistake. Are you freaking kidding me? He had addiction and mental health issues that he needed to address. That's not the organization's fault. In fact the organization did the right thing by getting him help to deal with his demons. I don't know of anyone who claimed that the ROR was anything but disastrous. However, there were things associated with that deal behind the scenes related to the player and maybe even the owner that influenced that horrible deal. You can continue with your "fantasy hockey" approach to filling rosters. The reality is that there is a real world out there where contracts, no-trade clauses, willing trading partners etc. that have to be considered. I'm willing to wait to see how this offseason transpires. If it isn't handled in such a way that it seriously improves the roster then I will join the raucous crowd of demanding a GM change. I'm not there yet.

I understand why people are frustrated and criticize the organization. That is fair and certainly understandable. When things are made up and exaggerated it is difficult to contend with. The Simmonds deal is a good deal, even if it is a short-term deal. The Skinner deal is not only a good deal for a scoring talent but also because the contract is not outlandish. It is a market rate contract for size and term. Is the Joki deal for Nylander something to complain about? Kahun looks like a good pickup for two players that we weren't going to keep. Getting Miller from Vegas at a reasonable price is a good value pickup. It's not all good and not all bad. There are some oddball zealots who make it seem as if the Vesey deal was calamitous. He was a third or fourth line forward pickup who was added at a reasonable price. What is tiresome are the distortions that are made out of frustration and contribute nothing.

I'm not gullible because I know what this team's status is. And I have stated it all season. I have said all along that this wasn't a playoff team. They have some good core pieces but lack enough talent. Can that be corrected? It was never going to be adequately resolved this season. This is a make or break offseason for the GM. He either adds enough talent to upgrade the second line and goaltending or he will be out of a job. The margin of error between being a playoff team or not is minuscule. We played two top tier teams in Colorado and Vegas and kept up. The superior teams won in each case. But in each of the games you can't say that they were outclassed because they weren't. I'm not going to read too much into the Arizona game. The Sabres played on two tough back to back games against a rested home opponent. The Sabres were simply gassed. That was evident even when they took the early lead. This rebuilding was never going to be a quick fix. That's the harsh reality that those who have a fantasy hockey mentality don't understand and having trouble accepting.

I couldn't bring up the link. However, it shouldn't be too difficult to presume what their observations are. The team is not only steadily adding talent but it is playing with more structure and discipline under Krueger. There is more consistent effort and resiliency to this team compared to prior years. That is evident when after tough losses this team is less prone to stew about its plight and more prone to bounce back. A couple of weeks ago Colorado embarrassed the Sabres on its home ice. In the last game the visiting Sabres played Colorado virtually even in a loss. I'm also sure that these two esteemed retired players also noted that we have a number of young players that are only going to get better. It simply takes time.

Attached is a link on Krueger's post game comments on WGR. It is a 4 min plus link. Basically he said the effort was good but the our defensive lapses made the difference. In the interview he made some positive comments about Skinner's play. That is an oddity. I only watched the first period so it would be unfair to comment about the game in general. What I can say is that in the Colorado game and the part that I watched in this game the team played with good effort but in the end ultimately the more talented team won out. Stating the obvious superior teams have a greater margin of error than inferior teams do. I thought in both the Colorado and Vegas game if we would have had better goaltending we could have come away with some points. I thought Lehner looked good in the first period. I'm not suggesting that Hutton played poorly for us but he simply wasn't good enough. From what I saw in the first period I was impressed with Kahun. On his goal he showed that he can skate and shoot. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/2-28-ralph-krueger-post-game

Do you still periodically have urges to smoke? And does it affect you when you are around smokers?

Elliotte Friedman from Sportsnet was on his weekly segment on WGR's Instigator Show. He talked about the circumstances surrounding the Simmonds deal and the trade deadline deals made around the league. He felt that Carolina helped themselves the most and thought that Tampa added depth to make their playoff run. He stated that he felt that Tampa will have to move players this offseason because of some of the contracts coming up this offseason. This was a 24 min segment with some of it talking about the movie Top Gun. This is a link where you can skip through some segments in order to more quickly get through it. The most interesting observation to Sabre fans is that he, like others, noted that Risto was being dangled in trade talks. It's my sense that our GM is going to make a big deal or two to reconstitute the roster. What that means is that he will address the necessity to upgrade the second-line. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/02-27-sportsnets-elliotte-friedman

The issue isn't Skinner---it is Krueger. He is a coach with a conviction in his core coaching principles. And he is not afraid to adhere to his convictions regardless of the stature of the player. He has kept Dahlin on the bench and sent players to the suite in the arena for games when he feels that it is necessary to get them back into the fold. When interviewed Krueger usually keeps his composure. However, I have noticed on a couple of occasions when interviewed on WGR that whenever the topic of Skinner and his playing time and line he is playing on comes up as a topic he seems to bristle. The point he not so obliquely made on a couple of occasions is that the player needs to conform to his system and not have the system conform to the player. I see a conflict brewing here, and it may not be reconcilable. I take your suggestion regarding the links and the outline of them. I usually do that but sometimes I am rushed. I will try to be more diligent on that front.

Hutton is Hutton. I'm not dismissing his mistakes because he is what he is. He made some stick swipes in the game that took away chances and made some stick swipes that put him at risk. What you got is what you got. Those risk plays reflect who he is as a player. In the short run he is what we got; in the longer run he won't be here. In a playoff type intensely played game against a cup contending team with many potent/skilled players it is not surprising that a breakdown is going to be capitalized on. At the end of the game we had our multiple chances with Olofsson in a good position to score. He simply didn't convert. The Sabres are not going to make the playoffs. I'm a Sabre fan but not I'm suffering from delusion. What I want to see is a team getting better and developing. I see it; I'm encouraged by it. I also want to see meaningful games played at the end of the season for the sake of the fans and for the development towards being a serious team. This was a terrific game from a competitive standpoint and as a measuring stick game. It demonstrated that when we play the right way we can play with the upper-echelon teams, of which we are not at that level. It's an arduous process but I strongly believe that we are moving in the right direction.

The attached link is Krueger's post game comments on WGR. This is a 4 plus minute segment. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/2-26-ralph-krueger-post-game

The end game is that the player will have to adjust his game to fit Krueger's tighter, two way game. Krueger's system is predicated on aggressive checking on the puck in the defensive zone leading to the offense. His demanding system doesn't allow for floaters. Skinner is a highly competitive player and a self-motivated player. I'm not as worried about him as you seem to be. The remedy to how Skinner is currently being used is to put him on an upgraded line. The offseason is where that issue is going to be meaningfully addressed.

This was a terrific game. Although Colorado is contending with a number of injuries they are still a top tier team. We matched them in this game. Olofsson had a few golden opportunities at the end of the game but he missed on them. Miller made a major mistake on their last goal by not staying in position and they capitalized on it. Both goalies played well. I was really impressed with the Colorado goalie.

I agree with you that a Risto for Trocheck deal would have been a bad deal. But the speculation was that his name was dangled maybe not necessarily for that deal but for other deals. Under Krueger Risto has elevated his play. Unless a deal is too good to pass up I want to keep him. He has become our anchor defenseman.

If Simmonds can provide some net presence for this timid team he will be filling a desperate need.

From what was speculated on WGR Risto was being offered maybe on that deal or other deals. I can't say for sure if that it is true or not. But what I find encouraging is that the GM was willing to make a major move to address a major deficit at the second center spot. I still believe that the offseason will be the most propitious time to make a substantial deal because of our positive cap situation. Many people have criticized Botterill for not being aggressive in proposing and making deals. That's an unfair characterization. Many analysts have noted that Botterill has been very active all season long in seeking trades but trade partners have been hard to come by. Too bad some of the energy that the older brother has couldn't be transferred to the younger brother in Chicago. Needless to say the brothers have very different on ice personalities.

Attached is a link from NHL.com of Nylander's nifty goal between his legs. https://www.nhl.com/video/nylanders-between-the-legs-ppg/t-277462110/c-5297647

Of course I'm hoping that the Sabres play well enough to make the playoffs. However, although Toronto is not playing well now that doesn't mean that they can't get it together enough to hold on to their playoff position. We should get a better sense of our playoff situation after this out of town stretch against some really good teams. If the Sabres surprise and earn some unexpected points against these better teams then the heavy odds against us improve some more. So let's just wait and see and hope for the best.

Attached is a WGR link with Krueger talking about the trades. This is a 9 minute segment. When he talks Krueger is Krueger always being in the present moment and being positive. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/02-25-dominik-kahun-conference-call

I'm not sure about Sullivan's familiarity with Rodrigues. But it is widely acknowledged that Rutherford is one of the best GMs in the game. Not just winning the cup but consistently keeping your team in the cup hunt over an extended period of time in a cap system is a major accomplishment. In making this trade with Pittsburgh what is evident is that all three of these players needed a change of scenery and a fresh start. A deal good for you can also be a deal good for them.