JohnC

It's improbable that the Sabres will make the playoffs. The reason I'm not optimistic about reaching that benchmark has less to do with jumping over teams, granted a tough task in of itself. It has more to do with the remaining brutal schedule against superior teams. What I'm hoping for is for the Sabres to play good and tough hockey and stay in the race so the end of the season games are meaningful games. What I'm looking for is a franchise with a recent history of middling success making the progression to becoming a competitive team and moving up the ranks. What's encouraging to me is that I do see progress although a lot of the battered fanbase doesn't see it that way. Although my assessment is more positive I understand their exasperation and impatience.

Andrew Fillipponi from 93.7Fan in Pitts was on WGR talking about the Pittsburgh/Buffalo deal. He provided more information on Kahun. He pointed out that Rutherford who is one of the better GMs in the game had a higher view on Rodriques than Botterill did, a personnel man who worked under Rutherford. This is a 16 min segment. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/02-25-andrew-fillipponi-from-937-the-fan-in-pittsburgh-on-dominik-kahun Speculation: On WGR's morning show Jeremy White noted that the Sabres tried to make a deal with Florida in order to get Trocheck. He pointed out that sources inside the organization were claiming their offer was higher than Carolina's. A factor may have been that Florida didn't want to trade within the conference.

Cody Hodgson may be a phantom but the money he makes even after he disappeared is real. The mistakes of the past continue to ding us in current time. My take from the spotrack chart is that Botterill has smartly managed the cap and has given himself flexibility to make deals in the offseason and be in a good position to sign some of his emerging young players in the not too distant future.

The below WGR link is Botterill talking about the transactions. It is a 14 min segment. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/botterill-is-focused-on-his-teams-progression-into-march This link is a BN commentary by Mike Harrington commenting on the trade deals. He comments on the GM balancing the present and future needs. https://buffalonews.com/2020/02/24/buffalo-sabres-nhl-jason-botterill-4/

So far the announced deals are marginal deals that won't help or hurt us much this season. For me, that's a good thing. It appears that the GM is keeping players such as Risto and Montour and not being forced to deal players because there is pressure to make a change for the sake of making a change for a floundering team. I'm not against making bigger deals per se. But I believe that the offseason is the better time to make these more substantial deals. Maybe this current good run has taken some of the pressure/urgency to take an action for the sake of taking an action? I have become more convinced after watching Risto play this season that he is an important piece to this team's roster puzzle. And it is evident that the renaissance HC feels the same way.

I don't believe that the Sabres will make the playoffs, although it is not inconceivable. What's encouraging to me regardless of the record is that the players (limited as they are) seemed to have bought in to what their renaissance man coach is espousing. In general, this team is playing the style of hockey that in the long run will prove to be successful. And that is why I am more encouraged than most of my compatriots here. I appreciate your response. However, I respectfully but strenuously disagree with your analysis. Time will tell which view/analysis is more accurate. As it stands I am comfortable with my position as I'm sure you are confident in your position.

The problem with Toronto is not the issue of making the playoffs. It relates to their loose style of play that doesn't translate into the tighter and grittier style of playoff hockey. Their previous year's quick departure from the first round reflects that point. The problem with the Leafs is not having enough talent (they have plenty of good players) as it is having the right mix of players that translates into a tougher style of play that is required for success in the playoffs.

When Pegula took over as the owner he acted as if he was playing fantasy hockey foolishly throwing around his money. He also made bad hiring decisions that set this franchise back. There was no hope. As with the Bills the new and over eager owner seemed to learned from his mistakes. After firing Murray who set this franchise back he made a good hire in Botterill In my opinion he has prudently and steadily upgraded the roster. So to answer your question under this current GM's operation the trendline has been upward. That is not to say that everything he has done has worked out. His decision to hire Housley didn't work out and how he handled the ROR deal was a very injurious deal. But in general he has done a good job. The notion that I am too patient makes no sense to me. In order to rebuild properly there was never going to be a quick fix. What makes no sense, and it seems to be a prevailing view, is to associate this GM's tenure with the prior regimes. What has made Botterill's job even more daunting is the necessity to rectify the mistakes that the prior regimes made that had set this franchise further back that it needed to be.

I agree with you that this franchise through its own ineptitude created its own mess. But let's not forget that Botterill inherited a mess from the previous GM. It wasn't our current GM who shed its assets for the intended quick rebuild. Our GM is in his third year. In the first year he had to put a staff together and assess what the talent in the system that he presided over. Botterill hired Housley. It didn't work out. So he fired him. He then hired Krueger who is an obvious coaching upgrade. GMs make mistakes and then have to correct their mistakes. GMs make a lot of decisions, and not all of them work out. That's the nature of the business. Where I strenuously disagree with you and others is that this GM shouldn't be blamed for what went on before him. That makes no sense. It was because of the extended period of mistakes of the prior regimes his task became even more challenging. It's my belief that in a relatively short period of time of his tenure he has put this team on the right path. Two years ago this team earned 63 pts. Last year this team earned 76 points. This year this team should earn somewhere around 86-88 points. The trendline is up. For this franchise there was never a quick fix because of where the GM was starting from. Read my response to Snafu to get my answer.

When you have talent you can parlay that talent for younger and upcoming talent. When you don't have that talent you can't do that to the same extent. Different teams in different situations.

They have tried to come to a contract deal with Kreider but he wants to test the market. They know what the range of what he is asking for and are not willing to at least now pay it. So instead of losing him for nothing they will try to extract as much value in return as they can. The Rangers' goal is not to eek into the playoffs. They are to a degree involved in an accelerated rebuild so that they can become a cup contending team in the near future.

I agree with you that not taking advantage of the schedule in the extended homestand was very disappointing. I'm still not sure that winning some of those more winnable games would have catapulted us into the playoffs but it would have kept us in contention up to the end. I also want to see a strong push for the playoffs as much for the fans as for the players. As far as the expiring contracts I would hate to see either Larsson or Gergs dealt. What's the point? Because they are UFAs they won't result in much of a return while their value is still reasonably high for us as reflected in their play. I'm hoping that they can be retained and their line maintained for next year.

The link is Krueger's post game comments on WGR. You can bring up the other post game links from this page. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/2-23-ralph-krueger-post-game

The attached link is a summary of the game taken from NHL.com. I only watched the first period so I can't give a fair assessment of the game. But from what I did see of the game the Sabres played a simple and defensive oriented game emphasizing protecting their young goalie. The Sabres have won 5 of the last 6 games (as noted by BillsFan4). What is a lingering frustration is losing to Ottawa on a few occasions and losing against Anaheim at home on the extended homestand. This season would be viewed in a much better light if the team could have seized on those opportunities. There is a large segment of the population here that believes that everything associated with this GM and how he is building the team has failed. They are wrong. Many of them are ferociously clinging to their collapsing narrative because they have repeated it so often that they are invested in it. There are obvious needs that need to be addressed but steadily this roster is being upgraded. It takes time. Although this team is unlikely to make the playoffs this year the trajectory is clearly upwards. To the tiresome snickering crowd I repeat what I have been saying all along: Stay the course! https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/wpg-vs-buf/2020/02/23/2019020960#game=2019020960,game_state=final

The Sabres beat a cup contending team on the road with their goalie playing well. Find another freaking day to complain about their play! There are plenty of games where they are worthy of being criticized. Doing it after this game is ridiculous.

The attached link from NHL.com is a 5 min recap of the game. https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/buf-vs-pit/2020/02/22/2019020950#game=2019020950,game_state=final

The attached link is Jack's and Krueger's post game comments on WGR after the game. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/2-22-ralph-krueger-post-game https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/2-22-jack-eichel-post-game

When the Sabres get solid to good goaltending they can compete with even the more talented teams. If I were to give out the stars for this game Hutton would receive the first star. I thought he played with a calmness even when there was a lot of action around him. Jack with his laser shot would also get a star. Collectively I thought our defensemen did an excellent job of getting on the puck and then moving the puck out of its zone. They also performed well in keeping track of their men when the opposition was hovering around our net. Our forwards played a tight checking game. Hallelujah! Skinner scored on a nice tip in after taking an impressive pass from Johansson. The Larsson-Girgs-Okposo line is a meat and potato line. Their style of play is not flashy. But it is a tough and grinding line, and also our most consistent line on. The individual players fit together to make a cohesive line. Maulkin is a feisty player. Under Krueger this team exhibits excellent stick work. Jack is Great!

Do you want to know why Reinhart is playing on the Jack line? Because he playing on the Jack line along with Olofsson is one of the top first lines in the league. Only you with your sour attitude would find that troubling. If Reinhart plays exceptionally well he will be rewarded with a commensurate contract. If the Sabres aren't willing to pay him at a market-rate level do you think he is going to stay with the low balling team? What you are essentially saying is that because of contract considerations it is not smart to put a player in the best position to succeed and benefit the team. That is not only a cynical way of making hockey decisions (by the coach and GM) it is a stupendously stupid way of running an operation. When you advocate for not maximizing a player's production then you have lost me. You are mistakenly submerging the Skinner situation to other non-applicable situations. First and foremost he is not playing as well as he should/could. The onus is on him as a player. But at the heart of the issue is that he needs to play with better players who are not this roster. Hopefully, more talent will be brought in to address that issue in the offseason. As it stands Krueger is not willing to disassemble the Jack line because it is producing as one of the best top lines in the league. You may disagree with his decision but it is a reasonable and understandable position. You and I reside in different universes. They will never meet. When it becomes pointless---it becomes pointless.

When I watched the clip I felt the long term burden and pain he had to deal with associated with his addiction. And within the same clip I also felt the relief he has for taking the step to deal with his problem in a serious manner. It's not easy for a public figure to deal with a serious private problem. He seems to have made the decision to accept that he has demons and work every day to deal with them. It's not a hockey issue for him as it is a life and family issue. I certainly wish him the best.

Around half a dozen Sabres are on the last year of their contracts. The GM for the Sabres did what the Buffalo Bills did in the second year of that new regime by absorbing a tight cap one year to open up the salary cap space the next year. How do you think the Bills were able to bring in free agents the next year? If you want to complain about the organization's willingness to accept the cap squeeze this year to bring in better players next year then do so. I agree with their financial strategy and willingness to be more strategic about how they handle their cap. You are one of the few cantankerous people who is complaining about a player (Reinhart) playing well for the past few years. He has been consistently good while also improving each year. That's something to celebrate and not complain about. Reinhart bet on himself by taking a bridge deal on his last contract. He performed beyond his contract. I salute him for that while you whine about his accomplishments as if it is problem. Your complaints about Bogo and how the GM handled the situation belie the reality of the facts. This over-paid and injured player was not movable. No team wanted him. There was no way for the organization to not take a major cap hit whether he was moved or not. So the organization waited until the season advanced and then worked out an arrangement to get rid of him. You may be reluctant to remember the actual fact that the current GM inherited the Bogo albatross. This burdening player and contract were a product of the prior regime. The GM dealt with it in the best way he could considering the circumstances he had to deal with. Again, fantasy hockey has little to do with real hockey where contracts, cap considerations, no trade clauses and unwilling trade partners come into play.

There are many factors beyond analytics why players play or on the roster or not. Contract considerations and players who can be recalled or not without being subjected to waiver claims also come into play. There are a lot of transactions that all teams would like to make but can't because of constraints such as the cap and contracts considerations. You may be good at playing fantasy hockey but the real world of NHL doesn't work like your imaginary hockey world.

You are falsely making the assumption that the Sabres don't use analytics like most teams do. They do. Your narrative is your own fictitious narrative that doesn't reflect the reality.

Do you know who has a different view on Risto compared to your view? Krueger. He is still accumulating the most minutes from the unit because the HC has a different assessment from yours.

It doesn't matter what advanced stats you want to use in evaluating Risto it is clearly evident that under Krueger he is playing better. By simplifying his role as a defender and getting him to play a smarter and more efficient style of game Risto has unquestionably played better this season. If you want to quibble about stats I got another recommendation for you: If you open your jaundiced eyes it would be clear to even you that he is having a good season. The one predictable thing about Brian Burke is that whatever organization he goes to he will be fired from. ?