JohnC

As you well know the biggest transgression that the participants in this sex-escapade was not their heated bathroom conduct. What is most troublesome for them is that their behavior became public and embarrassed the department. For that they will pay a steep price. There is no doubt that the participants will be severely disciplined. I hope it doesn't rise to the level of termination. PS I agree with you that she is hot.

I would say Dahlin and the player he is paired with is the first pairing for the Sabres. There is no doubt that Risto has value on the market. And there is no doubt that Dahlin has so much value to the Sabres that he is an untouchable player just as Eichel is. That untouchability does not apply to Risto.

I'm a Risto supporter. He has upped his game under the coaching of Krueger, and has become one of our better defensemen. Is he a first pairing player? I would say he is more of a second pairing player. I say that as no slight to him because he plays a rugged style of play that the other defensemen don't. With respect to the issue of trading him for a player such as Ehlers I would be open to that type of deal because this team desperately needs more goal scorers beyond the first line.

I think your numbers are a little high because I think his nerves are going to be very charged. I do think that he will beat the established lines.

The attached link is an 8 min segment with Chad DeDominicis on WGR with Jeremy White. The core of the discussion is that under Krueger Risto has played better making his value go up. The issue as always comes down to is what can you get for Risto in a deal? Jeremy White has for a long time argued to deal him not only for the return but for the sake of changing the mix on the roster. I don't go along with his reasoning. The issue for me comes down to what can you get for him? If you can get a second-line forward such as Winnipeg's Ehler for him then I would be open to such a deal. If not, then keep your asset and don't settle for a lesser asset. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/01-22-chad-dedominicis-from-die-by-the-blade-with-jeremy-white

Kris Barker was on WGR talking about the team's prospects. This is a 15 min segment. He specifically mentioned that he believed that Cozens and maybe Arttu Ruotsolainen, who might need some AHL play, could be with the big club next year. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/1-21-kris-baker-with-brayton-wilson

WGR's Paul Hamilton wrote a column on Lazar whom he believes has earned a roster spot. He points out from a point standpoint he is outperforming the other lower line players. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-lazar-has-earned-a-spot-to-stay-in-buffalo

I want the TSA employee to use some common sense. He is in the wrong job. Sometimes good judgment is not quantifiable. But you recognize it when you see it being exhibited; and you recognize it when it is not exhibited.

Ullmark has progressed as a goalie. However, I agree with you that he is more of a backup than a starting primary goalie. The goalie position is one of the most unique positions in sports. You can have a goalie who indicates that he is a #1 goalie on a team only to fall into the abyss the next year. And that same mercurial player can go to another team and carry his team to the playoffs and beyond. Look what's happened to Hutton. He was our starting goalie who was expected to be our mainstay stopper for the duration of his contract. No one would consider him to be a good to elite player but he was expected to be a solid player. It wouldn't be surprising to me that if he was dealt that he would regain the respectable play that he had before.

WGR's Paul Hamilton reports the players will be sent to Rochester during the all-star break. Pilut will probably be the player who will return to the big club when the league returns to play. He also indicates that Skinner should soon be ready after the Sabres resume their schedule. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/the-sabres-send-three-to-rochester

Charles Barkley who had a similar body type had a long and distinguished career. He started off his career with a body type that fit the moniker of "round mound". It didn't take him long to realize that he needed to work on his conditioning and eating habits to have a long career. From what I have observed about Zion he is starting off his career in better physical shape than Barkley, a HOF player. Zion is a smart and well grounded kid with good people around him. I think that he will more quickly grasp what he needs to do to have a successful career like Barkley had.

You can critique whatever you want to. Overall, both teams played hard.

Zion appears to be a big and bulky dude. Looks can be deceiving. On yesterday's broadcast of the Pelican/Clipper game it was mentioned that he recently took a stress test. The announcer stated that the examiner had to repeatedly turn up the pace because his heart rate was so low. From a cardio standpoint this guy is physical freak. I still believe that he needs to slim down a bit in order to take some pressure off his joints from the grinding pro game.

The below link is Krueger's post-game response after yesterday's game. It's disappointing that the Sabres lost but you can't criticize the effort. Although the Predators have been underachieving they are a more talented team. Both teams seemed to play with desperation and both teams had exceptional goaltending. Hopefully, we will get Skinner and Olofsson back for the last stage of the season. To be candid I don't see the Sabres making the playoffs but I do see them in the running up to the end. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/1-18-ralph-krueger-post-game

Bogo is aggressively being shopped by the GM. The player's rep and the organization are both working to accommodate his trade request. Nothing has gotten done. From what I have heard about our GM he is not willing to eat any portion of traded players/contracts. I'm not sure that he is willing to go against his rigid history on that issue. With respect to he highlighted area that's the point! If you have a chip that apparently no one wants then you have a chip that no one wants. You then have no choice but to bide your time hoping that the situation will change and the log jam will be broken. On this issue of having excess players on a unit I'm not bothered by it as some are . It will work itself out one way or the other.

The attached link is a Paul Hamilton WGR column on the Dad trip. It focuses on Jack and Reinhart's fathers. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-fathers-enjoying-their-time-with-their-sons

How do you get rid of Bogo? Who is going to take him at his salary and performance level? When your GM has a history of not eating contracts then what do you do? As far as the issue of disgruntlement, so what? Rodrigues is also disgruntled. And it has been reported (Dreger et al) that the GM is actively trying to trade him for peanuts. He can't get a penny on a dollar deal because his contract even at the halfway mark of the season is overvalued. Bogo clearly isn't what he was prior to his accumulation of injuries. However, he was good enough for the calculating coach to insert him back into the lineup against a big and rugged team. Why did the coach play Bogo instead of Miller? Because he felt that he would be better in that situation. This is a long and grinding season. In the second-half of it the schedule gets more compressed and punishing. What you now consider an excess in players can quickly turn to a dire shortage. Krueger has been adept at juggling his roster. I have no problem with how he has handled the players he has to work with. As far as the issue of a player being disgruntled over the lack of playing time or how he is being used I'm not bothered by it. It is an inescapable aspect of any team sport where the coaches make decisions on playing time and usage. How did we end up acquiring Frolik? He complained about his limited playing time and how he was used. So he was dealt. The difference between the Frolik and Bogo situation is that there was a trading partner for Frolik and so far one hasn't been found for Bogo,

It's obvious that we have an excess in defensemen resulting in players having to sit out and understandably causing disgruntlement. But I don't see having an excess in a unit as a problem especially when considering that the excess players that many people would like to deal off would give us little in return. In hockey that excess on the unit can quickly vanish with the onslaught of injuries. Are the Sabres a playoff team? I don't know. What I do know is that there is a very good chance that this team will be in the playoff running up to the end of the season. So why deal a player or two on that unit and leave your team vulnerable to a lack of depth when you will not get much in return for them. Although Bogo is a diminished player due to his accumulated injuries he played well against the big and tough Dallas. So if he can contribute why get rid of him now when he will leave next season when his contract runs out? I'm not against trading any player other than the special core known to all. But if a player is still useful in a possible (maybe probable run?) then I would prefer to retain the player.

Very often the additional revenue generated through additional hotel taxes, restaurant taxes and ticket taxes etc. are used to pay off the cost of the bonds that the government issues to cover their contribution. The owner will generate more money from a new facility compared to the generation of revenue from an antiquated facility. So he should be able to handle his own costs.

I'm amazed at the fact that these elite hockey prospect leave home at such a young age to pursue their dreams/careers. For most of us at their age it would be a traumatizing experience to leave home and be away from one's family. I was recently listening to a hockey analyst talk about Cozens as a prospect. He stated that he is not as flashy as some of the other high end prospects at his age. He went on to say that there is a no frills fundamental structure and maturity to his game that makes him an exceptional prospect. In another year or two when he physically matures and gains experience odds are that he will be our second-line center.

If your property taxes went up to pay for public services such as infrastructure, schools, libraries, police/fire etc I'm not feeling sorry for you because directly or indirectly you are benefiting. Where I agree with you is when your tax dollars go to subsidize a private citizen, a billionaire, then I sympathize with your stance. I have no problem using public money for the costs associated with the infrastructure required in the building of a new sports facility. However, the bulk of the costs should be the responsibility of the private owner who directly benefits from the project.

It's still early to get hung up on the standings. The Sabres have established a good home record while their road record has been poor. In order to stay in the playoff race this team needs to garner a respectable 50% point return on the road. This was a good start. https://www.nhl.com/standings/2019/conference

Every Buffalo player on the ice worked their asses off. Dallas is a big and athletic team, and the Sabres smothered them. Ullmark certainly was instrumental in this win. But as it was repeatedly stated by our announcers Lazar played well. I thought our defensemen toughed it out with Dallas whenever they tried to cycle the puck behind our goalie. Krueger is getting his players to buy in that the offense starts with the defense and then works to the offensive zone. Dahlin took a terrific shot on his goal. And Lazar was instrumental in that goal with his presence in front of the net. We are starting to get secondary scoring to make up for our injured scorers. The Sabres worked hard from the beginning to the end. And the winning result against a very good team was deserved. We simply outworked them.

We don't disagree about the grand challenge that he and the organization is facing. No one is guaranteed of being a successful GM especially after taking over a floundering franchise. That's just the nature of that challenging business. However, no one can deny that Tampa has been a consistently good franchise during his tenure. My point about Yzerman is that he understands the challenge he is facing and is not looking for a quick fix because there is no quick fix for that depleted roster. It is now undergoing the process of developing the young players in the system and steadily add them to the big club.

Yzerman is one of the best talent assessors in the game. He was instrumental in putting together cup winning teams in Detroit and Tampa. At last year's draft after moving on to running the Detroit organization he was asked how he was going to restore Detroit back to hockey relevancy. He succinctly told the interviewer that there was nothing magical about his strategy. He simply said: Draft and develop. And then he walked away. If I were a recently fired coach seeking future employment I would have no hesitancy going to an organization headed by a proven GM who knows what it takes to build a winner.