JohnC

The attached link is a column written by the Buffalo News's Mike Harrington about this game and the Sabres. I thought it was a fair representation of the status of the team. https://buffalonews.com/2019/11/30/buffalo-sabres-nhl-3/

I don't think the Sabres will make the playoffs this year. I'm counting on them to be in the playoff running up to the end of the season. Jack is the Captain of the team. Do you have inside information that he wants out? Because I haven't heard anything about his disgruntlement. Does he get frustrated? Of course he does. And that is one of the reasons why he is great i.e. his desire to win. And to answer your question without any equivocation I want Botterill back. As long as this team continues to get better I am more than satisfied with his work. Despite what the alarmists have continued to yell there never was a quick fix. In the real world reality supecedes fantasy.

The below link is WGR's Paul Hamilton's post-game snapshot writeup of the game. He points out that the opportunities were there but Toronto's goalie stymied the shooters. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/the-sabres-get-three-out-of-four-points-against-toronto If hitting the cross bar was worth half a goal we would have won. Olofsson and Reinhart excel at that art form that doesn't give you any statistical credit. ☹️

You never understood my position on Housley. What you couldn't grasp is that he wasn't the primary problem with this team. The biggest issue was the talent level. Housley was fired and a better coach was hired so that issue should become a dormant issue. Now you have to chase another bogeyman. The Sabres played well in this game and came out of it with a point. I'm not satisfied with this OT loss but I'm not dissatisfied with the caliber of play and the earning of a point. The biggest factor in the Toronto win was their goalie. He made a number of clutch saves. Hutton also played well although I thought the goal he let in overtime was a tad soft. Although the Leafs had more shots I thought we had more quality shots. This was a hard fought game where the effort level for both teams was high. In general I liked how the Sabres played. This compressed schedule is brutal. Jack is great. He is getting better and playing a more well rounded game. There is a loud chorus in this room calling to trade one or more of our defensemen for some forward help. I don't see any of the dealt players bringing back enough. Having depth on defense is an asset, not something to lament. This is a good unit. In this game I thought Risto played well. Those misguided people who are calling for the firing of our GM are grotesquely off the mark. I will continue to argue to stay the course.

I apologize for being so inquisitive but were the concession prices (beer) reasonable? My sense is that type of expensive cash cow type of facility won't work in western NY. Even if you try to build a more spartan type dome that roof makes the building much more expensive than if it is an open stadium. I'm interested to get a look of the Pegula stadium study.

Did you have a good enough view from your seat or did you mostly watch the game via the jumbotron? Are some of the seats reasonably priced or is the cost to going to the game exorbitant? Just curious?

You need to get more comfortable with him because he is going to be the Sabre GM longer than you want. ?

The Bills added Brown, Beasley and Knox to the receiving unit so one can't argue that it wasn't significantly upgraded. Both Oliver and Ford are getting better and hopefully each will be long term starters for us. Your "what-if" evaluation against players who are doing well as rookies and contributing to a playoff contending team is a negative perspective on positive performances. It's acknowledged that Metcalf has a limited route tree. He is very successful running the long routes in Seattle with Wilson as his qb. Right now, Josh Allen hasn't been too proficient throwing the long ball. So having success in one system doesn't necessarily mean that the player would have the same success in another system with another qb. The bottom line is that I'm more than happy with not only the two drafted Bills you mentioned but also very happy with our draft in general.

WGR's Brayton Wilson gives his summary of the game with some clips. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-hold-off-the-maple-leafs-6-4 The below link is a WGR Krueger post game comments. This is a 5 min. segment. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/11-29-ralph-krueger-post-game

This was a useful early season loss for coach K to get the message to his talented team that they aren't as good as everyone makes them out to be. Coach K is one of the best coaches in the business. His teams get better as the season advances. There are plenty of coaches to sneer at---he shouldn't be one of them. He is one of the best in the business. If you don't believe me then check his glorious record.

If you are not going to get a top 6 forward for Risto then keep him. The analytics on any player on a bad team (for the previous couple of years) is going to have skewed negative analytical numbers. As I have often said if you are not going to get comparable value back on any deal then don't make the deal. If I had to guess I would say that Scandella would be the most likely defenseman to be traded if one is made. In general, he has been playing fairly well, and I do like Miller. He has wheels. In this Toronto game and win I thought Ullmark was our first star. He kept us in the game especially with his glove saves on Nylander in the first period. It's apparent that he has moved ahead of Hutton as our #1 goalies. Although Toronto clearly has more firepower the Sabres kept up with them all game long. In this game the Sabres were fortunate that the Toronto goalie wasn't very good. Ever since Vesey scored his first game he is looser and is playing well. Olofsson can be a first or second line forward. He can shoot and is playing a more well rounded game. Mittlestadt is slowly but steadily getting better. Anyone who is prematurely declaring him a failed first pick deserves a kick in the nuts for foolishness. I thought Scandella played a good game. Asplund is not a scorer but he is an active player. I like him a lot. Jack is great. Even in the team's recent struggles from a won/lost standpoint this team has competed, and for the most part even against the very good teams has not been outclassed. To the alarmists who act as if their pants are on fire I say stay the course.

You are a rascal.

This is the Christmas spirit to the woman who received and those who gave. https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/28/us/dennys-waitress-car-surprise-trnd/index.html

Risto embodies a physically talented player who often exhibits a lack of intelligence on the ice. The result can be crushing. https://buffalonews.com/2019/11/29/buffalo-sabres-calgary-flames-rasmus-ristolainen-elias-lindholm/

During the McDermott/Beane tenure Milano represents the many high value mid-round and even lower draft picks that are contributing. It's an amazing percentage of hits on their selections. By getting those draft hits and filling a roster with cheaper first year contracts that gives the organization more flexibility in the free agent market. The success on the field is a reflection of the quality of the operation in the front office and organization. Attacked below is a link to our last draft. There is an impressive number of hits from this one draft. And it should be noted our two third round picks were stellar picks. https://www.buffalobills.com/draft/

With respect to the highlighted segment Coach K can definitely find plenty of kids who can shoot the three for addition years. However, this Army grad is smart enough to understand that he can find better three point shooters who will be at his elite academic institution for a one year basketball sabbatical. Coach K may be a traditionalist but he is savvy enough to adjust to the changing business model. The good old days are the good old days. Today is a different era and reality.

I disagree with you that the product is in a horrible decline. The players are better. Where I agree with you is that the product is different with the one and done players. Kids who want to stay in school and are motivated to get an education get it. And kids who aren't motivated to get an education don't get their degrees. That has not changed. I challenge you go through the football rosters of Alabama, Clemson, Florida and Georgia etc and see how many of those student/athletes actually get their degrees, even those who stay for four years. The landscape in college BB has changed, and it is not going back. Even Duke under Coach K has come to that realization and is adjusting to that new reality.

The attached link is WGR's Paul Hamilton giving his summary of the game. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/the-sabres-lose-in-overtime-to-the-floundering-flames The below link is Krueger's post game comments. It's a five minute segment. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/11-27-ralph-krueger-post-game

There aren't that many young players who will be ready for the pro ranks. That's understood. And it isn't the NCAA that is encouraging kids to leave. The kids, their families and advisors are making decisions that they believe is in their best interests. For many their pipe dream is an illusion. But they have the right to make that decision for themselves. As far as getting an education or not or delaying it that is also their decision to make.

I've reconciled myself to the one and done system. It's not going to change. If it is going to change it is gong to change the other way where post high schoolers will be allowed to jump directly to the NBA or the NBA G leaguer or foreign ball. From an economic standpoint it makes sense for the pro ready high schooler to get into the NBA sooner so that he can get to the more remunerative second contract. As far as the counter argument that many kids who make the leap end up not playing my response is that they should be able to make their own decisions whether it is the smart thing to do or not. Luka Doncic is in his second year with the Dallas Mavericks. He already is one of the best players in the league at 20 yrs old. He was playing pro ball in Europe when he was in his mid-teens. I'm not arguing that the college game has changed because of the one and done system. But change in the college game is part of the reality of all college sports. A great young golfer, baseball, tennis. bowler, soccer can go directly into the pro ranks. So why not in basketball?

Darren Dreger was on WGR's Instigator show. He talked about the Calgary coaching situation and the Babcock firing. This is a 12 min. segment. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/11-27-tsns-darren-dreger-with-the-instigators

Krueger was on a WGR six minute segment. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/11-27-sabres-head-coach-ralph-krueger-with-howard-and-jeremy

The Wild was a bad loss. The Sabres were inexcusably flat while the Wild were the more energetic team. There was no excuse for that. The Hawks were at home and were starting to play well. Losing to them on a back to back game was more understandable. The Sabres have talent deficiencies mostly associated with a lack of dispersed scoring that has plagued this team. Until that issue is addressed this team will not noticeably move up the ranks. As I have often said the determining issue is a lack of talent.

We recently lost to Boston and Tampa. Both of them are legitimate cup contending teams. We lost two road games to teams that are from a talent standpoint at the top of the pyramid. So why is it such a disaster to lose to either one of theses games? In fact, I will go so far as to say that I thought we slightly outplayed Boston. Toronto is another team that from a talent standpoint is in the upper tier. They have gone through some internal turmoil that resulted in their curmudgeon coach getting fired. But it shouldn't be surprising that once that source of conflict has been removed that this team stabilizes and plays to its talent level which is better than our hometown team. I agree with you that a loss to Calgary would be devastating and should send some chills through the organization, starting with the owner's box. I have repeatedly told you that the issue that afflicts this franchise is the issue of talent. We are getting better but we are not there yet. Whether you accept the reality or not it takes time.

I know a lot of the critics here disagree with me but the Sabres in many of their losses are not getting outclassed. In the last three rugged road games the Sabres played mostly even with the opposition (except for specialty units). The biggest deficiency is the inability to convert their chances when they arise. Adding a solid to good shooting forward or two would be a tremendous addition.