JohnC

Trading an exceptional player for a collection of good players makes no sense. Acting on frustration and exasperation is a recipe for even a longer period of mediocrity. Look at all the cup winners and contending teams. What they all have in common is that they have two to four elite players surrounded by good role players. We already have an elite player in Jack. Dealing him for a bevy of solid to good player would not improve the team---- it would set it back. Dahlin has elite skills. He's a young player who is struggling. That shouldn't be surprising because young players still have to go through the developing process. If anyone suggested that he should be dealt because he could bring back a quantity of good talent it would be an act self-inflicted regression. Tampa is one of the most talented teams in the league. It is a genuine cup contending team. It shouldn't surprise anyone that when they play at their talent level and when an inferior talented team plays at their level that the superior team is going to prevail. And that's exactly what happened in these two games. When the Sabres made mistakes Tampa capitalized. When Tampa made mistakes we weren't able to capitalize. You don't have to be an analytical wizard to understand that in sports and most fields of endeavor that talent usually prevails. And that's exactly what happened in Sweden.

This is a WGR link of Ralph Krueger's post game comments. It is a five minute segment. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/ralph-krueger-post-gamehttps: The below link is WGR's Paul Hamilton write up of the game. It stated the obvious critical observations about the game. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-leave-sweden-no-points

There are more than enough leaders and character guys in the locker room. I don't see that as an issue. The primary source of their struggles has to do with the fact that they don't have enough goal scorers spread out throughout the roster. Or another way of describing our major flaw is that there isn't enough scoring talent. As I see it for the most part the effort exists in most of the games. That's not the crux of the problem. Even when players have opportunities to score too frequently the players on the ice can't convert their golden opportunities. This roster is more talented than last year's roster. It's still not good enough to be a top tier contending team. I do believe that we have enough talent to be a fringe playoff team and maybe eek out a playoff position. However, that is not a guarantee. What's the solution? Add more scoring talent. But in order to address that issue through a trade you have to give up something very valuable. There is no simple or easy solution.

What's happening is that the Sabres are being exposed for their lack of scoring throughout their lines. The Mittelstadt line is impotent and the Larsson line fulfills its important role as a checking line but isn't contributing enough goals. Other than the Jack line I don't see where the scoring is going to come from. Reinhart scored twice because he was in front of the net for a tip in and he shot and scored from the outside when there was some good screening net presence. But that is more of an exception than a consistent occurrence. The Tampa roster is filled with scorers. Our roster is thinly staffed with scorers. Will a deal or two make a major difference for us? Unless Risto is dangled in a major deal I don't see this rostered being meaningfully altered.

Without question, Tampa is not only the more talented team but they are underachieving this season. It was mentioned by one of the Buffalo commentators (forgot which one) that some of the players were starting to snipe at one another on the bench during the games. I'm hoping that this cross continent game doesn't result in them bonding as a team and playing better as a unit. The Sabres have a number of Swedes on the roster who will be playing in front of family and friends. Just maybe that back home atmosphere might be a factor in this game. If the Sabres win one game out of two I will be more than satisfied.

The attached link is a column by Travis Yost from the Buffalo News. It focuses on the good play of the third pairing of Jokiharju and Scandella with the main focus on Jokiharju. He uses analytics to support his case of how well Joki is playing and how the younger player is elevating the play of the older Scandella. The bottom line is this trade of Nylander for Jokiharju has worked out really well for us. He is still a very young player with a lot of upside. Kudos to our GM. https://buffalonews.com/2019/11/06/buffalo-sabres-henri-jokiharju-marco-scandella-analytics-travis-yost/

Make sure you don't wear one of those red MAGA hats and throw paper towels at the locals. They might respond by throwing rocks at you.

Happy Birthday bionic knee man. I hope this knee surgery works out as well as the first one did. ?

The first round pick that Murray used for Lehner (a goalie that Ottawa probably wasn't going to keep) could have been used for a forward who would now be ready to play on the first or more likely second line. Compare that to the current GM signing Hutton and giving up nothing for him? Hutton is not only as good, if not better, but also one of the leaders on this team. The previous staffs have made so many crippling mistakes that it is both laughable and sad. GMs make a lot of decisions in which not all of them work out. That's inherent in making decisions in any profession. However, there is a big difference between making a calculated decisions that don't work out and making outrageously stupid decisions that never had any chance of working out. The primary reason that Murray blundered on his goalie acquisition in Lehner is that he overvalued the attribute of size for the position. That was why he was so fixated on him. He got tunnel vision in his scouting for the position and it resulted in that decision exploding on him. While Murray was intoxicated with his self-destructive bluster and short term perspective Botterill was more analytical with a longer term perspective. Or another way of saying this is being dumb is not better than being smart!

If Housley couldn't get the lumbering goalie to practice on his weaknesses that is an indictment of the coach. If the player refuses to participate in a drill that addresses weakness in his game then that is in your face insubordination. Not only does the coach lose credibility with the player but the flagrant disrespect flows down to the rest of the team. The coach has the authority to direct his players. If you are not winning with your players then what do you have to lose by moving out the recalcitrant player/s. Lehner's internal struggles were known within the organization. I'm sure they didn't know what the exact cause of his aberrant behavior was but there was enough of an issue to recognize that something was very wrong. The staff shouldn't have put up with his conduct and attitude because it was detrimental to the team. They should have forced him seek help and use his roster spot for someone else. Losing is bad enough. Losing control of the operation is worse. The former GM who dealt for Lehner made a stupendously stupid deal. It made absolutely no sense. It demonstrates how bad decisions have lingering consequences and make the road to success a much longer distance to travel.

I looked up Alex Nylander's stats with Chicago. In 12 games he has 2 goals and 5 assists with a plus 2. He is averaging 12:47 minutes a game. Those are respectable numbers. However, Beane's deal of Jokiharju for Nylander is very much in our favor. The Blackhawk fans have every right to be upset with that deal.

Just ignore the inane comments. They will always exist. Your summary is accurate. You did an excellent job in giving a fair representation of the game.

He's not playing with confidence and it shows. Team's have adjusted to what he does well and are now taking away the room for him to freely skate up the ice. He is now more quickly being pressed and forced to give up the puck. In his defensive zone he isn't strong enough to match up with the stronger players who are around the net. The Islanders are a good team that plays a tight and suffocating game. I thought overall that the Sabres matched up with them and played them to a draw. The goal the Islanders scored was beyond being a fluke. We had our chances but our shots were off. This was a well played game but because of the style of play forced by the Islanders it was not an entertaining game. There was little room to make offensive plays. In these types of games I wish the Sabres would shoot more instead of making that extra tight pass that doesn't materialize into anything. The one positive takeaway was that Montour played well in his inaugural game. The attached link is WGR's Paul Hamilton's description of the game. It's brief but captures it well. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-have-now-lost-three-straight

According to Paul Hamilton from WGR Vesey and Montour will be returning to the lineup replacing Rodrigues and Gilmour. They will be playing a red hot Islander team that defensively plays very well and their goal scoring is widely spread around. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-montour-and-vesey-return

This is a simple case where the dominant team whooped the inferior team. In hockey an inferior team can compete with the better team if it plays a tight defensive game. As I said in a prior post there were glaring lapses that the home team easily took advantage of. Hopefully, tomorrow the Sabres will play a smarter and more responsible game.

Is it your innate charm or your Stromboli that makes you popular with the masses?

The Caps are a Cup contending team. When you play a superior team such as the Caps you can't have not only defensive lapses but glaring lapses. That 4 on 1 in the first period was ridiculous. Tomorrow's game against the Islanders is a big game for the Sabres. This team doesn't want to enter their foreign trip playing the Lightning on a losing streak with the potential to extend it.

Paul Hamilton for WGR writes a preview for the upcoming Capital game. This team is legitimate Cup contending team, and they are playing really well right now. I would be surprised if we beat them. I'm hoping that the Sabres can pull out one win in their next two games. Paul noted that Montour will be playing in the Washington game and that Gilmore will be scratched. I don't expect Montour, coming off a lengthy layoff, to play in both of these games. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-visit-red-hot-washington

Now that I know that you have a relationship with him I have altered my benevolent opinion of you. You now fall into the disreputable category because of your questionable association. ?

You need to hook up with @Plezmd1. He's looking for a benefactor. ?

The below link is a Paul Hamilton column for WGR. He points out that Vesey is close to being ready to play. If Vesey and Olafsson can give some average scoring on 5X5 it would help to balance out the scoring. I thought before Vesey got hurt that he was steadily playing better while Olafsson seemed to be fading when playing eveatn strength. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-vesey-getting-close-early-return

You are not only irascible but you are a mooch. ?

You are afflicted with the congenial trait. ?

Unless Risto or McCabe is dealt I don't see where dealing a Scandella or Miller is going to give you much in return. I just don't see Risto being dealt. Also, Dahlin, Joki and Montour are unlikely to be dealt. So whatever surplus we have is not going to have a high enough value to get back a top two line forward.

I felt before the season started that with the additions and internal improvement this team was capable of being a fringe wild-card contending team. When I use the term fringe I'm using it to mean as contending for the last couple of playoff spots. I still feel that way except I am more confident of my position. You point out that this team lacks forward depth. That's true but that is the reason why the Sabres will be competing for a wild-card spot with other teams that have specific deficiencies. What we do have is depth on the blue line, a unit that many other teams lack. I previously strenuously argued to trade Risto for forward help. Not now. I have changed my position because he and McCabe make up a physical pairing that is otherwise lacking with the other pairings. The GM has a roster full of players on the last year of their contracts. So I believe that next year this team will be in an advantageous situation to add more talent. I believe in the building process and I'm not willing to mortgage the near future for a short term gain.