K-9 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Just now, 4merper4mer said: Tim Murray was the fire starter and Botts was simply a nice guy in way over his head. There may be off ice issues and part of that may be with the Pegulas, I don't know. On the ice Tim Murray turn an embarrassment of riches into a straight up embarrassment. He did so in record time. Botts came in, correctly adopted a player development philosophy and managed to develop a grand total of zero NHL players......maybe one. I can’t argue with any of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Where does this team go from here? I guess we have to hope that Skinner bounces back after the worst statistical year of his career. Okposo also had the worse statistical year of his career but I am less optimistic that his game has much more upside. There is $15 million in cap tied up in their 23 goals and 42 points from last season. We have 5 UFAs in Simmonds, Vesey, Zemgus, Frolik, and Larsson none of which is a big loss. Olaffson, Reinhart, and Pilut are restricted free agents. So we hope Cozens is ready to go, Ralph and Skinner can get on the same page, Dahlin and Ristolainen come back from the offseason looking Scott Neidermayer and Chris Pronger, reshuffling the 3rd and 4th line provides a spark, and that after eye surgery Hutton can see the puck clearly from the bench while Ullmark establishes himself as a legit starter at age 28? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snafu Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 3 hours ago, Jauronimo said: Where does this team go from here? I guess we have to hope that Skinner bounces back after the worst statistical year of his career. Okposo also had the worse statistical year of his career but I am less optimistic that his game has much more upside. There is $15 million in cap tied up in their 23 goals and 42 points from last season. We have 5 UFAs in Simmonds, Vesey, Zemgus, Frolik, and Larsson none of which is a big loss. Olaffson, Reinhart, and Pilut are restricted free agents. So we hope Cozens is ready to go, Ralph and Skinner can get on the same page, Dahlin and Ristolainen come back from the offseason looking Scott Neidermayer and Chris Pronger, reshuffling the 3rd and 4th line provides a spark, and that after eye surgery Hutton can see the puck clearly from the bench while Ullmark establishes himself as a legit starter at age 28? Best case scenario. Still ugly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextmanup Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 20 hours ago, Jauronimo said: Where does this team go from here? I guess we have to hope that Skinner bounces back after the worst statistical year of his career. Okposo also had the worse statistical year of his career but I am less optimistic that his game has much more upside. There is $15 million in cap tied up in their 23 goals and 42 points from last season. We have 5 UFAs in Simmonds, Vesey, Zemgus, Frolik, and Larsson none of which is a big loss. Olaffson, Reinhart, and Pilut are restricted free agents. So we hope Cozens is ready to go, Ralph and Skinner can get on the same page, Dahlin and Ristolainen come back from the offseason looking Scott Neidermayer and Chris Pronger, reshuffling the 3rd and 4th line provides a spark, and that after eye surgery Hutton can see the puck clearly from the bench while Ullmark establishes himself as a legit starter at age 28? I have high hopes for Cozens at this time. And UPL in net, though he is still a way's away from the NHL. Beyond that, the cupboard is bare. Skinner can bounce back if properly used once again; Okposo is finished and one of the worst K signings in team history. Dahlin needs a few more seasons to progress. He's nowhere near his potential right now. Larsson and Girgs make solid 4th line bangers, though they might well be gone. I like Pilut and Joker on D--Joker is Botterill's only decent signing. Risto is who Risto is, and it's not very good. Olaffson makes for a good trigger man on the PP but his game is 1 dimensional and he is muscled off the puck too often. Jack has blossomed into, I think, the best Jack he can be. Reinhart is also an excellent hockey player and a contributor. We have some pieces to build around. But look who is controlling the chess board! I expect little improvement for the next few years. You REALLY do have to wonder when Jack asks for a trade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 I’m usually pretty good at finding reasons to be hopeful and optimistic about buffalo sports teams but I’m still struggling with this one. Just the whole situation. I keep hoping for Kevyn Adams to make a good move/trade and give me hope. Or hire an experienced AGM. Or a couple top tier scouting/analytics hires. Or something... So far I still feel like all of these moves were motivated by saving money. They cleaned house but there’s been no key outside hires made to replace any of them that I’m aware of (I don’t count Matt Ellis or Seth Appert). They promoted from within on the scouting and analytics staff and haven’t hired any assistant GMs. It’s kind of terrifying thinking about a completely inexperienced Kevyn Adams navigating one of the most important offseasons in years with no one who has any real experience to help him. Im very anxious to see what his first trade looks like, and how he values players + assets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 2 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: I’m usually pretty good at finding reasons to be hopeful and optimistic about buffalo sports teams but I’m still struggling with this one. Just the whole situation. I keep hoping for Kevyn Adams to make a good move/trade and give me hope. Or hire an experienced AGM. Or a couple top tier scouting/analytics hires. Or something... So far I still feel like all of these moves were motivated by saving money. They cleaned house but there’s been no key outside hires made to replace any of them that I’m aware of (I don’t count Matt Ellis or Seth Appert). They promoted from within on the scouting and analytics staff and haven’t hired any assistant GMs. It’s kind of terrifying thinking about a completely inexperienced Kevyn Adams navigating one of the most important offseasons in years with no one who has any real experience to help him. Im very anxious to see what his first trade looks like, and how he values players + assets. The fact that the season is still going on leaves me a little less concerned. Have they announced draft dates and next season's start? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 1 minute ago, 4merper4mer said: The fact that the season is still going on leaves me a little less concerned. Have they announced draft dates and next season's start? I think October 6th-7th but I’m not sure if that’s just a tentative date or not. I wouldn’t say that I’m concerned. I just haven’t been able to find many reasons to get optimistic about the new direction yet. I’m hoping that’ll change once Adams starts making some moves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextmanup Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 14 hours ago, 4merper4mer said: The fact that the season is still going on leaves me a little less concerned. Have they announced draft dates and next season's start? I would not expect "next season" to start until like January, 2021! The Sabres will have gone damn near a year without playing a meaningful hockey game! No date for the draft as of yet. They still need to get the Cup over with, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 24 minutes ago, Nextmanup said: The Sabres will have gone damn near TEN YEARS a year without playing a meaningful hockey game! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextmanup Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 4 minutes ago, \GoBillsInDallas/ said: Not only is that true, the majority of their games over that 10 year period have been some of the worst, most ugly hockey you can imagine. Totally unwatchable! I know because I have watched almost all of them, like some kind of idiot. That includes all the tanking years where we iced an AHL lineup, etc. This is, without question, absolute dead rock bottom in the franchise's history. And to add insult to injury, over that period of time, the Sabres have achieved the dead worst win percentage in the NHL. Literally the worst team in the league over like an 8-10 year period of time. Thank you Pegulas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 (edited) 38 minutes ago, Nextmanup said: I would not expect "next season" to start until like January, 2021! The Sabres will have gone damn near a year without playing a meaningful hockey game! No date for the draft as of yet. They still need to get the Cup over with, etc. Draft is set for 10/6 and 10/7 and will be held virtually. Season is scheduled to start on 12/1. But we all know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men. Edited September 11, 2020 by K-9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snafu Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 2 hours ago, Nextmanup said: This is, without question, absolute dead rock bottom in the franchise's history. Yep. And it feels like the organization is happy to lay on the dead rock bottom like they're spending a breezy summer day in a hammock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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