With you being a father and all I can understand you have your hands full me on the other hand when there's no Sabres games on I watch the Junior games or I'll work out or surf or do any other activities
- gerbe75pts

Oh my god you are so insufferable.

The Sabres have handled Casey so poorly it boggles my mind that they're still doing it
- gerbe75pts

They signed him out of college ..... part of the agreement was that Casey would never be sent to Rochester.

Also his coach and a ton of of players were leaving that year too. A college rebuild so to speak

Project top 9 wingers next year...

Skinner, Sam, MoJo, Olofsson most likely here and on the wings

Vesey, Sheary, Sobotka are all UFA and likely gone. ERod's likely gone too.

Hopefully Tage fills 1 spot. The only other guys around are CJ Smith, Elie, and Lazar....all just depth guys. Maybe Ruotsalainen plays his way into the picture. You're looking at multiple signings/trades to fill the void.
- Lunaion

Tage
Asplund
Cozens
Ufa - hopefully a Johansson type signing

Erods currently the 13th guy. Easily replaceable

I don't understand why anyone projects Cozens on the wing. I see him battling Mitts for 2C next year.

I don't mind that JB's focused on C + D, but there's a glaring lack of wingers in the system.
- Lunaion

Wouldnt you say that depth wingers are the least of a teams worries?

1. Centers we have
2. Top defenseman and depth we have
3. Goaltending
4. 3rd line and 4th line wingers

We need 1 top 6 winger if tage and cozens/mitts cant fit the spot

Oh my god you are so insufferable.
- BeadyEyedDouche

Because I said he was a father...

They signed him out of college ..... part of the agreement was that Casey would never be sent to Rochester.

Also his coach and a ton of of players were leaving that year too. A college rebuild so to speak
- Sabretooth9

I know that was the agreement and everyone on this hockey board said it wasn't real... he had all the power and used it...

But now the Sabres can get that power back by throwing his ass in the AHL

Wouldnt you say that depth wingers are the least of a teams worries?

1. Centers we have
2. Top defenseman and depth we have
3. Goaltending
4. 3rd line and 4th line wingers

We need 1 top 6 winger if tage and cozens/mitts cant fit the spot
- Boss34

I'm not terribly worked up about this or anything. His priorities are fine. Wingers and Goaltending are just the next needs. I don't want to minimize it by calling it bottom 6 because our top 6 still needs work. Tage and Olofsson are still big question marks.

I'm not terribly worked up about this or anything. His priorities are fine. Wingers and Goaltending are just the next needs. I don't want to minimize it by calling it bottom 6 because our top 6 still needs work. Tage and Olofsson are still big question marks.
- Lunaion

Some people in here are pretty worked up. One guy in particular.

Considering we were in dead last place less than 100 games ago, I think jbotts has been doing a great job.

In pretend world: erod is the 2c with 50 points, there's also magical rainbows and no salary cap mess.

He inherited a pile of sh@t.
Bad roster, bad contracts and a bad environment

Whether it’s Mitts or Cozens I see one of them shifting to the wing. I can’t see a team having success with their top 3 centres all under the age of 24 (with 2 being under the age of 22).

Skinner-Eichel-Cozens
Olofsson-?-Reinhart
Mojo-Mitts-Thompson

Fill in the “?” with an established 2C and that looks like a formidable top 9 to me.
- Swedish_Jesus

Skinner-Eichel-Reinhart
______-Cozens/Mitts-MoJo
Olofsson-Mitts/Cozens-Tage/Asplund

If we fill LW2 with someone like Hall, Ehlers, etc
then our top6 is in great shape
With a 3rd scoring line of talented youngsters

Some people in here are pretty worked up. One guy in particular.

Considering we were in dead last place less than 100 games ago, I think jbotts has been doing a great job.

In pretend world: erod is the 2c with 50 points, there's also magical rainbows and no salary cap mess.

He inherited a pile of sh@t.
Bad roster, bad contracts and a bad environment
- Boss34

I'm a big JB defender. Got me in a lot of trouble when everyone was having their preseason melt down.

I do think it's fair to wish he made one less move on D and one more at F. If he were being honest, I think he'd admit that knowing he could acquire Joker would change his previous moves. Doesn't bother me because he's clearly focused further down the road, but this imbalance does need to be corrected.

With you being a father and all I can understand you have your hands full me on the other hand when there's no Sabres games on I watch the Junior games or I'll work out or surf or do any other activities
- gerbe75pts

Ah Gerbs I was just (frank)ing around, I do have a life outside of HB. My kids are getting older so aside from being their own personal uber when they need it, they don't require too much attention. I still play beer league and try to play golf as much as possible, and there is never a shortage of things that need to get done around the house.

That said, the weather went to poop here the past week plus now that the clocks turned back its dark when I get home from work. This was a long week with no Sabres games to look forward to - that was the original point.

Hockey today! Yeah baby. Just need to figure out how I'm watching it.

Ah Gerbs I was just (frank)ing around, I do have a life outside of HB. My kids are getting older so aside from being their own personal uber when they need it, they don't require too much attention. I still play beer league and try to play golf as much as possible, and there is never a shortage of things that need to get done around the house.

That said, the weather went to poop here the past week plus now that the clocks turned back its dark when I get home from work. This was a long week with no Sabres games to look forward to - that was the original point.

Hockey today! Yeah baby. Just need to figure out how I'm watching it.
- Chris16

Drunk,?
Stoned?
Both!

I am planning to DVR it and watch later.
Doing some boating and lunch with friends in neighborhood, so I have a low chance of being updated during the game.

I'm a big JB defender. Got me in a lot of trouble when everyone was having their preseason melt down.

I do think it's fair to wish he made one less move on D and one more at F. If he were being honest, I think he'd admit that knowing he could acquire Joker would change his previous moves. Doesn't bother me because he's clearly focused further down the road, but this imbalance does need to be corrected.
- Lunaion

Those who raised this as an issue were actually labeled as complainers and have been accused of constant female doging.

Funny how stating that there remain glaring holes is twisted as female doging, rather it should be construed as being a realist. It isn't a condemnation of Botts to state that there is more work to be done, while being happy (even surprised) with all he accomplished in this offseason.

I gave him a solid "A" based on the quality and quantity of actions, yet also noted he still needs to find 2C, 2RW, 1RhD to have a contending roster. That remains the same, although I would prioritize the 2C as his next move, and that should be targeted for around the Xmas timeframe.

I know that was the agreement and everyone on this hockey board said it wasn't real... he had all the power and used it...

But now the Sabres can get that power back by throwing his ass in the AHL
- gerbe75pts

If you are botts. You don’t want to piss off at that time your best prospect.

Again, id love to hear where he was supposed to get another “top 6” prospect outside of the Ryan Johnson pick

I mean, despite him being better at the AHL level, at a younger age than Olofsson, god knows you’d never consider Thompson one.

I mean Boss is kinda right here.

You want him to hit 90 points now, but you’re also complaining about him trading assets, and also complaining about the lack of prospects

Basically you just have kinda complained about everything

And I say this with all due respect
- sbroads24

The organization is overflowing with defensemen at every level. The organization is bereft of high-end forward talent at every level

As far as criticizing JB for spending assets, it's to poke holes in the notion that he's different than Murray in that regard, when they're more similar in that respect than most would like to admit. JB has done a bad job of getting forward prospects in the system

Drunk,?
Stoned?
Both!

I am planning to DVR it and watch later.
Doing some boating and lunch with friends in neighborhood, so I have a low chance of being updated during the game.
- IonSabres

I will probably stream the 1st period at work but I'm planning to leave early to hit up the brewery with some coworkers. I'd like to watch the rest later when I get home but since its on NBCSN, not sure when the replay will be available on NHL.TV.

Skinner-Eichel-Reinhart
______-Cozens/Mitts-MoJo
Olofsson-Mitts/Cozens-Tage/Asplund

If we fill LW2 with someone like Hall, Ehlers, etc
then our top6 is in great shape
With a 3rd scoring line of talented youngsters
- jdfitz77

Too much inexperience on the third line, also Cozens would spend 80% of his time playing against the likes of Point, Tavares, Bergeron on the road when we don’t get the opportunity to match lines.

I’d rather the kid get acclimated to the NHL on the wing but time will tell.

The organization is overflowing with defensemen at every level. The organization is bereft of high-end forward talent at every level

As far as criticizing JB for spending assets, it's to poke holes in the notion that he's different than Murray in that regard, when they're more similar in that respect than most would like to admit. JB has done a bad job of getting forward prospects in the system
- jcragcrumple

I wonder if JB might use some of his current NHL assets to acquire an A prospect ... I do think it would be challenging to pull of, but
-Caufield from Canadians
-Poulin from Penguins
-Wahlstrom from Isles
-Kravstov from Rangers

Probably pipedreams, but it's early on Friday.

I wonder if JB might use some of his current NHL assets to acquire an A prospect ... I do think it would be challenging to pull of, but
-Caufield from Canadians
-Poulin from Penguins
-Wahlstrom from Isles
-Kravstov from Rangers

Probably pipedreams, but it's early on Friday.
- IonSabres

Just not Dlo and Fasching for picks

At this point, I'd rather he skip that stage altogether. Just use some combination of picks, D prospects and NHL defensemen to address the forward position at the NHL level. The Sabres dont have years to waste for development

No, it heightened his existing personality.

I would not recommend the bolded to anyone with depression or mental illness. My experiences were nothing but great, but it'll (frank) your day up and then some if you're not in the right frame of mind
- jcragcrumple

Paranoia creeps in

You guys are giving me flashbacks of my party days...

Paranoia creeps in
- jochfr

The organization is overflowing with defensemen at every level. The organization is bereft of high-end forward talent at every level

As far as criticizing JB for spending assets, it's to poke holes in the notion that he's different than Murray in that regard, when they're more similar in that respect than most would like to admit. JB has done a bad job of getting forward prospects in the system
- jcragcrumple

Id say we have 3 top end forwards. With one close to top end in Mojo. Which is probably about average to above.

Id say we have 3 top end forwards. With one close to top end in Mojo. Which is probably about average to above.
- sbroads24

We can't assemble our best 1st line because the wheels fall off everywhere else if we do that. There's not enough talent

Just not Dlo and Fasching for picks

At this point, I'd rather he skip that stage altogether. Just use some combination of picks, D prospects and NHL defensemen to address the forward position at the NHL level. The Sabres dont have years to waste for development
- jcragcrumple

i don't think any NHL dmen are going to get you anythign good unless you are talking about Risto or Montour. They aren't gogin to trade dahlin or joker and the rest don't have the value to get you a top 9 player