nelson, bogo, Gilmour and Borgen should not be considered capable nhl d-men...

c'mon, ion...you're better than that
- Michael Pachla

Gilmour looked GREAT in preseason and pretty good in his short stint up. His game regressed in the AHL....maybe he us better suited in the NHL?
He's perfect 7 or 8 to fill in 2 -3 games at a time, for 5 stints a year.

Borgen was on the fence as well, but I agree he needed more time...perfect for a #8 Dman who might see 5 games a year
Nelson played in the NHL for 2 seasons.
Bogo is Bogo and should have been waived the day of his trade request...we all agree on that.
So that left them with 9 guys for 6 spots, which was evident by1st week in July.

We see it differently.
He does not instill confidence that he's the best guy for this offseason.

No argument here.

But Toronto has “wasted” Matthews, Marner, Nylander ELC’s as well and they are still all on the team and we’re able to add Tavares.

It’s just a silly point
- sbroads24

leafs window might be closing due to adding tavares

who was the last team to have a superstar miss the playoffs in his first five seasons before eichel

this team is a f@cking joke
- homiedclown

does that include the 80's where 16 of the 21 teams made the playoffs?

three years ago everyone was saying that the d needed a complete overhaul...last year prior to the season risto was supposed to be a big piece of that overhaul...the d has been overhauled with everyone's vision of a modern nhl d-corps featuring dahlin, montour, miller, the joker and pilut next season...who fills the other two spots is up in the air right now...

clusterfrack from last year has been worked through with the status of risto and McCabe still up in the air
- Michael Pachla

Maybe. Miller and Montour are less certain commodities than they were when they got here. Theres still not room for Pilut. Didn't get a look at Borgen this year and he's 24 - it's poop or get off the pot time there.

And fundamentally the same issue that existed in February of 2019 still exists - Montour and Risto occupy the same role. I'm less than excited at seeing what Botterill turns Risto into trade-wise.

All he did was delay hard decisions by a year

tom's fault
- homiedclown

still

I think he was trying to win this year as well...he failed...why?...many reasons including goaltending...montour playing his opposite side had something to do with it but goaltending, which isn't being brought up, had much more to do with it than too many rhd's...

lack of mid-six contributions is another thing...much more detrimental than too many rhd's...

I said early in the season that his main focus, based upon the number of free agents coming off the books, was this off season...and i'm sticking by that
- Michael Pachla

That middle 6 production should have been addressed through a couple of trades that were constructed of packages containing some if the 12 NHL capable Dmen (you can count 9 or 10) and the 6LWs in July.
The roster imbalance cannot be looked at in isolation position by position...the whole must be considered in the evaluation.

Here's hoping cam goes to the Patriots so ed can shut him up 🥰

still
- Michael Pachla

probably

if he didn't sell the sabres, we would have had better hockey the last 7 or 8 years

leafs window might be closing due to adding tavares
- homiedclown

The leafs never had a window let's be clear

Maybe. Miller and Montour are less certain commodities than they were when they got here. Theres still not room for Pilut. Didn't get a look at Borgen this year and he's 24 - it's poop or get off the pot time there.

And fundamentally the same issue that existed in February of 2019 still exists - Montour and Risto occupy the same role. I'm less than excited at seeing what Botterill turns Risto into trade-wise.

All he did was delay hard decisions by a year
- jcragcrumple

https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/sabres

this is the roster as of now...no non-roster d-men are going to change those seven players

That middle 6 production should have been addressed through a couple of trades that were constructed of packages containing some if the 12 NHL capable Dmen (you can count 9 or 10) and the 6LWs in July.
The roster imbalance cannot be looked at in isolation position by position...the whole must be considered in the evaluation.
- IonSabres

that's where we disagree...the d-men you think are nhl-caliber wouldn't fetch anything close to a middle-six forward...even in a package

The leafs never had a window let's be clear
- gerbe75pts

they were 7th in the league the last 2 years in points

they had a window

This is where I disagree with Ion as well.

These two issues are inextricably linked to me. The roster spots and the trade assets were largely allocated to the defense to an almost absurd level while the forward ranks were filled with wingers we didnt need, and no centers

Too many RHD isnt just a problem for the defense; it's a problem for the entire roster
- jcragcrumple

Not sure where you came up with this. The roster imbalance is directly the fault of the logjam at RhD and LW. To the detriment of 2C and 3C...and 2RW as well.
What are you thinking is my point?

probably

if he didn't sell the sabres, we would have had better hockey the last 7 or 8 years
- homiedclown

not thrilled with the Pegula's right now...I think i'll go find a tree to go bang my head against...gotta get some air

https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/sabres

this is the roster as of now...no non-roster d-men are going to change those seven players
- Michael Pachla

does this change if berglund was still on the roster


wasted that gift when he walked

not thrilled with the Pegula's right now...I think i'll go find a tree to go bang my head against...gotta get some air
- Michael Pachla

I need to work in the fish room, before I hear how bad Hasek sucked again

Isaiah McKenzie is coming back.
- adambuffalo

Good I thought he did some great things in a limited roles.. . he was very good on the jet sweeps

So long cam you're a superstar but karma is real .. next time don't talk poop about buffalo like that. . .
- gerbe75pts

Cam had one really good year and a couple above average years. He’s not a superstar.

Maybe. Miller and Montour are less certain commodities than they were when they got here. Theres still not room for Pilut. Didn't get a look at Borgen this year and he's 24 - it's poop or get off the pot time there.

And fundamentally the same issue that existed in February of 2019 still exists - Montour and Risto occupy the same role. I'm less than excited at seeing what Botterill turns Risto into trade-wise.

All he did was delay hard decisions by a year
- jcragcrumple

I'd say that he did worse than that...he devalued some players. Montour, Miller, McCabe come to mind.
He could also resign Vesey and Simmonds to save face and not lose them for nothing.
I'd also bet he over pays for Larsson and Girgs.

https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/sabres

this is the roster as of now...no non-roster d-men are going to change those seven players
- Michael Pachla

Yeah, so we still have the same problem as we had in Feb. 19 - and the same problem that we had in July - and at the trade deadline. Risto or Montour needs (needed) to be gone.

The roster spot, the player, the assets used to acquire pieces - all of that - was useless and actually detrimental because of the flawed emphasis placed on defense while neglecting centers

It has all been a waste of a year, and not because of corona

This point gets hyperbolized to the extreme.

This isn’t like having an elite QB on a rookie deal.

Who was the last team to win the cup with a superstar on an ELC?

Chicago 10 years ago?
- sbroads24

maybe its just not true anymore but after the 05 lockout.. anaheim, carolina, LA, pittsburgh, chicago all did it with at least 1 big guy on an ELC

you can't possibly tell me it hurts

nos. 1 and 5 are on botts...the rest are on Krueger
- Michael Pachla

Putting 1 and 5 on Botts I can partially accept, however I would add a couple points:
Coaching: It's fine to put this on Botts, however I am not one to put a lot of blame on Krueger yet. How many coaches do we have to go through to find one that all the players like and want to play for? At some point the blame has to be at least some on the players and not all on the coaches that keep getting cycled through.
Special teams: Lumping special teams into one category is kind of unfair. PK has mostly been bad because of goaltending in my opinion and I'll leave it at that. The PP did start off great, went through a very bad stretch in part to shooters not able to capitalize, but then the adjustment with Risto playing down low in front of the goalie did start producing results again.
Middle six: Not sure how you put this all on coaching and none on the GM
Misuse of Skinner: I understand the hate that many have on this issue, and I am fine with everyone having their own opinions about it. Not having a 2C is more the issue than Skinner not being on the top line. You place the blame of the middle 6 on the coach, but the coach put a 40 goal scorer in the middle 6 and that line was our best EV line before Sobotka was injured.
Not making a move: 100% Botts. I expect the same response as last year "We didn't feel we were contenders at that point and didn't want to give up a lot "

https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/sabres

this is the roster as of now...no non-roster d-men are going to change those seven players
- Michael Pachla

If true, that us a complete shame.
Move Risto or Montour for middle 6 help...in a package.
Hell, create 2 packages and move them both.
Play Bryson or Borgen at 3rd Pairing, move Joker to 2nd
Go get an old vet for Dahlin's partner to stay-at-home.

they were 7th in the league the last 2 years in points

they had a window
- homiedclown

To you maybe all I see is a fake Contender that look good on paper and that's it

If you look at the Bill's that's a team that has a window open you can see and feel something great is going to happen

that's where we disagree...the d-men you think are nhl-caliber wouldn't fetch anything close to a middle-six forward...even in a package
- Michael Pachla

Risto in a package of picks and prospects.

If he is that bad, why is he even on the team consuming $5.4m?