Jason Botterill Discussion 2

[sabremike]

The funny thing is RoRs production tailed off when Stl started winning. RoR had little to do with the Blues becoming good this year and all to do with Binnington over achieving and pulling a Marty Turco. RoR in the top 10 in scoring the Blues were horrible. Rors scoring tailed off but Binnington played above his station and the Blues made the playoffs.

And can we stop acting like the Blues are so great? They play in the weak ass West. They wouldn't even be in the playoffs in the East.

Don't worry, when the Blues get steamrolled in the first round and RoR has 3 points in the series.

And can we stop acting like 18-19 is the only season that matters? We haven't even found out what the main piece of the trade is.

And you can stop saying Botts dealt RoR as his own idea. If that was the case and Pegula wasn't concerned about finances he would have traded him AFTER the bonus and opened up the market. If this was not Pegulas doing then he wouldn't have traded him literally right before the deadline for a gigantic roster bonus.

That being said Botts should be fired if Skinner ends up walking. The only way you can justify the RoR trade is if Skinner is kept. If Skinner leaves then that entire off season was a cluster ****.

I have a challenge for you: this offseason we make you Sabres GM for a day and your job is to call every other team in the league who has a ROR level center and offer them Tage, Montour and a 2nd rounder 2 years from now for the guy. I bet you anything every other GM laughs and hangs up the phone.

 

[Chainshot]

Cogliano has too much term and salary for what he is. Sheahan had hit rock bottom and had a decent come back year with Pitt, but still is he worth replacing Larsson, because he's not much of an improvement for the Sabres as a 10-10-20 guy. Brassard and Sheahan got dealt in a three-way deal which was a little convoluted and not a good comparison for what Botterill coulda/shoulda done. Caggiula, Leivo, Jaskin, are all ok players and I'd be happy if Botterill acquired them, but I can't pretend that this season is different with changing the names of bottom six fodder. Even the collective effect of those minor upgrades doesn't make this a playoff team.

I will take your sentiment a massive step further though. I posted last spring that if O'Reilly is getting traded, I wanted to target Lindholm and Hanifin as RFAs wanting raises that the Hurricanes owner was too cheap to pay. O'Reilly + Guhle + pick/prospect, and I can't see how Carolina would say no or that Calgary would definitely beat Buffalo's adds with what they gave up in Hamilton, Ferland, and Fox. Put those two on Buffalo's roster and we're not talking about "what if we had Brassard, Caggiula, etc." I wasn't in the room for talks like that so I can jeu only be so upset or talk trash on this board so much, right?? It's a waste of time and energy. I'd rather think about more trades like Montour...players that will be long-term additions taking major roles and responsibility. Splitting hairs over waiver-wire, unsigned UFA types is just not worth the time. They don't make enough difference for where this team is right now.

It isn’t the collective affect of one player turning this into a playoff team which is the same conversation we had last year for months. And you missed the point that the replacement level player is Vlchode. It is not a singular impact of just one guy, it is the attempt to incriemntally improve. Larsson in his use and role is actually a good defensive player, yet that is lost on some.

Both of Brassard and Sheehan were discussed by talking heads as available. Both are better options than Sobotka and can continue to shelter Mittelstadt. The deal to Florida was straight forward as a player swap and Brassard wasn’t moved on to CBJ - again rumored by reporters - for a couple weeks.

And yes, having better depth options is a problem for this team right now. It doesn’t surprise me that you again don’t see it and again are deflecting from the terrible job Botterill has done with some argument about not being in the room. Last time it was that no one was available, which is not true. Now it is that it is either too complicated or somehow he can’t make deals due to cost or “mortgaging the future”. Deals were available, players who are better than the worst players on this roster moved and nothing here changed. That’s a failure by the manager.

 

[debaser66]

So basically the worst run this franchise has had without having its hands tied behind its back or doing it on purpose.

Happy 50th everyone!

“They want a coaching change?!”

Fire him.

The worst run with probably 2 of the most talented Sabre players in decades call that a GM and coaching failure

 

[MrMaster]

The worst run with probably 2 of the most talented Sabre players in decades call that a GM and coaching failure

All i see is a 3rd place!

 

[sabrebuild]

Cogliano has too much term and salary for what he is. Sheahan had hit rock bottom and had a decent come back year with Pitt, but still is he worth replacing Larsson, because he's not much of an improvement for the Sabres as a 10-10-20 guy. Brassard and Sheahan got dealt in a three-way deal which was a little convoluted and not a good comparison for what Botterill coulda/shoulda done. Caggiula, Leivo, Jaskin, are all ok players and I'd be happy if Botterill acquired them, but I can't pretend that this season is different with changing the names of bottom six fodder. Even the collective effect of those minor upgrades doesn't make this a playoff team.

I will take your sentiment a massive step further though. I posted last spring that if O'Reilly is getting traded, I wanted to target Lindholm and Hanifin as RFAs wanting raises that the Hurricanes owner was too cheap to pay. O'Reilly + Guhle + pick/prospect, and I can't see how Carolina would say no or that Calgary would definitely beat Buffalo's adds with what they gave up in Hamilton, Ferland, and Fox. Put those two on Buffalo's roster and we're not talking about "what if we had Brassard, Caggiula, etc." I wasn't in the room for talks like that so I can only be so upset or talk trash on this board so much, right?? It's a waste of time and energy. I'd rather think about more trades like Montour...players that will be long-term additions taking major roles and responsibility. Splitting hairs over waiver-wire, unsigned UFA types is just not worth the time. They don't make enough difference for where this team is right now.

You said you NEVER get an answer, that list is a pretty reasonable list.

Chainshot never said that making those small moves guarantee the playoffs. What he is saying is that when you are in the nhl you have to try and improve at every opportunity. Especially when you are the worst team in hockey.

He is telling you because you asked, but that whole list of things is just one small part.

It's like the "cap" management you are talking about. Do previous bad deals make it harder to operate, sure.

Does that make it smart to stack several more bad deals for a couple more years? Of course not.

Splitting hairs over waiver wires or smallwe pick-ups is exactly how other teams fill small holes that don't matter.

If the big moves sucks, and the small moves suck and the big victory so far is Rochester being good, not amazing, with mostly Murray guys,...

Well then what are you arguing for?

 

[valet]

Yea, I feel so bad for them. Giving half assed efforts in most of the games while they play out the string until they are golfing and vacationing on exotic beaches, thinking of how to spend their millions. Must be terrible.

So much rage in you my young Padawan..... you must really think they like losing and that none of them grew up playing hockey all their lives to have a shot at the cup one day. Interesting analysis

 

[sabrebuild]

It isn’t the collective affect of one player turning this into a playoff team which is the same conversation we had last year for months. And you missed the point that the replacement level player is Vlchode. It is not a singular impact of just one guy, it is the attempt to incriemntally improve. Larsson in his use and role is actually a good defensive player, yet that is lost on some.

Both of Brassard and Sheehan were discussed by talking heads as available. Both are better options than Sobotka and can continue to shelter Mittelstadt. The deal to Florida was straight forward as a player swap and Brassard wasn’t moved on to CBJ - again rumored by reporters - for a couple weeks.

And yes, having better depth options is a problem for this team right now. It doesn’t surprise me that you again don’t see it and again are deflecting from the terrible job Botterill has done with some argument about not being in the room. Last time it was that no one was available, which is not true. Now it is that it is either too complicated or somehow he can’t make deals due to cost or “mortgaging the future”. Deals were available, players who are better than the worst players on this roster moved and nothing here changed. That’s a failure by the manager.

Another element that is avoided in these bizarro defenses of Botts', he spent assets to improve yhe team. Picks went out, a good longterm deal went out.

The idea that Cogliano's deal and term was too rich for the gm who was willing to take Berglund's contract, is just laughable.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

It isn’t the collective affect of one player turning this into a playoff team which is the same conversation we had last year for months. And you missed the point that the replacement level player is Vlchode. It is not a singular impact of just one guy, it is the attempt to incriemntally improve. Larsson in his use and role is actually a good defensive player, yet that is lost on some.

Both of Brassard and Sheehan were discussed by talking heads as available. Both are better options than Sobotka and can continue to shelter Mittelstadt. The deal to Florida was straight forward as a player swap and Brassard wasn’t moved on to CBJ - again rumored by reporters - for a couple weeks.

And yes, having better depth options is a problem for this team right now. It doesn’t surprise me that you again don’t see it and again are deflecting from the terrible job Botterill has done with some argument about not being in the room. Last time it was that no one was available, which is not true. Now it is that it is either too complicated or somehow he can’t make deals due to cost or “mortgaging the future”. Deals were available, players who are better than the worst players on this roster moved and nothing here changed. That’s a failure by the manager.

I'm not sure what this means, is that a misspelling? I said in my last post that I just don't see much impact in the COLLECTIVE affect of replacing a couple players with the likes of Sheahan, Caggiulla, Jaskin, Thompson. Not just one player, except Brassard maybe, or any other middle-six C that obviously could've helped ease the load on Mittelstadt. I get the point, I just don't believe the end result changes much...except for a middle-six C. That's not Sheahan. Brassard was just traded at the deadline, and I don't think you meant acquiring him then because, well, that's too late, and just before that he was in a package deal with more value involved in total. Before that he was traded at the 2018 TDL, when a 2C/3C wasn't an issue.

I'll skip past the Brassard details to say that some type of middle-six C should have been acquired, and add that after the ROR trade I HIGHLY assumed that Reinhart would be that guy. I have a real hard time thinking that Berglund or Sobotka were the intended 2C/3C replacements, but then the discussion moves toward Housley. Regardless, somehow something else should have happened, and I don't know where to point my arrows toward more. Knowing that this was not going to be a playoff year anyway, my arrows aren't as sharp as yours.

 

[1972]

I volunteer.

Aladyns lineup


Erod - Reinhart - Carrier
Erod - Reinhart - Reinhart
Erod - Reinhart - Reinhart
Thompson - Reinhart - Flynn

Pysyk - Pysyk
Pysyk - Pysyk
Pysyk - Pysyk

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

You said you NEVER get an answer, that list is a pretty reasonable list.

Chainshot never said that making those small moves guarantee the playoffs. What he is saying is that when you are in the nhl you have to try and improve at every opportunity. Especially when you are the worst team in hockey.

He is telling you because you asked, but that whole list of things is just one small part.

It's like the "cap" management you are talking about. Do previous bad deals make it harder to operate, sure.

Does that make it smart to stack several more bad deals for a couple more years? Of course not.

Splitting hairs over waiver wires or smallwe pick-ups is exactly how other teams fill small holes that don't matter.

If the big moves sucks, and the small moves suck and the big victory so far is Rochester being good, not amazing, with mostly Murray guys,...

Well then what are you arguing for?

Yeah, I now got an answer from Chain...nobody else has ever answered. Very few of those players make a difference playing above 4th line minutes, considering the decent 4th line we had this season, it doesn't move the team success needle very far if at all, unless we're talking about a C. RHD became a priority and Botterill addressed it with the exact type of trade I was hoping for (a draft pick and prospect you can spare for a young, long-term player). Taking on some of these contracts had another purpose than "making the team a playoff team". Murray's bad deals were actually meant as long-term additions toward a playoff team. Botterill's were to acquire some decent placeholder vets for short term. Then Berglund (and Scandella) stopped playing. Hunwick got hurt long-term, but Sheary was actually worth it. Pominville is gone now so what did he hurt? There is a massive roster overhaul that is about to take place in the next year, and this past season is not going to matter. Any moves to try and make this season better outside a 2C and RHD were not really going to matter beyond next week.

 

[sabrebuild]

Yeah, I now got an answer from Chain...nobody else has ever answered. Very few of those players make a difference playing above 4th line minutes, considering the decent 4th line we had this season, it doesn't move the team success needle very far if at all, unless we're talking about a C. RHD became a priority and Botterill addressed it with the exact type of trade I was hoping for (a draft pick and prospect you can spare for a young, long-term player). Taking on some of these contracts had another purpose than "making the team a playoff team". Murray's bad deals were actually meant as long-term additions toward a playoff team. Botterill's were to acquire some decent placeholder vets for short term. Then Berglund (and Scandella) stopped playing. Hunwick got hurt long-term, but Sheary was actually worth it. Pominville is gone now so what did he hurt? There is a massive roster overhaul that is about to take place in the next year, and this past season is not going to matter. Any moves to try and make this season better outside a 2C and RHD were not really going to matter beyond next week.

Do you notice how other teams, playoff teams, are not lined with all stars, but they also don't have utter bums either?

Decent placeholders? So are we talking intentional tank? Because what are we placeholding for???

Berglund sucked and quit, but even if he didn't, that wasn't a placeholder deal, it was a 4 year commitment to an older player on the decline.

Hunwick was hurt when they made the deal. Not after, he was traded for as an injured player.

Sobotka was a two year commitment who sucks. Ya pominville is done now, all it cost was two years wasted, ten million in cap and the benefit of Scandella over Foligno. Is that good?

There is going to be a huge overhaul.... Brother, Botts has overhauled more than half the roster over the last two years, and the players he keeps bringing in suck.

Honestly, he is not signing Skinner away from having had two years to build an 80 point team with great pieces, and only making it worse, with the great fortune of the lottery giving us Dahlin.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

Do you notice how other teams, playoff teams, are not lined with all stars, but they also don't have utter bums either?

Decent placeholders? So are we talking intentional tank? Because what are we placeholding for???

Berglund sucked and quit, but even if he didn't, that wasn't a placeholder deal, it was a 4 year commitment to an older player on the decline.

Hunwick was hurt when they made the deal. Not after, he was traded for as an injured player.

Sobotka was a two year commitment who sucks. Ya pominville is done now, all it cost was two years wasted, ten million in cap and the benefit of Scandella over Foligno. Is that good?

There is going to be a huge overhaul.... Brother, Botts has overhauled more than half the roster over the last two years, and the players he keeps bringing in suck.

Honestly, he is not signing Skinner away from having had two years to build an 80 point team with great pieces, and only making it worse, with the great fortune of the lottery giving us Dahlin.

I've answered the place holding question 20 times before. I've talked about the O'Reilly trade ad nauseam and why I didn't like the trade myself. Hunwick hurt or not, Sheary is a decent player, and Scandella was also until this season for whatever mystery. It boils down to an approach that takes time (about 2-3 years IMO, from my observations), and many/most posters are beyond their patience level to deal with that. Skinner and Montour don't suck, and the turnover for long-term players meant to contribute toward a playoff team is about to start.

A lot of people don't see that, and are just here now to vent out of a belief that nobody in the organization knows anything about hockey. Everything is terrible, and it will never get better. The team has never won a Cup anyway, so I don't see the big difference. There isn't a whole lot of discussion anymore without caustic negativity in every thread. I clearly don't belong, and will soon go back to not posting as much. It's not worth the bother.

 

[sabresnyper]

It isn’t the collective affect of one player turning this into a playoff team which is the same conversation we had last year for months. And you missed the point that the replacement level player is Vlchode. It is not a singular impact of just one guy, it is the attempt to incriemntally improve. Larsson in his use and role is actually a good defensive player, yet that is lost on some.

Both of Brassard and Sheehan were discussed by talking heads as available. Both are better options than Sobotka and can continue to shelter Mittelstadt. The deal to Florida was straight forward as a player swap and Brassard wasn’t moved on to CBJ - again rumored by reporters - for a couple weeks.

And yes, having better depth options is a problem for this team right now. It doesn’t surprise me that you again don’t see it and again are deflecting from the terrible job Botterill has done with some argument about not being in the room. Last time it was that no one was available, which is not true. Now it is that it is either too complicated or somehow he can’t make deals due to cost or “mortgaging the future”. Deals were available, players who are better than the worst players on this roster moved and nothing here changed. That’s a failure by the manager.

I would love to know what was available!

 

[slip]

PHam has said ROR was being shopped at the deadline last year. That’s his claim which pokes holes in the idea that O’Reilly’s comments did him in.

I always thought his aggressive move to get Mittelstadt in here and burn a year of an ELC was another hole in the theory. Botts knew before the end of the season there would be holes to fill at center.

 

[1972]

There’s not one person who could have predicted Scandella falling of a cliff as bad as he did this year. He was traded for to be a core piece, this year he’s been inconsistent at best and downright terrible at worst. I’d bet big on him returning to form next year.

 

[EichHart]

There’s not one person who could have predicted Scandella falling of a cliff as bad as he did this year. He was traded for to be a core piece, this year he’s been inconsistent at best and downright terrible at worst. I’d bet big on him returning to form next year.

I think hes going through some personal issues according to barstool sports. Scandella has been in the news lately.

 

[1972]

I think hes going through some personal issues according to barstool sports. Scandella has been in the news lately.

Wow, you can find old posts from mine months ago wondering if personal issues were a big reason for his dip in play. I was wondering if he was going through relationship issues...

 

[Gabrielor]

He’ll get interviewed Thursday you think? Last home game?

If not, obviously next Monday or Tuesday should be the anticipated presser where we find out how f***ed we are for next year

 

[Sabre Dance]

There’s not one person who could have predicted Scandella falling of a cliff as bad as he did this year. He was traded for to be a core piece, this year he’s been inconsistent at best and downright terrible at worst. I’d bet big on him returning to form next year.

It's unbelievable really. I'm sorry for whatever personal issue Scandella may be going through, but when it comes to the Sabres this is just horrible luck again with one of their top acquisitions. Happened so many times.

If the Sabres didn't have bad luck they would have no luck at all.

 

[KeyserSoze81]

Aladyns lineup

Pysyk - Pysyk
Pysyk - Pysyk
Pysyk - Pysyk

Think of the puck poise! We should get Martin Skoula on board as an assistant.

 

[The Red Helmet]

So much rage in you my young Padawan..... you must really think they like losing and that none of them grew up playing hockey all their lives to have a shot at the cup one day. Interesting analysis

No rage at all. That is just s tactic you are using to make me appear irrational rather than countering my position with worthy retort.

They are losing by an average of 2.5 goals per game over the last 15. They have given up. Sorry but I don't feel bad for people that make tens of millions of dollars to play a kids game and aren't going to put forth an effort for the fans and families who have to do real work to pay for their tickets. These guys may have grown up with the dream of a Stanley Cup, but they are definitely cool with doing the minimum until the end of the season until they hit the beaches. If you can't see that you need some new spectacles.

 

[flashsabre]

He’ll get interviewed Thursday you think? Last home game?

If not, obviously next Monday or Tuesday should be the anticipated presser where we find out how ****ed we are for next year

No interview, just a press release because he is too busy with Team Canada. It will talk about how going from last place to 4th last is PROGRESS and he likes what he saw which is why Housley has signed an 8 year extension and they are looking to extend Sobotka long term.

 

[sabrebuild]

I've answered the place holding question 20 times before. I've talked about the O'Reilly trade ad nauseam and why I didn't like the trade myself. Hunwick hurt or not, Sheary is a decent player, and Scandella was also until this season for whatever mystery. It boils down to an approach that takes time (about 2-3 years IMO, from my observations), and many/most posters are beyond their patience level to deal with that. Skinner and Montour don't suck, and the turnover for long-term players meant to contribute toward a playoff team is about to start.

A lot of people don't see that, and are just here now to vent out of a belief that nobody in the organization knows anything about hockey. Everything is terrible, and it will never get better. The team has never won a Cup anyway, so I don't see the big difference. There isn't a whole lot of discussion anymore without caustic negativity in every thread. I clearly don't belong, and will soon go back to not posting as much. It's not worth the bother.

Honestly, its not negativity that you bring or a difference of opinion.

It's that what you are saying just doesn't make sense.

If we are placeholding for a couple years, why waste the roster spot and development time and cap space on Pominville, if your reason is to get Scandella? The reason I ask is that in the plan/view you are advocating as the Botts plan, why bring in Scandella when he is a ufa after his deal. So for this case is the argument truly that 1 year of Scandella next year was worth thr pominville drag?

That doesn't make any sense to me. Even we assume Scandella played well like last year, you can't seriously believe that trade was made with a plan to resign him into his 30s.

Sheary is the same thing. His deal runs out before the great execution of the secret plan. Hunwick same deal.

Sobotka same deal. Berglund worse, hevwould have been sn extremely expensive 4th liner like Okposo, who Botts knows he already has to deal with.

Skinner is incomplete, botts signs him, credit will be given. If not, yeesh.

The problem that you should have if you critically think about what has happened up to this point, is if you really look at these players that Botts has brought in, they basically have blocked roster spots and cap space, with the total gain to be.... Cap space next year or the year after?

Which is another way of saying, in year 3-4 we get to see if some young guys are ready and Botts will take a swing at his own full blown okposo.

It's just not good evidence of a smart plan that should be waited out patiently.

I would be willing to buy this whole theory, if Botts had been squeezing extra futures for every cap dump, i wouldn't like the timing with Eichel and Dahlin being wasted, but at least that is sensible. He gave up assets, significant assets im some cases, in every deal we are talking about!

 

[Baccus]

Yeah, I now got an answer from Chain...nobody else has ever answered. Very few of those players make a difference playing above 4th line minutes, considering the decent 4th line we had this season, it doesn't move the team success needle very far if at all, unless we're talking about a C. RHD became a priority and Botterill addressed it with the exact type of trade I was hoping for (a draft pick and prospect you can spare for a young, long-term player). Taking on some of these contracts had another purpose than "making the team a playoff team". Murray's bad deals were actually meant as long-term additions toward a playoff team. Botterill's were to acquire some decent placeholder vets for short term. Then Berglund (and Scandella) stopped playing. Hunwick got hurt long-term, but Sheary was actually worth it. Pominville is gone now so what did he hurt? There is a massive roster overhaul that is about to take place in the next year, and this past season is not going to matter. Any moves to try and make this season better outside a 2C and RHD were not really going to matter beyond next week.

I never responded as Chain and sabrebuild pretty much answered it.

The obvious is not making the ROR trade and bringing in Skinner could have resulted in a vastly different team this year. No center ice crater, Casey isn't doomed from day one swimming in the deep end. We have 2 lines that can contribute offensively and drive possession, obviously barring Housley trying to kill ROR in usage again. But Housley is Botts fault as well.

Botts refuses to do basically anything from the start of the season until trade deadline, while for two years the team swirls the drain. He does not work the edges of his roster at all. Bringing in a decent 3rd/4th liner makes a difference because it pushes down people from playing above where they should be. God forbid you bring in more than one.

This year is especially frustrating because he was handed a gift wrapped playoff bubble spot at a minimum with the early 10 game streak, all you needed after that was .500 hockey.

I really don't get your blasé attitude towards making changes, especially when you're complaining about people being negative, but you shrug off any suggested changes as not making a difference.

 

[joshjull]

Honestly, its not negativity that you bring or a difference of opinion.

It's that what you are saying just doesn't make sense.

If we are placeholding for a couple years, why waste the roster spot and development time and cap space on Pominville, if your reason is to get Scandella? The reason I ask is that in the plan/view you are advocating as the Botts plan, why bring in Scandella when he is a ufa after his deal. So for this case is the argument truly that 1 year of Scandella next year was worth thr pominville drag?

That doesn't make any sense to me. Even we assume Scandella played well like last year, you can't seriously believe that trade was made with a plan to resign him into his 30s.

Sheary is the same thing. His deal runs out before the great execution of the secret plan. Hunwick same deal.

Sobotka same deal. Berglund worse, hevwould have been sn extremely expensive 4th liner like Okposo, who Botts knows he already has to deal with.

Skinner is incomplete, botts signs him, credit will be given. If not, yeesh.

The problem that you should have if you critically think about what has happened up to this point, is if you really look at these players that Botts has brought in, they basically have blocked roster spots and cap space, with the total gain to be.... Cap space next year or the year after?

Which is another way of saying, in year 3-4 we get to see if some young guys are ready and Botts will take a swing at his own full blown okposo.

It's just not good evidence of a smart plan that should be waited out patiently.

I would be willing to buy this whole theory, if Botts had been squeezing extra futures for every cap dump, i wouldn't like the timing with Eichel and Dahlin being wasted, but at least that is sensible. He gave up assets, significant assets im some cases, in every deal we are talking about!

Actually what @Sabresfansince1980 posted makes perfect sense. You’re just not willing to accept it while throwing up specious or disingenuous counterpoints that really don’t have much logic to them.

A) The Scandella trade was about 2 things. (1) Acquiring a NHL dman since we had very few on the NHL roster and nothing coming from the farm. (2) Unload Ennis’ terrible contract (5yrs @ 4.6mil). Both problems created by our previous GM.

B) Sheary trade happens because we need top 9 forwards and have nothing coming from the farm. The cost of the trade includes taking on Hunwick’s contract. Again another situation that was created in part by our previous GM’s actions.

C) Yeah no kidding the players he brought in blocked roster spots. That's the point. They were brought in so youngsters weren’t going to get spots last year and only a few spots this year (Dahlin/Mitts/Thompson***). Next season will probably see a few more as well, probably Olofsson, CJ Smith and Pilut.

Yet we are still one of the youngest teams in the NHL. I think some forget a good chunk of our top players are still relatively young.

It was fairly obvious from the get go Botts was looking to reset things on the development side. Force the young players to spend some time in the minors before becoming regulars. So when the jump occurs it’s permanent because they would be ready beyond a doubt. We had no such prospects when Botts took over who were without a doubt NHL ready. We had only a few of them prior to this season but you still have to fill out your roster. Unless you just want to put a ton of unprepared prospects on it together and hope for the best.


*** If posters have issues with Tage being up all season I’m with you. He should have been sent down by the middle of the season. Then replaced with a O’Regan or CJ Smith due to their ages. It was a mistake on this organizations part to not do this.