I could see trading for a foligno in his prime or a younger maroon that can't be moved off the puck than giving away a good player in our pipeline for a top 4 d that is mostly filled when healthy. It would move power to kill it on third pair acquiring chychrun but how is it worth a big contract , Worth giving up two firsts? I don't think so.
I'd Rather have another Samuelson for less that might free up responsibility of a Bryson or power and elevate what we have and keep our talent.
I have no issues trading talent to support our group w a guarantee ( helleybuck , Carey price type) I'll trade two firsts for Sidney Crosby for three years etc but aside from those why add cap when our team hasn't shown it's peak.
Let's see if THIS GROUP can win 8 out of ten and have people begging us to be part of IT.
Have a first line and two or three second line talented groups (in elc learning our system without Savior ego) feasting and wearing down good teams w cap structure less thought out than ours creating our own chychurun by freeing up power.
I relieved my self over to comments , I will edit later as many a moron has promised , I was trying to show how much ka and Donny know the intruqicues of hockey , between then they kniw personalities and like skinner teaching and feeling up Thompson who also sees the game slow down thru skinner, he calmly sees the spaces that open in the flow. Tuch has stayed interested and his speed and strength forces teams not to cheat . Kulich in a year may be our other more physical presence I ramble more saying mitts has the mitts just isn't thinking and reacting fast and his shot looks like oloffson when he was injured. I trust Donny and can't wait to see mitts and goaloffson get on trach w or without each other and Donny will have playoff team if mitts can muscle thru and drive play w tough assignments
I must Add , I am making decisions w the mindset of making the playoffs THIS YEAR
Donny ( intimate knowledge of team under duress ) seeing first hand the the team each at their worst. And he saw consequences of Jason Botts BETRAYAL that led to bottoming under Ralph leading recovering Donny getting his dream to Coach nhl prove quite eloquently daily , why he may just create a team from Clay and if they reach their potential as. Group prove hes also great tactician , hockey genius w the watchful eye of family and former head coaches to critique and see thru their eyes , to finally destroy the Tampa s and bruins now that they're healthy and will have swagger from the start until the 3rd horn. ? One aspect very unpopular here is how much the adversity has helped shape KA ( Before and after botteril) and Donny before and after Krueger . So much intimate knowledge of the buffalo sabres and the prospects than many coaches and GM's are privy to , first hand w two unique perspectives along w Kim and Terry Pegula about EVERY aspect of each player ( rare glimpses) and the org of real support of the opposite .
I'll be quick as We know much this .and why this way different than any other moment as I know nothing and will only fund out based on KA moves.
.... since eichel drafted until the moment many on the boards are similarly calling for trade to support or lose our kids after the streak and hit start we have never understood why Berglund quit besides his statement , over exaggerated but clearly not explained , to the team was the lack of replacement and leaning on Hutton who helped pad goal scorers contracts as he was figured out and could not adjust becoming a team killing liability.
Next the reveal of cliques of dissent w passive aggressive behavior ( revealed before demise bylsma go do the fandango) , sewing circle, tandum biker gang and agreed upon by TeamIAm of fans board members and snarky puppy press LED by millionaire late night ' elite' hen peckers of the Jeichel , Reinhart group )
I also agreed at the Time MGMT abandoned a good start and only assistants clearly saw first hand ( both with full knowledge in the background ) after starting well and losing Berglund and actually playing Hutton w a straight face by botteril did not try fix in December and January using assets to fill the Berglund/ Ror defensive shutdown role.
He ( botts) lost the room to the sewing circle again , and his job. Eichel most likely remained in the ear of both Adams and Donny as assistants , as a pegula go between which may have later led to tough questions and tough decisions that looking back were needed as both lost faith in each other . The culmination was at locker clean out and the round table meetings which led to ' who wants to be here' w a very detailed KA philosophy ( Donny too? ) shaped over years of watching this team w experience decided to let those hang themselves.
Looking back , and threads like what's Adams gonna do . He clearly Saw the roster and maybe knew Donny agreed w him and HE MUST HAVE BELIEVED IN the talent on the team and in the draft w the same bills theory of addition by subtraction w character the decider considering all the talent we sold at PEAK value and not tank w the Bills.
, The risk alienating the fan base to death after ( house, Bismillah, Krueger); took some balls to stick to their boards of buffalo and roc and not rush anyone was impressive .
To get to here and have everyone onboard from dahlin, Thompson and Samuelson . They are all friends w eichel and ullmark, which means or implies means KA did everything in the open and simply stated his goals and whoever is here agreed and ullmark was given enough latitude to see if he could be a part and his choice simply galvanized who was here and Anderson agreed w Adams as his failsafe.. One of the key guys) coaches Adams and Donny know he speaks all and they just always agree and learn from him as well.
Even now decisions make themselves. Will KA ? Even Yost wasn't a surprise if Donny and KA believed he has room to be his better self.. I'll always be interested to see what grizzled vet on a high salary they would take and like chychrun , I see too many red flags unless az eats salary and they both know his character ,any big add must be perfect to mess w a team that has resiliency and character as Donny is completely trusted to even protect them from KA and mgmt.
I'm happy how it turns out and always thought O'Reilly and his douche brother helped create a shtty old shaming hockey culture that destroys more diamonds than it creates . that nobody on our current LINE 1 could ever flourish on. Any of past coaches as they are all trauma and misfits more than gung ho army cutouts. Weird Right?
The entitlement of Star players will be destroyed if Donny succeeds .
His attitude of embracing the real person Instead of assembling talents and letting them work it out is too much of a gamble w personalities Even two on bills right now may or may not impact home field as family is messy. Can team and cIty and desire for championship override a personal falling out , maybe it not only should but everything personal should be used w a smile against opponents as field or ice is a different world w rules that only stegthen you if yr true to them . Also another argument against singular entitlement in anti team
It only lasts a couple years and I don't believe continues like situational strangeness, the weird anti Kane , that still follows , we'll never know what side of the Trac suite we'd agree w in Wina Peg nottacup, that Murray took a shot to change our fate quickly or sabotage throwing in a former superstar goalie in lehner( w two kilos of boy and girl , better living thru chemistry and the polar opposite no fun Karen hockey of Dudley do Right Gionta ( what could go wrong) competing destinys Add a Young Kane knocking on lehners door after searching his carpet w the kids) would've been fun if we had real D and Kessel teaching then how to play sixty each night on McDonald's and no sleep.
Is that team easier to win against or our team if equally focused.. different shared experience or trauma can make or break a team . I'll take ours and no idea if Murray wasn't feeling like la la Fontaine as he left
I'm rambling apologies, should delete id can't read it , has a point to understand and compliment KA ,Donny along a timeline that goes back a few years before hired in a position of power .
I'm amazed at how this Bs and kreuger truly helped us as an organization to each player and Coach became self aware and simply decided what was most important
It forced a decision from all.
.and prioritized and created a team around it that agreed all the way to the formerly tool O'Reilly poisoned Rochester removing a talented but off message coach. Whatever is was that the team, KA ( always bring a towel) and Donny targeted and implemented and is selling still today, has created their unified dream of 70s Sabres , Goat O7;and Russian 5 w a largest helping of nobody plays unless each has the other's backs w no more stars or saviors or hierarchy which immediately did exorcise the demons , lucic miller to briere Drury and tank eichel by never booing as hockey as we've always had returned honestly w Donny and KA.
Bravo " nothing left but a broom and and a mop and an illustrated book about birds*
{ An aside , weird victory by St Louis gm to hide the fact of practice players hitting corners and roofing it both out of reach of , Huttin of the Shire in need the ability that Hasek overcame but he couldn't . These moves made me agree w Eichelbrat at time as not replacing Berglund and trusting his group signalled tank and taught Donny a lesson that will protect us as Long as he's here and we reap the rewards of Donny connections, personal relationships and street personality info to agree and disagree w Jason botteril talent evaluation that by sitting in the background like many former players on the boards BUT unlike everyone else had more intimate details about every player on the team or in the pipeline to see many obviyis answers to eliminate fleecing of the desperate Jason but MAINLY AND OBVIOUSLY talked to and envisioned the true gifts of Skinner and the emotional keys to unlock him and be thrilled He is the centaur, centerpiece of the Friggin rebuild. GLORIOUSLY saw Tage bad name awkward giraffe Thompson Krist superstar needed love and no competition and trust w Room at center to unleash the most unlikely REVEAL ( HE is secretly the love child ( in an AC DC bang w a gang) of Mario lemieux , awkward step brother of Pavel Datsuk ,and the shot of Rico ) His range to improve and apply his SHEER WILL ( JA rastafari) improving 50% more to appear perreault smooth effortless w his moves is mind boggling. Tage might actually terrify opponents. Mcdavid clearly in a league of his own has incredible will but not as much as TAGE !? ( really his name? ) And Mcjesus doesn't terrify people in dreams that Al McInnis or Shea Weber unfairly moved up half the distance to get to decapitate the world for being a lie) Why anyone want to trade oola laloffsin or Mitts who Donny is certain will up his game , heal physically and mentally becoming all engaged all shift defensively and suddenly become a 60 point guy feasting on those they keep away from our other 3 lines I'm willing to give Don Granato and Kevyn ( wtf w the Y ) Adams benefit of any doubt and patience reserved for Mr Imlach. Remember KA has been around here as long as anyone clearly seeing how to get the best like Donny w a wonderful different approach to create a MxBDernota for the sabres w theyr own honorable Superstar Quasimodo hidden under the ' real ' stars in St Louis WOW
But seriously, if Tampa still had Coleman/Gourde/Goodrow last season, that series likely goes 7 games, and there is a good chance the Lightning win. Having that line to throw out against the avalanche's top 6 would have made Colorado's life much more difficult.
