First let Pegula fire our idiot GM.

how About Mittelstadt, Reinhart and a 2nd. Couture is about as clutch as they come - 101 points in 116 playoff games... and we need right shot on the wing.

Sabres need right shots more that SJ lol, Reinhart is all they have, Thompson is the next guy up

Probably 2 more years. They arent close, ill generously say its only partially his fault, he doesnt offend anybody, and its past time for this organization to not look like a clown show.

Hes continuously ignore forward depth, while loading up on D, which they now cant get rid of because the market is over saturated, and they have one sure fire NHL forward coming up in their system currently

He's from nearby Guelph, but I think Couture's NTC kills the deal. Like Couture but maybe not term of his contract. Long term are Sabres better keeping Mittlestadt, and the picks...let's say mid teen and mid forties, plus about 7m in cap to spend on other players than Couture. As suggested above, no sure if the Sabres are "that close" to make this deal.
But Shibbal18 came up with an original trade and it does have merit especial if the Sabres are going for it now.
Gee would the Sharks ponder the trade as that pick they owe Ottawa looks more "lotteryish"

I dont like him, hes too conservative, especially from a team who is making glacial progress but has the benefit of a loyal fanbase and a billionaire owner who seemingly cant afford the optics of firing him. Hopefully the d market heats up closer to the deadline, maybe its like having a decent left handed reliever- you can usually move those for way more than they are worth at the deadline in baseball. I have no idea what his vision is, i mean for all the "build a winning culture" stuff, rochester has been swept in consecutive years despite having solid 30 year old ahl vets on the roster. I dont trust him to move first round picks, fortunately i dont think the thought has crossed his mind.

I disagree his plan is just slower than what everyone wants. Everyone is looking for a blockbuster trade to send this team off but that's not the right thing to do. I really think he has done a great job in bringing in good talent. His mishap is trading O'rielly but to me it wasnt a bad trade at all at the time. ROR had leadership issues in Buf DUI and lack of motivation. The first round pick we got from him was almost a lottery pick and ROR really elevated his game so good for ROR and the Blues but not really bad on GMJB he wouldnt have been as productive in buf. All GMJB needs to do is find a center which we have 2 in the pipeline Cozens and Mittelstadt

That pick wasnt almost a lottery pick, everyone expected St.L to be a playoff team, he was expecting a mid 20s pick there. Their was only one month were they bottomed out but they werent even doing that bad, thehockeyguy did a video on it. Thats why they were able to recover and win the cup. The Sabres need more than a C. Sheary, Vesey, Rodrigues, Sobotka, those arent middle 6 players. Asplund has played well but isnt scoring. He may be poised to replace Girgensons rn. They have 1 good RWer who they refuse to move away from Eichel. All of his depth forward moves havent worked out, except Skinner (who may have gotten an overpay to stay here) and maybe Johansson (but the jury is still out). I like Mitts, i think he was managed horribly, he should have been in the AHL last year. Cozens looks good. But whats left. Pekar is a couple years away and is projected as a 3rd liner. Davidsson is still in Europe. Ruotsalainen isnt even in Rochester developing for the North American game for some reason. At first I was hopeful, but i really really dont agree with Botterills logic and reasoning. Building from the D out was a great idea 6 years ago, but now everyone is, so now the market is filled with a surplus of NHL D and theirs a lack of top 6 forwards available. Everyone parrots the fighting is dead so we dont need toughness, even though that has been verifiably debunked. The Sabres are always behind with their team building methodology. This team has 0 secondary scoring. They look absolutely lost without Eichel. They gave up ROR for 2 cap dumps, 1 who quit, a prospect that was a reclamation project, that they managed horribly, and some picks. They lost Lehner for nothing and he became one of the best goalies in the league (something I told everyone would happen and no one would hear it). This is a terrible track record. What talent has he found, Gilmour? Jokiharju was known to be a stud, Bowman is just an idiot, so I guess that counts. Other than that who? And I hope Kreuger doesnt get thrown on the sword to defend Botterills job.

I agree with every single point you made. I believe ruotsolainens deal was nhl or back home, which is silly if you are 5'7" and probably need to prove that you can play the north american game. Asplund is funny to me, apparently everybody that watches him play loves him, but when you look at the counting numbers, there never seems to be much to count. Which makes him exactly what you said, to a tee, girgensons replacement. Assuming they dont try to get bigger. Theres no place on our anemic middle 6 for another guy that just does not score.

I still think you guys are missing the problem. The middle 6 doesn't have a center. The players on those lines are solid but lack a center. Asplund plays great and will be a good middle 6 player if they ever get a center to play with him. I wouldn't replace girgenson either that line has been dynamic a perfect 4th line. Realistically the sabres are 2 players away and bother those players are the 2C and the 3C. You can clean up some of the D moving out Bogo McCabe Scandella(who has played good) to make room for Pilut Bryson Borgen. And you can say a new goalie combo if Hutton continues to play like this. But Ullmark has looked solid as the 1st goalie. So the team constructed isnt bad and I'm still confused on why everyone is screaming for Botts head he inherited possibly the worst team Hockey has ever seen and started to build from there. Our core pieces are outstanding and will only continue to grow. If he can find a stopgap 2C via trade or free agency until Cozens is ready for that role. The team will be playoff bound

They need 4 middle 6 players, possibly 5. I fully explained why everyone is done with Botterill. This is not going to be fixed with a stop gap 2C. Without Eichel, this is an AHL team. Hutton has fallen off a cliff. Sheary, Rodrigues, and Vesey are awful and Asplund doesnt produce. Pilut and Bryson atent fixing this mess and Bryson may still be another season away, so forcing him up to the NHL by moving McCabe would be a step backwards. Their defense isnt even the problem, so bringing up more D doesnt help them at all. Moving Bogo leaves 4 RHD still in the NHL so Borgen has no path to grow in Buffalo. All of those players, Bogo, Borgen, Scandella, dont have much trade value. He also didnt inherit the worst team in the NHL, he created that team that bottomed out and drafted Dahlin. He inherited that 2C he desperately needs in ROR who was signed long term, failed to pick up decent forward depth, took gambles on affordable forwards hoping a change of scenery would help (it didnt), while spending all but 2 of his top picks on Dmen, including through trades, despite needing offense. Im sorry if you think they are a stop gap 2C away from being decent, they are 2 lines away from being decent.

The D moves were more about moving cap space to be able to build your offense you are clamoring for. The D has been fine except McCabe he really has been awful this year. But those middle six players would all be fine with a center. Mojo just isnt a center and we are forcing him to be our 2C if we had a 2C and moved Mojo out to the wing that line would be a stellar 2nd line. And I already said Hutton has not been good his last 10. That's why Ullmark has started and has played very well.
Idk what else to say if this team had any centers besides Eichel the team would be in the playoffs. And its honestly whatever about ROR he didnt pmay like the ROR on the blues now. So good for him that he turned it around but he wouldnt have done that in buff

No, to all of this, sorry. McCabe hasnt been awful and they need much more than a 2c. They may accidentally end up in the playoffs if the rest of the conference has a terrible showing, like the Bills, but thats a lot less likely in hockey. I appreciate the enthusiasm, you must be young, because if youve experienced Buffalo sports like I have since 1999, you would not be this hopeful