JACK QUINN OUT 6-8 WEEKS FOR BUFFALO – Sabres Semantics
You’re listening to the armchair GM Sports Network Time to sharpen those swords you’re listening to saber semantics a hard-hitting just destroyed interview and discussion Show featuring players alumni media and all others who have or still cover the NHL’s Buffalo Sabers top Shel from with interesting stories from the past and current objective analysis this show is sure to provide an entertaining
And unique perspective for both sabes and hockey fans alike brother we are not worthy exclusively on the armchair GM Sports Network now here’s your host of saber semantics Brandon Caputo welcome in another episode of saber semantics right here on the armchair GM Sports Network proud you
Brought to by JL floring if you think you a better deal anywhere else You Don’t Know Jack contact AG Fall’s location be your quality flooring project today Brandon Caputo and Austin brought with you to discuss the Sab first I guess half of the Year Allstar break that’s where we’re at right now
For this team and just going into you know General thoughts on the Outlook of the rest of the year going into the trade deadline we got some fan polls as well we’ve got uh what the last line was their last game against San Jose uh the upcoming games will discuss and the
Standings where they kind of sit with everything but uh thank you to those today watching on YouTube make sure to hit like hit subscribe smash that Bell for all uh updates on video versions of our podcast that get released here on the network and thank you to those today
Listening on all of our ond demand audio platforms make sure to give us a follow at Sabers semantics on Twitter that’s where we have all of our polls and everything for the show and as well we’re available on Facebook Instagram uh Tik Tok and our YouTube channel that
We’re trying to post more small content on as well so before we get into that Austin I want to give a quick plug to our friends over at fubo watch Sabers games all year long on fubo TV our exclusive link for your 14-day free trial is in the description below of
This video and all Sabers games as long as they’re not nationally televised are available on fubo TV with our exclusive link and you get a 14-day free trial with that so with that said Austin let’s get into the show here and the sabes as we speak going into the All-Star break
Sitting at 2223 three and four for 48 points again they just came off that California road trip so I guess mixed results there they lost the first game in Anaheim and you thought oh boy here we go but then they ended up beating the Kings they came back to beat the Sharks
After being down two nothing but um I know they don’t really impress you yet but uh they’ve salvaged you know staying in this thing at as we hit the All-Star break yeah I mean I think I said at the in our first podcast of the new year
That they were going to have to win eight games in January for me to even consider being invested in a potential run they only won seven um but relatively speaking like I know the schedule wasn’t the best but January was a successful month result wise you know
Seven wins in the month six and four in the last 10 um but unfortunately like just every game in that Western trip I know they came back in the last two but every game you were down multiple goals it’s been a trend all year you’re down you all you consistently give up the
First goal but not only that when you give up the first goal in the first period you consistently go down multiple goals just not a recipe for Success thankfully La is reeling San Jose is not good um honestly like they probably could have came back against Anaheim too
Because Anaheim wasn’t good but that Anaheim game was an absolute disaster but results wise hey you get two out of three in the western trip kind of hard to be salty but the way they got there it’s just it’s not sustainable style of play and hopefully this All-Star break will allow some
Players on that team and the coaching staff to kind of mentally regroup and start attacking this thing and playing the way that they should be playing because we know they’re they’re capable of playing better hockey than they have been playing and it’s crazy the last seven minutes they decided to play in
Anaheim and they almost got a point out of it they scored two goals almost had a chance to tie it but you know the first 53 minutes of the game was an absolute joke and I don’t know how this team can continually play great for a little
Stretch of the game they can’t put it together for 60 minutes and I think that’s the story yeah not only the story is that they can’t put it together for 60 minutes but like I was saying it’s it’s usually the first 15 to 20 minutes that’s an absolute disaster and then
They start playing and I don’t know like again some of that has to fall on the players because like you guys are NHL players you know what time the game starts you know you’re supposed to go from the jump but like I don’t know what’s going on in that coaching room
But so so like I said something has to change I hopefully they use this break because you know they got a little bit of an early start on this break being done after Saturday so hopefully they use this break to kind of just mentally regroup and start figuring it out
Because we know that the talent I mean I know we’ll talk about it later Jack Quinn’s back on the injury list which sucks for the Sabers because he’s vital to this team but we know that talent-wise they are better than this so I don’t know something’s got to start
Clicking and I mean honestly their five on five game for the last little while actually hasn’t been that bad their special teams has been killing him and when your power play sucks your penalty kill is not great and not to mention you are pretty heavily penalized team it’s
Just like I said it’s just not a recipe for disaster or it’s not a recipe for Success it is a recipe for disaster especially when you’re consistently going down multiple goals in the first period yeah it’s it’s one of those things where I look at this team and I
Just say like something’s missing we’ll get into it with the with the polls and everything but like you said it’s almost like somebody’s got to take the fall for this season but is Kevin Adams going to make a move coaching wise or with a with a trade and that’s something that we’ve
Seen in the past that he’s just not willing to do he’s willing to to bet on you know what we saw last year and again while that was positive we’re in a new year now and we’re at the All-Star break and this team is pretty buried in the standings I mean they’re still
Technically in it if you want to say that but you know what the expectations were the high expectations going in this year that they were going to be a playoff team and right now they’re tied with the Montreal Canadians who are in a complete rebuild and are fine with
That yeah like I said like you said they had a successful season last year but as we all know it’s it’s a what have you done for me lately league as is every other Sport and this year the Sabers haven’t been good um I fear that Adams
Will not make a move because and again this is not this is strictly my opinion I feel like the injury excuse might rear its head because yes you have lost Jack Quinn for a long time this year he’s vital Tage was out for a while cousins
Was hurt for a while tuck was out for a while Skinner was out for a while but injuries are shouldn’t be an excuse for this team the GM like I said I gave him credit for it he was patient he was going to bank on internal growth unfortunately it hasn’t
Happened at the rate that they wanted it to again maybe there is a run in these last 33 games of the season but I severely doubt it hopefully Adams has learned from it and realized is like hey to get over that hump I have to be aggressive and build
This team out properly like there are some question marks on this team that will have to be answered between now and the trade deadline obviously results will completely determine what their approach is but there are players like Eric Johnson zus Genson your captain Kyle aoso there are players
That are if you’re not in it shouldn’t be here because if you’re not in it you should be looking at young guys to see what can and who can make an impact next year and what and who can be used as assets to try and obtain whatever piece
You think is missing and I mean you look at we talk about it all the time with their assets and they’ve got a lot of talent you know in Rochester and throughout their organization which is a great thing and they’ve got all their draft picks uh they’ve even got an extra
Fourth in 2025 but at some point you’re going to have to turn some of this stuff into guys that that you need and and in positions of need because all these prospects are great and we keep saying this but if there’s a need like let’s
Say they need a golender or top 4D you know these are the moves that Kevin Adams is going to have to make the hard decisions that when you’re the Sabers and you have all this depth right now you can afford to do that I could understand if he was hesitant if the
Sabres only had you know one or two good prospects within their system that had value around the league but this is one of the deepest Prospect pools in the National Hockey League and we’ve seen what other teams have done with that that have gone on to to win
Championships or be contenders with when they’ve been able to use those assets to move uh and and get what they need to get over that hump and the Sabers through the last 13 years I feel like we’ve just cared about Draft Picks and Prospects and that’s great but at some
Point you’ve got to turn it around the other way yeah like I said I think Adams did a very good job with restocking the prospect covered and setting the foundation for this team now it’s time to see if he can do the next step which is building a contending roster and again
This is future podcasts discussions whether it’s probably not a trade line trade deadline discussion it’s probably more of an offseason his cousin but he has a very difficult decision on what to do with Casey midd stat a pending restricted free agent one of their best five on five players but guess what for
Those who clamoring for change in their forward group that’s the guy that is the most likely to be moved you’re not moving cage Thompson you’re not moving Dylan cousins you they’re just starting their contract extensions you’re not moving petker or Quinn unless you get blown away by an offer you’re not moving
Skinner because you can’t and Tuck he’s an extremely valuable member to this team he’s you know he’s Kevin Adams biggest trade acquisition so in the top nine who’s the most likely you know what I mean it’s middle stat he needs a contract I know he’s a very good player
But that’s a player they’re gonna have to make a decision on again I don’t that decision does not have to be made until the summer but if they sign middle stat we’re looking at almost aside from Greenway going down to the fourth line which is probably where he’ll be next
Next year and probably where he belongs but aside from that if middle stat is resigned your top nine is virtually the same next year is that something like do we want to be sitting there in you know October when the season starts with the same
Exact forward group I no and as much as I like middle stat he’s their best five on five producer he seems like the most likely one to move out and again this is a future podcast problem but that’s what I’m saying like Adams has a lot of decisions to makes
Same thing with the prospects you and I have talked about a lot they’re not all going to be able to play in Buffalo again say for the same thing that I just said they’re top six for the next at least three years is pretty much locked
Down so like yeah I wish Adams again I I was all four you know running it back and looking for internal growth but you know we’re 50 games into the season and it hasn’t worked so that’s why my opinion is different now is you got to do something you have to change
Something whether it’s I know it’s easier to to change the coach which is why I’ve kind of been advocating for that as much as I love Don Grado he’s a very good developmental coach I don’t think the Sabers need a developmental coach right now but I tell you what if
Don gonado is the coach next year I have no problem with it he better have a whole new staff under him all the assistants better be fired and he better have a fresh start because there’s no way you can run it back there’s just not and like I said barring a miracle run
For these last 33 games which I don’t expect them to be this team has really not done anything to give anyone any faith that they can go on a run here we’re looking at another way season I don’t know what your thoughts are but I mean they just came off their easiest
Schedule part of the schedule of the season in the month of January we talked about how many winnable games there were there they played Chicago twice they played San Jose twice they played Anaheim twice like these are all the bottom feeder teams Montreal they played so like they came out of this looking
Decent but again it was the against the easiest opponents that they’re going to face all season now they’re going to start to get into the the heart of their season and I’m with you if they come back with the exact same top nine forwards in the exact same coaching
Staff then I really question if Kevin Adams is the right guy for this job and he’ll end up being the one on the hot seat if he doesn’t want to make a move with somebody on the forward group or with the coaching staff yeah and like I will say like
Don’t get me wrong January was very clearly their easiest month looking ahead at the future like February isn’t it’s not nearly as easy as January but aside from two games against Florida you got Dallas and Calgary mixed in there like St Louis La who’s reeling Minnesota who’s reeling we’re talking about
Anaheim again Montreal again Columbus again is in there uh looking ahead at March like yeah Vegas Winnipeg but like you have Detroit twice the Predators Seattle Ottawa New Jersey like these te like the schedule is not nearly as hard but with this team like we just talked about how easy January was
Supposed to be and there was a few games that they probably should have won that they didn’t like that’s that’s the the problem with this team is even with softer Parts in the schedule there’s just there’s no reason to believe that this team can go on a run until they
Actually do it which I mean again if they actually do it we’ll have a completely different conversation but based off what we’ve seen so far I don’t know this just I don’t see a run coming like especially without Quinn like he was in the 17 games that he’s played
He’s that’s probably not the only reason but he’s a big reason why they’re five five play really skyrocketed because they were able to roll out three quality lines now obviously it’s the All-Star break Rochester plays for the next two weeks so I have no idea what their plan
To replace Quinn is but I can tell you what if their strategy to replace Quinn is let’s just slot Victor olison in the lineup instead of giving a guy like Yuri kulich Isaac Ros in literally anyone else from Rochester if they don’t give one of those guys a shot and they slot
Victor Olson in there’s no reason to take this this team seriously couldn’t say or make a trade or make a trade if they go and make a trade like that that would also be obviously a reason to take them seriously but if their plan is to slot in Victor olison like sorry you’re
Giving up on the season we’ve already tried that like we’ve already seen that fail miserably so it is I feel like we have this conversation every time we open the show but it’s just like people need to like realize where we’re at right now and this is like again we want
To see the team do well but these are the things that we have to say as you know an objective show here that we look at the good and the bad and some of the ugly that’s gone on and it’s just it’s just the the reality of where they are
Right now and if they don’t see this own reality then then I’d question you know really do they have the right people in here yeah the reason we have the same conversation is because nothing is changed right like realistically nothing has changed like when they they didn’t acquire someone when
Quinn went down in the summer okay fair enough Zack Benson stepped up cool it didn’t work it wasn’t working until like they did nothing to try and make a move now Quinn came back they looked good for the 17 games that he came back cool understandable he’s now gone for eight
Weeks what do you are you just gonna spin your wheels for eight weeks or are you gonna do something about it if you make a move awesome if you call up e kle or Isaac Rosen awesome but if you call those two guy one of those two guys up
They better get the same opportunity that Jack could was afforded because otherwise what are we doing here I don’t need to see seven more games of Isaac Rosen playing on the fourth line third line getting six minutes at five on five ice time so really like I said I’ll be
Very interested to see what they do with that spot I know like we won’t know until they start practicing again but I tell you what like I better not see Victor olon on the second line we will we will have to do a wellness check on Austin if we see
Victor olison on line two when the Sabres return from the All-Star break to practice but um Austin let’s take a look at the lines real quick of what it was in the game in San Jose before they hit the break they had Skinner Thompson and
Kyle aoso up there again like it is what it is second line Zack Benson Dylan cousins JJ petka Jordan Greenway Casey middl stat Alex tuck and then pton Krebs and Eric Robinson W forward spots missing there because Jack win obviously was injured in the St Jose game I can
Appreciate Don Granado trying to to switch things up and try to get some depth and some score ing throughout the top three lines but I don’t know if that exactly I mean it was San Jose so I mean take it with a grain of salt there they did win the
Game but what did you think of the way that he kind of structured that line uh the forward group there I don’t know throwing something at the wall hoping it sticks right like I his lineup decisions have been somewhat of a question mark for me all year it’s just been well documented if
You listen to this podcast or if you follow me on Twitter like at all like like I’ve questioned a lot of Granado’s lineup making decisions um the LA game I know they won 5-3 but even something so dumb as like pulling Benson out there questionable in my opinion but whatever
Um the only thing that’s been consistent really is that JJ PKA has been with cousins Krebs has been down on that fourth line with Robinson like it it’s I guess Tage is usually with Skinner when Skinner’s healthy which is good I do like those two together but I
Mean it worked but like you said it was the SOS sharks and you were down two nothing to that team so like I don’t know the lineup is the lineup I’m interested to see what it’ll like I said I’m interested to see what it’ll be when the All-Star break
Ends because now they have to make some strange lineup decisions because Jack Quinn is out once again and by all accounts they don’t really have faith in Victor olison because he’s not an everyday player so it’ll be very interesting to see what they what they
Do and what they cook up here moving to the defense you’ve got Jacob Bryson and Rasmus delene on the first pair Owen power Henry Oki Haru and then Ryan Johnson and Conor Clifton with Matia Samson still out of the lineup your boy Ryan Johnson getting in the lineup over
Eric Johnson who you’ve been very critical of on this podcast uh throughout uh you know the last little bit here you know seeing Bryson up on that top pair what are you thinking with that uh again I think it’s more just he threw threw everything in a blender and
Was trying to get some stuff to stick I do like that second pair I think he says power y Haru I do like them I think they are pretty good together uh darene whenever he’s not with Samuelson I I think he he does well and that’s not a shot at Samuelson I do
Think Samuelson is a very serviceable NHL defenseman I just I am like I’ve said multiple times I’m just adamant that him and samelson do not work together uh I know Bryson getting up on that pair with him was a big deal but let’s be honest when push
Comes to shove when it’s time to you know defend the lead or come back like they were in that game he wasn’t going to rely on Bryson he was going to start relying on power Yoki Haru which I think you saw in that game so good for Bryson
You know he’s the seventh defenseman eighth defenseman I guess because Ryan Johnson would technically be the seventh but I guess it’s good to have some depth and it’s good to see Bryson get in there because you know I mean like he can be fun to watch sometimes when he gets the
Puck on his stick and he gets going but same thing he’s another player that I don’t need to see anymore I know he’s up here because of injuries you know samelson being banged up Eric Johnson being banged up probably doesn’t help either but yeah I don’t know I just I think
It’s just I’m out on Granado so anything that he does I’m really goingon to be highly skeptical of and again I not that I don’t like Don Grado I do I think he was very good for this team there’s a reason that you saw Tage take a step was because of him he
Finally let doen out of his you know the chains that were on him before he took over but at some point like they might the team I’m not saying the team is done with him the team I think does respect him but when you go down one two nothing
Consistently in the first period like something’s got to change he’s got you to a certain point but now you need to BL break through the plateau you know just like you know your workout routine you get to a certain point it’s just the same thing over and over again and you
Got to do something to break that and reach the next level and I feel like they’ve kind of plateaued here with the way Don Granado has done a good job like you mentioned getting this team turned around but now it’s almost like he’s reached his peak of where he can take
This team and now they need to find the the person to get them up the next part of the ladder like I said if he’s here next year I will not have a big problem with it but if he’s here next year all those assistants better be gone and he better
Have a brand new staff underneath him because you just you can’t run it back you can’t can’t you can’t it didn’t work I was hopeful that it was going to work I bought into the fact that it was going to work it didn’t it hasn’t it’s not g
To work changes need to be made well we’ll move on to the power play real quick and uh you know what have you thought of that talk cousin Skinner Thompson Dalene the four forwards and we talked I think on our last episode about you know not just being so one-dimensional trying to hit
Tage for the one-time which obviously he his wrist is still not 100% because we haven’t seen the goal production from Tage that we saw last year and even before the injury but uh you know what have you seen from the power play good bad where are you at with it uh I mean
You saw improvements obviously I think you started to see them trying a few different things working the puck high to low page moving the puck around rather than just standing still and being there for the shot um it’s still killing them it’s still very vanilla very predictable very disjointed still lacking a little
Bit that intent but I have seen a little bit of improvements again how much of that is the teams that they face though like when you’re you know what I mean when you’re facing San Jose twice you have Chicago on that like it’s hard is it the strategy is it the fact
That your competition’s so bad that you just look better you know what I mean the results have been better which I guess is a good thing but it’s still a very very very big Achilles heal for this team right now yeah and I mean La
Has been one of the worst teams in the NHL the last month or so which is crazy because they were on such a good run and now they’ve kind of just hit a wall here uh with their goal tending situation so I even look at that game and say you
Know that yeah I I don’t even look at it as a great win to be honest with you because La one has been struggling in two the first period was a complete joke and they were lucky they weren’t out of that game after the first 20 minutes
That’s what I’m saying like the the the last two games that they won I know they won but like you can’t keep going down to nothing in the first period you can’t a serious playoff team does not get down early and just knock it down early by
Multiple goals as much as the Sabers do because they do it pretty much more not more than any other team but more than any team that has playoff aspirations does that’s for sure anything else you want to mention that before we hit the break and uh get to uh
The polls and stuff in the second segment no I think I think it’s time to to move on and look at said at least with some fan discussion we can at least have some other stuff to talk about because you know me this team has been
Driving me crazy we’re going to take a break on saber semantics today we’re going to come back we’re going to get the fan polls we’re going to get Austin’s analytics and we’ll look at the upcoming games when the team does come back from the All-Star break so stare at
Here right back on saber semantics right here on the armchair GM Sports Network proud you brought to you by J floring last year more homes cancel cable TV than ever before why it’s just too expensive for half the price of cable you can get fubo TV and watch the live
Sports and TV you love try free at fubotv.com JL flooring is niagara’s Specialty Flooring and Design Company they take great pride and provide Elite customer service and support with a beautiful showroom great pricing and a wide variety of truly unique products JNL flooring is your Specialty Flooring
And Decor Boutique shop all of their products are environmentally friendly and responsibly produced so you can feel good about your flooring choices their goal is to build authentic relationships based on honesty and integrity that they Foster with respect and authenticity offering a unique and wide range of quality products presented by a
Knowledgeable and patient team they simplify the process to make your life easier and to make your home more beautiful visit them at 4424 Monro Road in Niger Falls or find out more at J flooring.com if you think you can get a better deal anywhere else You Don’t Know Jack at JL
Floring pets bring immense joy to our homes becoming an integral part of our families but this living loving experience often requires a little extra care and attention that’s where Global pep Foods comes in with owners and staff ready to support you every step of the way check out one of their locations
Today 3643 Portage Road in ner Falls 160 Highway 20 in font Hill or 400 Scott Street and 344 glendel Avenue in St Catherine’s Global Pet Foods where pets are undeniably part of the family proud show sponsor the dog pound podcast the official podcast of the ice
Dogs are you looking to hire let the employment help center save you valuable time and money by making your hiring process easier their services include free job postings in-house and on their website fill job vacancies quickly and efficiently access to a bank of potential employees reduce employment
Costs and financial incentives may be available to offset the cost of new higher training check out the website at eh c. n.ca or call 905 35821 for more information the niagar employment Health Center helping people find work since 1983 Niagara golf Lounge features two state-of-the-art indoor golf simulators
Allowing you to play some of the world’s best courses all year round the perfect place to indulge all season long don’t worry about getting thirsty while you play around with your friends their fully stocked bar offers a wide selection of drinks appetizers and a variety of meals are also available
Enjoy before during or after you play grab a seat next to the fire in their comfortable Sports Lounge didn’t bring your clubs no problem they have partnered with tailor made to offer you the best rental clubs you won’t want to miss their exclusive NFL and NHL giveaways for the Buffalo Sabers and
Buffalo Bills located in the Best Western Plus Karen Croft Hotel 6400 Lundy’s Lane in Niagara Falls visit niagar gool vacations.com to learn more and to reserve your golf Bay today the Niagara golf Lounge niagara’s home for golf and Sport all year round you’re listening to the armchair GM Sports
Network the Niger Region’s best local source for North American Sports podcasting coverage by sports fans for sports [Applause] Fans hey hey here we go it’s talk night in Buffalo hey hey here we go the boys in blue white and gold hey hey here we go make some noise get in the zone all for one and one for all let Che you from your heart and
Soul and we will stand raing our hand say let’s go Buffalo let’s go Buffalo we will be here till the end saying let’s go buffalo buffalo welcome back to part two of today’s saber semantics episode Brandon Caputo and Austin Brer back with you the saber semantics show on our
Network is proudly brought to you by JN all flooring if you think it a better deal anywhere else you don’t know Jack contact or nagra ph’s location been your quality flooring project today as well go and check out uh one of our other great sponsors nagra golf Lounge they’re
Doing Sabers giveaways throughout the season and uh the remaining home games they’re doing giveaways for all you got to do is spend $40 uh at the nagara golf Lounge uh have a drink and uh you know hit some balls watch some sports 40 bucks and you’ll be entered into win
Some Sabers tickets courtesy of the Niagara golf Lounge so Austin as we get forward here into the second segment I will turn it over to you with uh what you’re going to talk about with Austin analytics and then we’ll kind of take take that into the Jack Quinn
Discussion yeah I basically just wanted to highlight the importance of Jack Quinn he’s only played 17 games but um leads the Sabers and expected goals four percentage besides JJ PKA which I mean they play on the same line so it kind of speaks for itself there those two are
Very very much in lock step but just it sucks it sucks for Jack Quinn um I’m glad it’s not you know a repeat injury because I know that’s always the biggest scare when you see someone who just came back from an Achilles injury go down with a lower body injury
Um yeah it just sucks like you anybody who’s watched the team this year knows how important he is the numbers back it up but two major s not major surgeries but two surgeries now in seven months no when did he have the Achilles surgery June yep in the
Summertime June July yeah so two two not pretty significant surgeries in a seven-month stretch for a 23-year-old it just it sucks and I wish him all the best and I hope he gets better soon yeah and I mean I look at Jack Quinn approx me out six to eight weeks according to
Lance lasoski of the Buffalo News he had the surgery and again when you saw the injury happened in San Jose how it occurred it was like oh man is this going to be another uh long-term injury luckily he escaped that I mean six to8 weeks is still not great but could have
Been a lot worse but like you mentioned just really bad luck for a guy that was finally getting his footing back um had played you know in in 15 or so games for the Sabers and uh talked to him uh in the room that one day the that I was
Able to cover the Sabres game against the Kraken and he was really excited to be back in the lineup and I know Don Granado and the coaching staff said that he brought such a different dimension with the way that he attacks the net and they were you know finally getting into
Form with him and now he’s on the Shelf again like you mentioned they’re going to have to figure out what they’re going to plan is going to be for the trade deadline because that’s going to come up before he’s back so hopefully their plan is going to be more than having Victor
Olson just slot in there because Jack Quinn has shown that he’s a valuable top nine forward on this team versatile that can go up and down so uh really unfortunate injury but uh you know hopefully he does come back soon yeah like you said hopefully he
Comes back soon I think I don’t know I wouldn’t say safe to say that they avoid a disaster because 8 weeks is still a disaster but thank God it’s not a significant like yearlong six-month injury um excuse me did they say exactly what the injury was I know they said it
Was lower body but like they never really specified right no I don’t I don’t believe so yeah so like you said it’ll be interesting to see what they do to fill that spot but it just it sucks like he’s so vital to this team not only
For the offense that he brings the way that he attacks the skating but he’s probably the out of the top I mean maybe aside from Benson and Greenway out of the top 90s probably their most reliable two-way forward I mean I don’t know if that’s a
Stretch to say I know in my opinion that’s what it is he also provides an element to you know he can play on the top power play when one of those big guys goes down he was on the power play for a while uh before Skinner came back and I think was part
Of that couple game stretch I was like man like the power play looks a lot better again was it because of Jack Quinn was it because of who they were playing probably a mixture of both but at the end of the day he definitely doesn’t make or break your season but I
Feel pretty confident saying that unless they make a move or they call up someone and has an immediate impact like like you just said if Victor olon takes that slot there’s no there’s no positive impact from that like The Season’s pretty much done unless they make a move
For a significant top nine top six forward or they call up a guy like Ki kich and give him every opportunity to play and he exceeds so um yeah I just it sucks because when Jack Quinn came back I was like maybe this team has some juice they did have some
Juice uh but clearly just wasn’t meant to be just an unfortunate unfortunate injury I actually didn’t see it live I had to wait for a clip to come out and when I saw it I was like I was pretty fearful that it might have been an ACL
Thank God it was not because I don’t know if I could do another eight to 10 months without Jack Quinn because he is extremely important to this group and uh correction he had played 17 games 12 points in the 17 games so uh and again like he was working his way back
Up he was getting up the speed and and you could just see him getting better and better when he was getting the opportunity um so again uh that’s the news with Jack Quinn I got the player stats up on the screen right now Austin before he moved to the polls you know
What it middle stats still continuing to lead this team 42 points in 49 games Rasmus stene second place is going to be the Allstar representative this weekend in in Toronto but uh you know is there anybody that’s has play I I mean I think Dylan cousins has started to pick it up
A little bit better he’s played better for my fantasy team so that’s one thing but um it’s just we’re still waiting to see from Tage Thompson we’ll get into it with the poll but um you know what what have you thought lately about I guess in the last couple of weeks somebody that’s
Really sticking out to you um I like cousins has definitely started to play better I don’t think there’s any getting around that like that’s pretty obvious for anyone who watches it again is Jack Quinn partially responsible for that I do think so because that line when they are clicking
Is very good um but just JJ PKA again he was in a little bit of a slump I know when Quinn came back and was starting to produce like petka had a little bit of a goish route but just seeing him how talented he is um the impact that he has
On the game I really think that production-wise aside from middle stat he’s probably been well he is their most assistant forward I mean again they a young guy like that taking a big step we said like at the start of the year if this team was going
To be good one of those guys young guys is gonna have to take a big leap PK has taken that big leap it’s just unfortunate that essentially three out of their top four it’s kind of hard because M’s taken a big leap too but like three of your top
Six forwards have kind of not been up to par and I think that’s the biggest reason that this team is struggling and I know it’s frustrating because when we’re gonna talk about it in a couple minutes here like there’s a few guys in the top six that I know they aren’t
Playing to the expectations that we had for them but like I I don’t know uh Tage Thompson 14 goals 14 assists coming off a fractured wrist like he’s starting to look a little bit more like himself which might be good for the team going forward like the rest
Of the year obviously for the team going forward it’s good it’s just so hard to get optimistic about the rest of the year because I just don’t see anything significant happening for the team results wise but I will say definitely JJ PKA and production wise isn’t there but
Like I think Jordan Greenway has been really Val valuable for this team this year he scored a big goal in the San Jose game does nothing special nothing spectacular but he does what he’s asked to do and he does it effectively so I think I’ll highlight those two guys
Because I think petka and Greenway deserve some some shine right now so we’ll get into the Twitter polls today and guys make sure you’re following us at saers semantics for all of our Sabers polls and our Sabers content uh on X I guess Twitter X whatever you want to
Call it uh is on there so if you guys want to get in the conversation when we do discuss these Twitter polls on the show that’s where you can find them so the first poll this week uh was who has been the biggest disappointment through
The first half of the year for the sabes and as Austin just mentioned Tage Thompson Dylan cousins Rasmus Dalene and Owen power Tage Thompson takes pull with 60% cousins in power with 20 and Dalene with zero but again it’s it’s Thompson coming off a significant injury a RIS
Especially when you’re a guy that takes a lot of one-timers that’s that that’s going to take a long time for you to get that same feeling back so it’s just unfortunate that that kind of derailed this season from you know having 94 points the year prior yeah and honestly I’m a little bit
Surprised that Thompson was the the winner of this poll because um he’s actually still on Pace for nearly 60 points over an 82 Game season which is obviously not spectacular because he scored 94 last year but if you had told me that cage was going to improve
Defensively and also still score at a 60o pace while having a fractured wrist and missing some time due to another injury like I would have been relatively okay with that I’m a little bit surprised that Dylan cousins didn’t take this poll maybe it’s a little bit of recency bias because he’s played a
Lot better but to me the biggest disappointment so far this year has definitely been cousins because it’s I know again same thing he had a little bit of injury problems here and there but he’s so showed so much potential last year like 68 points in an 81 Game season last year I
Think I think when I compare him to Tage 94 points for Tage to me was maybe like the ceiling which is not a bad thing scoring 47 goals and getting 47 assists being your ceiling is really good I just didn’t know how much more cage was going
To be able to get to like in my opinion I don’t see and I’ve never seen T as like a 120 point guy I saw more as like the 70 75 Point guy which I still think he can be cousins hitting 68 points in his third season I expected another big
Leap to potentially get him to round a point per game player and for me he’s just a lot of it is shooting luck a lot of it has been you know been a little bit snake bitten his shooting percentages down nearly six percentage points compared to last year
So yeah maybe a little bit that a shooting luck but to me it was it was easily cousins because he’s a guy that you want to be able to take over games and drive your offense when your first line gets taken away because when Tage Skinner and tuck
Are together if a team does find a way to negate that line you need your other guys to step up and I feel like those three guys have been negated way too often this year and it just doesn’t feel like enough people have stepped up so to
Me it was cousins but I mean I can see why people have Thompson it’s just as much as I love Tage Thompson I never 94 points to me is kind of closer to his cealing than it is him scratching the surface and you thought that cousins would have a better chance of improving
His point total than Thompson would yeah like 68 points for cousins I think maybe that is closer to his ceiling than I originally thought but I think when you hit 68 points in your third year there’s still a little bit of to grow and it’s
Just but to be honest like who in the top six for this year for the Sabers hasn’t regressed and I think that is the biggest problem because really it’s been all six of them Skinner might be the only one on par for a Skinner type season that we’re used to because he’s
Still scoring a ton of goals so it’s hard it’s I don’t think there’s a wrong choice to that poll I am a little bit surprised that um cousins or power didn’t take control over that I know I snuck power’s name in there because I just assume sa Twitter was going to bash
Him because it seems to be the popular thing to do oh yeah it definitely has been uh two who has been the biggest pleasant surprise for the sabr of this season JJ PKA Ugo pekanin Zach Benson or Casey middl stat JJ PKA takes this poll that would have that would have been my
Vote uh with the you know breakout season that he’s had um I’ve just been really impressed with petka and and the way that he’s been able to score again against some lower-end talent and and the strength of schedule hasn’t been there as of late but I’ve really liked
What I’ve seen from JJ PKA you know in his second full season in the NHL I think he’s really taken that next step to being a full-time player and and he’s proven that he could be a top six player in this league so uh I like Lucan in and
Benson and middle stats been good but personally I would have went with the consensus here with petka which I think you might have a different opinion of yeah to me it’s easily keka L good in PKA fantastic I’m glad he stepped up he’s playing extremely well but if he
Would have told me that ukcan would have aside from his nine game stint in 20 2122 where he was two5 and two um he had a in his first like full season as a backup he had a Sub 900 save percentage well over three uh three point he had
3.61 goals against average so this year not only is he taking the reign as a starter he’s playing consistent you know uh he’s got a 2.61 goals against average 908 save percentage he’s got 12 of the Sabers wins but not only that in his last 10 games
He’s got a 933 save percentage like he is playing so consistently well and if you would have told me that Lucan would be trying to think of the word the saber starter I wouldn’t have been so surprised but like not only see the saber starter but in a lot of
Metrics he is in the top half of the league for goenda Camp episode until I see lukanin do it I will not believe him I’m seeing him doing it and I’m starting to believe in him and to me him proving that he can be a quality NHL starter is a much
Bigger surprise to me than JJ PKA being a top six quality forward I think because I had that faith in pker so not surprised that petker won it but I am surprised lukanin didn’t run away with this poll because I thought most people would be like me and be very surprised
That he is a quality starting on Angel goalie right now and quick side note there Devon Levi did get sent down to Rochester Eric Comer was called back up do you think that’s more so just to get Levi some action down a Rochester during the All-Star break or do you think that
When the Sabers come back that this is going to be a plan where they’re going to have Comer as the backup no I have to imagine as soon as the allar breaks done Levi will come up and the only reason I’m saying that is because that weird
They sent him down for that one game and then called him up to go out west like to me it’s just’re they’re not keeping him down in Rochester side note he is starting for the amworks on Wednesday night so he’s at least getting some game action there you go so I mean that’s
Positive for him and Eric hry don’t know what’s going to go there if he goes back through waivers I’m not worried about him getting claimed I don’t think he will but um that is what that is but we’ve talked about that enough on this show poll three which didn’t was
Basically a wash uh what would you do with Casey midad in the final year of his current contract he’s a restricted free agent as Austin mentioned in the first half trade him extend him well 50% each so there you go I mean pretty not I mean a little bit surprised
But not really because I think I don’t think there’s a wrong answer and it’s not because he’s played bad he’s played well and that’s why you can to me the yeah to me the only reason you trade him is if you’re one of those people that
Wants change in the forward group like I highlighted earlier in this episode is if you want change in the forward group like significant change that’s the spot because everyone else is either locked up to a long-term deal or still on their entry level Deal Middle stat is a pending RFA having a
Career season and a half because dating back to last year he’s playing extremely well like you said his value might never be higher but also at the same time he’s been so reliable you might want a cousin Tage middle stat Center spine going forward and that’s fine if you do it’s just I’m
Just curious not only do what people think although 50/50 kind of kind of what I expected I assumed some people would be in favor of it some people would want to keep them I don’t know the answer to that I just think it’s such an interesting topic and I think that might
Be the discussion Point going forward because like if the Sabers are out of it and they have to cool Eric Johnson will be gone garson’s might finally get moved if aoso wants out he won’t be worth much on the market but if aoso wants out you get to move
Him and open up some spots but really there significant trade pieces in my opinion are middle stat and Yoki Haru and to me just obviously it’s clear middle stat is such so much more interesting because he is a significant piece for this team this year but his
Future is uncertain so just I think that’ll be more of a long-term conversation but I was curious to see what people were thinking and 5050 I I guess it sounds about right yeah and the way that he’s playing he could get them a significant haul and you mentioned in the first segment just
Changing the forward group the top nine to look different but this is a discussion we’re going to have I’m sure for months on end and going into the offseason because I feel like this might be something that we talk about leading up towards the draft a draft night type
Of trade or into the summer when he’s going to be obviously extended for an extension either with Buffalo sign and trade with a new team or just Trad to a new team and then they figure it out but uh we’ll have to see where it goes with
Casey middle I don’t expect this to be a trade deadline I’d be shocked if uh if he was moved at the deadline but uh with that said Austin let’s take a look at the upcoming games for the Sabres here uh they do come back on February 6th
From the All-Star break to face the Dallas Stars at home so they got a pretty good opponent there coming in with the Stars and then they face the blues also at home it’s actually a four-game home stand there with Dallas St Louis LA and Florida all coming to
Town there in the first week back uh the if programming note the St Louis game is an ESPN plus exclusive and I guess you know that won’t be shown on fubo if you guys are are carrying fubo here in Southern Ontario and then I assume we’ll
Be recording by then by the next episode or by the Minnesota game but um Minnesota Anaheim Montreal so like you mentioned there there are some winnable games there but coming back from the break with Dallas you know that that’s a pretty tough opponent there team that
Can score St Louis is off and on they don’t really scare me um and then La obviously has been reeling but if they figured out they’ve definitely got the talent to uh to turn it around but a four game home stand out of the break just coming off of the California road
Trip you know eight possible points there Austin I mean what are we hoping for what are we hoping for I mean you have to get six you have to get six out of eight points um Dallas phenomenal team not only that phenomenal on the road 14 five and four on the road so
That’ll be a tough one to come out of the break too as you said St Louis they’re a bit of a hot and cold team um not that great on the road you mentioned Minnesota they are kind of in a similar spot to the sabes whereas I think
Expectations were pretty high for that team but it’s kind of been a disaster of a season and then you mentioned La who’s just Reeling I mean I’m guessing by then they’ll have maybe a new coach I don’t know I don’t know what La is gonna do because like you said they’re they’re
Very talented team but it’s just it has not been good for them lately so four big home games out of the All-Star break all against out of conference opponents you want to make up some ground this would be the time to start doing it
Um do I expect that to happen no like I said you have to be shooting for or they got Florida in between their two I guess which is again a divisional opponent extremely tough samame home Sam rinard real quick 20 Power Play Goals he’s the first player since Mario Lemieux in 1995
96 to be at 20 Power Play Goals by this point in the season I cannot believe that I would ever say Mario Lemieux and Sam Reinhardt in the same discussion but he’s got 20 Power Play Goals for Florida just wanted to mention that so yeah he
Deserves his flowers man um you got to get six out of eight there and two of those four opponents are extremely tough given Dallas and Florida so you find a way to win one of those two tough games preferably the Florida one because it’s a divisional one but also it’d be nice
To see you come out with a strong showing against Dallas because it’s the first game out of the break and then you have again you have Dallas and then you have a three-day break before that St Louis afternoon game so um I don’t know you get six out of eight maybe you can
Get some people back on board but I think at minimum you have to win three out of four and Victor olison is going to be slotted in that that third line I’m sure butus to exist Yeah Austin might have a stroke before our next episode but just lineup final thoughts Austin I’ll give
It to you uh not with the lineup with the standings excuse me uh where they’re at right now and you know like I I know you’ve been out of out of it on this team but technically they’re still in it so we have to still stand and watch at
This point like like I said like you’re nine points back at Detroit who Wednesday night is playing against the Ottawa Senator so I mean you could be 10 points out by the time that game’s over if the result kind of goes as most people would expect it’s not impossible but it’s
Definitely not looking good um you’re hovering right around that 500 Mark which not great because you should be well above 500 in my opinion but improvements like I said January was good they won seven games um again weaker schedule but you know what you have to
Win those games too when they were able to do it so they’ve been playing a lot better lately I said January was my maker break month they did just enough for me to at least have a little bit of intrigue but I’m still not bullish on this team at
All because it’s just they have yet to show any remote thing that resembles consistency in my opinion I don’t know what are you where are you at final thoughts yeah I mean again like it’s kind of been a negative stigma podcast but that’s kind of where we’re at with
This team you know what I mean so I’m sure that you viewers listeners Watchers out there are going to feel the same way because it’s just been like a cycle with this team where they go on a couple of games where they they do well and then
They get you believing and then they have a couple of stinkers and then you say this team is the worst team in the league and I just I just hope we start to see like you said six out of eight to keep them afloat here beating the
Florida Panthers would be nice with Sam Reinhardt playing so well that’s always a big thing is playing the guys that come back in here that didn’t want to be here anymore and hopefully beating them but I’m with you I I I just want to see some sort of consistency and if a move
Moves have to be made they have to be made I’m I’m not fine with them just standing Pat anymore like something’s got to change here signific ific leag coaching staff forward group defense this group’s not working so no uh that’s kind of where I’m at looking at last
Thing I’ll be looking at the standings and this is just something I you know it maybe people don’t put a lot of stock into but it’s just it’s so frustrating is so the Sabres are in the Wild Card race they’re seventh they have a minus nine goal differential the Islanders have a
Negative 23 Gold differential the devil’s ne7 so obviously they’re a little bit better but like the capitals who are three points ahead of the Sabres negative 31 goal differential the Canadians who are tied with the Sabres negative 39 go differential so it’s like it’s inexplicable like because it
Feels like when the Sabres lose they get destroyed but when they win they look competent like you said like that’s just that’s our thing is there’s no consistency when they lose they get hammered when they win they look they show some FL flashes of the team that we
Saw last year or they got to come down from two goals yeah right like so I don’t know like I said I need to see I’m not even asking for a playoff push for the rest of the year anymore I’m just asking to be a consistent team that shows up on
Time and from the coaching staff in the GM show the fans something that says you still deserve to be here and be the ones to turn this thing around because I’ve said it multiple times this year there was so much Goodwill built up last year by Grado and Adams and they’ wasted it
In 49 games I think that’s I think that’s a good way to to put a bow on it that’s basically where we’re at so 49 games it’s gone yeah results are going to matter and they haven’t for the Sabers through the first 49 games of this season but
Hopefully by our next recording maybe they take eight of eight points and they’re right back in this thing but who knows I’ll be the Eternal Optimus here and blindly say that they’re going to get eight of eight and then I’ll look like an idiot come our next recording
And that’s fine but regardless that’s going to wrap up another episode of saber semantics right here on the armchair GM Sports Network proud You Brought You by JL floring if thinking of a better deal anywhere else You Don’t Know Jack contact our Niger Fall’s location be your quality flooring
Project today thank you to those today watching on the YouTube version of the podcast make sure to hit like hit subscribe and smash that Bell and for those listening to us rant today in on demand audio thank you very much for doing so and sitting through uh us doing
This and I’m sure you guys have uh you know been able to go through the pain with us with what has been a frustra season for the Buffalo Sabers but until next time make sure to give us a follow at saers semantics for our next show and
Updates on our Twitter polls as well for Austin broad my name is Brandon Caputo and we’ll talk to you again very soon you’re listening to the armchair GM Sports Network
In this episode Brandon Caputo and Austin Broad discuss the last stretch of games for the Buffalo Sabres as they reach the NHL All-Star Break, what Jack Quinn’s injury means to the lineup, early deadline talk surrounding Casey Mittelstadt, and outlook for the month of February.
Start your 14-day free trial with Fubo TV today to enjoy Buffalo Sabres games all season long and receive the best ongoing subscription price on the market, courtesy of the Armchair GM’s Sports Network here: https://www.fubo.tv/stream/ca/epl/?ftv_campaign=Sabres-Armchair&fbclid=IwAR1XjG3PvQwfftrNUpC1kPqhA7jeacphLWVOCcV3ytomVoq_fiHR-woBDGM
Player Picture Credit: https://www.nhl.com/sabres/
Sabres Semantics is proudly brought to you by J&L Flooring: https://jandlflooring.com/
Intro Songs Credit:
Ivan from Guitar Logic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmy9KGCcfVA
Joe Bucci: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5ZiMjXQDtY&t=1s
== FOLLOW THE NETWORK ==
X: https://twitter.com/ArmchairGMPod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@UCJUaG5QNg1jwQ5a_32rZs1Q Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmchairGMsNetwork/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armchairgmsnetwork/
Website: https://www.armchairgmsports.com/
== ALSO AVAILABLE TO LISTEN TO ON ==
Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/thearmchairgms
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-armchair-gms-sports-network/id1462505333?uo=4
Spotify: http://bit.ly/ArmchairGM
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/f69c2372-97f9-4c0e-8d52-ade7d7591cd4/the-armchair-gm’s-sports-network
== FOLLOW US ON TWITTER ==
Brandon Caputo: https://twitter.com/BCaputo_AGM
Austin Broad: https://twitter.com/Austin_Broad
Sabres Semantics: https://twitter.com/SabresSemantics
