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It amazes me how rabid ppl are for fascism these days. They are positively giddy about it as long as it aligns with their politics.

You aren't my friend. You said that a 60pt Benson wouldn't even be a top 6 winger on a playoff team. I proved you wrong, easily. Be better.

I see a lot of people gravitating toward a "1st line" of Benson/Kulich/Thompson that we saw a lot of down the stretch. I picked March 15 as a bit of arbitrary start date as the first game Norris missed — thinking he's the guy who will be effectively replacing Peterka in the top 6 — and tracked Benson's numbers: He was 6th in ice time for forwards at 16:02 per game after Tuch, McLeod, Thompson, Peterka and Zucker, in that order He was 9th among forwards in points, with 5 in 17 games and did not score a goal He was 5th among forwards in shots with 31 He was tied for 7th in GF% at 50% He led the regular forwards in possession at 54.2% The Sabres went 11/5/1 over those 17 games, outscoring their opponents 65-58.

In his first two full years in the NHL Marchand averaged 80 hits (bias stat -maybe), 24 goals and a shooting percentage of almost 16. But Benson has a three year head start on these numbers, so 25/26 wouldn’t even factor in based on age. So from a development perspective, it’s about getting physically stronger, and executing offense at a higher level. * adding an asterisk to my comments as the OP question was how good will he be this year. I am fully on board Benson meeting these numbers 3 years from now. Also, did the PC police vet your question using Brad as a comparable…..based on what, his size? Because I never mentioned height or weight in my posts. Benson towers over Marchand by 1 inch, so why would you not use a 5’11’ forward to compare?

Cozens was below average shooting. Krebs and Quinn were average. I believe both scored more goals away from Benson than with him. But the opposite is also true because Benson did not convert goals at a high rate his line mates assist rate was also impacted. I expect his goal scoring average to go up. It has to if he is to be a prominent forward. It's long way from where he was last year to being a #1 left wing. I just wish I knew what the plan for that position was because I don't see a good one right now.

Indeed. Not unsurprisingly, the "Night" edition of the Calligraphy trim came out in white and black. The nicknames were Stormtrooper and Vader. Still odd to me to call something Night and then have it be white, but it's all about blacking out MOST of the chrome pieces and the interior. Yeah.. moving from a used car loan to a 0% loan certainly made a difference. It's a relative increase in payment but I was just about to drop money on 4 new ties, and air conditioning diagnostic and likely recharge, and a few other little problems. It doesn't offset everything but it does enhance the piece of mind especially given the never ending saga that is my Sedona.. still in Schenectady (but it's coming home, just not fixed). I interacted with 4 different sales people. Two were exceptional and the other two were trash. I interacted with only 1 sales manager and he was great. Sadly the Nissan people were the best but I didn't buy from them. For one of the sales people I didn't get her name until she handed me her card while I was walking out (after test driving the car). Incredible.

Have you read my many posts on UPL that I’m not sold on him? And I have stated that one of the biggest failures of the limited GM is not having an adequate backup plan for him. It was and is inexcusable. Not sure why you think otherwise.

There were 5 goalies UPL's age and younger who played 40 NHL games last year. He's played three NHL seasons: one below average, one good, and last year, where he lost his mojo in the December losing streak and sucked afterwards. Personally, I'd bet against him, but development-wise, he's in a similar career spot to Jack Quinn and Owen Power: young enough that we're still not sure what he is, old enough that it's time to ***** or get off the pot.

Production wise, yes.... I think his ceiling is perhaps a Viktor Arvidsson, but with a decent floor of a guy like Teddy Blueger who fills an important defensive role.

But wait I thought they were getting arrested... I love how well social media strings people along. Trump hates education and loves social media.

Would I be correct in saying you see his ceiling as a Jochen Hecht?

Development?! He's 26! I too, want to believe in UPL... but he sucks, and the stats show that it's not because of the defense in front of him. 6th worse high danger save % 2nd worst goals saved above average and high danger goals saved above average

Watch the video. I think his awareness is definitely top 6. Look at all the good, unexpected passes he makes in high-traffic situations and the reads when he's breaking up plays defensively. I don't know if the Sabres have a better forward on the roster in terms of moving the puck to a teammate while under pressure. But I see exactly where you're coming from on the skill thing. He doesn't bury enough of the chances his sense and tenacity create. I think it's mostly his shot, which I'd classify as weak at this point, but he's also shown no ability to beat guys one-on-one off the rush. I think that's speed-related, because he's shown quick twitch agility and hands to escape and make plays in traffic situations. He's not shown much ability to create and execute in open ice. I think it would be mistake to ever think he can create offence in the way, say, a Mitch Marner of a JJ Peterka can. But there are other ways to produce and I could see him succeeding offensively in the manner of a Sam Reinhart or a Brad Marchand. When you look at Marchand's skillset, what tools does Brad have that Benson does not?

Things are escalating in TX, Democrats having their funds frozen until they return.

I disagree with your disagreement of my assessment. I forecast him as a 3rd line winger on a playoff team who fills an important role... matching up against other teams top lines, killing penalties, situational matchups (end of periods, closing out games, etc..). You absolutely need those type of players in your lineup... he's part of the solution, just not as a top 6 point producing player. That role belongs to somebody with a bit more offensive acumen.... on a playoff team at least.

* - with JJ Peterka in the top 6 and Benson getting 3rd/4th line minutes (22% of 4201 even strength minutes). Wasting?! He was a 19 year old, still learning the pro game.... you make it sound like he's an established superstar who wasted away at the bottom of the lineup because of Lindy. C'mon, do better! He's nowhere near 50-60pts, nor does his NHLe (35pts) project him to be... therefore the burden of proof is on you my friend.

I disagree with your assessment of him. And it should be noted that you don’t have to be an elite talent to be a first or second line forward. I consider him to be more than a suitable first or second line complementary type player. And it shouldn’t be discounted that his gritty style of play enhances the team beyond his stats. It’s still going to take some time for him to get his man strength. So there will be more upside to him. This isn’t a young player that you should be too impatient with; this is a player that you should value because he is on your team.

I guess we shall see

I would have voted for “He will be better than last year but I don’t expect an eye-popping breakout season”.

I like the player, I really do... this isn't a jab at him, but he's simply not a top 6 talent on a playoff team, not will he ever be. It has nothing to do with his size. Love the work ethic and he's remarkably responsible on the defenive side of the puck for his age, which is fantastic. He just doesn't have the elite skill/awareness to consistently produce offense at the level required to plant himself in the top 6 of a playoff lineup.

You don't agree that Zach Benson passing to Dylan Cozens, Jack Quinn, and Peyton Krebs for large chunks of the year impacted his assists? Ok. What's more likely, Benson shoots below average forever, or he had bad shooting luck mixed with not enough skill that can be corrected? Yup.

Have people watched the video?

I don't agree with blaming Zach Bensons numbers on other players on the team. Just about every other player scored at or above expected goals last year according to Money Puck. Who was the worst? Zach Benson. https://moneypuck.com/player.htm?p=8484145 0.98 Expected Goals Per 60 Minutes Played in 2024 10 Goals From 18.08 Expected Goals During 1,111 Minutes Played 12.68 Expected Goals After Adjusting For Shooting Talent Predicted Shooting Talent is 29.9% Below Average for 2024 Not only is that the lowest predicted shooting talent on the team as far as I can tell it was the lowest in the NHL. If not it is pretty close. You can't blame that on other players and if anything you could turn around and say some of the others scoring was depressed because of it.

Truth, NMCs may be a competitive disadvantage, but they are not the problem... you can change whatever you want about them, until the FO drastically reforms and changes there is nothing gonna save them... they will continually flap in the top 5-10 pick range and operate like a row bow set adrift until there are fundamental changes.

Let's look at the production of the 4th forward from the 2024 playoff teams in the regular season. I am using forward because teams often switch centers and wings around for chemistry so lets just look at forwards. The criteria is play forward, are the 4th guy on that team in points. Dallas: Hintz, 28g, 67pts Vegas: Stone, 16g, 53pts Vancouver: Garland, 20g, 47pts Nashville: Novak, 18g, 45pts Winnipeg: Perfetti, 19g, 38pts Edmonton: RNH, 18g, 67pts LA: Moore, 31g, 57pts Florida: Verhaeghe 34g, 72pts (interestingly the next forward is at 41pts) Tampa: Haegel 26g, 75pts (and then you drop to 46pts) Boston: Zacha 21g, 59pts Toronto: Tavares, 29g, 65pts New York: Zibanejad, 26g, 72pts Washington: Mantha, 20g, 35pts Carolina: Necas, 24g, 53pts Long Island: Palmieri, 30g, 54pts Without even going with the 6th best forward in terms of points (which could be a teams 2nd line LW) we get an average of 53.7points for the 2023-2024 season. This means that your statement of "I'll say this, if they deploy him on the first line and gets regular PP minutes, he could get close to 60pts.... which would be acceptable on a non-playoff team like Buffalo. That said, you want to be taken seriously as a playoff contender? Do. Better." isnonsense not backed up by anything when I used the best "2nd" line point producers from each team to run this. The 4th best point producing forward on all 16 of the playoffs teams in 2023/2024 averaged below 60pts and only 6 teams managed to have a 4th forward top 60pts. The only logical conclusion is that a top 6 forward who gets 60pts is really good, certainly in the mix to be called a top line forward, and heavily valuable to EVERY playoff team. If Zach Benson puts up 60pts (I doubt he will but idk, crazier things have happened) the Sabres would be sitting pretty. Of course if Buffalo does not get its goals against down, it won't really matter. If we go to the 5th best forward on each team that 53.7 drops considerably. Thought I should note that. Even if I do it for just the two florida teams that see a massive drop at 5th forward, that brings us down to 49.9pts. Do better is great advice, I encourage you to take it.