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People just have the wrong belief that the league continues to get bigger and bigger. The median weight of skaters continues to drop and the median height has stayed constant at 6’1” throughout the salary cap era. Florida plays a tough, gritty, hard nosed game but on average, they were the third lightest team in the playoffs ahead of only Tampa Bay and Colorado. Benson will be a star in this league but right now or he is fully capable of playing in the top six on a playoff team.

I agree it's weird how Benson's defensive excellence is completely handwaved away by some who can't stop complaining about the team's lack of defence. But I don't think its weird at all to question whether Benson can produce enough to play on a first line. Thompson and Kulich played almost exactly the same amount of minutes with Benson as they did with Peterka. Their xGF% with Benson: 57.7%, with Peterka 50.6%. Their actual GF% with Benson: 55.6%, with Peterka 65.4% And it's not like the eye test doesn't show Benson forcing turnovers and shooting into the crest in high danger areas, while Peterka bolts the zone early and picks corners from impossible angles.

You know how yall whine about the lack of players going to the hard places on the ice? That's where Benson passes to. Not here on Sabrespace apparently

Being too young only matters if you play young. Being too small only matters is you play small.

Dylan Cozens was awful. Jack Quinn didn't score on a goalie until December. You're proving my point and I've looked at the toi at even for those guys. So no, I don't mean Tage and Jiri.

Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan just played at Darien Lake. Anyone go?

Those spots where you have to shop around are pure hell. Some of them are fine, but all it takes is one pure scumbag to ruin the whole thing.

I was offered tickets for Neil Young in two weeks in NH. Jon Anderson can still hit those high notes.

By shooting impaired players, you mean guys like Tage and Juri? His even strength line combinations don’t fit this narrative. Others include Quinn/Krebbs, Cozens/Quinn, Tage/Tuch and McLeod/Zucker. The guys mentioned score points. You don’t see Lafferty/Greenway/Beck until you get to 11 minutes of ice time. The fact is his ATOI increased last year, but his production in Points per 60 decreased, as did his goals per 60 even though he wasn’t stapled to Greenway and was given ample opportunity to actually score goals. His shooting percentage is anemic at 9% and I just haven’t seen enough for me to think he is anything other than a third line Defensive winger, until he isn’t. Which is completely plausible as he’s only 20. I voted #2 because options were limited, but I was closer to 2 than 1. I find myself aligned with this statement from Thorny -“all 3 of my first liners are bonafide first liners, not 2 guys who are and 1 who may be because of them.” (You see Thorny, some people do read your $hit) So let’s slow down on the coronation to first line winger, and see if his offensive game matures this year. https://frozenpool.dobbersports.com/frozenpool_linecombo.php?select=F&forward=BUF%3A7111%3AZACH%3ABENSON&games=2024-2025%3AR%3A99&period=ALL&situation=EV

I thought they were great, and so was Dashboard.

When you combine the overall tenacity, defensive acumen, and most importantly the ability to get passes to shooters/finishers - Benson is the best LW on the roster. Is he ready to be a LW1 and play the most minutes? No, that'd be Zucker (or TNT if they moved him to LW). But, that's on Adams/Pegula and roster construction, not on the coach/lineup construction. If healthy and if either Norris/TNT remain healthy to be said finisher, then Benson will have a 50+ point season, minimum. More importantly, depending on the play of the center, Benson could have an unexpectedly good season.

Putting aside the Skinnner situation, do the Sabres under Pegula "eat" part of a player's contract that they want to move on from? I'm not sure that they do. Maybe they did when he first became the owner but as a general practice in the second half of his tenure I'm not sure that it happens

Luckily in this case, the salesman is someone I've known for a long time and the GM of the dealership is my next door neighbor, I would say that I got a fair deal overall. But typically dealing with sales people is just awful.

Besides improved goaltending and team defense you missed the impact that Thompson, Dahlin and Tuch have. They will wear the letters and they need bring consistent star power and leadership. They have to put the team on their backs. No more big losing streaks.

While I respect your opinion, to me it’s just an excuse.

Sabrespace: we need more guys tough to play against, who play the game the right way, are gritty, go to the tough areas. Also Sabrespace: well no not like Benson cuz he's short or something and only had 28pts as a 19yr old playing with a center who couldn't hit water if he fell off the titanic. The truth: if Zach Benson was 6' tall and this was his rookie year, expectations would be sky high. The crowd that ***** most about playing the right way totally discounts Benson for doing that. The guy is elite defensively, already, today. Zach Benson is going to be an elite nhl playmaker sooner rather than later. The big jump in production is coming. Will it be this year? Maybe not but he's still a top 6 forward without it.

While true it’s a conversational piece for the off season. I do believe it does slant the league to “favored” destinations for players, thereby creating an unbalancing in talent which is on full display in the overall league wide product. While I realize no organization or its fan base can have it “there way”, destinations with weather, lifestyle culture, favorable tax codes and to a degree, franchise prestige definitely have an advantages over those that don’t when it comes to talent draw or acquisition. That most certainly plays out in the season standings and playoff outcomes year in and year out. Just my view on it is all.

If only you could do it without dealing with salesmen.

Yikes. Might be the worst take in the thread. Benson will be about a 16g, 30a player this season and provide his excellent 2way play throughout. Soon to be? Benson won't be 21 until May.

I don't see how Benson will have only 18 assists this year. He'll have more because he won't be stuck with shooting impaired players.

If a player is good enough to demand one then that's the cost of doing business

I was there with my family. The kids spent way too much on my wife’s birthday and got tickets for the 4 of us. Surprised “us” this morning. I knew, but had been sworn to secrecy. The only reason they told me, was because my job was to keep the calendar clear. They bought what they could afford. The tix were in the tippy top row, 300 level. We got there around halfway through Dashboard Confessionals set. Up to the last row in the dark, made our way to our seats, sat down, and I noticed my wife was on the verge of hyperventilating. She was near terrified. She’d never been in the arena cheap seats, and I didn’t expect this. A couple of songs in, I went back down to floor level to find account services to see if I could pay for an upgrade. Nope. Not a single ticket available for us to buy in the lower level. Yikes. I offered to take everyone out on the town. I suggested we listen for a bit at a hallway hightop table. She stuck it out through the opener, and when the lights came on between bands she settled down a bit. She never fully got comfortable, but did relax enough to do some butt dancing when the Dolls came on. She did say she was ready to go before they ended. I assume it was a song or two before encore, assuming they did an encore. She got a t shirt. That made her happy. Lesson to self, no cheap seats for Momma.

Saw John Anderson and the Band Geeks back in the spring.....one of the best concerts I have ever seen. Saw Night Ranger the other night. Blades can still bring it at 71. All the original bandmates. Great show. Seeing McCartney for the fifth time in November.

Sabres fans: this team needs to get older. Also Sabres fans: Benson should be in the top six. Sabres fans: we need to replace JJ’s scoring. Also Sabres fans: Benson should be in the top six.

He's not a top 6 winger on a playoff team and he'll never eclipse 65 points in a season.