Taro T
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Posts posted by Taro T
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34 minutes ago, msw2112 said:
Crazy to think that PIerre Turgeon is in the NHL Hall of Fame!
Apparently with the bar lowered enough to get Housley in, Pete managed to eventually Sneak in himself.
(Honestly had no idea that he'd been elected this past season; or at minimum completely put it out of mind.)
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1 hour ago, shrader said:
He has a last name for a first name and a first name for a last name.
Dakota Fanning disagrees with this take. 🤪
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37 minutes ago, K-9 said:
It wasn’t so much that people thought Lofton was over the hill and past his prime as it was the Raiders being loaded with younger, cheaper, and talented WRs which made Lofton’s high salary at the time expendable. The prevailing opinion at the time Polian acquired him was that it was a no lose move to get a first ballot HOFer for the $100 waiver fee. We still owe Chris Burkett a big thanks for quitting on the team early on that season and making the room for Lofton on the roster. It took him several weeks to get acclimated to Marchibroda’s offense and working with Kelly, which is understandable given it’s difficult to do that in season, but once he cracked the lineup, we all saw that he still had that HOF talent.
Lofton started all 16 games the previous year and didn't even average 2 catches per game that year. He played his way out of the lineup before he was actually out of the lineup as a Raider.
Yeah, people thought he was over the hill and past his prime.
Agree with the rest of it.
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24 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:
Take a spin around Google News or Twitter -- search Claypool Bills (and maybe add the term Parrino and/or consistent). Dozens -- likely soon to exceed a hundred -- writers, accounts, AI-based aggregators are out there lulz'ing it up that the Bills "best" WR is an NFL castoff.
I mean, whatever. But, still.
Probably. But I'm talking about ostensibly legitimate accounts, outlets, etc.
And people looked at the Bills askance when they brought in "over the hill" "way past his prime" "nothing at all left in the tank" James Lofton.
Sometimes guys just need an opportunity in a new surroundings. (And sometimes, it still goes kerplewy. But he's definitely worth taking a shot on.)
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1 hour ago, LTS said:
Yes, true. The distance from Miami City Hall to The Panthers Arena is about 41 miles. Roughly the same as Batavia Downs to Buffalo City Hall.
The fair comparable is that the Miami Heat play in Miami at Kaseya Center. They are called Miami whereas the Panthers simply go with Florida.
Yup. Sunrise for all intents and purposes is a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale. It's far closer to that than it is to Miami.
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1 hour ago, Brawndo said:
Since this is being discussed in great depth on the Expected Buffalo Discord, here you go. The NHL has become concerned about teams that receive revenue sharing that are not maximizing their profits, especially in a hockey market such as Buffalo. They are concerned about the empty seats on nationally televised games, the fact they have had an internal cap and have not spent close to salary cap. They have made suggestions about increasing spending and have placed pressure on Terry to turn things around and make the playoffs.
And @Thorny this one is for you, a failure to make the playoffs is the end of Adams as the Sabres GM.
The good news is Adams is feeling the pressure from the whole situation and he has no restrictions placed on him in terms of spending to the cap, not sure about a Skinner Buyout though. It was also mentioned TP is expected to be around the team more, it was also reiterated that Adams is continuing to keep Terry in check. It sounds like Adams, Ventura and Karmanos will be making the decisions, the latter two are more promising imho.
This would coincide with Friedman report regarding the league knowing there is pressure for the Sabres to make the playoffs this year.But skepticism will remain until they actually make a big move.
If the league is putting pressure on the Sabres to actually appear to care, any thoughts on whether they actually start getting some calls to go their way?
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32 minutes ago, shrader said:
I’m still convinced that they keep reading Joshua’s name backwards.
It's really Auhsoj?
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59 minutes ago, Weave said:
Because mass marketing is a fairly effective way of turning a niche market into a mainstream market.
Very few women knew they needed to smell like a summer’s eve until Summer’s Eve told them they needed to.
We need a 'hmmm' reaction button here. 😉
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6 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:
Do I really need to see TV commercials for body deodorants with the slogan "covering everything from pits to privates"?
And yet, according to the ads, the miracle deodorant apparently can't do anything about foot odor. At least if the user isn't a contortionist, it's outside the scope of their product's intended use.
Or maybe it IS specifically designed FOR contortionists. Which beggars the question, why the full on mass marketing of the products when it really is a fairly niche customer base?
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4 hours ago, Thorny said:
Quinn has pretty consistently lined up on the right, which is sort of interesting because looking into it, while Benson played a lot on the left he also did play on his off hand a lot too on the right. So depends on the player I guess.
Quinn does line up most often on his strong side, but it always seemed he was at his most effective when he'd slide over to his off-hand side (especially when playing with Peterka, the chemistry of those 2 seemed to skyrocket when they'd swap spots during play) so wouldn't be overly concerned about which side he played on especially if he's playing on a line with Kane.
Would expect Benson playing with Skinner would result in a fair amount of him freelancing to his strong side as well as Skinner tends to head towards the right post when he does go low in the zone.
Besides, both are smart enough players that they should be able to handle the point inside their own zone on the wrong boards. Skinner definitely can't do that; and not sure how Peterka would handle it.
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Just now, thewookie1 said:
Not planning to thank you very much lol
Cool. Couldn't recall if you'd decided to give Celebrini the McDavid treatment or said you WEREN'T going to go that route. 😉
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So, any word on whether @thewookie1 sideswiped any of the prospects yet?
Still 1 more day for him to pull it off, but if he hasn't done so yet, it isn't very promising.
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59 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:
Unless one is part of a trade going out, I don't see how the Sabres bring in a 2W. Where would they play? Are you demoting Skinner, Benson, JJP, Quinn, or Tuch? Actually, which 2 are you putting on the 3rd line, keeping in mind the chances of Zach Benson being worse in 2024 are basically 0.
Adams could surprise us with a blockbuster trade, I just haven't seen him be motivated to do that since he decided on his core.
Until Patrick Kane is re-signed in Detroit or ends up elsewhere, am expecting he is still high on Adams radar.
Would expect the top 3 lines to look something like:
Peterka - Thompson - Tuch
Quinn - Cozens - Kane
Skinner - New Guy - Benson
Those 2 top lines would both be good to very good and would allow that 3rd line to absolutely feast much like the RAV line feasted back when Briere and Drury were here. (Honestly, that 1B line might be better than the 1A line.) Make that 4th line something truly difficult to play against, and it already wouldn't be a picnic with Greenway there and that is a forward lineup that can the them into the playoffs.
And 100% would have Skinner (should he be back, and expect he will be) on that 3rd line on day 1. And if he wants to get back onto the top line, let him show he can play within whatever system Ruff determines will work best with this bunch and earn his way back.
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26 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:
Snip.
And, of course, with the birth of the artist came the inevitable afterbirth ...
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6 minutes ago, dudacek said:
So Gaustad, minus the faceoffs?
For me, he's more the Grier: size and defensive conscience in a top 9 role.
Well, if they don't end up bringing in say a Patrick Kane to play in the "top 9," then, yeah, Greenway likely stays in the "top 9." But this team would be a lot better if they can roll a 4th line through.
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1 hour ago, dudacek said:
I frequently see people pencilling Greenway in as a 4th-liner.
I struggle to think of many teams who have a player as strong as Greenway on their 4th line.
With the exception of the year he was in the doghouse and traded to Buffalo, Greenway was inarguably a 3rd-liner in Minnesota, part of what was considered one of the best 3rd lines in the game with Foligno and Ek.
In Buffalo last year, he was actually 4th in ice time among forwards at more than 17 minutes a game, ahead of Cozens, Skinner and Peterka.
Statistically, a 10-goal, 30-point player is a good 3rd-liner. His 28 points last year put him 64th among left wings.
Throw in the fact that he is strong defensively and a mammoth human being, I tend to think of him as almost a prototypical 3rd-liner.
Yeah, in an ideal world, where there is a new 2W and a new 3C brought it, Greenway deploys at the beginning of the game as a 4W. But see him getting more ice time than the typical 4th liner as he can slide up onto any of the other lines as situations dictate. Also, see him (and the bottom 6C they bring is) as the primary PKer.
At the age of 19, Benson could see his ice time diminish in critical situations as could Peterka and Skinner.
But, also remember, when he can do so, Ruff likes rolling 4 lines. It's a heck of a lot easier to do that when Greenway is the driver of the 4th line than when last year's Krebs is that driver. And also expect that whomever they bring in for that open C role (whether it be 3 or 4), that Krebs will be given every opportunity to take that 3C role away from the new guy and that the new guy could be a big chunk of that "identity line."
Lastly, depending on who that C is and the other 4th line W is, the "4th line" might very well be the 3rd line in terms of ice time and deployment while Krebs-Skinner-Benson/new W end up with the title of 3rd line but actually getting 4th line usage and minutes.
Don't get too caught up in who's on the "4th line." Personally, find it more interesting to see who he's deployed with.
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2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:
Remember if you want a jersey to buy it now because they are about to be trash
"Fanatics is expected to start producing their own jerseys in time for 2026-27."
Yeah, knowing the league was switching to Fanatics starting next season was on a bit of a binge this year. Have pretty much everything we'd hoped to get (including 1 not worn yet which is kind of going to be this coming season's "new" sweater) except they didn't do a jersey for the Dyngus Day game (which was actually on Dyngus Day's version of Boxing Day, being celebrated the day after DD); had a player all picked out for that one and that sweater would've been SHARP but alas, it wasn't available. Oh well, should one of those come out this year, could possibly buy a Fanatics jersey, but if not don't see any more jersey purchases for quite a while.
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1 hour ago, dudacek said:
I might quibble about the way the pieces get used, but the only thing I'd say differently about the roster is Krebs is the 4C and I'm fine with him in that role, so long as the new 3C is sturdy and can win a faceoff.
And I also think Adams will try to move Jokiharju if he can find a more physical 4/5 RD at similar or cheaper $$
Whether he finds 1 remains to be seen, but right after the trade deadline Adams literallly said he wants to add a bottom 6C that wins faceoffs and is very good on the PK. Personally am hoping that guy is the 3C in which case, yeah, Krebs can be pencilled in on the 4th line and if he improves, well great. And if not, there are still guys pushing him towards 13F from below. (And in an ideal world, Krebs is pencilled in as the 13th F, and Greenway has a new C and a new W to help him make that "identity" line.)
Personally, wonder if Robinson was getting pencilled into that other 4W slot until that couple of shifts in the Filly game where he and and Olofsson both had their Sabres careers essentially end. If he was, wonder if he's going to be given a shot at beating out whatever journeyman Adams signs for that role or if he's simply going to be some other team's journeyman signed to try to fit in on their 4th line.
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2 hours ago, dudacek said:
Maybe I'm misreading you guys?
Power will be 22 this coming season. Dahlin and Samuelsson 24, Thompson 26, Cozens 23 — the window should be opening now, not a few years down the road.
To simplify, I would say the Sabres can and should be competitive over the entire 8 years of Dahlin's contract, which kicks in this fall.
Or do you mean Cup conversation timeline, as opposed to playoff conversation timeline?
If Quinn is the player much of Sabrespace seems to think he is, that's a heck of an addition to next year's roster.
Won't speak for @Weave, but personally see this team as being good enough to be in the playoffs but not particularly relevant right now (as Levi is becoming an NHLer) and is being built to be a true contender in year 3 from this year 1 when Levi is established at the NHL level.
The item that sealed that belief was the Mittelstadt (entering his prime NOW) getting traded form Byram (entering his prime 3-4 years from now).
And expect that Ruff signed on for the 2 years because he believes this team has (or will by the time the off-season is through) enough talent to get into the playoffs and that they can legit compete for the SC next year. And he'll make his decision of whether to stay on as coach or bump up to PoHO (or Special Advisor to the PoHO should things be going swimmingly and Adams gets that role with Karmanos getting Adams title) at that time. At some point the rigors of being the HC has to get old especially for somebody that'll be ~68 by then.
And IF the UPL we saw from January into March is the REAL UPL then this team could be a contender this season. It still remains to be seen whether he can sustain that level of play or if the UPL we'll really have is the one we saw in April when Levi was back as the 2nd half of the battery. Would expect it's either something between the 2 or maybe we finally lucked out and that goalie he was in January is who he is. If January UPL is who he really is, well In that case the Sabres will have gone nearly overnight (just over 1 season) from having some of worst goaltending in the entire NHL to easily top 10 and arguably top 5 with both goalies at a stage of their careers where they can get better yet.
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6 minutes ago, Broken Ankles said:
And yet regularly, people project JJP, Skinner and even more so Benson as the starting FL#1 wing over this guy. News flash. Even if the Sabres pull off a trade of this magnitude, Quinn still plays the opposite wing on the first line.
Because if Quinn is on the 2nd line and plays like he's hinted he could AND if his chemistry with Cozens gets back to where it was his rookie year, then you have a 1A and a 1B line. And that 3rd line, whomever is on it, ends up absolutely getting true 3rd line matchups as other teams will be gameplanning lines 1A & 1B and taking their chances with the 3rd line.
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52 minutes ago, dudacek said:
The contracts tell me the timeline is the Thompson, Cozens, Samuelsson, Dahlin, Power timeline.
Which, except for Thompson, aligns pretty much spot on to the Levi timeline. (And pretty much all SC winners have at least 1 vet that's been there forever and is working his way down the lineup but is still useful in that diminished role.)
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10 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:
The odds of Skinner being bought out are pretty slim. I won't say none because Diggs got traded by the Bills so anything can happen.
Skinner is a black hole defensively, especially when he plays with lower level players. Placing him with Krebs late last season was a disaster.
Skinner needs to play in the top 6 or with a very capable 3rd line center to maximize his value to the Sabres. Acquiring someone like Monahan, Duchene or Karlsson might allow Skinner to be played on the 3rd line.
@Taro T I'm not sure there is enough money for the Sabres to bring in a top 6 winger and a center capable of maximizing Skinner's ability on the 3rd line, while filling the other needs on the team.
I think we can accomplish much the same thing with a 3rd line of Skinner, Karlsson, and Savoie (assuming he's ready). I'd still like to see Blueger signed for the 4th line center job. Sign Blueger and you have a 4th line of Krebs, Blueger and Greenway. I wouldn't mind also looking at Sam Lafferty instead of Krebs on the 4th line. This gives us the ablility to push Greenway back into the top 9 if Savoie isn't ready. To get Karlsson, I traded Rosen plus a 2nd in 2024 & a 3rd in 2025.
I used AFP for most of the contracts except I think we can re-sign UPL at 4 million (3 years) and Krebs at 1.25 (2 years). I re-signed Bryson (2 years @ 1.25); signed Blueger (2 years & 2.25) and Lafferty (2 years at 2.5)
By bolstering the team with Karlson, I was forced to elevate Ryan Johnson to the 3rd pair with Clifton and pair Byram with Power.
I ran this team on capfriendly and the cap hit came to 84.4 in 2024.
JJP TNT Tuch
Benson Cozens Quinn
Skinner Karlson Savoie
Lafferty Blueger Greenway (Krebs)
Dahlin Samuelsson
Power Byram
Johnson Clifton (Bryson)
UPL Levi
That's the magic of Patrick Kane. Wasn't high on the idea of getting him last year for several reasons, but he showed in Detroit that he's recovered from the surgeries. He's old enough that he's eligible for an incentive laden contract so using him, they can effectively circumvent the cap (just like the big boys do). It pretty much guarantees buying Skinner out next year as those cap savings would pay Kane's bonuses that would count against next year's cap (unless he's REALLY hit a wall this year or gets injured again, in which case Kulich or Savoie get their mid-season call up).
And really don't see Adams altering the D nor G lineups, so the only remaining holes to fill that will likely be addressed is the "identity" 4th line. That is easily doable even if Kane is getting close to what he'd actually be worth and not getting an incentive laden deal.
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2 minutes ago, dudacek said:
I think the sweet spot for Skinner's raw value is when he's around your #6F — if he can play 15 minutes a night mostly with good offensive players, but not necessarily against the other team's best.
Ideally, he's back with Tuch and Thompson again while Ruff creates a legitimate matchup line so that line doesn't have to consistently face the other team's best. I don't know if he's going to work on a 3rd line unless that line is with Roy Vanek.
Put Skinner with guys who are too structured or can't create chaos and you're wasting his skill. Put him against skilled structure and he tends to freelance and collapse whatever structure you are trying to create, tilting the ice in the wrong direction. Put him in the offensive zone in situations where his unit is more talented than the opponent's unit, he will feast.
I fully expect Quinn to pass him this year, and it looked like Peterka may have passed him last year. That still makes him the #5F, which is fine.
But I am concerned with all the talk of needing structure he will be squeezed out of a role where he can succeed by a more structured player.
Which is why it's important for Adams to bring in another 2nd line W and a legit 3C. You do that, and your top 2 lines are set (Peterka - Thompson - Tuch & Quinn - Cozens - New Guy) while Skinner ends up with Benson and legit 3C so he has players that don't leave him on an island but also gives him the opportunity to face the other team's 3rd pairing and either 2nd or 3rd line. Prime feasting mode for a guy that often creates on his own.
Being on the 3rd line with guys that have demonstrated an ability to play well at this level (as opposed to Krebs and say a Jost) should work for him. Heck, people forget that in October way back when he was clicking with Johanssen.
And that allows Greenway to be a key piece of building an Aisles style 4th line. (And he can and would get bumped into the middle 6 when the situation called for it.)
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1 minute ago, Pimlach said:
Landed in Houston today. Too many people, too much traffic, and terrible weather. It is 92 F with a DW point point of 78, so it feels like 102 F - on June 4th. Yuck!
It's June and ONLY feels like 102F in Houston. Be glad you caught a low humidity day. The heat index being over 110F this time of year isn't unusual.
And come July and August 95F w/ 95% humidity is fairly standard. Which puts the heat index up over 118.
(But Buffalo's weather sucks. Yeah, right.)
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UFAs Sabres may want to sign
in The Aud Club
Posted
It actually would make more sense were the Dakota's to be divided into East & West Dakota rather than North & South. (In both states, ranching is bigger in the east and mining bigger in the west.)