tom webster
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Posts posted by tom webster
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I have been listening to this show all week and I gotta say its a lot of fun to have interviews with Jeaneret and Biron and even Peters (who is surprisingly funny). What say you sabers ppl? Anyone else listening? People like it better than Cowherd?
I personally love it. I think Sylvester has a good head for hockey and he also comes at things from a fan type standpoint. He talked about Shane Doan and Parise today and I found it interesting just to hear what someone within the organization had to say.
I have to say that I have been surprisingly enjoyng the little I have been able to listen to. However, I can't see how they can keep it interesting from mid July through late August. So far, though, thumbs up. By the way I mostly enjoyed Cowherd.
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Speaking of Luongo. I forget which thread it was, but yesterday we were talking about the possibility of an amnesty clause in the new CBA allowing teams to buy out one bad contract without a cap hit. That would be one costly buyout, but suddenly I do see a scenario where Vancouver keeps Schneider around.
If Don Fehr is as smart as I think he is, he should trade an amnesty clause with a "reverse" amnesty clause allowing 1 player from each team to opt out of a bad deal.
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Meh. James Neal was a far more seasoned player when he came over to Pittsburgh last year and he did very little there. This year, he's only got 30G, 65P in 68GP, and was just given a 5 year, $30 million contract.
It does take time to learn your teammates, especially for skill players. Add to that, the extreme travel log and the increased ice time (prior to last night), and it's not too surprising that he's not producing yet. He's basically a rookie, who hasn't really practiced with his team. The raw skill is there, you can see it at times, but he wasn't brought in to be the solution this year; he was brought in to hopefully be a long-run solution. I'd like to see him produce on this stretch run, but next year is when I'd actually expect to see production. It's not a TSC vs. SAK things, but rather the realization of what they really traded for (basically, a prospect) and the realities of deadline deals.
If you are looking for a Sabre example you can go back to Stu Barnes who did nothing when he got here and then made a nice career for himself. Hodgson is not like past deadline day failures. He is here long term and has the ability to be a star.
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I don't think you follow events close enough.
Rob Ray a Sabres employee said they were shopping him. Were they? Or was it typical Sabres massaging to make it look good after the fact? I don't know.
Kassian......I don't know what he will be, but we sure as hell haven't had anything of what he could be. We've had plenty of Hodgson types.....daddy not included
and if you watched his fights in the NHL so far....I think your last bit has been disproven
OK, 1 more last word.
1) I follow events pretty closely and PA always said I knew the parking ramp attendant, he keeps me informed as well
2) I saw his fights against the Islanders and Flyers and didn't get the feel he was really willing to go untill forced into it and I think the one against the Flyers gained more notoriety because the Flyer got hurt when losing his balance.
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I sort of agree. He is so spot on with the character development and detail, it is scary. It is almost too many things going on at once to really focus if someone doesn't have background. But what you see is all based on truth. Something like Boardwalk Empire is methodical in development and steady. This is fast paced and shift-shift-shift....Sopranos was the happy medium. I was excited after the 2nd episode but it's sort of been a B after that.
People in the industry seem to love it or hate it. It's so honest in some light that people are mad it makes everyone look like scumbags. But I can put a name and a face in real life to every one of those characters. That makes it funny to me.
Jeez......I'm not trying to prove with statistics and Darcy Math. People get po'd when I give an honest opinion about what I see with my own eyes and tell me to prove it. These numbers are as close as I can do with subjective matter....that really shouldn't be subjective since anyone that watches the NHL should be able to see the difference between the Sabres and the better teams on a regular basis.
If the Sabres and their style of play gets anyone off on a regular basis, congratulations. They also sell geriatric bondage dvd's...so there is an audience for everything.
Last word from me cause I really got get back to making a living, but its good thing you aren't trying to prove anything with stats cause you are not.
Mostly, however, I want to say, that its not your specific posts but the aggregate of your posts that leave me amazed. You talk about how you point out some of the good things, and I agree you do, but then you change your argument when a contrary valid answer is given and you say stuff like 40% of the roster needs to be replaced.
You assume the rest of the league shares your view of Kassian yet seem to take it as a given that he was being shopped since December. Shouldn't we then assume that Darcy offered him to Anaheim and Calgary and they weren't interested? Can you accept the possibility that he is just another weak bully who picked on smaller players in Junior but isn't so keen on it when someone fights back?
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Did you read?....the point is that they get 3x the physical play from their skill guys that the Sabres do. Many defenses are the same way...elevated numbers from many and balance.
The Sabres seem to rely on one line, if that, and 1 or 2 d-man to play physical....and their top 9 forwards go "wee-wee-wee"...all the way home.
I've never advocated for goons. I want grown men who have enough skill to respect, and enough grit to open up their own and their linemates' skill.
It's so simple, it's sad.
First, you again take liberty with statistics. Having an aggregate number three times another player does not make you three times more physical.
Mostly, though, we agree that the Sabres need to be more physical but vehemently disagree over the importance of a stat that is calculated by retired off ice officials with very little standardized training that as Brian Burke himself varies dramatically from city to city. It makes shot totals look like an exact science.
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OK nfree.....if I can't believe someone on the kassian timeline, then I can't in other timelines either
Bernier hasn't done squat. Fine. Torres has and was worthless here. Pyatt sprung to life. I used Dumont as the only example because that is all we have had succeed.
Look at many of the better teams around the league. Detroit, Boston, New Jersey, Pitt.....look at how many guys that will hit 15+ goals and look at their hit totals. Guys like Datsyuk, Parise even are in the 40's....60's.....there are a half dozen guys on each of those teams at 50ish+ hits and teens+ goals. They each have a star in the upper edge and what would be considered a big bodied star....Bertuzzi, Letang, Lucic, Elias.......but the support grit around as well.
Look at the Sabres. Other than Stafford, all the skill guys pushing the end of the year at 15-20+ goals are in the 10's and 20's.
Really....who but Dumont and if you want to include Stafford, who half the board is willing to waive, shows skill and grit? Yet you have a hlaf dozen guys on those 4 teams doing so. I stopped after looking at those 4 and NYR, so I'm sure the numbers are elsewhere. People point to Detroit as a "skill" team....but they are big on the puck and have guys that can take a beating.
When was the last time we had numbers anywhere close? You have to go back to Peca, Ward, Barnaby and Varada....and that's a poor man's platter...all who Darcy shipped out anyway. You had another stint in Grier, Dumont, Pyatt and Drury....and again....all dust within a year of each other.
I can understand the 18 year olds not having a sense of history and development, but to me there has been a distinct and purposeful lack of gritty skill at the forward ranks. It is so obvious when comparing to the success around the league....look, even the 2 stints I gave you were Ruff's most successful years. We have been told by everyone that he has a say in the roster.
I don't get the blinders.
Detroit, Boston and New Jersey all are in the bottom 10 in the league in hits. How many guys can they have and how important can hits be when two of the top 4 favorites to win the Cup(Boston and Detroit) are 24th and 25th in the league in hits?
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I think Regier should be fired
I think Ruff should be fired
I think 40% of the roster needs to be turned over
It is about the player, the coach and the GM. An outhouse is full of both #1 and #2...it all mixes in. If a diamond ring happens to fall in, it's going to get all covered in it. Vancouver was just lucky enough to get the ring a few hours after a clean pot had been brought in.
It was about the coach. Because people can't agree on outcomes of players...the debate ends there. As always....an excuse covers 1 of the 3 headed monster to send it into a circlejerk.
Of course you do. The only way you can keep up the everything sucks routine is if the team is completly blown up and spends three years rebuilding.
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Umm....Darcy wanted a first but settled for Hodgson because Vancouver also valued the pick more. According to our boardly sources.
And yes....would rather have Pyatt at $1 million over Stafford at $4 million....
You guys try so hard to paint me in a corner. If some posters held the team as accountable as they try to catch me on something, we may have won a cup by now.
The only reason its so hard to paint you in a corner is because you debate with no desire or expectation to lear anything.. First its the player, then its the coach, then its the players contract. These last few pages demonstrate it clearly. One thing I have learned in my 52 years is that I'm not always right.
I grew up a Broad Street Bully fan.
I love the way the Bruins play hockey.
I personally detest Drew Stafford.
I want Darcy Reiger fired and while I am a Lindy Ruff fan, wouldn't have hated it if TP fired him.
And yet, I have been thoroughly entertained by the team since Reiger took over and not only selfishly hope he is right in order to maximize my satisfaction this year, I know that its entirely possible, if not likely, that in a year when the Cardinals came from death to win the Series, the Giants won the Bowl with a 9 and 7 record and the Clippers are actually relevant, that this team could make a run. One good thing about getting old, you've seen just about everything and unless your are senial, you've been horribly wrong before.
It's a very small piece of a much larger puzzle that, when put together, looks like several seasons in a row of mediocrity.
It's very odd to know what something looks like in its complete form, but not know what it is made of. At some point, someone decided it was better to use the things we already know to help determine the world is round, rather than guess and hope that it was flat.
And if players hating his coach is how you rate a coach then Scotty Bowman must be the worst coach of all time.
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I set realistic paramaters.....guess who fits them 3 of the 5 years since leaving Buffalo?
Taylor Pyatt
Guess who has yet to do so?
Drew Stafford
So if Stafford somehow pulls it off this year.....I'll give him to you for $4 million.......then you and your Darcy/Lindy appologists can give me Taylor Pyatt at a 60% strike rate for $1 million
Sound fair?
First,you are taking liberties with the hit stats because there is only one official year where he matched your criteria.
Second, Pyatt left here after recording 41 hits and 6 goals in half season and continued to develop as he got older? Sounds like Lindy gave him a good foundation and provided him with a strong work ethic so he could succeed when he went to teams that he fit in better.
Third, I have already acknowledged that Pyatt may be the only forward your case can intelligently be made for.
And when Stafford scores 30 and records 100 hits next year, what do I get?
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There you go. See what happens when you set the bar low? And the great thing is, he only costs $4 million!
By the way...Paul Hamilton says Hodgson refuses to answer the question if he asked to be traded. That's always encouraging from someone I'm told has leadership potential. He'd rather be getting more minutes on one of the worst teams in the league than being a #3 center on the best team in the league who was 1 goal from winning a Stanley Cup last year.
Kassian never ate chicken wings? Maybe he is a fruitcake. How do you not eat a freaking chicken wing in Buffalo? I'm sure even Ryan Miller puts down the tofu and patchuli a few times a year and says "F-it.....yum..yum..yum..."
So you set the parameters, now its not a good enough quotient? Its just another example of how you see players on other teams differently then you view players you see 82 times per year. Stafford is 35th in the league among right wingers in hits and in the top 20 when you eliminate 3rd and 4th liners but somehow you and your disciples think there are all theses forwards averaging 3 or 4 hits per game and scoring 30 goals while leading their teams to the Cup and delivering babies while they are at it.
As for Hodgson, I'm not surprised you go with the negative spin as opposed to a player that knows that some things are private matters.
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Give me a name of a 200lb forward who could score 15 goals and throw 100 hits that developed under Ruff? Grosek?
http://www.teamradio...an-on-team1040/
Gragnani couldn't even fake a good word about Lindy Ruff and admitted it to the hosts. Starts a little before 3 min mark.
Kassian was pretty blah...other than I'm glad he got traded because he claims he never ate chicken wings. WTF?
So if Stafford scores 2 more goals and gets 18 more hits then he is your protypical, developed by Lindy, power forward?
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No, because every power forward type has failed miserably under Ruff. Dumont if you want to call him one, was fine. He started elsewhere and did even better once leaving Buffalo.
Pyatt, Torres, Bernier, Stafford, Gaustad..........
And we've already been told the Sabres were shopping him for months, and from some of the "most faithful" that Kassian just doesn't have it in him or fancies himself not a tough guy.
This is the first guy with big-league potential to "not meet his concept", yet is young enough to go elsewhere and forget Buffalo ever happened. I'm sure in 2015 when he has 28 goals and 120 PIM, everyone will have excuses. I'm saying right now if he fails, it isn't on Ruff. He only had the blood supply to his nads choked off for 2 years. Mild atrophy.....not Lindy Testicular Necrosis.
You have got to be kidding. That list indicts Ruff? Their is no way you can reasonably and factually argue that any of those players would have been better if they had not played here and the only one that wouldn't get you laughed out of any intelligent (hockey related) conversation is Pyatt. Its way too early on Stafford and one of the most respected GM's in hockey thinks that Ruff did a good enough job with a late round, fringe player pick that he is now worth a 1st round draft choice.
That being said, history is filled with players that we will always wonder about. Would Montana been the same if Marv Levy had convinced his GM in Kansas City to take him? My favorite example in hockey is the story of Mike Modano and Pierre Larouche. Would Modano have listened to any other coach besides Hitchcock or would he have been doomed to a career like Larouche? Some great indvidual years but over way too soon? Who knows.
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Much agreed.
Just a coincidence, but here are some quotes from TSC's god(Brian Burke) that are interesting at least to me because they echo a lot of what I said about real time stats for a couple of years.
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So if that's what it takes to play in Vancouver, remind me again what happened throughout the playoffs last year.
I may never forgive the Canucks for last year. Since the lockout two teams that have won the Cup could be considered physical(yes I know the others had several physical elements and grit) and yet the Bruins winning has helped perpetuate the belief that you need this plethora of grit and tough guys throughout your line up.
Like every sport there are a multitude ways to win a Cup.
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He's not going to play dirty. He's going to use his 220lb, unconstrained body and do what is natural to do.
Does he want to be the new guy, or does he want to be a Canuck?
You can wear the jersey the first few weeks, but if you show you are willing to drive your friend through the boards for the good of your team, then you are truly a Canuck. That's the main reason they got him this year. The 20-30 goals will come, but he is a beefcake and it is in his best interest to take advantage of a golden opportunity. It shouldn't be out of character for him. If you see Hodgson do something stupid like elbow a Sedin....that doesn't make sense.
Ruff knows what's coming. If he is smart he has Kaleta try and goad him early.
I apologize because I have only read the last few posts but all of this assumes that Kassian wants to be the big tough guy. Since the trade I have heard Peca, Ray, Strahan and Roenick all imply that Kassian wants to be a scorer as opposed to an enforcer and that it will be incumbent on him to understand his role once he gets to the Canucks.
I agree with DD that this is his opportunity. I just don't know that he has the desire.
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Two teams with physical forwards that can score.
Yeah they are both filling the net while they fight for their playoff lives, aren't they? Your response also doesn't answer the point that Kassian was and still is way over hyped at this point. He may develop into the player you envision but Hodgson is miles ahead of him in terms of being ready to make a difference.
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The posts you referenced clearly show I was giving my opinion of what the Sabres need to do if they are "committed" to filling that #1 center position. I doubt the Sabres seriously think they solved their needs at center with this one trade. They still need a a top flight established #1 center. A prospect doesn't fit that bill and is certainly not what I was referring to. As I said, a Kassian package for a center like Getzlaf or Brown is far different than Kassian for a fellow prospect. I am extremely disappointed in the Sabres inability maximize Kassian's talents. I'm sure since Hodgson fits more of the mold he will have more chance to succeed.
If only Lombardi and Murray read this site so they would know how good Kassian really is.
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I'm a little shocked by this. I'm a little sick actually. I figured Gaustad and Stafford could have gone. Maybe they view Stafford as damaged goods at this point since he has been in Buffalo for so long.
For anyone that thought I was full of crap saying that Vancouver figured out Lindy's system before even Lindy could figure out his system....this is now...
Pyatt
Bernier
Torres
Mancari
Kassian
Pretty much any forward over 200 lbs who doesn't have 3% body fat and can't beat James Patrick at the cone drill by more than 1 second.
And that's such am impressive list who did so much to help Vancouver handle the physical onslaught that keeps getting them knocked out of hte playoffs.
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Lets discuss last year drew stafford:
He scored 31g but he scored 12g in 4 games... so
he scored 19g in 58 games... how consistent is he really?
With is hat tricks he averages out to 0.84ppg = 69pts a season (82gp)
If you subtract the 4 games and the 12pts he averages out to 0.69 = 56pts a season (82gp)
I would bet money that the second number of 56 pts is right on target for drew and will always be right on target with his ceiling being maybe one time reaching 65+ pts maybe... Still think Darcy should have given him a 4mil a year deal? Still think he will magically figure something out?
This season drew having right now puts him at 42pts by seasons end so hes below average by about 1 point every 4 games... and thats the math behind drew
And have you analyzed the other 27 players that scored 31 or more goals last year? I think you will find that most players a "streaky" scorers. I still don't like Stafford, but he had a great season last year.
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Sorry to go off the job or food posts but I have to say "I hate all the damn crawls on the TV screen." I don't care if some country bumpkin has to get his rabbit ears tweaked, I don't care if McKeon county is going to have a storm and I especially don't care if channel 4's news is on channel 23 because the football game is on. My guess is that the people that don't care about the football game know where to find the news and they especially know it after about the fifth time the crawl goes by! Of course, it wouldn't matter if Directv didn't black the game out on channel 700 and something but that's a whole other rant!
Thanks, I feel much better.
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Also have six silver coin set given out by team.
The Sabres Hockey Hotline with... somebody or other?
in The Aud Club
Posted
I don't see how burying him in the minors or buying him out would have been better use of the asset?
First, I would argue that he was a prime reason they made the playoffs last year, and this covered his cost alone.
Second, you got approximately $1M worth of production from him last year. Putting him in the minors and replacing him with someone else doesn't save you any money, in fact, it costs you money unless you can guarantee that the replacement puts you in hte playoffs