nfreeman
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Posts posted by nfreeman
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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?
How about the one you mentioned -- Dumont? He was drafted #4 overall in 1996, given up on by the Islanders as a washout, came to Buffalo in 2000 and had 4 20-goal seasons playing for Lindy.
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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.
I would just add that while everyone talks about toughness being the difference in the SCF last year, IMHO goaltending was the bigger difference. Luongo was mediocre to lousy in 4 out of 7 games.
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The wonder in my mind is now whether Kassian was trade bait all along.
Foligno has been in development in the minors which is the normal organization MO, while Kassian might have been brought up too soon.
Kassian will probably see 4th line minutes in Vancouver while Foligno has been getting much more ice time.
Compare ...Foligno logging first line AHL minutes while Kassian logging 4th line NHL minutes. Makes me wonder.
Would they have decided just based on watching him in juniors since drafting him that they didn't believe in him long term? Surely they wouldn't have learned enough from 60% of one pro season that was split between Rochester and Buffalo, right?
I'd guess that they didn't particularly want to trade him, but they weren't rock-solid confident that he'd reach his potential, they finally decided that Roy isn't the long-term answer, they knew they needed another skilled center, and they wanted Hodgson enough to part with Kassian.
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It's just sitting there for him. Can't you see it? It's like a gang initiation.
A Stanley Cup team brings in a kid to play physical and put them over the top. That's a lot of pressure and I'm sure a lot inside that room are questioning if it was enough or if he is up to it. The fans there are glued to him just like Buffalo is 24/7 Hodgson.
You don't get chances like this in life very often. Just the odds of his old team being there 5 days later.....you could see "the concept" leapfrog into reality.
I would assume both coaches understand this, and Kassian has to feel it as well. He doesn't have to be dirty, just have a scope on to make sure he gets in that one thundering check, or have a go at it with one of his old teammates. Will it happen? I don't know.....but if Vancouver wants to win it all this year, I expect to see it happen.
I agree with all of this. It's only natural for him to want to have a big game against his former team, especially so soon after the trade. It's on everyone's mind -- not just ours. I'm not sure he'll be looking for fights or big hits, but I'm sure he'll want to play a hard, aggressive, fast game, and that will entail hitting.
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Please stay away from the computer when you get home and are still feeling the effects of the anesthetic. We don't need you professing your love for chz again. :lol:
Speak for yourself. That was high entertainment.
Don't go sucking on anything until you're healed. You'll get dry socket.
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I also said earlier I would take Lucic over any #1 center in the league. Someone brought up Stamkos and it made me think. I would still take Lucic over Stamkos. Lucic is such an NHL oddity, there are far fewer Lucic 's in the NHL then there are #1 centers.
Well, Lucic is a pretty valuable commodity, but I would rather have Malkin, a healthy Crosby, Eric Staal, Stamkos, Getzlaf and likely a few others.
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because we need an elite #1 center prospect 10x as bad. Its easier to find grit than talent.
Whoa there. Down boy. He's a rookie playing 12 minutes per game.
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I don't feel like digging up the post I'm replying to, but this is in regards to the criticisms of Kassian that have occurred since the trading deadline and why they are coming out now....
People are letting their critical observations of Kassian be known because there is no longer any rationale for them to "wait and see". We no longer have a vested interest in what he does. Everyone is free to give their postmortem thoughts on his time here because when else are we going to do it? There was no event, no timetable, no incentive for people to join in conversation en masse and give their final thoughts on the kid until now.
So no, it isn't that there is a need to come down on him because he's gone - it is just that now is the time to post your "snapshot in time" thoughts of where he was with the Sabres. The fact that I hear Rob Ray saying there have been a lot of organization rumblings about Kassian and his time with the Sabres and in Rochester carries a lot of weight. He also said yesterday they were quietly shopping him since December. This all amounts to Kassian's performance evaluation to date. And while we were all willing to see what he matured into, we no longer have to wait. We no longer have to hope. We no longer have to dismiss any troubling signs. We can just post what we saw and move on...
This is a good point generally and I think does account for much of the Kassian commentary here since Monday.
However, I do think there is also (regrettably) more than a little of this going on:
I Won't tear him down mainly because I had high hopes for him becoming that player and I was excited about his potential. Some people have to tear him down as he goes out the door to make themselves feel better about what they gave up ..He is only 21 and 20 games into his career. I think he may become 'that' player in a winning atmosphere like Vancouver? Who knows.
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You could make the argument that lack of center talent did, in fact, play a large role in this disaster of a season.
Not if your eyesight is functioning.
I am disappointed that we gave up what we did and did not pick up a leader. All I am saying is that the lack of toughness and leadership is what has doomed this team more than lack of centers or talent. We have an $80 million payroll for the love of god! Why did this season go down in flames? Lack of center talent?
That's what I am saying. Again, I told d4rksabre that Vancouver was our best shot at getting a real center. They were "topheavy" at center as I put it. I wished it would have been Roy/Gaustad/Stafford/Leopold involved for Kesler.....and the reason they would even think about moving Kesler was because they were so deep and had a guy like Hodgson.
I said Darcy did well on Gaustad. I am just surprised how seemingly a total disaster of a season and 5 year track record of failure is forgiven by a good % because of one deal where we may have given up our most needed asset.
Who doesn't wish this? And what does this have to do with the price of fish?
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What's the matter - don't like being reminded of your own words? You are becoming a caricature of yourself. It's laughable - luckily you have your entourage and a constant stream of new posters who don't know any better than to take you seriously.
The PPP board? Shall I post the link to your epic meltdowns over there for all the new people?
May you live in quiet times.
This was kinda hostile.
D&B have been gone for 5 years. It takes this long to solve the problem?
Well, it certainly doesn't take long to bring in "just a guy" who can play center, but if you're talking about a real quality center who can run a scoring line, there aren't that many of them, they don't become available too often and when they do they are fairly costly (let alone a true "franchise" #1 center, which almost never comes on the market). For example, remember who was the #2 UFA center in the summer of 2011? It was a guy who was basically run out of WNY on a rail -- and he still got a fat contract in FA.
I guess I'm more focused on the heart/toughness deficiency among the forwards, because I think that is more easily fixed than a higher-end center deficiency.
Nobody is saying he was brought in here to become a #1 center but you. Why don't you let it play out for a season or two before crowning him with the title of #1 center.
I also think the whole "#1 center" title is a bit overblown. Bottom line is that there are only about a dozen true #1 centers in the NHL.
The Sabres' best team in the last decade didn't have a true #1, nor did last year's Cup winner. A bunch of #2 centers -- which the Sabres may have now -- will work fine if the other pieces -- goaltending, defense, special teams, mental and physical toughness -- are in place.
I posted it right after the trade but there were several posts at that time. His last season in the OHL with Brampton:
53 GP: 43G 49A 92PTS
92 points in 53 games! This is not the QMJHL we're talking about, it's the OHL. He led Team Canada with 16 points (5 goals, 11 assists) during the 2009 WJC en route to a gold medal.
I admit that I have not seen much of this kid live but the stats, combined with hearing so many Nucks fans upset with this deal make me think we may have just found our top line centre for years to come. You have to give up to get and I think we're going to be looking back on this in 2+ years thinking it was a great deal!
Good info. Thanks for posting.
And I expect he'll be on the first line through the road trip and will settle into the third line soon there after. That is the MO we have seen year-in, year-out...
...unless he's much better than Bernier, Torres, etc. -- which it's quite possible that he is. If he's a real playmaker who can also shoot, he might mesh well with Vanek & Pommer.
Hodgson is not an upgrade or replacement for Gaustad. There will be a hole left in the checking line that I don't want to see this guy fill. That kind of player (even Gaustad in particular) can be picked up this off-season. Matt Ellis is not exactly a shut down guy. With Roy Ennis and Hodgson, LIndy is going to create a line to go skill to skill with the other teams top line.
Good call.
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My sense is that the lines will not fundamentally alter much for the rest of the season. I think Brad Boyes benefits most from this trade. My sense is that the lines will be:
Vanek-Roy-Pominville
Leino-Ennis-Stafford
Gerbe-Hodgson-Boyes
McCormick/Adam-Ellis-Kaleta
I think the fourth line turns into the "shutdown" line with now 3 scoring lines. But, if Hodgson is putting up points with fairly limited talent as linemates, I could see him simply moving into Gaustad's spot with Gerbe and Kaleta. Either way, I think this is a good addition to get some center depth with a true center and not some makeshift guy. We may lose more faceoffs without Gaustad, but I think this is a major upgrade in talent at the center position which has been desperately needed.
Good post. You've been too quiet lately.
Also, I prefer Kaleta on the #3 line instead of Boyes.
That's 53 minutes of soft play still from your front 9.
I like the Gaustad trade, but we still have the same lowest common denominator. No toughness or leaders in your top 9. Gaustad was probably your best case.
This is the problem with waiting. Anaheim was in freefall in the middle of the year. Would you have traded Kassian, Stafford and Gragnani for Getzlaff? At the time...you probably could have gotten that deal looked at.
This was a good post until you went off the rails on the proposed Getzlaf trade.
However, I agree that the top 9 still needs an overhaul -- and I am pessimistic about it happening.
Vanek - Ennis - Pominville
Leino - Hodgson - Stafford
Gerbe - Roy - Kaleta
Adam - Szczechura - Boyes
I like these, except that I'd like Ellis instead of Adam on the 4th line. Adam isn't ready. Also, Tropp is probably ahead of Chewie, but perhaps not.
WTF dude? You too now?
Remember, it's not you - it is everyone else...
Beat me to it.
Chimp: when a lot of people are finding you obnoxious -- the problem is probably not with all of them. Your hockey posts are good, but your communication still needs work.
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Who's opinion would you trust more, the Canucks front office or the Sabres?
I'm not saying Hodgson will be a bust. I think the Sabres gave up too much of what they are already low on for a player that seems like more of what they have already.
We shall see. Despite GoDD's repeated assertions, it's not like the Canucks have been proven right on any of the other big forwards they've gotten from the Sabres. Not one.
My initial reaction was similar to the bolded part. As I said it does seem like they're giving up on Kassian awfully early in his career. OTOH, perhaps they're just selling him at his peak value. There's certainly a good likelihood that Hodgson has a better career than Kassian does.
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Hodgson in between Vanek and Parise. Please?
I just got what the Frenchies call a frisson.
Unfortunately, since Roy/Stafford/Leopold are still on the team, there isn't enough cap space for Parise.
He played 1:50 per game on a very good power-play.
The kid is not void of talent, you have to weigh it against what a Kassian can bring. If both players maximized their 'potential", Kassian would be the more prized prospect.
And this is what the trade comes down to. Kassian at his best is Lucic. We'd all rather have Lucic than Krejci. One assumes that the opinion of the guys who do this for a living for the Sabres is that Kassian was unlikely to reach his full potential.
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You can't convince me that he got "lucky" on that one or on Grosek for Dumont & Gilmour. Or on Warrener for Drury, even.
There are a lot of good deals that he made before Quinn slapped the cuffs on, and I'm not convinced with this one yet.
Not sure what this means?
I propose that we never adopt the 'CoHo' moniker I saw on posted link, that's stupid. Maybe CoHo gets subbed to Hodgenstein like Pominville.
Definitely not.
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Yes, we're smaller. That said, we can definitely still trade Roy this summer. If we have Hodgsen, Ennis, and Adam as our top 3 centers, why do we need Roy? We can deal him for some toughness. (I'm still dreaming about the Roy for Ryan Clowe deal someone around here was talking about a few weeks back.)
This trade really depends on what Marcus Foligno turns into. If he's the power forward we want him to be, we're OK. If not, we're in a lot of trouble with toughness. Kaleta and Tropp are tough but not big. It's not clear to me what McNabb and Foligno can do long term. Myers?
this could be a great long term deal as part of building the younger core. Do we see him playing #1 or #2 center versus replacing Goose on 3rd line? Willl be interesting how Lindy shifts the lines and if this kid can flourish under lindy
Potential centers for next year:
#1 -- Ennis
#2 -- Hodgson
#3 -- Roy in his contract year
#4 -- Adam/Chewie/Tropp
Interesting.
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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.
But none of those guys has done diddly since Vancouver picked them up. What point are you making here?
i will reserve judgment, but color me intrigued.
i have been underwhelmed by what we saw from kassian. maybe my expectations were set too high. maybe lindy's system was stifling him. but i don't feel like we gave away too much to get a promising young center.
I've seen flashes of great potential from Kassian, but that's it. Still, this feels awfully early to be giving up on him. Hodgson needs to be a very good player in order for this to prove out as a good trade.
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Good man! :thumbsup:
Chicken burrito from Chipotle for lunch today...gonna have to eat a very light dinner to make up for it.
I think Chipotle is the best chain restaurant in the country. Their burritos are a consistent A.
We had homemade soft chicken tacos tonight at home with some grilled squash on the side and Sam Adams (which is a bit overrated IMHO but still decent) to wash it down. Ben'N'Jerry's Half Baked for dessert.
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Ok, since so many of you are readers, I'll pose this question - "what should I read next?"
First, some background. Other than a few books I had to read for school, I have only read one work of fiction cover to cover ("Confederacy of Dunces") and that was over 10 years ago. For whatever reason, I can't "get into" fiction. I'd love to, but whenever I've started one, I lose interest and never go back. Non-fiction books, for whatever reason, are different. I've read plenty, from sports books (Moneyball, The Game) to Bios (Frank Lloyd Wright, Theo Fleury), and everything by Anthony Bourdain. I've also read everything by David Sedaris, but his is sort of a fiction/non-fiction mash-up.
In two weeks I have to fly to Japan for a week long business trip. What should I read? I'd like to see if anyone has a suggestion for a novel that may actually be able to keep my attention.
Why don't you try historical fiction? Maybe the blending of fiction in real historical settings will be enough to keep your attention. I like WWII stories for historical fiction. The Winds of War by Herman Wouk is a classic.
Or any of the early Tom Clancy novels like Hunt for Red October or Sum of all Fears might be enough to rope you in and keep you. Not really historical fiction but they certainly dealt with relevant topics when they were written.
Is Sci Fi/horror more your thing? Maybe take a look at some of the stuff Michael Crighton has written.
I guess I'll offer that maybe you should try to find a book that matches your tastes in movies. If you can give us an idea of what you like to watch on the big screen maybe we can point you to some book ideas.
If historical fiction is a possibility for you, Trinity or Exodus (each by Leon Uris) are both very good.
If you're interested in just giving some fiction a whirl, I'd suggest The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo -- great mystery/thriller trilogy, very hard to put down and just a bit more substance than most mysteries.
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Great thread.
I'm currently reading "Cold Mountain" -- civil-war-era fiction recently made into a movie. I'm not far into it but so far it's very good.
If anyone needs some lighter vacation/beach/pool reading, I've just read a few books in the Joe Pickett series by CJ Box (murder mysteries set in Wyoming with a game warden as the protagonist) -- pretty enjoyable.
I've also recently read "Freedom" and "The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen -- outstanding contemporary US fiction.
Finally, if you're interested in really well written short stories about the immigrant experience, I recommend any of Jhumpa Lahiri's collections.
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Unless you know what was said, how can you prescribe the consequences?
You are right, but this type of fairmindedness makes a witch hunt more difficult.
I did not notice this, but I've heard about it (last night on here and then this morning on GR) and I want to see it.
If you've got it on the DVR, I'm pretty sure it was with about 13-14 minutes to go in the 2nd period.
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Leaving aside Stafford's performanc/contract/other issues, did anyone notice last night in the 2nd period, shortly after Philly tied it, when Lindy was yelling at Stafford on the bench and Stafford was kinda yelling back & kinda blowing him off (or at least it appeared that way on TV)?
He's either gotta be healthy-scratched or traded ASAP.
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for the Super Bowl:
- wings
- guacamole and chips
- beer (corona and sam adams)
- whatever the guests bring
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Freaking fantastic. Please thank her for me.
EDIT: I can't believe she actually did it. I'm sure this took longer than 30. It's really terrific; can't get over it.
It does indeed look awesome. I think along with LTS (which, to be fair, I think was previously used by SDS), you now have an avatar that I legitimately envy.
This was actually her second attempt. She didn't like the version she did on Sunday. And still doesn't like this one. But I think it will serve its purposes well. Now to get her to do that Lindy Ruff one.
She's glad you like it. :thumbsup:
Of course, this would address that problem very nicely...
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Bagel with tuna for breakfast.
Chicken gyro for lunch.
Not sure what's for dinner yet.
Kassian to Vancouver for Hodgson
in The Aud Club
Posted
Leaving aside the high likelihood that letting JP go was a TG/LQ decision, what does the raise have to do with whether or not he developed under Lindy?