thewookie1
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Posts posted by thewookie1
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26 minutes ago, Thorny said:
The biggest thing people miss is that by the prism of wanting an exceptionally slow, long form, “we love to be patient and never have results as long as the prospect pool ranks highly” style rebuild: everyone else does it/ has done it faster. Except for the exceptionally distant outliers
we can hope that it’ll just take more time, but the plan has already proven to have objectively struggled relative to other teams (most teams do this, we aren’t special) who have employed it
we are forced to erroneously tout “length” of build as a badge of honor (patience!) because we have no other metric by which we can compare to other teams. “Maybe if our long build is longest we’ll be best” lol
No, the plan has failed so far. Its first big goal measure was this season and we’ve failed. By the intrinsic targets of this specific plan. That doesn’t mean I’m ready to scrap the regime but I wouldn’t give them a 3rd mulligan
if we make the playoffs next year, that in and of itself isn’t the mark of a “successful” plan anymore as taking 5 years to make the playoffs is an absurdly long time and the stated point of a long term build was to avoid “merely fielding a playoff team”. If that’s all we wanted it’s a 1-3 year process max with competence
Frankly I'm only patient because I fear the alternatives but even then my patience is running incredibly thin at this point.
It feels as if we are literally trapped in a vicious cycle we cant break; we need great players to have success, to sign great players you need to have had success, and thus we are left with the development only model at this point thanks to over a decade of failures. We have no option to bring in past successful Sabres players since the vast majority are retired. (Our last chance was with Pominville and Vanek during the 19-20 season) Our only link to our past is a player who happened to be a die-hard fan during the years of successful seasons. Tuch brings pride in playing for the Sabres but like all of us here, we have zero clue how that locker room worked besides via stories and occasional player references.
Adams statements about wanting players who want to be here isn't a weird slogan or cop-out but his attempt at forging an identity out of basically nothing since the tank years saw to that. Paying any random guy a ton of money to play here won't create a culture since they won't give a damn about creating a team; they'd be mercenaries primarily. The other factor is multiple acquisition methods being somewhat tied to this in a more literal sense. Any NTC/NMC would need to want to be here to actually come here. UFAs have to be at least interested in being here or they'll either ignore us or ask for insane compensation.
Most of all however is the primary issue with the trading of prospects; most top level players have protection and those that don't are typically either very old, will be very disgruntled coming here, have a very short term remaining or a combination of all three. Trading a top level prospect also comes with the added issues of losing a future star or even worse, the new player acquired being a complete bust/headcase a la Slava Koslov. No one wants to be Washington trading Filip Forsberg for Martin Erat.
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If anything, regardless if we agree or disagree with their moves or plans; I do think both care greatly about the team. So that's a positive I guess
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13 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:
Why would he trade Byram when the Plan is for him to be partners with Dahlin long term
I'd guess to bridge him next year as long as its working well with Dahlin.
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2 minutes ago, Doohickie said:
Morose Wife
At least I hope she will be. She's a Wings fan.
I read this as Mouse Wife and became very confused
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Chad D mentioned we spoke with CBJ about presumably Jenner and Philly about Noah Cates
Another source stated we had talks with Nashville even after the Byram trade in regards to Fabbro and Carrier
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A win and we continue our slim hopes of the playoffs
A loss and we pack it in
Let's win boys!
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Here's my most recent idea; I'm hoping I can will Skinner for Couture into existence lol
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Everything here I’ll take with a grain of salt seeing as Adams isn’t going to reveal anything regardless. Of course he’ll say they need to grow from within; anything else and he’d be effectively telling his players through Twitter/media that he doesn’t believe in them personally. His proposed acquisitions are both nondescript enough to not single out a player while also not lying to the fans. A top 9 forward is like stating you want a new person over the age of 35 next year; it creates a massive pool to play with without giving any specific player.
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Just now, SDS said:
This probably applies to STHs that sell 100% of their games.
That would be my guess; effectively if you have season tickets, live out of state, and resell all 41 you will become a impromptu ticket vendor since the tickets are no longer for personal use but rather products.
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8 minutes ago, Thorny said:
I know there’s a ton of people who feel our lost season mitigated somewhat by Detroit missing but honestly gotta say it doesn’t do much for me
It doesn’t make the Sabres better but it does make me feel better that Yzerman’s seemingly over priced moves didn’t punch them a ticket to the postseason immediately. And it gives us another shot next year to beat them to the playoffs.
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5 hours ago, Thorny said:
We aren’t even chasing Detroit now
Islanders are in 8th. Beating Detroit 3 time likely just solidifies the islanders
Mutually Assured Destruction, then they can’t beat us to the playoffs at least lol.
Beat all the Eastern teams besides Florida and we’d at least have a tiny chance depending on how the standings fall
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Dahlin/Dahlin
Tuch and probably Cozens would be A's barring Girgs returning.
Dahlin has generally become the heir apparent since Eichel's departure and Okposo's captaincy.
He's not only our best player but probably our most willing to do anything to win every game. He will literally play goalie in empty net situations and is far from soft in the physicality attribute.
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UPL to me is a 3/4 year contract guy; frankly I feel that way with most solid goalies because of how often they can change. Give him 4x4mil, both sides get some security as well as the cost is neither cheap nor prohibitive.
As for Levi, I'd have him penciled in as the starter in Rochester
As for backup in the NHL, find the best goalie you can for 2mil or less for 1 year.
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5 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:
Ya but they ALL say that. I watched several reaction clips from various players on various teams and every single one of them said nice things about the GM who traded them. It's all BS.
I think when Reinhart, Montour and Okposo have said it its legitimate thankfulness. Its when players want to call it a business when you know they aren't exactly happy.
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1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:
You are exaggerating. I do not "hate" Thompson and I do not "crucify" him. I do however think he lacks the compete level that some of the true superstars have. With his body, he could be so much more than he is.
If you are suggesting 3 tiers, as in Crosby top tier, Past second tier, Thompson third I have no argument with that, but I wouldn't make all 3 tiers elite. That's just a question of where you draw the line on a word. Doesn't actually mean all that much.
The hate comment was actually about Gfan
Yes I was alluding to a 3 tier system
Generational Superstar - Legitimate dominant forces that change franchises with their mere existence
SuperStar - Elite players whom consistently contribute and at times will dominate
Star - Elite Talents whom contribute at a less consistent level and can but occasionally dominate
To me an elite player requires you to have the ability to take over a game. Tage and Dahlin have done so would land in the Star Rank for me personally; Dahlin is right on that cusp of superstar seeing as he did that for a good portion of last season until his injury at the All Star break derailed it. Tage is a star but no where near consistent enough to be a superstar. Star and Superstar are possible to migrate between but generational talents are pretty much an exclusive club with tickets given to a few but only cashed in on by the likes of McDavid, Crosby, Ovi, and perhaps Bedard will fully join it.
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On 3/8/2024 at 1:50 PM, North Buffalo said:
I think you misjudge his fire, Dad played college hockey and then coached...
Does make him a team player however; you can be the most pass happy fiery player imaginable but still be too much of a loose cannon to make work within the lines. His persona is what is wrong in hockey these days, the "look at me" obsession and need to shine the spotlight on himself clashes violently with the general state of hockey which is team first, individual player second. I have no issue with Michigan goals or having fire; I have the issue with his way of displaying his fire by playing hockey in an almost overly "game-like manner" Yes, hockey is just a game but this is also their jobs and it makes it hard to trust his fire to win every game versus personal stats.
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Bryson is a true 7D
As @Doohickie said, he fills a specific playstyle that works against some teams and doesn't at all against others.
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1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:
So you think they are playing good defense? Is that correct?
Defense in general no, a defensive low event style hockey yes. There's a difference; and in many cases this is how the Isles accomplish anything; they bore you to tears with nothing happening for 55 minutes and score a goal or two to win.
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1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:
So your belief is simply that it's on the injuries and next year he will be healthy and a superstar? Correct?
Yes; maybe not a super star but at least a star..
51 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:LOL. Pasta has been great since his 3rd season in Boston and has never even had a hint of an off year since. The guy has 710 points in 658 games and while he has always been an elite goal scorer, he has become an elite playmaker.
This season, without Bergeron, Pasta has 40 goals in 66 games, and has added 53 assists. This follows his 113 point season last year. Pasta in a top 10 forward in the NHL. TNT isn't even in the same universe as a player. Tage's 97point season was an aberration.
I get it, you hate Thompson but to say it was an aberration after an injury filled year is asinine.
Additionally my comment comparing Thompson to Pasta was in regards to
On 3/8/2024 at 3:59 PM, PerreaultForever said:Tage does not play like an elite forward. Tage plays like a sniper who needs another elite forward to drive the play and set him up for the snipe.
not in a direct 1 to 1 comparison. I was saying that you can't penalize Tage for being a sniper while Pasta gets kudos for it in the same vain. That description summed up Pasta until a couple years ago and he had the great advantage of playing with a skilled anthropomorphic rat and the part time owner of the Selke timeshare.
Also
On 3/8/2024 at 7:23 PM, PerreaultForever said:Pasta is a sniper, sure, but there's a world of difference in their style of play as well. Contrary to what the casual Bruins viewer might think Pasta can drive the play and be a very good passer. He looks for Zacha almost as much as Zacha looks for him. The big difference though is Pasta will battle for the puck and go to heavy traffic areas. This is why he is elite like Crosby and McDavid and others. Tage isn't in that group imo.
Pasta isn't in the Crosby/McDavid tier; so get that notion out of here altogether. He's an elite player but no generational superstar.
Tage would slot into the category below him in the "star" area. Also this notion that Tage doesn't battle for the puck is ridiculous and going into heavy traffic areas isn't a fair complaint because a man his size can't exactly skate into a mosh of players without being hooked or grabbed just by size alone. (Makes it rather difficult to grab the puck and get it out of there) Just because he doesn't bowl through players like prime Lindros doesn't make him soft or disinterested. Tage had plenty of assists the last two years and seemed perfectly capable of leading his line when healthy.
This is what I have issue with, a player has a bad year in part due to injuries and he is effectively crucified for it whereas last year people proclaimed he was superior to Eichel. Make up your freaking minds.
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30 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:
I'm going to stop commenting on individual games this year I think. You can be excited by the win, but this is the late season illusion we get. Edmonton was absolute garbage today compared to what I saw when they played Boston a few nights ago. They got the quick one and fell asleep. We had another in the long list of low event games. This was so low event their "hit of the game" segment was about goal posts, because they couldn't find a solid body check to show.
Granato has FINALLY had enough with Mr. Lazy Giveaway Skinner and is in the process of Kreugering him. Will be interesting to see if this time the coach wins, or will Skinner kill another one. Either way could be a win for us.
So yay, but it's little more than exhibition hockey at this point.
Is it not possible we just played a very good defensive low event style game and just grinded Edmonton down? We had 40 hits credited to us which seems a tad overzealous but is that not what Boston tends to do on a game to game basis? If they are struggling they'll just throw a wrench into the machine and just play a game of next goal wins. Its a large reason why those dastardly Bruins are successful; they can play different styles depending on the circumstances and presently the Sabres are having a miserable time generating offense but they have certainly embraced low-event hockey in order to have a shot at winning every night. It's been a bad year for most the team but I can't fault them for trying to win by whatever means they can find.
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22 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:
and it's very wrong.
Elite players have a much larger bag of tricks to draw from. Tage is a very predictable player. Elite players are also more consistent.
Today against Edmonton they showed that goal from the previous meeting where he stick handled around people and the goalie in front. If he did that a lot rather than just shoot all the time it would be a different conversation. They mentioned Mario Lemieux like and on that play he was, and his body says he could be at that elite level, but as is he lacks the creativity and probably the desire.
He's good. At times he's very good. But he's not great.
Just last season he did that frequently; he literally looked like a lesser version of Lemieux until he got hurt last year so I'm not sure where this uncreative BS is coming from. The guy has plenty of desire; he's played through injuries both last season near the end and most of this year off and on.
He scored a plethora of goals like that EDM one from last year as well as his trademark shot. His biggest issue this year seems to me that his wrist may still have issues or his back potentially and that has made him have great difficulty doing his old rope-a-dope with his reach due to the lack of strength he can put on the puck at distance which would require usage of wrist and lower back muscles.
He's a great/elite talent player whose merely good when banged up. That being said most players play worse when dealing with injury issues.
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33 minutes ago, Broken Ankles said:
Insanity. If this organization was properly developing players, Benson would be in junior, and competing for 4th line winger role next year. The third line would be ‘identity’ (as in who Buffalo is). But you want to crown him with top 5v5 TOI. He has 6 goals this year. Can’t we dream bigger?
Benson should be in the AHL, but he can’t due to stupid rules
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The end of the game was plain ludicrous
thankfully we made it not matter standings wise but I do feel bad that Power lost his goal.
Next game will pretty much decide the season, a win against Detroit means we can still go 3-0 against them and as such gain 6 points on them.
Just to add, Skinner was benched almost entirely after the 2-0 SHG and Peterka was benched halfway through the game
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31 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:
I think Chicago was the first to find a way to circumvent cap rules.
Chicago was the first to use it when Kane got legitimately hurt and had a timetable set for the last week of the season; so instead they gave him the extra week and used the small cap bonus they got to grab two players.
Next came Tampa who used a combo of injuries to manipulate the cap but only enough for a couple depth pieces
Vegas has turned it into a farce by LTIRing their captain 3 years in a row among other players in order to acquire more and more outlandish acquisitions
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What needs to be done this offseason
in The Aud Club
Posted
I doubt it, Couture may not even play much less be able to play at a reasonable level to be bestowed the C.