TheAud

I thought it was a very factually based article, looking at various possible explanations for Risto's poor analytics vs. the eye test which says he's better than that. The author states up front that usually those two view points align. However in this case, they diverge quite significantly. It's interesting to dig around and try to discern why this is the case. It got me thinking, anyway. Risto is only 22 but has 3.5 seasons of full-time NHL playing experience. It's not unreasonable to assess his performance to date and start to draw conclusions about where he'll end up. The author acknowledges he has room to grow but it's not like we are talking about an 18 or 19 year old who hasn't played in the NHL yet. In terms of the "borderline misrepresentation" comment, I read it quite differently. If you accept the premise that Risto is a 2nd line D-man playing extreme 1st pairing minutes because he's the best the Sabres have, then in fact that is one of the primary reasons the Sabres were bad last year. It's not a shot at Risto, simply an acknowledgement of the weak talent on the blue line and to some extent how they were coached. I think most people on this board accept that viewpoint so some degree or another so this is not new news. I want to see how he plays with about 2 minutes less per game and please God no Josh Gorges out there with him.

Spot for Girgensons? I think Nylander starts the season in Rochester unless he's somehow developed more than would be expected in one off-season.

I thought this thread might be about books to read in the summer about hockey. My three favorites, if anyone is looking for a book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_(Dryden_book) Enjoyment of The Game requires that you are at least as interested in people and society as you are in hockey, and also have some interest and knowledge of 1970's Montreal Canadiens dynasty era game. http://thehockeywriters.com/review-the-rebel-league-wha/ The Rebel League - Just plain fun reading about the history of the WHA. Really a different era in hockey and society in general. http://www.hockeybookreviews.com/2008/09/open-ice-by-jack-falla.html Open Ice - A beautifully written and thoughtful book. Heartbreaking at times knowing the author passed away shortly after the book's publishing.

Ryan Johansen, coming off his 24 year old season with a whopping 14 goals in 82 games (I know he's better than that...but still) just got $8M per for 8 years. Ain't no way we're keeping Jack for less than $9M per year.

Agree from a salary cap perspective, which is all we care about. However from the players point of view, with zero state income tax in Florida, they are closer to market than one might think. http://www.tampabay.com/sports/hockey/lightning/inside-the-money-matters-for-steven-stamkos/2262766 If Dale Tallon were 1/2 the GM Stevie Y is the Panthers would be signing guys to similar deals. Instead he gives away his 30 goal scorer in the expansion draft...

I can't speak to your situation, only mine. I stopped drinking 6 years ago. It's fair to say that my aging processes, both my face and body, have significantly slowed. I had started looking older than I really was. Now, my actual age might be catching up to my appearance age, which is a good thing. This is not me saying "quit drinking". Far from it. It's just an observation that there is no way my 25 year drinking career helped me to appear a happier, healthier person. Sleep is so important in looking and feeling happy, healthy, etc. Also from own observation of my life, when I have needed substances to help me sleep (alcohol, xanax, ambien...) for anything other than short term severe jet lag (which is a fundamentally unnatural process anyway) it's indicative of deeper 'problems' in my life or lifestyle that need to be corrected to enable a good night's sleep without any substances required. Examples for me have been; excess alcohol intake, excess coffee intake, lack of exercise, excess un-managed stress, etc. Attacking those root cause issues have been high leverage activities that actually improved my life whereas an Ambien every night was really a short term band-aid that didn't really help me long term and started to hurt me after a while. Best of luck at work...companies make decisions for the wrong reasons all the time. It sucks. Sounds like you need to either change your employer, change your approach to work, or both. Otherwise this sh*t will just keep happening.

Is that like an apple crisp but with some other crazy fruit used instead? Like "Mango crisp and kiwi crisp are both forms of ludacrisp".

If Jack focused on being the finisher and shooting whenever possible, he could lead the league in goals. However he plays a more well rounded (and in the long run, more effective for the team) offensive game. With the roster upgrades, especially a D that can make a clearing pass and get it up the ice faster, assumption of good health, and natural progression from 20 to 21 years old, I see something like 37g, 50a for 87 points.

Going to Highland Bowl in Rochester Saturday night...I can't wait!

OK I'll say it...I always liked Stahlberg. Big and Fast. More Swedes is good too.

Long weekend, parent's 50th wedding anniversary party, my 1st wedding anniversary and...return of the Population of Pominville!

Love this trade. Scandella slots in nicely as a solid 4/5 guy (like, a real one, not Justin Falk, let alone Josh Gorges) and Pommer is still an upgrade over Foligno or Ennis. Foligno's (and Carrier's, for that matter) physicality is going to be missed at some point if not replaced by guys like Bailey and Fasching.

I am guessing it's the cut of his jib.

At the right price, absolutely. Unless Reinhart moves to 3rd line Center, we have no one like Gagner to take that spot today. Could be the bridge for a 2 year deal until Mittedlstadt is ready.

Agree on not overpaying for Bonino...but Larsson cannot do what Bonino does. The fallacy that the Larsson -Foligno-Gionta line was some sort of fantastic 3rd line seems to carry on forever. Gionta was probably an OK 3rd line guy last year but Larsson and Foligno are 4th liners on a good playoff team. Career stats: Bonino 407 NHL games at 0.46 ppg. He has been in 74 playoff games, scoring at a 0.53 ppg clip. Was a 0.97 ppg guy in the AHL. Larsson 178 NHL games at 0.27 ppg. He was at 0.74 ppg in the AHL. Larsson at the right price on the 4th line vs. Bonino at the right price on the 3rd line are two different entities. 3rd line has to score. I think with this weak FA crop just about nobody will be available at "the right price" as it will be overbid due to lack of quality.

I certainly don't hate the guy. Seems like a real stand-up teammate and gritty competitor. I mean, I can see your point. It's his complete lack of offensive skills and slower than molasses skating that makes me wish he was no longer a Sabre. In fact, given his playing time relative to skill level, I'd argue he's one of the most overrated players on the team as he shouldn't be lacing them up in the NHL at all anymore. But that contract...he's probably going to be hanging around another season. Keeping him as a 'character guy', if Housley is willing to put him in the pressbox half of the games and play him in for less than 12 minutes/game the other half, I can live with him on the roster. But that's about it.

Got it...thank you. Hence one point for each line, including the blue line which I assumed is historical average or something like that, will reach 100% and the rest of the points will be some % of that. Factoring in age, usage, linemates, coaching, etc I am not too worried about ROR rebounding...Okposo maybe a little worried.

Lehner...kept the team in many, many games where they were outshot, and was the reason they lost in very few. (I'm ignoring shootouts).

If you don't mind, it would be great if you could explain a bit more what the Y-axis is on these charts. I.e. a % of what? for 5-on-5 points per 60 (normalized to what?)

Potential he hasn't yet unleashed in his 8 full seasons in the NHL? I sure hope he can fit in as a number 4 who occasionally makes some plays, reduces the number of times he coughs it up in his own end as has been his tendency, and stays healthy enough to play at least 65 games. That would be a win for Bogo.

Good system. If Antipin ends up at tier 3, I'll be ecstatic. Prospect Tier seems more appropriate at this point as he's never played in the NHL. Then Beaulieu (which seems like an impossible number of vowels) moves to Tier 4 so you can elminate Tier 3. I might move Falk and Fedun to Tier 4, or Moulson and Ennis down to Tier 5. Then I'd create a Tier 6 for Gorges and Deslauriers who deserve their own level of suckiness.

https://www.fanragsports.com/news/avalanche-fail-extend-qualifying-offer-mikhail-grigorenko/ This has probably been posted elsewhere, and not sure if this thread is exclusively Sabres qualifying offers, but I found it interesting that Grigorenko is now an UFA. If you can't cut it in Colorado these days...KHL has gotta be next I would think.

If you listen to podcasts, check out this week's "The Way I Heard it" by Mike Rowe...episode 61 "When the World's on Fire". Of course I've given it away that it's about Woody Guthrie, but I think you'd still enjoy it.

Would have preferred Ron Sexsmith:

I was thinking the same thing. Fleury and JF Berube so far, but no Mrazek or Raanta. Malcolm Subban from Boston still a potential, but I have seen reports of Colin Miller there. The big one still out there is Grubauer from Washington.