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dudacek

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  1. The gist of it is pretty simple: he believes in his people and he believes in his plan. When the fanbase absolutely believes neither, and is essentially told - yet again - to be patient, depression sets in. I'm signing off, probably for the duration of the season unless something notable happens. I like this place most of the time, but sharing in the lamentations isn't really my thing. The past few days brought back some good hockey talk though. Thanks for that.
  2. So have we kept him? Honestly, I think I'd rather watch him and VO than Tyson Jost and Brett Murray down the stretch if we were only getting a couple fifths.
  3. You alluded to it earlier, but Benson's playmaking and Thompson's physical gifts always made sense to me. First thing I though of when we picked him was "Skinner replacement"
  4. Yes. I don't think Mitts for Byram is that — Byram is a Stanley Cup winning top 4 NHL defenceman with upside, not a prospect and a pick. Okposo played here for 8 years and was the captain, so he's not just any player. And Johnson is simply done. Trading him to the highest bidder is GM 101. But it certainly happened with Ullmark and Reinhart and O'Reilly, so the parallels are easy to draw and the track record is impossible to ignore. Nothing screams winning culture like winning.
  5. Saw that one coming. RJ needed to be on the clear-day roster so he can help Roch on a playoff run and Tyson was the most logical call-up to fill in for the trades. I think Ryan is more likely to upset over missing the prayer meetings than the parties, but to each his own I guess.
  6. It's what I would have done and thought was the plan looking at all the very talented, but probably not elite pieces we had up front. The reason I'm not dismissing the trade is because, in theory, having three 1st-pairing defencemen is also path that could work.
  7. Watching the forwards last night without Mitts and Tage got me thinking about how bad it's going to look subbing guys like Rousek and Jost in for guys who can hold their own against NHLers like Kyle and Gus. Might get ugly. I doubt there were many contenders who wouldn't be interested in a 220-pound leader with 12 goals and experience on both special teams. It's the epitome of the kind of depth guy that gets traded at the deadline. He was sent to the team he wanted to go to and feels gives him the best shot at winning a cup before he retires. Doesn't hurt that his short time there will be spent in nice weather, hanging out with his good buddy Sam. This had nothing to do with shopping for the best return. Kyle called his shot and Adams got what he could. This was a reward.
  8. It's their biggest issue this year. Not the hoary Sabrespace cliches of "grit" and "defence" Last year Tuch/Thompson/Skinner was one of the best lines in hockey. This year, they're a decent NHL 2nd line. I've maintained that for the current build to work it needs Power, Dahlin and now Byram to provide elite play-driving from the back end. But Thompson still has to be a game-breaker up front — not necessarily elite, but 40-goal dangerous. EDIT: when the ***** will I remember it's Byram, not Byrum.
  9. I think it will be Jokiharju not Johnson. But either way, I agree. We make a big deal about their youth — and it's relevant — but Henri and Ras are now vets by games played and Clifton by age. Power will be in his 3rd season and Byram and Samuelsson their fourth. There's good size, elite skating, good compete and well above-average puck skills. Hopefully the experience factor clicks.
  10. The Panthers wanted to send a contract out to balance the one coming in and he's the most disposable player they have under contract. He's Jonathan Parker or Riley Boychuk.
  11. Pure favour to the captain: Adams moved him to a place where he wanted to go. Sjalin is not a real prospect and will never play in Buffalo.
  12. You're really taking the loss of Mitts hard aren't you? I will say that last night certainly did nothing to prove you wrong.
  13. I don't know, I see Quinn carrying the puck, creating open ice for his mates and dishing it off to Cozens and Peterka all the time. He had 35 assists in 45 games as an AHL rookie and has an assist every 3 games as a young NHLer. I think he can be a 40-assist guy in the NHL. Benson shows similar traits in terms of creating space and finding teammates. He had 62 assists in 60 games as a 17-year-old. Who knows how that eventually translates at an NHL level, but it's in their games.
  14. Prior to the deadline I absolutely wanted: A 2-way match-up forward who can be trusted against good players in tough situations A big-body forward who gets to the net An agitating forward who can forecheck A legitimate top 4 defenceman A new backup goalie Like his profile or not, Byram crossed the D-man off the list, but losing Mittelstadt means at least one of the forwards should be of 2nd-line calibre. At least one of the skaters should have an intimidation factor, at least one needs to be a respected leader, and all 3 need to be competitive. The three new forwards will be replacing Okposo, Girgensons and Mittelstadt on the everyday roster. Olofsson's replacement as the offensive spare forward comes from the prospect pool. The defensive spare forward should be a meaner Robinson. I think the 8 guys we have on the blueline right now are coming back. I'd flip one for a similar level player who adds more edge if I could. I'm going to count on the increased offence coming from in-house: a mix of Tuch, Thompson, Quinn, Peterka, Cozens and Benson. A key part of that should come from a complete revamp of the power play. I need someone to draw attention from Dahlin and Thompson and/or take advantage of the attention they get. I'm intrigued by Byram and I'm looking hard at Jack Quinn, who was deadly on the PP as an Amerk. Skinner is off my PP1.
  15. Bowen Byram makes a little more than Casey Mittelstadt but is also one year further away from getting a raise. I think Adams was reluctant to commit long-term to 3 $7M centres (many Sabrespacers felt the same way) but whether that's about managing to the real cap, or an artificial cap, it's open to speculation. Byram creates a similar question on D. Sabres are about $6M under this years cap. They are $21M under next years cap with 10 roster holes to fill. Okposo, Girgensons, UPL, Jokiharju and Krebs are the most prominent players needing to be replaced or re-signed The following year they are a projected $36M under, with Greenway, Peterka, Quinn, Byram, Johnson and Levi the most prominent free agents.
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