dudacek
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Posts posted by dudacek
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1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:
I don't see Benson becoming Marchand or Marchand-like but he could be Danny Briere.
As for next year, I am hoping Ruff starts camp as early as possible and makes it a clean slate for all players under contract regardless of age or stature. Earn it and it's yours for as long as you can hold on to it. That should be the standard applied equally to all.
I was listening to Lindy talk about how he works, and how he basically the same as most coaches, he deploys the guys he trusts most to get the job done in all the most crucial game situations.
And I started thinking about how what changes is how much each coach likes a particular player.
Donnie clearly had a pecking order that started with Tuch and Tage. He liked to match top lines. He didn't lean on Ras much for the PK, but he played him to death everywhere else. Krebs was an extra. Quinn an afterthought on the PP. Girgs a 4th liner. Samuelsson in the top 4 and often with Ras. No shutdown line.
All these trends that have kinda come to expect that may get overturned in ways we don't at all expect.
It will be interesting how it all settles out.
33 minutes ago, Scottysabres said:This Sabres Fans generations Danny Briere.
I mean I get the size and the compete level, but the team has a much better match for its Briere clone playing in Moose Jaw.
Savoie has those as well, but he also has Briere's shark-like approach to offence and breakaway threat. He even kinda looks like Danny.
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2 hours ago, Thorny said:
What do you think our first round pick is worth?
2022 #7 (plus a 2nd) for Alex Debrincat
2022 #12 for #27 #34 and #45
2022 #14 for Kirby Dach or Alex Romanov
2022 #19 (plus Brock Faber) for Kevin Fiala
2021 #9 for Connor Garland (plus a bunch of cap dumps)
2021 #14 (plus a 2nd) for Rasmus Ristolainen
2021 #15 for #23, #48 and #138
2020 #15 for Kasperi Kapanen
2019 #11 for #14 and #45
2018 #12 (plus 2 2nds) for Travis Hamonic
Most recent time I can find a summer trade of a pick in the Sabres range involving a middle 6 centre was #7 and Tony DeAngelo for Antti Raanta and Derek Stepan, when Stepan was a 27-year-old 55-point scorer.
I've stayed away from rentals.
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18 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:
Quick question. How does KA fill the hole at 2/3C?
I’d trade picks/prospects for a vet under contract.
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18 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:
The fact that Benson was in our top 6 forwards this season is an indictment on the GM and the other players on the roster. As much promise this kid has, at it's a ton, he should not have been in the NHL this season. It was terrible asset management and it didn't make the team better.
He should have been in the CHL completing his 4th year in the CHL and then he could play in the AHL or NHL this coming season on the 1st year of his ELC. Just dumb.
Did the kid show he could play in the NHL? Yes his did, but he was often knocked off the puck and took dumb penalty after dumb penalty. He was not physically ready of the NHL game and it showed all season. I'm not sure he'll be physically ready next season either because he is only 19 and not yet physically mature. Sadly, he won't be eligible to be sent down to the A if he again isn't physically because of his age. Oh well!
I'm sorry, but while I like some of what I saw from Benson this season, Benson's production was 224th among NHL forwards last season. That was 4th line production. I also think the analytics place him in the top 9 for the Sabres, but considering how bad the offense was this season, that isn't much to write home about.
Do I think Benson has top 6 potential? Yes I do, but in 2025/26 just in time for his next contract.
Not sure what’s up with your math, but there are 192 top 6 positions open in the NHL (6x32).224th is upper-end 3rd line production.
Benson’s 28 even-strength points ranked 184th. Guys around him: Elias Lindholm, Jake Debrusk, Dawson Mercer, Andrew Copp, David Perron, Mats Zuccarello and Anton Lundell.
And that doesn’t even take into account his chops defensively.
I also don’t agree with your knock off the puck comments. Did it happen? Absolutely, but I also saw lots of instances where he won pucks along the boards and made plays in heavy traffic.
Looked me like he won more battles than he lost.
This is just a bad take. He was clearly NHL-ready.
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1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:
I don't have a comparable, that's for sure. 18yr olds at his size, but with his game, in the NHL already and holding their own? That's gotta be a massively short list but I will say that in his draft year, Mitch Marner was a comparable I saw. I think they play different though.
And Marner didn’t play as an 18-year, but put up 60 at 19 as a rookie.
The size matches, but Marner’s got that Housley thing, where his skating agility and puckhandling are so, so good.
Zach doesn’t have that. But he’s got something.
I keep coming back to Marchand without the elevated ***** element.
He’s smarter and more competitive than anyone he matches up against and just finds a way.
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I gravitate to smart players who don’t quit.
He’s become my favourite player to watch on the team.
Really hope he can improve his shot. It stood out to me as a significant hole in his game.
His performance relative to physical maturity and experience was remarkable, something I’ve never seen before on this team. Housley, Dahlin and Turgeon were much bigger and/or obviously skilled and that’s more or less where the “regulars at 18” list ends. Guys of his size just don’t play in the NHL without hall-of-fame hands and feet, but he doesn’t seem to have either. So that says a lot about his will and hockey sense.
It’s hard to project his ceiling given the lack of comparables.
But it’s obvious the kid just gets hockey.
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On 4/23/2024 at 9:19 AM, PromoTheRobot said:
He did a game recently with Duffer, and Don was struggling to describe the action, like he couldn't see it.
It was concerning.
It wasn’t mistaking 25 for 26, it was like literally missing things the whole building could see.
The “five players on the ice” sequence was bizarre.
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5 minutes ago, triumph_communes said:
Lindy: your system is set before the start of training camp and doesn’t really change throughout season. It’s all about developing muscle memory from day 1.
breath of fresh air Christ
Lindy’s interview with Marty today came across better than the big presser.
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21 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:
No they haven't. How have they earned an opportunity? Savoie has earned an opportunity in the AHL. Kulich was a mess for 2 months this year and Rosen is still Rosen. I see no reason that we should promote any of them.
I agreed with your take with these players on this team at this time.
If we’re talking in generalities though, opportunity is not the same thing as role.
My observation has been that NHL teams will give a D3 or D4 1st-rounder coming off a good season a chance at beating someone out for a job in the fall.
If yours is different, we’re probably not going to change each others minds.
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2 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:
Novikov is currently the 7th LHD. Dahlin, Power, Byram, Samuelsson, Johnson, Bryson, and then Novikov. We could argue that Novikov is ahead of Bryson but no higher. With Clifton and Jokiharju still here that puts him at best 8th on the depth chart and letting Novikov rot in the press box makes little sense. My point is they need 2 defense additions and they need to make sure Novikov is nothing but an emergency callup next year. He won't even be 21 until the end of July. In 2025, sure we can see where he is but this plan of Adams of giving kids a cup of coffee in Rochester and then sending them up and making sure he leaves a spot for them needs to die. If ANYONE currently in Rochester or Jrs makes the Sabres in 2024, Adams failed miserably in the offseason.
I mean Kulich, Rosen and Savoie are players who, in most situations, have earned an opportunity.
But I agree with this. They aren’t what we need in the bottom 6.
2 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:I have become a fan of Novikov as well. He has a skill set that would be a nice addition to the Sabres D group long-term. As I mentioned in another thread making the D group next fall is going to be hard unless KA uses some of our excess LHD to add depth elsewhere. Still, I’d love to see him make a run at a roster spot.
As to Krebs, under Ruff even a 4th line job could be a good position. Ruff wants to roll 4 capable lines. Guys like Gaustad and Hecht thrived in his system in the past. My worry with Krebs is that he doesn’t have the drive of guys like Hecht and Gaustad. Maybe his attendance at the presser is a good sign of a new player.
I have never got a whiff of Krebs lacking in drive at all. Quite the opposite.
What he seems to lack is an NHL identity.
I always got the sense he was the guy Donnie never quite got around to.
Very interested to see if he develops under Lindy because I think there is potential for a connection.
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1 hour ago, RochesterExpat said:
I agree it’s going to be the defense.
As for specific players, it’s going to kick open the door for Novikov to fight for a roster spot because he is the type of D-man that Lindy loves. If Novikov plays well during the playoffs and comes to camp prepared, I will not be surprised to see him earn a roster spot. Even if it’s as the 7th D. One of the changes I see is Lindy is going to put an end to “it’s better to have a weaker player on the NHL roster so the stronger player can get more ice time in the AHL.” That’s not how it was handled in NJ. I don’t expect it to be different in Buffalo. You build the roster to in win first and foremost.
The other player I think will be the boom or bust will be Clifton. He did well in Boston’s system and started to get his feet under him after a pretty bad start to the season. I look forward to seeing him under Ruff and back to playing on a team with a system where he has an explicit role..
Clifton had a very rough start that I’m going to chalk up to bad luck and system adjustment. He was a capable 3rd pairing guy in the new year.I don’t see Novikov having any role on the team next year simply because the coach - who just hinted that he lost his job largely to having too many rookie defencemen - isn’t going to want to lose points having Nikita learn the lessons Clifton and Jokiharju have already learned.
1 hour ago, MISabresFan said:FYI - average age of the roster Lindy had with the 112 point Devils was 25.2. Three players over 30 - only one with any type of contribution Tatar with 20 goals.
That Devils team has a lot in common with this Sabres team.
The Sabres don’t have Hughes, but the Devils didn’t have goaltending.
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8 hours ago, Thorny said:
The fanbase
This is more important to the team than a lot of people realize.
I brought up in season how the players felt the disdain and it affected them.
Got a lot of pushback that amounted to “if true they need to suck it up.”
They did need to, but that doesn’t make it irrelevant or not true.
8 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:When I think about a Lindy Ruff team, I think about him rolling 4 lines, activating the D, and playing fast. I remember him always having some physical players but not being overly physical as a team. Tough, yes, but not grind you into the ground types.
However the thing that always stands out is the good D groups. The 1999 team had McKee, Zhitnik, Woolley, Patrick, Smehlik, and Shannon. 05 had McKee, Lydman, Tallinder, Teppo, Soupy and Kalinin. Even last year’s NJ team was excellent on all 3 pairs.
I look at Dahlin, Power, Mule, Byram, and the others and I see a bunch of talented kids desperate for a coach who truly understands 2 way D play and that is Ruff. When we are looking back at the 24/25 season next April (as we march into the playoffs) I think the defense is where Lindy’s biggest impact will be felt.
This is very perceptive and probably the first time I’ve seen someone make this point.
Lindy has had great success with exactly the type of personnel he’s being given on the blueline. It’s almost tailor-made for his system.
Dahlin, Clifton and Jokiharju now veterans, Power, Byram and Samuelsson are getting closer to that 200-game threshold. This should become the strength of the team and this is a coach who can exploit that.
2 hours ago, Carmel Corn said:I think (hope) he will have the team READY to start the season, unlike Granato. He will use training camp to prepare the team to have a good start, instead of Granato using it to look at prospects.
This I think this would have been a thing regardless after last year, but I think the 25 or so players most likely to be playing NHL games next year won’t be seeing a lot of the other 25 in training camp.It’s probably going to be a frustrating fall for most of the prospect pool.
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1 hour ago, Jorcus said:
Canucks out shoot the Preds 18 to 15 Ugh. I hope there is a few more chances in Nashville.
Canucks had just 5 shots nearly half-way into the game after blabbing all day that they needed to stay patient and not deviate from their game plan.
I think sometimes that mantra can be taken a little too far.
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14 hours ago, inkman said:
So Adams just laid there and took it. I guess that’s how things work. Your boss pays you millions, you better learn to be emasculated and embarrassed on the reg.
14 hours ago, Thorny said:Good
He took it cause he has no choice. In his heart of hearts he knows it’s true.
tough titty
Since nobody else mentioned it, Adams immediately said (while kissing his ass in many other ways) that Terry was wrong about 06.
2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:I really tried to temper expectations on what Power was but almost universally around here it was "big guy hit stuff" and as I will repeat until this site goes dark, size does not equal grit.
1 hour ago, tom webster said:It’s been like this since the beginning of man. The only place I see Power disparaged is Buffalo. Athletic just had another article were anonymous general managers are still divided in their belief that Power will end up better then Dahlin.
I just chalk it up to the way some people perceive the game.
Owen Power is very good at a lot of things. But he’s not that good at the thing that matters most to them and probably never will be.
And until the team wins they will hone in on that as a lightning rod for their anger.
Kid is good right now and when he’s a man, he’s going to be very good for a very long time.
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1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:
Ruff talked a fair bit about skills sets and knowing your role. Contributing in your way to team success. I don't think that goes hand in hand with turning Skinner into a Selke candidate.
I think this is a good point. I doubt he goes all Krueger on him.
i think it was Friedman who said Lindy has 3 rules he leans hard into in terms of discipline: be a “good person”; be on time; and the discussion and variation happens before the team locks into a course of action, once it’s decided, you do it.
Its the application of the latter where Lindy and Skinner may clash, the consistency. I think he’ll ask Jeff to play a game Jeff can succeed at. Where they’ll clash is those times when Jeff freelances.
In my view, Granato coached Skinner to his best season ever last year because he succeeded with the above strategy.
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15 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:
I could be wrong, but I don't think he's watching Appert to see if he wants him on his staff, I think he's going to watch Appert to see if he thinks he's the right guy to develop players properly in Rochester or does he need to be replaced.
You think Adams has ceded responsibility to Lindy to decide who coaches his minor league team?
Ahead of both himself and Karmanos?
You think the Sabres are concerned about Rochester? Which just had its 2nd best regular season since 2007? Won 2 playoff rounds last year and another the previous year? Has gone 112/79/20 under Appert? While icing a youth-heavy lineup that has graduated Quinn, Peterka, Lukkonnen, Samuelsson and Bryson to the big club?
What, other than your general disdain for the way the Sabres do things leads you to think they are concerned about Rochester?
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Comparing this year's 84-point roster to the one Lindy Ruff led to 89 points in his last full Sabres season:
- Thompson Roy
- Mittelstadt Leino
- Cozens Adam
- Krebs Gaustad
- Jost Ellis
- Tuch Pominville
- Greenway Stafford
- Okposo Ennis
- Olofsson McCormick
- Quinn Kassian
- Skinner Vanek
- Peterka Boyes
- Benson Gerbe
- Girgensons Kaleta
- Robinson Tropp
- Dahlin Ehrhoff
- Power Myers
- Samuelsson Regehr
- Jokiharju Sekera
- Clifton Leopold
- E. Johnson Weber
- R. Johnson Gragnani
- Bryson McNabb
- Luukkonen Miller
- Levi Enroth
- Comrie McIntyre
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30 minutes ago, Mango said:
Adams talked a ton about it after the firing and a bunch of players came out and were like "yeah, nobody held me accountable".
Then when asked about it Ruff went 180 degrees the other way and said "Woah accountability starters with the individual, then his teammates and the locker room. I am the last one who should be holding anybody accountable". (Paraphrasing)
I am keeping an eye on how the players who were vocal about "needing more accountability" perform under Ruff. I tend to agree with Lindy. If I need to teach you how to hold yourself accountable this team has a "you" problem. And if you aren't picking it up from your peers we have a locker room/roster problem.
Which players said the bold?
I recall a lot of players saying different versions of “we need to be more accountable”.
I could be wrong, but I don’t recall a single player blaming others for not holding him accountable.
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37 minutes ago, Thorny said:
Love the hire.
A little less enthused overall today by the running narrative im seeing come to the forefront, about the length of contract meaning Adams gets a further 2 years to make the playoffs. I just feel so thoroughly in my bones that this should be a do or die year.
Finally it was “it’s about winning!”
“it’s about winning…but not QUITE yet” just doesn’t invoke the same confidence
Still love Ruff and the hire. My line still comes down to this season, though. I am going to try very hard to be a man of my word and stick to that line regardless of whether the team does.
I think reality might be closer to your original thought.
Coach contracts are typically one year longer than their leash because owners are typically OK with eating one year if they have to. It’s almost like the last year is at the owner’s option. The summer before the last year is often a time to talk extensions.
Most coaches get 3-year deals with the idea that they will get 2 years to prove themselves. Shorter contracts aren’t typically a consideration for coaches with Lindy’s resume.
To me it’s unusual and it does seem to indicate playoffs or bust.
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You’re gonna need more choices:
How can you be happy, what’s this guy ever won? Classic Pegula move.
God I want this to succeed, but it just ain’t gonna.
I mean at least he’s got some experience…
This is the best coach this team ever had and he’s one of us: I *****in love it!
Who is this guy anyway? Seems a little old to be a hockey coach.
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Fairbairn makes pretty good case here for the hire.
Acknowledges the nostalgia factor and basically says 'So, how is that bad thing? It's actually a good thing unless he's a bad fit or a bad coach."
And then he goes on to explain why he might be a good fit and good coach.
https://theathletic.com/5437340/2024/04/23/lindy-ruff-buffalo-sabres-hired-coach/
Guess we'll find out in October if he's right.
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33 minutes ago, ... said:Of course, Power should not be here to be challenged (he is the trade centerpiece to upgrade the forward group). If he is, though, I, too, will be interested to see the result - it may be Power's only hope.
Not really about your post, but it reminded me of a couple earlier posts that I lost in the shuffle.
One was about the Sabres needing a get-the-puck-out-of-our-zone defenceman and the other was about what does Owen Power do really well.
Once Owen Power gets the puck on his stick in the defensive zone, he moves it up-ice about as well as any Sabre I’ve ever seen: calmly, to a teammate, and in a way that allows that teammate to make a play.
He usually makes it look so easy that it may be perceived as unremarkable, but the frequency with which it happens compared to most is anything but.
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3 hours ago, Flashsabre said:
If they announce it is Marty Wilford staying on with the D rather than a James Patrick I think any goodwill is out the window for me.
Not sure what the hate for Wilford is based on. I don’t follow Sabres Twitter.
Dahlin just put up his 2 best seasons, Jokiharju his best, Bryson got pulled out of the trash heap, Clifton and Power were course-corrected nicely after rough starts…
What is the big knock there?
(Not debating, honestly curious.)
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27 minutes ago, nfreeman said:
I hate to say it, but I had a similar impression. And the 2-year deal is consistent with age concerns.
OTOH...
This is true too. He was sharp.
There are reasons for optimism here and reasons for pessimism.
Lindy himself seemed optimistic -- including about goaltending. He was unequivocal that UPL is his guy.
I think this is going to work.
Separately, I thought Adams seemed pretty tightly-wound. I think he's feeling some pressure.
Adams has publicly graduated firmly to the “time is now” mindset. Unequivocally repeated it’s about winning. (I’m so happy for so many of you @Thorny, @PerreaultForever, @PASabreFan…😜)
Lindy very much seemed to believe in the talent. And you know he’s going to believe in his own ability to unleash it.
Really broad brush here, but I feel positive his presence is going to resonate with our growing Western Canadian group: Krebs, Cozens, Byram and Benson.
And you know he’s going to challenge Power. Very interested in seeing the response.
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John-Jason Peterka, the Sabres current #1 LW, a season review
in The Aud Club
Posted · Edited by dudacek
Peterka is an interesting guy to look at comparables.
His 28 goals mark the 25th-best 21-year-old season in the past 10.
Some guys who had similar U22 seasons:
But then you also get guys like Alex Debrincat with 41 and Jack Hughes with 43, so there are guys who were pretty far ahead.
One thing seems to hold true though, very few of the guys om that list of 25 proved to be a flash in the pan. This type of production at the age seems like to set him up for at least a Nikolaj Ehlers type career.