dudacek

There’s little doubt Mitts is the most proven player, but it would be very hard for me to predict which one would help the Sabres most this year. As bad as Jack Quinn was last year, he probably had a better season than Casey and I think he’s got a higher ceiling. What’s more likely: Kulich taking a step offensively or Casey defensively? Because there is no doubt the Sabres need the more reliable player. Not sure what happened to Casey this year because he’s better than what he showed. But how does a player go from +12 in 60ish games in Buffalo to -12 in 60ish games in Denver to -17 in 18 games in Boston? I mean he’s certain to bounce back with a career year with the Bruins because Boston, but in Buffalo?

There’s little doubt Mitts is the most proven player, but it would be very hard for me to predict which one would help the Sabres most this year. As bad as Jack Quinn was last year, he probably had a better season than Casey and I think he’s got a higher ceiling. What’s more likely: Kulich taking a step offensively or Casey defensively? Because there is no doubt the Sabres need the more reliable player.

1) Luukkonnen: This team is 10 points better if he returns to the form he showed two years ago 2) Power: Analytically, the most obvious flaw in the Sabres lineup is how they lost any matchup when Dahlin wasn't on the ice. Swapping Timmins poise for Clifton's juggling hand grenades should help, and Kesselring's competence and physicality should help more. But Power has the skillset to be carrying one of those guys, rather than counting on them to be the boosters. He needs to start earning his paycheque. 3) Norris: Jiri Kulich and Ryan McLeod could be a viable 2/3 centre spine, but no team is going to make the playoffs with them eating all the hard minutes at centre ice. Norris isn't a 1C, but he can certainly hold the fort in ways the other two can't, particularly stapled to an top winger like Tage or Tuch. Getting 75 games of his full potential dramatically improves our depth and playoff chances.

I realize 'the board' isn't a entity unto itself and I'm not saying this is you. But it's bizarre to me that "the board" complains consistently that the Sabres don't backcheck and don't get to the net while at the same time wants no part of Doan or Benson in the top 6 and wants to bury Greenway on the 4th line. It's a fallacy to say this is the same forward group. Doan, Danforth, Greenway and Norris —1/3 of the starting lineup — combined for 37 games last year for the Sabres. Maybe there is a problem with how they are being coached to play, but the player personnel up front is much better suited for they type of game they need to play than it was.

This is nearly 20 years ago, but I found it very interesting in terms of how Lindy used his players https://www.nhl.com/stats/skaters?reportType=season&seasonFrom=20052006&seasonTo=20052006&gameType=2&position=F&playerPlayedFor=franchise.19&sort=timeOnIcePerGame&page=0&pageSize=50

Lafferty and Aubé-Kubel were failures, but I think it’s fair to say they were attempts. It will be interesting to see how Lindy allots ice time: is the 9 or 10 minutes the 4th liners got down the stretch the way Lindy likes it, or is a reflection of the available players being those guys as well as Östlund Kozak and Rosen. Danforth got 14:23 and Doan 13:31 last year with their previous clubs

Gradual change can be hard to recognize. Doan and Danforth will get 12 to 15 minutes a night and are very good at forechecking and getting to the net. Along with Tuch, Benson Zucker Greenway and Malenstyn they represent 7 of your 9 wingers. Pure perimeter guys like Peterka, Olofsson, Skinner and Mittelstadt don’t play for the Sabres any more. You’re right to say show me, but the push over the last year or two has been consistently in the direction of getting better in this area of the game

Not arguing that snarl doesn't matter: it does. But doesn't size have other benefits that have nothing to do with snarl? Strength is strength that usually comes along with size, and that can be an advantage, regardless of snarl. But more importantly, length is length: bigger guys make bigger obstacles in terms of getting sticks on pucks and diverting attackers wide.

Structure and system is ultimately dictated by the head coach. Assistant coaches assist with design and implementation they don't dictate it. The most obvious recent example here was when offensive assistant Granato took over for Krueger and dramatically changed the way the team played.

Sorry for the confusion. Those represent actual difference in inches of the six starters combined. So the Sabres on average are a 1/2 inch taller than the Bruins and 2 inches taller than the Senators.

I'm a little confused. According to this, the Sabres starting 6 averages of 6'3.67", more than 2 inches above the NHL median for defencemen. Just running through some quick math on the conference, the Sabres are: Tied with the Devils 3 inches taller than Boston 3 inches taller than Florida 3 inches taller than Tampa 6 inches taller than Toronto 6 inches taller than the Rangers 8 inches taller than Detroit 9 inches taller than Philadelphia 11 inches taller than Carolina 11 inches taller than Washington 12 inches taller than the Islanders 12 inches taller than Ottawa 13 inches taller than Montreal 13 inches taller than Columbus 16 inches taller than Pittsburgh I don't know if it means anything, but it does seem pretty notable

I absolutely did, but I wasn’t trying to be disingenuous about it. This was a “look at how big their starting six is, and look at how many other big guys they’ve been collecting” post. I read a lot on here about the Sabres needing to forge an identity. This defence corps - on paper at least - seems to have one: big and mobile.

Kesselring, Dahlin yes Power no Samuelsson Timmins not really Byram sorta? Bedkowski, Kleber, McCarthy, Novikov, Komarov yes? Strbak, Mrtka sorta?

Real shift at the top of the Amerks lineup: Murray, Jobst, Clague and Rousek represent veteran stability and 4 of the teams top 6 scorers. One of Bryson or Zach Jones should replace Clague on what seems a stable blueline. But up front new faces Leschsyshyn is a checker and Geertsen a thug. Carson Meyer will probably get top 6 minutes, but it looks like more responsibility for Neuchev, Wahlberg and Helenius as the team pushed them to take a step in the top 6. Östlund should continue in the 1C role he grabbed after Christmas.

Not sure there is a bigger collection of defencemen in the league right now than what the Sabres have, both on the ice and in the pipeline. Power 6’6” Kesselring 6’5” Samuelsson 6’4” Timmins 6’3” Dahlin 6’3” Byram 6’1” Mrtka 6’6” Kleber 6’6” Bedkowski 6’5” Novikov 6’4” Komarov 6’4” McCarthy 6’3” Strbak 6’2” Is this intentional? Does it matter?

Thank you. So much this. What matters is ice time: who the coach leans on most and in what situations, full stop.

I see a lot of people gravitating toward a "1st line" of Benson/Kulich/Thompson that we saw a lot of down the stretch. I picked March 15 as a bit of arbitrary start date as the first game Norris missed — thinking he's the guy who will be effectively replacing Peterka in the top 6 — and tracked Benson's numbers: He was 6th in ice time for forwards at 16:02 per game after Tuch, McLeod, Thompson, Peterka and Zucker, in that order He was 9th among forwards in points, with 5 in 17 games and did not score a goal He was 5th among forwards in shots with 31 He was tied for 7th in GF% at 50% He led the regular forwards in possession at 54.2% The Sabres went 11/5/1 over those 17 games, outscoring their opponents 65-58.

There were 5 goalies UPL's age and younger who played 40 NHL games last year. He's played three NHL seasons: one below average, one good, and last year, where he lost his mojo in the December losing streak and sucked afterwards. Personally, I'd bet against him, but development-wise, he's in a similar career spot to Jack Quinn and Owen Power: young enough that we're still not sure what he is, old enough that it's time to ***** or get off the pot.

Would I be correct in saying you see his ceiling as a Jochen Hecht?

Watch the video. I think his awareness is definitely top 6. Look at all the good, unexpected passes he makes in high-traffic situations and the reads when he's breaking up plays defensively. I don't know if the Sabres have a better forward on the roster in terms of moving the puck to a teammate while under pressure. But I see exactly where you're coming from on the skill thing. He doesn't bury enough of the chances his sense and tenacity create. I think it's mostly his shot, which I'd classify as weak at this point, but he's also shown no ability to beat guys one-on-one off the rush. I think that's speed-related, because he's shown quick twitch agility and hands to escape and make plays in traffic situations. He's not shown much ability to create and execute in open ice. I think it would be mistake to ever think he can create offence in the way, say, a Mitch Marner of a JJ Peterka can. But there are other ways to produce and I could see him succeeding offensively in the manner of a Sam Reinhart or a Brad Marchand. When you look at Marchand's skillset, what tools does Brad have that Benson does not?

Have people watched the video?

Two things have changed about the Sabres still-youthful roster: The number of very inexperienced players in crucial roles has declined considerably. The number of players in their prime in key positions has increased considerably. Two years ago, they started the season with 2 players in their top 9 F/top 4 D/starting G who were in their prime (older than 25, younger than 30, Greenway and Tuch), and 4 who had yet to play 80 NHL games (Luukkonen, Quinn, Peterka and Power) This year, they project to start the season with 6 in their prime (Luukkonen, Dahlin, Norris, Thompson, Greenway and Tuch), and one who has yet to play 80 games (Kulich). Benson ended up cracking the top 9 two years ago and Doan may do the same this year.

This is completely false The 3rd and 4th highest scoring wingers from each eastern playoff team: Washington: McMichael 57, wilson 65 Montreal: Gallagher 38, Laine 33 Devils: Noesen 41, Palat 28 Carolina: Roslovic 39, Martinook 36 Tampa: Guentzel 80, Paul 41 Toronto: Knies 58, McMann 34 Florida: Verhaeghe 53, Rodrigues 32 Ottawa: Giroux 50, Greig 34 7 of the 8 playoff teams had 2nd line wingers with between 30-40 points. Half the 2nd line wingers in the playoffs had less than 40 points. Only 4 met your average. Do better.

Did we know that Zach Benson ranks 87th in NHL history in points by a teenager? He also ranks 44th all-time in games played by a teenager. His peers are such a weird list of names. One of his comparables — with 66 points in two teenage years — was Gordie Howe Number one in points is, unsurprisingly, Gretzky with 301. In games played? Timmy Connolly, 163. Connolly had 75 points to Benson's 58. Looking at the past 25 years, there are only 37 players who have played 100 games as a teen. Among them, Benson ranks 25th in points Here are some interesting two-season teenage comparables: Ryan O'Reilly: 55 points Jordan Staal: 70 Nico Hischier 99 Tim Stutzle 87 Alexander Barkov 60 Juraj Slavkovsky 60 ROR, Stutzle and Barkov took big leaps in year three. Staal and Hischier did not. The list of 2-season NHL teens is loaded with superstars but also has plenty of Kappo Kakkos, Jeff Skinners and Dave Gagners. Not a lot in there to establish firm trend lines

I agree it's weird how Benson's defensive excellence is completely handwaved away by some who can't stop complaining about the team's lack of defence. But I don't think its weird at all to question whether Benson can produce enough to play on a first line. Thompson and Kulich played almost exactly the same amount of minutes with Benson as they did with Peterka. Their xGF% with Benson: 57.7%, with Peterka 50.6%. Their actual GF% with Benson: 55.6%, with Peterka 65.4% And it's not like the eye test doesn't show Benson forcing turnovers and shooting into the crest in high danger areas, while Peterka bolts the zone early and picks corners from impossible angles.