dudacek

Every Sabre fans knows Nourque is noting more than a guy who rode the coattails of Olivier Nadeau.

I’ve been a little on the fence myself looking at the roster, but I dug a little deeper into the history books. Going back 25 years, there has never been a Sabres prospect who has put up point totals even remotely close to what Peterka has and not started the next season in Buffalo. Other than Quinn, I don’t think there has been a prospect to produce like that who was not elevated to the team in-season. Quinn’s scoring is unprecedented, but Peterka’s is right up there among the best ever as well. I posted about a while ago on the site, but don’t have the time right now to pull up the post. In terms of what NHL teams generally do with their top prospects, he is way past ready.

I think some of you are treating Tage as an established player having a possible blip, when the fact is he's a young player having a breakthrough. He's played less than 150 NHL games prior to this year. Yes, he may never match these totals, but he wouldn't be alone in that and it wouldn't mean he's not a legitimate top 6 player. Thomas Vanek broke out with 84 points at 23, he settled in as a 60-70 point guy Derek Roy broke out with 81 points at 25, he settled in as a 60-70 point guy Jason Pominville broke out with 80 points at 25, he settled in as a 60-70 point guy They all remained legit top 6 NHL players after their "blip".

I get that Nicholls 150-point season was an aberration, but he topped a point per game 8 times. He was a first line centre before that year. (And ironically was 1C playing 2C that year) Alex Mogilny got 127 points out of nowhere at age 24 and never came close to that again.

Just to be clear on Karlsson's numbers prorated for the pandemic: 78, 56, 60, 58. Even post decline, those are still easy top 6 numbers. And or the record ROR with the Sabres scored 60, 55 and 61 points.

Tage is significantly better offensively than ROR, who barely cracks the top 50 in centre scoring in the second half of the season despite being on one of the most explosive teams in the NHL. Tage produces despite getting the best checkers, unlike O'Reilly. Offensively, he's a driver and a danger in a way ROR has never been.

In terms of offence, Tage is 15th in the NHL among centres in points in the 2nd half of the season (since Feb 1)

Tell me why these statements are wrong: Tage Thompson is a first-line centre. He is also the best non-ELC contract in the NHL. And he is a better player right now than Ryan O'Reilly.

I know the team hasn't had 12 forwards worth dressing in a long time, but it's actually OK to have 14 forwards worth dressing. The team won't self-combust. I promise.

That was well done. Love you too, Rick.

My god, the passing in that game was horrific. It wasnt because of good defence, it was because they weren’t anticipating and were just missing each other by miles, open or not. Even the guys getting the pass looked asleep at the switch half the time. The goalies were fantastic, but the skaters did not look like playoff hockey teams.

Cant confirm, but a profie I read on our Nightingale leads me to believe probably. He had a brother in the industry

I doubt anyone goes that long on Husso with a one-year sample size. Best contract i can remember in a similar situation is thatcher Demko's 5 for 5 and he was already a Canuck so they knew exactly what they were getting. Husso's track record prior to this season isn't significantly different than UPL's. I'm thinking 4 for 4 or 3 for 5.

Your logic is entirely sound, based on you view of Holtby. I just disagree on your view of Holtby. I guess all that really matters is Adams is right about whatever goalie he picks. For the record, 17/12/2 says that Adams had a better reading on Craig Anderson than I did.

McCabe was one of my favourite Sabres of the dark era, but I can't think of a single skill or physical asset he possesses that matches Mule. I can't wait to see where Mule will be after he gets 200 games under his belt. McCabe is his floor. His upside is as a top shutdown #3 guy, similar to Ryan McDonough. Agreed. It feels like the board is still regurgitating old conversations where this hasn't sunk in. To me in addition to the "balance" issues, it's fixed the "Joki over his head" concerns and the "why would Johnson sign here" concerns entirely. Couple it with the development of Mule, the potential of Power, the cap space to add a top 4 vet, and my comfort with Bryson as a 6/7 who can play both sides and I am actually feeling optimistic about where we are heading in to next season, assuming Adams gets his Lydman.

Couldn't agree more. There really seems to be a lot of premature projecting going with Power, Mule, Joki, Bryson, Krebs, Mitts, Cozens, Quinn and Peterka. Not only how good they will be and what role they will play, but also how the pieces should all fit together. There's no need to rush anything here. Let's see what actually develops first. This team has struggled without depth for so long, I'm shocked that at the first time we actually have some we can't wait to get rid of it.

Maybe we have different definitions of 4/5? These are the division's 4/5s based on ice time Mike Reilly/Matt Grelcyck Danny Dekeyser/Marc Staal Ben Chiarot/Radko Gudas Joel Edmundson/Brett Kulak Erik Brannstrom/Travis Hamonic Erik Cernak/Jani Rutta Mark Giordano/Justin Holl Do you think most of those guys are clearly better than Jokiharju?

Jokiharju has been used largely as our 1RHD because he has been our best RHD. He has been our best RHD because Adams hadn’t acquired a better one.

To me, the advanced stats over 60 games suggest we should look at a better player than Joki on the first pairing with Dahlin. They don’t say anything conclusive about him as a 2nd pairing guy. He hasn’t played many games in that role, and the games he has played have largely been with a 19-year-old who has never played in the NHL before. Could we use a better RHD than Jokiharju? Of course. We good also use a better 3C than Cozens and a better 2C than Mitts. Hell, even a better 1C than Tage, and he has 37 goals. I’m not sure why Jokiharju seems to get ripped for being a mediocre 2/3 instead of being praised for being a very good 4/5. Especially when, like Cozens and Mitts, he’s a young player growing into his role. Adams failures aren’t his.

So we’re literally talking not even a dozen shifts for anyone but Jokiharju? And the “weight” of Jokiharju makes Power a tad short of a 50/50 player? To me, this is about as significant as a player going -1 over 6 games on one line, and +1 in his 7th game on another.

I think it would be a mistake to trade Mitts or Krebs in a deal for a bridge goalie or a second pair veteran defenceman, prior to seeing what we have. As a piece in a package for a 25-year-old Ryan Miller, or Chris Drury, sure. i get the sense that people are thinking “they probably aren’t going to be stars, so why keep them?” A healthy Mitts put up 16 in 22 to finish last year and 15 in 26 to finish this year. That’s close to a 50-point scorer on a $2.4 million contract for another year. Krebs has been just a hair under a 40 point pace as a Sabre on the 1st year of his ELC contract. Sam Reinhart put up 42, 47 and 50 points in his 3 ELC years. Derek Roy put up 19, lockout, 46. We are getting good value for the money and each player has room to grow. Let them play, along with Cozens and Quinn and Peterka and see who emerges and how. There’s room for them all on the roster and under the cap for now. Patience grasshoppers.

Really, not quite clear on how Adams is defining "blocking" any more. I mean, if all goes well Levi/Portillo should be college->AHL->NHL backup the next three years, so how much of a block is a 4-year starter's contract really? Do they really expect to give UPL the reins as soon as next year? Even if he takes them, he's going to be paid backup money anyway, so they can afford to overpay the other guy.

No idea what Lou or Varly are thinking. That said, GMs are generally OK with moving $5 million backups. $5 million backups are generally OK about being moved to a place where they will start. *** We gotta be able to do better than Holtby at $5 million. I think his rebound numbers this season are a bit of a mirage. I mean Scott Wedgwood's are better on that team. (Can't remember why exactly, but I've always had the impression he's a bit of a diva too)

Husso almost certainly will get a UFA contract that commits to him as a number 1, a $4 million for 4 years, or some such. I might give him that based on (limited) what I've seen, but I don't think Adams will. I am perfectly fine with him being a 4/5 for the next several years and think he still has it in him to be more. His issues are largely a product of being asked to be the 2D at 22. They will fade as he improves at the same time he gets asked to do less as Power and Mule continue to ascend.

Why haven't we talked more about Semyon Varlamov? One year left at $5 million makes him hard to trade for by teams tight to the cap and perfect for us and our no-blocking. Islanders need cap space and he's become their backup. Yes, he's got a partial no-trade but I'm not sure that's insurmountable His numbers this year are fine. I don't see a better target given what Adams is allegedly looking for.