dudacek

Drury was the what, the sixth-best player on the Avs? Pouted his way out of Calgary? Finished 4th, 2nd and 3rd in scoring in his three seasons in Buffalo, playing on arguably the deepest teams in franchise history? Left an agreed-upon deal on the table in Buffalo for greener pastures? Stole UFA money from the Rangers? Has snubbed the Sabres and Buffalo on multiple occasions since he left? This isn't close on any level. Plug Chris in for Eichel during the Eichel years and you get — at best — a repeat of ROR on the ice and a trade demand off it. Plug Eichel in for Drury in the Drury years and you get Jack hoisting the Stanley Cup.

I'm mostly with you on this push you've been on, but preseason? These are NHL games against NHL lineups for NHL points. You know Marchand dropped a penny on the ice there, right? Reinhart was killing the Bruins and that rat will do anything to win, even cheap-shotting our best player.

No.

Look up a few posts

But if you can't make a deal are you exposing him?

One would think if he is going to uproot for anywhere it would be Vancouver (Rod is Vancouver Islander and regularly comes home in the summer) or Seattle, with the proximity and the Francis connection.

As far as the 7 forwards go, everyone is protecting Jack and Sam, and you have to protect Jeff unless he unexpectedly waives. Is there anyone not protecting Casey and Victor? Or protecting Okposo or Eakin? That leaves two spots for Bjork, Girgensons, Asplund and Thompson. (Cozens and R2 are exempt)

I guess it depends on what you think of the players, but bottom-half of the roster players are available every year, and probably pretty cheap this year, considering the flat cap. We signed Zemgus a few days prior to free agency not even a year ago, which I see as pretty equivalent to Bjork.

I wouldn't trade a 2nd rounder to acquire a Bjork, so I'm not trading one to keep him. We are going to lose a useful but replaceable NHL player. I'll pay a 3rd to control which one that is. Otherwise I take my chances and sign another Bjork or Borgen in free agency.

It's "he can't win faceoffs" and "he falls down" now. Keep up. (89% on faceoffs last night)

Posted in another thread, but it belongs here: Sam Reinhart has 9 goals and 5 assists in the past 15 games, putting up a -2 with (the corpse of) Jeff Skinner and Victor (not good 5-on-5) Olofsson while learning how to play a position he hasn't played in years, and in a first line role. I'm not certain exactly when he got switched to centre, but since March 31, the only centres with more points than Sam Reinhart are McKinnon, Matthews, Tavares, Crosby and Zibanejad. The only centre with more goals is Matthews. Remember all of those years we've been begging for a real 2C? He's here, you're watching him. Sam is pretty ***** good. (Just re-sign this guy. Please.)

I will say that the above is based largely on watching Sam as a right wing. The Sam Reinhart that has 9 goals and 5 assists in the past 15 games, putting up a -2 with (the corpse of) Jeff Skinner and Victor (not good 5-on-5) Olofsson while learning how to play a position he hasn't played in years, and in a first line role? That Sam is pretty ***** good. (Just re-sign this guy. Please.)

I was wondering about that too. They tend to be off to the side in these conversations — some teams ride a stud goalie, others just have a serviceable piece that gets the job done. One of the reasons I have been pushing to re-sign Linus so hard is that I am one of the few around here who seems to think he can be a core part.

Right now there is no doubt Sam is our #2 player and a team can't contend with Sam at #2. Just like a team can't contend with Risto as our #1 D. We can contend with Dahlin as our undisputed #1D and pushing Jack for our #1 player spot, and with Cozens (and/or possibly Mitts) legitimately in the conversation with Sam for #3. Rasmus seems back on track for that. The other two have a long way to go.

Accurate or not, there is a perception here and around the NHL that Eichel is and was a clear step above Byfield. Same with Reinhart and Turcotte.

Not that we agree on anything other than "thank god Ralph was fired," but I would say this described the board's general opinion on the following developing players in February: Olofsson: good on the PP but not a top 6 player Mittelstadt: he still might turn into an offensive 3rd-liner, but he could just as easily be a complete bust Thompson: probably not going to be a useful NHL player Asplund: barely talked about and largely overlooked Cozens: going to be a stud, play him with better players Ruotsalainen: why haven't they called this guy up? Dahlin: what is wrong with Rasmus? He's supposed to be turning into a stud, he looks bad. Jokiharju: struggling Borgen: love this guy, he needs to play Bryson: what about the little guy in Roch? Sounded like he was pretty good last year, does he have a chance? Samuelsson: Meh. Big and slow and a few years away How much has the past month changed your views?

And playing "out of position" with two (other) guys who can't score without Jack Eichel.

Reinhart looked like a leader this afternoon.

6-4-2 in their last 12 vs Bos, Phil, Pit, Wash, and NYR

In Matt Barnaby's first eligible draft year, he scored 9 goals and didn't get picked, compared to Quinn's 52. Also, when Matt scored 45 he finished 15th in Q scoring. Quinn's 52 was 2nd in the tougher OHL. Also Matt Barnaby played more than 800 NHL games and put up more than 300 NHL points. Junior stats with context aren't irrelevant.

I don't. It's a downloadable magazine format. It does not count those players as "prospects" and they don't include them in the top 100 prospect rankings. But they definitely count 21-and-under NHLers in the team rankings and have for years. Those two players and Cozens are specifically identified on the team page.

Since Jan. 1, 2020 he has gone 15-9-3 with a .921 S% and a 2.47 GAA (both in the top half of the league among starters) on this team. Numbers wise you can find maybe a half-dozen goalies who are clearly superior over that stretch http://www.nhl.com/stats/goalies?reportType=game&dateFrom=2020-01-01&dateTo=2021-04-24&gameType=2&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,20&sort=savePct&page=0&pageSize=50 He has been remarkably consistent, allowing over 3 goals just twice in that stretch, again on this team, and by the eye test keeps us in every game. https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/gamelog/_/id/3069285/linus-ullmark He has improved every single season as a pro, following the development path a majority of good starters take to emerge at a time most of them emerge. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=152794 He may be the best shootout goalie in the NHL. Plus he seems to be a good human being, a reliable teammate. I get the injury concern. I don't get the sense there are other goalies out there who are as skilled and at an equivalent point in their careers that can be easily acquired. We've been in goalie purgatory for years as we've waited for someone like Linus to develop. Letting him walk as he is emerging would be so Buffalo.

Did we know that since Jan. 1, 2018, Sam Reinhart is the 47th highest-scoring player in the NHL? He's 32nd in goals, just behind Paccioretty and just ahead of Huberdeau and Malkin. Remember when people used to say he wasn't a 1st-line player? Good times.

Where do you think Ullmark will get a better offer than what the Sabres will want to match, and how much will it be?

Freddy Andersen would likely cost as much as Linus and isn't as good. Fleury costs $7 million and a 3rd rounder. Linus will cost maybe $5 million with no acquisition cost. Fleury is 37 and will be one and done. Andersen is 31 and likely exiting his prime. Ullmark is 27 and entering his. He is the only one of the 3 likely to anchor our crease for 5 years, or even 3.