LTS

Thanks. Overall I have to be thankful as we all remain healthy. I remain employed (insanely busy in fact). But you sometimes don't recognize what you are missing and its impact on you.

NYS opened up high risk sports for a February season. You can say whatever you want, but the psychological boost given to my kids this week is quite noticeable. My son was more noticeable as he's a junior in HS playing varsity hockey. My daughter, 13, is on the outside, but her club volleyball team is back to playing tournaments. There's just no denying how much psychological impact this virus has had on the youth of this country. That said, I'm not the youth of this country and I am beginning to realize just how much impact it has had on me. My life did not change dramatically as I had worked from home for 2 years prior, I had been busy with work. I am beginning to realize how much the change in how society operates is impacting me. it's undone a good 2 years of work on improving my overall health without a doubt.

He has played demonstrably better since "the game". Skinner is still mediocre in my opinion. If he made $5M we might not even be talking about him other than to get rid of him. Your point is perfectly valid. If the overall team benefit is there, then you move him. But we don't know that it would happen and there are no statistically relevant measures that say otherwise. Even pointing to prior seasons doesn't work necessarily because this year is not equal to last year. You know that though.. The real question, where do you move Skinner where it results in a net benefit to the team? After tonight I feel like where ever you have Eichel and Reinhart will benefit. Hall has dropped off since Reinhart moved up. Nothing has really worked beyond Eichel/Reinhart. Something might, but right now it's just not. I would also do this. I dunno. That kind of crap just happens in a game. I don't put it on the player as though they suddenly are crappy players. Do we think Brian Campbell is a total piece of crap for his flip over the glass in 2006?

I think he has to learn how to not put the entire franchise on his shoulders and also to divest himself from his own struggles. It's not easy, not sure if he can do it, but he needs to find a way. I've had quite a few beers tonight but I feel confident in pointing out Hutton did not play tonight and he's not played four in a row. 😛 Perhaps you had one more beer than me? (just having some fun).

To a certain degree that would be the case would it not? If the goal is to maximize the output of all 4 lines then improving one line at the expense of another might not make sense. it really depends. You move Skinner, does that decrease the line that he moved away from? And as Taro said, naturally your goal is to outscore the other team. Theoretically that comes from maximizing your opportunities to score. Ultimately, all of these stats mean nothing if they don't win. Anyone can talk about "regression to the mean" but if that never happens someone has to go find the reason why it didn't.. because it means their model was flawed. I understand that the stats are used to try and create the use of resources that support the goal of winning and so they are important. The total and final measuring stick is simply this. Did you win enough to win it all?

I would agree with this in general. So usually when business toes the line it's because it faces significant backlash from its customers. We are its customers, are we holding the NHL accountable? Do we look at what Bettman said and think, "You know, this CEO doesn't get it, we should not support his products." Do we look at the owners not supporting the initiatives for fear of losing STH (and actually saying it) and continue to support them? Do we pressure the advertisers aligned with the NHL, like Honda, and force them into making the NHL make changes? The article really questions how serious the NHL is about this and that despite the lip service, they aren't doing much. It's not about the cultural alignment, it's not about entry barriers into the sport. It's about the fact that the NHL has a position where it can lead by example and because of its lack of diversity it might have greater impact. @thewookie1 - you spoke of affirmative action. It exists. I'm not wading into it. The NFL has the Rooney Rule. Not so much a quota but it does require interviews of a minority. I think there are steps that can be had to encourage growth of minorities within the sport from a business aspect. It might not be directly related to the coaching positions, not right away, but every step helps. It raises awareness of the sport in communities where it hadn't before. Glad we could have a conversation on this though.

I don't think the basis of the article is that they can't have a conversation or the profit aspect. I think it speaks to the ingenuine efforts from the NHL on their publicly stated initiatives. It shouldn't be about how many non-white participants are in the game (I say this because you have Dumba who is Filipino, Kadri who is Lebanese, and others). It should be about the absolute intolerance of racism within all levels of the sport. But you can see from Bettman's comments and the concerns of owners... they aren't really interested in actively working against racism. Certainly losing STH would be a "problem" for the owners. But a bigger statement is to say "If you can't accept our position, we don't want you anyway." I really question how much support the NHL should get given their continued lack of effort and concern over something so important. Someone has to lead the way, and the people at the top of the sport are the most ideal ambassadors.

Ran across this article from SI this morning. I thought it was a good read. Somewhere in the back and forth is the truth, but when you read this it certainly reads as if the NHL is not truly invested in the cause. https://www.si.com/nhl/2021/01/19/akim-aliu-nhl-racial-reckoning-daily-cover Some of the more notable points for me. Time and time again the league proves they aren't all in on this. typical deflection these days "I'm not doing enough? What are you doing?" and if you lose STH over this, so be it. The article is quite disheartening. I think there are opportunities abound to be better about all of it and to really make a difference. But as always the first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem and the NHL doesn't seem to be willing to do that. Hell.. hockey in general.

Or they know what they have in Asplund and they don't need that role on the team whereas Mittelstadt it still slightly unknown and/or they want to evaluate him more in Buffalo rather than Rochester, and/or some team is interested in him as part of a trade... Mittelstadt and Asplund are not the same kinds of players, so you would expect it's not really a pecking order.

Well.. totally forgot there was a game tonight. So busy with work I barely have time to care these days. Go Sabres and all that.

I'm sure winning would help. I hope the things outside of sports get better for you.

That used to be me... but those damn Bills are making me feel again. I'm still nowhere near as close to being a football fan as I used to be however.

His language literally said nothing is imminent and yet you want to blame him for people not understanding the English language or completely disregarding what he had said.. How about we blame those who don't read what was written? Also, you are very angry lately. I hope things outside of this forum are good and its just this team stressing you out. Although, I hope you find a way for this team to stress you less.

Here goes nothing! The Sabres winning or losing will be overshadowed by the Bills game today. But I'd rather feel even that much better with a double dub day.

Hah, don't tell me about next year. We might as well turn that into a GIF to be used with most Sabres posts. 🙂

Especially when you've smoked as much as he did. I'm sure his lungs weren't the healthiest. He did his job well though. I was not a fan but can understand why people liked him.

Hall has been hitting people and has been hit. He's not shying away from anything. Olofsson has been completely engaged and caused more turnovers after the Chara one. He's not going to hit anyone.. he's too small. Skinner.. another story but he's in the bottom 6 🙂 The Sabres are not going to play a physically pounding game. They don't need to. They do, however, need to be hard to play against and that means challenging all pucks and making it difficult on the other team to move around the ice. That doesn't require hitting, but it certainly requires a lot more urgency in their skating than they've had so far this year. Dahlin has played physical in the past. This season, right now, is an anomaly for him. One that needs to get turned around really quick. Tage is still trying to do too much but he's never going to be that physical. I agree there.

Agreed. it's interesting right? Middlestadt's failures are all his but Dahlin's are all the coach? The plays that Dahlin are screwing up are not system plays, they are hockey plays that skilled hockey players make. He's not making them right now and it's beginning to snowball on him. I think they would have left him in the game but smashing his stick on the ice and falling over while doing it was a great indicator that he's completely off. It's a bit of a joke but also true. Do I think Dahlin will be better? I sure do... which is why I suggested they need to remove him from the ice so fans aren't losing their mind over it. It's a two part story.. is Dahlin playing like absolute garbage? Yes. Is Dahling absolute garbage at D? No. Jack Eichel also scores goals... but not right now. All of that aside.. they aren't winning and this isn't a year for moral victories.

It's on both, but Hall has the option there and Reinhart didn't fulfill the other end of the bargain. Rebounds can go anywhere, but you go to the net when a shot is coming. Also, people who play EA's NHL series would not expect Hall to shoot because everyone knows that the two-pass cross-crease 1 timer is king. 🙂 But.. there's no excuse for Reinhart in any shape or form.

They can waive for any reason they would like actually. Its possible Skinner gets sick of the 4th line and requests a trade. He could be traded, this is the NHL and crazy things are possible. The probability of it happening is slim. I think there's a better chance Okposo is "moved".

Do WE need announcers? Perhaps not. Does the avg. viewer need announcers? Absolutely. If you think about it, most other sports are littered with announcers telling stories during the game. It's usually because there are a lot of breaks in the action. I do think that Dunleavy and Ray were a bit off in how they called the game. I have no doubt that there is a level of excitement gained when you are in the arena with the crowd all around you. That said, good announcers would be able to work around that.

When I read this I thought one thing... with regards to the work ethic Cozens had. No way I would give up Cozens... everything about him screams he has the right attitude for the game. And then this was posted... PLD is ROR. Perhaps he's not as talented, but I'm not interested in acquiring another Eeyore. People fawn over ROR constantly. They point to the SC he won when he left Buffalo. They completely ignore why that happened (it wasn't ROR) and they ignore his comments. They point to how he "lost his love of the game" and all that and attribute that to Buffalo. The dude lost his love of the game in Colroado as he forced his way out there. Now's the "C" in St. Louis and but for the fact that division is so weak the Blues would be near the bottom. He's going to lose his love of the game there as well. He thinks he means everything to a team and wants to be adored. He's a really good player, but his need to be loved is too great. It won't be long until he falls out of favor in St. Louis and we'll see the same thing happen again. Dude is tied for 10th with 7 other players on the Blues with 1 freakin point. PLD's antics in CBJ wreak of ROR. No matter how bad you want out you don't dress for a game and then pull the crap he pulled on the ice. As a teammate I would have dragged him all over the locker room for it. Glad he's not going to be the Sabres problem. Let the Jets deal with it. He is. I wonder if there's any chance the Sabres are considering some way to move salary to Arizona and in return take Hossa's contract? I honestly don't even know if its possible but perhaps the Coyotes want Okposo so he can play with Larsson? 🙂 (That's some delusional thinking right there). But with regards to the complications, trying to deal for a goalie on IR would fit the bill.

You and I are watching two different teams out there. I see a team that is sloppy in its defensive zone and being forechecked all over the place. Their breakouts are predictable. Washington was standing on top of any player they were passing to last night. The only line Washington respected was the Eichel line. As soon as that line was out they switched into a defensive posture to slow the attack and counter. Other than that they were pushing our guys and winning puck battles. That's the other thing with this team, they don't win puck battles. There are a few players who have been tenacious, Olofsson and Cozens. They've had chances, and if they bury them it changes things, but they are giving up chances, bad ones. I'd be curious what the Sabres puck possession time would be if you removed the Eichel line from the mix. Certainly Dahlin is directly responsible for two of the goals last night because he's lost out there. That could change things, but good teams overcome that. Right now it's "ifs and buts".. neither of those have W in them. I'm certainly not losing my mind, but this team is not good right now. You're talking about potential but potential doesn't have a W in it. You know what does? Work and this team isn't doing enough of that right now.

It's all designed to drive people to Peacock. USA is just the least failing NBC station so they'll use it as bait. I think i said it in the streaming Sabres thread. This year is the year that everyone gets punted to streaming services. Those who produce the content want to control the delivery, gather the ad revenue, the analytics, and certainly get paid for it. No more contracts to discuss on carriage rights. Give the success the NHL is having this season with announcers calling games while not in the building I would HIGHLY suspect that the NHL pulls back its streaming rights and begins to hire local camera operators and some local personnel in rinks and then uses remote announcers to call the games. Hell, they could go to an all remote camera operations crew if they wanted to. The technology is there. Then they control their whole product.

Meh. I'm not even going to read the thread... I'm checked out on this team already. They look lost and disinterested out there a lot of the time. Sure they generate some chances, but not many. The D is shot. Glad Dahlin got screwed to the bench.. he can sit a few games. if he can't respond to that then ship him off. People will say that's drastic, but you know what? Sitting around waiting for potential is garbage. If he has issues right now, get him out of the lineup. Stop letting the fans see his issues manifesting themselves on the ice. He's responsible for this loss tonight. When you look more clueless around your own net than Ristolainen you know it's bad. I'm not gonna bother with the "if this or that". They didn't win. It's that simple. The only analytical stat I care about anymore is the winning percentage and is sucks, again, still, as always. F this team, the coach, and the front office. Because Mom always said end with a positive thought... here it is. I won't be paying for Fubo for the whole season!