Randall Flagg

Psh Borgen is Dahlin's long-term partner put it in tha bank

Small sample size, but the two games Tage got with Jack, they were outscored 5-1 and he turned that line into something essentially useless compared to what they could do without him. Those games actually stick out in my mind when thinking back because they were particularly bad even for him. It's a Tage-processing-NHL-speed issue, not a Tage-linemate issue. He just wasn't ready for the show yet. I get all of that, and so I'm not saying that it's all the Sabres SHOULD be trying to do, or what they ARE trying to do. But I pay a lot of money for Buffalo Sabres NHL hockey, so when I'm analyzing it, that's the lens I take, because it gets right to the point of what I'm even doing in the first place. It's like my sole obsession and hobby, ya know?

I am too, but since I don't get into prospects the way others do here, when I'm talking about the roster of the current team I tend to laser focus in on that topic, because that's what matters by far the most to me. And while Tage sucks, I certainly feel different about him than I do an older player that sucks, and would obviously not dump him for a 6th like I would Scandella or Sobotka.

Bold claims require bold action lol

I made a claim that I could pry any player from any team - that doesn't get done by making sure the trade value bar on NHL 20 is perfectly even!

I think I meant to say Beaulieu when I said Kulikov, not sure if Kuli is still there. Makes sense that they might want Risto. How much would we have to add to Risto to get Copp and Ehlers?

I tried to explain that in that post - he sucks if he's a player you're sticking out on NHL ice night after night. In that context, the thing he sucks at is helping the pro hockey team towards the immediate goal - winning tonight, and this season. When I say a player sucks that's what I'm talking about because I mostly avoid all of the prospect discussion around here because it's not that interesting to me. He obviously can become more than a bad NHLer, which, in a different context than one in which I say he sucks (likely lamenting something or other about a recent game or the roster or blah blah blah) I am happy to acknowledge. But hey, you're getting at suggesting a way I can be less off-putting. I can try to use the word suck less, and use more words to convey these extra points

What is Winnipeg's situation on D? I can name three NHLers off the top of my head - Big Buff, Morrissey, and Kulikov..

Lmao hawks fans in that thread someone posted were talking about using Jokiharju to get Alex Tuch in addition to the W. Nylander discussions "you have to give to get" hahahaha I hope he's as good as they thought he is

If we move Risto and just Risto, is our defense worse or better than what we started last year with? Time has surely distorted how we see this now versus how we did then, but that shouldn't stop us from trying Dahlin - Montour McCabe - Miller Pilut/Scandella - Bogosian Pilut/Scandella, Nelson, Jokiharju, Hunwick What was last year, something like Scandella - Risto Dahlin - Bogosian McCabe - Nelson Beaulieu, Pilut/Hunwick/Tennyson/Fedun I have to think we'd still be at least on par, and certainly more deep this year, even without Risto? It sucks that Bogosian and Pilut are hurt, cutting into the depth, but still. Then two years ago: Scandella - Risto McCabe - Bogosian Beaulieu - Gorges Falk, Antipin, Fedun, Nelson Three: Gorges - Risto McCabe - Franson Kulikov - Bogosian Falk, Fedun, and we saw guys like Bergdorfer and Austin that year. It appears that, if we do trade Risto, they've made the blow as soft as possible, because I take a Risto-less current Sabre setup over every iteration we've iced since the beginning of the tank

Dahlin, Eichel, + for Matthews, Marner Zemgus - Matthews - Marner Skinner - Mitts - Reinhart Johansson - Rodrigues - Okposo the rest

I wonder if I should change the way I talk about this stuff - if I see a player in a Buffalo Sabres uniform, I'm analyzing him as an NHL player full stop, and will treat Casey Mittelstadt just like I treat Sidney Crosby, because they're both affecting the thing we all desperately need to see on the ice - our NHL team playing winning hockey right this very second. So I have no qualms saying hey, Tage ***** sucks. So does Mitts. And Vlad. Skinner is pretty damn good. But I really don't think that Tage will always suck, and I don't think it's his fault he does - I think he shouldn't have been here, and the mistake was made way above his position in the organization. But it obviously comes off as pretty rude and pessimistic, and is off-putting. Open to suggestions for different mannerisms I understand that Tage and Mitts can and quite possibly will become really good NHLers, and hope it happens, and will shower them with praise when they do. When they do, we might not have a 76, or 62, or some other trash number, point hockey team anymore.

We're now at a point where sample sizes are large enough that we can make conclusions and distinctions. Scandella after one offseason became Scandella, Pilut, Dahlin (of course, a no-duh move), Montour, Miller, Jokiharju after three. Maybe I'm missing a guy or two. We've gone from inconclusive, to a clear trend towards puck movers and sexy skaters. Though an obvious interest in Borgen and the addition of Samuelsson shows appreciation for having complementary styles woven in. And a whole lot of swings-and-misses at bottom six players: Josefson, Griffith, Nolan, Sobotka, Elie. Wilson? I forgot if he's bad or reasonable. Maybe more I'm forgetting. Berglund was fine, but I'm not so sure he was supposed to be the thing he was good at. Top sixers are just Skinner as of now, but that's a good result. Between he and Sheary and Vesey, you see "ES goals" are a driving factor in his acquisitions. I really like his eye for defensemen. I'm terrified of his eye for forward depth, and am not sure I like his list of priorities and eye for top nine guys just yet. Hopefully we'll get a real big piece of evidence here shortly.

What if "whatever it takes" involves a Casey Mittelstadt here, and a first rounder there? I can make any team give up anything not named Connor McDavid

Psh, they're totally going to bring him back in three years from now for a russian superstar

You must have missed me screeching when Berglund kept getting healthy scratched so that we could play the goofs he came over here with! I put lots of time into showing why I think he was part of the best fourth line I've seen on this team in over a decade. Listen, I hated the ROR trade, and I still do, but I also do my best to watch hockey and only watch hockey, and to learn as much as I can from what I see. And I like good players, and I dislike bad ones. Tage was a very bad one, who could become a good one. We all let bias get in the way to some degree, but I don't think a dismissal of my view on the grounds that I don't like the trade that brought him here is warranted

If it's a weapon of mass destruction, why is his career shooting percentage 27% lower than Johan Larsson's? Like I allude to, it's HARD because his height allows tremendous torque, but it's so woefully inaccurate that using a term like "weapon" or even "tool" to describe it miscasts what is really going on. I don't think I agree with calling him explosive either. While his top end speed is fine, my impression is that it takes him a while to get there, no? As for the bold, I guess we just don't have similar definitions for what being a good player or having a positive impact on a hockey game are. Which is why we have a board on which to argue about it! Thanks for the fun. I always feel like if I watched a hockey game in the same room as you and PA I'd see literally everything there is to see, in ways I'd have never imagined noticing myself

He's gotta be able to think faster. Any coach can quickly rid him of the toe drag. That mental leap is something that we have to pray happens, because I'm not sure there's any way to make it happen. I posted an example in another thread earlier: This isn't some big Tage gaffe, it's just the shift in and shift out stuff that paints as clear a picture of a player as an NHL game is capable of. I could make hours of footage of plays like these that chisel away at his own stats and metrics along with his team's ability to maintain an edge over their opponent in a variety of facets of the game. There are two key mental lapses here associated with processing speed. Dahlin was the only option for that first pass, he wasn't aware of the pressure he should have been aware of. And then later the shot is in Hutton's glove before he's even aware that there's danger coming and he should be trying to take it out - he's still lumbering off the boards. That's not to say there aren't plenty of flashy moments as well

I'd make a charity bet that I can convince nfreeman that Tage was a tank-tier Sabre while Alex was fine if completely boring and not-compelling, but I already gave a hundred hours to hockey stuff this summer and I simply cannot afford to do that again for Tage freakin Thompson, so I'll have to continue resolutely stomping around in absolutes

Risto, McCabe, + whatever it takes for Trocheck and Hoffman replace Horvat with Trocheck and Boeser with Hoffman

By the way, I'm not making that charity bet. I'm describing something already set in stone - what Tage gave us in 65 games compared to what Alex gave us in 12. I've hated Alex more and longer than 98% of posters here (in fact, freeman and weave may be the only ones to best me here), so I'm not putting any money on him for anything.

Tage's tools are as follows: 1.) Being tall 2.) Being young enough to have hope for development 3.) having good draft pedigree Not compelling! And a hard shot doesn't count, as that's a product of number one, and being allowed a long stick (and I'll argue about torque all day baby) Nylander's play between the whistles was far more useful and cerebral than Tage's, and manifested itself in his off-puck positioning, puck support for teammates, and in the transition game. Tage pooped his pants everywhere always

But seriously, if Botts hits one last triple or home run, and gets us a 2C that I like...y'all will see a side of me that has never been able to post here, one that is legitimately, to the core, excited about the roster structure for the coming season Imagine my eight personality and mental disorders that contribute to my obsessive and erratic posting style being used for good (and excitement and genuine optimism)

Y'all ready for this one...getting benning his big snarly defensemen Risto + McCabe + Mittelstadt for Horvat + Boeser then some bullshi for Brodin or someone, pick on Fenton a bit Skinner - Eichel - Boeser Johansson - Horvat - Reinhart Olofsson - Rodrigues - Vesey Zemgus - Larry - KO Dahlin - Montour Brodin - Miller Bogosian - Jokiharju Pilut - Nelson

That did, but I don't think that really fits into the group of events/quotes I was talking about - just players themselves potentially being skeptical of organizational competence