mjd1001

How is it possible that BOTH Buffalo teams are not only not in the playoffs for years....but SO soul-draining and un-fun to watch. At least most of us had hope and something to look forward to with last years Sabres....I guess you can say this team is still young....but in no way, shape, or form do I feel better after watching most Sabres or Bills games. As a Buffalo sports fan, ALL I wanted was for the Sabres to not take a step back, but they did.

I don't want to trade either. However, I WOULD trade EITHER If it looks like one of them can't be resigned to a long term extension OR that long term extension is going to be VERY expensive compared to what they give you (Like if Reinhart insists on getting within $1 of McDavid/Eichel Money, or if Kane is looking to be paid 'top 20' money (he's top 50-60 MAYBE, not top 20 at all)

If I have to choose, I"d say keep Larsson. Despite the higher drafted position, Larrson has shown to me to be the better overall hockey player. He has been trusted to be the 'go to' guy to check the other teams top line. In the past calendar year...he has been the center of the line that...while not the most talented, has LOOKED to be the best line on the ice at times (Larrson, Gionta, and Foligno), and over the last 2 years (since tanking has ended and winning has been the goal) has 16 goals in 110 games (12 goals per 82). Girgensons hasn't shown at all to be a guy who can center a 3rd or 4th line with the job of shutting down the opponents top line...and over the past 2 years (since the 'tank' ended) he has 14 goals in 143 games (much worse than Larssons) With Larsson, you get more offense (its not a lot, but indeed more) and a player that can be trusted a lot more in defensive situations (something that both of them are likely to need to do)

With a tight race for the scoring title, it appears Crosby and Pittsburgh are going 'all out' to get him that title. His ice time for most of the season was averaging between 19 and 20 minutes per game. But recently (the last 10 games) he is averaging almost 22 minutes per game. For a forward, getting 3 extra minutes of ice time per game is quite a jump. Of course, maybe that is because Malkin has been dealing with some injuries...but I don't remember Crosby getting as much of a jump in ice time at the end of the year in the past as he is now.

I agree that Girgensons is younger, bigger, faster, etc....But when I actually watch both of them play, and focus on them individually, i almost always think Larsson plays better. I wouldn't be so quick to choose Girgensons over him.

As of this moment, this seasons basic stats projected over a full 82 games: Matthews, 37 goals, 29 assists over 82 games... Eichel, 33 goals, 46 assists... McDavid, 28 goals, 65 assists, Laine, 42 goals, 35 assists

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't Horseheads and Big Flats like 5-10 miles from Elmira...like 10 minutes on the highway? I'm asking this seriously, why wouldn't the entire area (within 20 miles of Elmira) support that team...just because its in Elmira?

-Hockey doesn't need fighting. I know, I know...when there is a fight in a game I watch it....but I have seen a lot of games where there were no fights and I thoroughly enjoyed the games.

I too wonder how they stay in business. I looked up the Jackals attendance...from 2007 - about 2012, they were averaging close to 3500 people per game. From 2012-2016, that dropped to about 2500-2600 per game, and this year they are down to about 2200 per game. It isn't just the attendance, as the tickets sold drops and revenue from that goes down...so does concession and advertising revenue. Can that cover the cost of the Arena (workers, insurance, maintenance, ice prep and maintenance, etc.) It doesn't seem like it. Of couse, the NHL could subsidize these operations as part of the cost of needing a minor league...but it would seem they would do that for the AHL teams, a lower level minor league team might not be needed as much. Remember, it wasn't too long ago (maybe 10 years or so?) that the Sabres didn't even have a full AHL team..but shared the Amerks roster with Florida.

For me its very simple. If you can resign him to a long term extension for what he is worth (I'm not saying low-ball him, but pay him honestly what other players his age and ability are), then keep him. If you can't sign him though, or if he wants to 'set the market' by asking to be the highest paid player of his ability...then I'd hope he gets traded in the offseason. I want to keep him and I DON'T need a bargain...I just CAN'T have him overpaid.

Just for fun, as of today I was looking at the points per game of those top players. Basically, 'project' out to a full 82 game season based on where we are today and this is what you get: Matthews, 40 goals, 31 assists 71 points Eichel, 29 goals, 48 assists 77 points McDavis 27 goals, 65 assists 92 points Laine 45 goals, 36 assists 81 points Laine impresses me the most...I know he is a winger, but I value goals more than assists (I always thought the NHL should publish a points 'system' where you get 3 points for a goal, 2 points for a primary assist, and one point for a secondary assist....so the ammount of 'points' given out on a scoring play isn't twice as many for assists as it is for a goal) Would Eichel be any better if the team played differnetly? Or without the injury earlier in the year...would his numbers be even better on a points-per-game basis due to lingering effects?

I'm pretty sure Peters started off the show today with an apology..and stated that there is no place for fighting in Youth Hockey....but yet he claims 100% there is a place for it in the NHL.....what level (where is the line) where it goes from not having a place to having one?

I don't understand the how complex the systems are in the NHL, so I have no idea how that can have an impact on a particular players scoring race. So how would Eichel be doing if he were in Matthews place on the Leafs? or in Edmonton? I'm not sure. I do think it is interesting to look at the last 3 NHL drafts (since the Sabres full 'tank' started). They of course finished last in 2 of those 3 years. Look at the Top 2 players taken in those last 3 drafts: Ekblad, Reinhart, McDavid, Eichel, Matthews, Laine. Some may make an argument that if you ranked those 6 players in terms of how good they are/how much they have accomplished so far...that the Sabres got the #5 and #6 players of the group. I'm still glad they have them, but I hope Eichel stops being a very good player and becomes a top-5 superstar soon.

I was talking to my wife about this story this morning...and she said the same thing about the name of the WGR show. She isn't really a hockey fan, only watches a few minutes a year of games and goes to one with me every few years....but she wanted to know why they chose that name for the show for the reason you mentioned.

As far as owners meddling..... I love what the Pegulas are doing for the city and area. They seem to be putting a lot of money into the teams and Buffalo. Regardless of how the Bills/Sabres do, it would seem the area is better to live in because of what they are building/doing with downtown. HOWEVER, as of right now I do not think they are good owners. I don't know 95% of what is going on with the teams, what is being said in meetings, the exact long term plan, etc (as is the same for most fans), but from what can see, it just seem as if they don't have everything together as far as being successful/winning pro sports owners.

If what he is saying is true (and I have just as much reason to think that it is true rather than it isn't), then I'd like to know who the biggest offenders are. If getting out of the D-Zone is a big issue, that may fall on the D-men as much as the forwards. Would that be someone not following the system? or just a lack of talent? All of this may just be that this team isn't good enough yet. Maybe a larger purge of the roster is due in the offseason than we think. Here is the funny thing...this team seems to play a LOT better vs the top teams in the league than against everyone else. My numbers might be wrong (I just took 3-5 minutes and added it up in my head) but this is what I came up with: Vs Top teams with winning records: 11 wins in 20 games (Minny, Washington, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Rangers, Sharks Black Hawks, Sens, Canadians, Oilers) Vs Everyone else 12 wins, 24 losses

Many of us on here get excited after a big win and start thinking of what they have to do to make the playoffs, and when they lose most of us are looking at how close to last place this team is. Bottom line is this team is what its record is. For the season they are a below average/non playoff team. Not the worst, but not good. Even bad teams have good days, and this appears to be about an 80-85 point team.

I think approaching him and asking what he wants is the first step. If he wants to go to another team for a shot in the playoffs, try to make that happen, but don't give him away. If you can pull a decent prospect for him...or maybe trade him and a 4th and get a 2nd back then go for it. As for his future: He is playing well now, but when players get older you just don't know when they will hit that way. I'd be fine with having him back next year...but ONLY on a 1 year deal. If he wants to keep playing and he is still playing well, from this point on he is a year-to-year contract guy. If someone else wants to give him 2 to 3 years...then let them do it. If he IS back, I'm fine with him being captain. If O'Reilly eventually is the captain, I don't think waiting one more year will hurt his feelings. As for Eichel...1, 2, or maybe 3 more years before he gets the C won't hurt him either.

And outshot 70 to 32 in the last 5 periods.

I'm not sure the lack of #1 overall picks is the problem. I think they need(ed) another 1 or 2 additional top 5 picks in the last 2-3 years.

I saw Rogue one last week. I thought it was a very good movie, by far better than last years effort "the Force Awakens" The force Awakens felt fake to me, felt like they were shoving Jedi Powers down my throat, and had too much stuff that just 'didn't make sense'. While Rogue one (as a science fiction movie) has a lot of the plot that isn't feasible in the real world, I felt drawn into it a lot more than the Force Awakens.

Since he has been with the Sabres, Lehner has been in 5 shootouts in just over a year and a third. He is 0-5. He has faced 12 skaters and allowed 10 goals. You would hope your goalie could win half of them. With Lehner not winning any of them, he is costing you 3, maybe 4 points over the course of a year. Does his overall play make up for that? BTW, the league average save % in shootouts over the last 2 years is close to 70%. Lehner is at 17% Over the last couple of years, Anders Lindback is at 78%. Of course if the Sabres make the playoffs, you don't have to worry about this. You just hope Lehner doesn't cost them enough points to have them fail to make the playoffs. Maybe it is some kind of mental block for Lenher since coming to the Sabres. Before his Sabre career, he wasn't that bad. He stopped 34 of 54 for a .630 save percentage. For comparisons sake, over the last 5 years (4 1/3 seasons) the best in the League in shootouts include: Martin Jones .861, Jhonas Enroth .844, Scott Darling .833, Andrei Vasilesky .833. Ryan Miller isn't too far away at .755.

I'm happy with how Gionta is playing this year, but I don't think I want him back next year. MAYBE If one of the Sabres top 9 guys gets an injury this year that will take it into next year...AND you can get Gionta on a 1 year deal for under $2 million, then MAYBE. But, as well as he is playing, he is NOT going to be a better player next year and he is likely to be losing a little bit as each month goes by. I'd like to revisit this thread in March or April and see how he is playing then.

I really don't know where to go with Reinhart. He looks very limited on the ice. He isn't fast, doesn't play with great size....while OK with the puck he isn't a wizard stickhandling...and isn't steller defensively also. Basically, for a #2 overall pick I don't see him being anywhere close to dominant or ever being able to take over a game on any level. Does that mean he is bad? Of course not, it just looks like the Sabres drafted Reinhart at #2 in a year...when in most other years he might be a #5-#10 guy...and his lack of speed makes it worse with the way the NHL is going. The on the other hand...are we expecting too much production too soon? Taylor Hall has never scored 30. Ryan Johansen took 3 years to be productive. Huberdea has topped out in his career at 20 goals. Galchenyuk looks great the last 2 seaons, but it took him 4 years to hit 30. So I'm not sure how I feel about Reinhart yet. Are we expecting too much of him? Or is he just a guy that is not going to be able to ever take over any kind of game against anyone?

I will agree that this team is boring. I'm not a huge fight guy, and I'm OK with less fighting as long as we get goals and end to end action. But this team doesn't give us any of that. Not an excess of on-ice toughness. Not a really fast, end-to-end team, and of course, very few goals..even goals around the net. I'm not sure how much of a problem Bylsma is though. I don't think you are going to do much better...and I'm almost not looking for a 'better' coach, but rather a 'more exciting' coach. The thing is, I'm just not sure how good this team is. I think this team is below average now, and at best in the next 1-2 years will be slightly above average. -Goaltending is OK, not great, but OK. The save % numbers look good but that is actually a product of Bylsma having a pretty good D system, giving up shots but not a huge amount of quality ones. -D is OK also, but not great. Risto is a very good D-man, but I don't see him as a Norris trophy guy at all, just a top 15 to 20 guy (which is fine). Bogo I think is underrated by many on this forum, but he is overpayed for what he is (a good #2 or #3 guy who is not realiable/always injured). McCabe looks to be a good 2nd paring guy eventually. The best hope for this D-Core is that Guhle keeps getting better and he eventually becomes a near equal of Risto. -Forwards? All over the place here and I'm not sure how a coach (Any coach, Bylsma or anyone) can get this unit to mesh together. O'Reilly is a great system guy and works well in Bylsmas system. Eichel is great (but not maybe as great as we hope, right now he isn't a 'quarter step' behind McDavid, he is maybe 1-2 steps behind.) Girgensons and Ennis look 100% out of place in Bylsmas system. Okposo looks good in his system. Kane? I have no idea how to play him. The issue with the forward group is...half of them look to be great fits for Bylsmas system...half are awful at it. If you change coaches....you may get the second half on board with a different system, but will lose part of the first half. The talent isn't an issue with the forwards, its just a lot of them don't mesh well together. Oh, and it looks like Reinhart would be a top 20-30 forward in the NHL of 2010-2015...but as the game is speeding up...maybe now he is only a top 100.