mjd1001
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Posts posted by mjd1001
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So, they have a full week and a half off to get healthy......
Come back and play 2 home games (with a few days rest in between)...
Against 2 teams that are 'average' at allowing goals.....
Put up almost 80 shots between those 2 games....
and score a total of 2 goals. Exciting hockey we have here.
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6 hours ago, Scottysabres said:
As of now the Thompson, Cozens, Power contracts look like disasters for the future. That can always change given their ages of course. But as it stands right now, in this moment, the Buffalo Sabres are just straight up a farm team for the rest of the league. I mean, even their coach is a "development specialist", they've put 0 effort in to special teams coach's (pk and pp) and honestly they appear to lack any motivation what so ever to seriously bring a winning product to the Buffalo market. Just my view of the situation given the past 13 seasons is all.
I mostly (but not totally) disagree with that.
Thompson is having a down year compared to the last couple, but even now he is scoring at a 30 goal pace. Paying him $7m per year is about what a consisitent 30 goal scorer should get (maybe even more), but he has almost 3 seasons worth of games showing that is a floor, with a ceiling higher than that. I have no problem with his contract. Thompson also my not be 'good' in the defensive zone, but he isn't someone that causes problems (like Cozens) so I don't hold that against him.
Cozens, as many now on this board I RIGHT NOW do not like his contract. He has one year of scoring 30 (due to a high shooting percentage that year) and every other year (including this year), over 160 games played, shows he is more like a 8% shooting percentage guy, NOT a 15% guy like last year. Even if you figure he might be a 10% guy, that translates to 18-22 goals per year for him. Add that to the fact he is BAD in his own zone (not for lack of effort, but for simple hockey sense), and if he doesn't put up 30 goals per year for you, it is a bad contract.
Power? I have posted many times on here last year that I thought he was "OK" last year but not as good as everyone thought. This year him playing, at times bad, doesn't surprise me. But, I do think that most D-men don't hit their stride, until they have 3000-400 games played. Power I think is not good now, but I think he WILL be good, it is just going to take another year or two.
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I like Mitts, I want to see him here long term. BUT if he is looking for a big contract ($7-$8m per season), I'm going to at least entertain shopping him.
Again, he's good, but he's a 15-20 goal scorer, 60-70 point guy. Certainly that isn't nothing, but lets not make it out that right now he is an all-star in waiting. Best 2-way forward? That may be true, but being the best 2-way forward on this team isn't saying much (he can be one of the best, or THE best and still not be good). So again, If they annoucned they signed him to an extension tomorrow I'd be happy. But if he is looking for a big time payday, I don't thik he is that 'big time' of a player and I would at least LISTEN to offers or do some light shopping. He is RESTRICTED this offseason, no need to give him 7 years for $50+ million. The Sabres control this situation, make the best decision based on all information. "All information" probably means shopping him around and seeing what his value is.
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39 minutes ago, inkman said:
The afternoon games are making it easier and easier to forget about the Sabres. I can’t just throw away an entire Saturday or Sunday because the Sabres play at 12 or 1. I got a kid who has ***** to do on the weekends. I’m really at a loss. It’s a long term relationship where I keep waiting for my spouse to get better, make changes, do something different. But it’s just the same ol crappy thing.
The opposite is true with me. My wife works during the day, even Saturdays. I have all the free time in the world on Saturday afternoons (and Sundays) and love those games. Its the weekday games that are a bit tougher. I manage to watch most of them, but not all, because she gets done with work usually at 6pm-6:30, and then it's 'lets watch a show or movie together' on weekdays at that time. The weekend afternoon games I love though.
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Yeah, no one is untouchable. That doesn't mean I want to shop them around but every single player you listen to offers if someone makes one, and every single player/offer is dealt with on an individual basis. You have a young guy with a lot of potential, who is ahead of the curve already? Don't look to trade him, but if you get a great offer, you listen. No untouchables.
My opinion is Dahlin has potential to be a top 10 player in the league in the next few years despite him not playing well right now, I LOVE what Peterka is doing now (lets not confuse with with Pastrnak though), Tuch is playing better likely though injuries and he may be one of the top 10 forcheckers in the entire league, plus he's a local guy......but, someone calls on any of them and I'm still listening to offers.
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Some of the late 1990's teams I wasn't a fan of. Actually, I liked wathing Hasek, but the rest of the team was terrible to watch for me. Plante, Audette, Holzinger, Audette, Dawe, Grosek...Galley, Wilson, Huddy on defense. I had zero connection to that team. Watching them was praying for one or two of them to score and then just watching (enjoying I guess??) Hasek hold on. They had some good years becuase of Hasek, but I did not really like the players on the Ted Nolan era teams.
Some people are mentioning teams from the 80's. I liked watching those teams. Maybe its because I was a real little kid and winning and losing didn't matter as much, but watching Housley play, Foligno, Andreychuk, Turgeon, even Lindy in his playing days, Mike Ramsey was one of my favoite players ever...Again, they may have had some bad years but I LIKED those teams.
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Yeah I have. Its hockey, even a bad game I like to have it on the TV while I do other things around the house. If its a good game they are winning, I'm glued to the TV. So yeah.
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45 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:
Oh Muel, why can't you just stay healthy?
So far his contract hasn't been working out, but the good news is he's locked in at a rate that will only look better as time goes on and the cap rises.
I was fine with the contract at the time of its signing; felt it was a little rich but a livable deal nonetheless. So far its been an abject disaster due to Muel being made of glass. However, he has shown signs in the past of being a solid defensive defenseman and perhaps this surgery will fix whatever has ailed him this year and we can look to a better Muel in the future.
I'm there with you. A young guy who is VERY injury prone but has had very good stretches of play (especially for his age) even though it isn't all the time.
He's at about 5% of the cap now. He won't be even hitting his prime until close to the end of his deal (D-men usually continue to get better through their late 20's and even early 30's) Unless he is 100% totally shot and useless because of injuries....even a somewhat 'injury prone' guy who is likely to get better with experience might be well worth it at the number that will soon be UNDER 5% of the cap.
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This may hurt the most on the Penalty kill unit. Only EJ had more ice time on the entire team on the PK (and who knows if he will finish the season here)
Sabres PK is at its best with the tall/big guys with the long reach out there, so they can cover as many of the shooting/passing lanes as possible without getting out of position. Who takes those minutes on the PK? Clifton I guess, but I'd rather have Samuelsson out there on the PK than Clifton? Power? Nope, don't want him on the PK at all right now, he needs his minutes even strength.
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19 hours ago, bunomatic said:
I’ve lost faith in KA. I suppose you could throw Donny G into that as well although this is more about the GM. Not sure he feels any pressure to get better. Seems content to wait for inner growth which may or may not come. Lots could have been accomplished this past offseason by simply throwing out the mantra of not blocking the youth and bringing in one or two vets to help get the kids through their growing pains. I’m positive the playoffs never entered his mind until he was questioned about expectations. If he truly believed this team was ready he might have done more. Big fail in my estimation.
This week off is tough, we are running out of things to talk about...but with regard to what you said:
-I am half way there with you on KA. I think he believes 'patience' is the right way to go. However, this D-group is just too young. They NEED a very very good veteran who can take top 4 minutes. They also could/should have got a legit guy in here who is a great 4th liner or decent 3rd liner who specializes in the Penalty Kill....NOT because the PK is awful but rather so you can put that guy and Greenway on the PK and don't let Cozens, Thompson, or Tuch to see the PK every again (Thompson and Tuch because they are getting close to that 'made of glass' in terms of injuries and I don't want their offensive skills wasted out there, and Cozens because he is just dreadfully awful at anything in his own zone.)
-Granato, I'm not terribly upset with him either. I think the biggest issue with his is his assistant coaches and the development staff. He needs better people around him. Now, I have been saying for the last 1-2 years that the Forwards on this team are awful in their own end, and that might be the single biggest problem on this entire team. If, IF someone can prove to me that the style of play (and total lack of organization) the forwards display in their own end is a RESULT of a system he WANTS, then I'll be with all of you who want to get rid of him.
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You listen to offers for your current players, but you don't force a move just to make one.
You listen to who is out there and available, if a fit exists make a move, but again, don't overplay just to make a move.
Some people want to hold onto everyone just because they over-value what they know/are used to.....others want to make moves for the sake of moves because "something needs to change" or "you need to put fear into these guys". I think both of those are extreme reactions. Every move, every non-move, every potential move, should be made on a case-by-case basis analysis.
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4 minutes ago, Buffalo Super Fan said:
Every player should be on the table for trading there are no untouchable Buffalo Sabres players.
Every player. Zero untouchables. Its all in the matter of what you get for them.
Is McDavid untouchable to Edmonton? By most definitions yes, but you never say anyone is untouchable. Give Edmonton McKinnon, a futre first, and Makar, and guess what, McDavid isn't so untouchable anymore. Now is that realistic? No, but the point is, you never declare anyone untouchable, you listen to offers for every single player in your orgainzation. You can always say "no" after the offer is made, no reason to think you are not going to listen to anything.
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GOAT
Rarely used on any Buffalo player/team, but I was tired of it the second time I heard it.
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My complaint for today....every once in a while early in the week I see/hear something that bothers me and I think, THAT is what I am going to put in the "complaint Thursday thread", but then it doesn't get unlocked that week.
Then the weeks it DOES get unlocked, I often don't have much to say or got over the thing I wanted to comlplain about the week it wasnt' unlocked.
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4 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:
A 24-year-old woman initially filed a lawsuit against Hockey Canada - which manages programmes and teams in the country from entry-level all the way to world championships and the Olympic Games - alleging that she had been assaulted by eight players on Canada's World Junior team in a hotel room that night.
I have been trying to follow this case on social media, message boards, twitter, etc. I've already started to see too many "its not big dea" and "Its boys being boys" responses to this.
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We elect a presiden in this country that is under 70 years old again.
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I know the AHL has their own streaming package, but I really wish there was a way we could get the Amerks games on MSG or some other local station.
It may not be 'appointment' TV for me, but there are many nights where I just want something on the TV what I can 'kinda watch' while doing other stuff around the house, on the computer, etc. Amerks games would fit the bill for that.
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16 hours ago, FrenchConnection44 said:
This is great stuff. And I agree. We don’t have super fast skaters. As the old adage goes, speed kills. We really do need to add speed to the lineup. Drafting speed at this point is not a fix given how long it takes for a prospect to develop and get to the NHL level, let alone whether he will pan out.
And in conjunction with that, we need better skaters. Losing Quinn all this year hurts to some degree.
But with respect to our recent draft choices, both Benson and Power need to learn to skate better and improve their speed significantly. Power is not a great skater nor that fast - but for his size he should be able to make up ground. We should have in place a strong skating development coach and program. But, of course, Pegula has no ingenuity in that regard.
I agree on Power. EVERYONE can be a great skater, but on D you don't need blazing speed unless you are a special talent that goes end-to-end like Paul Coffee used to (or to a certain extent, Housley for the Sabres). The forwards though, it would be nice to have a couple guys that have the abilty to blow past defenders on a regular basis. I think Tuch and Zemgus are the only 2 that have the ability to do that, but they don't even do it that often.
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24 minutes ago, Two or less said:
Here is what i was going by-
So we are looking at the same data and just weighing it differently. When someone says "one of the slowest in the league", I think there are 2 metrics 2 use. Overall top speed, he is near the middle of the leage. In speed bursts, he is toward the bottom but not on the bottom. I kinda average them together...and I 'average' Bad speed burts (but not in the bottom 10%) with 'middling' top speed...and I get a combined 'below average', not 'one of the slowest in the league'.
I respect your point, however.....that how OFTEN a player uses their speed might be more important that overall top speed.
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So if everything goes correct and he is able to play after 8 weeks, he'll be around for maybe the last 8-10 games of the year.
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12 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:
Good news is that he will have a full offseason to prepare for next season
bad luck with injuries for the kid. I still have no doubt he is a "core" player for the Sabres
hoping to see Kulich, been in a scoring slump since the WJC but rather see him than #71
I'm almost there with you on this, and I wasn't before. He had a 'decent' and 'encouraging' rookie year. That was after he played great at the end of his stint in Rochester. Got hurt, came back off of a tough injury and immediately showed progress from last year...in a very small sample size playing at about a 25 goal, 60 point pace with 3rd line minutes. That may not be enough to PROVE he is or should be a core player....but very little has been show to say he shouldn't.
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1 hour ago, Two or less said:
A player that refuses to play any kind of defense and one of the slowest players in the league who is one dimensional. I know Reinhart, Eichel and Montour caught fire after leaving but don’t think that will apply to our entire roster, essp Vic.
I'm not saying he is going to be worth much on the open market, but one of the slowest players in the league is just not true.
The NHL edge tracking site is up and there are two ways to measure him (or anyone else), I brought this up in another thread:
-In terms of 'pure speed' top speed hit, he is middle-of-the-pack on the Sabres. Top speed not even close to Tuch or Zemgus (the top 2 on the team), but better/faster than Benson, Okposo, Greenway, Quinn, and most of the D-men.
-In terms of how fast he PLAYS, they have a metric that measures that also, how many times/how often a player has 'speed burts' where they go over 20mph for a few seconds. Not just top speed, but how many times they use their speed. VO Isn't good, he is 'below average' on the team, but not at the bottom.
So in terms of pure skating speed, he is average on this team. In terms of how often he 'skates fast', below average but not at the bottom of the leage. Put those 2 things together and you get an "OK" or "slightly below average" guy in terms of speed, but no where near one of the slowest in the league.
He has some problems and holes in his game. Lack of high end speed or 'fast play' is one of them, but its no where near being close to the bottom of the team, or the league.
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1 hour ago, Taro T said:
Love Johnson, and he'll likely be a fixture in the top 4 LT. But, can we PLEASE stop projecting 2nd year D into major roles? Let him be 1/2 of the 3rd pairing next year and look like an absolute stud rather than force him higher into the lineup than he's likely ready for.
Plus, it would be really a nice change to give Power a partner that can help cover his young D-man mistakes rather than the other way round. These kids have to cover for F mistakes often enough; cut them some slack.
Agree on your main point.
I am not as down on Dahlin as many are right now. I think Jokiharju is actually "OK" . Power is having a rough/bad year, but he isn't a total trainwreck. R. Johnson looks encouraging if you DON'T rush him. Samuelsson is having a down year also, but hes overall good. I think the D-group is better than most think because they often look bad because of mistakes the forwards making putting the D in no win situations. HOWEVER, they are very, very young and inexperienced. The Sabres have no one in their 'top 4' in terms of minutes that is over 24, and they average 23 years of age. I put in another thread that most of the top teams in the league have their top 4 d-men average 27, 28, even 30 years old.
This D may be good, great eventually, but they simply do not have enough experience to have all of the top minutes between all of them. I'm actually happy with R. Johson getting reduced minutes, I woud LOVE for power to get 5 less minutes per game...if you can bring in a legit, experienced vet that is good enough to plug into the top 4.
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3 hours ago, Marvin said:
If the conspiracy theory that the NFL wants the Chiefs in the Super Bowl because of Taylor Swift is true, how should the Bills work to acquire him?
Hot off the presses today:
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Forwards going to/crashing the net
in The Aud Club
Posted · Edited by mjd1001
Who in this forward group "goes to the net"?
The only way I know of to track that is to look at one of the charts of each player, where they take the shots from, and which ones are taken from the 'front of the net'.
I looked at the charts of each player up to today, and wanted to see which player takes the greatest percentage of their shots from the "high danger" area. (Basically form a triangle from each goal post to the faceoff dots, then draw a line connecting the faceoff dots, and seeing what percentage of thier shots are taken from that 'in close/in front of the net' area)
So maybe some guys are better from the wings and are told not to go to the net. But, to see who actually DOES to to that 5-7 foot 'tough' area in front of the net and see how often they get shots off, here goes:
Benson 47.5%
Girgensons 42%
Skinner 32%
Tuch 30.5%
Okposo 30%
Cozens 29% (last year he was at 33%)
Mitts 27%
Peterka 24.6%
Thompson 24% (Last year he was at 30%)
Greenway 24%
Quinn 21.6%
VO 19.6%
Krebs 18.4%
I got the data from: https://edge.nhl.com/en/skater/20232024-regular-8477949