mjd1001

Good. The player I am most looking forward to seeing play for the Sabres this year (yes, ahead of even Quinn and Peterka and Krebs), and probably the biggest addition to make this team better than any other 'realistic' piece they might add before the offseason.

I disagree. I thik he needs work still in the other aspects of the game besides putting up points. While it is great he is putting up goals and assists, I've followed the Roch games, watched 2 of them on AHLtv, and watched all the highlights I can find of goals for and against them. Quinn often seems to be out of position when goals are scored against Roch. A few times I have watched the highlights of goals against, and not only is he on the ice, but often times it looks like his back is turned to the play or he is just way too far out of the play for the goal against. Anyone else here actually a season ticket holder for Roch and have seen all of his games? I am not saying I am 100% correct on this, I would like someone who sees more/knows more to give an opinion on it.

That would be impressive. In the last 10 seasons (I know a couple of them being covid shortened) the Sabres have a total of 3 (Three!) 30 goal seasons by players.....In the last 10 years. Skinner had 40, Eichel had 36, and Pominville had 30. That is it. Even with how bad they have been it seems like it should be more than that.

I know enough to react to the thread you posted, that is all I need to know to put the words down on the forum that I did.

That is the problem with people like you...you are so quick to label something else as 'sad' if you don't agree with it. You know what? Some of us watch sports to be ENTERTAINED, win or loss. It isn't such a big part of our lives that we place labels on others (or their thoughts) like you just did. So basically you are wrong. It isn't a 'losers mentality' that is 'sad'. What it is..it is the mentality of a fan that can appreciate the game for more than being just the black and white of the scoreboard and nothing more....who can appreciate the 'building of a team' and enjoy it.

Thanks. That is kinda what I was looking for. We hear a lot of updates of the players in Roch obviously, but I've always been interested in Johnson.

I know a lot of people will say this is a 'losers' mentality, but if they start Dell in net and lose, but it isn't a blow-out and it is entertaining with the Sabres putting in at least 3-4 goals, I'll be OK with that. With this team I WANT them to win, but this season is not about W's and L's for me, it is about seeing progress I can be excited for and, quite simply, being entertained with goals.

I know the Sabres have a lot of holes yet, but if I'm KA, I really hope he is thinking which of these LHD prospect can he trade (maybe with something else in addition to it) to get an equal level or better RHD prospect that will fit in with this team.

This might be a tough one. Detroit is getting better. Sabres on the 2nd half of a back-to-back with travel. Detroit plays really well at home this year. I expect a loss, but hopefully will be proven wrong...and at least expect to be entertained with some Sabres goals.

Does anyone really know how Ryan Johnson is looking as far as his chances for the Sabres next year or beyond? I haven't heard/read much about him....the little I remember is some saying he could be a legit NHL D-man soon...and other times he might not even be an NHL guy. But nothing I can even remember where I saw any of that. For being a late first round pick, there is very little discussion or news about him.

It is all about expectations. There are really 2 things that make sports fans happy. First and most importantly is winning the championship. If you DON'T win the championship, then the only other thing that really matters to fans is exceeding expectations. Sure, there are some fans that want to see their favorite player do well, others want to see maybe a little of this and a little of that.....but when you break it down it really is all about (at least 95%) about either winning the title or exceeding expectations. That is the issue with being a Bills fan now. Expectations are/were so high, that anything less than going to the Superbowl (and probably winning it) is going to disappoint a lot of fans. With the Sabres, if they finish with 75-80 points and we see some un-expected development from the young guys, a lot of us will be happy.

I'm OK with 4 young C prospects for now, as long as that gets addressed in the next 2 drafts or with trades. You don't need them to 'hit' and enter their prime all at the same time, as long as you always have a potential feed coming through the system.

There are a bunch of metrics we can all throw out there as to how good they are, advanced analytics, goal differential, or simply the record. At this point though a lot of us use the 'eye test' and try to mesh it with what we previously believed, or want to believe. My 'eye test' tells me this isn't quite 'good', but I will be interested to see how they are when Mitts, Joku, Olofsson, and Tuch are playing, along with hopefully some of the young guys being better. So are they 'good' now? Not yet. They are better so far than Arizona, Ottawa, Montreal and Chicago. To me that lumps them in middle-to-bottom tier or teams with Detroit, Columbus, Anaheim, New Jersey, and maybe Seattle and Vancouver. If everything goes well the rest of the year (the injured players get back and there are no other major long term injuries to key pieces) this could be a 80-85 point team....but right now I'd bet on that point total being in the upper 70's. I'm OK with that, actually happy with that for this year. What I want is for this team to compete for 80 points WHILE keeping the kids who are in Rochester down in Rochester. Next year, with some of them elevated to the Sabres and hopefully a good #1 goalie, I want them to compete for the playoffs next year.

A) Not likely, only if the young guys on this roster go though a LOT of in season development and there are major injuries to teams above them in the standings. It isn't a zero percent chance, but I'd say that happening and this team being in a playoff race down tot he last week are in the 20-1 odds range. B) Other than getting that 3-4 game (1-2 week) taste of the NHL later in the year, I see no reason for them to be called up, even if some think they are slightly better than players on the current roster.

I am thinking there are going to be a lot of ups and downs with the prospects in Rochester. As others have said, I'm all for keeping them down there the entire year, even if the big club 'needs' a little extra scoring. Although, toward the end of the season, I would like to see all of the prospects get a week/3 games with the big club. Even if they go back to Rochester, it can be a late season 'reminder' of the difference in competition between the AHL and the NHL and a reminder also of the things they need to keep working on.

It will be interesting to see the Arena full (or close to it) if that is true. When was the last time we had a full arena for a game....1.5 years ago? almost 2 years ago?

I had a big problem with buffering the first few games of the season on ESPN plus, but today has been fine. I am watching it on Hulu though, Not ESPN plus. I'm not sure if it should make a difference but when I watch the games on Hulu I have zero buffering or stuttering....but I have major problems on ESPN plus.

Players with a ton of speed are just more fun to watch.

Did Rick D just say a lot of people say he is the most talented player in the history of the NHL. Now THAT would be a discussion. I'd say Mario Lemieux would want to have a few words regarding 'most talented' before you just give it to McDavid.

Its really hard to see, but I don't think it was a goal.

I'm not saying the 'tank' went well or I want to go through that again....what I am saying is being stuck 'in the middle' as a bubble team every year was pretty awful also. So maybe 'a tank' is not the way to go...but how about when you get to be the bubble team year after year...you commit to a rebuild? or a 'teardown'? I would just want something done to 'retool' instead of just being stuck in the middle every year.

I disagree with #3. That 'bubble team' that you think will never get that far is awful. To me being a fans is about 2 things (besides winning the cup at all costs). 1. Thinking there is a CHANCE in the next 5 years you may compete/win the cup. 2. Exceeding expectations, no matter how low they are. With being that bubble team, I didn't really get either of those so it was like I was stuck in the gravitational pull of a black hole, slowly just orbiting around the center with no hopes of escaping it.

On a somewhat (but not really) related thought... I remember when the Sabres drafted Sam, the thought among many people was we got the 'wrong Sam' (Bennet) That quickly went away with Bennet seemingly a bust...he struggled to even get into double digit goals most of his seasons, and the narrative was he had to carve out a 'niche' to his game to stick in the NHL (the good skating pest with an occasional ability to score) Well, I just looked at Bennet with Florida (as they now have both Sams) and, while it is a small sample size, he seems to be turning it around. Since he was traded to Florida, he has 10 goals in 18 games....22 points in those 18 games...He is one of their top Penalty Killers...he has as much PP ice time as the other Sam (Reinhart), and they are giving him more overall ice time.

This thread is dumb without a poll.

They don't produce at the SAME rate, but I think you can say their production is indeed similar: Since the start of their career, per 82 games: Sam: 24.0 goals, 29.5 assists Tuch: 19.6 goals, 25.0 assists That is just per game played. Tuch did his with less ice time and a LOT less PP time: Per 60 minutes: Sam: 0.73 goals per 60, 1.69 points per 60 Tuch 0.76 gals per 60, 1.83 pionts per 60. In terms of their production, per 60 is the purest measure how how someone produces per time on ice...and Tuch is actually slightly better than Sam (but similar) Over 34% of Sams goals were on the PP. Only 19.6% of Tuch's were. The primary reason is Tuch got about 50% less PP time than Sam. But back out those numbers....Tuch is actually a more productive scorer even strength than Sam...and with more PP time his PP goal totals would likely go up. Even Strength Sam produced .193 goals per game even strenth. Tuch produced .196. And Tuch did it with less minutes per game. Even Strength goals per 60: Sam .642, Tuch .741 Overall I think it is totally fair to say they produced at a similar rate. I many aspects (most actually other than on the Power play), Tuch can be said to produce at a slightly higher rate than Sam.