mjd1001

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.

I think I fall someplace in the middle of both of your arguments. Sam has a better pedigree from his draft status, he's probably slightly more talented, and his production has been better. On the other hand, going forward Tuch has a chance to be almost as productive on the score sheet as Sam, and he actually might be a slightly better fit for this team.

I think it's a notable piece of news that players have actually said that... But I also agree with you that it's not an issue right now. By the time the sabres are looking for free agents, it should be a few years down the road.

I don't disagree with you, but I think the significance is your point could be said it would just be common sense.... But here a guy who talks to NHL players his actually come out and said that players have admitted openly that they are going to have second thoughts. It's not something that's common sense to believe it's likely, we now know that players have definitely said it for sure.

One more thing Friedman just brought up, said Buffalo should be worried about how they handled the injury situation and the fact that they wouldn't let Jack get his surgery of choice. When the question was asked to press Frieedman on that, he said that a few players have told him they would have second thoughts about playing for Buffalo because of how they treated Jack regarding the injury. He said behind the scenes the situation between Jack and the sabers was personal and nasty, more than most people know.

A little more info from Friedman on his interview... Said Calgary was very interested but it never got close to closing the deal. He doesn't believe there was any truth to Calgary willing to give up Thachuk. Sabres were more interested in Krebs than any other prospect from Calgary, and more interested in Tuch than any other roster player that was available from Calgary. Calgary definitely willing to give up a future first round pick possibly a 2nd future first, but didn't have the roster players/prospects Sabres wanted. Friedman keeps on stressing over and over how big a part of the deal and how much the Sabres really wanted Tuch.. as a very key piece and a leader of the team going forward. Said the Carolina had interest but they didn't want to give up Jarvis, and there was some concern about how Eichel would fit in with the rest of the team. Mentioned Anaheim dropped out a while ago, they may not have been comfortable with The surgery issue. Montreal was never in it, they also had concerns about whether Eichel would fit in with the team, or as Friedman put it whether he was the 'right play' for them.