mjd1001

Anyone here playing close attention to Philly? If so, how are they playing so well? I thought of them as an average to below average team, so what am I missing? I just looked closely at the standings, and they are only 1 point away from leading the division, 9 points up on the last wildcard spot, and have won something like 11 of the last 12 or 13 games. Provorov is only 21 year old, but he is leading the team in ice time, is he really that good of a player?

With Risto, Nelson, Scandella, McCabe, Guhle, a HEALTHY Bogo (wishfull thinking), Antipin, and Beauleau....I think this D-core won't be a liability anymore. Great? nope, but I think you can get by with them and be a good team with that group providing you have quality up front. Of course, It would be great to have an top-notch D-core, and on paper I thought those guys could be one...but after watching many of them for a few year....slightly above average is probably their ceiling, and I'm not too upset with that. Just get Risto's minute down, have 2 of the 3 of McCabe, Scandella, or Bogo be fully healthy, and they'll be OK.

I want my 'complete' players who are getting paid as much to score 15-20 even strength goals per year... and to not be overrated in the D-zone. O'Reilly is good defensively, but I have seen with my own eyes too many goals scored where he could have stopped them by back-checking a bit harder (he was 1-2 strides behind the eventual goal-scorer.) and YES, I have posted to these forums the very games where that has occurred. Is being 1-2 steps away in that case another symptom of a lack of speed? I'm not saying O'Reilly is bad...but to say he is not to be questioned is terrible. You can't argue with the facts that he DOESN'T make it to where he should be in the D-zone and it results in goals...or that over MANY YEARS he is just not a good scorer 5-on-5. Sure, I want him to get more minutes on the penalty kill than any other center..and to be out there on the PP as well, but he is nothing more than an average player 5 on 5...the numbers prove that...and the eye test shows us he isn't the Selke award winner a lot of people want to think he is. Just as many on this board are tired of hearing about 'speed', I think it is just as crazy to not question O'Reilly as being a great player worth $7.5 per season.

I don't think the lack of speed with them CAN be understated. Slower players have more trouble transitioning through the neutral zone..they simply have trouble getting enough speed up to get separation from defenders when carrying the puck. Their numbers show this....when the puck is set up in the offensive end (on the powerplay), they are fine...but their lack of speed shows terribly in 5 on 5. Look at the past 2 seasons and compare the sables 'fast' forwards (Kane and Eichel) vs the slow ones (Okposo, O'Reilly, and Reinhart). Kane and Eichel have 92 goals, 72 are at even strengt (78%). The other 3 players have a total of 99 goals, 53 at even strength (54%). 24% more at even strength is a BIG difference. Or put another way, how many even strength goals do those players project to have per 82 games? Eichel: 23.5 Kane: 24.5 O'Reilly: 11 Okposo: 12.5 Reinhart: 9 I want all 3 on the Power play, and I want O'Reily taking important D-zone faceoffs...but other than that..those are NOT guys I want getting a ton of ice time 5-on-5. But you are paying them like you want them to get more 5-on-5 ice time than just about anyone else. In todays NHL, speed DOES matter, more than it did even 3-4 years ago. Sure, powerplay goals still DO count, but the slower players on this roster rely on the PP for more than half of their production. That is a fundamental flaw that is not easily changed on this team by "Filling in around them".

I like that everything and everyone isn't 100% doom and gloom around here, we need a balance....but...I still don't see the core of this team as being very good. The fundamental flaws are just too much to overcome without major changes: -Assuming Reinhart is here next year...3 of your top 6 (in reality and probably in terms of payroll) up front are not just slow..but very slow. The NHL has changed to a skating, transition league. Okposo, O'Reilly, and Reinhart...with them as 3 of your top 6, you can't be a fast team...only hope to be an average skating team overall. -Tied in to my above point...O'Reilly and Okposo are hard to move or can't be moved, and the money you have tied up in the is a LOT for what you are getting. -You need to hit on 3 or more of your prospects into becoming stars. By a 'star' I am talking a consistent 25-30 goal scorer up front or a D-man as good as (or better) than Risto. Mittelstadt, Pu, Asplund, Baptiste, Nylander, Guhle, Borgen...are we getting 3 "stars" out of that group...and another 2-3 above average players? Maybe they will be better soon...and that will be good...and maybe I'm just negative because I don't just want a "very good" team...I want a "Very good" team that is also one of the fastest and highest scoring in the league...and THAT is what I don't see. Okposo and O'Reilly and Reinhart may be better players than I make them out to be...but to be honest, I'm not a guy who is into the subtle aspects of play...who appreciates board work and positioning. I am just slightly above a casual fan and I want to see blazing skaters blow by D-Men and end to end action....not so much sound positional hockey.

Okposo and O'Reilly signings were mistakes. O'Reilly can still be decent, but a player as slow as him who produces what he does at even strength is no where near what he is signed for, and for a long time. Okposo is simply overpayed for what he is now..and he isn't getting any younger or faster. As far as this entire trade goes...I'm slightly disappointed with the return, but not in a big way. What did we want..a guaranteed 1st round pick that was going to be 20+? What does that turn out to be. Sure, its better than a 2nd, but It likely isn't going to be a great player. I looked back at the last 10-12 drafts (I think I stopped when I got to 2007), and there were a total of 4 players taken after pick 20 in the first round that turned into all-stars...and they were the 1-time all star players, not league superstars. The Sabres need more cracks at the top players so they can have a few that turn into something, but i'm not going to lose sleep over not getting a lot more for Kane.

Hes someplace in the middle. Below average players often have 15-20 game stretches where they get hot, but they can't sustain that pace. I think the only way to evaluate Reinhart is to look at his entire season, and entire career. Do you want a former high draft pick who, over the first few years of his career, looks to be a 20 goal, 25 assist guy who has below average speed but might still grow into a bigger role? He just seems to be exactly who he is over his career....better than how productive he was over the first half of the season..probably not as productive as he's been over the last 20 games.

I'm amazed at how much that happens. I swear 20-25 goals of his per year are from that EXACT spot on the ice in the same situation...how do teams at least not LEAN toward him when they know exactly where he will be once the puck get set up in the Offensive zone?

I'm hoping Kane gets the Sabres a first rounder, a great prospect and something else (Decent young roster player or a future 2nd rounder). However, I am fearing that won't be the case. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Sabres get just a 2nd round pick and a prospect (basically, the other teams 2nd or 3rd best minor league player age 21 or younger)

In Todays NHL I don't think he would do that well. His 20 year career would get him 550-600 goals....not close to 900 like he got in his era. His lack of speed through the neutral zone (which I don't think would get much better even with todays training) and lack of size and willingness to play along the boards MIGHT lead to him getting less ice time and making those numbers even more. In this era, he would not be the best player....Crosby would be better overall, and Ovechkin would be much more dangerous of a goal scorer. Seeing how the D-men played back then, and the goalies equipment...I think Ovechkin in THAT era would truly be a video game....with his shot, I think he would get 70 goals a season on a routine basis..and at his peak could challenge 100. Look back at the early 1980's...Blaine Stoughton scored 56 one year...Rick Kehoe had 55...Wayne Babych had 54...Denis Maruk had 60....Mike Bullard had 51...John Ogrodnick had 55...Paul Coffey had 48 as a D-MAN....it wasn't uncommon to have 5 or 6 players as 50 goal scorers per year...and 20 or more above 40.

Trade anyone on this team and I'm OK with it. I'm not sure you can move Okposo and his contract...but this team MIGHT be better down the road with what you can do with the money you are paying ROR, Okposo, and what you MIGHT pay Reinhart. Getting anything of value back in return would be great, but I'm not too sure you need to break-the-bank in a trade for any of them to make this team better down the road. And Ristolainen? Can someone tell me what is going on with him? Its not that he is having a bad game every once in a while...he looks like he i having AWFUL games pretty much once or twice a week. Its like a repeat of Tyler Myers after he signed his new deal.

I don't think its much to give a great deal of hope. A LITTLE hope, but not much. As others have said: -seeing other teams backup goalies -'dog days' of the NHL schedule. Some of the worst team in the league have had pretty decent runs in January and February. -the team getting used to or accepting the new coaching staff. I still think this teams if flawed in a big way with Reinhart, O'Reilly, and Okposo being considered in your top 6 forwards with being so slow. But maybe, MAYBE there is some way to coach around that. JBots doesn't seem like he is in any hurry to give up on O'Reilly, and he knows a lot more about hockey than I do.

I don't know about mis-remembering. What I DO know for sure is even with reduced minutes, I have a lot more memories of Foligno rusing through the neutral zone with speed than I do with Reinhart. Maybe because Foligno is bigger so he is given more room, where with Sam they are not afraid to get right on top of him? Maybe....but Reinhart is slow...well below average speed slow. And if Foligno was given more room, it has the same effect as having more speed.

Even with his first 2 seasons taken into account, I still don't think he is that great. A player like him, you need him to put up numbers in the offensive zone. He doesn't look to be a good defensive forward. He isn't physical. He doesn't have ANY speed through the neutral zone to help transition the puck from the D-zone to the O-zone. At least Foligno gave you the physical game..and I think Marcus probably had a little more speed than Sam and helped get the puck out of the D-zone better. So what does he give you as far as points? An average to slightly above average 2nd line power play player. If you look at his career so far, he has given you 27 even strength goals in 215 games played. In terms of all Forwards in the league that ranks him about 170th in the league. If I am NOT getting D-zone play, if I'm NOT getting transition play, if I'm getting zero physical game play...then I do not want to give that player 3m+ per season. The only way I do that is if the GM or coaches think he is going to get a lot better than he is now...but I don't see it.

1. This team needs to get faster. If you have a chance to move ROR, do so. He isn't worth the $7.5 you are paying him. Nylander may be a bust, but you may need to give him another year or two..no rush. Reinhart....If ROR stays, they Reinhart probably goes (or should). 2. Hopefully Mittlestadt signs and is with the Amerks next year. 3. No firm opinion on Housley yet..but I'd say no coaching moves should be made yet. 4. Best available player...take him. 5. Be the best team you can be while being younger and faster. You want to be better already, but no more old, slow, overpriced guys.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is what I see as players who are under contract for next season: Forwards: Eichel, O'Reilly, Okposo, Pominville, Rodrigues......Larson and Girgensons but at low dollar cost so it would be easy to walk away from them. Defense: Risto, Bogo, Scanella, McCabe, Beaulieu. That is alot of potential to make major changes. Of course, Reinhart is restricted) but there are a lot of possible changes. If, IF, a big move was made involving one of the guys under contract, you have even more room for changes.

Up until this summer, I was very high on Baptiste....I thought he could be a legit 25-30 goal scorer in the NHL. But, he showed very little in camp and has regressed in Rochester. Hopefully there is something mentally that kicks in with him. I fear he has more talent than Luke Adam..but may have the same head/heart as him. Prove me wrong please, on the head/heart thing.

sign me up for that right now.

I always wonder about this with soccer. One of my better friends back in high school (a while ago) played soccer, and I remember him telling he he hated the drill the coach made them run every week in practice...where they would practice hitting the ball with their head a few dozen times each. I wonder how many players (pro, college, high school, little kids) have had their head hit by a soccer ball dozens, if not hundreds, of times doing such drills?

I don't agree with you on everything, but I do on O'Reilly. I was TOLD he was a great leader. I was TOLD he was selke-candidate quality checking...I just don't see it with my own eyes. Hes a below average skater, who is good defensively (but not great and inconsistent), who gives less effort than he is given credit for. I'm not saying he is AWFUL, just he is a slow forward on a team that needs speed who is mostly useful killing penalties and on the Power play.

I'm going to agree with you here. And I have had really, REALLY high hopes for Baptiste, but those are fading rapidly this year. As other have said, he is 19, adjusting to a new city/new lifestyle, and coming off of a pretty big injury in camp (is he full healed?) He has speed, which is what the Sabres need badly. Reinhart is the one I'd be looking to move before Nylander.

After last night, the Sabres are now back on a pace for a total of 55 points for the season, and to be a -103 in goal differential. And this isn't just a projection after 10 games, more than half the season is done so its looking kinda legit. That puts them right there (within a point or two and a few goals) of the tank teams of a few years ago.

OK, Vegas is good. But just how good are they? We are almost 1/2 way through the season, so its a good time to evaluate: -They have the second highest point total in the league. Only 4 points behind Tampa and with a game in hand. -They are on pace for about 120 points. -To get to 92 points (usually the minimum total to reach the playoffs), they need to get 38 points in 45 games -They have played a lot of the early games at home, and will look to have a tougher schedule the 2nd half of the year...but... -They are where they are with major goalie injuries for a good portion of the year. Maxime Legace has played the most games in goal for them due to injuries...and has a 3.79 gaa and .879 save percentage. If they had either of their top 2 goalies for those games (Suban 2.25 gaa or Fleury 1.96 gaa) would it seem pretty easy to expect them to be ahead of Tampa for the best record in the league now? -Take out Legaces horrible goaltending...and without him Vegas is 20 wins, 3 LOSSES, and one OT loss. -They have won 7 in a row...and 11 out of 12...the only loss was a shootout loss. I still woulnd't place a big bet on Vegas to win the cup..and even wouldn't be surprised to see them not reach the second round the playoffs, but at this point..do they at least have to be considered a legit cup contender?

I'm OK with Sam getting traded. The thing is, the NHL if a faster league than it was a few years ago, and it looks like it is going to stay that way. You can get away with a couple of your top players being below average speed, but not too many of them. Of the Sabres top 5 forward (Kane, Eichel, Okposo, Sam, and O'Reilly), Kane looks like he won't be here next year. That leaves Sam, ROR, and Okposo that are all below average speed and in the transition game. Which one is the easiest to trade/move? Probably Sam.

I thought it was good, not great, but good. If you are a big Star Wars fan than to those people I would think they loved it. All I can say for sure is that it was a lot better than the force awakens, I have no idea how so many people loved that movie, I actually thought there were so many things that didn't make sense in it..it made it a bad movie. Last Jedi is much better.