mjd1001

Too much automation (or whatever you want to call it) in cars today. Between the 2 cars we have now.... -Automatic climate control that seems to want to turn itself on whenver it wants. I want to pick where the air is coming from, and the speed. Yet, either by a GENTLE brush of the automaic 'non-button' controls by accident when looking to adjust something else, or by some ghost in the car, occasionally the system goes to 'automatic' and it will change where the air is coming from, and change the blower speed. And trying to turn it off of auto? I shut the entire thing down and restart it. You press the auto button and it just cycles through different speeds/levels of auto. No idea how to turn it off. - The wipers. It was raining yesterday and I'm driving and then it slowed down raining and I wanted the wipers on an intermediate setting. Well the car has an auto setting, it has high, it has low, and then it has all the little intermediate notches you could choose from depending on how fast or how often you want the wipers to go on but guess what? The car takes control of that. Let's say I put on the second lowest intermediate setting so the wipers go over the windshield. Let's say once every 5 seconds... But if the car senses there is a little bit more water on the windshield it will override that and take over and make them go quicker. So even when you pick the setting you want, it won't stick there. The car will override your choice. -Keep your hands on the wheel warning? I sometimes hold the steering wheel at "10 and 2", sometimes closer to the bottom of the wheel. Sometimes one handed. But yet, every once in a while there will be a loud (somewhat startling) beep/chime telling me to keep my hands on the wheel. They are though? -I love this one, another loud chime and my dashboard shows me an icon of a coffee cup and tells me maybe its time for a break. Really? sometimes it will even do that after only driving for 30-40 minutes. Other times I drive for 3 hours without it. And it has nothing to do with it sensing I'm going out of my lane or anythign like that. The lane centering thing, where it takes control of the steering wheel (thats another story) takes care of that. -Drive modes. So my car has a 'sport' mode, an 'eco' mode, and a 'smart' mode. No normal mode. Well, the sport mode holds gears WAY too high for everday driving, I'll be going down a side street at 30 mph and its in 2nd gear makign a lot of noise at 3000 rpms. Eco mode, it seems to either lower the battery assist (I have a hybrid) or lower the turbo boost (the gas engine) but either way, it is almost non-responsive. So "smart" mode? Well, its not a combo of both. It 'automatically" switches back and forth between Eco and sport, based on how it thinks I want to drive. If I make a bunch of very aggressive lane changes and hit the gas hard, it goes into sport mode (only for a few seconds though), but once that is over, back to "eco" mode. I have tried to manipulate it by my driving style, but nope, it does what it does. This email is getting so long, I won't even go into the quirks of the nav system after an update (it no longer allows you to choose the 'shortest' route in terms of time vs the 'shortest' one in distance. It chooses the route for you, and often changes it mid-route to roads in no way I want to take" I'm really, REALLY close to my next car being one of those small, simple, econo-boxes that are under $30,000 that don't have most of this stuff (or at least less of it)

Its not just the lack of production, it is their overall play. McLeod, Thompson, and Tuch......it seemed to me they were clearly outplayed by Doan, Kozak and whoever else was with them (Greeway for part or the time before Ruff starting shuffling lines) And I don't mean "hey, those 'lesser-talented' young guys looked to be playing with more energy" I mean literally outplayed. Outpossessed, out thought (hockey IQ way) and dominated the ice more than your top line.

Do you mean continue as he always has been in previous years? Or continue to be what he was early this year. Because early this year, he wasn't 'fine', he was pretty bad at times: -This year one goal in 14 games, where he usually scores a goal at a rate of one every 4-5 games - a -11 through 14 games ( a 'pace' of about -60) The last 3 years, he was a +20 combined over 3 seasons. -5.43 giveaways per 60, when he normally averages about 2 giveaways per 60. -about 30% less takeaways per 60 than his average over the last 3 seasons -My 2 favorite analytics are expected goals for vs against, and actual goals for vs against. His xgf%is down 3 points. His actual goals is down almost 15% -And as many have pointed out on this forum, he is making several bad plays, noticable via the 'eye test' every game. You want him to be who he is, and he is more talented than anyone else on defense on this team, but his overall play/production, so far this year, actually has been pretty bad.

They miss Dahlin because of how good he is, but they aren't 'missing' how he has played this year. To be honest, his talent was not overcoming his bad plays and mistakes this year. The problem is no-one can step up into his role/ice time. Every time they give Byrum more minutes, it doesn't work. He has all the talent in the world, but the end result of him on the ice is an 'average-at-best' D-man, and when he gets more minutes without Dahliln, you are still getting nothing more than that 'average-at-best' overall game. Samuelsson is playing well his year, but his role and talent is limited. Power I think is playing a bit better than the consensus on this board, but that doesn't mean I think he is playing well enough to carry the team in any way, shape or form. Kesserling I need more time to watch, and he's getting back from the injury, but he hasn't blown me away with his game so far. Timmins is Timmins, he's a 3rd pair guy that is playing that role well (I think). This Defense group can actually be pretty good when Dahlin is being Dahlin. But he's not here now. And when he was this year, he wasn't himself.

With the exception of Doan and Kozak, most of the guys on those forward lines have under-performed so far this year. Its not that they are all BAD, its just you expect a bit more from all of them. Its pretty sad to me that among forwards, onl Doan, Kozak, and Dunne are playing better than what I expected. That isn't translating to many wins because the expectations of those 3 guys weren't that high to begin with. (its no secret that Thompson, McLeod, Quinn, and Tuch are supposed to be forwards leading this team/producing, and they are all disappointing so far) Krebs. Positionally I think he's been playing pretty well. I think he has continued his progress from last year (compared to 2 years ago) where he doens't look lazy. He's decent carrying/passing the puck. The only difference I see this year compared to last year (where I thought he played well) is the lack of product. He hasn't scored yet. Peyton Krebs with 2, maybe 3 goals this year looks a LOT better than him having 0 right now.

There is a sublte difference between an 'excuse' and a 'reason'. One should shy away from using them as an 'excuse', meaning to excuse their poor performance. However, in evaluating 'what went wrong', they can be brought up as a reason to not be discarded.

It might be tricky to make the money work, but with having McDavid likely for only 2.5 years left, being out of the playoffs right now, and coming off a 9-1 loss over the weekend, Edmonton may be desperate to make a move in the coming weeks. If anything, play Vancouver vs Edmonton (and anyone else for that matter) to drive up the price.

Lehner got a bad rep from Buffalo, but he played a LOT better here than people remember: -6 shutouts in 3 seasons -Save percentages of: .924, .920, .908, and GAAs of 2.47, 2.68, and 3.01 Even with his issues, I was sad to see him go, I thought, even in Buffalo, he was a really good goalie here.

Another interesting game, last night between the Leafs and Hurricanes. -Toronto is leading 4-2 half way through the game. -Going into the 3rd, they are up 4-3. -Carolina wins the game in regulation 5-4 -Toronto went into the 3rd leading, but gave up that lead by being outshot 22-2 in the 3rd. Carolina played the night before, traveling from Buffalo. That is a collapse protecting a lead on par with some of the worst the Sabres have done in the past.

The NY Rangers are having one of the most interesting years in terms of their home games: -Shutout by Pittsburgh 3-0 -Shutout by Washington 1-0 -Shutout by Edmonton 2-0 -Loss to Minnesota 3-1 -Loss to San Jose 6-5 -Shutout by Carolina 3-0 -Shutout by the Islanders 5-0 In their first 7 home games at MSG, they have been shut out 5 times, and lost all 7. Yet they are 7-1-1 on the road.

Yet, we have had many other people during Pegula's reign in all the important positions, and since he took over they have missed the playoffs every single year he was owner of the team for a full year. (unless you mean fire and hire a new owner?) 4 different GMs, 7 (or 8, depending if you count Ruff twice) different head coaches. Countless front office changes. No one, nor no number of 'many' moves have made a difference in the past. I see no reason to think one single move (without flushing everyone/everything around that person out) would be enough.

And this is likely to get worse as the next few games go on..... NHL Injury Viz: 2025/26 team injury breakdowns (through 7 November)

And my point is I want to change when it's going to be significant enough to actually make a difference

I found this interesting... On the national hockey show on 590 out of Toronto, they just spent a lot of time talking about Edmonton's goaltending problem. One of the hosts just brought up...what if Edmonton were to go after UPL out of Buffalo... The other host said he can't see Buffalo doing that... Because his understanding is when UPL is healthy... That's Buffalo's guy. The problem is he just can't stay healthy. They kept on saying he was a 'good player' and a 'good goalie' and that it wouldn't make sense for Buffalo to trade him. Anyway, I don't know how plugged they are into what's going on with theSabres, but both of them seem to think that Buffalo is still 100% behind UPL and would not want to trade him.

Someone is easily triggered... Who once told me that they like posting in short form more.. compared to my long form.

It might be the move to make at this point but I wouldn't say it isn't simple. Simple would mean you fire him and you were on the right path. It's more complicated than that because more changes are needed. Adam's gone... Not enough. There has to be more with it. If you let Adams go.... Promote from within... And basically have the status quo... Again, that's not good enough. Move on from Adams, but then any like-minded people in the front office have to get moved on from also. And you better bring someone in from the outside who is going to have no connection to any of these players.

I agree with you for the most part. Dahlin, not this year but for most of the past 3 years he plays like a top 10 defenseman in the league. And if he had a better team around him, a forward group that put the puck into the net and made him look better on the back end... Where he had more assists and possibly took pressure off him where he had more goals, with his talent and how well he does play, not counting this year so far, hed be considered one of the best elite defenseman in the league. Norris trophy finalist if not eventual winner. As for Power, he was the number one pick in a pretty weak draft.. not only that, but one of the drafts coming out of covid where you didn't have a ton of scouting. I would think Power in most drafts would be a guy picked between number 3 and number 6. And if that was the case there probably would be a little bit more leeway for him, less pressure to perform, less heat from the fan base. Not everyone, but a lot of guys picked three to five picks lower than him are given a few years to grow into what they're supposed to be with slightly lower expectations.

It depends on what you mean by sneaking into the playoffs? Is it one of the worst years or should I say.. that that easiest years to get into the playoffs where somebody can do it with 88 points? I might have to think about that. But if sneaking in... Still requires 95 or 96 points... Then to me... If this team can get to 95 or 96 points this year... They're a pretty good team for the rest of the year. If this team were to get to that level... It means that they are showing some growth and I'd want to actually see that happen before I'd make the decision. Because honestly, if they were to get to that level from where they are now.... It probably means the new additions are playing pretty well, and some of the young guys are developing and playing pretty well. I agree with this almost 100%. If they are going to make changes... The change in Terry pegula's mentality has to be part of that. I don't know how you can force that or mandate that though, which is part of the reason for the feeling of hopelessness with this franchise at the moment.

There aren't many metrics analytically that I trust to evaluate goalies. Xga vs ga is one that makese some sense to me. Very close to GSAA, related to it and just another way to express it. For the year so far: Alex Lyon: expected goals against, 36.24. Actual goals allowed 32 (so above average) Colton Ellis: expected goals against, 3.75. Acutal goals allowed 2 (only one start, but a very good ratio) UPL: expected goals against, 6.89. Actual goals allowed 9 (so pretty bad). Its simplistic, but you want your actual goals allowed to be better than your expected goals allowed. UPL, in a small sample size, is the only want that isn't that way. For reference, Reimer last year was positive, UPL and Levi were both negative last year.

Travis Sanheim? Anyone watch a lot of Flyers games and have an opinion on him? I've watched parts of 4 philly games this year now...and every time I see him, he's almost 'perfect' back there. Hardly makes a mistake, always makes the correct play. He doesn't put up the numbers with goals and assists, but is it a stretch to say he might be someone who could at least get SOME consideration for a Norris trophy? He's also 3rd in the league with over 26 minutes per game.

I understand your point, but I don't quite think it's to that level. It wouldn't just involve the coaching by the head coach.. It would have to be the assistant coaches.. And more importantly it would have to be his influence on purging the roster of some players that aren't good enough.

If someone else took his full salary I would take basically nothing in return. To me, getting that salary cap space back, and removing him as a third goaltender on the roster... Is much more valuable than mid-round draft pick or low to mid-level prospect.

The new stadium was scheduled to be open for the first game next year. Technically not 100% complete, but close enough so they could use it. Now according to this, it looks like they're falling behind on their schedule. I'm going to assume they can still make opening day next year... But anything else that happens to make them fall farther behind.. could make things interesting. https://www.wgrz.com/article/sports/nfl/future-of-the-bills/buffalo-bills-stadium-construction-falls-behind-schedule/71-29251991-50e4-4e03-81c2-942aa06a90b5

So Byram is now the #1 D-man without Dahlin? When Dahlin was hurt last year Byram got the most ice time and played some of his worst hockey of the year when asked to step up. So how is he doing tonight through 2 periods? - no points, -2. -Corsi for: 5 Against 23 (one of the worst ratios I have seen for a player in an individual game) -Fenwick for: 5 Against 18 -On ice shots for: 3 Allowed 15 -expected goals for 0.15 Expected goals allowed 1.25 -scoring chances for: 1 Scoring chances against: 8 Again, 2 periods only but 2 very VERY bad periods with on ice analytics. Some of the worst numbers you can imagine anyone having that is leading their team in ice time. The thing is this isn't just one bad game. When Dahlin missed time last year, he 'flopped' pretty hard then too.

So Dahlin is out, Byram is getting the most ice time among D-men, and this might be the worst game I have ever seen him play. He is not a first pair guy. No loss if he gets traded, no loss if he doesn't get signed next year.