mjd1001

I looked for about 1 minute and can't find an official 'stats' page for the Oilers in preseason, but from what I read: -In the Oilers version of the 'prospects challenge' he played 3 games and got 1 assist. -In 4 preseason games he got 1 assist, looked good in the first 2 games (overall game) looked really out of place, (code for bad) in the last 2. Again, that is what I got from an article about him so far, haven't seen those stats verified.

Lafferty I remember as being very fast, and when I looked up his numbers he is show as 93/96, not 67/69? Also Aube-Kubel I see as 94/93, not 80/50

Being physical yes. I agree and I'd like to see how they match up against most teams. The thing with Boston is, they should be able to handle the speed. A lot of people seem to think Boston is slow. They aren't. They don't have any burners (Maybe Beecher is), but up front, Lindholm, Jones, and Frederic are pretty fast, Pastrnak is above average, and they don't really have anyone 'slow'. (maybe Poitras and Brazeau are slow, but they aren't going to be getting bit minutes.) Overall in terms of skating speed they are above average, and I think you can say based on their forcheck, they put the effort in. Toronto, that is the team that will be interesting to see play against this Sabres team. The Leafs to me do well whey they can 'out talent' you and you don't make them skate. But put them against younger team with Raw talent that just push and push and push and Toronto doesn't like that, and almost shuts down in games like that. That is the matchup that will be fun to watch.

I didn't have experience with insurance but... Hurricane Charley hit Florida 2 decades ago, and I was just out of college and lived in an apartment complex in Daytona. I think by the time it got across the state it was all the way down to a category 1 over Daytona, but it still did damage (a few small planes were left out at the airport and they flipped over, some power lines and trees down, you didn't want to drive on the streets because you would likely get a flat tire, etc) But the biggest thing I remember was losing power. A lot of us lost power, but within a couple days MOST Of the area had it back on. However, the complex I lived in, the power lines that fed our complex ran through a wooded field behind our complex, that was not only dense with trees but was absolutely flooded. They couldn't get workers/trucks back there to repair the power until it dried out. I watched a few blocks to each side get their power back but I didn't have it for a full week. Living in the aftermath of a hurricane, that whole week temps were near 90, with rain and humidity pushing the heat index up to 100 degrees. No Air conditioning. No refrigerator or freezer. No fans. Upper floor apartment complex. I was off from work the entire week and I got in my car everyday and drove up north almost all the way to St. Augustine to walk around a mall in the middle of the day to cool off and get gas, until the Mall in Daytona (a 5 minute walk from my apartment complex) got power back and then I just hung around there all day.

I'm not a huge traveler, not one of those people who does go to Europe on a regular basis (or certainly we can't afford to go often at all), but when we did go, Germany was my favorite place. I wasn't impressed with London or Paris (was only in each of them for a couple of days, seemed kinda dirty and over-rated to me), Italy was a mess and crowded, but Germany had that feeling of "You are for sure in a different country with different customs and language-yet it kinda feels comfortable like home" I don't think we'll find out too much about the team, but its kinda fun to watch an event like this.

I agree with you on that. If we hear quite a bit from both the Bills and Sabres, and even in past years, some players "don't need a letter to be a leader" then why rotate letters? I would have gone with Dahline as Captain (Tuch my 2nd choice but ultimately I think Dahlin is the choice), with Tuch and Thompson as the A's. Samuelsson and Cozens? They haven't earned it with overall play yet. If Tuch isn't here in 2-3 years, one of those 2 can step into the "A", but I'd rather just go with the 3. Then again, I don't think it means much for the success or failure of the team.

Samuelsson is interesting. Most of us on here think he can be a good-to-very good Defenseman when he is healthy, yet last year he seemed to take a slight step back. Wonder what he is like in the room? what he is like with Lindy or KA. He 'only' a 24 year old D-man with about 150 career games played (less than 2 full seasons), so to be named an alternate is a bit surprising.

I guess thats true. First, you get the games out of the way, 2nd as you said they are all playing together. 3rd, ALREADY the devils blue line is turning into a mash unit. It looks like Luke Hughes won't play for a few more weeks, so he's out. Brett Pesce is the Devils big addition to the blue line this year, I read a few days ago he is still recovering from his broken leg and hasn't taken part in camp yet, and he's 50-50 whether he plays against the Sabres to open the season. With Hughes injured, Santeri Hatakka was thought to step up into the bottom pairing, but he got hurt in their preseason game against montreal and there hasn't been an update to his status yet.

That both Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier are so highly regarded (and I agree with that) is the reason I think New Jersey has a shot at being the best in the conference, and the presidents trophy this year, IF they can stay somewhat healthy. Its also the reason I hate the Sabres are playing them the first 2 games of the year. The Sabres could be a playoff team, could be vastly improved, but they might also look really bad starting the season 0-2 because they have to play the Devils in Europe 2 times.

I no longer agree with the 'too young' part for the core: -Tuch is 28, this is his 9th NHL season, 450+ games played. 4 years playoff experience, 66 games played in the playoffs. -Thompson turns 27 next month, going into his 8th NHL season, 370+ games played -Cozens turning 24 later this season, going into his 5th NHL season, 280 games played -Dahlin 24 (25 by end of season), going into his 6th season, 430+ games played (and a LOT of minutes in those games) -Byram is 23, 6th nhl season this year, 160+ games played, plus 2 playoffs runs, 1 cup, and several playoff rounds -Even the 'younger' core has Quinn (4th season, although partial and he is 23), Peterka (turning 23 this year, over 160 games played), Jokiharju (25, 6th season, 350 games played) and Samuelsson (turning 25 this season, 5th year with the team)...its not like they are raw rookies anymore. Sure, when your Defensemen average 22 years old and you have a ton of forwards 19-22 its an issue. But that isn't the case anymore. Statistically there have been a lot of studies that forwards hit their peak in production (and for advanced stat people, wins above replacement) at ages 25-28...that is their peak. D-men tend to peak a little later, but approach that peak also by age 24-26. You brought in Zucker. He's not a 'core' piece, but I don't think he's totally washed up either. 32 years old. 700 games played. 9 different seasons in the playoffs. Over the last 3 seasons still scoring at a 23 goal per 82 game pace. I don't think you need to bring in more veterans at this point. Lafferty, Kabel, and McLeod aren't 'core' pieces, but they do look like they might be good in their roles, they ARE going to play a lot, and they all have several playoff runs in their past (some deep runs to the cup final) At this point the team/core doesn't need to get older or more experienced, they simply need to get better/reach their potential. They are at the age they should be.

Not related to any league news right now but I thought this was interesting: From 1988-1998 (11 seasons), the Stanley cup was won in a 4-0 sweep 6 of the 11 years. Yeah, the cap wasn't there, but it wasn't always the same team, Only Detroit won it 2 times that way, the other 4 times were 4 different teams. (Detroit, Colorado, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, and Edmonton) Since 1998, we have gone 25 seasons in a row with no sweep in the final. Tampa won it back to back. Chicago was good enough to win it 3 times in 6 seasons...but not one single sweep.

I get your point. My view on Thompson is based on the assumption that he puts in 40-50+ for the Sabres this year. If he isn't hurt and he is falling painfully short of that...than my opinion of him as a top 10 center will be no more.

I still don't think Samuelsson is getting a letter...but not too long after Lindy got the job, he said something about Samuelsson and I thought no one is talking about him, but 'he has a chance'. I wish I could find the exact comment, but something pointed to him as an option.

Ok, let me break down my opinion: -Per my other post, I think he 'is', and 'will be' a 40-50 goal scorer. (and in my previous post I used shooting percentage as the reason why). So I'm not comparing shooting percentage to other centers or other positions. Simply saying I think his offensive production is in the 40-50 goal area at least, over a full 82 game season. -Defense. I think his size makes him average-to-above average. You don't need to see hits, you don't need to see how much time he has with the puck. I notice 3 things: 1.) He seemed very good at penalty killing, his size and reach allows him to stay in the same spot and cover a lot of ground without chasing. He rarely is out of position because he doesn't need to be. Not all 'advanced' stats or all metrics will show that. 2.) I used the analogy with him and Cozens, but because of his size that he demonstrates during PK, he is very good at playing "zone" defense. Opposing players may simply not make a pass, not attempt to sqeeze into a spot because they know there is less room with him out there. To me that is common sense with any guy who is as big/tall as he is that has at least decent mobility. Not only is it common sense, but you can SEE it when you watch him play without the puck. Again, Lindy the other day went out of his way to say how good Thompson has been playing 'without the puck'. Put the 2 together...a player who I think (for the above reasons) is a 40-50+ goals scorer...and is actually GOOD defensively (in ways that cannot always be measured, there are less metrics to measure a 'negative' that is a positive) and that is why I put him in the category of a top 15 center in the league. If someone can/will/does score 40-50 goals in a full season, and their defensive game is 'pretty good'. I consider that a top 15 center (as I said in a previous post, he is probably in the 8-20 range but that can be 'top 15' because there isn't much of a difference in IMO between the 8th best and the 20th best. That is my opinion. That is why I answered yes he is. I'm not sure how else I can explain that (I have explained all of the above in previous posts) other than you just wanting to disagree with me.

Its like many of us talked about the Atrium..they could do SO much more with it. How about something, some kind of 'fan experience' better than what they have out there..so the 'fan experience' starts outside and then continues into the building in the Atrium?

I agree, but there are so many things that could be done there. I know a lot of cities don't have much around their arena, but how about making the plaza a little bigger/better? the area under and behind the pedestrian bridge, why not do something there? It could be as simple as installing some type of screens/white walls and when people are going into the games, play all time Sabres highlights on them through a projector: the Mayday goal, the fog goal on Bernie Parent, or a dozen other ideas....maybe you play some lesser-known highlights from the team you are playing (if they are playing St. Louis, play some clips of highlights from St. louis games on a loop). Maybe put up some kind of awning/tent/cover over that area and put up some outdoor heaters there so even in the cold weather games, people can stop by and see or do something there. I'm not too good at ideas for this stuff, but turn Alumni plaza into something more than it is now.

I know less of those guys than I thought. Hey, at least its a hockey game.

Cozens? or Power?

I am hopeful that Power takes a big step forward this year. Yeah, I know D-men SOMETIME take 3-5 years to get to be the best version of themselves, but from the very little I have seen in the 2 preseason games, he looks a lot calmer with the puck (to me one of his bigger issues last year). Even with a moderate step forward, he still won't be worth his contract this year, but it would go a long way to the team being better AND him being on the path to being worth his contract in the near(er) future. Cozens I am very hard on because I don't think he's been a very good hockey player for this team. He's a train wreck positionally in the defensive end, so unless he is scoring you 30+ he's not worth his deal either. I'll take him giving the team 20-25 goals AND being at least average in is own end...if he does that, again this team will be much better for it.

Because you're looking at last year's stats only. I, among a few other posters on this board, think last year was the anomaly year due to an injury he sustained early in the year. He's been a center for three seasons. Two of those three seasons. He didn't have an injury... I am willing to use those seasons as the baseline. The reason I believe this is look at last year, as the season went on and he he got farther away from the injury, He got better and better. I believe his shooting percentage was 15% 2 years ago. 15.9% the year after that. It went down dramatically when he got hurt, but by the last two months of last year he was over 16%. In terms of offensive production... I can't help but to think putting those things together. He's a 15 to 16% shooter... And he's going to get you 300 shots or more over 82 games which is close to what he's done since turning into a center. And as far as being a complete player, I always subscribe to the fact that his size makes him a good defender. Not because he hits people, but he takes up so much ice that sometimes we don't see it, but passes aren't made and plays aren't made by the other team simply because he takes away those lanes. We do hardly see him out of position on goals scored against the savers, and Lindy Ruff just made a comment this morning or last night saying how he's one of the best positioned players on the ice without the puck. Put all those things together... And that's the reason why myself, and a few others on this board, think he might be the best player on this team. If not, certainly in the top three.

I like all those line combos and D-pairings, at least to start. I think the '5th line' listed should be the odd line out. Each of those guy can be subbed in/moved into other spots, but this seems like the best starting point. Its only preseason, but Power and Byram look like they are playing very well with each other so far.

The Swayman thing is interesting. I follow the Bruins more than any team other than the Sabres and Leafs (used to live near Boston for a few years, have friends there, my company is still located there, etc.) and no one knows for sure what is going on. Some say the Bruins gave him an offer and pulled it after Swayman and his agent demanded a lot more. Others say the offer the Bruins gave him was 'comically low' for him (about $6m per year).Some say this is just posturing and Swayman will sign a day or two before the regular season starts for the best offer he has.

It is so hard to really get a grasp on how good/bad a team is just 3 weeks into the season. A lot of times week 1 can be a wildcard/tossup. In the NFL, I don't really even start to do my own personal 'power rankings) until everyone plays at least 4 games. With that said, it looks like Miami and Arizona are middle-of-the-road teams (someplace between the 12-20th best teams, and Jax right now is in the bottom 10. It'll be really nice if/when Buffalo plays a consensus top 10 team and handles them.

He'd be in the conversation for me. Based on last nights preseason game, no, he didn't impress me much. But based on the player I think he is, and how I think he is going to perform this coming season, yes. When I look at the best players at any position, the issue is its not linear. The Best 1-3 guys at any position usually are easy to see how much better they are then guys 4-7. Guys 4-7 are a little bit better than the next group. But by the time you get to guys 10-20...the 10th best guy is really, really close to the 10 guys after them. meaning, put Tage in a group of Centers, I would have a hard time being convinced he isn't as good as the 10th best guy in the league...or as 'bad' as the 25th best.

You keep on only putting that chart out. Again, shot, chances, even goals allowed allow for some element of 'chance'. Look at how he actually plays, the video, the pictures don't lie he is a major problem. Even if you want to go by the chart you keep on putting out there, what is that time frame? Is that last year? his career? And D-men and Forwards play a different role on penalty killing, so compare him to other forwards. According to your chart, he is '2nd worst' among forwards, but again, actually watching him play, you can see he is a LOT worse than Greenway. Finally, when you look at another chart, actual goals allowed per 60, either over last year or his career, he is always near the bottom of forwards. You don't need a chart of stats to see just how bad he is, it is so obvious at times its hard to believe he plays that way. Short handed goals per 60 allowed supports this. The only thing that doesn't put him at the bottom of the barrel for Penalty killing is the one single chart you keep throwing out there, but even then, it doesn't show he is 'good', its just one chart that shows there is someone worse than him in that metric (but when you watch the games, that person actually plays his position much better.)