French Collection

I wonder if Pittsburgh blows it up if they miss out on the playoffs. I can see Sid wanting to retire as a Penguin but does he want one more Cup run. Is he willing to be the guy to pass the torch to the next generation of birds? Ovi would probably like to break Gretzky’s record in a Caps uniform. That could mean bandaid solutions to roster holes until he’s done. Are Bergeron and Krejci back next year, win or lose?

We are also feeling the pain of many years of “suffering” and want the playoff gratification now. KA is definitely playing the long game.

Why not, revenge game for Levi, maybe scores an empty netter. Sorry, that stuff only happens vs the Sabres. Well, Tuch and Krebs had a good one vs Vegas.

Then his numbers will match the rest of the group.

Kulich with 1G 1A and Rousek with 2A last night vs Cleveland.

I watched Weekes’ Twitter announcement, he’s holding a box of Pampers. ???

Sounds like something Yogi Berra would say.

Wow, that is interesting, versus the Rangers and Shesterkin. Must watch!

Here is the 2022 draft list from the CHL. https://chl.ca/draft https://www.eliteprospects.com/draft/chl-import-draft/2022 Miroshnichenko was taken by Boisville-Boisbriand of the Q with the 24th pick. One other Russian was taken and one kid from Belarus as well. Miroshnichenko was taken I the Q in 2021 as well.

I love this question. Those Cup winning teams you mention grew their own cores and added pieces to bulk up for deep runs. The Hawks had a lot of turnover because their wins were spread out and they had cap casualties every year. One guy who was key to their Cups that was not home grown is Marian Hossa. Hossa is an interesting character because he didn’t win a Cup elsewhere and then guide the Hawks to theirs. He did gain tons of experience by having some deep runs with the Red Wings and the Penguins, teams that had many Cup winners on them. I’m sure he learned a lot from Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Chelios, Rafalski, Osgood on the Wings and the about to burst out core of the Pens. The Pens team had Peter Sykora who had won with the Devils. Hossa became a core piece of the Hawks after bouncing around with many teams. The Caps added Brooks Orpik, who had won with the Pens. He was no longer an impact player but knew what it took at playoff time. The only guy that may have served a similar role for the Avs was Darren Helm, who played with some of those old Wings guys. The Lightning added Pat Maroon from the Blues’ Cup team. I haven’t dove too deeply into this but I believe a core can grow together and win for the first time. Also, an addition with a winning pedigree can help, even if the on ice performance is not at peak level. This is hard to measure, intangibles is a good word for it. An interesting case is Corey Perry, who won with the Ducks and has helped 3 teams get to the finals in recent years. I think the Sabres need to add someone like that. In another thread I mentioned McDonagh as an example. They don’t need to play a huge role or wear a letter, just show the kids what it takes to get to the next level. I look at the leadership of KO and Girgs as lacking in this area. They are great people and are teaching the young group how to be pros but they have not come close to winning anything.

The CHL didn’t ban Russians from the import draft. There were 2 selected last year, Ivan Miroshnichenko being a ‘big name’ player picked. Teams were leery about choosing them because there are usually more.

People were asking him about Bryson, we’re not alone.

Skinner almost cracks a smile during a couple of the questions.

I know you have mentioned Helge Grans from the LAK. Have they soured on him as a prospect? Last year he scored 24 points in 56 games in the AHL. This season he has 8 points in 53 games. Jordan Spence has 41 points in 50 games so I would assume he is getting all of the PP time. Another RHD ahead of Grans is Brandt Clarke, who played in LA and the AHL before returning to the WJC and then Barrie Colts of the OHL. He scored 61 points in 31 games in the OHL this year. Grans is too green to plug a hole in the Sabres D corps but could be a solid bottom pair guy in a year or two.

A lot of good things about bringing over Neuchev, Novikov, Poltapov and Östlund. The Sabres develop them, get a better look at them and so do the other teams looking for prospects.

Yeah, he can’t say he is going out to get a Saros and a Hanifin. If he gets Halak and Stanley, people will freak out.

I think Neuchev will be more Kulich than Kisakov. Novikov is playing regularly in the KHL, he could be another Mule. Rochester would be a young farm team if Östlund, the Russians, Nadeau, Levi are added.

A mid first round pick will take a few years to become an NHLer and may not be a good one. This team needs upgrades now to take the next step. They need to have a pipeline but the team is young enough to let prospects stew for years. I don’t think there is a sure fire top 4 RHD in this draft. Why not move the pick for one of those and take a potentialy good RHD in the second round.

Simple but effective. I like it. Big enough to separate the man from the puck and have an idea of what to do with it. Boosh has played well recently and someone mentioned getting another one or two guys at that level. That would work to force Bryson and Clague to the AHL where the odd injury callup could get them some ice time and they could fill the 6D role instead of 3-4D. If KA can luck into a 3-4D due to cap circumstances, even better. These upgrades should not break the bank.

If he is a potential McCabe then he could be one of the 4-5D most are clamouring for. The Sabres need to find one Dman to do that next season, Johnson needs some time in Rochester in my opinion. I want to see him sign and get a few games just to find out what he looks like at this level. Could be an eye opener for everyone involved, good or bad.

Saros is smaller than Levi. If he keeps developing while keeping his confidence, he can do it.

Pens lost to the Red Wings, that was one they should have had. Wild Card teams are not looking hungry.

Skinner is nifty and could probably go forehand to backhand up top, which is often successful. I was very disappointed to see VO go first, he hasn’t scored anything important in a long time. He can shoot the puck well and pick corners and that’s not what he tried.

I have been done with VO for a while now. I can handle doses of Mitts, but only at wing.

I listened to most of this, some good stuff. Potential second round RHD Lukas Dragicevic was one guy I wanted more information on. Comments were offensive genius, weak defender, decent skater. What I didn’t realize was that he has only been a Dman for three years. He is still learning the position and how to defend. This helps explain his scoring numbers, leading his WHL team in scoring. Reinbacher was in the 10-15 range. They all love Ryan Leonard for his compete level. Quentin Musty got some good reviews since the New Year.