Curt

Anecdotal observation, but if Simmonds was so perfect for Buffalo, why did they have their worst stretch and losing streak of the season right after he joined the team?

Tiffany for President, 2024! Slogan: She hasn’t done anything yet!

While it’s true that a team’s needs change over the course of a few years, all teams need young (cheap) players to come in and help the team. Otherwise you you will be forever relying upon older (expensive) players acquired via trade or FA. This is doubly true with the cap stalling over the next couple years. Apart from Cozens, the Sabres have a severe lack of any forward prospects who may be able to come in a contribute above their price point. On the other hand, on defense there are many more potential contributors. That’s why the Sabres organization may want to lean towards a forward at #8. Not because they need a 2C in 2021, but because they will need some sort of young contributing forwards in 2023, and right now it looks like there are none.

That trade would be unforgivably stupid for a Sabres GM to execute. That resulting lineup would not be good. Routsalainen, Johansson, and Kahun all as top 6 wings is dubious, that 3rd line would probably be horrible. There is no line to match up against the oppositions top lines in D situations. You don’t have $10M in space, you have about $7M. Are you going to be able to acquire 3 additional top 6 wings and upgrade the goaltending??? As it stands, that’s not a playoff team.

Oh, I agree. It definitely seems that they rushed things.

Maybe they did cool off then meet, but O’Reilly just wanted out. We just don’t know what went down behind closed doors.

If it takes 7 separate tweets to say what you want to say, then twitter is probably not the place to say it. In general, I think the conclusion is correct. CHL has the strongest junior leagues. However, this guy is taking a bunch of players who were drafted 5-10-15 years ago and using them to determine which junior leagues are the best today. That’s not necessarily going to yield accurate results. I think in recent years the WHL, and all US leagues (USNTDP, USHL, NCAA) have gained ground on the OHL and QMJHL.

Any time son. Now go clean up your room. Your mother is sick of looking at your mess.

They will probably have at least $6M in cap space to put toward upgrading the roster. That’s going to be more than almost all other teams. They will be one of only a few teams with any cap space at all. Your sarcasm is being wasted here.

I don’t think that Liger is generally, and in this case, particularly adamant that he knows the exact outcome of any one prospect with any certaint. Just the statement that Lundell could be a 2C, but he worries about the skating, is a reflection of the uncertainty he acknowledges is part of the development process. What he does seem to be very adamant about is his evaluation process/method. However, I’ve always found Liger to be easy to talk to about prospects and not dismissive of others’ ideas and opinions. It seems like you are taking shots at him just because he is willing to put his well researched and developed opinions on prospects out there for everyone to see. But it’s honestly hard to say for sure because you refuse to just say in plain English what the heck you are talking about.

No. When Eichel signed that contract there were questions from some places (not all) about the $$$, that maybe it was a bit much, but definitely not the term.

In the short term it would.

It’s possible, but 3 years is a long time to wait. Also means Botterill is not a good negotiator. If a prospect really pulled something like that, trade him.

His skating is not a strength. He really needs to improve it.

They will never publicly admit that it’s true, let alone give an explanation for it, and rightfully so.

Ok, I can see your point a bit more. It’s not without merit. Eichel I think is totally fine. He maybe lacked a little maturity at first, but he was 19-20 so, whatever. I’ve never doubted his work ethic and he just keeps getting feistier with age. Reinhart, I get the impression works hard enough, but maybe could give a bit more. Maybe it’s just his style of play though. Dahlin, I get the impression is a lot like you described Cozens. A pretty low key guy who is just hockey hockey hockey 24/7. He can have a bit of an edge to his game too. I think we’ll see more of that as his body develops more and he puts on weight. I’m hopeful that guys like Cozens, Asplund, Pekar, Borgen, Samuelsson, and hopefully the upcoming #8 pick can join the team over the next couple years as guys who can bring more of that hardworking type game.

I don’t think a lack of maturity and work ethic is something endemic among Sabres prospects. I honestly think that’s it’s just Nylander and Mitts. I do think the organization needs to continue to boost their overall intensity though. That’s why I want to see most players brought in to of the intense/gritty/competitive variety.

In 1991 through 1997, who did people think was better Nick Lindstrom or Brian Leetch? It was Leetch. One was a great player, the other is no doubt one of the top 5 defensemen of all time. It is Lindstrom.

How many more changes can there possibly be??? What prominent position in the hockey department hasn’t changed?

A couple problems that I have with Holtz are (1) he doesn’t really create high danger scoring chances. He finds open areas to receive a set up pass in and he has a great shot so he can beat goalies from these area, but he needs someone to create chances for him. I don’t think he’ll be a “line driver” in the NHL. (2) Not that you can have too many goal scorers, but Buffalo has Olofsson and Skinner already as wingers who can score, but can rarely create a scoring chance on their own. I think what the team desperately needs is a couple more players who can carry the puck, create a high danger chance, and create chaos for the defense. I think Eichel is literally the only guy who can do that right now. That’s what I would be looking for near the top of the draft.

Yes. Over the last 5ish years its actually become fairly predictable that certain guys will fall in the draft, but then succeed. It’s gotten kind of silly really. Average NHL forward is only about 6’ 1/2”.

I’m assuming that this is from someone who might know. Correct? Thanks buddy!

Agreed. I really like Lundell as a safe NHLer, with maybe more upside than it would seem at first glance. If he can get his skating straightened out he could show a lot more impressively. It’s one area that a lot of players make quite a bit of improvement on, so I’m hopeful. He could be a real workhorse type guy. 2C who takes on hard defensive tasks, still able to produce 50+ points, and plays in any situation.

I’m confused. You think it’s a kiss of death scenario?

I would. I would think they should regularly have discussions about players who are called up/sent down.