Curt

I would not expect players to look at them much. I would expect coaches and management to look at them and use them to evaluate players and come up with game plans. I expect players to do what the coaches tell them.

I liked Bruno Mars at the SB a couple years back.

PSL???

Interesting. People generally like Montreal quite a bit. It does have a lot of good cultural stuff. (art, music, shows, sports, dining, nightlife). I’ve never found it especially dirty or unwelcoming, apart from the language barrier, when I’ve been. People often say that it has a very European feel to it. But I’m also not a big city person, so while I’ve been several times because I’ve lived relatively close by, I don’t go often and won’t carry on about how amazing it is. I’ve never been to Quebec City, but have also heard nice things about it.

Probably not a good idea to use TOI dependent numbers that you gathered yourself to make player evaluations then, if they are going to be so inaccurate. Jokiharju and Pilut have had PK numbers just as good as Risto/McCabe this season. Montour’s have been outstanding, better than anyone’s. This could be due to facing PP2 units instead of PP1 though, and trying to draw conclusions from such small sample sizes is problematic anyway. So I don’t know if any of it means much anyway.

What didn’t you like? The places that Ogre is talking about are far from Montreal, but I’m still interested.

One thing Sabres related about this that has disappointed me thus far is their inaction in building up their “analytics” department. This is one avenue where Pegula could use his extra bucks to the organization’s benefit. I was hoping (still hope) that Krueger coming on board could spur this on, with him being exposed to similar stuff in the football world. It would be nice if Buffalo could be a team that is quick to make use of this new information that will be available to them, instead of a team that realizes 5 yrs from now that they are very behind the curve.

You think GMs won’t want to make a trade because of the upcoming expansion draft? I’m not really seeing your reasoning on that. I wouldn’t be opposed to Risto, Mittelstadt, and a pick(not a 1st) for a 2C. I guess it depends what you mean by middling though. A stop gap 2C on a 2 year deal would be good, but I would take a bigger, more expensive trade for a good, young, long term 2C too. Those players are hard to get, but there is nothing wrong with Buffalo making that trade if it’s possible. I’m not going to bank on Cozens or Mitts being a high quality 2C before it actually happens.

Agreed. Eichel, Reinhart, Skinner, Olofsson, Asplund, (Mittelstadt or acquired player), (Thompson or acquired player) Dahlin, Jokiharju, (Risto or Montour, whoever isn’t traded)

Haha, we had a saying as teens. If it’s from Malone........leave it alone.

Haha, we had a saying as teens. If it’s from Malone........leave it alone.

To complement what Brawndo said: When I became a fan, Hasek in a goathead jersey was the Buffalo Sabres to me.

South of the border. Went to school in Ellenburg NY. Parents later moved to Mooers. My uncle lives in North Bangor. Meme and Pepe in Churubusco, if you are familiar. I’m very familiar with the crazy hillbilly/hippy mixture and bonfire party shenanigans in the Adirondack wild. That’s my youth.

Where was this? I’m from that general area.

Ok, that is a completely valid opinion. But you are replying to me, while totally ignoring what I’m saying. You didn’t even acknowledge that I said anything about UFA vs RFA years, or about the difference in production between Konecny and Reinhart pre contract. You are not really having a conversation. You are replying without responding to what I said. It’s confusing. I haven’t even told you that you are wrong or that I disagree, or anything. I’m trying to have a conversation here about different aspects of contracts.

I think I’m missing the relevance of this. If Reinhart also signed a 7 year deal, those 7 years would include more UFA years, which are generally more expensive. That was my only point.

Agree, they should try to trade for a 2C. I’m not questioning that. We have all agreed with that for some time. I’m just questioning the usefulness of this roster projection exercise in which all player evaporate when they reach UFA eligibility.

Eichel, McCabe, Risto were all older when drafted than Reinhart. Draisaitl, the guy picked just after Reinhart, is older. Reinhart was not uncommonly old when drafted. He was almost 2 months from the cut off date.

Hmm, on one hand, yes, Buffalo doesn’t have enough good forwards. The concept has been well covered. On the other hand. If you project out a few years, assume that no UFA’s are retained, and that no new UFA’s are signed, then of course the team is going to look weak. In reality, some UFA’s will be resigned/signed to fill holes and another highly drafted forward is going to be added this summer.

But it’s not true. 2014-15 wasn’t his draft year. His draft year was 2013-14. He turned 18 early in the season of his draft year, not 19. Reinhart does have an early-ish birthday for his draft year, but nothing out of the ordinary. The cutoff date is September 15th. Sam was born November 6, 1995. He turned 18 on Nov 6, 2013. He was drafted in June of 2014. He was 18 when he was drafted. He was 18 when he made his NHL debut in October 2014. He turned 19 on November 6, 2014. No players turn 19 during their draft season. They are all 18, or 17 when drafted. Assuming they are picked the first year they are eligible.

No, Reinhart was 18 for most of his draft season. 19 for most of his draft+1 season. I think you are off by a calendar year.

Yes! He would go so far towards helping this team. I think he is a star in the making, and I don’t even think that’s a hot take.

One thing to take into consideration here is that each of those players signed that contract coming off of their ELC, whereas Reinhart signed that 2 year bridge deal. That means that their long term contracts covered more RFA years and fewer UFA years than a long term contract for Reinhart would. That makes a difference. It’s going to increase Reinhart’s salary compared to those guys. Also, Konecny’s track record of production pre contract just does not compare to Reinhart’s. Reinhart will have 3 seasons where he outproduced Konecny’s career high in points. I know you don’t care about that in your player evaluation, but it’s a major factor in contract negotiations and has a major impact on what that dollar number will be. I only bring it up because you keep using Konecny as a comparison.

Was this in response to me? If so, (I think it is) it doesn’t really address the questions that I raised. I’m trying to get an idea of your view on how this team should be constructed going forward and how it can be accomplished. I’m trying to flesh things out a bit.

Agree totally, The team does need grit (all teams do) but it’s not like Buffalo has an excess of high skill players either. With regards to how Sam is going used on the PP, with the new one timers and him playing away from the net front a bit more. I think Sam has to get some credit for making that possible. When he came into the league his shot was really bad and he wouldn’t have been any kind of threat from a one timer position on the PP. that’s not the case any more.