Curt

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.

Recent test data show his confidence meter to be filling quickly, while his $$$ meter is in free fall. ?

No kidding! The 79, 71, or 78 year old “newcomer” vs the 74 year old incumbent. Jeez How about someone the yutes can relate to?

Damn

I would be interested in discussing a couple ideas that you expressed here. 1) In what ways do you think Kassian opens up space for McDavid? If anything, I would think it’s the other way around, with McDavid opening up space for his teammates. The question is, how does a big body open up ice/create space for his teammates? 2) Mid-range free agents who have not peaked yet signing good value contracts. I don’t think this player exists to be signed. Could you give any examples or elaborate on the type of guys you have in mind? 3) I think the Nylander contract is a good contract. He is a very good play driver/puck carrier for them. That ability helps Matthews specifically a great deal. He is a very good player, if maybe not your personal favorite style of player. At the same time, I agree that Toronto has a disproportionate amount of money tied up in those 4 forwards, and it does impede their ability to improve their defense. However, that doesn’t mean that Nylander’s contract is bad. Also, you are concerned about Buffalo falling into the same situation, but I don’t see that as likely. Toronto has $40.5M invested in 4 forwards. Even if Buffalo signed Reinhart and Olofsson to $7.5 and $6 long term deals, respectively, they would have $32.5 invested in their top 4 forwards. A far cry from Toronto’s situation, and pretty much in line with many teams around the league.

Jokiharju: HR Shorthanded GA/60: 10.8 HR Shorthanded GF/60: 2.2 Your # (on ice goals/60): 14.25

This is PK goals against per 60??? Why is it vastly different from what’s on hockey reference?

What PK numbers do you look at? The Shot Share and Goals For/Against numbers for Montour, Joki, and Pilut have been good on the PK this year.

They probably want Pilut to play LD in the bottom 4. There is room for him on the left side. As for Miller, when Botterill acquired Miller, he probably didn’t know at the time that the opportunity to steal Jokiharju from Chicago would come up later, and maybe didn’t know that Jokiharju would be such a solid player right away.

Eichel has scored 46 goals with Sam on the ice. Sam assisted on 16 of them. Sam scored 26 goals with Jack on the ice. Jack assisted on 10 of them. What this proves, I don’t know. I don’t really have anything to compare it to, but it doesn’t appear that they assist on a great deal of each others ES goals.

This was with regards to McCabe. Giving thoughts on why he was once thought of as someone who needed to be kept, but is now often being thrown into trades by the fan base.

Or because he is now Buffalo’s 5th/6th? best Dman. In the past he was generally the 2nd/3rd best. His position has been upgraded around him and he is having a rough season.

What would you say if I told you that Sam has produced 5-on-5 points at roughly the same rate when he is on the ice both with and without Eichel over the past couple years?

You forgot that he stands just to the side of the net looking to tip pucks, instead of directly in front of the net. The slacker.