Curt

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.

Buffalo needs more elite players. We all want more elite players on the team. Reinhart isn’t elite. We should ditch Reinhart because he isn’t elite. Don’t we all want better players on the team? Raise your standards guys! How do you expect the team to make the playoffs with good players like Sam Reinhart on the team, when what we NEED is elite players? I think I’m finally getting what @pi2000 is trying to say. DUW BUDDAR

Over the past couple of seasons, Sam has been just as productive when not on the ice with Eichel.

If he signs for 6+ years at anything under $7M, I think that’s an absolute bargain.

I think that before the season started he profiled exactly the same way. We are hopeful/optimistic that he will be come an agitator/bottom 6 guy who can also score a little (10-15 goals). I think it was the same prior to the season.

Yes, it’s true, Pekar isn’t dominating. His numbers are not high end territory for a D+2 player. He is doing well but not to such an extent that it further raises his prospect status.

Ah, thanks. Yes, this seems to be the correct definition of CHL overager.

Isn’t anyone past their draft year considered an overeager in the CHL?

It was the stated plan from the time he brought to Rochester

That could be true. It’s certainly possible that a Botterill misplayed the situation. It’s also possible that Sam had no reasonable interest in signing a long term contract at that time. Takes two to tango. As for the rest, that’s your opinion and that’s ok. ??

The thing about this is that if Philly tried to sign Konecny to that same contract today, they would never be able to do it. It would cost them more. Just like if Sam had been signed long term two years ago, instead of signing this bridge deal, he would have commanded a fair amount less than he will on his next contract. He maybe could have been signed for something around that $5.5M that you reference. However, I feel like if Reinhart had been signed to a 6 yr $5.5M contract 2 years ago, you probably would have derided it as an overpay for a guy who is just a passenger, doesn’t play hard, is weak, etc. Am I super wrong?

He is one of the best puck carriers on the team though. He does a good job of extending plays and making something from nothing at times.

Risto thinks he is a forward now just because he stood in front on the PP