akm

Wow, this is perhaps the best strategic analysis I've ever seen for the sport of hockey. Thank you very much for linking this. I too was frustrated as to how difficult it always seemed to generate rushes last year, and how every pass from the D seemed to be a bomb to guys standing on the boards looking to chip it in. I'm definitely no hockey strategy expert, but it just seemed weak to turn our possessions into 50/50 board battles down low. And, it seemed to bring about the fun side effect of our guys getting crunched into the end boards as they raced in to try to tie up the puck. All that said, I have no clue what sort of coach/system we SHOULD run, but I honestly feel like even though we lost a lot this year, we seemed capable of better stretches of good play and it just felt better than the year before. I feel a strong parallel to the Bills when the hired Rex - we finally seemed to have a roster with the talent to compete, but we know how that turned out. How I wish we end up with something that can get us over the hump.

Trying to move on from this religion derail... I've read a lot of stuff about Bylsma's "system" and how he forced it and wasn't adapting to his players. I'm admittedly much more knowledgeable about football than hockey so I was wondering if someone could explain what Bylsma's system was. I'd also be curious to hear what other systems folks feel are better. It's easier for me to judge NFL hires (runs a west coast offense and a Tampa-2 defense) but I honestly don't know what hockey systems are en vogue.

Let's bear in mind that we're talking about an ankle sprain, and not something like major reconstructive knee surgery or a ruptured achilles. High ankle sprains stink, and it'll be a good chunk of time before he'll return to the lineup, but there is no reason to believe that he won't be fully recovered and scoring goals months before the end of the season. Let's hope for Christmas time, and grab some wins in the meantime.

What would you expect? This was literally the worst case scenario that got unleashed 24 hours before the opener. Talk about deflating. Doesn't make someone soft to be ultra disappointed that the thing they were most looking forward to seeing (electrifying eichel goals) is off the table.

Hate him with the firey passion of a thousand burning suns. Time for camp?

So strange which free agents people choose to hate for picking a destination and which ones they don't. Seems to have a very strong correlation with people's favorite teams being spurned.

I for one am 100% prepared to love him with all my heart or hate him with the passion of a thousand burning suns depending on the decision.

I can imagine the back and forth that happens between an agent and teams for traditional FAs, with all of the salary/length/bonus/incentives that goes into complex contracts, but I really wonder what sort of discussions are happening down the stretch. You'd think it's just conversations between Vesey and his reps, rather than negotiations between agent and teams at this point, right?

Don't necessarily disagree with you, but I'd assume there is a positive correlation between ice time and points.

NYR makes a lot of sense. If he's a big city kid, NYC certainly would have a much higher appeal than Buffalo and it's the easiest spot to get to Boston. Not a ton of talent to beat out for big minutes, and one can make the leap to more minutes = more points = bigger contract 2. Playing in Madison Square Garden is kind of a cool sales tool as well. Obv. not reading too much into rumor at this point, but I think its a better destination than some have given it credit for.

See above. We need a cult hero.

Win lose or draw, I'm secretly hoping that Rem Pitlick becomes a superstar.

Naah he's just literally making things up.

Suggesting that having a child who looks up to professional athletes is a by-product of poor parenting is an incredibly dumb hot take. There are many professional athletes across all sports who well and truly epitomize the kinds of values that many parents find admirable: Hard work Dedication Focus under pressure Team work Strong communication skills Charitable Etc. etc. etc. No person is perfect, and dealing with imperfection and adversity is also an important behavior to model for children. I'd rather have my kids look up to certain athletes than many of the other types of "entertainers" that are in the public eye, that's for sure.

Have to eat some crow on the Ryan O'Reilly "soon to be convicted of a crime" comparison with Kane's crime-free record. Very happy to be able to eat it - glad for the kid. Hopefully the experience was valuable and that he continues to be a great ambassador for the team. Here's to all of our players running on the right side of the law from here on out.

Questioning why people are quicker to run a black guy who made a lapse in judgement out of town than a white guy who made a worse one is some indication of white guilt? Who says I'm even white? Bizarre.

I don't think it's really super nefarious if the kid is talking to his father or even wants to play for the same team that employs his father. Free agent athletes in all sports have decided to play with siblings, fathers have managed sons in baseball, college coaches recruit their own kids, etc. Of course he'd take advice from his dad - what kid in their early 20s wouldn't? His dad certainly isn't allowed to promise him contracts or tamper with him, but come on, you can't tell him not to speak to his own father because he works for the Leafs.

Kane has no criminal record. O'Reilly likely soon will. These are facts. No assault or battery charges have been filed against Kane. I repeat, he has never been charged with a crime, let alone convicted of one. If the police didn't see fit to charge Kane with a crime, then why should we? Clearly, if he was punching out women on the regular there would have been a criminal charge filed. I'm not injecting anything in this conversation, I'm merely making observations as to how two players are perceived. I'm honestly not sure why O'Reilly gets a pass and Kane gets a fail. Could race be an issue? Perhaps. Could on-ice production be an issue? Perhaps. Could O'Reilly be a great guy who made a terrible mistake, but Kane is a garbage person who does garbage things? Perhaps.

Rest easy SabresBillsFan - there is zero indication that anybody has demanded or offered a top 6 spot. That is just something that some people here made up a while back. I'm sure that if he signs he'll have to compete for a spot just like everyone else.

Not necessarily disagreeing with you, but I can easily make a case that running your vehicle into something while drunk as a skunk is a bigger lapse in judgement with far more serious potential consequences than some pushing and shoving in a bar at 3am, but we'll probably have to agree to disagree. It seems like there is the inclination for people to look at Kane's situation as a pattern of moral scumbaggery making him a bad dude, while O'Reilly was just a good person that had a one-time lapse of judgement that just caused a tiny bit of property damage, no harm no foul. And, that may 100% be true. Or, it may indicate some kind of bias. Certainly worth asking yourself the question, though - at least I'll ask it of myself.

Funny how people say Kane has played his last game for the Sabres, should be fired, etc. for getting into an altercation at a bar and faces no criminal charges, but mums the word about O'Reilly who drank himself retarded, hopped behind the wheel and rammed a Tim Hortons before fleeing the scene. It is fair to ask the question of whether race is a factor, in my opinion.

I think folks might be overestimating the value of a "clearer picture of the future" when we're talking about like, one off season month. We can debate whether Vesey's exclusive rights until Aug. 15 is an asset of value, but what there is no debate over is whether GMTM thinks Vesey's exclusive rights has value. IMO there isn't a universe where he voluntarily abandons an asset of value.

You don't give up something of value for the exclusive rights to something only to turn around and give them away. This situation isn't analogous to letting your to defensive coordinator interview for a head coaching job before his contract is up.

Don't think Vesey should factor in much - if he signs great, maybe he'll be a good piece, but we're talking 0 NHL/AHL minutes on the guy so it'd concern me to put too many eggs in that basket. Girgs+Kane is a pretty darn steep price on it's own. I'm quite enjoying this rare feeling that we have forward depth, and let's not forget that there were only 5 other teams in the entire league that scored less than we did last year. Don't get me wrong - we're clearly missing a top 4 d-man before we're hoisting cups, but I think I'd rather let the forward talent blossom and have scoring become an actual strength before gutting it, imo.

LOL - now you're just outright inventing whole muti-year fabrications to justify your hatred of some random guy you know nothing about. Now this entitled liar who is demanding top 6 minutes and a guaranteed power play spot is scheming to destroy the future of the Sabres' franchise. Wonder what other galaxies we'll explore before August 15!