OhMyDahlin
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Posts posted by OhMyDahlin
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Tier 1:
Eichel
O'Reilly
Ristolainen
Kane
Reinhart
Okposo
Tier 2:
McCabe
Lehner
Tier 3:
Beaulieu
Antipin
Tier 4:
Bogosian
Foligno
Larsson
Girgensons
Ennis
Moulson
Tier 5:
Fedun
Falk
Gorges
Deslauriers
Prospect Tier:
Nylander
Guhle
Ullmark
Fasching
Bailey
Rodrigues
Baptiste
Nelson
Smith
Malone -
Only thing I really hated was Oskari Laaksonen over David Farrance, who went four picks later to...the Nashville Predators, who know defense better than anyone in the NHL besides Anaheim.
I believe Farrance will be a top-6 defenseman in the NHL, hopefully he pulls a Jimmy Vesey (another Predators 3rd round pick)...and goes to free agency to sign with the Sabres, his childhood team.
I was also hoping that, at the end of the draft, they would find a way to obtain a 7th round pick from someone to draft Jack Ahcan...I think he will be a highly targeted NCAA free agent in the next 1-2 years.
Ps. I'll take Mittelstadt over Vilardi every time...and I'm pumped to be able to see all of his games with the Gophers on The B1G Network this winter. -
Why it's the annual P Kane to Buffalo rumor. LOL. Not happening. Botterill isn't giving up Sam and our top pick for Kane. He is not going to add a high paid star player near 30 at the expense of the core of the franchise. We did enough of that stuff under TM. Jbot is going to finally build the team correctly.
We did? What players did we add that were highly paid and near 30 years old, that cost us any pieces of our core?
Certainly wasn't O'Reilly, Kane, Okposo, Bogosian, Kulikov, or Lehner...when we got them, they were all 25 years old or younger.
Some of them might be highly paid, but you could argue we won every single one of those deals, especially O'Reilly and Kane.
Some people hate Lehner and Kulikov. But some people, like me, think it was worth the shot. That's a different debate, but they weren't close to 30, nor were they highly paid, and they didn't cost what I would define as "core" pieces.
Gorges? I wouldn't say a 2nd round pick was part of our core. Moulson? We got assets for him, and then re-signed him when everyone still thought he had something left.
In fact, besides Ristolainen and McCabe, whom he got under great contracts, Tim Murray gave us the entire core we are so excited about...Eichel, Reinhart, O'Reilly, Kane, Okposo, Guhle, Nylander, and you could arguably throw Antipin in there.
(And I think when we are really good the bulk of our depth will come from him as well, with kids like Asplund, Pu, Fasching, Smith, Hagel, Borgen, Fitzgerald, Nelson...and I wouldn't sleep on Nyberg, my pick for a surprise late-round prospect.)
* Tim Murray did a solid job, especially when you consider he oversaw a massive, full-blown, top-to-bottom rebuild.
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Jake Muzzin was 58th in scoring for defensemen. He's on a team with a defensively friendly system. He was a 5th round pick who Pittsburgh didn't sign, then he became good next to Drew Doughty.
I don't want to trade Evander Kane, but if we have to I want somebody better than a 28 year old Jake Muzzin, who will be 29 this coming season...I'll glady pay an extra $1M-$1.5M per year for a younger, better offensive-defenseman.
This season Muzzin had 8 more points than McCabe in 6 more games, 9 more points than Franson in 14 more games, 17 more points than Bogosian in 26 more games...would you trade Evander Kane for one of them? Not a chance.
Career Regular Season PPG: (While Muzzin has been on a way better team than the other two guys.)
Muzzin - .40
Franson - .38
Bogosian - .31
(Franson has been a better playoff performer, and Bogosian has never been on a playoff team.)
EDIT: For the record, I think Muzzin is better than them...I just don't think he's so much better than them that he's worth Evander Kane.I have no idea where you learned to do math, but you are incorrect. I wrote earlier that Kane is the better raw goal scorer, but rest of the stats favor Lucic.
Points
Lucic 729 gms 447 pts = .613 pts per gm (FYI this number is nearly identical in the playoffs 70pts in 114gms for .614 pts /g)
Kane 496 gms 300 pts = .604 pts per gm (zero playoff games)
Assists
Lucic 729 gms 265 asts = .363 a/gm
Kane 496 gms 143 asts = .288 a/gm
Goals
Lucic 729 gms 182 gls = .249
Kane 496 gms 157 gls = .317
Also Games Played per season
Lucic 729 of 786 = 93%
Kane 496 of 622 = 80%
Career shooting %
Lucic 14.5% (Bos 14.6%, Edm 13.1% and LA 16.1%)
Kane 9.0% (this is the same in Buffalo or Wpg)
Ultimately Kane needs significantly more shots to produce slightly better goals. His failure to make his teammates better and failure to stay healthy makes his raw talent worth less the Lucic consistent day in and day out play and this reflects in their average season.
Lucic - 76 gms, 19g, 28a = 47pts
Kane - 66 gms, 21g, 19a = 40pts
To further emphasis the argument, go look on Hockey-reference who each player's career is most similar to. Lucic compares to Backes, Muller, Weight, Tocchet, and Paul Stastny. Kane compares to Drew Stafford, Comrie, Ferraro, Setoguchi.
Let's not forget that Lucic has played with Bergeron, Krejci, Kopitar and McDavid.
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This is some great research.
It does indeed look like we'll be on our way to becoming Team America now that Botterill is in charge, much like the Pens are now (Captain Canada, notwithstanding).
Of the 18 skaters dressed for the Pens last game, 9 were American, 6 were Canadian, 3 were European. To have 50% of your roster being American would I think be significantly above league average.
Thank you, Thorny.
Also, as I sat here watching the game, it popped into my head...Jason Botterill is a former NCAA player himself, he obviously has an appreciation for college hockey players, and who knows how many connections he has in college hockey.
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Throw in Sidney Crosby, Malkin, Kessel and you might have something to work with. I wonder how those guys would do with Gionta, Girgensons, etc.?
Not sure what they have to do with drafting/signing college players...but okay. (Crosby and Malkin were drafted before Botterill got there, and Kessel, an NCAA player, was acquired in a trade.)
I don't think we have any evidence how Botterill will draft. He wasn't in charge of the draft in Pittsburgh. He may focus on the NCAA bound players but he also doesn't have the same scouts or GM giving input.
Was he not part of that organization, in a high role that included scouting...and wouldn't any of that be influential to him?
Their best goalie prospect is Wouter Peeters, (belgian so I know about him) drafted in the 3rd round last year.
But like any he is a couple of years away but they did have him come over to work out at the end of the season.
Wanted to see what they got in him.
So, again...there's nobody of Cal Petersen's caliber in the Chicago ranks.
They also have Matt Tomkins, who is decent...but nowhere near Cal Petersen's level.
When the Sabres signed Barrasso out of high school, they started him. They took a chance and he was a superb goalie. If Buffalo signs Peterson, I hope they give him the starter's job and trade Learner. I don't think goalies necessarily need work in the AHL like the rest of the positions do.
Lehner was very solid, on a bad team...let me know when you think of the last goalie to come out of college or juniors and immediately claim an NHL starting job.
Even the Ben Bishop's and Devan Dubnyk's of the world were passed over and traded a couple times. (Holtby, Murray, Anderson, Rinne, Allen, Gibson, Talbot...they all had to bide their time and earn their way.)
Good stuff Dank.
Thank you.
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Well done! I learn a lot whenever I come to this board.
Thank you. I've become disgustingly obsessed with this stuff. I have a notebook where I keep track of prospects and signings. I really don't know why, but I guess it's a hobby of mine. (I know, it's freaking weird.)
It all started when I was in high school and college, I would keep track to update rosters on the NHL video game (and Madden too)...I don't play video games as much anymore, but for some reason this stuff still intrigues me.
Dank needs to post more often.
Thanks, GoPre. I try to post whenever I see something I feel like I can add to the conversation. I had some bad experiences here before, so I stopped visiting.
But this time of the year is what I like the most, especially when the Sabres aren't winning much lately...I follow every team closely, I really enjoy the building the team aspect of sports.
My friend (former high school football teammate) just got promoted to Director of College Scouting for the Kansas City Chiefs, I told him I wish he worked in hockey instead. Lol.
I'll try to come around more often. (To be honest, I sometimes forget I even posted something here or on TwoBillsDrive.)
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It probably serves a team better to take that late round stab at a college guy over a CHL guy5. You control the player for 4 years, giving you more time to figure out whether or not they're worth anything. Compare that to having to make your mind up after two years when the player is still a teenager, very early in their development curve. I think that was a big part of Murray's approach to the draft. There was a good number of USHL/NCAA and europeans taken with the later picks.
As for how draft picks have been used in that regard...I kind of have the break-down of numbers, since the 2000 NHL draft. (Granted, this isn't just limited to Murray or Botterill.)
Buffalo ranks 3rd drafting Major Junior players at 52.1%, 20th in NCAA players at 27.1%, and 25th in European players at 20.7%.
Pittsburgh ranks 22nd in drafting Major Junior players at 40%, 1st in NCAA players at 42.4%, and 28th in European players at 17.6%.
But Murray definitely leaned heavily towards CHL and European players, while the Penguins continue to lean on NCAA players in the draft and undrafted free agency.
In his three drafts, Murray drafted 6 NCAA players...Eichel, Fitzgerald, Borgen, Murray, Nyberg and Chukarov. (Nyberg was scouted out of the SuperElit, so he could be considered a European...all the others were in the United States.)
Right now the Penguins currently have just one unsigned CHL player in Connor Hall, two unsigned euros in Gustavsson and Almari, and nine unsigned NCAA players in Bjokqvist, Pavlychev, Masonius, Jones, Lafferty, Angello, Byron, Tiffels, Birks, and they just signed Taylor who was a draft pick...they also signed Zac Aston-Reese as a free agent to an NHL contract, as well as NCAA free agents Troy Josephs and Dylan Zink to AHL contracts.
Long story short, I think we will see quite a shift in how we draft, and Botterill will begin to lean heavily on the NCAA with his draft picks.
Just a few others NCAA players they've brought in throughout the last few years...
Thomas Di Pauli - Signed as an free agent, after he "Vesey'd" the Capitals.
Ethan Prow - Undrafted NCAA free agent
Conor Sheary - Undrafted NCAA free agent
Carter Rowney - Undrafted NCAA free agent
Teddy Bluegers - NCAA draft pick (2nd round)
Bryan Rust - NCAA draft pick (3rd round)
Jake Guentzel - NCAA draft pick (3rd round)
Sean Maguire - NCAA draft pick (4th round)
Josh Archibald - NCAA draft pick (6th round)
Scott Wilson - NCAA draft pick (7th round)
Ian Cole was an NCAA draft pick in 2007, which is when Botterill started working as a scout.
Brian Dumoulin was an NCAA draft pick in 2009, when Botterill was working as a scout.
Justin Schultz and Chad Ruhwedel were NCAA players, whom Botterfill could've/would've scouted.
Lol, again, needless to say...I think Jason Botterill really likes NCAA hockey players, whether it's in the draft or free agency.
(***Sources for the draft numbers are from the Hockey News draft preview magazine...all other information is through my own research.)
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Does he sign with Buffalo? We have exclusive rights for 30 days
I think the Sabres know he won't (or doesn't want to) sign with them, and that they could also possibly lose Ullmark in the expansion draft...which is why they signed Jonas Johansson earlier than they had to.
I also think that Cal Petersen will want to go "home" to where his career started, in Chicago, and play for the Blackhawks. Stan Bowman went to Notre Dame, and certainly has connections to those guys there.
Vinnie Hinostroza grew up with Cal Petersen, as they both played together for the Waterloo Blackhawks and at Notre Dame, and he is now a prospect within the Blackhawks system.
Most importantly, the Blackhawks don't have any good young goalie prospects, and there's literally nobody behind Corey Crawford right now, who will be 33 years old this December.
A trip from Waterloo to Chicago is four hours or so, and a flight is just over an hour...so his parents can easily get to every game he plays. (Waterloo to Rockford is a three hour drive, and less than an hour flight.)
I think the kid ends up signing in Chicago, but I really hope I'm wrong.
(Dennis Gilbert, his Notre Dame teammate, is also a prospect in the Blackhawks system.)
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I'm not for or against the signing but someone in the comment section I linked literally said he's going to be Jonathan Drouin.
Wrong. The person says he has potential and given the stats he put up, why can't his potential be Drouin-esque?
"I would say that shows ‘potential’…as good potential as Drouin? why not." That's not even close to "literally said he's going to be Jonathan Drouin."
*There's no reason the Sabres shouldn't have signed this kid, and it just looks bad on Botterill..."Hey prospects, bust your ass and improve every single year, and you still might not get a contract."
This team lacks centers, they lack goal-scoring, they don't have many prospects as it is, and Rochester desperately needs someone with his kind of skills. He seems like a better Evan Rodrigues, with slightly less speed. He was the highest scoring Sabres prospect the last two years...and he missed a full month last season. And I don't think many people get their information from message boards. Personally, I read magazines like The Hockey News, I search for articles on a specific player, and occasionally when I can find games I watch those. This kid started out producing on an really awful team and he was a cornerstone of which they built their program around. He played on a line with two undrafted players, and they were one of the most dynamic lines in the CHL, and completely turned around their program, after being a "laughingstock" to become a winning team in just a couple years while he was there, as a big part of it.
I've read a lot of positives attributed to his game...
http://buffalonews.com/2016/08/05/estephan-pay-big-dividends-sabres/
http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/giorgio-estephan-quietly-one-sabres-best-prospects/
- Stepped into a tough league at 16 years old.
- Has the potential to play anywhere in the top-9.
- He's smart and uses his knowledge to dissect situations.
- Plays heavy and creates space for himself.
- Plays hard on both ends of the ice.
- Hard and accurate shot, good passing and stickhandling abilities.
- Anything from the circles down, he has a chance to score.
- He was a leader for his team, and wore the "A."
He's very determined to be a good player and has a chip on his shoulder, to prove he should've been drafted higher.
"He’s going to play,” Kisio said. “He’s going to be a really great player for the Sabres.”
The only knock on the kid was his skating, which he worked on after practice every day and dedicated his free time to improve it...going as far as actually staying in Buffalo during the summer to work with skating coaches.
“He’s going to get it right,” Kisio said. “One thing I don’t do is doubt him. He’s determined.”
He was drafted 4th overall in the 2012 WHL draft, one spot behind Brendan Guhle...so he has obviously always been a very good hockey player, that dominated at every level he's played at so far.
I get it, he's gone now...but you know who else was a 6th round pick with less than ideal skating? Mark Stone, and how's that working out for Ottawa after they stuck with him and developed him? He's become a player we'd love to have.
(I couldn't care less about Gustav Possler.)
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Linus Ullmark, Hudson Fasching, Justin Bailey, Nick Baptiste, Casey Nelson, Eric Cornel, Sean Malone, CJ Smith, there will be plenty of solid players in Rochester this year, and they're all still really young...Giorgio Estephen, Rasmus Asplund, Cliff Pu, Brandon Hagel, Will Borgen, Casey Fitgerald, Philip Nyberg, Brett Murray, Victor Olofsson, Jonas Johansson, they could all see time in Rochester in 1-2 years too, and become good players.
The whole entire organization has been being rebuilt, this stuff takes time...especially the development of players drafted after the 1st round. -
Anyone care to name a player on the Penguins roster that remotely resembles Kane?
Malkin? Size, speed, skill.
The deal would look something like this.
Kane and Falk to Ana for Vatenan and Stoner. Ana takes Falk so that they have a D to expose in expansion.
That deal is not making the Sabres any better...and Vatanen is probably the 4th-5th defenseman I'd want from them, behind Fowler, Lindholm, Theadore and Montour. (And maybe Larsson.)
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Who does Boston have on their roster or system that we'd want?
McAvoy, Carlo, Zboril, Pastrnak, Forsbacka-Karlsson, Frederic, Senyshyn, Debrusk...therefore, it's not going to happen because they won't be trading any of those kids. (Or Krug, I guess.)
But, I'll be pissed if they trade Evander Kane...this team will get worse without him, not better.
He's said he wants to be here. In an interview with Barstool, Eichel said he and Kane are very good friends and that Kane is liked in the locker room. Kane's father has said that he feels like a part of the team for the first time, and really likes the way he's treated by the Pegulas. Anything I've ever read about Kane and the Sabres, I haven't seen or heard anything to suggest he's unhappy in Buffalo and wouldn't want to stay here.
Will he really find a better center to play with than Jack Eichel, whom he already has chemistry and a friendship with?
He's no fool, he knows he's in a great position, with a very good center, in an organization with great ownership. We need to re-sign him.
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First of all, let's make this clear: Murray is definitely responsible for the contracts of all 4 players I called out. He gave Ennis his contract extension, and the other 3 were brought to the Sabres on Murray's watch. MAYBE I will cut Murray some slack for Moulson (who has provided some production this season, compared to last) and Ennis (2 straight horrible seasons is a long time, but who am I to judge how long he needs to recover from the Ovechkin-induced concussion?), but the contracts for Gorges and Bogosian are as inexcusable as their on-ice performances.
Next, to say we're not in cap trouble is myopic. I'm looking at next summer as much as this one. Kane, Reinhart, and Eichel all need to be kept, and Murray will need to re-sign Kane this summer if he plans on keeping him. But we also need to add 3 quality defenseman and another top 6 winger to this roster...and 1-2 of these 4 needs will probably have to be young vets via free agency/trade who will be beyond their entry-level contracts.
Finally, if you don't think the current on-ice product has any connection with the general manager's allocation of the team's financial resources, then I don't what else to tell you. Hopefully you can reason that shifting cap money to some areas of the roster prevents a GM from addressing other areas of the roster. The Sabres were at the cap ceiling this season, and it limited what Murray could do to address the horrific defense.
Yes, my panties are in a knot. Deal with it.
Guhle is one of those defensemen and Nylander is the top-6 forward.
There are no good "young veterans" in free agency that will provide you with anything more than some of our prospects would provide...those players don't make it to free agency.
It's time to get Nylander with Eichel, not third line plugs. It's time to get Fasching on the 4th line with Carrier. It's time to give Bailey and Baptiste a legit shot.
The Amerks will have Estephen, Cornel, Karabacek, Smith, Malone and Dupuy, (plus other youngsters like Kile and Crema) and they all need to play as much as possible.
Eichel, Reinhart, O'Reilly, Okposo, Kane, Nylander, Bailey, Baptiste, Carrier, Fasching, Foligno, Girgensons, Larsson, Rodrigues, Ennis...make me a team out of those guys.
It's time both teams live and die by the young kids, like the Leafs and Marlies have done this season. (I really wish we could fire Dan Bylsma and get Sheldon Keefe.)
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I just wanted to stop by and say I hate Dan Bylsma...I'd take him to the ocean and feed him to a shark.
THERE IS NO REASON NIC DESLAURIERS SHOULD BE PLAYING OVER CJ SMITH OR SEAN MALONE!!! :censored: :censored: :censored:
(I feel bad for the Smith, he probably chose Buffalo because they promised he would play in these games...if he can't beat out Deslauriers, then why even sign the kid?)
PS. Really hope Murray works out a deal to keep Vegas from taking Ullmark or Carrier...I think Petersen goes to Chicago, for several reasons. -
Might as well trade the guy. He keeps the Sabres in 95% of the games he plays, and they give him no support. Fans hate him because of the price the GM paid to get him, therefore he never stood a chance here.
I'd love to see him go elsewhere to be a #1, put him on a good team and he would be an elite goalie.
Out of the goalies who have faced 1,000 shots, Lehner (.921) ranks tied for 6th in SV% with Gibson (.921), behind Dubnyk (.930), Bobrovsky (.930), Holtby (.926), Murray (.923) and Price (.922), and all of them are on much better teams. He's by far the least of the Sabres problems, and in his first year as a starting goaltender he's improved as the season has gone on...and the more he plays, the better he is. -
Sign Daniel Brickley...I'd really like Murray to be able to pull this kid in...I'd really like to see him pull in NCAA udfa's more often, period.
Brickley came to camp with us last summer, he knows Nelson, he likes the area, and he has to know we DESPERATELY need help on defense.
If he has a good camp, he could easily make this team...he's already 22 years old, 6-3, 205, and he has as many points as most college forwards.
(Another one I'd keep an eye on is North Dakota's Tucker Poolman, who apparently doesn't want to play for Winnipeg and "could pull a Vesey.")
Brickley:
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=216251
http://www.msumavericks.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=6622&path=mhockey
http://www.ncaa.com/news/icehockey-men/article/2017-03-03/college-hockey-utah-minnesota-state-daniel-brickley-creating
Poolman:
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=118006
http://www.undsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=209625163
http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2016/12/1/13717412/tucker-poolman-north-dakota-scouting-report-winnipeg-jets
:wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub:
*EDIT: A third one is Neal Pionk, a Hobey Baker nominee...
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=196583
http://umdbulldogs.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=2321
https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2017/02/teams-interested-college.html
http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2017/1/12/14221856/top-ncaa-nhl-free-agent-prospects-for-2016-2017-aston-reese-brickley-pionk-kelleher
2. Daniel Brickley, Defenseman, Minnesota State
Last year, Minnesota State’s Casey Nelson was one of the top free agent defensemen available out of the NCAA, eventually signing with the Buffalo Sabres and jumping right into their lineup. Brickley is an extremely similar, if not slightly more polished, prospect.
Brickley isn’t a lightning-fast skater, and is still developing on the defensive end, but his combination of size—listed at 6-2 205 lbs.—and tremendous offensive abilities give him a tantalizing amount of upside. He missed time this year with a fractured wrist, but his time out only increased his value as Minnesota State’s power play struggled without him running things from the point.
What he lacks in straight-line speed, he makes up for with a shiftiness laterally which is really impressive for a big defender that allows him to create his own passing and shooting lanes. He’s aggressive in looking for his shot which helps generate a lot of offense. He’s still a bit of a project, but could develop into a second pairing defenseman that is very good on the power play at the NHL level.
4. Neal Pionk, Defenseman, Minnesota Duluth
In his sophomore season, the Duluth-area native has developed into the top defenseman for the Bulldogs, who have spent much of the season as one of the top teams in the country.
Pionk is a very good two-way defenseman thanks to his excellent skating ability and agility. He moves the puck up the ice reliably thanks to an ability to spin his way out of traffic and is an excellent outlet passer. His quickness also gives him the confidence to hold the line in the offensive zone, rather than giving up ice to give himself more cushion defensively.
He’s just an okay defender one-on-one against the rush, but has an above average amount of toughness and physicality for a guy that will classify as a smaller defenseman at the next level.
(***I understand this doesn't "fix" the defense, but it helps and it's cheap.***) -
I'm not saying Kulikov is some kind of elite defenseman, but...
I played once with a bruised back and could barely skate, that was high school hockey...I can't imagine what Kulikov has dealt with all season in the NHL, it's undoubtedly hurt his performance.
(Just REALLY wish we drafted Chychrun, McAvoy or Sergachev over Nylander...in that order.) -
I'm a huge fan of Tim Murray, I'm a huge fan of Evander Kane and wanted him long before we got him...if GMTM trades Kane, I'll lose a lot of faith in him as our GM.
We have a lot of young depth at forward, use some of that and draft picks to get a young defenseman, not our best scoring winger who does everything for this team.
Eichel, Reinhart, O'Reilly, Okposo and Kane should all be the forward core you build around...add Nylander and that's your top-6 for the next bunch of years.
Kane (25) - O'Reilly (26) - Okposo (28)
Nylander (18) - Eichel (20) - Reinhart (21)
You'd have Foligno, Girgensons, Larsson, Ennis, Bailey, Baptiste, Carrier, Fasching and Rodrigues to build a bottom-6 or deal in a trade...plus our draft picks, including an extra 2nd and extra 3rd.
And there's kids like Asplund, Pu, Estephan and Malone to use either way as well...plus 2nd round picks in Hurley, Cornel and Karabacek.***
Trading Evander Kane would be a massive mistake...he's everything we hoped we always had, and everything we hoped we got when we acquired him.
***(You never know what someone sees in one of those 2nd round kids, like GMTM saw in a 4th round pick like Hudson Fasching...someone could want one of those kids.) -
Just stopped in to see what the conversation was about...quickly noticed people still have no respect for Evander Kane's game, although he's our most consistent scorer in the last dozen games.
I'd hate to see him get traded, but if he does I hope he explodes and kills the Sabres every time they play.
He's been the best player on the ice for the Sabres in the month of December, yet the fans (and Bylsma) want him playing with scrubs on the 3rd line? Lol, what a joke.
*Happy New Year.
EDIT: And not only that, but fans/Bylsma want Foligno and Moulson, a 4th liner and a power-play specialist who ONLY contributes on the power-play, to be in the top-6!?! :doh: :wallbash: :sick:I'd like to propose a healthy forward lineup based on a few factors:
1) Sam's comfort level at center. Sammy has not had a great sophomore season but he does look more comfortable when playing the pivot.
2) Smart Gio complementing forceful Kane. On more than one occasion Kane forced a bullet pass to Gio in the neutral zone. For any other player, it would have been caught in feet or deflected into a turnover. Gio simply opened up his stick and one-touched it to the off wing. I think these two are perfect complements to one another and Kane has a respect for Gio's game which can go a long way for his commitment and battle.
3) Giving Lars some top line minutes. There is little doubt that Lars is one of our best and most consistent players on the ice. His skill is often as evident as his ability to play a two-way game. Putting him with some high-end talent could see him take another step.
Note: We are one forward short of serious playoff contender. (Vesey :( )
Larsson - O'Reilly - Moulson
Foligno - Eichel - Okposo
Kane - Reinhart - Gionta
Girgensons - Grant - Carrier
Thoughts? What are the negatives?
Sorry if this isn't where wishful lineups should go.
Larsson and Moulson on the top line, Kane (and Reinhart) on the 3rd line...this is a joke, right?
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Is this where one comes for group therapy? I'm literally devastated. The events that led up to this for me are so surreal. Someone texted me asking what's going on with all the Sabres injuries? I thought he meant O'Reilly, Okposo, Kulikov, Bogosian, etc. The next notification on my phone was a twitter friend who messaged me, "Eichel is down." My heart dropped through my arse. :cry:
Really frustrated about the Bills fans comparing this to Shaq Lawson, Reggie Ragland and Sammy Watkins...they were never expected to carry their team and be the superstar. (Maybe Sammy, to an extent.)
My only hope is that this does not effect his future...McDavid hurt his collarbone, hardly an issue, I've done that and it never made a difference in me playing football or hockey when it happened. But, an ankle...for an explosive hockey player? That worries me. This is probably the worst possible news we could get the day before the season opener. It's just downright heartbreaking stuff.
Someone talk me off the ledge...because I truly don't think this team can withstand this kind of loss.
Will Butcher - Let's use that college loophole
in The Aud Club
Posted · Edited by Dank Dangleson
I don't know where else to put this, so I figured it at least relates to this discussion...
Will Borgen told Paul Hamilton that he plans on staying in school all 4 years to finish his degree because, "You can't play hockey forever."
Also, Casey Fitzgerald is related to Ryan Fitzgerald, Kevin and Jimmy Hayes, Matthew Tkachuk, and his father Tom Fitzgerald is the AGM of the Devils...he's also good friends with Jimmy Vesey.
I'm not the least bit concerned about Casey Mittelstadt getting anywhere close to free agency, but I think there's a good possibility we could lose Borgen and/or Fitzgerald.
Borgen I'm almost resigned to the fact that he'll be gone after reading that interview, but Fitzgerald I at least hold out hope that he knows and thinks highly of Botterill through his father.
Losing one would hurt, losing both would be devastating...I'd rather keep Borgen, even though Fitzgerald was drafted higher.
(Borgen spoke of Jack Ahcan, who I wanted the Sabres to take in the 7th round...that could've helped sway him to stay with Buffalo, or at least it wouldn't have hurt.)
*As for Will Butcher, I'd love to get our hands on him...as I posted before, Botterill and the Penguins were consistently pulling in NCAA free agents and I hope that trend continues with the Sabres. (Daniel Brickley, too!)
http://www.wgr550.com/articles/news/sabres-borgen-feels-playing-college-important