GASabresIUFAN

Back on topic please. There is a goaltending thread.

Ralph was always such a great motivator.

Vic has now reached 20 goals 47 points with 3 games to go. Could he reach 50?

I just looked at the standings. They are 2 points behind Dallas with both team having 4 games to go and Dallas has lost 3 straight.

I expect him to be a good as Sam Reinhart. All humor aside, VO is really coming into his own since his wrist got healthy. 3 assist tonight was a stat line you'd have never imagined for him two years ago.

Just finished watching the game. A couple of thoughts. 1) VO is getting a bigger contract by the game. Maybe he is channeling Sam Reinhart after all. 2) I love seeing Power and Samuelsson killing penalties together. 3) Congrats to Owen for scoring his first goal by converting the best pass of Skinner’s career. 4) That maybe the worst ice in the NHL. 5) Sorry Lindy. You’ll need another game to pass Al Arbour.

What are LV’s playoff odds now?

Oh by the way, I know this is sacrilege but I’d trade Girgensons this off-season. I give his job to Asplund, waive Bjork and re-sign Vinnie. I’d then spend money to bring in a good two way center.

Aka Rory Fitzpatrick.

The infamous lines in a blender trick. We are wise to your crafty ways DG.

I’m not taking a shot at Asplund but realize that with Tuch, Skinner, VO, Krebs, Quinn, JJP, KO and Girgensons returning to the roster, Asplund is the 9th winger unless he moves back to center. That’s possible but I think KA maybe looking for a move veteran presence between Z and KO. The truth is I like Asplund and particularly like him when he plays with Mitts. There is nothing wrong with being the 9th winger next season. Between injuries and resting days, he’ll likely suit up 70 times. Also with KO and Z on the last year of their deals he is in the catbird seat for one of the 2 way slots in 23/24.

It also helped that Mitts became the distributor on the first unit. As I’ve said before, getting VO and Mitts healthy changed the Sabres from a two effective line team to a team able to roll four lines 5 on 5 and their impact has been bigger on the PP. Mitts has 7 PP points and 7 EV points since 3/1.

The Wild are unlikely to be trading Dumba or Fiala. Despite having to lug around the Suter/Parise’s buyouts for the next few years they are in surprisingly good shape cap wise for next year. They have 17 players already under contract for only 61.5 mill. Rossi will make the team for another value contract. Fiala is really the only major expense left. After that they are only looking at a backup goalie and a few depth F and D. This may put them a few million over the cap but that can be fixed by getting someone else’s LTIR contract like we did with Boychuk.

@matter2003 Samuelsson and Krebs are considered NHL rookies this season. Neither had played 25 games plus in the NHL prior to this season and neither had played in 6 or more games for the prior two seasons.

Welcome to the Twilight Zone

Question: Does Thompson break out if Sam isn’t traded?

They probably stopped calling him that after his first hair cut.

MVP - Dahlin - He is the fuel that makes the engine go. Rookie - Samuelsson, followed by Krebs Comeback - Anderson - he played only 4 games last year. Skinner is second Unsung Hero - Olofsson. The teams best two parts of the season occurred when he was healthy. Top Forward - Thompson - Wow. Just Wow! Top Defenseman - Dahlin Top Goalie - Anderson but I gave consideration to UPL for his save% in limited action MIP - Thompson Special Award to Tuch and Okposo for excellent on ice play and culture defining leadership.

@triumph_communes I added the MIP.

Anderson played 4 games last season and was thinking about retiring. To comeback and play 30+ games and give us at least decent goaltending is a major accomplishment and imho deserving of some consideration for Comeback player of the year.

There is a huge difference between Sam, Dahlin and Jack. Sam has improved every year in the NHL but has always maintained a consistently good shooting %. Dahlin, except the year with RK has had similar annual improvement. Jack on the other hand had a breakout year but hasn’t really built on it. Maybe it was the injury or maybe it was significantly more puck luck in a career goal scoring year. Tage’s season is coming out of no where. It’s hard to judge if it’s a career year or a new standard which is why I say exercise caution.

1) Team MVP 2) Rookie of the Year 3) Comeback Player of the Year 4) Unsung Hero (player who doesn’t get enough credit) 5) Top Forward 6) Team Norris 7) Team Vezina Edit 8.) Most improved player. (I knew I was forgetting something).

I don’t think he’d take 6 for 6, but it’s possible. 36 mill is a lot of guaranteed money. 6 for 6.5 might get it done if KA was so inclined. However, I hate paying up for a career year. Skinner’s deal might have made me somewhat gun shy. Tage is 24 with one year left on his current deal. I’m wondering if he might be better off signing a 3 year deal and then give himself another shot at a big contract when still in his prime at 28?

Why? We need a veteran center who can win draws, score, and play a 2 way game. I do agree that if Vinnie wants a 5 year deal that it’s a no go, but there is no issue with the kids if he’s here on a 3 year deal. The plan is to roll 4 “equalish” lines. Cozens, Mitts and TnT are 3/4 of the needed centers. We have the cap space and the need so why not?

Both guys are 26 and Samson is the better player, but stats wise there is some room for debate. Here is some food for thought Olofsson g/gp .29; pts/gp .66 Reinhart g/gp .30; pts/gp .70 Sam is now a pt a game player and has 527 NHL games under his belt compared to 184 to Olofsson, but to Vic’s credit he has done a very good job here and should be re-signed. I like that even at 26 his game continues to develop. Not bad for a 7th rd pick.