triumph_communes

Coaching has held the team so far back, I wouldn’t be so pessimistic with next season even if not many faces change.

Why are you all crying about position when these guys are at least 2-3 years out? We have forwards locked up for a while, this kid is going to be an important part of the future.

Kaliyev is so ugly, such a Boston player

We need some more north south players to balance out the east west guys like Skinner Always get afraid of hearing ‘size’ being the first attribute. Sabres sure could use more players like him though. how far out is he?

+ Sobotka, Sheary, or Okposo is what it would take for me to not be disappointed in the trade. McCabe is a bit of a potato brain though with those head and repeat shoulder injuries, so losing him may not really affect the long term.

He had two stints. Second stint was PPG

Faceoffs are overrated. He played 4th line minutes with criminal possession losers. We we could have given him linemates who didn’t just lose the puck every time it hit their stick. Mittelstadt is a player who excels with tic tac toe, and was almost never given a winger who had the hockey IQ to pull that off. He’s one of those players who will look bad with low hockey iq teammates because he isn’t a puck hog and relies upon his teammates to do equally smart things with the puck. He had awful linemates in college too. Give him smart guys like Reinhart on his line and his production will not just increase like Reinhart might do with others, but exponentially so.

Only if you aren’t paying attention. Jason literally said that Tage’s problems were best fixed playing in the NHL, whereas Nylander had yet to prove he could even produce in the AHL. Tage had already proven he could PPG in the AHL. Tage’s problem was that his cute moves didn’t work against NHL defenders like they do in the AHL and he needed to experience that first hand or ride the bench. He immediately produced in the AHL when eventually sent down—- proving he was not ‘ruined’, he just needs to find a way to make his game work without the cute moves Nylander was was a summer removed from being a healthy playoff scratch in the AHL. A skill player with opportunity to play first line who can’t produce in the AHL doesn’t magically produce in the NHL Only role players get away with that progression. Or some college freshman, etc in the more physical leagues.

Any Risto to Tampa trade is going to have Foote being one of the primary returns. Tampa is in win-now mode and just needs cap relief and replacement RD with grit — they aren’t going to trade their NHL proven cost controlled assets to pick up Risto. They might be willing to trade away defenders they can’t wait two years on to make sure they can repeat their Presidents trophy next two years, and this time have enough grit in the lineup to play playoff hockey.

He was the center anchored by Okposo nearly the entire season. I don’t think he’s a 1C, and I think he would make a better winger, but given his line mates I don’t have any concerns about his last season. When he had Reinhart at wing he was producing PPG pace, Housley was just too awful of a coach to maintain smart lines and instead kept trying to force Eichel-Reinhart to work instead.

Mittelstadt was an out of shape 19yo who was only one year removed from high school hockey and played a light college schedule in between. His best games unsurprisingly always came after the little breaks in the schedule last season. Kids a player, has the heart, smarts, and all the physical attributes you want on the chart. Hes only a disappointment if you thought Housley was going to make the team go the distance last season. Housley never was.

It’s a situation where you sit by patiently like a vulture while the bloated maple leaf takes its last breath after chewing down its third 11+ million dollar contract.

Mittelstadt-Eichel-Oloffson Skinner-Reinhart-Nylander Sheary/Smith-Rodrigues-Thompson Girgensons/Wilson-Larsson-Okposo Trade targets to upgrade/shelter/demote Oloffson, Nylander and/or Thompson. Sign Pominville/Vanek for fan service if trade deals don’t work out and they don’t want to gift all the rookies spots Sobotka waived, Sheary expendable, I won’t pretend Okposo can be moved

Kapanen is the player in Toronto worth stealing if possible. Wouldn’t cost Risto (i.e. won’t really help them get better), and would transform our team.

Pomminstein is a smart player, but he is out of gas. If we have a lot of line drivers he is a great compliment, but the Sabre’s currently lack line drivers outside of Eichel/Erod. Hopefully the new coach revives the line driving tendencies out of guys like Girgensons again, but fact is we’re still playing with a lot of complimentary guys. We could use some bigger guys who at least attempt to possess the puck longer than a hot potato. Vesey ain’t anything special, I agree, and he will never hold a candle to Pomminstein in his prime, but if you’re trading something like Sobotka/Sheary the other way—who cares? Overpaid 3rd line winger to hold the spot until he either transforms as a player under a new/coach and system, or gets replaced from within.

Youre forgetting the main tenet of interpreting corporate actions: it’s always just about the money. Women are generally poorer negotiators and having more female execs is cheaper for the owners. Plus, the league has been failing to cater to a female audience over the years, despite thrusting every pink and black jersey in front of them they could. They want the PR and look at it as a win win. Kaepernicks/WHL lawsuits/etc are expensive and they want to be proactive to prevent them.

Stastny and Carrier for Sheary Sign Vanek 1yr all the 26s

13 of those goals were on the power play. Different players.

Pominville has a NMC. Erod is up to stay. Nobody would claim Baptiste or Bailey if they were waived anyway