PerreaultForever

It's the time of year when I definitely start to miss it. Had enough of a head cleaning break and ready for new hockey. I don't like football enough any more for that to carry me into the fall.

I've heard this rumor out of Boston chatter but I don't know if it's generated by actual trade talks or just fans desires to move him because they didn't like what they saw last year. Moving him back to Buffalo could be good for both teams but I'm not sure what Buffalo would send the other way. If Boston wants draft picks I could see it working for sure. He would fill the forward gap created by Peterka leaving and if/when Helenius or someone else is ready we could decide to keep or ditch him then.

I imagine the guy's not too smart, or at least thinks slowly and has trouble keeping up with the speed of the game. We failed to recognize these things and placed him in a top role with high expectations. He needs to restart in a lower and more sheltered position with a simplified game. It's not unlike Risto in that way but with different positional issues. I don't know what Ottawa will do or expect but with a full camp and recognition of who and what he is they might fix him and turn him into a productive middle 6 forward.

Definitely, the only way to get Buffalo back off those lists is a complete reboot. Pegula has to announce he's stepping back, hires an experienced and respected NHL guy to run the organization who in turn hires a coach players want to play for and then they spend and make serious moves designed to win. If they do that the perception changes and players will start to want to be part of that. Younger fans (even middle age maybe at this point) might not remember, but Buffalo was once considered a top notch team and a good destination.

Well, you want me to say Buffalo, and it's a safe choice as I'm sure it's one of the most if not the most, but I'd say it doesn't have to be. They have created this situation and I'd be confident suggesting Buffalo was not on the most lists when Pegula bought the team but it has progressively risen in that list over these years. The perception is that much harder to change now. Otherwise I think it varies. Depends on where the players are from too. Some players get to submit lists when they kick in as well and they can be strategic. For example I hear Ullmark listed all the teams he thought wanted or needed goalies to try to avoid a trade from Boston. I imagine that sort of thing can happen often.

Can't stand NMCs and yes I think they definitely hurt teams. There used to be only a few of them but now it's like every single player demands some form of one. I can see why the players love them, but from a fan point of view they suck and teams like the Sabres are heavily screwed by them. Also hate tax inequalities but there's nothing we can do about either.

I like Benson, but they have placed him in a spot too high on a roster and expect too much too soon. Some people see him there and say he's not good enough, forgetting his age and how he shouldn't even be there yet. Others expect him to be NHL top 6 level at his age and that too is expecting too much too soon. I wish we had a roster that had enough veterans on it that we could step him back to third line and let him develop, but sadly, we do not.

Well, ultimately, for this part of the debate, the sales pitch was an upgrading of the 4th line from Girgs, Krebs, Okposo and what they did instead was toss away a 2nd round draft pick and add two stiffs in Lafferty and Kubel who didn't even last a season. Just another example of why the team doesn't get better. So this year we added some guys BUT we also subtracted some and thus it seems unlikely we are any better yet again.

There is one other possibility and that's that Ruff isn't as respected or connected any more as we think he is. Maybe he didn't have a bunch of possible assistants who wanted to work with him ready? In any event, all the assistants suck.

I guess that's true. I've already wiped most of last season out of my memory.

idk where he ends up ranking or how good he will be but Belchetz is a potential beast.

There was far too much continuity when Ruff was hired. The entire staff should have been booted. I don't know how they run their practices or who does what exactly but you kind of get the impression that Ruff was hired to oversee things, give inspirational talks and manage the bench but everything else basically stayed the same. Sort of like an appeasement to the fanbase and the impression of real change but not real change. Lines were the same at the beginning of the year, spots were held for players, everything was pretty much set as is. I am hoping this year Ruff takes charge and makes changes. I also hope it's a competitive camp, but it doesn't look like it will be.

So how does Malentstyn end up being one of the best defenders and Lafferty one of the worst, if it's a 5 member stat and they play on the same line?

How do they measure high danger shots against when there are 5 guys on the ice? Aren't all 5 responsible? Also, I thought the stats said Zucker was one of our good defenders?

Well ya, they simply aren't committed to winning. There are some teams that set a high bar and will do whatever they can to try to win and win now. They don't always get it right and only 1 wins it all but they are usually in the hunt and have some sort of playoffs. Then there are teams like the Sabres, and I don't really know what their real aim is as doing whatever you can to win now doesn't seem to be it.

They do have to get off the treadmill but do you see anything that makes you think they get this? I still see a team where Terry Pegula thinks he knows best. Thinks he knows hockey. Has an idea and is sticking with it. When it inevitably goes wrong he simply thinks my idea was right, they just drafted the wrong guys so we will get rid of them and get new guys to work with/under me and we will get the right guys this time. Constant circular process. I still believe they do it backwards every time. Maybe eventually it'll work for them but so far not even close. My belief is the opposite of theirs. It's (in simplest terms) 1. tear it all down and subtract everybody that gets you value or is a problem. 2. build the culture with vets and hard workers. Instill this into the team first. 3. Get goaltending and build a hard to play against D and team structure. 4. Add scoring talent (some of which you will have drafted during the first part). You end up with a strong culture and a balanced roster from the back end out. That's my belief anyway and it should take about 5 years to become a solid competitive playoff team. You can argue nuance and details on that and winning lotteries and other luck factors in but overall, that's the rebuild model I believe in. Pegula does not. He knows better. But he doesn't "micromanage" 🙂

That's it right? We had to do MORE than they did because we were behind them. We didn't.

Tage could be better, but okay, let's not say "bad". Some of the others are worse. Team as a whole plays open ice hockey, doesn't win puck battles, and breaks down structurally often. Absolutely on Crosby. Bergeron and Kopitar were the perfect players for me. Excellent offensively but total shut down defensively. Currently, this is Barkov, who quietly leads Florida with a perfect 2 way game while Bennett and Tkachuk etc get all the press.

Yes, that's part of why I said it's a complicated argument. Benson shouldn't be the best defensive forward. He is in part because they are so bad. He has been well coached and he does think the game through properly at a high speed. There is nothing about Benson's game I dislike. It still remains to be seen how effective he can end up being due to his size (as in a high end player or a mid level player) but despite his size I'd bet he's already stronger than Quinn (and some others) and he's still growing. We need to focus on his development though and not just go "oh he's fine, let him grow on his own". We both have issues with their coaching, no question.

I like Kesselring. I like him as a partner for Power. I just don't think he moves the needle for the team as a whole. It will be interesting to see if McLeod continues or if last year was a one off. I have no issues with him though at this time. We just haven't done enough compared to other teams around us, that's it.

I don't see Cozens going the Peca or Gaustad route but if I was Ottawa (and I said a few years ago this was needed here) I'd have him in the weight room constantly. Beef up and get stronger. He's a big guy but really lanky and thin not strong. (Quinn needs the same treatment). I have no idea what Cozens will or won't be but we definitely overpaid him early and had too much faith in him.

Who is Gilbert's replacement? Gilbert was a 7/8 D man, but also the guy who stood up after the Tage fiasco. I could care less about Lafferty, but my expectation of him was never high to begin with. Arguing about our 4th line guys is of little consequence. We will see how it shakes out this time. It was supposed to be better last year and wasn't.

Benson isn't but that's a long argument so let's leave it as agree to disagree. Thompson is bad defensively but you forgive that a little. Most teams have an offensive star or two who is bad defensively. Boston's a highly structured team but Pasternak can make huge defensive gaffs and that's forgiven with offensive production. Same can hold for a few guys here like Thompson, but the rest of the team has to pick up the slack. Now look at the rest of the better defensive players you listed. Tuch, Zucker, McLeod, all developed outside the Sabres system and methods. Their defensive game was imported, which argues to my point about too much internal development and not enough veterans brought in. Our internal defensive development is not good.

Well yes, good coaching early on does help for sure and what happens all the way along matters. I don't think the Sabres do it right once they draft these kids. I'll go back to Granato's BS comment that defense was the easy part and they want the offense to develop first. It's the exact opposite of what most teams do with young prospects. Now he's gone, but Appert's still here and we do Rochester the same way. imo what we should have is a Rochester team employing a tough and rigid defensive first philosophy and then when kids graduate from that they can then go back to opening it up with the big club. The D first will be ingrained. We do everything backwards.

Call Adams quick. This is a game changer. Climate change is here to save the Sabres!!!!!!!!!!!!!