PerreaultForever

Pettersson looking a lot like those star Leafs as well. Was good in open ice, not so much come playoff time.

lol, maybe the league would give it to Swayman (or somebody else) just for that reason. A lot of what you say is true. Three things on last year. One, Bergeron was playing hurt. Two, they weren't physical enough and although they had more talent, they had less real hard grit and Florida exploited that. Three, Ullmark wasn't as good as Bobrovski. Another guy who has impressed me this year is Geekie. The knock was always that he was too slow but he's developed into a hard nosed forward that has helped fill the Bergeron/Krejci void for them. Looking like a key FA signing. Good mileage out of retreads like Boquist as well. I don't think they can beat Florida or Carolina, but you never know.

Duclair's an oddity though isn't he? Nobody seems to want him long term. Not exactly sure what the issues are with him but I think there are issues.

Correct. This is what I am saying. This is what I want us to avoid. The are an open ice team that does not like to play in the trenches so to speak (talking about the core star players). We have quite a few guys who are like that as well unfortunately. I am hoping Ruff can get them out of this and most of them will become what they need to be now. Most of them are young enough there is still hope but at this point, those that do not start to do what it takes need to be moved on from. We will see how it shakes out soon enough.

Well that's true, but there are some similarities. My thoughts on this started way back when we were doing the Eichel-Reinhart-Skinner will save us approach and things are a bit better now but it depends on what KA does at this point. He's shown a tendency to invest heavily in players before they deserve it so if Power and Cozens don't get it together those will be bad overpays. With overpays on the roster other agents will ask for more as they will say "my guy outperformed that guy so pay him more" (simplistic, but you get the idea). Byram will be an issue. How much he pays Peterka and UPL will matter. That cap can runneth out pretty fast as the rookie and bridge deals end. This is part of the reason why I hope he is looking at moving some offensive up and coming talent for muckers and grinders who can balance this roster and they play for a LOT LESS. We are at a crossroads, and what we do this off season is crucial to what happens with this team in the next 5 years or so.

Well they haven't lost yet (but it doesn't look good). Bruins blew a 3-1 game lead last year with a better team roster so they could easily do it again. But ya, assuming Leafs do lose, the "core" they have is not going to ever get it done and collectively costs way too much to allow them to build a better team around them. This is why I say , we do not want to follow that model.

Of course it's better than 13 years of not being in the playoffs at all, but why not get it right and enjoy the possibility of actually winning in the playoffs? I think that'd be better.

The thing for me, and it has been for a while, is I am afraid we might become the Leafs and we will be forced to endure a decade of playoff failure even if we do get regular season good. I am hoping Ruff will have a say in fashioning this roster into a team that can win in the playoffs, not just get there. Leafs struggle mightily when there is less open ice. Bruins taking away time and space and the usual Leafs struggle. It was hilarious to watch how many times the frustrated Leafs were looking to refs, gesturing and begging for non existent penalties because they weren't getting their way or weren't able to do what they wanted. Even the HNIC guys called them out on it and said "just play". We don't want to be them.

Best not to drink that Oleato crap from Starbucks then.

Maybe a suspension but maybe not. Kind of hard to justify leaving your feet when you're that tall but it was only called a minor. Evander Kane with the Gordie Howe hat trick.

Well idk, but maybe he wants to play nice since he's back in town? Wipe the slate clean? In any event he did name check him so maybe he was in fact saying Sabres need a tough guy/fighter.

Absolutely. I mean sure, he might have lied and only wanted Ruff, but it's also not hard to get up to 10 phone calls in pretty fast. So maybe little white lies as they say.

I was thinking today maybe all we need to make the playoffs would be to sign Lindholm in free agency and add a couple bottom end tough guys and if UPL stays the same that might be enough with Ruff in charge. A tough D man (Zadorov?) would be additionally good but maybe Samuelsson plays healthy(ish) and that too is enough to get us over the hump. It's not that hard to do, but it has to be done.

The details never come out in these things either. So what does "tried to hire" really mean? Could mean they called him up and he said "I want a 5 year deal" or "I want X (huge) amount of dollars" and KA replied "let me get back to you" and that was it. So would that be "tried"? Or would it be Adams turning to Terry and saying "you wont' believe what this guy asked for" with an eye roll.

My own purely speculative view is that they fully planned to go ahead with Granato for one more year until Ruff was fired by New Jersey. When that happened Terry and Kevyn got together and it was "new plan". The rest is spin, optics, marketing, and PR BS. I also think Ruff will get a say in personnel and other moves going forward. This will be his last coaching job and he will be bumped into a senior advisory role when it ends. The only question obviously is will it end successfully or not.

I would guess a lot hinges on what happens with Stamkos at this point.

Florida a much more passive team in this game so far. Absence of Bennett and Lomberg making a huge difference. Or it's Kyle's fault 🙂

Okay I'd agree with that. I would do it too. I want every hole on this roster filled. No more waiting.

I don't really think that is true, which is why the top teams trade them away at deadlines so often and there are very very few trades for first round picks at the draft. So I guess you can say they are overvalued by those that have them, but that also means you won't get a deal for them either.

You can google anything these days. Olive oil is a big part of both the Mediterranean Diet and the Longevity Diet and both have held up to numerous studies as the healthiest for long life. Just saying.

Why? Unless the forward is, as I said, old or flawed, who would want to give up a proven pro for a maybe someday? I guess maybe if there's a team with serious cap issues (and nobody to put on LTIR following a cup win) they might look at it but otherwise I can't see it. Most teams are not in perpetual rebuild like the Sabres have been.

You'll miss.

I don't see Benson becoming Marchand or Marchand-like but he could be Danny Briere. As for next year, I am hoping Ruff starts camp as early as possible and makes it a clean slate for all players under contract regardless of age or stature. Earn it and it's yours for as long as you can hold on to it. That should be the standard applied equally to all.

wtf? where'd you get this from?

shenanigans