PerreaultForever

That has been the case so far. We have one style that we want to play and that perhaps we even excel at when we are "on". The trick will be being able to adapt. You see I want to build a team that will have playoff success, not just get into the playoffs. The way we are going, even if it does come together as per the "plan" I can see this problem coming and want to avoid it.

That's true, the 3 dmen who produce offense aspect is front and center. My additional question would be who provides the defense? Amusingly earlier on Byram's pairing was with EJ. Are we going to try to win 8-7 every night?

Well that's fine, and maybe it'll work out but I'm just thinking ahead. We will have a much clearer picture when we see what happens with UPL. That's the first cap/contract issue. I said long ago I figured Mitts would get traded simply because they had an idea of how much they'd pay a 3C, they saw him as a 3C but he saw himself as a 2C and that was a great divide so he had to go. Byram sees himself as a top pairing D. He is a top D guy for sure in terms of his offense. The issue for me is just Power and his contract. 30 million for 3 D is a LOT. I asked this earlier so for the capologists out there is there any team out there that has 30 million on their top 3 D? I don't think so. I could be wrong.

That's not wrong, and maybe Byram is worth the money more than Mitts was but we already paid Power a lot so I'm not sure it'll work. We pay him a boatload and that window we are building will be really small unless the cap goes up a lot. A really lot. I really don't want to end up stuck like the Leafs having to try to cobble together a bargain basement bottom six and depth D. It's a recipe that fails. It'll be very tricky to make this work as Quinn, Peterka and others also start to come up for raises.

I agree with you that "pace of play" is their thing and that's how they want to play, and if teams let them play that way they will have success. I don't think Jost and VO had a lot to do with it but BB definitely does. He clearly thrives in that wide open attack mode game. The question I still have is can they impose their will on teams that don't play that way. Teams that take away time and space. The Islanders game should be a good look at that. I also don't believe you can make a team of all fast and skill work both in terms of the cap (as skill guys are usually more expensive) and in terms of the lack of physicality. It's a recipe for playoff failure. I'd rather we built a more balanced roster with the bottom 6. Speed is good all around, but we need more physicality to go with it.

At this stage of his career I don't think you want that to be a thing. He's too young and physically under-developed. Yes, he's a big body, but he has not reached his peak development yet. Kid still needs to add muscle and he will. Consider Dahlin and how much stronger he looks this year. Able to take hits and deliver them. If Power is still not hitting people at 23 we have a problem. Not yet. Power is YOUNG. The expectation for some is way too high right now.

I don't know if this pressure theory is real. I suspect at the moment we have a trade deadline sigh of relief moment which makes them all relax and loose and then there's a Byram bump for some. They were already pals with him and they feed off of a new guy excitement. The question is how they will handle any adversity from here. If the "pressure" is real, I guess it hits the moment the team makes making the playoffs a minimum standard. I'm still waiting for them to raise that bar to that minimum point at least. Maybe next season.

That's what we need though right? The complimentary guys. I'd hope we try to mold him into a Greenway type at least. We don't need more speedy open ice guys, we need net front guys. A big body who gets in front has my interest. I would not expect him to make the roster however for at least 2 years, maybe more.

You didn't read everything I said obviously. I have no issue with the talent. Byram is very good. I'm just looking forward and wondering how we make that work? Obviously there was a contract issue with Mitts so we got another player with a contract issue a year from now. That is the definition of kicking the can down the road.

idk if he is, but I hope he is (or will be). I don't want another Murray. He's young and big so there's room to grow in both skill and size. I hope we take our time and develop him properly.

I like the size, is he skilled enough to become our version of something like Hornquist was for Pittsburgh?

I think he was pretty, pretty, pretty close.

When people (including myself) wonder where this effort was over the first part of the year I do wonder if at times they quit because they felt they had no hope with the goaltending and now that UPL has been good they feel, hey we can win with him, and so they play harder. That could be a thing and thus the season falls on KA not getting a veteran goalie and on a lack of good veteran leadership to guide them over those doubt moments. KO is clearly not missed,

This is the long standing question isn't it? All teams have slumps here and there but the inconsistency of this team is mind boggling.

You really don't read people when you get set on an argument do you? Pointless talking to you. Enjoy your evening.

Oh okay, I thought you were saying Krebs could take the spot adequately.

idk, there are some who believe the cap is going to rise a lot in the next few years so maybe. Is there a team with 30 million for their top 3 D? It seems like too much. Two guys like that yes, three seems unlikely. There's no question he makes the D better but unlike you (and KA) I do not think much of Krebs and think that we now have a new hole to fill. If they think the plan is just to slap Savoie or some other kid in there I don't think it will go well. We need a veteran 3C replacement.

Go back and read what I said. Nowhere did I say they were bigger or younger. The point was in regards to at the end of the day "talent wins out" not in terms of who had more talent. The question is why are they currently in the playoffs and we are not? Their rebuild started later, they have less talent, they should be much worse than us but they are not. They are roughly the same (although different in style) or better so, "talent" is not winning out at the moment. That's the issue.

Well that was interesting. I don't know what's wrong with them, but Detroit was horrible. (haha) The Sabres on the other hand played like the team they are supposed to be building so I guess they are? Well idk, it's an enigma in many ways but there are some players finally going to the front of the net, they played with speed and with a quick exit, and it all seemed to click today. So both things can in fact be true. Detroit was bad AND Buffalo was good. Now the test is to see if they can bring that or will it against a team that doesn't let you do what you want. They do that, and we might actually have something real. Byram is good at what he does. The added D is allowing Clifton to settle into his role properly and he looks more like the Clifton from Boston last year. The only thing I did not like was they ran UPL twice, and we did absolutely nothing about it. That will not take us far if we ever do make the playoffs because you know if we did and UPL was playing well, a team like Florida would be worse than what we saw today. We need to be tougher. Happy days today though.

No, the point was Colorado traded him because they thought they wouldn't be able to sign him and give him what he wanted at the end of this deal. This is now our problem. It's a real thing. We already gave money to Power and Dahlin so how do we make Byram work into that down the line? I don't see it. The point is, if you were set on trading Mitts, I'd rather have replaced him with a mid level defender and a forward. A big/tough winger or a back up goalie. Things we actually need long term to fit with what he already have. Byram is talented, no question, but we already have Dahlin.

Zamula is 6'3" and just coming into his own. Sanheim is 27 but locked up long term and he is solid. Maybe that's not "young" but he's in his prime. York has also become a top defender. Bonk is still developing. The others you already mentioned are all looking promising. How many do you want, they only need 6 starters. Who do you mean by Buffalo's 2nd and 3rd rounders? RJ is the only guy I see pushing for an NHL spot. With the addition of Byram you can argue the Buffalo defense is better. It's certainly more talented, but I'm not sure it's better as a unit defending.

Well unlike some of the other teams that have come in lately Detroit has zero excuse to come in napping so this is a true test I think. No excuses on either side so this SHOULD be playoff hockey. Let's see what we get. (and yes, I decided now I am going to comment on games still, just to annoy the handful of mutts that took shots at me when I said I'd had enough of it for this year. Maybe next time they will be nicer and I will shut up 🙂 )

I disagree on two levels. First, we may or may not have more talent coming. Despite having the rapey goalie problem they too have a promising young goalie in Errson. They have big solid young D. Not the flashy offensive kind we have, but big defenders. There is a veteran core, and then there's Michkov. If he comes and is what he might be, when you add that to the foundation they are building they will be a top competitor. The second thing is I don't think that in the end "talent wins out". Yes, of course you need some talent, but team systems, coaching, roster dynamics, the whole package matters and that includes gritty bottom end guys as well as talented ones. If talent wins out we'd see the Leafs in the cup by now wouldn't we.

He was, and he was likely not going to fit into their cap projections/decisions but getting rid of one problem with another problem isn't really a good plan. We are just kicking the can down the road.

The guy you want is hard to find. You need to take baby steps in the direction and having this guy while you try to find and develop the more talented tough guy still helps your team. We had the guy you want in Marcus Foligno, but we didn't value him and have not replaced him. All time Sabre that fits that bill would be Rick Dudley. Add a couple guys like that to this team and everything changes.