PerreaultForever

Name Tuch captain and I would be willing to bet he retires a Sabre.

I expect them to be more physical than they were in Buffalo. They won't take us lightly in any event so it'll probably be a tough game. Result could rest with the specialty teams.

I know, I know, but we don't spend to the cap anyway so maybe it wouldn't matter. imo the signing was a huge mistake and I still think that. The alternative is a very strong leadership group that drives the locker room and elevates everyone, including him (as much as he listens to anybody).

See, that's the thing and it illustrates what's been wrong with this team for so long. Benson going to the net front should NOT be that noticeable and should NOT STAND OUT as something new or special. It's a VERY GOOD thing, but it's what lots of the other guys should have been doing for years and many of them still need to start doing it now. Benson has been outstanding, and all his instincts are correct and his attitude appears to be correct as well but he shouldn't be leading them, they should be leading him. Well, it is what it is. Perhaps he will help us turn the page finally.

idk if Skinner is a problem, but that was what they were saying in Carolina. The "uncoachable" thing has come up many times in the past right or wrong. He certainly does seem to very often be marching to his own drummer out there. Offensively this can lead to a goal, but defensively it can be disastrous. There are guys with talent who simply make teams worse, and teams are better off after they jettison them. It's possible, that's all I'm saying. Not necessarily even probable, but possible.

There's always a buy out 🙂

Good goaltending is always the key - which is why this plan has been so............. (fill in whatever expletive you prefer).

In fairness to them though, as we saw with this Vegas game, when they do bear down and bring it as a team they can play quite good, and even the team D is much better. maybe we have to get rid of Skinner like Carolina did. Just a thought.

When I watch the enthusiasm Tuch has after a big win and he does his version of a goalie hug, I just think anyone else, even Dahlin, would be a huge mistake. Both times the team stunk bad and then rebounded this year the 2 guys that really seemed to step it up were Tuch and Cozens. So my view is the same as it was before this year started. Tuch captain, Dahlin and Cozens assistants.

Well go figure. I guess the million dollar question is how do they get these guys to play hard EVERY NIGHT and not just after they get yelled at for a stinker.

I've seen a few Flyers games and they (usually) play very solid disciplined hockey. Very hard to play against. Decent goaltending, solid D, very good PK and physically tough. They lack goal scoring but can counter punch really well and most of all they DO NOT QUIT. They are tenacious, which of course all points to Tortorella. I still remember him last year end of season up in the press box with Briere pointing out who has to go. Guess they got it right. I still expect them to miss the playoffs due to the lack of offense but the games will stay close and it's not impossible for them to hang in there with a little luck. Whatever happens I think they are doing their rebuild correctly. If/when they get Michkov added to the mix watch out.

Sadly, I suspect another happy night for Eichel, if he even cares any more after winning the cup. Maybe we catch them napping, but I doubt it. More likely they man handle us badly with that big D.

Islanders might be interested in Kyle. He had success there and they like old slow veterans with a little 2 way ability. Perfect fit for all, including Kyle who can retire where he started. Does naming Dahlin captain change anything though? I'm seriously asking. Is he the "leader"? I have not seen him elevate when the team is down. I don't know if he can "lead". Sure, he's a very good player, but so was Eichel. Not saying they are similar, but the idea of the "star" being the captain is questionable. Is Tuch not the better choice? Sabres fan since childhood. I have seen him elevate his play but idk what his locker room presence is. Not sure any of that will change anything though. While I did favour the tear down and the trade of Eichel/Reinhart/Risto (the old young core) I do not think they have handled the rebuild properly at all and when you do that wrong you just end up shuffling deck chairs on the titanic. imo when you tear down you really tear down and you build back with a lunch bucket hard work tough to play against (nasty even) team and when that is firmly in place and that is the vibe around the locker room, that is what rookies come in to, then and only then you add the young talent on top and they see that culture as the ONLY culture there is and they follow it and you win. Veterans with a work ethic have to be the "core" of your team for several years. A young core is almost certainly destined to fail.

I guess ultimately my question would be do you keep just looking at a season of stats and keep throwing money at something that isn't working or do you need a completely different plan. The contracts/rewards KA has given out so far certainly do not seem to be paying dividends in terms of wins.

Starting not to. The scorn and disgust is building though. As Johnny Lydon famously said "ever get the feeling you've been cheated?"

Not cursed, soft.

It's his shoulder not his head. He's had issues with that for a while so a solid hit can take him out.

Well free agents are usually over paid to get them to come/move. That's pretty obvious I think. We over paid Clifton for example and so he came over willingly. We over paid Johnson. (You think he wasn't sitting there in Colorado wishing he wasn't still there, but a year of money for retirement is a year of money) Compher and Copp might be over paid for their offensive production but they are also 2 way players and filled needs on that team in terms of leadership as well as on ice. Compher's best season and Mitts best season are pretty similar though. If you're going to pay Mitts 6-7 like some want you are expecting top scoring numbers and I doubt that ever happens. Right now imo Cozens, Thompson, Skinner, Power and even Dahlin are all over paid for what they've done on the ice. You really want to add one more to that list? How's it working out so far?

I truly believe the culture in Buffalo encourages softness, or at least leads to what we see as softness on the ice. I wouldn't be surprised is after the Montreal game (for example) Granato said "you guys were pretty good tonight but you got into too many physical confrontations and scrums. Don't get sucked in to that. Walk away. Stick to hockey". Cozens was probably told "see, that's what fighting leads to. Don't fight Dylan. Score goals" and so on and so on and so on.............. Players quit on this team and why not?

So you think he's worth Nylander/Reinhart money? Really? Oh it can "work" but does he give you enough for that money? I don't see him at that level.

probably shouldn't have used balsa wood.

This is why I won't jump on the bandwagon after a win or two any more. Right back to being a heaping pile of garbage. Benson and Peterka the only guys worth anything tonight. Maybe they don't know any better yet? So every single guy with the extended big money deal sucked bad. Our best players in general this year are those not rewarded yet. maybe there's something there. They play for the contract but once they have it, why bother? idk, this game was just garbage. Walk in the park for Colorado.

Playing for something meaningful is good for any of these prospects. Good they let Kulich go. What about Savoie?

Very different urban settings. idk what the Washington transit system is like but Ottawa's centers in to that downtown and the downtown is very people friendly. It's not s slum like some American cities. There's more poverty and crime out in some of the burbs. Downtown Ottawa is pretty nice and the land in question is close to the Parliament building and the National Capital Commission parklands. It's a nice area for a city. At least it was when I lived there. Maybe it's different now but I doubt it.

Well, I can see how his agent will demand more as I outlined in the other post but if it's higher than 5ish, if it starts with a 6 or 7 this team will be in trouble down the road.