PerreaultForever

Thanks for looking into all that for the Byram Montour comparison. I think it actually validates my point that Adams is just doing what JBots already did and there's no progress. We just gave Mitts away. If the team was not a garbage dumpster fire we'd still have Montour, wouldn't need Byram, so we'd still have Mitts and we'd be a better team. This is an example of why we just don't get any better. One piece in, one piece out, one hole filled, another hole created. It's a constant cycle. As for the deals he tried to make, who knows. Making a few phone calls leads to a rumor and I'm sure he's always looking for new parts but how serious any of those talks are is just speculation. We can only measure him by what he actually gets done.

Which is exactly the same as Philly with their "subtractions." Hayes was an allstar for them but Torts said he had to go, he went, and they are better.

Add height? You going to have them put him on the rack?

Do you have any facts to back this up or is it just speculative based on what you hoped he would do? I mean you can say something like "he wanted Pesce" but Pesce had a NMC for Buffalo which may be true, but if he was actually available did any GM NOT want Pesce? Rumor he wanted him probably based on a phone call with no further discussion. The only thing that seems fairly probable is what he did try to trade for Chychrun but as far as I know the rest is just rumors. I'm not sure Byram has all this upside people think and that's because of his size. There's no question he can skate and move the puck, but I really don't see him becoming a real solid D man, he's just not big enough for that. He's a fine addition to the team he came into but I'd challenge you to prove to me that he's actually better than Montour.

To the question it depends. Is it a contract year?

Can we trade Skinner to a French team? (or maybe a pretend French team?)

So true. He looked absolutely dreadful on that and you can see he does not have the size and/or physicality to handle hard play in tight. few of our D do. I said this in another thread but I think it's worth stressing. If you look at Adams building a team he "filled a need at D" with a fast puck moving D man but that's exactly the same move JBots made when he got Montour and he's basically the same guy. In fact, Montour is a lot tougher and might be the better of the two. When Montour got here he wanted to be here (being from Ontario) until the losing kicked in and he was poorly coached and the D system sucks and his game was garbage so he goes to Florida where they have proper structure and good coaching and he's a star for their D. Byram is just Montour V2 and so in terms of building this team if you look at the whole time line, Adams has simply given away Mitts. We have not progressed here.

In fairness they traded away Walker and Seeler is hurt as well as old injuries for Risto and Drysdale. They were getting pretty thin back there so I think EJ is just a stop gap filler for the moment. They are trying to do a tricky balancing act between now and future with that Walker trade. He was really good for them this year. I'm curious to see this 6'8" Russian goalie they got though. Guy is huge.

Hasn't been the same player since he got damaged in that fight. Same for Cozens and his. I wouldn't say they play scared, but they definitely play smaller. I truly believe that what happens with this team is guys like that look around and say to themselves why am I taking the physical toll when nobody else is? Nobody's got my back why should I have theirs? This is the mindset that sets in with this team. It's a mistake in team building and the losing culture is infectious, especially when it's a low expectation pampered locker room anyway. Laziness and relaxed easy living sets in. If it was any of us, we'd be exactly the same.

UNLESS you want to start winning now and not a year from now. UNLESS you want to change the character of this team now before young players give up and want out. The clock is ticking to another Eichel wants out scenario. We don't spend to the cap anyway, one extra year of 2.4 is not huge. The biggest part of the money will be gone when we need cap room for Benson or whoever. Do it NOW. Ship him off to wherever it was they sent Moulson.

I just want Skinner gone. That's it. Jost, Girgs, Olofsson who cares, not relevant, should be upgraded, should be waived, they are all non entities to me with no value. Robinson, Krebs, Bryson, who cares? Pretty much the same marginal value. Just get rid of Skinner, upgrade the bottom end, and then all of these mutts become irrelevant. Now who is this Comrie guy? Never heard of him. Does he play for them?

The commonality here imo is that all 3 teams lack good coaching. Ottawa basically doesn't have a coach, ours is a college level guy and (although I know less about their details) Detroit's hasn't got them playing a good system either. Three up and coming rosters filled with top picks all failed because of the coaching. Vancouver on the other hand transitions into the next level because of good coaching. Philly and Nashville overachieve due to good coaching. There are other factors, but that's the biggest one imo.

Philly playing like they are intentionally trying to NOT make the playoffs.

It's not the individual players imo it's the (bad) system and the coaching along with the full immersion development plan. When you critique Power (still a kid) or Byram for that matter or any of the rest of the D stop and consider Brandon Montour. This team and this franchise f's players up and they almost all get worse when they come here and are better when they leave and get proper coaching.

No, nothing disparaging about women in that at all. If you like women's hockey that's great, but the point was it's a different and gentler game and that's how the Sabres play. We don't finish our checks, we don't initiate contact, we don't battle for pucks hard in the corners or the net front. It is like women's hockey. It's all similar to hockey, and there's still lots of skill, but it's a different game entirely. Think about how we play compared to teams that are winning. Consider the differences and then get back to me with a discussion rather than trying to spin this into a false judgement of me.

haymakers? The whole thing was embarrassing on both sides because both teams are a bunch of pussies. Leafs want to act tough so they can look playoff ready but have you ever seen so many guys involved and yet almost nobody actually drops the gloves. Like a bunch of preschoolers all 10 of them.

I'm starting to think that Granato learned all his hockey from watching Cammi play because this team plays like a girls team. A junior league girls team.

Personally I can't really answer that. We've had bad teams before (most every franchise does) and there's the tank and all that but this thing is cumulative so while this team might not be the worst it still feels like the worst and it's the franchise that stinks as a whole since Pegula bought it. I have trouble un-disliking them until they actually change.

Thanks Terry.

So? You should realize that even if we win every single game left all Washington has to do is play .500 hockey (which is below their season play level) and we still miss the playoffs but sure keep dreaming.

This is my actual choice as well. Truly 50/50. Or 60/40 at least. Ideally every D pair is a puck mover with a rock solid defender so 3 and 3, and the bottom 6 really hard to play against or if you prefer mixing it top 3 lines of sniper-playmaker-gritty 2 way guy on each and then a gritty 4th line so still 6 and 6. This mix is not only the best roster, it is the more sustainable model if your stars demand big paydays and you want to stay cap compliant. Consider the best teams in the NHL. They all fit this type of roster model closer than to what we are doing.

We can easily win this in a tight checking low scoring 9-8 affair.

Didn't say he sucked but did say he is a true underachiever and he could be so much more if he was actually fully engaged and used his body. But he isn't and he doesn't. Did say I'd trade him and I still would. I'd have kept Mitts (unless the salary ask was ridiculous) and traded Thompson (not for Byram, for more) and I stand by that. never questioned his ability to snipe and score. Talent was never the issue.

Pretty sure we don't retroactively apply laws either (with the exception I guess of aboriginal related land claims and reparation type things which are somewhat complicated) but we do pass laws differently with a Parliamentary process so it could be "retroactive" to the date the bill was introduced in the house to when it was actually made into "law" through the Senate and the technicality or Royal assent. Tax laws were already on the books, it was just that many of them were not being properly enforced.

I agree with @inkman this was not an impressive win by any means. NJ is playing less than inspired. Clearly knowing their season is over and they don't even know who there coach will be or what direction the team will take. They are playing out the string. We were okay but not great imo and any late season flurry, even if we have one, doesn't change a thing. The organization, top to bottom is a flaming pile of garbage.