PerreaultForever

I agree with you that there's lots of different good things out there but had to laugh at your chosen continuum. Beatles on one end and metal on the other as the poles or extremes. Lots of people do this but I always find it odd. Why would you shift your music based on your age? I still like what I grew up with and like new things too. The range is wide (farther than the Beatles and metal :)). Pretty sure if I make it to 90 I will still be cranking up Purple Haze or Iggy and the Stooges or the Ramones (etc etc). Probably louder than before as I go deaf 🙂

I can see Kulich being called up if they trade Olofsson or they just get fed up with how he plays. Injuries of course could lead to numerous call ups but Kulich imo is the "sleeper". I don't actually think anyone makes the opening night roster though.

I hate to say it, because I know how this lands with some members here but they looked soft. They definitely played soft and had no answer for the Pens kids' D play and physicality. This is how we draft, this is what we get. On the other hand, I guess Burke and Hextall drafted some truculence. 🙂 Several players out though so hard to judge properly. Benson was pretty good. Probably the only one.

Poitras and Lohrei look like the only possible future NHLers in that prospect pool and they are just likely mid level at best. Interestingly I posted the comparison to how many prospects the Sabres have on a Boston website and suggested the division was getting ready to flip top to bottom and bottom to top over the next few years and the Boston fans pretty much agreed. It's SO CLOSE you can taste it. If the Sabres somehow (and I can't see how) blow this rebuild they might as well fold the franchise.

Wow jumping the gun or what. Let's see it in the NHL before we start crowning them. A Sabres dynasty would be nice, but I have to see it to believe it.

imo it isn't Matthews that screwed them, it was Nylander squeezing them for maximum money and the Tavares signing was a terrible move. In a cap league you can have a few top forwards but then you have to reserve some big money for D and goal as well. They went really top heavy on scoring forwards and left nothing for the rest. They should never have signed Tavares and should have maybe traded Nylander for D years ago. We aren't similar as our top forward took less money than he would seem to command now so there is money left for D. Rasmus does have to be signed soon though or (and I don't want this but) he will have to be traded. No way you can let the season expire as is. I would give him the 5 year deal he wants. Kick the issue down the road when it might mean less and he might be more motivated to stay (assuming we are winning). Eventually we are going to have a big problem paying guys though if all these prospects coming up mature at the same time (and are good of course). A good problem perhaps, but a problem all the same. Some moves will have to be made trading talent for bottom end depth and/or different prospects/picks. It'll be dealing from a position of strength though if/when that happens.

Only thing I'm wondering is how much money did he scam out of them?

So I was watching a little of the Bruins-Canadiens prospect game today and it was garbage hockey comparatively speaking. Bruins have very very little to look forward to. Maybe 2 potential NHLers at best. Division is likely getting ready for a full top to bottom flip in a year or two.

I'm not disagreeing with the idea that you can't teach scoring as easily. You can't really teach it period. That's a skill thing. But they all have these skills coming in at lower levels and there isn't a whole lot to teach beyond line chemistry and being in the right position to utilize their skill. Obviously as a pro you keep working on your skills but once you know how to take that shot it's just about training and your stick type and details. Good D on the other hand requires solid team play and communication. Perfect positional play and a lot of details in terms of making plays without taking penalties and so forth. It takes discipline and commitment. It's not glamorous, but it's hard work. A lot of these guys just don't like it, don't want to do it, and it takes them a long time to add it to their skill set. They just instinctively don't. You take a guy like Skinner. Offensively gifted, can run around like a buzz saw on offense, but after all these years in the league, he still doesn't know what a back check is. Idk what they will do but it will be interesting to see if they stay all offense or try to build a better defensive system (which might cause an offensive drop off) . You don't want Kreuger hockey or even Bylsma hockey with this skilled team but you do need better defense all around. Granato has his work cut out for him.

Johnson can skate for sure. Like many of the guys we draft he skates well and in open ice moves the puck impressively. But he's not a forward, he's a D man, and in front of his own net he was absolute garbage. Gets bodies out and can't take pucks away from aggressive forwards. Right now imo he's somewhere between Jokiharju and Pilut in terms of ceiling and floor and that's just not going to help in terms of NHL play.

Fleming was an interesting surprise. Some additional goalie prospect possibilities down the line. He did a lot of things right and has potential. There's no question the offensive skill is off the charts for this prospect pool. Not sure how that's all gonna shake out down the line. Too many similar guys looking for the same jobs. We shall see what happens. The D not so great imo. Not impressed with Johnson for all the hype. We might want to consider flipping a few forward prospects to somebody for a few D prospects.

If it's a dangerous infraction it gets 5 minutes. If you're doing this for 2 minute infractions you're basically taking hitting out of the game. As for the 1 min PP I don't agree, but I have thought the team should get a choice whether they want the penalty shot or the 2 min PP.

cause hockey is a U.S. sport.....................................right.

A lot of skill in these prospects without a doubt.

I just turned this on end of the first but the few minutes I saw they look fast but disorganized. The latter I guess is not unexpected at this stage.

I'm not sure it devalues the asset as they're in the same league. When Buffalo misses the playoffs for a decade the asset gets devalued all the same with empty arenas. Fans might show up if there was something to play for i.e. playoffs and then moving up. The Latvians will all tell you how much relegation vs. moving up means. Generates a lot of excitement. As a Buffalo fan maybe it's hard to remember just how much money playoffs generate. Tickets and merch. I'd have to think relegation playoffs would still generate similar returns. Anyway, probably flogging this dead horse beyond recognition but I turned on this prospect game just now and the intermission is really boring 🙂

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/transactions So what's with the crazy number of players being invited to the Coyotes camp?

Not now for sure, but how big does the league get before the current format becomes untenable. I wouldn't want more than 16 teams in the playoffs as is. It's already a 2 season league. Another round of playoffs will just make the regular season even less interesting. idk, I think it'll be years before it's a real problem but if you go above 32 teams it is maybe time for change.

Well first, it works in Europe for soccer. They have more fans than the NHL has. Second, I wouldn't have it completely separate. Top league teams could still play B tier teams, maybe just less games, like we do with east/west games now. Also, you'd only get relegated for that year. You'd be back the next if you place top 4. There would also be that B level playoff money. Think of it this way, if it had been Buffalo, we ended the season strong and could have had a long B level playoff run. Potentially 16 home playoff games and all the revenue that entails. At the end of which you celebrate moving up a league for the year after. I realize this is a hard sell in North America, because it's something people aren't familiar with, but it does work, and if you look at European soccer, the level of excitement for moving up is off the charts. In any event, as it is, too many more teams will kill rivalries and dilute the league. They'd have to change something.

If those are the numbers there's no way he's taking 10.5 over 8 when the cap is going to go up a lot by all accounts. 11.5 over 5 positions him for another 7-8 at a similar or even higher number. 10.5 over 8 now makes him 31 and likely to not get much more, maybe less next deal. That's easily losing 10-15 million or so for him over time. This is not good.

Well I'd say it's not necessarily "nonsense" and I can see how a player might want that at this stage in his career. He's 23, so if he takes an 8 years deal at 31 he's a free agent and that looks a little iffy age wise for another 7-8 year deal from anyone. With a 5 year deal he's 28 at the end and hits free agency in his "prime" and likely gets a hefty 7 year deal from us or someone else (assuming he'd playing top tier level). I can see how an agent might push for this, and it also positions him for an escape in his prime if things go badly here. So I don't think it's BS or nonsense, I think it's likely true, and if he is "unhappy" KA better fix it one way or the other.

"we've had a few conversations" doesn't sound like the Sabres are really working hard on it at this point to me. Not yet anyway.

If the league were to get much bigger imo it should switch to a relegation model like soccer does in the U.K. Say you had 40 teams. Two "leagues" an A league and a B league of 20 teams each. Top 16 make the playoffs, bottom 4 in league A drop into league B next season. Top 4 from league B move up. You also get a playoff in league B so the lower teams have their own post season fun for more league playoff revenue and interest. Only the 4 worst would be totally out of it, and those 4 lottery for the top pick. That's what I'd do with it.

Except, when it comes to football, "people" kind of respond the opposite way. 99% of Pittsburgh Steeler fans (for example) made excuses for rapey Ben Roethlisberger and almost no one in Baltimore will admit to the possibility that Ray Ray Lewis might have had involvement in murder, and most recently, the Jets (or any other team) wouldn't even give Kapernick a try out (and second chance). When it comes to "issues" football fans prefer to brush aside anything that might get in the way of their teams. That's just a fact. I guarantee you that IF it was proven that Terry did say racist things, nobody here who currently watches the Bills would quit watching the Bills and there'd be a ton of excuses and even shouts of fake news. Guaranteed.

and Sorry, but neither of these things is true. All 5 players need to know where to go and how to play the system together. Cassidy's system is demanding. Vegas had veteran players willing to buy in and when Eichel bought in that was leadership showing the way for any dissenters. In no way however is it easy. Offense is much easier. Sure, if you have no skill you won't be good offensively, but what to do and how to play it isn't hard at all. This is why most rookies who get benched, get benched (or sent down). Their failure to handle a 2 way game. Sabres seem to have taken this as a whole team model. O first, then D. Backwards from most teams. All too often our D system is just chase the puck and hope our young speed lets you get back into position and it fails. Our D is miserable. I do not think we will succeed until we improve that to at least mid level NHL ranking (mid level D with top level O could be successful). Let's just drop this and agree to disagree.