PerreaultForever

It would appear they see him as a 2 way player and a true shut down forward. I definitely think he can become that.

Didn't want to imply he needs AHL time, just that he still needs lots and lots of coaching and his minutes and responsibilities need to be reduced here and there as appropriate or as the ups and downs of rookie development dictate.

I don't put any stank on Ullmark. He often played well in a shooting gallery. McCabe just had too many injuries. Reinhart no comment. Not worth going back to that but yes, him too.

Sloppy sloppy game but somewhat entertaining all the same. Fun to win isn't it? That wasn't good enough to beat a good team but thankfully Flyers are a bad team. They have very little upside imo. I can see them being bad for a while and the talk of tearing it down and firing the GM and all that will be rampant. Second game in a row where Power jumped into the play perfectly but misjudged and mistimed the one timer. Told ya he is still adjusting to the speed. Believe me now? (probably not). BUT, lot of good in his game and good instincts and he will be good, but he still needs a lot of time and coaching. Not sure sink or swim in the deep end is the right approach. See what they do next year I guess. Samuelsson on the other hand, developed properly in Rochester, looking like a solid dominant D man and he should still get better. Just add that solid veteran RHD as we've all discussed and that D should become a force. Finally. I like beating the Flyers.

Taller players do seem to be becoming a thing in the NHL but let's not confuse "big" with "tall". D men with reach is a big plus in today's game and that accounts for some of the tall for sure. We add some more "heavy" to our "tall" and we might really have something.

It is definitely improving. For years we've been a team that was easy to push around or intimidate. Thing is, we've been so bad most teams couldn't be bothered banging us around because it wasn't necessary. We got laughed at on many occasions. This team however, is starting to stand up for itself more. Dahlin hits people now, BUT, he shouldn't have to fight that battle when it escalates. We could still use a little more toughness for sure. Some of them will "fill out" and take it on themselves but some others will still need protecting.

Was it? I have to pay closer attention. These meaningless games are hard to stay focused on . Too much multi tasking.

idk. I didn't think Tuch and Mitts worked all that well and although Skinner and Thompson played well I don't think the line was as good as it has been with Tuch. I'm really not sure about Mitts at this point. At times his skills show but at other times he seems very ineffective. If they really want to experiment (and why not?) I'd like to see Krebs at center with Mitts on the wing.

This is true, their D is bad (even when Risto doesn't play) but I've seen a few Philly games and he isn't good.

After watching today's game anyone who had Martin Jones on their potential goaltender lists should scratch that name off for good.

Edmonton shut out Vegas at least. Hopefully LA can beat Columbus.

Horrible first period but man is Philly bad. We could have blown them out if we'd played a full 60 minutes. Thompson has really mastered his aim on those snap shots but we all know this already. Still can't stand Bjork. He's gotta go.

Not small in terms of height. Maybe not even in terms of weight (someone with more time and inclination can research that if they want). But overall they mostly do play like "light weights" . So to the question, I think the answer is yes. You can argue though that you build the speed/skill first and then add the grit/toughness. personally I would do it at the same time though. We have some more willing combatants and push back types now but we could use a better mix. Especially if we ever want to be a playoff team. The Sabres, as a team, historically were not all about speed and skill. Sure, you remember the stars like the French Connection but they also had Korab and Dudley and crazy Spinner Spencer. Danny Gare was a scorer but he'd drop 'em too. It was a balanced team, even if ultimately still not quite tough enough in the bully era. Tampa and the Leafs and others in recent history have shown us that you still need team toughness to be successful and if you don't have it you can get tossed from the playoffs. Boston didn't beat Vancouver because they were more talented. They beat them because even their goalie threw a body check on a Sedin. The solution is easy though. Take that line up above, add a 3rd line center like Copp, add a RHD like Manson and maybe a big thug winger for the 4th line to upgrade Hayden and you are pretty much on your way.

If I remember correctly it was Asplund and not Skinner. Skinner got moved back up the line up later in the year.

KA probably asked for too much and then the window closed as teams went to other options. Biggest issue of all though was probably the salary. Sabres probably weren't willing to eat money making that deal next to impossible.

is that not perhaps because he doesn't want to be here, so doesn't care, so plays even worse, and thus is bad for the room? I have a hard time believing he got that bad that fast if attitude and effort doesn't have something to do with it. He's not the first for this to happen to. Montour and Scandella aren't tearing up the league or anything, but they are both playing solid hockey on good teams. Much better play than we saw out of them here. I will not be surprised if Miller ends up on Vegas or somewhere else next year and plays decent 3rd pairing minutes. But regardless, he's done as a Sabre for sure.

You really think they are "okay" defensively? TheSkinner Thompson Tuch line has been good offensively but even they were a defensive liability. very few of our forwards are any good defensively at all. might also be a test for VO. See what he does on the big line. If he can't score (a lot) there, they might want to move on from him or bring that up in negotiations.

I have to assume they do not think Miller is good for the room as he's a bad but better player than the other two. Maybe he's miffed he wasn't dealt at the deadline idk. idrc. I thought Mitts Tuch would be a good combo from the outset so now we shall see maybe. Cozens Kyle worked before should work again. Not sure about that top line. All snipers/shooters, somebody's going to have to be playmaker, I guess Thompson. Might work, could also be a defensive disaster. I think this is mostly about getting Mitts going and seeing if he can elevate. The rest is just what's left.

Out of curiosity have you completely forgotten what a good hockey team is? Perhaps I've just raised the bar a little. Think about it. A team that scores a few more goals than before isn't good enough for me, it's time for a team that knows how to win.

Team defense. They have absolutely no concept of it.

Looks like the Vegas watch is going to get depressing. Was a nice dream..............

Eh, what now? That was a colossal pile of defensive errors. Some of them made by the new kid. Horrible horrible hockey game . If that's the best we can do we are a very long way from truly competing (but I think we can do better, and will). I have no idea what you were watching, but it was not the same game as me.

True, Alberta teams have to come up big next two games.

Could be, but it's still all over twitter and I'm sure Lehner got to see it 🙂 and it's damn funny.

Ridiculous? The 7 players ahead of him are all pretty darn good in terms of prospects. There's a few lower down I'd question but the top 10 is pretty accurate imo. Nothing wrong with having #1 and #8.