PerreaultForever

It's sad and telling that our throw ins make the rosters of better teams and contribute (E-Rod, Lazar) and their throw ins can't find a role or contribute to a very bad team. Obviously none of these players are integral to winning a Stanley Cup but it does make this organization look clueless. We just keep shuffling the deck with new (to us) bodies, the names change, the results don't.

Just wondering, what has VO done this season to justify paying him "big"? When everybody paid attention to Eichel he was left alone and sniped on the PP effectively but has he really done much of anything to make him any more than a lower range average player in terms of money?

Exactly. This is what I've been trying to say here and there in various threads. The body of work for players like Mitts is really small and they are far from guaranteed to be top line players. We have many potentially good players and prospects, but there are very few players who you can definitively say are a lock and are going to be cornerstones moving forward. Wait what? These aren't the tank years??? 🙂

What an impressive sentence and sentiment. I'm sure you will get many likes for that. Some of us are curious how they will manage the cap but carry on.

How long is he out for?

If Eichel actually plays for them in Feb. they're going to have to move somebody off their roster aren't they? Are they not right up close to the cap without him?

Watch him score 30 goals as Crosby's winger 🙂

Oh I know, and I was kidding. He's having a very good year though. Much better than expected and a lot of it was with Crosby out of the line up. The Pitt announcers rave about his game. Just shows you how mediocre players can thrive on good teams.

I guess if you want to say something nice you say they didn't quit and came close, but it was not good. UPL showing the same weaknesses. It's a problem. Sharks are not and were not good, but they didn't need to be. This is going to be a long and painful second half of the season much like every other year.

E-Rod? 🙂

Unless you want to reunite the Subban brothers Klingberg, Manson, Schultz, Gudbrandson not much else in free agency. Gudrandson would be the cheapest and if he was interested I'd sign him. Would also want Manson but He could stay a Duck unless they have cap issues. I'd actually sign one of them AND Pysyk. It's kind of funny though isn't it, after we eagerly ditched the viking RHD we need a RHD. Seems to be an ongoing Sabre type thing.

"valuable" is a stretch, but Jag is too harsh. Veteran RHD with a small amount of grit I consider him a decent depth defenseman. With all the youngsters I'd consider keeping him and not as a temp but as a piece of a team that you want to build a culture of stability around. 3 years 1 million per. I'd even consider slapping an A on him until Power is ready to take it over.

Bruins have been my #2 team and playoff team over this last decade. I've explained that before, it's a from childhood thing that started with Orr and the jerseys. Preds play a nasty tough brand of hockey I agree. They have decided to compensate for lacking skill with toughness. Will be interesting to see if it gets them into the playoffs and if they will be a tough out or not. I really like what Anaheim's doing. Excellent drafting and balancing skill with toughness. Unlike the Sabres, they see the value in a DesLauriers . Zegras plays bigger on that team because of ND and Carrick and some of the others around him. They also kept veteran leadership in Getzlaf. It's a smart rebuild and appears to be faster than ours.

Once again, and for the last time, I wasn't saying Krebs was LIKE Lazar in terms of style/skills, just saying in terms of draft spot and expectation upon entering the league, they were similar. Lazar never lived up to it but later found a role bottom end. Thus, the expectation for Krebs is there, but temper it. He might, he might not. Now please stop nitpicking. Its pointless.

Hayden is on the roster for grit and toughness. Arguably he's not that tough, but that's why he's there and why he should stay. When you can add a young guy who is grittier and tougher he can be replaced, but you're not going to replace him with a young skill player, that would be a mistake. With all the young guys added and being added soon (hopefully) you need some guys to respond for liberty taking and let these kids play braver. He's a role player and that's his role. Eakin is face offs and PK. I'd hope Cozens and Tage are trying to learn from him while he's here, cause they suck at draws, but he also has a role. Replace him with better sure, but it has to be with a face off PK type guy.

To a large extent I think this is true but not a lot is really well defined at this point. There are too many players who are just okay but not great in their roles. The bottom six isn't well defined at all, but I think the reason you see Hayden over someone faster or more skilled is they eventually want that bottom line to be tougher and grittier like many other teams have. If nothing else, salary caps (eventually) demand that. I'm a big believer in line chemistry and a balanced roster and in that way of thinking I feel that Murray should be on this team as we need size.

idk what "made the team" with this roster really means as it'll be a different roster after the deadline and next year I assume but I liked the Murray Cozens Okposo line and would like it back for the rest of the year . Murray makes a line better as he offers a different style and skill set from most of our players. He's no star, and I'd definitely like to see him play more aggressively and with more of an edge, but I'd keep him for now anyway. Put that big body in front of the net often. He just needs to hit some people though. Tage is getting away with a skill game using his reach but Murray is less skilled so he HAS to use his size more. Bjork and Caggiula can just go away as far as I'm concerned.

Obviously a big solid rhd would be the ideal compliment for one of our lhd prospects, no question.

Are you suggesting Krebs and Cozens are at the same level or at the same point in terms of development? Do you consider them similar or roughly equal? I don't.

But you're over analyzing my point, which was simply that Krebs is not the #1 or #2 center that some people have already assumed he will be - yet. If he doesn't develop more, a lot more, he could end up being no better than say, for example, Lazar, who was different, but also projected to be a top line player when drafted. That's it. not comparing their styles, I guess that wasn't clear. Just their draft level and expectation. Lazar was just an example everybody knows.

I liked what I saw from Krebs more in this Boston game for sure. Lazar was projected to be a top line player when drafted though. Just saying. Krebs isn't going to save the franchise next year that's all. He has a lot of developing still to do and there's no guarantees - yet.

So it's not fair to compare players picked at the exact same spot in a draft in separate years? Good to know, and I hope you remember that in draft threads 🙂

Yes, that is my hope as well. I wouldn't mind a trade for a big reliable veteran to add to the mix though in addition to them. Not sure about Samuelson, but it'll still take a few years for Power to grow and fill out physically.

That game went pretty much as I expected it would. Bruins play good team D and fundamentally sound hockey but are completely inept at scoring. Been their story all year. Typical Sabres 3rd period meltdown. UPL's weakness exploited in the OT (high corners). So Bruins win, but they are a fading team and not much better than we are. I think next year we pass them. Satisfying to have better goaltending than they do. Anyone still upset we didn't overpay Ullmark to stay? I liked Krebs better in this game. Tuch is already my favourite Sabre. Guy plays more like a Bruin than a typical Sabre (of late) and we desperately needed that. His whole demeanor is refreshing for this team. I am very happy with him as a Sabre, and he's still just getting the rust off. We need bigger, better D. Hopefully in time..............

Lazar 1st round, 17th overall pick in 2013. Krebs 1st round, 17th overall pick in 2019. If that's not enough for you, both players 6 feet tall, both listed as centre/wing (one right one left but still), both small town western Canada boys, both considered leaders as prospects. So it's pretty good reference point for draft expectations as we are all familiar with Curtis. Still bewildering?