PerreaultForever

and they lost more than that. Don't forget about Danault . Koktaneimi and even Perry. I know people here don't like him and he's well past his prime, but he did provide leadership and some big contributions on their cup run. Staal they're probably fine without 🙂

Montreal is really really bad.

Oh how weird. Netflix recommended this to me literally like 5 minutes ago. Can't ignore that kind of coincidence. I'm going to add it to my list now.

That's true as it unfolded. I was thinking more of when he was hired and we had player reactions from all those one on one chats and dinners. Everybody seemed enamoured by his words at that point.

Honestly, I think Krueger was a complete and utter fraud. Talked a good talk, and obviously gave a good interview, able to convince people he knew what he was talking about, but not an actual coach at all. Kind of get the feeling he designed a plan on paper, one that wasn't necessarily wrong in theory, but then had zero ability to adapt those ideas, work on players flaws, correct mistakes, run proper drills and practices and all that other coaching stuff. Granato on the other hand is implementing very simple basic schemes and letting his players play them focusing on teamwork and interconnections. But really he's just saying go fast, go hard, get in front of the net and shoot when you have a chance. My hope is it develops as they develop, in time we shall see. imo it's a decent way to start over, which is what was needed.

I will say Dahlin has been better in the regular season so far than he was in the preseason (where he was awful) but he still runs around too much and gets caught out of position. Pairing him with a positionally stronger and more reliable partner helps him a lot and I would question Granato's decision if he pairs him back with Jokharju again when he returns. I also think Dahlin's decision making is slow and flawed. Carries the puck alone when he should pass it and to a lesser extent vice versa. Many of the basic fundamentals of his D game are weak and that's on the Sabres, not him. maybe it's slowly being corrected now, but idk.

he did, but mostly I'm impressed with Hagg. idk why Philly gave up on him but at this point he's playing as good as, probably better than Risto did and we got draft picks along with him in that deal so for the moment, that stands as KA's greatest achievement.

I think with more time, Cozens might even be able to get Skinner scoring again. The way he plays he is creating some openings for him and there are early signs of some possible meshing together there. Bjork, on the other hand is rapidly playing himself off the roster imo.

You're absolutely right, but nothing will happen and there will be no punishment for Stamkos. 5-1 we had a chance to take a few liberties back at them/him but we don't do that (yet). Hopefully one day we will. We're less afraid of the front of the net this year. We push back a little. It's a work in progress, but it is progress.

Well that was the party line. That's how Dubas got the job. They've tried to bring in a host of fill out the roster tough guys and so called grit people but they've mostly gotten duds. Nick Ritchie for example was dumb desperation. If you prefer, call it a failure of the superstar forward model for team building. All your money on 4 hot shot forwards. Nothing left to build a team with. So I don't want another one of those guys. Skinner is already too many. Leafs really miss Hyman. Him I would have signed.

Well I thoroughly enjoyed that.

I agree, but we don't have that guy.

I didn't because it goes off topic, but briefly, I think what you see in Toronto is proof that relying too much, or solely, on analytics is a fool's pursuit. Players like Marner have great skill and can at times put up great stats, but they lack character. I would prefer we not try to build that sort of team.

I hate Tampa. That's all.

This is possible, but it's also been a refrain heard around these parts for years. Just add more talent and they'll all be fine and yet when various pieces of talent have been added it hasn't worked and we end up with Halls and Skinners. With Dahlin, I'm just not sure he has the drive and character to be a star D man so maybe if that falls to Power then he can fall into a role where he can excell without the expectation of being dominant. idk

I was of course joking with those comments (which were the standard critiques). I'm not really concerned with how many points he gets this season. Florida's a really good team and he is sure to rack up extra (empty net goal the other night for example) What I will be interested to see is if he elevates his game in the playoffs or if he's a Mitch Marner. This was a question we never got to answer here.

No. I don't want anyone from Toronto.

ya, but can he drive his own line? He's no Draisaitl. 🙂

never. because he plays unafraid, and although he certainly doesn't win every fight, he can, unlike many of our players, handle himself and fight his own battles. He is exactly what we could use.

If that surgery works. There is no guarantee of that, which is the problem.

Bailey as an example because he was here, we were excited, he was supposed to be good, and in the AHL he is good and still good, but it doesn't translate to the NHL, that's the point. So Quinn scoring in the AHL is good, but it ultimately means nothing.

AHL. It's good to see, but it doesn't necessarily mean anything. Justin Bailey is the leading scorer for the Abbotsford Canucks (as an example) what's your point?

I still think all of this probably comes down to the insurance company. The procedure Eichel wants has never been done on a professional hockey player so the insurance company will not cover the contract if it goes wrong and so the Sanres, rightfully, will not risk it. It's really that simple and since Jack won't change his stance it's an impass and that's the end of that. So Jack can now have his big shot agent file his grievance and they can rule and then, I think, there are no other avenues of appeal so one side will get their way.

I don't think this debate will ever resolve but I also don't think what you want is Dahlin's personality and so you won't get it, much like I will never see Tage use his size to smash people into the boards. It's just not them. So it is on the team to build and structure around him and I still think we have done a poor job developing Dahlin. Right from the get go it was do your thing and play to your strengths rather than we know you can do that stuff, so you need to work on this other stuff. Contrast him with McAvoy from Boston who was often benched early and brought along slowly and paired with a solid vet and is now a complete D man and a dominant player. I don't think Dahlin will ever be that now so imo the best we can do is pair him with a tough solid defender and build a team that's more balanced around him so that we smash back when our guys get smashed. So far, for far too long, the Sabres have shown zero inclination to understand what balanced even is. In a lot of ways Dahlin reminds me of Housley. Teams took liberties with him too, but in those days we also had guys like Playfair to balance things out. Balance, it's always about balance.

That was the word used in the thread. My point is that "fine" isn't really good enough for us to get better. We have to start drafting better overall. We have top picks every year but are not getting the best talent out of those drafts. Quinn is arguably "fine" but I see no reason to think he will be a great player either. Maybe not a total bust like Nylander, so it won't set us back like that did, but "fine" won't elevate us either. We either have to start getting the best talent early, and/or start hitting on more late picks, getting lucky. Either way, we simply have to draft better. Hopefully this analytical overhaul will help. Personally, I'm skeptical of the approach, but time will tell.