PerreaultForever

true but Windsor's a s***hole and it's a tougher drive to T-dot in the winter. If he signs in Buffalo my guess is he buys a big house in St. Catherines (if he wants the family to be over the border)

This is the same thing they've said about Giroux for years in Philly, and yet he's quietly still their best player and an oft over looked star in the league. It's always a fan debate on whether your C should go to your best player or some other vocal veteran "leader" but the teams themselves rarely have a problem with this supposed issue. It's just optics. I like Bogo, and he deserves the A (something criticized and questioned on this board when it happened if you remember - and not to mention most of you wanted him bought out and run out of town last year too!) but Jack is the star of this team and he will be the C as long as he is here. Skinner is having a great year, but it has a lot to do with playing with Jack. Jack is and should be captain. Lol, I guess back in the old days you haters would have stripped the C from #11 and given it to Dudley cause of the cool headband or maybe even Spinner after he had 2 fights in a game and yelled at somebody. :)

That's my view as well. Teams that keep switching coaches rarely do well. Last year they were a mess. This year they seem to have developed a system and some nights it works really well but they finally seem to have understood it - most nights. It's a fragile system though and can break down easily if all the parts aren't in sync. Next year they have to learn how to adapt/adjust it on off nights and learn to win the close ones. Switching the entire system now would be a huge step backwards. Next year, the expectation is playoffs and if we are no better next year he's toast.

I actually don't see a lot of lack of effort this year. A lack of skill, sure, but the effort is there and they don't quit most nights. It's actually a big change from recent years where the third periods (when we were behind) were often sleep affairs where we would generate absolutely nothing.

I don't think that's true. One, we're not a ***** show. We have ups and downs and there is still much work to be done, but this is a much better team than last year and it's only JBot's second year. You add couple good FA's this off season and we are a contender. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY will offer Skinner more money than we will. Most teams will see him as a 30 goal scorer who benefited from playing with Eichel in a primary role. We will overpay him to stay cause JBot can't afford to have us leap backwards. he won't worry about the overpaid number in his 6th-8th years that is inevitable. Skinner will sign a big 8 year deal UNLESS he was never going to sign here anyway, but I can't imagine he has a dream destination like Tavares had. Toronto can't afford him with the guys they already have to pay so this is as close to "home" as he can get.

Agree. It's old school vs. new school and Phil is in step with the new and where things are going. Critics should look closer at the newer coaches and realize the old gruff types are a dying breed.

I said it would come down to goaltending. Didn't realize ours was going to be on xanax tonight. Yikes, that was bad.

Well Edmonton did trade Gretzky once........and still won another cup so............... Results are what matters. You can argue trade values and individual player worth forever. It's all speculative and hypothetical and amounts to nothing. The only thing that matters is, is the team better or worse after the moves are made? If a GM makes say 6 off season moves, maybe they're not all equal, maybe they're not all brilliant, but if the team is better the next year, he gets a thumbs up. Simple as that. You're president of the ROR fan club, I get it. Now let it go or cheer for the Blues if you prefer. We are BETTER WITHOUT HIM.

and yet, we are a better team without him than we were with him. How do you not get that???????

This one is speed against speed so I think it comes down to goaltending, a big save on a breakaway, that type of thing. Should be a fast entertaining game. We have to finish our chances.

I'm just hoping it's the 8 year thing that is the only reason it hasn't been done yet.

I think we will just miss this year but will make it next year for sure (assuming Skinner is signed, we add at least one good FA and one or more "rookies" are added to the lineup, all of which is realistic). I think next year Boston (how much longer can their older vets hang on?) drops off and Columbus misses, maybe Pittsburgh and Montreal also drop. We will not only make the playoffs, we will finish third and meet the Laughs in round 1. Next year.

He can say that, but I watched him quit during some games he played in. Maybe it was only my perception, but I saw that guy go through the motions on many nights. This guy, on the other hand, this guy sounds like he's the kind of guy we want to build on. EVERYBODY should read this article on Ullmark: https://buffalonews.com/2019/02/13/buffalo-sabres-linus-ullmark-rochester-americans-modo-nhl-ahl-news/

Ya, ROR forgot the "we" that goes along with the "I" and that's a big part of why he had to go. I'm not really following St. Louis but I think first part of the year the unity there fell apart and Tarasenko seemed to be in a funk. Maybe it's ROR's team now or maybe he fits there better now but they haven't exactly soared to lofty heights as a result of that trade have they? ROR is all about ROR. Trade didn't anticipate the Berglund decision but who could predict that? Team still seems better without him and the attitude is definitely way way way better this year so it's addition by subtraction at least and who knows what the picks or the saved cap money will bring.

Same way I know that you will argue against success. Jame, are you actually Tim Murray trolling the board?

Nice! team effort. Solid win. Let's start a new streak. (Lehner still weak with shots to the upper corners :))

Ya, real shame we didn't have Trotz coaching us tonight against the Islanders. That stupid Housley only got us a 2 goal win. Damn rookie coach.

It's not depressing at all. I said the same thing in another place earlier. Trotz has them playing a boring close checking system and Lehner has thrived in it. It's crap dull hockey though and I'd be shocked if they didn't go out first round of the playoffs. That system gets you regular season wins, it does not win in the playoffs unless your roster has above average talent on it (like an Ovechkin).

Makes sense to me, the stay at home guy with the all over the ice guy. Don't see a better option with Bogo out. Beulieu also wanders too much and gets caught out of position. Will be tough to score on them so we have to make the most of any opportunities we get. A good PP would really help but........ In my dreams somebody runs Lehner really early and throws him off his game but that ain't going to happen either. The good news is generally they don't score a lot either but this will be a tough one for this team as it stands. We have to win, but sadly I don't think we will.

How exactly did they do that since you seem to know? I think it far far more likely Lehner himself saw the writing on the wall when nobody wanted to sign him and he woke up to reality. Islanders took a chance cause they and absolutely nothing to lose. Doesn't matter, he quit on us and had to go. Our "rookie" GM did exactly the right thing in letting him walk and nobody thought otherwise.

Honestly do you think this line would be good at anything other than maybe winning faceoffs, or would ROR just be bitching that he should have better wingers and more ice time instead of Eichel?

My feelings exactly. I would add you also have to add to the deal the ability to sign a big money Skinner contract and/or a new FA this summer and still have a good cap situation. When the saved money is spent, the deal can be looked at fully.

Hyperbole and exaggeration abound. Leaders say "we" or "I" and never call out names publicly, simple as that. So it was a mistake, the team got all over it and did damage control and that spoke to the strength of the new organization. The team played well after so it's really a non issue. Absolutely NOTHING like ROR.

Good god really? We'd be way worse and talking lose for Hughes. ROR plays ROR style hockey, and that is not what we play. We have more of a "team" now with a better attitude, better spirit, and we are much much faster. Get over it, JBot did the right thing. Should have traded Kane sooner to get more.

When Crosby was out Bylsma shifted the Penguins to a close checking style to win games. We were offensively challenged and so he did the same thing here. Boring hockey trying to win 1-0 or 2-1. ROR liked it (until we lost too often). Julien was fired from Boston for doing the same damn thing. Cassidy opened up their game and used the D in the attack and what is a fairly offensively challenged team went on to win more by scoring a lot more. Same reason Trotz was moved out of Nashville and would have been fired (contract expired but not renewed) if he hadn't won the cup in Washington, where they still didn't think he was worth the big bucks. With the Isles losing Tavares, he was a perfect fit to tighten up a team that would no longer score as much but have you seen them play? BORING! I think their styles are somewhat archaic and both of those guys are benefitting from superb goaltending this year. Price is rejuvenated, and Lehner V2 has been what Murray thought he'd be here. If they coached here, you wouldn't like it, it's not what we're building, which is a much more dynamic and entertaining style. Once we have enough talent to finish more plays and put the puck into the net you will be praising it and loving it. It is the future.