PerreaultForever

I agree but for now Zucker is looking better and better to me. He's not flashy and won't get us lots of goals at this stage in his career but he plays a responsible game and knows how to play properly. He should be a good influence on the younger players and I liked him up with Cozens if they are going to stick with Cozens as center.

Good win and most important of all we didn't give them a loser point despite Cozens icing it because.....scared of contact/stupid/idk but it needs attention. PP finally scored and maybe the empty netter will kick start Quinn. Stranger things have happened to get guys out of slumps. A continuation of what we saw with Dallas, lots of good things, my biggest concern right now is the D is still weak on the back wall and they lose too many puck battles. We will need more forward help there if that keeps happening. Good way to start the day though (10 am hockey out here).

Ideally trade prospects/picks for a rugged veteran winger who can score. Quinn can go sit in the press box until he earns a spot back. otherwise I would try Cozens on the wing with McLeod as 2C. Bump Quinn down to line 3 with Krebs at center.

I like the idea of a third goalie. Goalie injuries can kill ya. I think each team should be allowed to have one special exemption where an under age player could go to the AHL (like Benson for us). Just one max though. Biggest thing, I'd like to see the salary cap kept in the playoffs. No Stones or Kucherovs coming off of injury lists to playoff rosters. The issue of an injured player coming back with no trade options seems a no brainer to me. The cap in the playoffs would apply to the roster you dress for the game. So if you wanted your superstar back legitimately you could go 11 forwards or whatever but your total cap number would have to be within the same cap.

Ottawa caved on a late Vegas push and lost the game but they looked pretty good. We should have some good important games with them this year.

Ruff doesn't see this as a development team. He's going to go veteran over rookie every time unless the rookie is absolutely sensational or the team is struggling and he wants to take a gamble. Kulich has played well. Better than Quinn or Benson (the latter due to injury presumably) but Ruff will want to bring him along properly and develop his full game not just his offensive skill. That's not what we are used to seeing in Buffalo but I'd get used to it if I were you as long as Ruff is here. If there's an injury on D you'll likely see Gilbert before Johnson.

Stubbornness ? Or just too much patience? Either way Adams perhaps insisting that since he paid him to be the 2C he will be the 2C.

I firmly believe that Cozens does not have good on ice vision. He tends to only see one side of the ice and thus is not well suited to be a center. He would be better on the wing. As a center he tends to only look to one side and in this case it's generally towards Quinn who is playing incredibly soft and won't go through traffic so there's nothing there. If you won't move Cozens to the wing, get him a more physical winger.

I know Aube-Kubel likely won't play and we will see Kulich against Detroit but that potential grouping is interesting. Personally I would switch Quinn and Aube-Kubel. Not because he's a better player but for line chemistry and maybe down a notch against lesser third line competition can get Quinn going. Maybe. They are also set on Cozens as 2C but if I was coach I'd try Peterka-Thompson-Tuch Zucker-McLeod-Cozens Greenway-Krebs-Quinn Malentsyn-Lafferty-Aube-Kubel

There's no reason we can't be better than Detroit or Ottawa but we have to be better if that makes sense. We have the talent on the roster, we just have to play proper hockey. The signs are there. We might be getting there but it's early. Detroit has been outshot but they look balanced and competitive. I saw that Jersey game and yes, they were outshot badly, but they also maximized their moments. They are a dangerous team. It's a big game coming up if we want to be legit. Ottawa idk. I haven't seen much and that Ullmark injury might hamper them. I heard they might be looking to sign Tokarski due to goalie injuries but that's just a rumor. I might watch that Vegas game today to see what Ottawa's really got. Sanderson is supposedly playing very well, which does not surprise me.

They're slow. Really slow. Marchand looking over the hill. They can't score. They will fall this year. Just a question of how far. It's there for the taking but this looks like the year maybe Ottawa and Detroit also make moves upwards.

True. Who has time to make a bed when you've got to spend all that time on your hair.

Which exactly illustrated what we were saying and you were arguing against. Thanks for posting it.

I agree. I think you need a mix and if you've gone heavy on speed and skill in a previous year you need to shift to look for what you don't have as much of in the system. Keep building all types. That's my view anyway. This also brings to mind something I remember from years ago. I think it was Rick Dudley who said when it came to these young teenagers he always wanted to meet the fathers to see what these kids would grow into. It's one of those old school things that you need scouts going out there to see. You can use all these fancy computer models and statistical projections but you should also get out there and talk to them and see everything up close for yourself. I'm not sure the Sabres do enough of that stuff. Maybe they do and I'm just not aware of it, but I don't think so.

Specialty teams are definitely a concern and the lack of a PP hampers them for sure. The PK has shown signs of being an aggressive counter attack unit but they still need to be better and stronger around the net. The PP is too predictable, too reliant on the point. It doesn't have enough bodies in front obviously but it also doesn't move the puck around fast enough across ice. It's pretty much high shot or drop puck back to Dahlin at the point and let him decide. We don't use the bumper well or mix things up well so PK units can cheat on us and shutdown the predictable elements (Dahlin at the point and Tage's high slot shot). It needs work. Structure, layers, and a commitment to details will take us further than we have gone before though that's for sure. They might be learning to play the right way finally.

As usual you are twisting my words to push your own points. I did not equate size and character. I listed them as TWO things we don't seem to focus on in drafts. I also DID NOT say that skill guys cannot have character. Benson most definitely does have character. I like Benson and have said so repeatedly. He fell to us because of his size as you know. Ziemer I also like. I said that after the draft. At the time I said he went against our usual and frequent choices and I was very happy with that pick. I think I said he might be a sleeper steal where he was picked or something like that. Helenius I am undecided on yet. Time will tell. He was not my first round choice. You know the discussion we were having was on Östlund and Rosen too. Please don't twist words to make your points. It's not worth the time or effort.

It might work. But you have to make the right deals. McLeod for Savoie might be good but I think he needed to make one more like that. In general though grit guys certainly have less value on the market than skill guys. Just don't hold on to those so called skill guys too long where people have time to see flaws in their game.

My view is different. I don't actually see an "identity" yet and I don't see enough "greasy goals". Ruff talks about that but that's pretty much standard by the book hockey talk for most teams and coaches. I don't think there's anybody who says don't "go to the net". What I see possibly developing with Ruff is an attention to details and structure. Team play is stronger and positional play is getting stronger. The little things that add up. Sorely missing from this team for years.

That's been my view for quite a while. There is a balance in these things but for the most part they draft too much on speed and skill analytics and not enough on size and character. hence we have to trade for a Malenstyn rather than having several of them in the system. My thought is they keep drafting the same way figuring eventually one sticks. Benson for example. But maybe they feel they can trade a surplus of skill guys for the grinders, whoa re easier to find as pros. Maybe. It doesn't work though if these guys lose their trade value like you said.

Is it possible they are just too small, too light?

If you want to think about wildcard spots, the Flyers are not a threat this year. Watching them play the Caps and boy do they look bad. Caps on the other hand look like the Caps and they will be in that wildcard race with their mixture of old guys and misfits.

This isn't the only thing, but one of the bigger things with Quinn is he isn't fighting through traffic. It's like he wants open ice but if he doesn't get it (which generally you don't in the NHL) he just becomes a passive non entity. He's there, but he's not doing anything.

I really think we have to try Cozens on the wing and see how that goes. Having him try to carry 2 young guys isn't working. Perhaps, Peterka-Thompson-Tuch Zucker-McLeod-Cozens Greenway-Krebs-Quinn Malenstyn-Lafferty-Kubel (when he returns) Benson and Kulich sub as needed but ideally Adams uses that cap money and gets a veteran winger added. To me, Quinn is as much of a problem as Cozens, probably more. He's a weakness currently and we'd be better off with a physical winger in his spot.

Bruins look like garbage. This could be their crash and burn year.

Well they almost blew it but there were some real good things in this game. Real positive signs. Good attention to details, good team structure, energetic skating, lots of sticks in lanes and even some blocked shots. Little things that add up. You can definitely build off this win. I thought that was perhaps Jokiharju's best game as a Sabre. Perhaps a turnaround is still possible this year after all and maybe even the overdue Boston/Buffalo flip, as the Bruins look dreadful.