PerreaultForever

I never said I hadn't seen it. I said Sabres want to be a possession team. The problem is what they do when they don't have that possession.

Where did Ruff say what @Brawndo said? He was less than specific in his words. An ear thing is a physical thing. It is caused by an illness. Why not just say that right away?

It is weird. Mittlestadt has had issues too. They sat him one game but since that he's actually started to look good. Jokiharju is bad, but so was Lohrei. Aspirot has been a surprise. He's playing similar to Timmons for the Sabres. Zadorov McAvoy really seems to work this year though. lol, they aren't a good team and if injuries keep hitting (Elias Lindholm is a big loss) they can fall fast but I watched Calgary Philly yesterday and I'd say they have a much better chance of being dead last. That was likely the dullest and most inept game I've seen in a few years. Just bad.

That was a weird way of talking about Kulich. I mean if he's sick, like Zucker, wouldn't they just say they are both ill? Why is Zucker ill but Kulich is dealing with something not physical and not an injury? wtf does that mean? Hurt feelings? Teams are getting weirder and weirder about injuries and players out of the line up.

No. I don't see that much. Maybe a minute or even two but if both teams are battling for the puck you get changes of possession after shots. Sabres don't want to play that way though. They just want possession and if they don't have it they don't pursue hard onto the puck carriers. It's a passive approach and I think it's dumb. Others may disagree, and there are different views on how to play OT and how to play hockey in general, but imo the teams that are aggressive and battle for the puck are the teams that win the most.

It's also about goalies being able to see pucks and defending the net front area. Timmons and Samuelsson have been very good on the PK.

It's a combination. His size and how he plays together.

I know about the blocked shot with Thompson but it was even before that. It was almost the whole OT.

I suppose that might have been it but you'd wonder if maybe he shouldn't have been back if that's all it took.

That was weird. Looked like a nothing collision.

I wouldn't call him a slug, he's still a dangerous scorer, but he does have limited usefulness now. Well past his prime.

Really lucky they got it to the shootout. The OT was horrible. So passive for the most part. No idea what they were trying to do there but they escaped it. Shoot out UPL raises his stock again? idk. Most interesting thing to me was Greenway. What exactly was that core surgery? Bionics? Knee on knee hits (twice) last game. Head shot this game. Decked Wilson and fought Wilson to a draw. This is the Greenway we hoped to get when they made the trade but it wasn't the Greenway we had before. I don't know what's changed here but he's changed and it adds a needed component, even if some of the hits were pretty dirty. It's just interesting to me how the team might actually be getting tougher and more normal compared to other teams. I didn't expect that this year with this roster. Rosen was okay. Those young guys have speed and skill. See how it develops going forward. It's good to win.

Really? I believe you said this comment. So really? I'm the one who thinks he's injury prone? That's some interesting gymnastics.

I don't understand it, that's for sure. But I haven't understood their goalie decisions since Ullmark left. Just be glad he didn't put Geertson in goal.

St. Louis could be a possible trade partner for something. They are off to a bad start so might be looking for a shake up start. Maybe they want Ellis back? I'd talk to them if I was Adams.

I'm not the one who said "he's injury prone". I was defending him. I do think however that he can get injured easily because of his age and size. It's not a surprise. I think we have been lucky so far with him.

I think the "something better" is the question. Who? What the idea advocates is futures for a present. What team is looking to unload a present player for a future package? We got McLeod that way because Edmonton was cap squeezed and knew they wouldn't re-sign him either for that reason. They ditched Arvidsson this year to shed cap as well. So which team wants to shed cap right now? I doubt there is one. This sort of deal might be possible before the deadline as a team wants some sort of cap relief to land somebody else but I doubt it's overly easy to make a good deal right now.

No, that's total bs. He is small and young. They expect too much too soon. The good thing is he doesn't give a F and plays with an edge. It's who he is. The failure is in the Sabres' expectations and development. A kid that age needs to be brought in a little slower and needs time to build up his body. Dude, he's still growing. Not in height but in muscle and strength. I remember back when I was 20 I was a tall skinny dude from stretching through my teens. Lifted weights and worked out and my chest, shoulders, arms, all bulked up and expanded. When I was 22/23 I remember looking in a mirror and realizing, oh wow, I'm a pretty big guy. It's no different for pro athletes. It's also no accident that that's why they head into their peak years in their mid 20s. You forget, because he's been playing for 2 years, that he is still very very young.

Okay, so who is your trade partner with that contract? Who needs a goalie? I can't think of a landing spot where cap money and need say get UPL.

Because he's a 20 year old kid playing big minutes against big men. I love Benson, but I'm surprised he hasn't been hurt even more and sooner.

Helenius seems to have a little more snarl (or whatever you want to call it) so he is the one guy in Rochester I would prefer to keep for next year but really, if they can make the team better now I'm open to moving anybody in Rochester or picks.

He has skill, but he's not what we need. If he stays healthy, Greenway should give us more. If I could trade Östlund (plus whatever) for another Doan I'd do it in a heartbeat.

This is correct. Just as an aside, I think the reason the Bruins signed him to the overpay was he demolished Trent Frederic the year before and Frederic wasn't exactly a pushover. That sort of thing got Cam Neely all excited.

I agree. As a quick illustration of the failure, we all love Josh Doan right? Adams could have drafted him instead of Rosen, or as it turned out even instead of Poltapov.

Well I guess you take some solace from coming back from being down but really, they let Boston play Boston's game and didn't press the center of the ice. Boston has so little talent they just kind of rope a dope and occasionally counter attack. Sabres needed to be more physical and drive to the middle. They didn't. They lost. I did find it highly ironic that Doan muscled through Jokiharju to create that tying goal. That was the kind of thing that has happened to the Sabres for years with guys muscling the likes of Jokiharju only now he's on the Bruins and Sabres did the muscling. I'm not impressed with Kesselring so far but don't want to judge too much too early. At this point though Doan seems the more important addition. He seems to be a welcome missing piece style wise. Greenway going knee on knee twice. Don't remember him being that dirty but I'd rather he used the body. Still, big man made an impact and got under the Bruins skin. Zadorov chirps more than Shorsey I think. He does amuse me. They are better, but it's not good enough. They need to go get another Doan. Whatever it takes.