PerreaultForever

I want to get rid of players that play soft. Chinakov has more snarl than Quinn. Quinn can be great in open ice. He'd be a liability in a playoff series with a team like Florida.

Ellis is physically bigger. It matters. His rebound control needs work but good D in front of him can help with that. Levi's weaknesses are less teachable fixes and more to do with his size imo.

Bruins are not very good so you have to jump on them and make their system collapse. Ottawa did it to them so no reason Sabres can't. Bruins will try to force everything to the wall and if they play perimeter they will falter but if you go to the net and use the middle of the ice Bruins won't keep up. In other words don't fall into letting them play their game. The third line match up is the one that is key here. Greenway might be a good idea as their third plays greasy.

It's probably internet bs but if true get him out of here. The second sentence most definitely. The mantra should be if you earn it you earn it. When they sent Dunne back I felt they were not living up to the best player earns it idea since he outplayed several people in preseason but they have given him a shot now at least. Has to hold for all players. Be the best and you get your shot. Beat out a guy who is here to stay here.

Lyon backed up by Ellis in Buffalo UPL and Georgiev in Rochester. (If UPL is claimed, all the better, cap money to spend on a top 6 forward added to the other cap money they have)

I'm not waiving Ellis, I'm waiving UPL. Levi? I don't care. If he doesn't want to be here F him. It's time to stop worrying about players feelings and make it just about winning. Well then you just leave him in Rochester. Too bad for him.

Here's the thing for me. It was similar the year we ended up a point behind Florida as well. I think there are positive signs, there are roster improvements, there are a number of good things, but I still think we end up a little on the outside. As such I think this is a moment not to be lost and if you want to build forward it's the time for some bold moves and immediate roster improvements. get just a little bit better and we might just get in like Montreal did last year and then you can really build. If you can move prospects or picks now for roster veterans or disgruntled players like a Chinakov we should do it and do it now. Forget about when Norris might come back and get a top 6 forward now. I really don't want Kevyn in charge but since he is, he needs to make the moves. Don't let this opportunity slip away thinking next year we will be even better. Be better NOW. Unfortunately I think Kev will be conservative and believe too much in his own guys and previous moves and then we will have Tuch issues and other people wanting out, Maybe Levi, maybe more and it can all go back down the dumper real fast. Don't miss the moment!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If it's prospects/picks I make this move in a heartbeat. In terms of roster I would not be unhappy moving out Quinn and moving Chinakov in instead.

If it's true. If he wants to be moved, just move him. Solves the the too many goalies issue. This team needs to start acting like a real franchise. Ditch him if he don't like it. He didn't earn it, so it's not his. We keep Ellis that way.

As I said in the Columbus thread, we've been fooled before. This could go either way. There are signs though. Positive signs. More grit. More players who go to the paint. Better efforts blocking shots and cutting off passes. It's trending the right way but there are still some passengers.

Loser point is still better than no points. Winnable game but kind of an even game too. Difference might have been Sabres have Owen Power. The good takeaway though is they have some guys on the roster now that weren't here last year that go to the paint. They go hard net front. One can only hope this becomes more normal for them and some of the passengers from past seasons start to get the message and join in. If not, replace them. Starting to look more like a real hockey team, but we've been fooled before.

Clearly, Benson should have been in that Scooby Doo grouping. He's most definitely Scrappy-Doo.

That's fair but I also want Power going so for now I'd leave Dahlin Byram together but maybe reduce their defensive match ups and even out the ice time. I think one of the issues is Dahlin is played with the top line more and Kulich and Thompson aren't great defensively.

I don't know what to expect out of Kesselring. I'm hopeful though. I don't actually want offensive production from him (that would be bonus) I'm hoping for stable D with some snarl. A tougher version of Samuelsson would make me very happy.

I think that may have been the plan going in to this season all along. The only question is how deep do they plan to go. Will they move any of the big names, or try to build around them.

Why would you break up Samuelsson Timmons when it has been good and is your main PK pair? You just play Kesselring with Power like you planned and see if it works. All Kesselring has to do to "work" is be as good as Timmons has been. If he's even better, well, then even better.

Yes, this is most likely true. It might be time for him to switch attitude though. He's skittish and afraid and doesn't want to make a mistake now and he didn't know what he was doing in goal so he just got guys available and hoped something would work. Now's the time to just become resolute and announce this is it. This is who we are going with and it's win time. Send that message to the team too. Cut bait, cut losers, be bold. Make a move for someone available if it's there. Buyer not seller. Forget Norris, forget Greenway, forget UPL. Ditch the mistakes and roll with what's working. I'm just rambling here but the idea is at some point you have to just get BOLD.

Dogfight might mean wildcards come from the Metro this year. In that scenario you'll have to actually finish ahead of some of last year's teams like Florida or Toronto.

I just don't see the issue. You just waive UPL. I mean you call every GM and ask but after they say no thanks to any trade you waive him. Sure it's a ridiculous contract for an AHL goalie but you did that and you live with it. Don't care what happens to Georgiev. There's been goalies with bigger contracts waived before by teams. It's not a radically new thing for a goalie to show promise and then lose it. Some get it back, some never do.

Did they even have 60 wins under Granato? 🙂 Really, I don't think that stat matters or says anything.

Huh? Is your assertion that they'd be better off if Granato was still coach? Otherwise, what is the point of that comment?

I really didn't think they played all that well in this game. Lots of mistakes, but the Leafs are nowhere near as good as they were with Marner and without Nylander even worse. Detroit was a better team imo. I could see these Leafs missing the playoffs. So they could have won, but UPL, like the comments above, ultimately cost them this game. Take the loser point and get Lyon back in the net. It is a little depressing to see the Leafs rough them up. Nobody should get roughed up by the Leafs. Team still needs a goalie (maybe it's Ellis, maybe it'll be Levi, it's not UPL) and some more toughness but there are other encouraging signs and issues that can be fixed. Östlund should go back to Rochester when they have enough bodies to make that possible.

I agree. That's the usual problem with Dahlin. He tries to do too much and sometimes that costs him. It's partly trying to press for offense at times and also trying to cover for a partner who is out of position or forwards that miss their assignments. Like a lot of highly skilled players he has a tendency to over estimate his ability to be in two places at the same time.

lol, exactly. Finally they are starting to take more time with some of these guys. It's the right call.

This is a big assumption based on no evidence. He's had games/stretches with errors and sloppy mistakes every year. It's who he is. great moments and then trying too hard or getting caught out of position, give aways. I don't really see anything different from previous years. In terms of the D, imo, Dahlin is fine. Same as always. Byram I still don't see the hype. Metsa is a marginal NHLer/AHLer. Timmons has been better than I expected, very stable and reliable. Samuelsson has been much better than expected. Maybe even playing up to his contract. Power still looks like a guy who is gifted at hockey but doesn't really care about being a hockey player. He's going to do it cause it pays well but he'd rather be a jazz singer (or whatever it is he does when not skating).