PerreaultForever

It's very possible that Benson will be fine and better even. I'm just going by what you often see from young guys in the league and saying it wouldn't surprise me and if it happens I wouldn't over react to it. The term "sophomore slump" didn't come from nowhere. It happens.

So many guys that can fill needs. I don't want to get caught up in too much wishing cause that'll lead to too much disappointment. KA should be active, simple as that, and he should be looking at guys who aren't over the hill yet and are good in the playoffs, not necessarily the regular season.

Some people did. Some people were really anti Tochet, almost like the anti Torts crowd. I wonder if the Flyers (who tend to be a little incestuous) wish they'd hired him. Coaching makes a huge difference (look how Cassidy somehow got Eichel to play 2 way hockey!) but Vancouver also made huge roster additions. Their big Swedish star has actually been pretty crap in the playoffs. Hopefully KA realizes this and isn't just going to think hiring Ruff was enough.

I think Benson's "jump" will be in year 3 or 4. Likely when he's around 21. I will not be surprised if he takes a backwards step next year and it won't worry me as I see a bright future. He might not. We shall see how he adjusts to what Ruff brings, but I am expecting a more structured style of play and young guys usually have some issues with that initially.

well idk. I'd actually like to see multiple deals to change this roster. My mindset is in terms of restructuring the roster and getting players that play differently from what we have. Our roster imo is too slanted in one direction and it doesn't have the various parts that a winning NHL roster requires. We need to move pieces where we have surpluses and get pieces where we have deficiencies. The value and the winning the trade doesn't concern me much. I'd like to hear actual trade ideas from people. Who do they want or think we could get and what would they give? It's easy to say "I want Skinner gone" (as I've said myself) but it's harder to make it happen. It's easy to say "we need" or "I want" but how and for who? What is everyone willing to actually do in concrete terms rather than vague wishes.

Okay, I will believe this. He looked decent in the Philly games I saw, but I didn't see that many. Perhaps you're still left with the question though of did he get along with Torts or did he quit on him? What I don't see on this site though is actual viable trade proposals. Everyone is just saying KA needs to make moves but what moves? That's the harder question.

Canucks fans are crazy around here. They all seem to get in their cars and trucks and drive around aimlessly for an hour or so blasting their horns after every win.

I didn't suggest a one for one. I said they might be the centerpieces of a larger trade involving picks/prospects players but in the end they'd get a D (which they need desperately) plus etc. and we'd get a 3C plus etc. The GMs can work out the equivalencies on how to make it "equal" or pleasing to each other.

I thought of Peca right away and I saw this question on twitter as well. Would it be an upgrade? Is head coach of an AHL team better than NHL assistant? I suppose it might be as simple as the size of the pay cheque but idk. But if he wanted it, yes, Peca in a heartbeat.

On a garbage team with bad linemates and expectations of being a 2C. I'm not sold on Laughton being all that and everything but if you want to add people you need to think of who might actually be a guy we could get as well as just wanting guys. There are better guys but with higher price tags and harder to get.

I'm not sure about him but I disagree. Good on face offs, checks well, kills penalties. I think he'd be a good 3C.

Okay, you can look at it that way, I'm okay with that. So we shall see. Not only did they do what I had advocated for the Sabres, they drafted the guy I wanted in Nate Danielson as well. If they pick Liam Greentree this year, which is a possibility I will be really pissed if those picks pan out in a few years.

Absolutely. Parayko is a guy several of us have been advocating we should try to get (along with Pesce as another similar). I'm a firm believer in the one offensive guy one defensive guy (in simplest terms) pairings on D. Samuelsson was supposed to give us that, maybe he still will, but I'd like another one brought in for sure. Big no to Kevin Hayes. Flyers fans I know absolutely hated him and Torts pointed at him as one of the top "subtractions" needed a year ago. He is notorious for taking nights off and slacking and that is the exact opposite of what we need. If you want a forward like that I'd rather look at Domi or Bertuzzi as examples. Inconsistent as well but at least they give you grind and as Burke used to say "truculence". I wonder if there's a Philly trade possible around Laughton and perhaps Samuelsson on our end with picks and other players/prospects each wants or doesn't? Remember his dad has history there and Flyers like to inbreed. Samuelsson can stay on IR there with Risto 🙂 Sign a free agent D man along with trading Samuelsson for Laughton, we are instantly better.

This is what I mean about Boston culture and is what I wish would come to the Sabres. It's always accountable. It's never whiney or shrugs of idk and it never turns on the fans. It's always personal responsibility in all facets. "I have to be better" and "we have to be better" is the only mantra when they lose. Sabres need this.

On Ruff, I certainly hope so. I imagine Lindy also has a big ego (that's not an insult, it's just saying he believes in himself) and he firmly believes he can be the guy to save Buffalo and thus become a legend and hero forever in the community. If Lindy succeeds this time I suspect he will have a place in this organization until he dies even if it's just honorary. As for Detroit, I'd be surprised if Yzerman stands pat with what he has so it'll be hard to compare everything. He will be making moves which may be good or bad who knows. Remains to be seen if Adams will make big moves or stand (relatively) pat. I personally do not think the current roster (plus prospects) gets us in the playoffs even with Ruff as coach. So for me, the ball is in Adams court. July will be here sooner than we think.

See you are buried in stats and not the reality of the game. A player is just like the team stats and when and at what time matters. You need the stats on ROR's win percentage in key moments, not all time. Beginning of a game, center ice ROR puts his stick down and whatever. End of a game he bears down and gives it his all and then what happens matters. Now maybe if you dug deep you'd find he's not that much better at that time idk for sure, but watching games over the years I see those top notch faceoff guys winning the big ones more often than not. Not everything in a game is equal and not every moment. This is where stats fall apart unless they are very detailed and broken down to all moments, which generally we don't have access to, although I assume teams have guys running them and keeping track. I assume.

Craft breweries in Canada like to play around with Maple Syrup. They're not terrible but they taste pretty weird (the ones I've sampled anyway). I think overall fruity beers are all designed to just cover up the bitterness of the hops.

(sigh) Okay but that's the trouble with stats. This overall averaging pile of numbers blurs the realities of the situation. Face offs are a situational play. They are at times a key situational play that can change a game's outcome. It's not about how many face offs you won all year or even all through a game, it's if you won key face offs at key moments. Examples, you get a PP 20 seconds before a period ends, winning that face off matters a lot. There's a minute to go and you pull the goalie, winning that face off matters a lot. Same in the reverse on the defensive side. You can kill the clock, end the game, take away a final scoring chance, get an empty netter. It all matters a lot. If you want to hyper analyze stats and look at things like percentages when down a goal (or up a goal) in the final minutes with a goalie pulled or other key moments, then you might have something to look at. But just looking at the league and which team won more faceoffs over the year is pretty meaningless because the overall differences are only a few points around that 50/50 mark. It's not about how many faceoffs you win it's about winning the important ones at the important times. That's when teams send out their RORs or whoever is their top faceoff guy. We don't have one.

I agree in general but there's a few points I differ on. First, yes, Yzerman went a different way (and was mocked on this board as having lost it if you remember) but Detroit did improve and they went from behind us to ahead of us and almost made the playoffs. The young guys there are learning from the veterans Yzerman brought in. We shall see if it lasts or has a lasting impact. I disagree on the Kane thing though. We focus in on the "from Buffalo" thing but Detroit was closer to his Chicago area home and the logic to his decision might be simpler than we think. Detroit may have also offered him more money. It could be that simple and have nothing to do with the Buffalo perceptions. But we absolutely do need veterans and leaders, pros, and Adams definitely has to give Ruff the tools he needs. I am expecting a team that looks quite different next year. If it starts the season with the same basic lines and pairings and few if any additions I will start to think Ruff is just going through the motions to pad his retirement and all hope might be lost.

Johnson is a potential injury call up for sure. Up and down from Rochester is the way it should be and probably will be. He's in the mix. I just hope he keeps working and improving and has to earn his spot competitively. I doubt Ruff has 8 D up in Buffalo all year. If he had that in New Jersey I imagine it was because of the Dougie Hamilton injury and he wasn't set on who the replacement was. Also one of their D is a tough guy/fighter I think so he'd not be an every gamer either.

Stats are a funny thing. There are many factors that go in to many things and correlating face offs with wins would be an extremely difficult argument to isolate accurately without considering all the other factors that go into wins. But there are simple things that just make sense. You win a face off, you have the puck. That's a good thing. What you do with it after that is a whole other set of issues and data. Hence, face offs matter.

I know most of you guys hate Marchand, but maybe you can respect this:

They dug down, but keep in mind Dallas was not as good. Different type of play but it was a lot like Boston Florida in that Boston dug down but Florida wasn't as good. Both series could still be over in 6. But all 4 series into game 7s would be excellent entertainment.

I have noticed some over valuing of him around here. Not sure anyone puts him in the top 4 but they definitely think he's more NHL ready than I do. It will be interesting to see which D Ruff values most and how he pairs them up. There could be some changes as some adapt to his system and structure and some have more trouble with it.