Broken Ankles

Who are the seven? You have UPL, Lyon, Georgiev, Levi (who signed a one way but we knew was earmarked for Roch) and now Ellis. Although Puckpedia has the Ellis contract as a two way. And they have Ratzlaff and Leinonen as two way.

I think his chemistry with Tage is above average. The slash lines are crazy and I hope a harbinger of things to follow. I think I’ve seen 3 games he’s played in and he and Tage were dominant. Let’s see if he can breathe some life into an ineffectual PP.

I think Pierre took the call from the bathroom with a soup-can and string.

Thanks for the additional insight using future cap numbers. Here’s my question. If he walks away from Buffalo’s offer of $9m * 8 years (big assumption) what is his value in the open market where there is a restriction to six years max term? Is it $9m *6 ? Is it $10m * 6? Is it $11m *6? Ultimately he has to find a path to $72m right? Sure you can argue money isn’t everything in the equation. Just know that an offer like that is coming from a team with cap space and it’s not the Stanley Cup Champion's. If he manages a new deal of $60m at 6 years, he needs to sign a new deal after that one expires for ~$12m in a new contract at age 36. This year Jamie Benn signed a one year deal for $1m (plus incentives). Is Benn at age 36 a comp? If yes, what does that contract look like in 6 years? What is Ben’s value on the open market, if it’s just about the money? I get it that Alex and his camp have confidence in his abilities and are trying to maximize his value, but some of the CBA changes are countering the benefits that the Salary Cap expansion brings.

Sabre Space Management has informed me that you are sitting out the preseason games against Pittsburgh. We are looking to see if any of our recent draft picks have your skill set. Clearly your offseason regimen allows you to continue to live 3 seconds in the future.

Bravo!

… You start a conversation you can't even finish it You're talkin' a lot, but you're not sayin' anything When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed Say something once, why say it again? … Psycho killer, qu'est-ce que c'est?

The dejection on their fans faces looks familiar. I just can’t place it. 😏

Even though the move was validated by news of a potential injury to UPL - he's still a Lou-who-Zer-her. The Loser - Sabres style In the time of J BriseBois He was donkey, Analytics on my brains, and I'm out to sign a goalie With season ticket calls, suck down the edibles Old Fashioned brawls with the cheesecake embryos. Kill the PK and put it in the neutral zone Francise is flamin with a loser in the GM suite Eichel in Vegas with a name on the cup, Got a couple of draft picks, still off the hot seat. Someone came, saying I'm insane to complain About, New York State taxes and the lack of a palm tree. Don't believe everything that you read You get a play-off hibernation and a fanbase left to grieve So ask us to brace, with some grace and a snark Saving all your Sabres cheques and hoping just to catch a spark Yo, quit it.(please) eres un perdedor You’re a loser baby, so why don't we fire you! eres un perdedor You’re a loser baby, so why don't we fire you!

We can only hope.

As someone who has/had a problem (I hit 20 years sober in January) I would never tell anyone directly they have a problem. Comes off preachy. I can offer insight and observations if asked, but have rarely been. Reality is, people who have a problem don't want others, especially those who have been there, to confirm their suspicions. I gave up the sauce years before settling down and having kids, but I did drive drunk, and it is without question that which I regret most in life. I'm lucky I never injured anyone, including myself, or had to deal with the Police/Insurance/Lawyers. Already been said, but if you are this wasted - ear-lie in the morn, you done got problems, my man. Seek help immediately. If you get clean, maybe you get a second chance with the Sabres.

OK papa Smurf. Don’t you have some smurfing to do for your big date with Smurfette tonight?

Saw this as the play unfolded and thought for sure it would be blocked. Deone Walker should count his blessings. He completely missed his blocking assignment. It was unabated. The Henry/Jackson tandem is unicorn like so not too worried about the D. The play where Rousseau and Bosa are about the crush Jackson, there is exactly one QB who could have escaped. And he did. Those two, plus Oliver and Jones will fare much better against pocket passers than other D linesmen. I still think they could be elite. The safeties…not so much.

‘Who will save you goals’ by Jewel People living their lives watching you on TV, They say Bostons better than you, and you agree. He says we’ve got a center spine, defense too, but between the pipes we havent got a clue Another penalty, a tap in rebound, another failure to clear, You know you love them, if you watch them this year. .. who will save your goals, when your netminder folds? And who will save your goals, when the defense can’t hold? Now Who will save your goals… If you won’t save your own … We try to check 'em, try to hack 'em, try to snipe 'em The fans want someone to cheer down on Seymour Knox avenue Another draft, another miss, another cheap UFA, another banner Went up where the uneducated have their homes So we pray that Uppie can steal the show But we call religion our friend, We're so worried about savin' our goals Afraid that an injury will take its toll and the doubt creeps back in, but But.. who will save your goals, when your netminder folds? And who will save your goals, when the defense can’t hold? Now Who will save your goals… If you won’t save your own

Interesting hypothesis. Where does goaltending acquisition fit? Really it’s just Levi, right? And if he thought that was sufficient then he must have had supreme confidence is in tenure as a GM, because that was over 4 years ago. And, there was no path to Devon being a 60 game starter by now. Did he lose focus too quickly?

In his first two full years in the NHL Marchand averaged 80 hits (bias stat -maybe), 24 goals and a shooting percentage of almost 16. But Benson has a three year head start on these numbers, so 25/26 wouldn’t even factor in based on age. So from a development perspective, it’s about getting physically stronger, and executing offense at a higher level. * adding an asterisk to my comments as the OP question was how good will he be this year. I am fully on board Benson meeting these numbers 3 years from now. Also, did the PC police vet your question using Brad as a comparable…..based on what, his size? Because I never mentioned height or weight in my posts. Benson towers over Marchand by 1 inch, so why would you not use a 5’11’ forward to compare?

Tage and Tuch are bonefide top line players. Zuck and Norris are legit top 6. Zucker is an option on #1 based on available choices. Quinn, Kulich and Benson are not legit top 6 but I rank them in that order as options based on arguments provided before. Quinn and Kulich have shown better acumen at scoring. We all can be wrong about our projections. Kevyn was wrong keeping him as a top 13 player two years ago, and that’s his f$&king job. I’m using history to determine where he is slotted.

…..With better players - throughout the season, which you fail to acknowledge. Your take that his points will increase by playing on the first line is based on nothing. It’s a fallacy and wishful thinking. Could they increase? Maybe? But it’s more probable than not Zucker is a better option to start the season. Please don’t force us to create a Concept of Benson.

Tage, Tuch, zuck and Norris are bonafide. After that, Quinn and Kulich each rank higher of who I think is a top 6. Based on overall age, experience and scoring ability. I understand the desire to have someone with a defensive skill set “compliment” the other two players. Sometimes a player with zero defensive capabilities can complement a line by scoring 40 goals. In a previous post I shared that I went through last years line combinations and zero teams had a top line winger with less than 28 points and 10 goals for an entire season. It doesn’t meet the standards. FWIW, Zucker Tage Tuch was my “first line” under a different topic. I also acknowledged that maybe Benson is middle six and based on his age and with growth could become a “legit top 6”, but you & LGR are not acknowledging that he played more minutes, with better players and regressed in goals/assists/point per 60. That’s not deserving of top line. His size will not prevent him from excelling in the league. But his lack of scoring and shooting percentage will. If you have Quinn with Norris on Line #2 then I can see Benson supporting in a top six role. But it’s not my definition of Legit. YET.

By shooting impaired players, you mean guys like Tage and Juri? His even strength line combinations don’t fit this narrative. Others include Quinn/Krebbs, Cozens/Quinn, Tage/Tuch and McLeod/Zucker. The guys mentioned score points. You don’t see Lafferty/Greenway/Beck until you get to 11 minutes of ice time. The fact is his ATOI increased last year, but his production in Points per 60 decreased, as did his goals per 60 even though he wasn’t stapled to Greenway and was given ample opportunity to actually score goals. His shooting percentage is anemic at 9% and I just haven’t seen enough for me to think he is anything other than a third line Defensive winger, until he isn’t. Which is completely plausible as he’s only 20. I voted #2 because options were limited, but I was closer to 2 than 1. I find myself aligned with this statement from Thorny -“all 3 of my first liners are bonafide first liners, not 2 guys who are and 1 who may be because of them.” (You see Thorny, some people do read your $hit) So let’s slow down on the coronation to first line winger, and see if his offensive game matures this year. https://frozenpool.dobbersports.com/frozenpool_linecombo.php?select=F&forward=BUF%3A7111%3AZACH%3ABENSON&games=2024-2025%3AR%3A99&period=ALL&situation=EV

382 with 296 without https://www.naturalstattrick.com/linestats.php?fromseason=20242025&thruseason=20242025&stype=2&sit=5v5&score=all&rate=n&team=BUF&vteam=ALL&view=wowy&loc=B&gpfilt=none&fd=2024-10-04&td=2025-04-17&tgp=2000&strict=incl&p1=8479359&p2=8478043&p3=0&p4=0&p5=0

Thank you for sharing. 21 out of 30 is below average (which we all might have assumed and meets the eye test). But your larger point about medium and high danger being an even bigger struggle is validated by the 40 game filter. 26 and 29 is just plain unacceptable. Perhaps his percentages in medium/high danger areas improve slightly, but the only sure fire way to improve the numerator (high danger goals) seems to be to reduce the denominator ( HD chances). These underlying numbers you shared make me feel more and more like the season rests on a strong start by Six-K.