Pimlach
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Posts posted by Pimlach
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On 4/15/2024 at 5:52 PM, dudacek said:
This isn’t really about prospects anyway, it’s about wanting more shift disturbers on the actual team.
The number of Tom Wilsons worthy of top 10 picks in the NHL draft are few and far between, year after year. If you’re taking the best one available ahead of a Zach Benson, or an Owen Power, you’re probably not getting the best player.
It’s not that aren’t interested in the type. The Sabres picked Wahlberg and Strbak in the 2nd round last year, they’ve got guys like Miedema, Novikov, Poltapov and Nadeau in the system.
It’s whether or not guys like that work out.
I saw Wahlberg in the rookie camp last year. Benson was the best player there, but Wahlberg was highly noticeable. Great to see him in the AHL now.
I like this prospect a lot.
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On 4/19/2024 at 1:44 PM, Buffalonill said:
Who honestly knows goaltenders are so weird
I think I know it. Can you hum a few bars?
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2 hours ago, dudacek said:
I’m kinda like you, in that I don’t know for sure, but I always thought expected goals was similar to the high-danger concept and was largely based on where the chance was coming from.
I appreciate the effort put into fancystats and respect their worth.
My peeve would be the devaluation of actual goals for and against that accompanies some of their use.
Because those are the stats that matter most.
Indeed. I expected that you would know answers to these questions.
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4 hours ago, Sabre The Cup said:
What happened to the guys who were SO UPSET at the fans chanting “Fire Donnie”.
I have a feeling these guys don’t know what they think.
Most were saying they need harder practices and to be pushed harder and held accountable.
A few said they were in part responsible for his firing.
A very few said they need to be better.
There is no Captain on this roster and we should go with three A’s until someone emerges.
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5 hours ago, PASabreFan said:
The players sure seemed to get on the same page for once and throw Donnie under the bus, albeit somewhat subtly.
They need a coach with structure who will hold them accountable.
Hockey player, heal thyself.
Randall has a theory that the message was coordinated from above.
No doubt the players were repeating what Adams told them, which is exactly what Adams told us in the presser.
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I wont be critical the fancy stats, they are another tool, but I don't fully understand how they get the data for them. Who decides "expected" goals for example?
Lets say UPL faces 35 shots and lets in 2 goals playing the entire 60 minutes. For the game the GAA = 2.00, and the SV % = 33/35*100 = 94.3%. That is easy enough.
Lets say he made 3 amazing saves in that game that someone thinks should have been goals. Who decides that for determination of "goals saved above expected"? Because they are saying he gave up 2 but should have given up 5 and in some way they are looking for a way to account for that. Right?
OR, lets say he let in an easy goal that deflected off his glove on a routine catch? How do they determine and account for that?
I understand basics of statistics and probabilities, so when I see the data I can usually think through the meaning, I just don't know who comes up with the data for these stats and how. Is there a set of criteria that is applied to all situations in a uniform manner. Does the league do this? or the teams? or independent services?
Expected Goals - I pass the puck to Kucherov in the slot with the goalie pinned deep in the crease. There is tons of net. He shoots cleanly with no defender on him. Is that an expected goal? Is it still an expected goal if that player is Eric Robinson? I assume it is. If Kuchrov dribbles it into the goalies pads is that a goal below expected for him? Is it a save above expected for the goalie?
What are the best fancy stats to tell us effectiveness of a player by position?
I am probably not alone in wondering about some of this.
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UPL is the better goalie today. Fancy stats aside, talking about actual goals against and actual saves made, his GAA and SV % were in the top tier of the league since Jan.
Levi might be his equal or even better some day, but right now UPL is the one that emerged from the pack.
Someday we will have the combination of the 2.
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2 hours ago, #freejame said:
My guess is we will continue to see venue size shrink, suite and premier seats increase, sportsbooks taking root in stadiums and arenas, sales and relocations involving private equity money outpacing any realistic forecast of worth, and more and more fans telling you how it’s better to just watch at home in front of their 70” screens.
So, all the things we loved about attending professional sports as kids are gone, ruined because of greed.
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I really like that Sabres team. Those dam Islanders came along and we just beat them in a playoff series
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Crazy that learning the Granato system ended his good play.
He stopped being a factor after about a week.
Can’t wait for an NHL coach and system.
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I stink at predictions but here goes:
Florida over Tampa in a barnburner
Boston will rake up the Leaves
Rangers storm the Capitol(s)
Canes blow away the Island
Vegas upsets the Stars
Avalanche in Winterpeg
Nucks beat Nash
Oil spills onto La la land
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On 4/17/2024 at 10:35 PM, Sabre The Cup said:
We can agree to disagree then.
If there is anybody hopelessly unqualified for the position in the NHL, it is him.
It would be interesting to see what the average age, prior Front Office experience (what jobs and how many in years), and any coaching experience in years, for the 32 GMs in the modern NHL.
But I am too lazy to do that work.
Another easier way is to look it up for just for first time GMs like Adams.
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5 hours ago, xzy89c1 said:
They should have made the playoffs. Poor coaching account for more than the difference in us missing out. If we had an average power play we would have made playoffs. Never won 4 games in a row. Woefully unprepared most nights. Each night in NHL you prepare for your opponent. What matchups will work and which will not. What to Watch for in their breakout, in your d zone etc... We were not doing that. If you watched closely at home, granato would not utilize last change. He would change at same time or before the other team. Idiocy. At least make it seem like you are concerned with other team and matchups.
Other teams were prepared for us. Forecheck hard because as soon as d gets possession sabres forwards leave the zone. pressure d into bad pass and watch for d to d behind the net. If you are carrying puck from neutral zone hold it as any backchecking is occurring they go to wrong player and the D will back up into the goalie before they will step up.
Other teams easily pushed us around and when that happened team disappeared. There was one game I think against Pittsburgh where we started off great and had a lead. Pittsburgh started getting involved after whistle and pushing sabres around. Game was over then. We wilted.
Can we please put to bed the idea Okposo was some great leader? He has barely seen the playoffs in his career. He was a mediocre player his entire run in buffalo. You never heard anything about him taking players aside and letting them know play was unacceptable.
Coaching was not good enough but I think we learned two more important things.
1. The team severely lacks internal leadership - including KO, ZG, and EJ (who had very little skin in the game). Players need to lead themselves, and practice hard because it the right thing to do, and get themselves ready to play at puck drop of period 1. This is not all on the coaches. Players leading players is not simply not there. It is more than pep talks, it is about not letting anyone down. It is about having leaders that are not afraid to call out their buddies.
2. Our GM saw the problems and did not address them. Adams talked about their work in camp, the "arrogance" he detected, his lack of moves in the off season, his lack of moves in the regular season, the teams issues with handling controversy, the consistent inability to be ready to go at puck drop, and players not being pushed hard or held accountable by coaches and other players.
He saw a country club and he saw arrogance and he didn't do anything.
Now he is allegedly looking for a taskmaster type coach that will fix it.
Do what McDermott did. Take away the games, the music, and any the distractions in the facility. Work is work. Put up signs - Commit to being better. Stop making videos. The PR is the hockey game and winning at home, and whatever else they do within the community. I know I don't care how funny they are. It is time for this group to grow up.
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There is a lot of discussion on the interviews this year. Why not, it’s was a disappointing season that led to Granato’s firing.
I typically think of these interviews as not very much. Veterans tend to know how to talk to the press better than young players. Players are down and mostly just going through the motion in the interviews.
This year’s interviews seemed different and much more scripted. Adam’s talked to the team about their coach’s firing before the media did. Almost all of the talking points in his presser came out in the player interviews. Bad camp, better competition in practices, push the players harder, push each other harder, accountability, better starts to games ….
This are the guys that protected Granato and snubbed the fans. Now that he is gone, they all pretty much repeated the Adams talking points.
I heard player after player say “new veteran coach”, “push us harder”, “more intense practice”, and “accountable”. Only a few had fresh comments that went off the script. I think Granato might be pained hearing some of this, but that’s part of hockey coaching.
Some of the Buffalo media asked long run on sentence questions that had the answer they wanted in the question. I call them leading the witness questions. Young players fall for that.
Lots of people voicing opinions on the next Captain based on these interviews. I don’t think you can find a Captain from these interviews.-
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1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:
How am I supposed to work with the old ladies the rest of the night with raging wood? They'll think I've been sampling from the med cart (again).
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2 hours ago, Night Train said:
I thought he was a head case 2 years back with long stretches of struggles. Last year looked like he was turning the corner. Then major regression this year. Was it no Quinn for most of the year ? The fight ? He needs a new coach more than anyone.
You thought he was a head case when he was a 20-21 year old second year player whose rookie year was the shortened by the messy Covid season?
Last year he was very good, 31 goals and 68 points at 21-22 years old is very good production. He centered two rookies,You are a tough audience.
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30 minutes ago, GoPuckYourself said:
You stated "What was Ruff supposed to do go fight Lucic", correct? So what was Granato supposed to do with our current roster, go out there and show them how to compete? Line up at LW and try to score goals for them? Can't you say this about any coach?
Uh. A little different circumstances here but ok.
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Just now, GoPuckYourself said:
So the same goes for Granato then right?
What don't you get from my last sentence? Ryan Miller was calling out the team in the post game interview after he got ran. All this happened under Ruff's watch. So now because you want Ruff as a HC all the ***** he was let go for didn't happen?
Yes, I recall Miller doing that. I did not get that from your post though.
I have no idea if Ruff lost the locker room as a result of that, but probably not. I don’t understand what any of it has to do with Granato either.
I actually would prefer Gallant or Berube instead of Ruff as my first choice. But if Ruff is selected, as I suspect he will be, I won’t hate it.-
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On 4/17/2024 at 5:36 PM, PickaPecaPickles said:
I'd like to see Krebs center a line with some offensive talent before tossing him out with the bath water. I recall he centered for Quinn and JJ in Rochester for a brief stint and did well with them (4 + 11 = 15 in 18 games). His +/- was terrible then, but he ended this season with +2.
They did that this year prior to and then after trading Mitts. He doesn’t put up scoring numbers.
Trading him alone won’t get much and you are essentially giving away a young player. Use him in a multi-player package deal and say you are throwing in a former 1.
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On 4/17/2024 at 3:15 PM, Buffalonill said:
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You could see Cozens getting unglued by the booing and the losing in the very game he stupidly took on Hathaway.
The kid wants to earn his paycheck and he wants to win.
Maturity and experience will fix things
Adams provided the big contract, and Adams needs to get some veteran help for the younger players before he ruins them (refer to the Trotz comments).
Adams should go to a sports psychologist.
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He had one really bad stretch. When he sat out a few games he came back much better.
He has to use his body more, that is an obvious fact. He is too timid.
I think that overall he was ok, but the expectations for him are higher than he could achieve.
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5 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:
Maybe not that much. The stadium is being built. PSLs are being sold. The Bills are more regional. Didn't Kim Pegula say there wasn't that much overlap?
The PSL story is not over and may have long lasting bad consequences. The stadium is state funded. The Bills are not any more regional than the Sabres - the games in Toronto proved that, Toronto football fans overwhelmingly cheered for the Bills opponents.
Kim Pegula proved several times over that she does not understand the fan base or sports management in general.
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5 hours ago, GoPuckYourself said:
Didn't Ruff lose the locker room after Lucic destroyed Ryan Miller? Isn't he the same coach to where Miller was calling out people afterwards?
Was Ruff supposed to go out there and fight Lucic himself?
The Sabres had Sekera, Pommer, Gaustad, Vanek, and Myers on the ice. No one would drop them with Lucic who warded them all off.
I do not understand what your last sentence means?
Whatever it was, this incident was a signpost of bad that still haunts this franchise.
NHL Playoffs (First Round) discussion
in The Aud Club
Posted · Edited by Pimlach
Leaves are getting blown out in Beantown tonight.