Digger
-
Posts
1,107 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by Digger
-
-
https://www.tsn.ca/tuukka-rask-boston-bruins-return-1.1685659
Rask planning on coming back to the Bruins by January.
-
22 minutes ago, dudacek said:
To mirror @pi2000's post
- Eichel is traded for 4 good young pieces, including a potential top 6 centre.
- Dahlin emerges as stud, leading the team in scoring and getting votes for the Norris.
- Casey Mittelstadt creates offence and puts up 60 points
- Cozens gets 40 points and looks good both ends of the ice
- The main Eichel return piece shows he is already a good NHL 3rd liner with obvious upside.
- One of Tage, Skinner, Bjork and Ruotsalanien emerges as a 25-goal scorer, while the other 3 combine for 45
- The majority of Peterka, Rosen, Poltapov, Quinn, Portillo and Levi dominate their leagues and climb up the prospect rankings
- UPL surprises and shows himself the equal to Ullmark, with Anderson a big improvement over Hutton in the back-up role.
- Butcher Hagg Miller and Pysyk put together decent seasons and are flipped for picks at the deadline.
- Johnson and Power sign as their replacements and immediately show they are NHL-ready adding to good showing s from Samuelsson and Jokiharju.
- The team works hard, is entertaining most nights, finishes with 70-75 points, wins the lottery and takes Wright.
Yep, that's best case (well written and thought out).
I hope that we come closer to the best case scenario you outlined than the worst case scenario.
-
16 minutes ago, pi2000 said:
Tage will surprise.
Maybe he'll show up to camp 1" taller than last year. 😏
-
1
-
-
22 minutes ago, Weave said:
I can readily justify the Sam, Risto and likely Jack trades as not being tank moves. Contract status and stated apathy about being here means they were likely moved to create culture change, and the fact that bringing back vets that want to be here is a hard sell, I am convinced that those trades had to be about futures. So no tanking there.
Why are you convinced it had to be "all futures"? I would love to hear the deals we did not agree to or consider.
I do remember Vancouver's GM Benning making a sarcastic comment (in an unrelated interview just before the draft) about a GM asking for "all futures" being pretty crazy. He did not mention the Sabres but it seemed reasonable that he was referring to his dealings with Adams on Reinhart.
-
45 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:
Why did they trade Reinhart? Your argument is to tank. They traded him because he wasn't going to sign a long term deal. They didn't want to walk him to UFA and get nothing so they traded him before that.
Why did they trade Ristolainen? Your argument is to tank. They traded him because he has 1 year left on his deal and has wanted out for a couple years. The analytics heads assuredly were comfortable moving on from him and now they have another spot for their burgeoning defensive depth.
Why are they going to trade Eichel? Your argument is tank. This might be the closest one you can argue that with because they control him for 5 more years and he's only 24. However it is very clear they org and the player want to move in different directions.
Why is Ullmark not on the team? Your argument is tank. The truth is they tried everything to sign him but when he wanted over 4 years of term and around 5-6mil they walked away because they didn't think he was worth that.
So for a team that is tanking they sure have a lot of non-tank reasons for just about everything they have done. Tanking is a deliberate attempt to finish last. The Sabres just suck and finished last with all those guys anyways so yes they are resetting their timeline to be in line with the 19-22 year olds they have. They are not deliberately bad, they are simply just bad because of years of poor decision making. This is like accusing the Bills of tanking Allen's first year as opposed to recognizing the team simply hadn't been able to finish adding the talent they wanted.
I'm not sure it will be a true Tank. I remember GM Tim Murray kept moving out assets that were performing well throughout the season when we were hoping to get McDavid in the draft. I hope that we don't do that this time around because I think it's really hard on the overall team culture.
I understand your points above but one thing that I will point out is that GM Adams has specifically asked and insisted on getting "all futures" in the trades he was making. I suppose it could be argued that "futures" might provide the best value long term but I still wonder if we could have had more success in trading for young established roster players under contract. Removing Reinhart from the roster without getting a player back that can play in his spot and role doesn't indicate to me that they want to win right away. Ristolainen, okay is was a good deal but still removing an established D (like him or not) and replacing him with a 6D in Hagg. Ullmark is unfortunate and I would have thought (still do) that they could find a better option in goal than (Anderson / Dell / Tokarski / UPL). Eichel, we will see when it happens.
I think in general most of us felt (I think you did too from the posts I read) that if we had to trade Reinhart, Ristolainen, and Eichel that we would be able to get back roster players that could play for the Sabres this season. So is the "all futures" the right move?
-
1
-
-
1 minute ago, Rasmus_ said:
If we lose this kid, then again, this is another black mark on the franchise. Let's go on record as saying this is an important guy to get in the system as soon as he is ready to go pro. We need to stop letting young talent out of the building.
agreed.
-
Even if he ends up playing on the 3rd pair, he's still in a top 6 spot in the NHL. I find it ridiculous to suggest that he's looking at the Sabres on paper and worried about Dahlin and Power ahead of him. He needs to focus on having a great year and getting the opportunity to sign with the Sabres and then work on trying to make the NHL. It's short sighted. Good players will always find a place on the team one way or another. There are issues breaking into the NHL on any team.
When we drafted Mittelstadt, we had Eichel and O'Reilly ahead of him and looked to be strong at center. Roll ahead a few years and Mittelstadt is now at the front of the line.
-
21 minutes ago, nfreeman said:
So a couple of people have mentioned, upthread and in the Owen Power thread, that Johnson is a flight risk.
He's played 2 years at the U of Minnesota and is presumably returning for his junior year, which starts in a few weeks. I think if he plays 4 years there, he can leave the Sabres and become a UFA -- maybe as early as the end of his senior college hockey season (so he could join an NHL team for the end of that season) -- but I'm not sure about that.
The Sabres drafted him with the last pick in the 1st round in 2019. He had 14 pts in 27 games and was honorable mention all-Big-10 as a sophomore. He played on the gold-medal-winning (take that, GWN!) US World Junior team earlier this year. He's 6'1", 175 lbs, and just turned 20 a few weeks ago.
He grew up in Southern California and presumably has not harbored a lifelong dream to play for the Sabres.
He's probably not a future top-pair guy, but he sure seems reasonably likely to become a decent NHL defenseman, and thus a pretty decent asset that it would be a shame to lose for nothing.
Discuss.
I like what I've seen from Ryan Johnson in the games I watched. I think that he'll be a steady defenceman for the Sabres. I do believe that he will sign after this season. He needs to prove he can play and transition into the NHL and may need some time in Rochester. The Sabres can be criticized on many fronts but if if were a young D that had confidence in my abilities I would look at the Sabres D as being easier to break into the top 6 than many other NHL teams. It's all about opportunity to become a pro hockey player. I heard that he's been playing the right side.
Besides if he becomes a UFA and signs elsewhere he will have to play for the Sabres someday anyway in the future. Vesey came back, Butcher came back, expect Cal Peterson eventually to have to come back and play for us. We always get our man. 😏
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, Ruff Around The Edges said:
Wait, Jack Eichel might be traded? I forgot at this point
Someone should start a thread on Eichel rumors so that we don't mix it up with this other stuff. 😏
-
19 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:
I really liked this post. Eichel is a wonderful talent, a game-changer. Generational? Probably not. A rare player for any given team to have? I'd say so.
He was just horribly miscast here in Buffalo, which is such a shame. Now, I acknowledge that the "casting" that occurred wasn't totally of the team's making. I reckon he wanted some of it, demanded some of it ... or just felt obliged to take it on.
Miscast? Maybe so but how much did Eichel bring to the scenario himself? We see that both he and his agents are pretty active in trying to control his career (yes I know that's their jobs but still seems to be out of line with other players). He was drafted behind McDavid. He got his big contract and was named captain after McDavid got his contract and captaincy in Edmonton. He hadn't earned the contract but it was expected that he would grow into it. He hadn't shown that he was ready to be a captain or even an assistant captain. What would he have done if they asked him to sign a bridge deal and earn the big contract? What would he have done if he hadn't been named captain? I think many of the moves the Sabres made were around trying to keep Eichel happy just to avoid a situation like we are in now.
Following McDavid and Eichel, Austin Mathews did get the big contract (although shorter term) and was not named captain. That was the right move to give the C to another player.
I agree the management is to blame but there are now so many GM's to spread the blame.
-
2 hours ago, dudacek said:
The Rangers best players are:
- Panarin 29
- Zibanejad 28
- Fox 23
- Kreider 30
- Shesterkin 25
They just acquired Ryan Reaves, 34, and Barclay Goodrow, 28. Trouba is 27 and Strome 28.
Their window is tied to Panarin. That's why trading a good young piece makes sense, especially since Eichel is young and good enough to fit with any age group.
Okay I guess that you're right with the Rangers. They should be ready to win soon or now given the roster ages. I guess that I just saw Lafreniere, Kakko and K'Andre Miller meshing in pretty well with their current team and switching Zibanejad for Eichel (to manage the salary cap) doesn't seem to me to be the best way to upgrade their team.
Would you make the trade if you were the Rangers GM and if so what would you offer up to get it done?
-
21 minutes ago, Brawndo said:
https://www.thefourthperiod.com/pagnotta/waiting-game-continues-for-eichel
From David Pagnotta.
He mentions the Sabres might be willing to retain some salary to get the return they want.
Mike Russo of the Athletic mentioned the Wild might be inclined to jump back in if Eichel’s AAV was lower.
If Boldy, Rossi and two firsts are the return, Boldy will be on his ELC for two more years and Rossi will be on His for three. The Two First Rounders would still be on their ELCs when Eichel’s Deal Expires. With Eichel having five years left that’s essentially only two seasons of having to be concerned about the retained money, which would probably be around 2 to 2.5 Million. The downside is the Sabres(Yeah right) might be a legitimate cup contender in 4-5 years and need that extra space.
That being said, if that’s the best deal on the table and they land bonafide Top Line Prospects in Boldy and Rossi I would make the deal.
I still really like the potential for a Minnesota trade with Boldy and Rossi. I think the picture may become clearer if and when Kaprizov signs with them. That will determine how much salary comes back to the Sabres or is retained in an Eichel deal. I just see Minnesota getting a real benefit from adding Eichel. Vegas too (they could really use him this season).
Rangers and Anaheim - great if they are in it to keep the price high but I don't understand their desire to sell off future star assets for Eichel. Maybe that's one of the reasons that the Rangers rumored trade pieces have been underwhelming.
It's definitely been quiet lately though.
-
25 minutes ago, Hoss said:
That’s a ton of projection. For the record, Drysdale has been absolutely abysmal on NHL ice so far.
Abysmal, really? I don't know because I haven't watched many Anaheim games. I do remember that their beat reporter was on WGR and said that he thought that Drysdale was already better than Cam Fowler (which caught my attention) so I thought he was transitioning pretty well to the NHL.
I'm not sure that I would be happy with that package (Drysdale + McTavish). Most of us wanted Zegras + Comtois + 3OA for Eichel prior to the draft. They drafted McTavish 3OA but I doubt that the Sabres would have taken him there if we had got Zegras in the trade. All hypothetical I guess anyway. I think Drysdale would be a nice pickup but really would rather have an A+ center prospect as the best piece coming back to us.
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, Taro T said:
W/ all due respect, his FLOOR is average 3C. His likely outcome is average to good 2C. And his ceiling is adequate 1C.
Connolly probably is the best comparable for him. Getting played too highly by the Aisles caused him to develop seriously bad habits that he couldn't overcome until post-lockout. But he did, oh boy did he, overcome them until that poorly thought out move to the middle of the ice right into Schaeffer's waiting elbow.
Hating the idea of him being the 1C this year as am not convinced it won't set his development backwards. He's shown he's ready to be given a real opportunity at 2C & expect he'd thrive there.
Even if @Doohickie 's idea of having the checking line as the 1st line comes to fruition, opposing teams will still be able to overmatch the Mitts line when on the road more often than will be healthy for his development. Hopefully he surprises and shows he's at a point development wise that he can be an OK 1C this year. That & bringing in a real goalie would go a long way to making this season less painful than it seems set up to be.
PS - you aren't the only one that didn't give up on Mitts.
Well thought out post. I agree. I think Mittelstadt got back on track last season. I still hope that we get another center back into the roster to help with the load (someone better than Berglund 😒). Let's hope he continues to progress this season and gets the support needed.
-
1
-
-
7 minutes ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:
Please have him live long enough to at least see the playoffs again.
That goes without say for many Sabres fans. Let's Go Buffalo. 😏
-
1
-
-
The Calgary Flames inked a pair of defencemen on Friday with new deals for Nikita Zadorov and Juuso Valimaki.
Zadorov agreed to a one-year, $3.75 million contract, while Valimaki re-upped for two years and $3.1 million.
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, mjd1001 said:
That wouldn't be all that bad, I'm not sure why Columbus gets such a bad reputation.
Have they won anything big? No, But they have made the playoffs 5 of the last 8 seasons which is a LOT better than the Sabres.
The Arena isn't brand new anymore, but its pretty nice ( I have been there twice). And the location "the Arena district" is great also (filled with bars and restaurants) A few blocks away is High street, which is like Chippewa at its best times 3. Its a growing city that is at least double the size of Buffalo. Honestly, as a younger player it is far from the last place you would want to play your career in.
1 hour ago, Hoss said:To each their own but on a whole I’d imagine Columbus is well into the bottom 10 of NHL cities players would want to go to. They’ve swung big on players many times just to see them want out within two years.
My comment was more about the state of the team rather than living there. I don't know exactly where Columbus is going next season. They need to try and resurrect Laine and I'm not sure Eichel would match well with him but you never know. Better question was do they have a decent package to put forward for Eichel and I'm not sure that many were convinced they could (so not important to debate).
-
21 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:
Finding out the best deal is from Calgary?
or Columbus
-
31 minutes ago, Thorny said:
No, he literally said a few posts back that he thinks there could be 6 at the same time
3 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:Am I going to be bought up on charges for this horrible crime???
Case closed. Now the next question, how many goalies do we have that will reach 20 wins? 😏
-
4 minutes ago, Thorny said:
Almost all of the takes on there are besides the point - people acting like Power is doing this to "avoid" the Sabres and that he'd step right in with another team...wrong. People acting like the Sabres are making a smart decision....also wrong, in a sense.
It's merely the correct decision (I'd argue, the obvious one), for both parties.
Yeah, I hate that negative stuff. I suppose the media outlets really love the Sabre organizational issues. NHL news is pretty slow in August. Manufacturing a fictional rift with Owen Power will give them something else other than Eichel to talk about with regards to the Sabres.
To quote @New Scotland (NS) he'll be fine. 😏
-
1
-
-
News as expected. It would have been breaking news if he had signed with the Sabres for this season considering it's August 19th.
I wish him all the best. The Michigan team is really strong this season with some future NHL stars. It will be interesting to watch that team play. I'm also hopeful that he plays in the WJC and plays very well at that tournament. A good year of development and let's see how he looks next season.
-
46 minutes ago, Drag0nDan said:
It was likely his agent who recommended the arbitration route. Darcy was many things - and I'm pretty sure spiteful was one of them.
I think it all had to do with arbitration. Darcy didn't like it.
Yes but at the end of the day, Darcy was right and the Sabres made the right move in walking away. The salary awarded was too high and he had to take a big cut elsewhere and never really had much success anywhere else.
It's too bad because he was a likable player. So was Kahun.
-
2 hours ago, I-90 W said:
Is there an unwritten rule that we can only hire former Sabres? It’s like a person playing fantasy and only drafting players from their favorite team, but in real life.
They still have Dan Girardi as a Development Coach too but your point is valid.
-
1
-
-
Just listening to the Instigators radio talk from this morning. Marty Biron's "if Jack was a house analogy" really made me laugh. "Jack is like a really nice house with a couple of structural issues that could be handled before the sale or after the sale, but a very special house and really unique market for this house."
Rivet jumps in with "you and your wife love the house and everything about it but then you discover a foundation issue with water coming in. You found a major issue. Who needs to fix the problem, the buyer or the seller?"
-
1
-
Around the NHL: 2020-2021
in The Aud Club
Posted
No I think he just decided he wanted to come back and play again after his surgery. He wasn't very clear at the end of the season if he was coming back or retiring.
Good point on Ullmark's injury history.