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RochesterExpat

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  2. A Knights Tale: From Sabre to Knight; one man’s failure to make the playoffs AND how it benefits the Sabres draft position

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    Just now, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

    It's getting ugly out there for him on social media.

    I actually feel kind of badly because he only bears a smidgen of the responsibility compare to the LVGK management, but he is getting the vast majority of the blame.

    I didn’t care about Eichel until he opened his mouth after the Buffalo game. Before that I was mad at VGK ownership for so blatantly circumventing the cap in a fashion only a Tax Attorney could approve of.

    Eichel and VGK management brought it on themselves. 

    I’m also admittedly still bitter about them trading MAF and the circumstances surrounding it. Before Vegas even played their first game I bought a Golden Knights t-shirt because MAF is my favorite active goalie in the league. He’s hilarious and makes unnecessarily over-the-top saves reminiscent of Hasek. Not to mention he’s considered a genuinely good dude by pretty much the whole league.

    • Like (+1) 4

  15. 2022 Offseason Game Plan

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Crusader1969 said:

    I see people on here questioning Peterka’s two way game all the time.    I get the feeling someone once said it and now it’s become a thing without any real substance .   
    im really curious where this notion came from? 

    Because early in the season he was absolutely a defensive liability in Rochester. I say this having watched most Amerks games on AHL.tv. By his own admission, he was adjusting to the size of the ice sheet being 20% smaller than the DEL. He was caught out of position a bunch (physical 'North American' hockey vs finesse 'European' hockey). By the end of the season it was substantially less noticeable. Quinn is definitely a better back-checker and I think that's who he is most compared to for obvious reasons and so the point is always reiterated, but that may simply be the fact Quinn is a faster skater.

    JJ also struggled (relative to how he finished) offensively to start the season which seems to be forgotten or ignored. He worked to overcome it and, again, ice sheet and game style were the big factors. He's a smart hockey player who works and works and works (insert joke about German efficiency here). I don't foresee him having difficulty making the Sabres out of training camp as I'm not worried about him spending the off-season twiddling his thumbs.

  17. Thompson’s Next Contract?

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    19 minutes ago, Curt said:

    I get what you are saying, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Thompson’s sh% decreases next season.  Yeah, player shooting percentages are going to vary, it’s the nature of the beast, it doesn’t mean that it’s a fluke. Thompson might shoot 15% this season, 12% next season, 8%, 13%, 17%.........

    However, there are plenty of players who maintain a very high shooting percentage over a large period of time.  Over the past 5 seasons, there are 40 players who have played over 200 games and over that time period averaged a sh% higher than what Thompson has this season.  If you knock it down to a lesser but still high % of 13%, there are literally 100 players who have averaged that over the past 5 seasons.

    Its not just the elite of the elite players who are able to maintain shooting percentages in that range.  Lots of very good but not elite players are able to do it.

    In addition to this, you can look at Thompson’s previous lower sh%’s, but you also need to look at the player.  To my eyes, Thompson is not playing the same way he did in previous seasons but just getting lucky this year.  There have been real changes in his skill set that are resulting in this higher sh%.  The way he is using his shot, the better positions that he is getting himself into, the more dangerous situations that he is creating and benefitting from his teammates creating.  He is a different player.

    I think that he will be able to maintain a fairly high sh% going forward.  I think he will probably average over 12% for the rest of his career.

    If you need any better of an example of players with really variable shooting percentages just look at Chris Kreider.

    image.thumb.png.a17f1a620ce29fc95637b5c1c6dbe47b.png

    He shot a career high of 19.6 last season and he's going to finish over 20% this year, but it's a massive leap from the 15% of 2019 and 14% the year prior. I'd have said there was no way after last season he'd ever shoot higher than 19.6 and I'd have been wrong. I'd still say there's no way he shoots over 20% next season, but I could be wrong.

    Tage will probably see a regression in his shooting percentage, but he has the strength of shot and the release--not to mention improved positioning--to maintain a fairly 'high' success rate (12-13%). He's not getting a bunch of garbage goals or lucky bounces.

  18. 2022 Offseason Game Plan

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    10 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

    As I mentioned in the Dman thread, Gudbranson wouldn't work well here due to his requirement of a heavily structured system like how Calgary does it under Sutter

    Here's my most recent idea

    https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/3216649

    I'm not sure how reasonable signing VO for 4x4.75 is, but I would certainly be happy with that contract.

    Why does Winnipeg move on from DeMelo? Who is replacing him in the lineup? I'm not sure the Jets have an interest in the trade although I do like the idea.

    Copp would be a solid addition.

    I don't know if Husso takes that contract because there could be some serious bidding in this free agency for goalies and he might go with longer term if the total is higher as opposed to just betting on himself that in two years he'll be able to get a payday. It's also a lot to pay a goalie who has played as few games as he has, but I suppose Buffalo has the cap space. I don't know about that one.

  19. Hot Tage takes worth talking about

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    What do we consider a 1st line center? A 1C that would be a 1C on more than half the teams in the league? Or just the minimum and someone better than Arizona's Hayton is now that he's their 1C (not to disparage him because he's got a future in the NHL for sure, but he is not a 1C yet)? 

    If the latter we have arguably three different 1Cs on this team. If the former, TT is close but he needs to improve his two-way game before I think he makes that leap.

  20. About that trade…

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    5 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

    Except they won the Stanley Cup and ROR was the Conn Smyth winner but whatever. 

    He wasn't brought in for leadership either.

    Either way, there's no scenario in which Buffalo 'wins' or even 'breaks even' on this trade until Thomspon/Johnson lift the cup.

    • Like (+1) 3

  23. Offseason Gameplan 2022 - Solving the goaltending system wide.

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Norcal said:

    This guy would look good in Rochester maybe?

    Mentioned him a while back. Could he come to the US?

    He's of age to hit his prime and he's been good in the KHL. 

    https://thehockeynews.com/news/ivan-fedotov-is-making-a-case-for-flyers-goaltending-role

    Philly has some guys in front of him already too

    Does anyone know if currently unsigned Russian players will be eligible to attend training camps or play in the NHL next year? Seems like a pretty big concern at this point.

    • Like (+1) 1

  24. 2022 Offseason Game Plan

    in The Aud Club

    Posted · Edited by RochesterExpat

    11 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

    What? Samuelsson/Dahlin is the No.1 pair.  KA said he is looking for a partner for Power and DG is already playing the kid 20+ a night.  That leaves Bryson and Joki as the third pairing.  This isn’t a shot a Joki, but an observation based on how PT is currently allocated and the stated intentions of management.

    It’s certainly possible KA doesn’t get the D he is looking for in the off-season.  If that happens Joki jumps back into the Power pairing.  

    I'd be curious how the last few games have shifted this perception. Joki and Power work really well together. Joki plays the long pass and Power jumps down the ice immediately to join the rush. I didn't like Joki and Dahlin together and I'll be the first to admit I thought Joki brought Dahlin down, but the Joki/Power pairing has been solid in the limited sample size. If I were GMKA I would be seriously considering just going all in on a goalie and less focused on getting a top-4 pairing D-man.

    On a side note, I didn't think Samuelsson and Dahlin would work because Dahlin's proclivity to carry the puck in the zone and Samuelsson being somewhat of a static positional 'defensive defenseman' player (not a criticism of him since I think he's a fantastic player, but just a note on his play style). I really underestimated Samuelsson's ability to read and react to Dahlin's play. So yeah, I was pretty off on that one too. Thankfully I do not work for the Sabres organization.

    • Like (+1) 1

  25. A Knights Tale: From Sabre to Knight; one man’s failure to make the playoffs AND how it benefits the Sabres draft position

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    I don't think PDB is a good coach (the Lehner situation alone proves it) and we know that he replaced Gallant because the owners wanted it. McCrimmon is managing by chasing talent--presumably at the owner's direction. I wonder how much of an impact the owners are having on VGK's success/failures.

    Even with injuries the team should be more competitive than it is. I really do blame the coaching more than anything. Eichel is not the problem. He is merely a symptom.

    That's my $.02 anyway.

     

    • Like (+1) 2
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