pi2000

Looking at playoff teams: 3 of the top 5 teams in FOW% are playoff teams. 1 of the bottom 5 teams are playoff teams. 4 of the top 5 teams in blocked shots/60min are playoff teams. 2 of the bottom 5 teams are playoff teams. 3 of the top 5 teams in hits/60min are playoff teams. 1 of the bottom 5 teams are playoff teams. 3 of the top 5 teams in takeaways/60min are playoff teams. 2 of the bottom 5 are playoff teams. So that's 65% vs 30%... significant. Now looking at top 10 overall teams in points: WSH, BOS, STL, PIT, TBL, CBJ, NYI, DAL, PHI, VAN 3 of the top 10 teams in points are in the top 5 FOW%. 0 are in the bottom 5. 4 of the top 10 teams in points are in the top 5 blocked shots/60min. 2 are in the bottom 5. 2 of the top 10 teams in points are in the top 5 hits/60min. 0 in the bottom 5. 1 of the top 10 teams in points are in the top 5 in takeaways/60min. 1 in the bottom 5. So that 50% vs 15%... again, significant. Takeaways being the least significant, really no correlation there, but the others do show there is a correlation between doing those things well and winning.

What we discussing here? The legitmacy of these statistics? Nice deflection haha. Now back to Sam.... what does he do thats better than league average besides putting up middling top RW points next to a top 3 center in the world? We know he doesn't like to hit, block shots, take faceoffs, take pucks away... I'll be waiting.

Of course they were good players. Let me be clear... Sam is a good player, I don't want him traded, nor do I want them to over pay a player who is a liability at all aspects of the game besides putting up middling top RW stats besides a top 3 center in the world. My goal wasn't to pick on Sam, but it became alarming that he's not just below average, but near the absolute bottom of the league in some categories that winning teams excel at.

Scoring points matters of course. Let me put it this way, in your opinion, is Sam a well rounded hockey player? I've provided statistical evidence that shows he is not. Let's see some evidence that he is before backing up the Pegula money truck in his driveway.

I'm not cherry picking stats. Look at Tampa and St.Louis or other top teams... multiple players in the top 50 in each of those categories. Those are key metrics for icing a winning team.

Those guys aren't high on the list. The only top 50 is Frolik at takeaways. So besides goals and assists what tangible evidence do you have that proves he's a good hockey player? Or are points all that matters?

I get it that he's a winger, but he was drafted as a center and he just isn't good at it... faceoffs being one reason. What should he be good at as a winger? I was hoping he would be atleast average at some of those things, but he's near the bottom of the league. Or do we just throw money at guys based on point production and ignore every other measurable statistic? Statistics that winning teams do well at?

Those stats are all per 60min of ice time. TRpm is only meaningful when comparing teammates to eachother.

I'm not buying it. The top 2 teams in hits/60min are NYI and PIT, both playoff teams. In fact, 6 of the top 10 teams are currently in playoff positions.

The Sabres are bad at a lot of things, we know that. But what are those things exactly? Let's take a look at how they compare to their peers when looking at the intangibles; face-offs, blocked shots, hits and takeaways. Note: Season rankings below are for players who have played 25 or more NHL games. Also, I'm going to highlight where Sam Reinhart ranks for each category. He'll want big bucks this offseason so let's take a look at where he ranks league wide in those categories. Face-off win % (min 40 faceoffs taken) Top 3 Sabres (out of 221 players with 25+ games at 40+ faceoffs): 78th Okposo 115th Larsson 140th Eichel ... 212th Reinhart Blocked shots/60min Top 3 Sabres (out of 597 players): 77th McCabe 189th Jokiharju 220th Ristolainen ... 558th Reinhart Hits/60min Top 3 Sabres (out of 597 players): 88th Ristolainen 110th Girgensons 144th Miller ... 486th Reinhart Takeaways/60min Top 3 Sabres (out of 597 players): 20th Frolik 141st Eichel 143rd Vesey ... 438th Reinhart I'm not even gonna bother explaining why these are key metrics for playing winning hockey... everybody here should know that already. Most of these intangibles simply require effort, courage and determination. You look at top teams like St. Louis and Tampa, they both have multiple players in the top 50 in each of these categories. You can't win without doing these things well, it's a shame they haven't figured this out yet. And this why some of us are hesitant to throw a large long term deal at Sam Reinhart, he scores well, but other than that he's largely a liability in every other facet of the game. Is that the kind of guy this team needs to get them to the playoffs? A skilled guy who can put up points, but doesn't do anything else at even a remotely average level?

I don't know. Either the team is going to rally around his comments, or tune him out. I'm not sure he's the type of player that teammates look up to for leadership. If you're going to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk and I'm not sure he walks the walk often enough to demand that type of respect from fellow teammates.

They're playing without purpose, like a rudderless ship adrift at sea. Of course the objective is to win, they obviously know that... but winning is just the result of doing an entire laundry list of things the right way. They're either too focused on the result or they really just don't care enough to put forth a concentrated effort shift to shift. Just focus on the next shift, beating the guy lined up against you no matter the situation and the results will take care of themselves. It's not rocket science, it's hockey 101, c'mon boys figure it out already.

??

This type of trash talking happens all the time. I'm perfectly fine with Montour's reaction. They look like a bunch of guys who would rather be playing somewhere else.

This. I've said it every offseason for the past 3-4 years, this team won't take the next step until they part ways with players who have been poisoned by the tank. They need fresh starts as much as the Sabres need to move on from them to change the mentality of the team.

Trading him for picks and prospects is a consideration under two conditions... 1- His asking price is too high and he threatens to sit out the first few months of the season. 2 - Okposo can be part if the deal. Moving Okposo off the books would be a huge step in the right direction. Other teams find creative ways to move bad contracts. If the opportunity to move Okposo presents itself as part of a deal for Reinhart, then you have to move on it. That said I'm not sure I'd trust JBOT to correctly utilize that freed up cap space.

It's like they're in the wrong league.

I blame Bogo for 3 of those goals... but Hutton needs to be better.

Makar is much faster than Dahlin and most players in the NHL. Dahlin's game isn't about speed. Two different types of player. Bogo *****.

Passenger Goal Dew batter.

I watch the Ducks. Kase would be a nice add, he has some Briere in him. Very clever with the puck, superb offensive skill set. I don't believe he's in the right system here with the Ducks, he could thrive if put in the right situation.

I watch a lot of NHL hockey, many teams out West here. I can say with extreme confidence, Sam Reinhart is NOT one of the best RW in the league. However, Jack Eichel IS one of the best centers in the league and he does have some chemistry with Sam, but watching other top lines around the league, Sam just leaves me wanting more. The number of times he turns the puck over, loses battles, falls down... you just don't see that from other top RWs. I'd love him as a second line RW, he'd be near the top of that list across the league. Does a top second line RW deserve $7-8m/yr? I think that's a bit steep.

The instigator rule, and to a lesser degree the half-shield requirement (and subsequent penalty for voluntarily taking your helmet off pre-fight), and penalty for not using your fight strap... is why there is very little fighting these days. I get it. They're trying to make the game more marketable and get more kids playing and so forth, because after all, it's a business, they're trying to increase revenue. However, that doesn't mean we all have to like it. When I was in my teens, coaches spent entire practices teaching the art of throwing a body-check, how to line a guy up, take the correct angle to give him nowhere to escape... etc... We would hit hard in practice. Today, very very very little time is spent teaching kids how to body check. My boys are 14 and 16, they both play at a high level, I've also coached and went through all the USA hockey coaching levels over the years. USA hockey very clearly states they don't want players to finish their checks (if the puck is gone). When I played you would get benched if you peeled away from a guy instead of trying to put him through the boards. Yeah it was to intimidate and that was part of the game, because the next time that guy got the puck he wouldn't be looking for an open teammate, he'd be more concerned about taking a hit and he'd cough up the puck or make an errant pass. That simply doesn't happen these days. Players are more skilled sure, but they simply don't know how to throw a clean hit. Gone are the Mike Peca's, he'd never sniff the NHL if he played today... and I"m not OK with that, because those guys brought energy and emotion to the game. They stirred it up and got everyone going, now we see teams sleepwalk through several games at a time or entire seasons,, like robots programmed to stickhandle and skate and pass. An absolute bore to watch IMO. Shame. It just really bothers me the direction the game is going... It's catering to the wealthy well-off families who can afford to pay $500/wk for private skill lessons, while the under privileged hard nosed, blue-collar types who love hockey to death are passed over just because some silverspoon kid can stickhandle and shoot more accurately. I probably wouldn't have gotten as far as I did in the sport if it was like that back then, my father could barely afford to put me in house league when I started out, never even took a private lesson, ever. Gone are the days where you could "outwork" another kid to make a team. Doesn't matter how many battles you win or checks you throw, the coach will ALWAYS take the kid who can skate, shoot and pass better. They ripped the heart out of the game. /rant

Putting her on the rope line should've been the punishment for losing.

Reinhart is bezerko ROR. ROR did everything very well, defense, battles, 50/50's, face-offs, PK, PP, pass, score, etc.... a true jack-of-all-trades. Reinhart does maybe 3 things well, he can score from in tight, has good vision and anticipation in the offensive zone when given time and space, and I can't really think of a third thing but maybe somebody else can. Plays well with Eichel, putting up middling 1st line RW stats? Is that good enough? Or would the team be better off with a more well-rounded player who maybe doesn't have the same point production with Eichel? Tough call.