pi2000

well.... if he hit Crosby, he'd be suspended for half the season.

are you serious... 3 preseason games?

It's not like Risto has any leverage here, and if he holds out it will decrease his value. He knows the writing is on the wall, we just don't know what it says quite yet.

Grant with Kane and Nylander, and Moulson on the 3rd line... I'll allow it. No Matthews? ...BUST, called it.

He's been suspended before, give him 7 games this time around... that is, if the NHL is actually serious about eliminating these types of plays.

They don't have any other options is why and he's in good physical shape so he can handle those types of minutes. On contending team like LAK, ANA, CHI... even NSH, TBL, etc... Risto wouldn't be getting those minutes... he'd be a top 6 guy, which is fine for this stage of his development. Can he get into the top 4 or top 2 on a legit contending team? We'd like to think so, but he needs to get better in his own end... win more puck races, improve his transitions (backward to forward skating), etc.. He struggles mightly when he has to turn and skate with a guy who's coming at him with speed. He doesn't have that quick burst, fluid hip movement to accelerate out the transition. His change of direction is a bit sluggish. I hope he can improve that part of his game, because if he can't, he'll continue to struggle defensively against quicker forwards.

No the defense is not anywhere near good enough yet. They need more speed on the back-end. I think the current roster can sneak into a playoff spot, but until guys like Gorges and Franson are replaced with better skaters, this team will continue to struggle in it's own end. Risto needs to improve his skating, and I wouldn't consider Bogosian to be very fleet of foot either... he has + top end speed, but he's slow out of the gate. Kulikov is an improvement and like the way McCabe can skate, but they need to replace Gorges and Franson for this team to take another step.

Moulson scores 30

pre-season games are not available to CI subscribers.

Probably just Moulson a chance early in camp to prove he deserves a spot on thid roster. Easier to do evaluate him with those two instead of Larsson or Zemgus.

I love you too. Still think a 5yr deal is max he deserves. Yeah it sucks he has difficult matchups on a team, but that doesn't automatically make him the next Nick Lidstrom. He has to show some tangible defensive ability before you commit 8 years to him. Can somebody point me at a chart that shows he's a sound defensive player? All I can find is his plus minus, and these charts that says he has difficult matchups, which doesnt really tell me how good he is.

That's a pretty graph. I didn't realize how hard his job has been. How much of his -68 would you attribute to that? Do you think he'll be a plus player this year?

http://public.tableau.com/shared/7MBY4GGBY?:display_count=yes ...check out those CF and possession numbers for Trouba... they're practically jumping out of the page at you. The only context is that Risto is not very good defensively yet. There are plenty of young defensemen that have tough matchups night in and night out, and guess what, they're all not in the minus 20's or 30's.

Who's this Lambert guy? Sounds like a certifiable genius. It's not like Risto was on the ice for 31 more goals against than Trouba was, who was also on a worse team with a worse team goal differential than Buffalo.... oh wait.

Well here's the previous 2 years +/- ranking for defensemen (+120 gp).... http://ice.nhl.com/stats/player?reportType=season&report=plusminus&seasonFrom=20142015&seasonTo=20152016&gameType=2&sort=plusMinus&aggregate=1&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,120&pos=D ...Fowler at -4 maybe? He got 5 yrs / $20mil... would you be OK with that?

If he gets an 8 year deal and is still a minus player this season on team contending for the playoffs, will that matter to you? He has no leverage, he either signs or doesn't play. That said, if it gets nasty and they feel they need to move him... I'd like to see them try and pry Gaudreau away from CGY, or swing a 3-way deal to get Lindholm from ANA, but it will take much more than just Risto to get that return.

I proposed this in the other thread.... How about a 6-way deal: to ANA: Gaudreau + Kane to BUF: Lindholm + ANA 3rd to CGY: Kucherov to WPG: Risto to TBL: Trouba + DAL 1st and 3rd to DAL: Bishop

Garbage? Really? If your 8-year deal makes the most sense, then why hasn't GMTM offered it to him yet? What's the hold up on the contract? Could it be that GMTM doesn't want to commit that kind of term and money to an unproven kid? And don't ignore the fact that long term deals can have a negative impact on players growth, especially at a young age. Is Risto that kind of player to slack off once he's financially secure? Maybe, maybe not... but why take that chance when you don't have to? Keep him motivated for his next deal, we all want to see him continue to grow as a player, and he likely will, but you're adding unnecessary risk to damaging his growth curve if you give him a long term deal at his age.

How many years would be willing to give him? Do you expect him to be a + player this season?

So, just for the record, you'd be willing to give the worst +/- player at his position in the NHL an 8-year mega deal? 8-year deals are for guys who check all the boxes. +/- might be a small box, but it's one you still need to check, and with Risto you simply can't check that box. I would prefer he get a 5 year deal, even be willing to go 6, at around $5mil.... go lookup up my previous posts in this thread.

This was a .500 team last season, yet he was still the 3rd worst +/- defenseman in the entire NHL. BUF certainly wasn't the worst team in the league, so you can't use that as an excuse. To clarify my point, I'm not saying Risto is going to be a garbage defenseman, he's still young and will get better. The point I'm trying to make is that you don't give the worst +/- player at his position an 8-year mega deal at this stage of his career. He still has lots to prove, let him grow and pay him when the time is right.

He's had the worst +/- on the team for two years straight... and is a career -68. Yeah, I get it, +/- can be a misleading stat, but you can't ignore a -68. That is the second worst +/- in the ENTIRE LEAGUE over the past 3 years. Only Nail Yakupov is worse at -84, but wait, +/- doesn't mean anything right? Yakupov is a fantastic defensive player. Gimme a break. Sure, Risto has been on some bad teams, but then why doesn't Gorges or Weber or any other Sabres defenseman have nearly as bad a +/-? Nobody is willing to answer that question because they can't.

I completely agree with your assessment of his game last year.

Absolutely. I frequent Ducks and Kings game out here, and attended a Sabres game in Buffalo last season. First thing I noticed was how much darker it was in the FNC than the Honda Center, and especially Staples. That said, Staples is notoriously bright. I played at Staples last season and it felt like being on a stage with someone following you around with a spotlight (I understand now why Kopitar wears a tinted shield).

True, if they lose in regulation, they're out, at least they have a chance now. I'd go with Gaudreau for TNA MVP.... MacKinnon runner up. If FIN and CAN win, it would be CAN/TNA and EUR/SWE in the semi's. My money is on RUS beating FIN, they're just better all around. CAN should win as well, which means CAN/RUS and EUR/SWE in the semi's... i think. So proally a CAN/SWE final, with CAN winning 10-0. So there you have it, don't even need to watch now...