pi2000

Last I checked they can't trade themselves. Sam can sit out the entire for all I care... a year in his prime he'll never get back. Jack is under contract for 5 more years, yeah the NMC is there, but I make it known he's not being traded, ever. He's here to stay, so he better find a way to get comfortable. If he wants out, then put in your 5 years and get your UFA status.

I hope KA holds his ground and doesn't move either of them. Who gives a ***** if they hate it here, too ***** bad, nobody feels bad for you, collect your millions to play a game for living and be thankful for it. They're both talking like they're UFAs, go ***** yourselves. Hate me all you want I'm not trading you. If you choose to grenade your career because you're being a whiny bitch, then be my guest. I'm the GM, it's my decision to trade you or not, so good luck with that. It sends a message to the league that the tail isn't wagging the dog. I hope KA's presser shows some push back.

I've posted the details elsewhere, but they had a better CorsiFor%, gave up fewer shots, and fewer high danger chances under RK. Somewhere in the middle of pack league-wise. Under Granato they sank to near the bottom of the league in those metrics. They were losing under RK because of a league worst shooting % and save % at even strength. Their possession metrics were actually pretty good under RK, they just couldn't find the back of the net or get a save. So what improved under Granato? High danger chances for, shooting % and save %. That's it really. IMO they looked faster under Granato, more engaged, quicker on pucks, etc... that's all good, however they still gave up way to much defensively. That needs to change.... and without sacrificing offense. Good team defense requires buy-in up and down the lineup. Shot blocking, winning battles in your own end, 2nd/3rd/4th effort, never quitting on plays, etc... has to permeate throughout the lineup. There has to be a sense of urgency when you don't posses the puck. They need a coach who can teach these young guys how to play team defense and continue to play with pace on the offensive side of the puck.

Not per the new CBA. Isn't it obvious the Sabres medical staff believes surgery is unnecessary? If Eichel's camp is so adamant that he get the surgery, why didn't they file a grievance with the NHLPA? This doesn't pass the sniff test.

What are they supposed to do? Give their blessing to their franchise player to get unnecessary spinal surgery? That would be reckless. In fact, I applaud the Sabres medical staff and KA for sticking to their guns here. The last thing you want is for a complication to occur during the procedure which could end his career. I get it, Jack is frustrated and wants a quick fix, but IMO he needs to be patient and disciplined with the rehab so his body can heal.

I'd be more excited about it if I trusted the folks in the charge. We have a rookie GM who's been on the job for what... 6-7 months? A barebones scouting department. This is a major crossroads for the organization and yet there is still no real leadership at any level. It's basically come down to KA and TP spitballing on his yacht in Boca Raton. What could possibly go wrong?

What if Eichel is getting bad info from his doctor and the Sabres doctors are correct in their assessment that surgery is an unnecessary risk? After all, the vast majority of these types of issues can be corrected non-surgically. In my experience many specialists are eager to cut you open as they're confident in their abilities and that's how they get paid. It would be interesting to read the medical reports from both sides.

final TRPM... It's tough to win when your top offensive players are at the bottom. Their offensive output at ES is grossly outweighed by their liability as defenders. ============================================================== BUF even strength goal differential through 56 games = -62 BUF even strength minutes played through 56 games = 2932.92 exp+/- is a function of %min played at ES and team ES goal diff TRpm(team relative +/-) is the diff btwn actual+/- and exp+/- %min is % of ES minutes played ============================================================== Team Player TRpm GP +/- exp+/- %min BUF Jacob Bryson 12.27 38 -1 -13.27 21.4 BUF Rasmus Asplund 8.15 28 1 -7.15 11.5 BUF Kyle Okposo 7.99 35 -1 -8.99 14.5 BUF Jake McCabe 6.58 13 2 -4.58 7.4 BUF Henri Jokiharju 5.73 46 -11 -16.73 27.0 BUF Riley Sheahan 4.15 53 -8 -12.15 19.6 BUF Tage Thompson 4.07 38 -6 -10.07 16.2 BUF Jeff Skinner 3.78 53 -11 -14.78 23.8 BUF Curtis Lazar 3.68 33 -4 -7.68 12.4 BUF Cody Eakin 1.91 46 -9 -10.91 17.6 BUF Brandon Montour 1.82 38 -13 -14.82 23.9 BUF Casey Mittelstadt 1.60 41 -10 -11.60 18.7 BUF Rasmus Ristolainen 0.83 49 -18 -18.83 30.4 BUF Tobias Rieder 0.79 44 -9 -9.79 15.8 BUF Anders Bjork -0.16 15 -5 -4.84 7.8 BUF William Borgen -0.87 10 -4 -3.13 5.0 BUF Jack Eichel -1.48 21 -9 -7.52 12.1 BUF Drake Caggiula -2.33 11 -5 -2.67 4.3 BUF Matt Irwin -2.77 24 -10 -7.23 11.7 BUF Colin Miller -3.68 48 -20 -16.32 26.3 BUF Mattias Samuelsson -3.88 12 -8 -4.12 6.6 BUF Dylan Cozens -4.12 41 -15 -10.88 17.5 BUF Arttu Ruotsalainen -4.38 17 -9 -4.62 7.5 BUF Victor Olofsson -5.99 56 -23 -17.01 27.4 BUF Taylor Hall -8.72 37 -21 -12.28 19.8 BUF Sam Reinhart -9.24 54 -28 -18.76 30.3 BUF Eric Staal -10.37 32 -20 -9.63 15.5 BUF Rasmus Dahlin -14.18 56 -36 -21.82 35.2 ==============================================================

I'd put it at more like 30%. Team defense is atrocious.

Bye Sam

IMO I don't think Eichel ever really wanted to be in Buffalo. I've been on the keep-him-at-all-costs bandwagon, but after today I'm ready to move on because his heart just isn't into it. He'll never give the team what it needs.

The guy that squeezed 78 points out of a tank squad sans Jack Eichel for 3 months? Sign me up

welp

One dimensional

So Buffalo's last game in Saturday the 8th, yet the regular season will run to May 19th? Why did they condense their schedule so much if they had 10 extra days to play with?

Wilson didn't seek out and go after Panarin. If they're trying to clean the game up then suspend Panarin for being 3rd man in on the Wilson/Strome scrap.

Auditon for Seattle?

I've never advocated for a player to "stand up" for a teammate if he's not physically capable. Cozens is a big boy, he can handle himself. If Bryson went after Wilson? Well thats just stupidity. Panarin wasn't even near Wilson when he punched Buchnevich in the head, it was Strome who jumped in and pulled him off. Panarin was actually 3rd man in on the Wilson/Strome melee. He had no business getting involved.

Whatever he's teaching them is resulting in LBI's, so in a way yes.

Maybe a 170lb Panarin shouldn't engage a 220lb Tom Wilson as being completely overpowered in a scrap could result in injury. If somebody much smaller than you is attacking you, your first instinct is to throw them on the ground.

Watch in slow mo starting from 15s in... his head does not touch the ice, he lands on his shoulder.

Cody Eakin: 1g 0a 4 SOG 1 hit 2 blocked shots 8 of 14 on faceoffs Samson Reinhart: 0g 0a 2 SOG 0 hits 0 blocked hosts 3 of 14 on faceofss EAKIN > REINHART

He deserves his own thread. Is he legitimately in the mix next season? He has more wins than Hutton, a .938 sv%, unbeaten in OT and shootouts, and the players seem to really really like him.... a lot. Or is this all a mirage? Due to a small sample size... recency bias? A stroke of luck for a career journeyman?

This is ridiculous. If you watch the replay slowly, Panarin is the aggressor, he jumps on Wilson's back who stands up and receives a face wash and stick rake to the face while trying to push Panarin off of him. They both fall to the ice together, largely because Wilson simply overpowers him... hell, he's practically twice his size. What did Panarin think was going to happen?! Panarin does NOT hit his head on the ice when they fall. At that point Wilson is on top of him and easily could have clubbed him in the head repeatedly but he holds back, and instead gives him a casual facewash and stands back up. Meanwhile Panarin continues to reach for Wilson and tries to stand back up but Wilson pushes him back to the ice. It was dumb for Panarin to engage with Wilson a big powerful guy who can dominate him physically. Wilson held back, he could've really tuned him up, and with Panarin being the aggressor I don't see why a suspension is necessary. EDIT: I see the fine was for his punch on Buchnevich, I'm ok with that, it was unnecessary and reckless.

He won more draws than he took, now THAT's impressive! the actual numbers.... BOS 6 for 13 BOS 6 for 15 NYI 12 for 20 NYI 3 for 14 27 for 62 the last 4 games = 43%