JohnRobertEichel
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Posts posted by JohnRobertEichel
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37 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:
I am fine dropping a hell of a lot lower than 10th. This team needs to string together 10 losses in a row to make this season worth it again
Cool philosophy, brah. You're kind of like the Vontae Davis of hockey fans, eh?
Here's what I see: Tampa Bay miles away from the rest of the conference, then 7 teams collectively separated by a miniscule 2 points, and then the Sabres 4 points behind those 7 teams with another 68 points to fight for....so let's keep fighting.
The long break from hockey will give everyone on that roster time to do some soul searching. Do they want to continue as perennial losers, making it 8 straight years without the playoffs at an organizational level, while watching other franchises around them rise, fall, and rise again? Or are they willing to put the time, effort, and focus needed to make the postseason for what will be the first ever for almost all of these players?
Notes for JB: call up Olofsson, Nylander, and Smith again. Get ready to make some trades, preferably for a center or two. And get rid of Scandella, Bay-low, and Sobotka in the process.
***** the draft. Let's win now. Way past tired of watching bad and inconsequential hockey.
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Tim Schaller! Now there's a tank era name I had long forgotten.
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On 11/23/2018 at 9:52 PM, Hoss said:
Fedun scored for the Stars tonight. Haven’t seen any production from Condition Seventh Round-Pick yet. Botterill is in over his head.
I can't keep up with all these crazy Scandinavian names in the NHL.
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1 hour ago, That Aud Smell said:
This is a fair counterpoint -- that being in the AFC East has artificially inflated the Patriots' win totals.
I don't doubt for a second that every NFL franchise pushes the envelope, as best they can, in terms of getting "competitive intelligence" on their opponents. My sense is that, as with all other facets of preparation, Belichick & Co. just do it ... better (and more) than everyone else.
Wouldn't that be something if we find out the Buffalo Bills have been cheating all along this century...
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They also cheat a ***** ton. Cheating helps.
They've also been collecting 5-6 easy wins every year against two of the most historically incompetent franchises in pro football (Bills and Jets) plus another that has been a joke since Shula and Marino left.
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12 minutes ago, Eleven said:
As if you weren't a stalwart yourself.
And we've got a deal.
Get a room , you two.
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2 minutes ago, Indabuff said:
So they should have went after the OL coach. I'm guessing the success of the Colts' O-line was dictated more by the actual OL coach rather than the assistant.
Dave DeGuglielmo? Maybe they already knew he wouldn't take the job in Buffalo. Maybe Bobby Johnson did play a big role in improving the Colts' OL. Maybe he learned a lot there that he can use to help build the OL in Buffalo. Anyway, I'm done with this conversation. I'm not getting worked up over an offensive line coach hire.
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2 hours ago, Weave said:
That assessment of Nylander is an excellent reason why we should not expect him to provide an improvement to our roster in a call up. While improved, he’s still not even the AHL player he should be given his abilities.
Expect? No, we shouldn't expect anything. But Nylander could be one of those players who elevates his game for the pro level. Call him up for a few games and see what happens. What's the worst that occurs? He doesn't score at all and plays terrible defense? Not any different than half of the forwards on this roster.
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1 hour ago, Indabuff said:
Hire a retread rather than someone who had done a fantastic job this year? Sounds Billsy.
Huh? The Colts' OL was excellent this year. And I thought he did a good job with Chan Gailey, given the complete lack of talent he had to work with in 2010 and 2011.
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5 minutes ago, MakeSabresGrr8Again said:
Don't forget that you can finish 1pt out of the playoffs and still win one of the lottery picks.
The chance of winning any of the 2019 top 3 lottery picks is 3.3% for the 15th worst regular season team. Professional Vegas gamblers would say that the Sabres have significantly better odds of winning a first round playoff series versus any of the Caps, Lightning, Leaves, or Bruins.
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39 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:
Nah let's do it your way... gut the prospect pool add 2 players, screw up our cap, and compete for 2 whole years! Wow! Or better yet let's trade firsts and get robin Lehner, he's amazing.
We tried it the way you've advocated. It was dumb then and it's dumb now. The Sabres aren't going anywhere until they fix their prospect pool. They had all the picks in 2015 to do it right and they traded them. Doing the same thing over is foolish. Especially when our drafting department seems slightly smarter than most.
Yea it might be another year but better then screwing it up again.
Careful there, pal...
"My way" isn't the Tim Murray way either. I don't advocate reckless trading and incoherent roster construction.
In fact, I don't advocate touching any of our first round draft picks unless the return includes a long-term top-6 forward.
We don't have to sell the farm to get what this roster needs to make the playoffs this season: at minimum, 1-2 forward/center rentals who can help slot the rest of our forwards into their more appropriate lineup positions.
I think it's very important that our young team gets playoff experience and establishes a winning culture ASAP, and I also find it deeply disturbing how so many of you don't think this is important.
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1 hour ago, tom webster said:
But thank god we still have all those draft choices that should pay dividends in three years.
Patience, young man. Patience. Everyone knows that you can't ever expect to finish among the top 50% of hockey teams in a season until half your active roster is filled with lottery picks and the rest with late first rounders. Everything is going according to plan. Get ready for some playoff hockey as early as April 2022! And if the puck bounces our way, we may even run into the new Seattle franchise in the 2022 Stanley Cup finals!
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1 hour ago, Pimlach said:
Clearly we need a few more forwards. Free agency, draft and develop —- same playing field as everyone else.
Tampa is the class of the league Toronto has a second line far beyond us but whats all the bluster about Montreal and NYI? We still could beat them out this year and we have Dahlin, Mitts, Pilut, Tage and Ulmark all essentially rookies in our line up.
I didn't understand that one either. At least on paper, we have more talent RIGHT NOW than either of those two teams. This is why I'm starting to climb on the "fire Housley" bandwagon.
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We'll be out of the final playoff spot in a few minutes.
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15 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:
According to Scott Cullen's research on drafts from 1990-2014 you have a 20% chance of getting a top 6 forwards or top 4 D at 21 and 16% at 27. However the average of picks from 21-27 is closer to 25%. You also have a 63% chance of getting a player you plays at least 100 NHL games. With 4 picks over the next 2 years in the 1st rd, I'd like that odds with Jbot and his staff finding at least one top 6 forward. In general keeping the picks; we need much more depth in our prospect pool if we are to build something that lasts. Right now, other then Nylander, who is more likely a 3rd line player then top 6, we have NO top 6 forwards in our pipeline. We do have two potential top 4 D in Oskari and Pilut. https://www.tsn.ca/statistically-speaking-nhl-draft-pick-values-1.1119528
I understand the desire for using these assets to fill at top 6 hole. If I could get Couterier and his value contract for one of them and a prospect, I would make that deal, but otherwise I'm not that interested in moving the picks.
JB really shouldn't be waiting until the 2020 draft to round out the top 6 forwards. When would a 2020 1st round forward even be ready to play in the NHL?!
I think JB needs to have all top 6 forwards on the big roster and ready by this fall. This isn't that big of a demand. The top 3 are already set with the Skinner-Eichel-Reinhart line, so it's really just a second line that needs to be constructed out of Mittelstadt, Nylander, possibly Olofsson, possibly Thompson, any free agents this summer, any of the 2-3 1st round draft picks we have this summer, and any type of creative trade JB can make a la the Skinner deal.
Enough is ***** enough with this never-ending rebuild project. Patience isn't necessarily a virtue here anymore. It may be signs of a management, coaching, and ownership group that simply doesn't know how to build a highly competitive hockey team without having to tank for lottery picks every season.
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9 minutes ago, Onceagain said:
Based on goal differential (+3) they are EXACTLY where they should be -- 8th place. Yes, they have had some bad bounces lately but they also seemed to get every bounce during the 10 game win streak. They are a marginal playoff team, one of the most frustrating places for fans and something all too familiar for Buffalo sports. The real barometer will be next season.
Doubtful. I'm sure everyone will come up with new excuses for why 2019-2020 just quite wasn't the season to break the playoff drought. Youthful inexperience, injuries, the need for just one more lottery pick on the roster to make everything okay...
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20 minutes ago, Thorny said:
My guess is his LT partner is going to be a guy not on the current roster. A right shot, someone like Laaksonen or Borgen.
Agreed. I doubt that any of Scandella, Bogosian, Beaulieu, Nelson, or Hunwick will be on the Sabres roster 1.5 years from now. I also am unsure if one of McCabe or Pilut fits into the long-term plans because of the expansion draft. And it's too early to say anything about Guhle, Laaksonen, Borgen, or Samuelsson...none of which really project as top-pairing NHL material. Ristolainen will be a long-term Sabre, but he's not a good match with Dahlin.
So the only long-term glaring hole on defense is this #1 right shot d-man to pair with Dahlin. But the Seattle draft looming in the future puts some near-term constraints on where and how we can find this guy.
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3 minutes ago, ... said:
It's shaping up to be a 3-man race for 2 wildcard spots between Buffalo, Montreal, and NYI.
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1 minute ago, RonHextallsShoulderPads said:
I commute home for ONE period. Holy sh*t
I'm normally not the superstitious type, but...get back on the road! We still have over half of a period left!
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On 12/24/2018 at 3:22 PM, GASabresIUFAN said:
I used to think that as well. But the math doesn’t support that idea any longer.
There are 710+ NHL players on 31 teams. The vast majority were drafted. However if GM’s average 2 a year that is only 20 players per team over a decade. According to Quant Hockey 50% of all NHL players last 100 games or less for their careers, that means if even if teams produce 20 players over a decade, that half won't make much of an impact. Many others will be bottom 6 or 2rd pairing type players. You simply can’t build a team with only 2 players a year.
I think modern GMs need 3 at a minimum; 4 would be better.
This pretty much explains why the Buffalo Sabres are in their current predicament. From 2005-2011, the drafting was absolutely ATROCIOUS. And then since the drafting began during the playoff drought (2012-now), the quality and quantity has been better but still lacking:
2012: Girgensons, McCabe, Ullmark
2013: Ristolainen
2014: Reinhart, Olofsson?
2015: Eichel, Guhle?, Borgen?
2016: Nylander?, Asplund?
2017: Mittelstadt, Davidsson?, Luukkonen?, Laaksonen?
2018: Dahlin, Samuelsson?, Pekar?
So in the past 7 drafts, we've only added 8 players currently on the roster and an additional 10 who have a reasonable shot of making it someday. That's insufficient in terms of quantity. In terms of quality, I'd say we're drafting okay for goaltending and defense but not at forward...which may partly explain our current predicament. So far we've only found two top-six forwards (Eichel and Reinhart), and it took back-to-back tank seasons to obtain them at #2 overall each. Skinner certainly helps, but it's very important that Mittelstadt and Nylander aren't busts. Otherwise, it puts a lot of extra pressure on JB to fill out the second scoring line via trades, free agency, and draft picks outside the top 10 picks.
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1 hour ago, darksabre said:
If this isn't a shot at Eichel then what it is?
I read it as more of a compliment to Reinhart than a shot at Eichel.
Since Eichel joined the NHL, he has missed 10% of the games (40 total), including tonight. That seems pretty normal to me and not an indication of being injury-prone. It's on par with his "M" contemporaries - McDavid, Matthews, MacKinnon.
Conversely, Reinhart has missed only 2% (6 total, assuming he plays tonight). That seems above average and perhaps indicative of having Wolverine-line healing powers?
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2 hours ago, RonHextallsShoulderPads said:
I'm not against calling up Bailey.
I am. I'd much rather see Olofsson or Nylander than this Bailey clown. Although I agree that Bailey is preferable to Remi ZERO.
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5 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:
Not with the wingers we have.
For us, but for JBot, it's only the second year of a rebuild. You can't hold the Murray era on him and he won't abandon a long term plan for that frustration. I think Nylander is a bust and should be forgotten about. As for Mitts/Olofsson I think they are hedging their bets. One in Rochester, one up, two development paths. see which one works out (if either). One of them will eventually be the #2 center but for now I think the plan faltered with Berglund being a bust. He was supposed to hold the spot with average/decent play for a year or two. As is, the roster is thin.
I still hold much of this on Reinhart. Absolutely useless without Eichel. Skinner still gives it a go without him but what does Reinhart ever do on his own??? Not enough for a #2 overall pick.
D is better, Goaltending is ok, We have a better team attitude, but we are not very deep, and the second and third line wingers are just not very good. Sobodka should be on a pure checking line, that's what he has always done, and nothing more expected of him, that's all he is. Asking for more is unrealistic.
We simply need more talent.
Why is Nylander a bust but Mittelstadt isn't? Nylander is only 8 months older, lost some development time due to injury, but is now performing very well in Rochester. Mitts has 5 goals, 6 assists, and probably 0 pull-ups in 42 NHL games. Are people even watching these games? Mitts looks terrible. Nylander deserves a call-up, and Mitts needs to do some remedial AHL work.
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We are currently sitting in the 8th seed and will likely be in 9th by Tuesday night. Congratulations, team.
The Blueline Is A Mess
in The Aud Club
Posted
I dont necessarily think talent is the issue. Dahlin, Ristolainen, McCabe, and Pilut is a solid top-4 of the future. Guhle, Laaksonen, Borgen, and Samuelsson are good prospects to help fill out the third line of the future. Bogosian and Nelson are capable stopgaps.
I think Phil's coaching is the biggest problem, followed closely by the NHL inexperience of Dahlin and Pilut and the general suckiness of Scandella this season.