BetterDays06 Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 This team looks pretty good. The Defense is very solid. The Offense is still a problem. After seeing the two big signings of Ehrhoff and Regehr I was on a high with everyone else. Then we signed Leino, which is fine but he is not that number 1 center that we need. I have come off of my high a little bit and now I am worried that we wont get that Center. We need a #1 center, Does anyone think we will get that this off season??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 If they can pull in a #1 center, I'd be very curious to see him paired up with Vanek and Boyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloSoldier2010 Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 This team looks pretty good. The Defense is very solid. The Offense is still a problem. After seeing the two big signings of Ehrhoff and Regehr I was on a high with everyone else. Then we signed Leino, which is fine but he is not that number 1 center that we need. I have come off of my high a little bit and now I am worried that we wont get that Center. We need a #1 center, Does anyone think we will get that this off season??? The offense is not a problem. I expect many of you will be surprised. Lindy's system of attack is closely linked with the D. Erhoff will do a world of good for this team, on both sides. If Leino really does pan out as a top notch center (not necessarily a prototypical #1, but somewhat close to the ability of Roy) then this team will be SET. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 It could work out that way up front, but the reason I went w/ what I did is Leino worked real well last year on Briere's line and Ennis is the closest in style to Briere amongst the Sabres forwards. Boyes seems to like to hang out near the net (though not even a fraction as violently nor as closely as Hartnell does) as well. So it seemed to me that combination would have the least 'learning curve' for Leino. And though I REALLY don't like Roy and Vanek on the same line, I think Lindy will find reuniting the Voodoo Chiles (SRV) irresistable. Sekera could start over Gragnani but 1 of them will be the odd man out if this is the roster on opening day and when things aren't going well, I'd expect 1 of them will be the 1st D-man pulled from the lineup. And I went w/ Ehrhoff - Myers as a pairing instead of Regehr - Myers because those 2 could remain a pairing on both the pp and pk and build their chemistry throughout the year. I'd like to see that pair together for a long time. It's been written here, and I haven't had a chance to confirm, that Regehr was paired w/ Leopold in Calgary's finals run. Might as well bring that pairing back together. My primary pk pairing would be Regehr and Weber and the 2ndary pp pairing would be Leopold and the young guy that's in the lineup. The great thing about having Ehrhoff in the lineup along w/ the rest of the offensive D-men is the Sabres won't NEED to have a forward at the point, they can but don't have to do it. That should cut the shorties against in 1/2 at minimum. Can't disagree with your theory on Roy/Leino, but I will say that crediting SRV with Voodoo Child is like crediting Eric Clapton with I shot the sheriff. As for who is the "#1", I guess I'm hoping that Leino is good enough to seize the job. In any case though I suspect that ice time will be pretty close among the top 3 lines. As for the D pairings, I was also expecting Myers to be paired with Ehrhoff, but lindy indicated yesterday AM that while he needs to see how it works on the ice, at this point he's expecting Myers to be paired with Regehr. I definitely expect Ehrhoff on the top PP unit. If Big Al somehow manages to make the team, I think he'll get some PP time as well. He and Ehrhoff working the points together would give the PP the most firepower from the point that I can remember. I think Myers will be on the top PK unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 The offense is not a problem. I expect many of you will be surprised. Lindy's system of attack is closely linked with the D. Erhoff will do a world of good for this team, on both sides. If Leino really does pan out as a top notch center (not necessarily a prototypical #1, but somewhat close to the ability of Roy) then this team will be SET. I agree that Leino and Ehrhoff will add quite a bit to the offense (no to mention continued development of Ennis, gerbe and hopefully Stafford and Roy's return). However, I don't think the lack of toughness among the top 6 should be overlooked. It will be a problem again in the playoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloSoldier2010 Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 I agree that Leino and Ehrhoff will add quite a bit to the offense (no to mention continued development of Ennis, gerbe and hopefully Stafford and Roy's return). However, I don't think the lack of toughness among the top 6 should be overlooked. It will be a problem again in the playoffs. I feel like that's the reason we brought in 3 boys who have been there all the way only to have it slip away. And if regher is half the leader i've heard he is. Our players will become WAY more physical than i ever expected. will it be enough? we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Of the 39 losses, 23 were one goal games. Let's assume the significantly better Defense let's us win 30% of those games, that would translate into 7 wins and adjusting for games that we got a point for the OT loss already, probably about 10 more points. So we'd finish the regular season with about 106 points which was good for the 4 seed this year. This argument assumes the offense will be at least as good as last year. That said, my belief is that the improved defensive zone clearing ability, return of Roy, and ability for Boyes and Leino to adjust into the system will lead our scoring to be higher than last year. When the new line-up is looked at under this lens, we have a shot at competing with Boston (especially if they get the traditional hangover) for the division and thus a top seed into the playoffs. From there I don't believe it is a difficult argument to take the position that as much as our defense has improved we will likely (better than 50% chance) win a series and be maybe just shy of a coin toss to make the ECF. The three guys we added all have good playoff records for their specific roles (and have all been to the SCF) That said, what am I missing? (seriously looking for critique) The Sabres should be able to match, maybe even pass, the Bruins in regards to goal and the blue-line. The edge the Sabres have in those two areas does not exceed the Bruins' edge in forwards. The Sabres just don't have enough talent upfront to compare with Lucic, Krejci, Bergeron, Horton, Marchand and I'll add Seguin to that group. There is a drop off in the Sabres rank from Vanek to the next best forward Roy. There is a bigger drop off from Roy and the third best forward. The hopes for the Sabres offensively is with Ennis, Stafford and Gerbe. They all need to at least match their level of production and effectiveness for the Sabres to be successful. I just do not have the faith in Boyes (31 goals in last 165 games) and Leino (30 career goals in 149 career games) that many of you do. The Sabres should be a playoff team with Miller, the d-men and a healthy Roy. I never thought I would say this, but right now a short term contract for Tim Connolly wouldn't upset me. He at the very least gives you a true center behind Roy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 If they can pull in a #1 center, I'd be very curious to see him paired up with Vanek and Boyes. Arnott is still out there. Maybe not a true #1 but definitely an upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGR4GM Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Sure, all 3rd and 4th liners ... who exhibits any toughness on the 1st two lines ? Pommers ? Roy ? Boyes ? Ennis ? Vanek ? I might concede that Stafford can play a little rough in the corners, but other than that ... IMO, Kaleta might not even make the starting roster should there be any more roster moves. And at 5'5", what physical defenseman takes the Gerb seriously ? I'll concede Gaustad/McCormick are gritty enough, but how much ice time do they get ? but remember that Regehr Myers and Weber are gritty on the back line and MAG, Leo, Sekera, and Ehrhoff are tough enough. You arent going to win just cuz you sign a bunch of tough forwards. Besides we dont know how tough our forwards are going to play this year because it has not started. They may be more comfortable going into corners knowing that the defense can handle the rush and that likewise their are players who have their backs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 but remember that Regehr Myers and Weber are gritty on the back line and MAG, Leo, Sekera, and Ehrhoff are tough enough. You arent going to win just cuz you sign a bunch of tough forwards. Besides we dont know how tough our forwards are going to play this year because it has not started. They may be more comfortable going into corners knowing that the defense can handle the rush and that likewise their are players who have their backs. I think you are being overly optimistic regarding the toughness our forwards may exhibit. leopards don't typically change theirs spots. It wouldn't shock me if they took a deep run into the playoffs with essentially this roster. There appears to be enough skill to make a run. Of course it will depend on how well the gel together. But with this group of softer forwards I think a deep run becomes very dependent on matchups. Avoiding Boston and probably Philly and P-burgh is going to be a requirement. With a top 6 that includes one or two skilled players that play angry I think matchups become much less important, and the odds of success are greater because matchup is less important. If I had my druthers I want to have those tough skill guys and worry less about the matchup we have in the series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mis3384 Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Just wanted to give a little food for thought, he are some trades we could do: (THIS IS JUST FOR FUN) -Scott Howardson is on a rampage, so why not get this a try: Columbus Gets: F- Jochen Hecht D- Shaone Morrisonn D- Dennis Persson* 7th RD Pick 2012 -CHI gave us Buffalo Gets: C- Antoine Vermette OR-------------------------------------- -Colorado needs the salary to get to the floor and they have a need to a puck moving dman and they need a D-Prospect -Colorado would be taking away Paul Stastny 6.6mil and adding about 7.6mil - so another million plus a prospect and a pick, Colorado doesnt have 2ND RD 2012 pick anymore due to their trade with WASH. Colorado Gets: F- Jochen Hecht D- Shaone Morrisonn D- Andrej Sekera D- T.J. Brennan* 2RD Pick 2012 - Calgary gave us Buffalo Gets: C- Paul Stastny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 The Sabres should be able to match, maybe even pass, the Bruins in regards to goal and the blue-line. The edge the Sabres have in those two areas does not exceed the Bruins' edge in forwards. The Sabres just don't have enough talent upfront to compare with Lucic, Krejci, Bergeron, Horton, Marchand and I'll add Seguin to that group. There is a drop off in the Sabres rank from Vanek to the next best forward Roy. There is a bigger drop off from Roy and the third best forward. The hopes for the Sabres offensively is with Ennis, Stafford and Gerbe. They all need to at least match their level of production and effectiveness for the Sabres to be successful. I just do not have the faith in Boyes (31 goals in last 165 games) and Leino (30 career goals in 149 career games) that many of you do. The Sabres should be a playoff team with Miller, the d-men and a healthy Roy. I never thought I would say this, but right now a short term contract for Tim Connolly wouldn't upset me. He at the very least gives you a true center behind Roy. I'll quibble a bit with the bolded part and say that they have the talent, but that the talent doesn't have the same amount of heart/grit/toughness that the Bruins' forwards do. This is just semantics though -- you are right that the Bruins' forwards are better. I agree with most of the rest of this except the part about Roy being 2nd and the dropoff after him. At this point I think Leino and Stafford are #s 2 and 3, and both Ennis and Gerbe could develop into very good players this year as well. I think (hope?) that you will be pleasantly surprised with both Stafford and Leino. I think you are being overly optimistic regarding the toughness our forwards may exhibit. leopards don't typically change theirs spots. It wouldn't shock me if they took a deep run into the playoffs with essentially this roster. There appears to be enough skill to make a run. Of course it will depend on how well the gel together. But with this group of softer forwards I think a deep run becomes very dependent on matchups. Avoiding Boston and probably Philly and P-burgh is going to be a requirement. With a top 6 that includes one or two skilled players that play angry I think matchups become much less important, and the odds of success are greater because matchup is less important. If I had my druthers I want to have those tough skill guys and worry less about the matchup we have in the series. Good post. Just wanted to give a little food for thought, he are some trades we could do: (THIS IS JUST FOR FUN) -Scott Howardson is on a rampage, so why not get this a try: Columbus Gets: F- Jochen Hecht D- Shaone Morrisonn D- Dennis Persson* 7th RD Pick 2012 -CHI gave us Buffalo Gets: C- Antoine Vermette OR-------------------------------------- -Colorado needs the salary to get to the floor and they have a need to a puck moving dman and they need a D-Prospect -Colorado would be taking away Paul Stastny 6.6mil and adding about 7.6mil - so another million plus a prospect and a pick, Colorado doesnt have 2ND RD 2012 pick anymore due to their trade with WASH. Colorado Gets: F- Jochen Hecht D- Shaone Morrisonn D- Andrej Sekera D- T.J. Brennan* 2RD Pick 2012 - Calgary gave us Buffalo Gets: C- Paul Stastny Fun is great, but proposing trades in which the Sabres unload overpaid mediocrities in exchange for other teams' best players is generally a waste of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Sports Man Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Just wanted to give a little food for thought, he are some trades we could do: (THIS IS JUST FOR FUN) -Scott Howardson is on a rampage, so why not get this a try: Columbus Gets: F- Jochen Hecht D- Shaone Morrisonn D- Dennis Persson* 7th RD Pick 2012 -CHI gave us Buffalo Gets: C- Antoine Vermette OR-------------------------------------- -Colorado needs the salary to get to the floor and they have a need to a puck moving dman and they need a D-Prospect -Colorado would be taking away Paul Stastny 6.6mil and adding about 7.6mil - so another million plus a prospect and a pick, Colorado doesnt have 2ND RD 2012 pick anymore due to their trade with WASH. Colorado Gets: F- Jochen Hecht D- Shaone Morrisonn D- Andrej Sekera D- T.J. Brennan* 2RD Pick 2012 - Calgary gave us Buffalo Gets: C- Paul Stastny Colorado is only 8 Million or so shy of the cap floor. Morrison or Kotalik may be able to be added just to help them get that cap number but if you want someone like Stastny, you're sending talent and salary that way. A more realistic offer there would be... F Jason Pominville (Pending Physical) F Ales Kotalik/D Shaone Morrisonn (Pending Kotalik waving his NTC) F Tyler Ennis Calgary's 2ND Round Pick It moves enough cap room out west to make it worth losing that big cap number in Stastny and enough talent to be worth their best player. And it's a long shot even then. When that happens, we make an extra million or so of room, move Kotalik or Morrisonn (whoever is still here) down to Rochester and sign Grier to a minimum contract (I want Foligno and Kassian to get a year under their belts playing together down the 90). My lines end up looking like this: Buffalo Sabres 2011-12 Forwards Thomas Vanek - Paul Stastny - Drew Stafford Ville Leino - Derek Roy - Brad Boyes Jochen Hecht - Paul Gaustad - Nathan Gerbe Mike Grier - Cody McCormack - Pat Kaleta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKB1646 Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 My link As they said on TSN yesterday most of Buffalo sports talk radio and fans are " Doom and Gloom or Gloom and Doom" Check this link out and Sekera's ranking. I for one don't think he's worth throwing away just yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHAAAUGHT!!! Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 These two lines could give teams fits: 1st line: Vanek-Leino-Stafford - a playmaking center, two big sniping wingers, and stafford likes playing as a power forward along the boards. 2nd line: Ennis-Roy-Gerbe - speed kills and all these guys have great hands. If teams played the body (as I assume they would against such a small line), after the first body check all of a sudden its 4 on 4 and the other two guys have tons of ice to work with. Then you still have a Hecht-Gaustad-Pommers checking line that can do damage. It's good to be a Sabres fan right now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Sports Man Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 My link As they said on TSN yesterday most of Buffalo sports talk radio and fans are " Doom and Gloom or Gloom and Doom" Check this link out and Sekera's ranking. I for one don't think he's worth throwing away just yet. Sekera's got good numbers. His CORSI number was third amongst d-men behind Myers and the late Chris Butler, and he and Myers Quality of Competition numbers are WAY higher than anyone else on the defense. (Not to be the lone man waving the German flag, but Jochen Hecht, for all the flack he gets, has the highest CORSI number on the team last year and the second highest Quality of Competition number (behind Pominville). He's not top ten in the league like he was the last couple of years. Sabres Quality of Comp and CORSI Numbers 5v5, minimum 30 GP And an explanation of CORSI number (Be warned, lots of DR Praise in the Intro of this article) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warriorspikes51 Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 I don't want to give up Ennis. Adam, Sekera, 1st, 2nd (cgy) could be enough to intrigue a few GM's to parting with a talented center Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warriorspikes51 Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 These two lines could give teams fits: 1st line: Vanek-Leino-Stafford - a playmaking center, two big sniping wingers, and stafford likes playing as a power forward along the boards. 2nd line: Ennis-Roy-Gerbe - speed kills and all these guys have great hands. If teams played the body (as I assume they would against such a small line), after the first body check all of a sudden its 4 on 4 and the other two guys have tons of ice to work with. Then you still have a Hecht-Gaustad-Pommers checking line that can do damage. It's good to be a Sabres fan right now! Not bad but Pominville needs to play with Roy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 I don't want to give up Ennis. Adam, Sekera, 1st, 2nd (cgy) could be enough to intrigue a few GM's to parting with a talented center If you want a team to give up talent, you have to give up talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warriorspikes51 Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 If you want a team to give up talent, you have to give up talent. my proposal is still a good amount of talent and 2 nice picks as well. It could land a center depending on what team you are dealing with. SJ for example would probably take that deal for Marleau. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campy Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 I don't want to give up Ennis. Adam, Sekera, 1st, 2nd (cgy) could be enough to intrigue a few GM's to parting with a talented center The only way I see that deal happening is in early October with a team that is in serious cap trouble and needs to unload an overpriced player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Sports Man Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 I don't want to give up Ennis. Adam, Sekera, 1st, 2nd (cgy) could be enough to intrigue a few GM's to parting with a talented center 1) Listen, I'd prefer not to give up Ennis either. But we're a team rich in wingers and if we want to get better, you give something up. Boyes doesn't have the upside of Ennis, Stafford got his deal and so did Gerbe. Ennis is incredibly attractive, especially if a team is close to the cap because he's on the cheeeeap. I love the kid, but if he's what it takes to bring in a number one center, I've got no problem with making use of his value. 2) I am not dropping Luke Adam. We're a team short on centers and long on wingmen. With the need to pay Myers next year, unless he takes a major hometown discount, Goose will need to be replaced, and next year is even WORSE for centers in Free Agency. my proposal is still a good amount of talent and 2 nice picks as well. It could land a center depending on what team you are dealing with. SJ for example would probably take that deal for Marleau. I'm willing to give up more for someone younger like a Stastny or a Spezza. Spezza has an extra year on his contract and Stastny is a bit cheaper. Not that I dislike Marleau, but I feel like there's a talent to production ratio that we might lose on. That being said, he's put up a TON of points in his time with SJ, though his points per game are way lower than Spezza's. EDIT: Also, SJ is very deep when it comes to younger players with bigger contracts due to their success. I cannot speak to their actual talent level (as I don't see many of their AHL games) but the numbers are big and they seem to have a lot of them (According to Cap Geek) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 my proposal is still a good amount of talent and 2 nice picks as well. It could land a center depending on what team you are dealing with. SJ for example would probably take that deal for Marleau. Are you on drugs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted July 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 Can't disagree with your theory on Roy/Leino, but I will say that crediting SRV with Voodoo Child is like crediting Eric Clapton with I shot the sheriff. As for who is the "#1", I guess I'm hoping that Leino is good enough to seize the job. In any case though I suspect that ice time will be pretty close among the top 3 lines. As for the D pairings, I was also expecting Myers to be paired with Ehrhoff, but lindy indicated yesterday AM that while he needs to see how it works on the ice, at this point he's expecting Myers to be paired with Regehr. I definitely expect Ehrhoff on the top PP unit. If Big Al somehow manages to make the team, I think he'll get some PP time as well. He and Ehrhoff working the points together would give the PP the most firepower from the point that I can remember. I think Myers will be on the top PK unit. Would you prefer we go w/ Little Sisters, Chitlins Con Carne, or Love Struck Babies? I wouldn't, and FWIW IMHO Stevie did a much better version of Voodoo Chile than Jimi did. Hadn't heard Lindy's talk about the D, but it sounds reasonable. (Myers was going to get paired w/ 1 of the 2 new guys regardless.) Whether Sekera gets traded or not, I'd expect this D corps to remain intact for the next 3 seasons. I actually wouldn't mind seeing Sekera stay as there will definitely be injuries during the season and the top 7 would all get significant playing time. I also expect to see in future seasons the 3rd & 4th lines crowded w/ young guys to make the cap work. I'm still hoping to see a trade for a center, but think the Avs wouldn't part w/ Statsny now that they don't have their #1 next year. So I'm not certain where they're looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwksndmonster Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 My concern exactly - where are the forwards that will get dirty in the corners ? Ennis, Boyes, Vanek, Hecht, Roy ? None of these guys possess the angry mentality of an Erik Cole, Todd Bertuzzi, Ryan Malone, etc. And outside of Leino, which of our current forwards is a big time player in pressure games ? Vanek? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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