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Kassian to Vancouver for Hodgson

shrader

By shrader
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FogBat First Liner

FogBat

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I'm shocked, SHOCKED, that our fanbase is disappointed for not trading away our garbage for a center. #gottaloveunrealisticfanswhoplayNHL20XXandmaketradesalldaylonginbasement

Thanks for bringing me back down to earth because I was fuming that Kassian got traded away. Time will only tell if this was really a good deal.

 

Now, if only Stafford could have been shown the door. Who knows? He might do well in one of those European leagues when his contract either runs out or gets bought out.

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Weave Hall of Famer

Weave

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Wow. Lots to read here. My take:

 

If Darcy would have made this trade last season I would have led the lynch mob. Now..... I am pretty optimistic about the trade. Obviously, we need scoring centers, and as the saying goes, you need to give up something good to get something good. You won't find someone who fell more for the allure of Zack Kassian than I did. He represented everything this team has lacked for decades. I had a bonafide man crush on the kid before he ever played a game as a pro. But, other than two fights, I don;t think the kid is living up to his billing, either here or in Rochester. I'm not calling him a bust by any means, but I don't think he is going to be the beast we all expected him to be. And the effort has been, well....... inconsistent. I am getting the sense that Kass is a post-big contract Chris Gratton.

 

I am going to lament not being able to post any more Kassian fight night threads. But then again, he hadn't exactly been keeping me busy making them, has he?

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... All Star

...

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Not sure, yet, what to make of this trade. Of course, no one will be "sure" about it until we see this kid playing some games.

 

The Sabres needed a natural center. Hodgson is not small, but not a monster, either. But the Sabres need scoring right now more than they need anything else. They have shown us that they can play a physical game when they want to. Apparently, Hodgson has a lot of upside, but I won't pretend to know more about him than that. His numbers look pretty good for the limited ice-time he's been getting.

 

Losing Kassian - kind of a shock at first. I think Kassian falls into the category of "potential" - and I agree that Kassian has not lived up to the expectations so far. Contrast him with McNabb, and it's easy to see, as has been brought up already, you either bring "it" naturally or don't. There are things I like about Kassian's present game - can stay on the puck, has a good eye for passes in front of the net, intimidates other players.

 

I think the Sabres are betting that they will have an easier time finding another "scary" player in the off-season than they would a natural center. This makes sense.

 

I guess we'll see!

Edited by sizzlemeister
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Robviously First Liner

Robviously

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Back to back drafts that land Hodgson, Myers, Ennis, Adam, McNabb, and Foligno (the last three still being slightly longer shots). That's how you build a hockey team. Now if you can follow that up by having guys like Pysyk, Gauthier-Leduc, Sundher, and Armia pan out, things get that much better.

I LOVE those two drafts. I'm not as sold on the last two but Pysyk seems like a lock to be a good NHL player (even if he's never a superstar) and Armia is the most talented player we've drafted since Vanek (we'll see how that translate to North America though).

 

Hopefully the Sabres put their 2 Firsts and 2 Seconds to good use this June and we'll be set up for years.

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Robviously First Liner

Robviously

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Wow. Lots to read here. My take:

 

If Darcy would have made this trade last season I would have led the lynch mob. Now..... I am pretty optimistic about the trade. Obviously, we need scoring centers, and as the saying goes, you need to give up something good to get something good. You won't find someone who fell more for the allure of Zack Kassian than I did. He represented everything this team has lacked for decades. I had a bonafide man crush on the kid before he ever played a game as a pro. But, other than two fights, I don;t think the kid is living up to his billing, either here or in Rochester. I'm not calling him a bust by any means, but I don't think he is going to be the beast we all expected him to be. And the effort has been, well....... inconsistent. I am getting the sense that Kass is a post-big contract Chris Gratton.

 

I am going to lament not being able to post any more Kassian fight night threads. But then again, he hadn't exactly been keeping me busy making them, has he?

This is how I feel about Kassian too. I loved him before he ever got here and ended up wanting to love him once we got to see him play.
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korab rules Second Liner

korab rules

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That wasn't me.

 

I actually started a contest and you could tell what I thought the chances were of certain guys getting moved.

Oh really?

 

The best indicator of present / future behavior is past behavior. Therefore, we all know what is going to happen. I have resigned myself to that fact and would be extremely shocked if anything substantial were to happen on, or before, 3:00 PM EST on Monday, February 27, 2012.

This is quickly turning into a nightmare. Given Pegula's makeup.....I fear there will be NO selloff whatsoever.

 

A prudent GM would look at the schedule.

 

The Sabres have 8 home games and 14 road games left.

 

The Sabres should be favored in 6 and underdogs in 16.

 

Right now 7th is out of sight and there are 8 teams trying to get #8.

 

Toronto is on pace for 89 points, which is low, but possible.

 

The most I can see the Sabres with is 85/86 points, and they need to go 13-8-1 for that to happen.

 

We are going to blow this again at the deadline in the hopes of a 20-1 shot of even getting in the playoffs.

The reality of the situation is that it is very unlikely the Sabres would move any player that is not a pending UFA no matter what the Sabres record is or how many points they are out of a playoff spot. Regier is not going to get rid of his "core" guys and Pegula is not interested in forcing Regier's hand. "Hockey Heaven" is nothing more than a Status Quo love-fest. The trade deadline was setting up to be a huge disappointment, a few wins allows Status Quo to excuse their way to doing what they do best, nothing.

Ted Black is Larry Quinn with a Coke and a Smile.

 

I had high hopes. He said the franchise was "At a Crossroads" on Dec 31st, 3 weeks after it was obvious things weren't good. They have done NOTHING!!!! but send down McNabb and Adam.

The usual suspects saying the usual things.

Edited by korab rules
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BuffaloSoldier2010 Third Liner

BuffaloSoldier2010

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Back to back drafts that land Hodgson, Myers, Ennis, Adam, McNabb, and Foligno (the last three still being slightly longer shots). That's how you build a hockey team. Now if you can follow that up by having guys like Pysyk, Gauthier-Leduc, Sundher, and Armia pan out, things get that much better.

 

This. Perfect analysis shrader. This is a deal that sets us up for the future.

 

Todays trades stock assets for the future, as well as make a soft team softer. In my opinon, making the team softer is going to cause the team to tank, and we'll be awarded a top 5 overall pick. This is GOOD in my eyes, because it's not all that difficult to pick up physical role players in the summer months, the pick could turn into another great player, and we have plenty of grit waiting to join the big club (I'm looking at you, Foligno, McNabb, Tropp).

 

Things just got interesting.

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TheChimp Third Liner

TheChimp

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This is a move that works both now and next year for Buffalo. Kassian has been the guy we all thought would be the big banger but then we've been blasting him for not really doing it. I think that guy is Foligno in the future. The scoring bit remains to be seen.. but hell, for now I'll take it.

 

It's certainly creative and not something we would have expected from Regier.

Exactly what I was thinking. They must have been weighing Kassian against Foligno and Foligno won. NHL.com says the Canuck was in the running for the Calder. Can't be all bad.

 

I wanteed size and grit, too, but this GM/coach combo likes the finesse game we all knew that. If we suck in two years because everybody is in a cast, maybe we'll get a new GM/coach combo and maybe the next set will like size and grit.

 

Or maybe this will work. Who knows?

 

 

I sure will miss Kassian, though.

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SabresFan526 Third Liner

SabresFan526

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I've heard a little bit about Hodgson prior to this deal. While he has been hidden in Vancouver, he's been very productive, and it's only his rookie year. His numbers from Juniors show he's an elite centerman

 

For me, getting a first rounder for Goose is just outrageous. Can't believe Nashville would turn a 7th round draft choice with limited skating ability, little offense, a little bit of toughness, and faceoff prowess for a 1st round pick. Great job by Darcy to get that one.

 

But, follow that up with this trade, in my mind is really good. Talked to some Vancouver friends and Hodgson is the real deal according to them. I fell for the Kassian hype as well, but his game hasn't really translated yet to the pros. Hodgson, joins the Sabres as the third leading goal scorer immediately. I understand he was going through what I call the Derek Roy effect when he was in Vancouver playing behind the Sedins and Kesler and getting some points like Roy did when he played behind Briere and Drury. But, it does seem like he's got some good talent and being productive with limited ice time. He's not a #1 Center today, but I think he could become one in 2 years and it does give the Sabres more scoring depth at Center now that we have learned Ennis is a revelation at Center. I'm excited seeing Hodgson play with say Gerbe and I expect Boyes (maybe Kaleta) and see how productive that line could become. Either way, I was never enamored with Gragnani and getting Hodgson for Kassian appears on paper like a good trade, but only time will tell.

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Ross Rhea Third Liner

Ross Rhea

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I am sorry but kassian did not bring that much toughness to this lineup. He protected the puck well but outside of that was less physical than Gerbe.

 

true, but everybody learns and develops at different rates. to judge zack as a failure at anything at this point is wrong imho. the kid was up and down learning systems, playing with god knows who because of injuries most nights, not to mention i think ruff doesn't know how the treat and handle rookies.

 

bottom line is he needs a lot more time to show. you can see he has the skill set and physical presence, he just needs to more time.

 

i don't mind the trade for hodgeson, i just wish kassian wasn't the one going the other way.

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LGR4GM Hall of Famer

LGR4GM

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true, but everybody learns and develops at different rates. to judge zack as a failure at anything at this point is wrong imho. the kid was up and down learning systems, playing with god knows who because of injuries most nights, not to mention i think ruff doesn't know how the treat and handle rookies.

 

bottom line is he needs a lot more time to show. you can see he has the skill set and physical presence, he just needs to more time.

 

i don't mind the trade for hodgeson, i just wish kassian wasn't the one going the other way.

Players do develop at different paces but we never saw any of the supposed anger or grit from kassian. I am not saying failure I am saying he had this mythical toughness that Id give up for a top center prospect.

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Sabres Fan in NS Hall of Famer

Sabres Fan in NS

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The usual suspects saying the usual things.

 

Mr. Korab,

 

In case you missed one of my posts in this thread ...

 

I know a bit about this Hodgson guy. He is the real deal.

 

X. you are bang on.

 

The trade deadline is not (usually) where big deals are made, but this is the "biggest" deal today. I am extemely shocked that DR made this deal. He addressed the single most glaring need on the Sabres.

 

I will go on record ... this is the best deal DR has ever made. I know, I know ... Briere for Gratton ... yada, yada ... DR got lucky on that one.

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