2018 - 2019 Lineup

[Doohickie]

Eh.  Let's see how he does.  He looked good on the big club in a small sample last year.  Looked less effective in training camp this year, but let's see how the first week or two goes.

 

[shrader]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

Other than that would give the Sabres a relatively good 4th line & a relatively weak 3rd, not too much IMHO.

Taro, you always seem to be up on these little details.  Do they need to get the roster down to 23 before they can assign people to IR, or is that just required when it comes to being under the cap?  I ask because I wonder if you might see the situation where one of the kids is assigned to Rochester in just a paper transaction, and then immediately recalled.

[Taro T]

7 minutes ago, shrader said:

Taro, you always seem to be up on these little details.  Do they need to get the roster down to 23 before they can assign people to IR, or is that just required when it comes to being under the cap?  I ask because I wonder if you might see the situatsion where one of the kids is assigned to Rochester in just a paper transaction, and then immediately recalled.

My understanding of it is that they have to be down to 23 & then can put guys on IR & then bring players back up after the cut down date (tomorrow) provided they stay under the salary cap.  But the CBA isn't clear on the point of whether guys can be IR'd prior to cut down day.  (Or if it is clear it would be under a chapter I've not reviewed in a long time.)  So, though that's my interpretation, I wouldn't put any money down on that interpretation.

But, whether the roster has to be at 23 total or 23 healthy, any players sent down to get to 23 can be brought back up at 5:01PM provided there are open healthy slots available.

So, the net result will be that the Sabres will have 23 healthy bodies in Buffalo officially at 5:01PM tomorrow.

 

Oh, and getting back to the earlier question of why a team would waive a player but keep him w/ the big club, came up with one more potential reason that really is rather Machiavellian (kind of like when they didn't want to pay Teppo after the heart issues).  IF a player that is on the fence between the parent and farm teams is playing through pain but they're afraid he might only be able to do so for a little while before having to address the underlying cause of the pain (say playing through a sports hernia as an example) if he hasn't cleared waivers within the last 30 days/10 games he can't get sent down while on IR, but if he has cleared waivers that recently he CAN be sent down while on IR.  A team could do that if they are really tight to the cap (real or internal), but it would be a bad look as it heightens the business side of things.

[mjd1001]

On 9/25/2018 at 2:04 PM, LGR4GM said:

Are we sure Mitts has done enough to have earned a Buffalo job? 

Based on what we have seen of him so far in training camp and preseason, I don't understand why he isn't in Rochester. Now, if he comes out and gets 7-10 points in the first 10 games, then I'll have been wrong. But, it looks like he is going to be on the 4th or 3rd line here.  As a kid as young as he is, why is he NOT in Rochester getting 16-18 minutes per game there and on the power play?

I just don't see, right now...how hes not a better player in a year from now getting big minutes in Rochester instead of lesser minutes in Buffalo.

Unless the whole idea is just to give him a few games in Buffalo to get a taste of the NHL..then to Rochester?

[erickompositör72]

15 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Based on what we have seen of him so far in training camp and preseason, I don't understand why he isn't in Rochester. Now, if he comes out and gets 7-10 points in the first 10 games, then I'll have been wrong. But, it looks like he is going to be on the 4th or 3rd line here.  As a kid as young as he is, why is he NOT in Rochester getting 16-18 minutes per game there and on the power play?

I just don't see, right now...how hes not a better player in a year from now getting big minutes in Rochester instead of lesser minutes in Buffalo.

Unless the whole idea is just to give him a few games in Buffalo to get a taste of the NHL..then to Rochester?

I think his talent level has been assessed as being at a level where NHL competition will allow him to grow the most.

I don't think it'd be impossible that by the end of the season or by next year, he looks like an NHL 2C. It's optimistic, but I don't think it's unrealistic.

Our FO is paid to assess talent level and appropriate development courses. I'm guessing they don't see the AHL as the proper development course for him, despite any growing pains he may experience in the NHL.

Edited October 1, 2018 by erickompositör72

[WildCard]

@ByMHarrington
#Sabres are back at it downtown. No sign of Bogosian or Larsson so that pretty shows they're not likely in the plans for the opener. Lines are:
Skinner-Eichel-Reinhart; Sheary-Berglund-Thompson; Sobotka-Mittelstadt-Okposo; Girgensons-ERod-Pominville. Nylander is not taking rushes

 

 

[Doohickie]

HCPH to Nylander:  "Good news!  You made the team!  Now get your ass up to the press box and sit."

[Thorny]

1 hour ago, WildCard said:

@ByMHarrington
#Sabres are back at it downtown. No sign of Bogosian or Larsson so that pretty shows they're not likely in the plans for the opener. Lines are:
Skinner-Eichel-Reinhart; Sheary-Berglund-Thompson; Sobotka-Mittelstadt-Okposo; Girgensons-ERod-Pominville. Nylander is not taking rushes

 

 

Looks like the Mittelstadt line is still line 3. Obviously. 

Anyone that predicted a healthy season for Bogosian: take a bow. 

[sabills]

40 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

HCPH to Nylander:  "Good news!  You made the team!  Now get your ass up to the press box and sit."

Nope, haha:
 

Quote

Sabres PR‏Verified account @SabresPR 13s14 seconds ago

The Buffalo Sabres today announced the team has assigned forward Alexander Nylander and defensemen Brendan Guhle and Brandon Hickey to the Rochester Americans (AHL).

 

[Randall Flagg]

Practice thing with Nylander? Because one could argue he was a top 5 forward for us in the actual preseason games. 

Hopefully he takes it the right way and understands how close he is. We need him displacing one of Zem/Pominville/etc. as soon as possible. Unless these guys are magically rejuvenated, which fans say about their old-or-bad farts every single year and never turns out to be the case

[Samson's Flow]

Based on play Nylander should be with the big club. I don't know how you can look at the rest of the guys in the locker room and say that Larsson/Zemgus/Pominville outplayed him and deserve a spot.

Good for Tage though for making the squad. He looked great as well.

[Thorny]

3 minutes ago, sabills said:

Nope, haha:
 

 

This is interesting. It puts the Sabres at 26 players in camp, 21 healthy. 12 healthy forwards, 7 healthy D, and 2 Goalies. 

Could mean Larsson and Bogosian, though hurt, start the season on the 23-man roster. Malone, Hunwick, Wilson to IR.

Looks like Tennyson has made the team as the 7/8th D-man ?

[WildCard]

6 minutes ago, sabills said:

Nope, haha:

Probably the right move on Nylander, but the Guhle one surprises me. I'd bet by January he's a mainstay up here

[dudacek]

7 minutes ago, WildCard said:

Probably the right move on Nylander, but the Guhle one surprises me. I'd bet by January he's a mainstay up here

This is conventional wisdom from the off-season, but it is exactly the opposite of what I saw in camp.

Also, more evidence that a team usually has its roster pretty much set before camp starts.

If Alex doesn’t pout, he’ll be back before Christmas, likely to stay.

[thewookie1]

How the hell does Tennyson keep making the team out of camp?

[Randall Flagg]

1 minute ago, thewookie1 said:

How the hell does Tennyson keep making the team out of camp?

We like to talk about McBeane's player evaluation here, but if Tennyson gets a single second of ice time without at least 5 D on IR...

[Thorny]

Botterill has seemingly done a lot of good this offseason. Left wing was a weak spot, and he brought in Skinner and Sheary. He shored up the depth with the additions of Berglund, Sobotka, and Thompson. And he brought in what looks to be a solid goalie in Hutton. 

Yet, how would we have felt at the end of last season if we were told that all of Girgensons, Pominville, and Larsson would be on the opening night 23-man roster? Is that a check mark against Botterill, or an indictment of the kids? Neither? 

Botterill failed to address the defence in a meaninful way, short of winning the lottery. The top pair from last year remains the same, with Scandella and Ristolainen. Dahlin is a great addition but as an 18-year old kid being asked to play on the second pair with a natural LHD on his other side, we are asking a lot of him, without providing him very much shelter, which would/should have been of the utmost concern. Third pair looks like more of the same from last season, potentially Beaulieu and Nelson to start.

RHD is a mess, with Botterill having added nothing there over the course of the offseason. As expected, Bogosian is battling injury, leaving our actual right-shot D depth looking stagnant with: Ristolainen, Nelson, Tennyson. Defense remains the biggest question mark, and I don't personally see much cause for optimism there, yet, with little to no improvement there since last season, short of, again, an 18 year old rookie. Same question, how would we have felt if we had been told that Dahlin would be the only addition to the top 6D different from last season?

Perhaps Botterill's mission statement this past offseason was to revamp the forwards and the goaltending position, leaving the defensive upgrades for a later date. It's certainly a debatable strategy, but the likelihood the Sabres are set up for another "growing pains" season seems likely, owing to our defense, without some unexpected surprises (certainly possible). 

[erickompositör72]

If Hutton holds his own, we will be fine. Our D last year (and coach's system) was having an identity crisis because the system requires a goaltender who can bail you out every now and then.

I expect to see much more scoring from the D for that reason, and more aggressive play. Top line scoring and depth scoring should also improve. W/L will all depend on Hutton, but there is potential.

[Randall Flagg]

7 minutes ago, erickompositör72 said:

If Hutton holds his own, we will be fine. Our D last year (and coach's system) was having an identity crisis because the system requires a goaltender who can bail you out every now and then.

I expect to see much more scoring from the D for that reason, and more aggressive play. Top line scoring and depth scoring should also improve. W/L will all depend on Hutton, but there is potential.

Our D has all the same players plus Dahlin, what makes you so sure we'll see much more scoring from them? 

I basically have no reason to expect notable improvements anywhere but in goal, though I'm hopeful that kids & Dahlin & a better bottom six than we started with (how much better currently, and how much it offsets ROR, is open to question) could improve other areas, but I'll believe it when it's actively happening

[erickompositör72]

6 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

Our D has all the same players plus Dahlin, what makes you so sure we'll see much more scoring from them? 

I basically have no reason to expect notable improvements anywhere but in goal, though I'm hopeful that kids & Dahlin & a better bottom six than we started with (how much better currently, and how much it offsets ROR, is open to question) could improve other areas, but I'll believe it when it's actively happening

I think they will actually have the confidence from their goaltender to play Housley's system aggressively. They had to water it down last year- they played scared/overly cautious. They knew they couldn't rely on Lehner.

We've talked a lot about certain intangibles (locker room, etc). I think one we didn't mention much was the confidence a solid net-minder will give them.

Edited October 1, 2018 by erickompositör72

[pi2000]

1 minute ago, erickompositör72 said:

I think they will actually have the confidence from their goaltender to play Housley's system aggressively. They had to water it down last year- they played scared/overly cautious. They knew they couldn't rely on Lehner.

We've talked a lot about certain intangibles (locker room, etc). I think one we didn't mention was the confidence a solid net-minder will give them.

I saw nothing in preseason to suggest the results will be any different this season.   My issue is with Housley... for whatever reason nobody seems to play hard for him.

[Randall Flagg]

I can listen to the logic behind sending Alex down, and can even buy it just fine. But if I'm watching Matt Tennyson on Thursday, and not Nylander, then it is a little hard to take their "culture of competiton" and earning spots based on performance seriously, insofar as it's at least dishonest. You can put the case together that with development, waiver eligibility and other things thrown into the mix that icing a roster that isn't your best in early October is reasonable, but we blew up a team including a trade that still reeks to me with an emphasis on this thing that isn't being followed through completely. 

And look at me, I'm one of Nylander's biggest critics here historically. But since I base nearly every take I have on the hockey I see on the ice, all you need to do to change my mind is change the hockey, and to this point Alex did that, to the tune of being one of the best forwards on the team in preseason. I hope he takes it the right way and goes off in the AHL, and even respect this challenge to him, as his track record isn't good in this instance. 

So what I'm getting at, is Jesus Christ you guys better not dress Matt Tennyson for Boston. 

[Randall Flagg]

6 minutes ago, erickompositör72 said:

I think they will actually have the confidence from their goaltender to play Housley's system aggressively. They had to water it down last year- they played scared/overly cautious. They knew they couldn't rely on Lehner.

We've talked a lot about certain intangibles (locker room, etc). I think one we didn't mention much was the confidence a solid net-minder will give them.

I agree that a solid goalie makes a world of difference on a hockey team in general, but I definitely don't connect the lack of D-scoring to a lack of confidence in the goalie. I think most of that difference comes on the 2/3rds of the ice closest to the goalie. 

I think our D couldn't score because they don't have the puck skills to open up their own space at the point, the vision to get shots through, or the cannons that actual scoring D have for their shots. In fact, I think almost all of our defensemen are actively bad at each and every one of those things. Dahlin has vision and puck skills, Risto has some vision and sometimes a shot, and as far as I can tell, the well is dry after that.

Edited October 1, 2018 by Randall Flagg

[Randall Flagg]

And actually the more that I look at it, as long as Tennyson remains the scratched 7D, this is basically the best thign to do. 

Risto-Scandella
Dahlin-McCabe
Beaulieu-Nelson 

for right away, Tennyson in the box. 

The key thing will be, if someone else gets hurt, Tennyson has to stay where he is, and Guhle/Pilut/Bogosian needs to be the replacement. As of now, you don't want Guhle/Pilut sitting in the press box. 

And presuming good AHL seasons from Guhle or Pilut, it will be unacceptable to have Beaulieu playing regular minutes over them as the season progresses. 

But hopefully they've got this down.

FTR, our opening night D is going to be gross, and would have been even if Bogo was healthy, which nobody should have been relying on. I hope they have a plan to make it better as fast as possible. 

[erickompositör72]

12 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

I agree that a solid goalie makes a world of difference on a hockey team in general, but I definitely don't connect the lack of D-scoring to a lack of confidence in the goalie. I think most of that difference comes on the 2/3rds of the ice closest to the goalie. 

I think our D couldn't score because they don't have the puck skills to open up their own space at the point, the vision to get shots through, or the cannons that actual scoring D have for their shots. In fact, I think almost all of our defensemen are actively bad at each and every one of those things. Dahlin has vision and puck skills, Risto has some vision and sometimes a shot, and as far as I can tell, the well is dry after that.

I agree with this completely. I guess I'm just hoping our transition game improves and includes more D on the rush.

 

BTW, did I miss something RE:Tennyson? has he been practicing w/ the big club? Last I heard he was on waivers for Rochester assignment...? Is there news that he was called back up?

EDIT: nvm, I just reread that he cleared waivers but was not officially sent down..

Edited October 1, 2018 by erickompositör72