GDT:Detroit at Buffalo, 3/29/18 7PM MSG, WGR 550

[CallawaySabres]

Sens win! That should wrap up best odds to get #1 pick. No way these idiots can make up 5 points with 5 games to go

[spndnchz]

Sometimes good. Sometimes

[nfreeman]

How funny is that photo they showed haha

 

Biron is right, Casey needs to play with players that not only skate quickly, but who play at a fast pace. Maybe Sam isn't a good fit in that spot.

 

I think Eichel / Mittelstadt on the ice together is going to become a thing.

 

Yes.  Casey will take KO's spot on the top PP unit.

 

 

This is gonna be my last beer tonight. I think I'm gonna switch to bleach.

 

Very nice.

 

 

For all those that think Bots is going to magically fix this team next year just remember HE is the one that used questionable judgement in several of the players he brought in this year. Baloo, Nolan, Pommers amongst others. It will take a minor miracle for him to fix this team.

 

Taking Pommer was part of the price of getting Scandella.  JBott didn't target Pommer as a good player to bring in.  Pommer is just playing because of the low quality level in the forward ranks.

 

 

 

Imagine if Jack got to play with a Kucherov, or a Nylander, or a guy like that 

If he was on Tampa or Pittsburgh or whatever, and he took that shot for a rebound at the end, it goes in because those teams crash the net. Instead his teammates were picking their noses in the corner.

How many times has he shrugged off eight guys, skated through, set up possession, and looked up to see that his BEST option is to fling it away because he's carrying trash around

 

Now that would be pretty sweet.

 

I sure hope we get to see it next year.

[Jacque Richard]

Sens win! That should wrap up best odds to get #1 pick. No way these idiots can make up 5 points with 5 games to go

they play better away, never know with these duds

[WildCard]

they play better away, never know with these duds

they're better than you

[Andrew Amerk]

they're better than you

That seems subjective.

[GASabresIUFAN]

I didn't get to watch the game.  I saw Casey's assist on the 3rd goal on the highlights, but how did he look otherwise?

[Taro T]

I didn't get to watch the game.  I saw Casey's assist on the 3rd goal on the highlights, but how did he look otherwise?

While the adrenalin was flowing his 1st 2 shifts he was the fastest player on the ice.

 

Came back down to earth after that. Looked ok. Had a nice battle along the boards forechecking late in the 1st.

 

Didn't look overwhelmed nor particularly lost, though he has a lot of room to grow in his own end. Got kind of rooked on his faceoff violation/bench minor.

[matter2003]

Ehh...Sabres fell flat on their face after taking a 2-0 lead...Middlestadt looked lost for much of the night basically skating figure 8's and making poor puck plays, but made a nice move down the center of the ice to get open and had a pass put on his tape to split a few defenders before either missing the net on a backhand in close or having it saved...it was hard to tell from the camera angle...he also got an assist for basically winning a draw...

 

Its only his first game but you can tell he is going to need some time but has some tools to work with

Edited March 30, 2018 by matter2003

[North Buffalo]

While the adrenalin was flowing his 1st 2 shifts he was the fastest player on the ice.

 

Came back down to earth after that. Looked ok. Had a nice battle along the boards forechecking late in the 1st.

 

Didn't look overwhelmed nor particularly lost, though he has a lot of room to grow in his own end. Got kind of rooked on his faceoff violation/bench minor.

Basically this... thought after missing the backcheck on the wings first goal he got a little tentative til he started picking it up again.  Looked like not lost but not comfortable where he should be and deciding how fast he should transition out.  Looked like he deferred a lot.  As others have said, it will come with time as he gets more comfortable, but yes he showed his hands a couple of times.  Will need to get used to the close checking and time and space issues.   Looked like he was asking a lot of questions on the bench... a good thing.

[PerreaultForever]

Casey showed he has speed and some skills, but he is 2 years away from making a real difference. In two years I fully expect him to be our #2 center and a PP guy but not before. 

 

As for all the rest of the over analysis, it's a lot simpler imo. We are still the worst team in the league. We need to improve EVERYTHING. 

 

Pray for Dahlin.

[Sabre fan]

two things are clear: 1) GMJBotto signed Casey and brought him in for these last games to take heat off of him (Botto) and make us fans forget about everything and actually have something to be excited about. 2) Casey is not ready for the NHL and should really have been sent to Rochester for a year at least. I get GMJBotto is desperate to do something to appease us fans but this is a waste of a year on his ELC.

[Huckleberry]

Sens win! That should wrap up best odds to get #1 pick. No way these idiots can make up 5 points with 5 games to go

[Sabre fan]

does not matter if we end up last by ten points...we'll be knocked down as far as they can put us which I think is 4th. we'll still get a good player but won;t see him for 3 or 4 years

Edited March 30, 2018 by Sabre fan

[CallawaySabres]

does not matter if we end up last by ten points...we'll be knocked down as far as they can put us which I think is 4th. we'll still get a good player but won;t see him for 3 or 4 years

I fully expect to draft #4....cuchucked

[LTS]

For all those that think Bots is going to magically fix this team next year just remember HE is the one that used questionable judgement in several of the players he brought in this year. Baloo, Nolan, Pommers amongst others. It will take a minor miracle for him to fix this team.

 

The only player brought in this year that is intended to be part of the long term future of this team is Scandella.  Beaulieu was an acceptable 2 year contract to fill what appeared to be a lack of D depth.  Nolan, Josefson, Pouliot are all here on 1 year contracts so the younger players can stay in Rochester to develop.  That was always the strategy.

 

Good point. None of that Botterill has brought in, outside of Casey, looks too promising so far

 

See above.  But you are missing on Scandella and Pouliot was a quality signing for 1 year for the money he commanded.

 

two things are clear: 1) GMJBotto signed Casey and brought him in for these last games to take heat off of him (Botto) and make us fans forget about everything and actually have something to be excited about. 2) Casey is not ready for the NHL and should really have been sent to Rochester for a year at least. I get GMJBotto is desperate to do something to appease us fans but this is a waste of a year on his ELC.

 

I'm not sure you get it.  There is no heat on Botterill right now.  There will be next year if the team plays the same way.  You assume Mittlestadt should be in the AHL after watching a single game?  Are you choosing to disregard any possibility that he wasn't going to sign with Buffalo unless he was signed to an ELC and played in Buffalo this year?  Even if that's not the case, Botterill wanted him in Buffalo for this year.  The first year of his ELC is not all that important and I am not sure why you believe it is.  Mittlestadt is under Sabre control for as long as it will take them to figure out how important he will be to the team.  When his contracts end won't matter because a player will get their pay day when they deserve it.

 

Fandom must be really tough when you completely disregard reality just to find a reason to complain about things.

[SwampD]

The officiating ruined this game for me. It was quite awful.

[Jsixspd]

Mittlestadt is not ready for prime time.    Good at faceoffs, but most of the time he wasn't where the action was on the ice.  13 minutes on ice, the center, and there was only a couple of times he actually had stick on puck.   Most of the time the puck was nowhere near him.

He didn't know what he was doing or the system - which is completely understandable - he'd been in Buffalo, what, 36 hrs?  LOL  It's one thing in a trade - where an experienced player is brought in from another team and can start to produce (hopefully) right away.   But this kid hadn't even played college hockey since, what, March 3?  And obviously zero experience with the Sabres or the NHL. 

Why not develop him properly and bring him up?  He obviously has lots of speed and potential - but an uncut diamond at this point.  We know he needs to put in his time in the gym, too.  Saw at least one instance where a Red Wing rather easily pushed him aside last night.   He should be developed carefully, instead of thrown to the wolves.  I am cynical enough to think he was put out there so quickly, with so little practice with the team, in order to sell some Key Bank tickets, rather than with his best future interests at heart. 

   

[Taro T]

The only player brought in this year that is intended to be part of the long term future of this team is Scandella. Beaulieu was an acceptable 2 year contract to fill what appeared to be a lack of D depth. Nolan, Josefson, Pouliot are all here on 1 year contracts so the younger players can stay in Rochester to develop. That was always the strategy.

 

 

 

See above. But you are missing on Scandella and Pouliot was a quality signing for 1 year for the money he commanded.

 

 

 

I'm not sure you get it. There is no heat on Botterill right now. There will be next year if the team plays the same way. You assume Mittlestadt should be in the AHL after watching a single game? Are you choosing to disregard any possibility that he wasn't going to sign with Buffalo unless he was signed to an ELC and played in Buffalo this year? Even if that's not the case, Botterill wanted him in Buffalo for this year. The first year of his ELC is not all that important and I am not sure why you believe it is. Mittlestadt is under Sabre control for as long as it will take them to figure out how important he will be to the team. When his contracts end won't matter because a player will get their pay day when they deserve it.

 

Fandom must be really tough when you completely disregard reality just to find a reason to complain about things.

That seems to be a common misconception & pretty sure it's due to there being a difference between "burning" an ELC year & "burning" an accrued season towards FA status. (The following isn't directed at you specifically but is just general info for those that aren't fully up to speed on the concepts.)

 

The ELC, depending on age at signing, is 1-3 years long but it can slide up to 2 additional years if the player while still 18 or 19 plays 9 or less games. W/ age being determined by how old they are in September of the particular year.

 

If the player is 20 or older the ELC no longer is slidable, if it was, you'd have AHLers locked into ELC contracts w/ their parent club until they're ready to retire. So, due to Mittelstadt having a November b-day, though he's 19 & gets a 3 year ELC, he falls under the 20 yo sliding provision & his contract doesn't "slide" to next year by playing in 9 or fewer games. So this is year 1 of his ELC & he's under the ELC through '19-'20.

 

But, for FA status & arbitration eligibility purposes, accrued seasons are what matter. And a player doesn't get an accrued season until he plays in his 40th game. Mittelstadt won't come close to that & next year will probably (though not definitely) be his 1st accrued NHL season. So, counting this year, as year 1, he effectively can't be a UFA until heading into year 9 (maybe even year 10) whereas Eichel would've been eligible heading into year 8.

 

And if the overriding concern is the ELC salary vs non-ELC salary tightening the salary cap, it really shouldn't be. Unless he's another Eichel level player, the difference between what he'll earn in '20-'21 on a bridge deal vs the 3rd year of the ELC will be far less than the money Pomminstein essentially stole this year. Albatross contracts tighten the salary cap far more than bridge contracts.

Edited March 30, 2018 by Taro T

[WildCard]

Not gonna lie, all I see with these new Casey pullup avatars is jeffismagic flashbacks 

That seems subjective.

That's what I said too

[nfreeman]

Ehh...Sabres fell flat on their face after taking a 2-0 lead...Middlestadt looked lost for much of the night basically skating figure 8's and making poor puck plays, but made a nice move down the center of the ice to get open and had a pass put on his tape to split a few defenders before either missing the net on a backhand in close or having it saved...it was hard to tell from the camera angle...he also got an assist for basically winning a draw...

 

Its only his first game but you can tell he is going to need some time but has some tools to work with

 

At first I thought this too, but on the replay it's pretty clear that he won the draw and then made a sweet little touch pass back to ERod.  It was a nice assist IMHO.

 

 

two things are clear: 1) GMJBotto signed Casey and brought him in for these last games to take heat off of him (Botto) and make us fans forget about everything and actually have something to be excited about. 2) Casey is not ready for the NHL and should really have been sent to Rochester for a year at least. I get GMJBotto is desperate to do something to appease us fans but this is a waste of a year on his ELC.

 

I agree that the overall presentation -- especially the woman with the Casey jersey on the ice for the anthem -- felt like "here's something we can market to distract our fans from yet another terrible season."

 

However, I liked what I saw from Casey -- enough so that I am fairly confident that he'll play most or all of next season in Buffalo, probably in the 14-16 min per game range, and be pretty effective.

 

 

I fully expect to draft #4....cuchucked

 

This has the cold ring of truth.

[Drunkard]

Well, he didn't smite his enemies single handedly, but Lord Casey did hold his own and didn't look too out of place for the most part. He's speed is abundantly apparent and once he gets acclimated to the overall speed of the NHL he should prove to be one of our better players. I'm looking forward to seeing his next game.

[Doohickie]

Basically this... thought after missing the backcheck on the wings first goal he got a little tentative til he started picking it up again.  Looked like not lost but not comfortable where he should be and deciding how fast he should transition out.  Looked like he deferred a lot.  As others have said, it will come with time as he gets more comfortable, but yes he showed his hands a couple of times.  Will need to get used to the close checking and time and space issues.   Looked like he was asking a lot of questions on the bench... a good thing.

 

He was thinking too much and it was crowding out what should be his natural reactions.  His feet and hands were moving faster than his brain at times.  A few practices and a few games should iron that out.

[carpandean]

How many times have we heard guys who were in the NHL for a handful of games before going back to junior, AHL, etc., say that the experience really changed their mindset?  That's what this is (though, Casey's not going back to college.)  It's a chance for Casey to see what the NHL game is really like before the offseason.  The outcomes of these games don't matter, so he doesn't need to tear things up; seeing what he'll be working for is.  He may very well go to Rochester next season, but he'll go with some knowledge and experience that he wouldn't have otherwise had.

 

Plus, yeah, it probably was good from a marketing standpoint.

[Drunkard]

How many times have we heard guys who were in the NHL for a handful of games before going back to junior, AHL, etc., say that the experience really changed their mindset? That's what this is (though, Casey's not going back to college.) It's a chance for Casey to see what the NHL game is really like before the offseason. The outcomes of these games don't matter, so he doesn't need to tear things up; seeing what he'll be working for is. He may very well go to Rochester next season, but he'll go with some knowledge and experience that he wouldn't have otherwise had.

 

Plus, yeah, it probably was good from a marketing standpoint.

I think getting this 6 game look will help his adjust to the speed of the game and what it takes to produce in this league. Then he gets a summer off to train, build up his strength, and prepare for training camp. If he is somehow not ready, he could always go to Rochester but looking at the team roster, I find it hard to believe we'll have 12 or even 9 better forwards than him preventing him from making the team. We'll see where the chips fall next fall though.