sabills Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 Don't know why the other one was locked, but this is official now: Buffalo Sabres Verified account @BuffaloSabres 6m6 minutes agoMore OFFICIAL: We've signed defenseman Lawrence Pilut. Pilut led all Swedish Hockey League defensemen with 38 points in 52 games last season for @hv71 and was named 2017-18 SHL Defenseman of the Year. Welcome, @lpilut! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGR4GM Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 Sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 This is good news, but I think it prudent to temper expectations here. The SHL is generally regarded as a step below the KHL, and we saw Antipin -- a KHL all-star IIRC -- look fairly well out of his depth last year. Pilut will almost certainly start the season in Rochester, and may or may not have the goods to make the leap to the NHL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brawndo Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 Cool. Nice job Botterill and Greeley! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGR4GM Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 Don't agree about Antipin. Also half his issue was the language barrier. Also if I compare defense in the khl to that of the SHL, it's like the Q compared to the O. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 This is good news, but I think it prudent to temper expectations here. The SHL is generally regarded as a step below the KHL, and we saw Antipin -- a KHL all-star IIRC -- look fairly well out of his depth last year. Pilut will almost certainly start the season in Rochester, and may or may not have the goods to make the leap to the NHL. At worst, he's young depth for the Amerks. Which is something they didn't have much of. At best, he'll be a relatively cheap piece of the Sabres defensive puzzle for several years. Which is something THEY didn't have much of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudacek Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 (edited) A 22-year-old mobile defenceman who has shown growth to his game, signed at ELC prices? Well done. He sounds like a Pysyk who discovered some offence last year. My expectations are in line with Borgen and Antipin and Nelson. Throw enough of those darts and some will hit. Ristolainen, McCabe, Nelson, Guhle, Borgen, Pilut and soon to be Dahlin - our corps of young defencemen is looking a lot better compared to the rest of the league than it did a year ago. Edited May 15, 2018 by dudacek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabills Posted May 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 A 22-year-old mobile defenceman who has shown growth to his game, signed at ELC prices? Well done. He sounds like a Pysyk who discovered some offence last year. My expectations are in line with Borgen and Antipin and Nelson. Throw enough of those darts and some will hit. Ristolainen, McCabe, Nelson, Guhle, Borgen, Pilut and soon to be Dahlin - our corps of young defencemen is looking a lot better compared to the rest of the league than it did a year ago. Bingo. Especially after exGMTM destoyed our pipeline, we need more darts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Flagg Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 Agreed on the dart-throwing analogy. Keep 'em coming JBott. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Aud Smell Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 FGMTM seemed to be of a mind to turn things around in very short order based on taking some big swings. JBOT seems more focused on building organizational depth and creating competition. The latter approach seems more apt to produce a winning team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudacek Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 FGMTM seemed to be of a mind to turn things around in very short order based on taking some big swings. JBOT seems more focused on building organizational depth and creating competition. The latter approach seems more apt to produce a winning team. “Kim and Terry, the other guy didn’t do you any favours.” Botterill was never going to be about a quick fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorny Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 “Kim and Terry, the other guy didn’t do you any favours.” Botterill was never going to be about a quick fix. I don’t think Botterill’s strategy and quick fixes ares mutually exclusive, just that Botterill approaches things from a cap-based perspective and prefers to trade for and augment the roster with value additions. He won’t break the bank on questionable LT deals and trade for high cost pieces. Kinda like how he helped build the D in Pittsburgh. Scandella was a quick fix piece who was immediately able to step into a top 4 role that was had on the relative cheap. I may be splitting hairs, but I don’t think Botterill is knowingly accepting any kind of long slow build. He’s just going to build properly with smart moves and of course through the draft, but he isn’t hesitating to bring in win-now players, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Flagg Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 Botts is gonna trade Risto, and people are gonna be mad about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildCard Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 Botts is gonna trade Risto, and people are gonna be mad about it. I'll be furious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 This is good news, but I think it prudent to temper expectations here. The SHL is generally regarded as a step below the KHL, and we saw Antipin -- a KHL all-star IIRC -- look fairly well out of his depth last year. Pilut will almost certainly start the season in Rochester, and may or may not have the goods to make the leap to the NHL. Not sure I agree with the bolded. He was clearly out of his element, but I think in the beginning that was largely due to the language barrier, getting used to the North American rink size, and the fact that we had a rookie coach who didn't have a fully developed system from the start. I'm not sure I'd say he was out of his depth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Flagg Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 I'll be furious I bet I can convince you that it's a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 Botts is gonna trade Risto, and people are gonna be mad about it. Meh. Depends on the return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildCard Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 I bet I can convince you that it's a good idea. I'll bet you can't :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Flagg Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 I'll bet you can't :D Gimme a couple weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 I'll bet you can't :D What if his answer is based upon the general jurisprudence of bird law? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Aud Smell Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 What if his answer is based upon the general jurisprudence of bird law? You funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorny Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 Meh. Depends on the return. Same. I’m not eager to get rid if him, but I could easily get on board depending on the return, given how maddeningly low Risto’s hockey IQ appeared to be last season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 (edited) What if his answer is based upon the general jurisprudence of bird law? Bird law? You want the Texas Law Hawk! Edited May 15, 2018 by Doohickie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darksabre Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 Botts is gonna trade Risto, and people are gonna be mad about it. I wouldn't care. Everyone on the roster has a price. If I ever buy the jersey of an active player then that there is a player I would actually be mad about them trading. Can't foresee myself doing that with anyone on this roster. Not yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Flagg Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 I wouldn't care. Everyone on the roster has a price. If I ever buy the jersey of an active player then that there is a player I would actually be mad about them trading. Can't foresee myself doing that with anyone on this roster. Not yet. All hoity-toity in your Numminen white-goathead. (You have one of those, don't you? That's a goddamn amazing sweater if I'm remembering correctly) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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