Your 2022-23 Buffalo Sabres

[inkman]

12 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I understand the era of Jags is over…

Noooooooo

[Brawndo]

Okposo is back skating on a line with Zemgus and Asplund 

[Brawndo]

 

[Doohickie]

So it looks like Hinostroza is the odd man out for now.

[Doohickie]

 

[Weave]

2 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

So it looks like Hinostroza is the odd man out for now.

Until one of the kids stumbles….

[Taro T]

Just now, Weave said:

Until one of the kids stumbles….

Or someone inevitably breaks.

[Weave]

1 minute ago, Doohickie said:

 

Olofsson on PP2?  Huh.  I’d assumed we’d want the best trigger man on the team working the 1st unit.

And Power over Joki on the 2nd unit?  Kid must be bringing it in practice.

[Taro T]

11 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

Like that Asplund is the C on his line.  Girgensons can play C, but he's so much better at W, he should never be C unless neither of his linemates can handle it.

[Doohickie]

1 minute ago, Weave said:

Olofsson on PP2?  Huh.  I’d assumed we’d want the best trigger man on the team working the 1st unit.

Probably a question of trying to balance the two PP units, and maybe an attempt to pump up Mitts.

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, Weave said:

Olofsson on PP2?  Huh.  I’d assumed we’d want the best trigger man on the team working the 1st unit.

And Power over Joki on the 2nd unit?  Kid must be bringing it in practice.

2 goal scorers already on PP1 (Skinner & Thompson).  

This way there's a goal scorer on 2PP & possibly 2 if Cozens can continue his tournament play.

Both units are very balanced but mirror images w/ a power forward, a set up man, 2 goal scorers (1 of which is also good at setting up) and a QB to keep everything moving.

Power absolutely should be the 2PP QB.  Glad to see Granato moved on from the Jokiharju experiment.

Edited October 11, 2022 by Taro T

[dudacek]

1 hour ago, Weave said:

Olofsson on PP2?  Huh.  I’d assumed we’d want the best trigger man on the team working the 1st unit.

And Power over Joki on the 2nd unit?  Kid must be bringing it in practice.

I think Krebs Olofsson Cozens showed the kind of chemistry down the stretch that you’d want to keep rolling with.

Power is and will be better than fans think.

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

2 goal scorers already on PP1 (Skinner & Thompson).  

This way there's a goal scorer on 2PP & possibly 2 if Cozens can continue his tournament play.

Both units are very balanced but mirror images w/ a power forward, a set up man, 2 goal scorers (1 of which is also good at setting up) and a QB to keep everything moving.

Power absolutely should be the 2PP QB.  Glad to see Granato moved on from the Jokiharju experiment.

They really are mirror images, aren’t they?

Really curious to see how Mitts and Krebs function as set-up men. Could be pivotal to their futures.

Hot take: Quinn can better than anyone currently ahead of him in the playmaker, bumper and down-low roles. If either PP stalls, he will be the first one injected.

[DarthEbriate]

I didn't have Power starting on PP2 in my preseason projection for him. He'll be up over 40 points now (health permitting). Throw in Goalofsson on his PP and he might really surprise.

12 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Hot take: Quinn can better than anyone currently ahead of him in the playmaker, bumper and down-low roles. If either PP stalls, he will be the first one injected.

Quinn will be on the left dot on PP2 by midyear. So then it becomes -- of Krebs and Mitts, who gets to be on the opposite half wall from Tage on PP1? It should be fun.

[dudacek]

15 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

I didn't have Power starting on PP2 in my preseason projection for him. He'll be up over 40 points now (health permitting). Throw in Goalofsson on his PP and he might really surprise.

Quinn will be on the left dot on PP2 by midyear. So then it becomes -- of Krebs and Mitts, who gets to be on the opposite half wall from Tage on PP1? It should be fun.

What is really intriguing is that Power and VO are legit PP1 talents on any team, and the guys around them aren't overmatched. Having a viable PP2 - particularly one that loads up the opposite side - is a weapon not many have.

Edited October 11, 2022 by dudacek

[Taro T]

20 minutes ago, dudacek said:

What is really intriguing is that Power and VO are legit PP1 talents on any team, and the guys around them aren't overmatched. Having a viable PP2 - particularly one that loads up the opposite side - is a weapon not many have.

Could actually see the 2PP being as, if not more, effective than PP1.  Not a fan of having Skinner in the middle of 1PP, but there are playmakers all around him so it shouldn't be crippling.  Really like Cozens in Skinner's spot on 2PP & w/ Power behind him & teams having to stay honest with Olofsson out there he could absolutely thrive.

Also wouldn't be surprised if Quinn takes Krebs spot on unit 2 by (US) Thanksgiving.

[dudacek]

2 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Could actually see the 2PP being as, if not more, effective than PP1.  Not a fan of having Skinner in the middle of 1PP, but there are playmakers all around him so it shouldn't be crippling.  Really like Cozens in Skinner's spot on 2PP & w/ Power behind him & teams having to stay honest with Olofsson out there he could absolutely thrive.

Also wouldn't be surprised if Quinn takes Krebs spot on unit 2 by (US) Thanksgiving.

I think Krebs has a chance to pass his way to a permanent spot there, or to shoot his way off the spot.

I think Okposo is the one who will be replaced eventually, although Skinner is the one who probably should be.

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, dudacek said:

I think Krebs has a chance to pass his way to a permanent spot there, or to shoot his way off the spot.

I think Okposo is the one who will be replaced eventually, although Skinner is the one who probably should be.

Krebs current lack of an NHL shot is why Quinn will likely get his spot.  With Krebs penchant for still forcing passes, his passing isn't significantly better than Quinn's but Quinn's shot is light years further than Krebs' at this point.

Agree that Okposo's PP status would seem tenuous, but it is clear they want a big body down low & unless Murray gets a callup, he's next behind Tuch from that metric.  ( @lgr4gm likely going insane as both units appear to be set for the puck movement to start from the blue line.)

[dudacek]

15 minutes ago, Taro T said:

.  ( @lgr4gm likely going insane as both units appear to be set for the puck movement to start from the blue line.)

One of the reasons I think Krebs and Mittelstadt are where they are is in order to give the PP another distribution focal point. And I think @LGR4GM would probably agree there are worse things to do than giving Dahlin and Power a big share of the playmaking responsibility.

I thought the PP numbers on the back half of the season were interesting: Krebs was 2nd and Mitts 4th in PP points, despite only combining for 1 goal. The other 3 players in the top 5 were Dahlin, VO and Okposo - only 2 of the top 5 were on the current PP1.

KO and VO combined for 11 of our 24 PP goals.

Edited October 11, 2022 by dudacek

[Weave]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

What is really intriguing is that Power and VO are legit PP1 talents on any team, and the guys around them aren't overmatched. Having a viable PP2 - particularly one that loads up the opposite side - is a weapon not many have.

VO, sure.  Let’s let Power demonstrate PP1 level performance before ordaining it.

It sure seems in his wheelhouse though.

[dudacek]

29 minutes ago, Weave said:

 Let’s let Power demonstrate PP1 level performance before ordaining it.

 

Nope, not gonna.

I've foreseen it and it's a hill I've decided to die on.

 

 

 

😜

Edited October 11, 2022 by dudacek

[GASabresIUFAN]

What would have the Sabres done if Sheahan had been healthy?  Would Bjork have gotten waived?  I understand that Pilut was exempt from Waivers, but does anyone really believe the someone else would have claimed Fitz?

[NAF]

4 hours ago, Brawndo said:

Anyone else a bit upset re: Peterka over Hinnostroza and Bryson over Pilut? IMO both Peterka and Bryson looked terrible in preseason (though to be fair I wasn't really watching training camp practices or keeping up with info on twitter). I'll trust Donny Meatballs for now though, even though I think Hinnostroza and Pilut make the team better, at least in the short term.

[sabresparaavida]

15 minutes ago, NAF said:

Anyone else a bit upset re: Peterka over Hinnostroza and Bryson over Pilut? IMO both Peterka and Bryson looked terrible in preseason (though to be fair I wasn't really watching training camp practices or keeping up with info on twitter). I'll trust Donny Meatballs for now though, even though I think Hinnostroza and Pilut make the team better, at least in the short term.

I think Bryson demonstrated that he belongs in the NHL last year even if his roll should be as a 6/7. I’d pick him over Fitzgerald and Pilut despite not a great pre-season. 
JJP over Hiney is a more debatable call, as JJP has not proven himself in the NHL. Last year, JJP started slow in the AHL last year, and once he adjusted to the league he dominated. Granato definitely believes in development through exposure, and it seems that he values the growth JJP will have over the struggles we may see early on. It wouldn’t surprise me if Granato saw JJP as a borderline NHLer now but could be a strong 2nd liner by season end. 
 

Of course, he also could think JJP is ready for that third line roll now, more so than Hiney. 

[Thorny]

1 hour ago, NAF said:

Anyone else a bit upset re: Peterka over Hinnostroza and Bryson over Pilut? IMO both Peterka and Bryson looked terrible in preseason (though to be fair I wasn't really watching training camp practices or keeping up with info on twitter). I'll trust Donny Meatballs for now though, even though I think Hinnostroza and Pilut make the team better, at least in the short term.

Pilut is definitely a better player than Bryson. Eye test, metrics, what have you. I can only assume they made that decision with development/contract/asset issues in mind because they aren’t fielding their best possible roster

- - - 

Hinostroza likely being the 13th man is interesting as it shows they certainly aren’t copy-pasting their analytical findings into roster decisions straight up, as Vinny is definitely among our best forwards by way of the underlyings

5 hours ago, Taro T said:

Like that Asplund is the C on his line.  Girgensons can play C, but he's so much better at W, he should never be C unless neither of his linemates can handle it.

Agree, I’ve said before that I see Asplund as potentially a new Larsson to the tune of defensively stabilizing a line 

Edited October 11, 2022 by Thorny

[inkman]

Pilut is in Rochester because he’s waived eligible (somehow).  Kinda surprised Lybushkin (sp?) isn’t in the top 4 D.  I don’t like Joki there.  He’s average at best.  Bryson, uh, isn’t.