Season in Review - Grades and Awards

[GASabresIUFAN]

In most respects this has been a very successful season.  Regardless of the outcome tonight against Columbus, it looks like the team will finish 20th in the league with 89-91 pts, up from 75 last season.  The young team matured, moved up in the standings in the very difficult Eastern Conference, and gave the franchise the most hope it’s had in 12 years of wandering in the desert. 

Still there are areas on concern.  The roster is still far from complete and not every area of the team improved year over year. 

So what are Sabrespacer’s thoughts on the team?  

What is overall grade for the season?

What grade would you give Adams and Granato (including his staff)?

What grade would you give the Forwards, the Defense and the Goaltenders?

What grade would you give the Power Play and the Penalty Kill?

Who is your MVP?

Who is your ROY?

Who is your MIP (most improved player)?

Who is your unsung hero? 

 

 

[Randall Flagg]

What is overall grade for the season?

B+

What grade would you give Adams and Granato (including his staff)?

B

What grade would you give the Forwards, the Defense and the Goaltenders?

B+, B-, D

What grade would you give the Power Play and the Penalty Kill?

B, D

Who is your MVP?

Dahlin

Who is your ROY?

Owen Power

Who is your MIP (most improved player)?

Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens

Who is your unsung hero? 

Mitts, though most guys are appropriately-sung

[GASabresIUFAN]

What is your overall grade for the season?

Overall Grade is a B.  Offense was spectacular, but the defense and goaltending lacking.  The team improved by 14-16 points despite these issues. 

What grade would you give Adams and Granato (including his staff)?

Adams - Grade is a C+.  He needed to upgrade the D and G in the off-season and added Lyubushkin and Comrie in the summer with mostly poor results.  He added Stillman (F) and Greenway (B) at the deadline with mixed results but tried to get Chychrun which I hope is a sign of him being a little less conservative going forward.  The Jost waiver pickup was excellent, but not sure where he fits long-term.  The C+ grade stems primarily from his failure to upgrade the 2 glaring deficiencies in the off-season or during the season.  Still, the roster is vastly more talented than when he arrived.

Granato - Grade is a C+.  PK is worse.  Defense and goaltending were also marginally worse.  This is on the coaching staff as well as KA.  The offense was spectacular and that is to DG's credit.  Also, the PP is improved overall, but I didn't see enough adjustments from his staff as teams learned to take TNT away.  

What grade would you give the Forwards, the Defense, and the Goaltenders?

Forwards - B+.  The offensive explosion was great, but the young studs need to learn to back-check better to help the D and help limit some of the high-danger chances.

Defense - C+.  Power, Dahlin, and Mule (when healthy) are awesome, but everyone else not so much.  

Goaltending - D+.  Anderson was excellent considering his age, but his age meant that we had to carry 3 goalies, and the unit as a whole was well below average and cost us a playoff birth.  Levi's 5 games were a breath of fresh air and give great hope for the future. Levi's great start is the reason the grade isn't an F.

What grade would you give the Power Play and the Penalty Kill?

Power Play - B+.  The only issue I have is the lack of adjustments once teams worked to take away TNT.

Penalty Kill - F. 73% is not acceptable and is 4% worse than the terrible PK last year.

Who is your MVP?

Dahlin.  The fuel that makes the engine go.  He simply makes everyone he plays with better. TNT is a close second after his historic season.  His dynamic play and chemistry with Tuch and Skinner helped those two have career years.

Who is your ROY?

Power obviously, but Quinn and JJP had excellent rookie years as well

Who is your MIP (most improved player)?

Season over Season award goes to Cozens.  57% increase in production and playing an excellent 2nd line center at 22 is impressive.

The in-season award goes to Mittelstadt. Went from a career high of 25 points to 57 ytd and has become the team's go-to utility forward.

Who is your unsung hero? 

I have 3 candidates: Samuelsson, Tuch and Skinner.  The forwards had by far the best seasons of their careers. Skinner's revival from RK doghouse has been incredible and Tuch outperformed Eichel. However, I think the award should go to Samuelsson.  The team's W/L record differential when he plays and when he is out with injury is night and day.  If only he could stay healthy. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[DarthEbriate]

Edited so it didn't look like I changed @GASabresIUFAN's responses.

So what are Sabrespacer’s thoughts on the team?

Either right on track or right on track but should've been more on the attack or still all a bunch of flak. 

What is overall grade for the season?

A

What grade would you give Adams and Granato (including his staff)?

B   It was stated as a development year and they did not deviate from that. My expectations were met and some were exceeded. I think Granato should have focused more on defense, but again, the stated objective was learn to score first and they did.

What grade would you give the Forwards, the Defense and the Goaltenders?

B Forwards: for what they were, they followed the offensive plan and produced more than any Sabres offense in years. For all the crap given to them about defense, they frequently made other teams who were stressing defense look woefully outmatched. They have a bunch of room for improvement in their own end, which is good so there's no resting on their laurels.

B Defensemen: When healthy, they're good. When running with two injuries (or more), they were problematic. Dahlin can control games already, Power soon will. The issue was depth, which really isn't on the defensemen suited up playing above their station.

C Goaltending: It was the known weakness going into the season and it remained so (Anderson needed multiple rest days; Comrie had multiple injuries; Luukkonen was an inconsistent youngster as was expected). Levi had one bad game in a small sample size, but gives the team a confidence they haven't had since Ullmark.

What grade would you give the Power Play and the Penalty Kill?

C-  PP1 was a overly dependent on Tage and rarely crashed the net. PP2 needs Power to develop a shot (or at least take it to keep the opponent honest) but still managed to stay in the top 10 leaguewide. They'll be alright with tweaks and growth. The PK is Tuch and too passive. 1 experienced D and coaching change to be more assertive will do wonders. With the talent the Sabres are amassing, a mid-tier PK will be sufficient to do real damage in the standings. Edit: And it should be noted, the Sabres don't take many penalties and it's doubtful they will next year, either. Just getting to a middling PK rate will be fine since they just don't give up very many opportunities.

Who is your MVP?

Dahlin and it's not particularly close despite career years from all 3 top liners and Muel-Pace Pts% being a real thing.

Who is your ROY?

Power and it's not particularly close despite Quinn's excellent all-around game and top line potential.

Who is your MIP (most improved player)?

Mitts was 1C at the start of last season until the game 1 injury. We'd seen glimpses of a decent player and then he lost half a season again. This year he was given VO and an ever-changing cast of 3rd liners and he grew. His board work became among the best on the team, his feistiness elevated, he hit probably 7-10 posts this season. He really developed into a full-grown hockey player. And when a 1C was needed, he's been good enough to lead a playoff push against teams that needed wins for home-ice, etc.

The question for the other most-improved contenders is simply gaining core and leg strength to fend off checks and win battles: Quinn, Peterka, and Power will take enormous strides when they stop looking like baby Reino and start looking 3rd-year Reino with better speed, grit, and shots.

Who is your unsung hero? 

UPL. The season could have gotten away from them entirely, but he stabilized them and went 12-4 in his Dec/Jan starts. Did they need to score a bunch to win? Yes, but he gave them +.900sv% tending and swagger. Then, as expected with inexperience and unpolished goalie, he faded as the season wore on and teams scouted him as the Sabres #1 starter. But he is the reason the Sabres got past that 8-game skid and started the climb.

Edited April 14, 2023 by DarthEbriate

[GASabresIUFAN]

4 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

Who is your unsung hero? 

UPL. The season could have gotten away from them entirely, but he stabilized them and went 12-4 in his Dec/Jan starts. Did they need to score a bunch to win? Yes, but he gave them +.900sv% tending and swagger. Then, as expected with inexperience and unpolished goalie, he faded as the season wore on and teams scouted him as the Sabres #1 starter. But he is the reason the Sabres got past that 8-game skid and started the climb.

Excellent answer.

[mjd1001]

What is overall grade for the season?

B  Sure they didn't make the playoffs, but I have 3 criteria for a good season:  Did you win the cup? Did you exceed expectations? Were you entertaining?  2 of 3 for me.

What grade would you give Adams and Granato (including his staff)?

A.  No problems at all. I'm in the camp of not 'rushing the plan' and I think they did what they wanted to do.

What grade would you give the Forwards, the Defense and the Goaltenders?

Forwards B+.  Defense B, Goaltending C.  Forwards were great at scoring, but they got a lower grade because they were often awful in their own end. D-men get a higher grade from me because they often took the blame for the awful backchecking/positional play of the forwards.

What grade would you give the Power Play and the Penalty Kill?

B- PP, C+ PK.

Who is your MVP?

Dahlin

Who is your ROY?

Power. He was trusted with the most ice time, and for that reason alone had the greatest impact on the team.

Who is your MIP (most improved player)?

From the beginning of the year to the end, Krebs. Might have been the worst forward in the league the first month of the season, he turned that around to be decent.  Year over year, it might have to be Tuch.  Tuch went from an "OK"  top 2 line guy last year to a legit top 100 (maybe top 50) player in the league.

Who is your unsung hero? 

Mittelstadt. Not only did he get better as the year went on, he played every game and had stints where he played in all situations.

Edited April 14, 2023 by mjd1001

[PerreaultForever]

So what are Sabrespacer’s thoughts on the team?  

Management underestimated their potential and missed an opportunity. Fill the holes and we can be in the playoffs next year. If they don't, we will be right back on the bubble (maybe in maybe out depends on luck and injuries) but right around where we are again.

What is overall grade for the season?

C+   Can't go higher for a non playoff team.

What grade would you give Adams and Granato (including his staff)?

C  Adams gets an A last year but see first comment for this one. Granato on his own gets a B- as he has brought the team together and developed players well but he still needs to teach them how to defend and prevent goals, not just score them.

What grade would you give the Forwards, the Defense and the Goaltenders?

Forwards B (they get an A when they can play 2 way), D as a unit gets a D, but the top 3 get a B+, Goal was a D but Levi gets an A- for his small body of work.

What grade would you give the Power Play and the Penalty Kill? 

PP B+, PK F. 

Who is your MVP?

Tage.

Who is your ROY?

Power

Who is your MIP (most improved player)?

Cozens (Mitts gets runner up for his late season surge)

Who is your unsung hero? 

Zemgus. Totally UNSUNG, but a solid constant and an exemplary role player. Might be his last season all the same. I get what people are saying about UPL but to me an unsung hero is more of a constant presence rather than a guy who had a hot streak but otherwise is inconsistent. Zemgus is just who he is, but you can also count on him every night to be who he is. 

[oddoublee]

What is overall grade for the season?

B            Fun, Competitive, Likeable (A's are for playoff teams!)

What grade would you give Adams and Granato (including his staff)?

B             Well done overall. Like to see Granato in game coaching step; especially with line matching - we were spoiled by Ruff. Adams was good - this summer is key to telling us what kind of long-term GM he really is. Top 4 D - Good Goalie - PK specialist F/C. 

What grade would you give the Forwards, the Defense and the Goaltenders?

A-   Forwards

C     Defense (Dahlin, Powers and Samuelsson saved this one from being a D- or F)

D     I believe the D made them look worse than they are...but results are results - and statistically they were below average.

What grade would you give the Power Play and the Penalty Kill?

B    PP was mostly good, not dominant

D-  Not a good PK...at all. Candidly, I do not know if it is players or coaching...but they are not close to being lockdown yet. 

Who is your MVP?

Tage Thompson          - doesn't get hurt, we are looking at 100+ points. This team lived off of his line most of the season.

Who is your ROY?

Owen Power                 - not even close. We are looking at a 60-80 point defenseman who can also shut people down in his own end within 2 - 3 years. 

Who is your MIP (most improved player)?

Dylan Cozens              - went from a 13 goal, half point player to a probable 30 goal, point a game player within a snapping of the finger. 

Who is your unsung hero? 

Casey Mittlestadt         - I always thought he was good, and saw him as a .5 to .7 point a game player. That is pretty good in the NHL. But since a lot (not all) really want to see him shipped out - I have to give him the award. Otherwise, I would say Girgs. Dude comes to play every night; Stone hands and all. 

[Marvin]

12 minutes ago, oddoublee said:

What is overall grade for the season?

B            Fun, Competitive, Likeable (A's are for playoff teams!)

What grade would you give Adams and Granato (including his staff)?

B             Well done overall. Like to see Granato in game coaching step; especially with line matching - we were spoiled by Ruff. Adams was good - this summer is key to telling us what kind of long-term GM he really is. Top 4 D - Good Goalie - PK specialist F/C. 

What grade would you give the Forwards, the Defense and the Goaltenders?

A-   Forwards

C     Defense (Dahlin, Powers and Samuelsson saved this one from being a D- or F)

D     I believe the D made them look worse than they are...but results are results - and statistically they were below average.

What grade would you give the Power Play and the Penalty Kill?

B    PP was mostly good, not dominant

D-  Not a good PK...at all. Candidly, I do not know if it is players or coaching...but they are not close to being lockdown yet. 

Who is your MVP?

Tage Thompson          - doesn't get hurt, we are looking at 100+ points. This team lived off of his line most of the season.

Who is your ROY?

Owen Power                 - not even close. We are looking at a 60-80 point defenseman who can also shut people down in his own end within 2 - 3 years. 

Who is your MIP (most improved player)?

Dylan Cozens              - went from a 13 goal, half point player to a probable 30 goal, point a game player within a snapping of the finger. 

Who is your unsung hero? 

Casey Mittlestadt         - I always thought he was good, and saw him as a .5 to .7 point a game player. That is pretty good in the NHL. But since a lot (not all) really want to see him shipped out - I have to give him the award. Otherwise, I would say Girgs. Dude comes to play every night; Stone hands and all. 

Welcome back!

[Mr Mellow]

Adams/Granato: B+ Front office let "the process" work by developing their own with a few tweaks and got Levi to the big show in time for some excitement. Granato developed his young team and made them better, especially offensively. That's called coaching. We'll still be one of the youngest teams, if not THE youngest, in the league again. The future is bright. Since they weren't expected to sniff the playoffs this year and nearly made it: A- OVERALL

Forwards: B+ Would be an A except for their awful backchecking. Defense: D nearly an F but for Samuelson Goalies: C- They were hung out to dry a lot but did not bail out the team with big saves often enough. PP: B Too Streaky PK: C Too many big goals at crucial times. MVP: Thompson

ROY: Samuelson with consideration to Quinn and Power MIP: Cozens Many improved under Donnie Meatballs but Cozens became a star this year. Unsung Hero: Tuch His enthusiasm it contagious and he has much more skill and grit than I thought when we got him! Respect for Dahlin as well for this award.

IF we can develop the defense next year and pick up a savvy veteran defender with gas left in the tank, these guys will FINALLY make the playoffs next year and be SCARY GOOD for years to come!

[Marvin]

17 minutes ago, Mr Mellow said:

Adams/Granato: B+ Front office let "the process" work by developing their own with a few tweaks and got Levi to the big show in time for some excitement. Granato developed his young team and made them better, especially offensively. That's called coaching. We'll still be one of the youngest teams, if not THE youngest, in the league again. The future is bright. Since they weren't expected to sniff the playoffs this year and nearly made it: A- OVERALL

Forwards: B+ Would be an A except for their awful backchecking. Defense: D nearly an F but for Samuelson Goalies: C- They were hung out to dry a lot but did not bail out the team with big saves often enough. PP: B Too Streaky PK: C Too many big goals at crucial times. MVP: Thompson

ROY: Samuelson with consideration to Quinn and Power MIP: Cozens Many improved under Donnie Meatballs but Cozens became a star this year. Unsung Hero: Tuch His enthusiasm it contagious and he has much more skill and grit than I thought when we got him! Respect for Dahlin as well for this award.

IF we can develop the defense next year and pick up a savvy veteran defender with gas left in the tank, these guys will FINALLY make the playoffs next year and be SCARY GOOD for years to come!

Welcome to the board!

[Weave]

Mixed feelings about the overall grade and KAs grade.  I feel like something was left on the table, and it wasn’t necessary.  Is failure to make the playoffs in a year where the team overall was good enough weighing more than the progress shown?  I’m vacillating.  No grade for now just because I can’t commit.

Definitely more positive of Granatos grade.  Not only did the young guys all make big steps, in the last 1/4 of the season he showed me he is capable of changing gameplans and adjusting to changes in play as playoff’s approach. I’m way more comfortable with Donnie than I was in October.  B+

MVP is Dahlin, but its closer than expected.  Tuch has votes.  So does Tage.

ROY is Quinn.  Power will be the better player, but I don’t think he was the better rookie.

MIP is def Mitts.  Mitts might just be the Patrick Sharpe that Sam never quite took hold of.

Unsung is Mule by a mile.  The record with and without tells the story.  Anderson gets second place.  Only because of games played.

 

[pi2000]

season ain't over yet

[Thorny]

8 hours ago, Randall Flagg said:

What is overall grade for the season?

B+

What grade would you give Adams and Granato (including his staff)?

B

What grade would you give the Forwards, the Defense and the Goaltenders?

B+, B-, D

What grade would you give the Power Play and the Penalty Kill?

B, D

Who is your MVP?

Dahlin

Who is your ROY?

Owen Power

Who is your MIP (most improved player)?

Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens

Who is your unsung hero? 

Mitts, though most guys are appropriately-sung

^ Cheat sheet, for my part 

Edited April 14, 2023 by Thorny

[Misanthrope]

10 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

In most respects this has been a very successful season.  Regardless of the outcome tonight against Columbus, it looks like the team will finish 20th in the league with 89-91 pts, up from 75 last season.  The young team matured, moved up in the standings in the very difficult Eastern Conference, and gave the franchise the most hope it’s had in 12 years of wandering in the desert. 

Still there are areas on concern.  The roster is still far from complete and not every area of the team improved year over year. 

So what are Sabrespacer’s thoughts on the team?  

What is overall grade for the season?

 

10 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

What grade would you give Adams and Granato (including his staff)?

A.  Unpopular.  Jost was a gem for a waivver pickup.  Stillman bumped down Bryson and Clague.  Greenway has been ok, and has shown spurts of what he can do.  All upgrades picked up without giving up anything of tangible value.

 

PP and PK were not great.  PK showed improvement over the last 20, PP needs some innovation.  Teams have picked up on the 1 timer (in January).  Needs improvement.

 

MVP...lots of candidates but I'll go Tuch.  Best overall forward. great on the PK, drives line 1 from the wing, best forechecker, over 30 goals...tough to beat all that.

ROY...Power.  love all the rookies, but playing 20+ minutes as a defenseman regardless of competition and jumping in on offense as he did, without a lot of ***** plays...he's scary

MIP...Cozens.  Line driver, scorer, jumps into the mix when necessary, 30 goals easy call.  went from a maybe to a stud.

Unsung hero...this is a hard one becuase i watch nearly all the games and follow the team closely....but maybe girgensons?  not a lot of stats but makes a difference most shifts.  plays hard, answers the bell, turns momentum frequently.  not things headline readers or scoreboard watchers would see, but most really invested fans would

10 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

What grade would you give the Forwards, the Defense and the Goaltenders?

What grade would you give the Power Play and the Penalty Kill?

Who is your MVP?

Who is your ROY?

Who is your MIP (most improved player)?

Who is your unsung hero? 

 

 

 

[gilbert11]

A few weeks ago, I stated that even if the Sabres didn’t make the playoffs, if they could get to 85 to 90 points, it would be a good season that I’d be happy with.  Well, they beat it by one point, with 42 wins.

I say that it was a very good season, increasing expectations for next season.

[triumph_communes]

Coaches get a C+  They didn’t fail like Krueger, but they definitely made a bunch of terrible decisions in the first 2/3 of the season that cost us the playoffs.  They get props for making a bunch of send offs have great turnarounds. Jost, Greenway, Stillman all we’re far better than they were on their former teams. The PK is atrocious, the PP is atrocious and only propped up by Thompson’s killer shot. Our defensive zone awareness needs work, improvements were seen, but against some teams they are still utterly lost out there. It will be a disappointment to not upgrade assistant coaches this off season. 
 

KA gets a B.  The goalie situation this season cost us the playoffs, but not letting anyone get in the way of Levi was the ultimate goal and all we needed there was this season. The waiver pickups all had turnarounds. He kept Terry at bay and held strong to the plan- this deserves credit. He knows he needs a defenseman and was in on this seasons blue chip down to the wire.  Next season playoffs is the expectation and not making it is a failing grade  

 

Cozens is a stud. Quinn is progressing well. Peterka is improving. 
 

Krebs had a tumultuous season. He looked great in March when everyone else sucked and then looked phased in April when the rest of the team turned around. Progression from his pretty bad early season. Interesting to see where he ends up with different linemates next year.  
 

Skinner/Tuch are both prone to getting hot and cold, but they are big parts of this teams turnaround. Love it. 
 

Power had a slow start as expected from a young rookie but was forced to step up and has. He still has a lot of improvement left in him too. He needs to work on his shot, it’s holding him back. 
 

Mittelstadt had enormous growth this season. He needs to be paired with talent and now he can keep up. Honestly I like him as a 1C with Skinner/Tuch. We need to spread Thompson out to other lines to be a dynamic team anyway. 

Lyubushkin was in over his head, slow start, but ended strong. 

UPl/Comrie big disappointments. Doesn’t matter, got Levi

 

KO has ‘it’, but he is slow. Girgensons is pretty toast. Not interested in them returning. If this team runs it back and adds rookies it’ll make the playoffs. If they sign a stud defenseman they will compete. It’s going to cost, but now is that time. 
 

Hope everyone has time to heal up. Dahlin, Thompson, Samuelsson, Cozens, etc all were noticeably playing injured at the end of season. 

[DarthEbriate]

22 minutes ago, triumph_communes said:

Lyubushkin was in over his head, slow start, but ended strong. 

One note on Boushh. He looked very good the first few games until he blocked the shot, then he looked like he was skating on a broken/severely contused foot for about 6 weeks. With better depth, he can probably rest for a month before coming back, but Muel, Joker, and Dahlin all missed time in the next couple weeks. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

@Georgia Blizzard

 You are welcome to disagree with my grades, but then share your wisdom with the board.

[Georgia Blizzard]

2 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

@Georgia Blizzard

 You are welcome to disagree with my grades, but then share your wisdom with the board.

Sorry.

I don't have much time today (working).

My main disagreement is around coaching / GM grades.

A 16 point improvement and a clear identification of a core group of forwards / defenseman and maybe a goalie warrants at least a B.

I would personally give them both B+

 

 

 

[Taro T]

What is overall grade for the season?  B.  Considered a B+, but believe it fell just short of that.

What grade would you give Adams and Granato (including his staff)?  Adams B+; Granato B.  The PP needed to not be so Jeckyl & Hyde and in-game decision making (particularly non-line matching at home) needed to be less head scratching to get Granato an A-.  Goaltending kept Adams short of an A.

What grade would you give the Forwards, the Defense and the Goaltenders?

Forwards: A+ in the offensive end.  C- in their own end.

Defense: B in the offensive end.  C- in their own end.

Goalies: C-.  They didn't get much support but also let in far too many soft goals / goals at bad times.  Far too inconsistent to rate them higher a a group.

What grade would you give the Power Play and the Penalty Kill?  

PP: C-.  It was an A++ for ~6 weeks and a D- the rest of the season.

PK: D-.  Barely deserved a passing grade.  It was awful nearly the entire season.

Who is your MVP?  Dahlin.

Who is your ROY?  Power.  (Levi will still qualify next year, so didn't give it to him for this season.)  Owen should get votes for the Calder.

Who is your MIP (most improved player)?   There are several to choose from but considering how the narrative on his play has changed will go w/ Mittelstadt.

Who is your unsung hero?  He might be too sung to qualify, but will go w/ Samuelsson.

 

And some unasked categories:

Who is the team's Heart & Soul?  Tuch - hands down.  He bleeds Sabres B&G and does all the little things right.  IMHO he is this team's leader.

Who will make the biggest jump by October?  If he has faith in his shot by then, Power.  If not, Quinn.  Darkhorse: Krebs.

Who was the biggest disappointment?  Olofsson.  With being healthy pretty much all year and getting 3rd line usage and constant PP usage thought he could've really brought more to the table than he did.  He improved his game quite a bit last year while playing through the wrist/hand issue and thought he could continue to build on that this season.  Of the players that got regular ice time, he's the one that stood out in that he didn't improve nearly as much from day 1 to day 186 as the rest of the skaters.

Did the team exceed, fall short of, or meet your expectations?  Met them overall.  Though wouldn't have predicted a historically good road record nor a sub-0.500 home record, and there were several players that exceeded or fell short of expectations; overall they ended up right where they were expected to be.  

[Pimlach]

What is overall grade for the season?   

C++ for team performance, A for entertainment value

I need Playoffs to hit a B grade.  

What grade would you give Adams and Granato (including his staff)?  

Adams - gets a B.   I don't think he knew how good the team could be.     

Granato -  gets an A.    He took this team as far as he could.  I hear the complaints about his tactical bench moves but he does way more good than bad.  

What grade would you give the Forwards, the Defense and the Goaltenders?

Forwards - B  (need better defensive play, the forwards are also share responsibility for the high team GAA) 

Defense - C  (A few studs and a few duds, the group lacks consistency and toughness, and requires very high minutes from the top 3).  

Goaltending - D  (the biggest reason we are not a 100+ point team - Levi's future is not accounted for in the grade) 

What grade would you give the Power Play and the Penalty Kill?

Power Play - B (based solely on talent and great shooting, the scheming is predictable and the unit was much less effective as the season went on) 

PK - F (worst in the league) 

Who is your MVP?

Very close between Tage or Dahlin -   Dahlin would be harder to replace over a long period, so Dahlin is MVP this year.  

Who is your ROY?

Owen Power

Who is your MIP (most improved player)?

Candidates - Tuch, Tage, Cozens, Samuelsson, and Mitts all made big jumps.   Cozens put up some great numbers playing mostly with 2 rookies.  

Who is your unsung hero? 

Samuelsson or Mitts - Samuelsson gets it based on the team record with and without him.  

[Porous Five Hole]

 

Some notes and numbers for your consideration 

[Thorny]

17 hours ago, Porous Five Hole said:

 

Some notes and numbers for your consideration 

Heaping helping of positive outlook, with a small side of caution re:ability to replicate 

[GoPuckYourself]

On 4/14/2023 at 10:42 AM, GASabresIUFAN said:

In most respects this has been a very successful season.  Regardless of the outcome tonight against Columbus, it looks like the team will finish 20th in the league with 89-91 pts, up from 75 last season.  The young team matured, moved up in the standings in the very difficult Eastern Conference, and gave the franchise the most hope it’s had in 12 years of wandering in the desert. 

Still there are areas on concern.  The roster is still far from complete and not every area of the team improved year over year. 

So what are Sabrespacer’s thoughts on the team?  

What is overall grade for the season?

What grade would you give Adams and Granato (including his staff)?

What grade would you give the Forwards, the Defense and the Goaltenders?

What grade would you give the Power Play and the Penalty Kill?

Who is your MVP?

Who is your ROY?

Who is your MIP (most improved player)?

Who is your unsung hero? 

 

 

My thoughts on the team: 

They exceeded my expectations this year but once we were in playoff contention that shift should have focused to making playoffs and I was disappointed for sure. Overall we have work to do but we have some solid young peices, Jack Quinn/Dylan Cozens really look like outstanding players and we have 1 locked up for 7 years which is awesome.

What is overall grade for the season?

I think a solid B is fair, like I said above they exceeded my expectations but fell flat when playoffs were on the line.

What grade would you give Adams and Granato (including his staff)?

C+ for GM Adams, I like what he's done with the team but there were a bunch of moves he could have done to make this playoff caliber especially at goalie and then not really going for the playoffs this year when it was right there for the taking. I'm sorry but the goal every year should be a chance at the Cup. I give Granato a C+, he sure taught many of these guys how to score but when it came to defense it was almost like they couldn't coprehend. You saw it in the PK unit, on 5 vs 5, sure the goalie situation didn't help but it was inexcusable especially down the stretch.

What grade would you give the Forwards, the Defense and the Goaltenders?

Forwards get an B+, the scoring wasn't a problem but I don't think other than Alex Tuch any of these guys know how to defend. Defense imo gets a C, other than Dahlin/Power/Samuelsson I thought the rest of the bunch were very average, I've stated before Jokiharju should not be a top 4 Dman. Goaltending was atrocious a D grade is being generous imo until Levi got here, Adams really needs to pair this kid with a veteran who doesn't mind teaching him.

What grade would you give the Power Play and the Penalty Kill?

B+ for the PP although it did level off at the end of the year we still finished 9th overall in PP % with 23.5%. an easy F for PK unit, 30th in the NHL in PK, this has to change if we have any shot of making the playoffs, better goaltending should help.

Who is your MVP?

The next 2 are clear cut winners for me and it's not really close, Rasmus Dahlin was a beast from start to finish, hitting, grinding, making fans of both teams oooo and ahhh with his fancy stick work and his defense improved immensely.

Who is your ROY?

Like I said this will be an easy 1 for me, Jack Quinn and it's not even close, down the stretch I thought he was better than Tage Thompson to close out the season.

Who is your MIP (most improved player)? 

Dylan Cozens was just on a whole other level this season and right now I'm not sure he even has a ceiling, sky's the limit with this kid plus signed for 7 more years at a very reasonable deal, cant wait to see whats next.

Who is your unsung hero? 

Mattias Samuelsson, when he wasn't on the ice our defense struggled mightily, He is the defensive prospect we needed. I want to see him way more physical this season but again the skys the limit, I don't want to get stupid wacky but I see some Chara in his game and he's locked up long term, love it!