Sabres sign Ryan McLeod to a 4 year extension

[dudacek]

5 minutes ago, Taro T said:

They REALLY need 1 more F to make this work as they absolutely will deal with injuries and there are just so many guys that might not live up to the roles they get assigned to paly.

Not a huge fan of Rust at this point, but bringing him in gives Ruff so much more flexibility than he currently has especially when the plan has to get revised in real time.  And he should be available at a price Adams can find palatable.

Agree, except with the Rust might come cheap part.

There are so few top 6 options available and so many teams with cap sapce, the price is going to be high.

[oddoublee]

I don't pay much mind to where McLeod finished in points for a forward last year. Being top 50 doesn't mean you're top 50. On this sabres lineup with the issues at C...someone had to get minutes. Thus, someone had to get points. 

I like him. But I like him more getting 15 minutes a night....tops

[dudacek]

This is the most blue sky thinking ever, but the concept of Quinn and the concept of Doan flanking a levelled-up version of the Krebs we saw this year would such a great mix of skillsets against most bottom 6 lines.

[dudacek]

9 minutes ago, oddoublee said:

I don't pay much mind to where McLeod finished in points for a forward last year. Being top 50 doesn't mean you're top 50. On this sabres lineup with the issues at C...someone had to get minutes. Thus, someone had to get points. 

This is absolutely true. It's also true that most teams aren't running a Sam Bennett in the 2C slot.

These were some of McLeod's peers points-wise:

Marco Rossi, Morgan Geekie, Brock Nelson, Sean Monahan, Adam Fantili Mason Mctavish, Chandler Stevenson, Evgeni Malkin, Dylkan Cozens, Pius Suter, Barrett Hayton.

Most of these guys also had to get the minutes and get points.

He doesn't seem to be grossly outclassed.

Edited 12 hours ago by dudacek

[Taro T]

11 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Agree, except with the Rust might come cheap part.

There are so few top 6 options available and so many teams with cap sapce, the price is going to be high.

Didn't say "cheap," said "palatable."

Believe that Adams does actually understand they need 1 more top 6 F.  Pretty sure he'd mentioned something to that effect a few weeks ago.  Rust will cost more than we want; but he'll be a #### of lot cheaper than Robertson will be.  (And Robertson should still be the dream with Roslovic the consolation prize.  Rust is the poor man's nice thing.)

[Taro T]

13 minutes ago, dudacek said:

This is the most blue sky thinking ever, but the concept of Quinn and the concept of Doan flanking a levelled-up version of the Krebs we saw this year would such a great mix of skillsets against most bottom 6 lines.

Hadn't considered Quinn on a 4th line.  But with 2 other guys that are both fast and defensively responsible, it MIGHT work.

And, it has the added bonus of not ####### up one of the other 3 lines.

[Thorny]

10 hours ago, dudacek said:

McLeod’s ice time late had a lot to do with Dylan Cozens being traded and Josh Norris being hurt.

He may not have centred “the 1st line” but he was certainly the de facto 1C.

He won’t be that as long as Norris is in the lineup and his ice time will decrease accordingly.

However, unless Kulich takes a big step or Lindy changes his mind about Tage on the wing, McLeod will be the Sabres 2nd best centre.

And he will get 2C ice time, regardless of what label Sabrespace puts on his line.

He’ll prob be our best C in that scenario 

10 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

McLeod is a good third line player. If he is playing higher up your line up, your line up isn't good enough. 

I think he could hack it as a playoff 2C if the depth was there and the top line wasn’t 2/3rds children and then Tage

9 hours ago, Big Guava said:

Sabres excel at finding players that can score goals with no regard to any other aspect of their game...they will be fine, probably have another 5 of him in the pipeline.

Peterka was a good playmaker too 

Something which we lack 

you are right we place a lot of focus on players who snipe 

Edited 9 hours ago by Thorny

[Thorny]

4 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

McLeod is somewhere between a 3rd and 2nd line player. Florida is basically built with guys who some team thought were 4th and 3rd liners and Florida was like... well actually

People want to put hard line labels on them as if we don’t KNOW hockey is a free flowing back and forth game where one player, say, a superstar, can’t make all the difference on their own. We should know by now that roles are entirely dependant on all the pieces around them. 

you are right, McLeod isn’t definitively 2nd or 3rd line: he can be either 

Edited 9 hours ago by Thorny

[Thorny]

3 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I feel better about McLeod at 2c than Kulich

Well, ya 

3 hours ago, Taro T said:

They REALLY need 1 more F to make this work as they absolutely will deal with injuries and there are just so many guys that might not live up to the roles they get assigned to paly.

Not a huge fan of Rust at this point, but bringing him in gives Ruff so much more flexibility than he currently has especially when the plan has to get revised in real time.  And he should be available at a price Adams can find palatable.

Need a F sans injuries just to get back to break even. We need 2 sans injuries to improve upon a team that sat in last place most of the year 

[PerreaultForever]

4 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

This is called anchoring. Look it up. 

That's called smugness. But you already know that as this is the time of year you always start resorting to it in extra doses. 

[PerreaultForever]

12 minutes ago, Thorny said:

I think he could hack it as a playoff 2C 

So he lines up against Bennett instead of Barkov. Think it over. 

[Thorny]

9 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

So he lines up against Bennett instead of Barkov. Think it over. 

I didn’t say Stanley Cup contending 2C

But, as with any conversation re: Sabres, I thought it was implied that when I say he could hack it as a playoff 2C that it meant we could qualify to be a playoff team with him in that role 

apologies if that was unclear 

I’ll worry about the playoffs if we ever get there  

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, Thorny said:

I didn’t say Stanley Cup contending 2C

But, as with any conversation re: Sabres, I thought it was implied that when I say he could hack it as a playoff 2C that it meant we could qualify to be a playoff team with him in that role 

apologies if that was unclear 

I’ll worry about the playoffs if we ever get there  

Oh ya I thought you meant he could be a 2C on a playoff team. Meaning a good 2C. 

Could he end up as our 2C? Definitely.

Will we make the playoffs? Definitely not. 

[LGR4GM]

6 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

That's called smugness. But you already know that as this is the time of year you always start resorting to it in extra doses. 

Doesn't change the fact that McLeod is not just a 3c. Which is your argument. 

3 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Oh ya I thought you meant he could be a 2C on a playoff team. Meaning a good 2C. 

Could he end up as our 2C? Definitely.

Will we make the playoffs? Definitely not. 

Why can't McLeod be a 2c on a playoff team? What's your reasoning other than "he's a 3c because that's what he was in Edmonton"

[LGR4GM]

6 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

So he lines up against Bennett instead of Barkov. Think it over. 

This is a disingenuous argument because every C wasn't good enough to overcome this. They literally won the Cup. McDavid lines up against Barkov, he lost the series... does that make Barkov better than McDavid? 

What about other playoff teams?

[Thorny]

4 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Oh ya I thought you meant he could be a 2C on a playoff team. Meaning a good 2C. 

Could he end up as our 2C? Definitely.

Will we make the playoffs? Definitely not. 

Yes I do think he could be the 2C on a team that qualifies for the playoffs 

Wouldn’t be my first choice but definitely possible 

[Archie Lee]

11 hours ago, oddoublee said:

I don't pay much mind to where McLeod finished in points for a forward last year. Being top 50 doesn't mean you're top 50. On this sabres lineup with the issues at C...someone had to get minutes. Thus, someone had to get points. 

I like him. But I like him more getting 15 minutes a night....tops

The part I don’t get is the “McLeod only had 53 points because he got more ice time” part. I mean, yeah, of course. He got top 6 minutes and produced legit top 6 numbers. Not elite top 6 numbers, but legit. Wouldn’t the issue be if he didn’t produce top 6 numbers? I don’t get why this is anything but a good news, “found money”, story.  Maybe it isn’t sustainable, but we will see.    

I know this, of all the Sabre centres, the one I am least concerned with is McLeod. 

[JohnC]

11 hours ago, dudacek said:

This is the most blue sky thinking ever, but the concept of Quinn and the concept of Doan flanking a levelled-up version of the Krebs we saw this year would such a great mix of skillsets against most bottom 6 lines.

I just don't see Quinn fitting in a lower line role, even if it has some higher traits to it. Either Quinn succeeds as a first or second line forward or he becomes categorized as an ineffective player. It would be so beneficial if he can get healthy, stronger and provide added scoring. He's going to be an intriguing player to watch within the young group that includes Benson and Power. This team is counting on a lot of internal improvement in its rebuild strategy.   

[JohnC]

7 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

The part I don’t get is the “McLeod only had 53 points because he got more ice time” part. I mean, yeah, of course. He got top 6 minutes and produced legit top 6 numbers. Not elite top 6 numbers, but legit. Wouldn’t the issue be if he didn’t produce top 6 numbers? I don’t get why this is anything but a good news, “found money”, story.  Maybe it isn’t sustainable, but we will see.    

I know this, of all the Sabre centres, the one I am least concerned with is McLeod. 

You make a keen observation about McCleod. When you watch him play there is nothing eye-popping about his game. However, what he does provide is responsible two-way play on both ends of the ice. There is a consistency to his game that masks his effectiveness. Just using this comparison to make a point but you can watch a JJP make an end to end rush ending with an impressive laser shot that ends in the net. But to go along with the highlight play is a lapse in the defensive zone where the player he is responsible for is left unattended to put in a rebound. The point I'm making is not in comparing the two players but how one player's consistently steady play can get lost and not appreciated as much as it should be in a game where there are some highlights. 

The Sabres are still a very young team. What he provides to this team is maturity in play that that this team needs more of. KA did well in trading or him. Both McCleod and Zucker are the type of players that this roster needs more of. Both players are good examples for the young players to follow. 

[French Collection]

7 hours ago, Thorny said:

People want to put hard line labels on them as if we don’t KNOW hockey is a free flowing back and forth game where one player, say, a superstar, can’t make all the difference on their own. We should know by now that roles are entirely dependant on all the pieces around them. 

you are right, McLeod isn’t definitively 2nd or 3rd line: he can be either 

He is a good middle 6 C. Capable of moving up or down and even playing wing.

[JohnC]

9 minutes ago, French Collection said:

He is a good middle 6 C. Capable of moving up or down and even playing wing.

As you point out there is value in a player who can move up in his role when needed. In a injury riddled game that versatility is an asset. 

[dudacek]

2Cs on playoff teams (based on ice time):

• Draisaitl 106 points, +32, 21:31
• Tavares 74 points, +10, 18:14
• Hischier 69 points, +9, 20:23
• Hintz 67 points, +18, 16:53
• Dubois 66 points, +27, 17:18
• Hertl 61 points, -3, 17:07
• Rossi 60 points, +15, 18:15
• Cirelli 59 points, +30, 18:41
• McLeod 53 points, +13, 16:50
• Bennett 51 points, -15, 17:27
• Schenn 50 points, +3, 17:34
• Danault 43 points, +20, 17:40
• Staal 36 points, +15, 15:26
• Lowry 34, +18, 15:26
• *Mittelstadt 34 points, -12, 17:00
• *Norris 33 points, -5, 18:20
• Dach 22 points, -29, 15:40

Interesting exercise and kinda eye-opening.
*Short-season totals. Each was traded at the deadline and Nelson and Cozens took over.

Edited 54 minutes ago by dudacek

[LGR4GM]

3 minutes ago, dudacek said:

2Cs on playoff teams (based on ice time):

• Draisaitl 106 points, +32, 21:31
• Tavares 74 points, +10, 18:14
• Hischier 69 points, +9, 20:23
• Hintz 67 points, +18, 16:53
• Dubois 66 points, +27, 17:18
• Hertl 61 points, -3, 17:07
• Rossi 60 points, +15, 18:15
• Cirelli 59 points, +30, 1841
• McLeod 53 points, +13, 16:50
• Bennett 51 points, -15, 17:27
• Schenn 50 points, +3, 17:34
• Danault 43 points, +20, 17:40
• Staal 36 points, +15, 15:26
• Lowry 34, +18, 15:26
• *Mittelstadt 34 points, -12, 17:00
• *Norris 33 points, -5, 18:20
• Dach 22 points, -29, 15:40

Interesting exercise and kinda eye-opening.
*Short-season totals. Each was traded at the deadline and Nelson and Cozens took over.

Good post. I think McLeod will probably drop down to around 45pts but I don't see any reason why his 2way play would regress at all. Looking forward to McLeod being another year older with all the experience he got last year.