K-9
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Everything posted by K-9
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I just can't help but feeling that if JP hadn't had the misfortune of getting drafted by the Sabres and being forced to develop under the yoke of Lindy Ruff's ineptitude, that he would have been an annual 50 goal scorer and multi-MVP award winner. That and Pommers just doesn't seem to hate Lindy enough. GO SABRES!!!
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The core is horrible BECAUSE Ruff is a horrible coach. Just look at all the posts referencing all the great success that every player that leaves Buffalo goes on to have. But what really drives the point home is that players like Malkin, Crosby, Ovechkin or any superstar in league history never would have had success if they played for Ruff. Simple. GO SABRES!!!
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I had attributed that to the injury situation. He was sent down after we got some healthy bodies back and didn't come back up again until additional injuries occurred, IIRC. Still, it begs the question. Especially because I think you're spot on regarding how glaring the need for a center became after the failed Leino experiment. And they DID keep him up even though he wasn't doing much and could have been garnering a ton more ice time with the Amerks. Regardless, it took a good prospect to get one. And at a position of higher critical need, too. GO SABRES!!!
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Good stuff. Can't disagree with any of it. Thank God, "that's why they play the games." GO SABRES!!!
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I don't put any stock into what the fans are expecting of him and I don't think his coaches do either. Yes, they want him to be physical, lay some heavy checks, and stick up for his teammates but they also want him to focus on developing his rare offensive potential for a player that big. If he gets distracted by fans' expectations, which are all based off his dominance in juniors, it will actually hurt the team and his development. There is no need or pressure on him to goon it up just for the sake of gooning it up. I think if he really felt that pressure, he would have answered Bissonette's invitation to fight in Phoenix. But he's smarter than that. He's in a perfect situation in Vancouver because, with all those stars around him, he doesn't HAVE to be the straw that stirs the drink. It's not like the Canucks have been struggling without his 'presence' on the ice to begin with. That's why I think he doesn't feel any more or less pressure to do anything but what he's been doing. GO SABRES!!!
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This. He's in the best situation possible and I don't think he's under any more or less pressure to be anything other than what he is: a great prospect with potential. GO SABRES!!!
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It'll be Weber or McNabb (assuming he gets the call for Regehr) if it's anybody. And it won't matter if Kassian kicks anyone's ass. What will matter is, if he DOES a try to do a Lucic on Miller (and I doubt he will), that whoever is on the ice AT THE TIME, goes absolutely apesh*t on Kassian. It's the hockey equivalent of throwing yourself on a grenade. It's the code. Personally, I hope it's Gerbe because Kassian will look like more of an ass for more than just running the goalie. And it would be one helluva poetic way to chase some of this season's demons. GO SABRES!!!
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I'll say this for you, you aren't afraid to put something out there. Just curious if you had any predictions about their chances last year at this time and if you made predictions for the other contenders as well. If so, how'd they turn out? GO SABRES!!!
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Puck moving or stay at home? I think we could swing either one given our depth at the position. GO SABRES!!!
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Do you think a 1st and Stafford might get it done in the summer. IIRC, the cap hits are around the same, no? GO SABRES!!!
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Isn't that what the Flyers call Giroux? I like it though simply because of the irony. GO SABRES!!!
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I think that reflects very positively on Kassian. Good for him in not taking the bait in a close game, etc. I'm sure it would have been a different story if he was on the ice and Bissonette cheap-shotted him or a teammate. There is no question the kid can use his fists and won't back down when directly challenged. We've seen that. But that's not what being a physical player means. Not by a long shot. It's every other aspect of playing a physical game that he needs to work on while developing his promising offensive game. I've already read a post this morning implying that Hodgson better watch out on Saturday night. Preposterous stuff. GO SABRES!!!
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That's a fair point. Perhaps that's the vice-versa you mentioned. GO SABRES!!!
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Ruff wasn't the one who changed. It's the players. GO SABRES!!!
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Exactly my point. Which is precisely why they WEREN'T a reflection of Lindy Ruff at that moment. GO SABRES!!!
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The Canucks should concentrate more on having a Marchand-killer because he did a helluva lot more to intimidate the Canucks than Lucic did. GO SABRES!!!
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Absolutely. The Lucic game was an afront to the hockey Gods. They broke the code for the whole world to see. The thing is, and I know the usual suspects may rip me for this, I think Ruff was just as surprised by the player's reaction as we were. There have been so many times in his coaching history (not to mention his playing history) where he's deliberately sent out a posse to clean up after an event on the ice. The Neal hit on Drury comes to mind. But Lucic needed to be answered IMMEDIATELY by whomever was on the ice at the time. That's what the code calls for. And Ruff couldn't do anything but watch. GO SABRES!!!
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I've been reading from a few posters how fans are trashing Kassian. I've yet to see one post that does. If offering an honest critique of his play to date, which includes the good with the bad, is tanamount to trashing him, I don't know what to say. I think a lot of the sensitivity is rooted in the enormous amount of optimism we've invested in him since he was selected in the draft. It's easier for some to blame Lindy Ruff and how he's "ruined" him than come to grips with the fact that he's not yet the player we all imagined. He's a 21 year old rookie adjusting to the NHL and he's not there yet. Just like 99% of the rookies who enter the league. It took a promising player with potential to land another with promising potential. That's all. Lets wish him well and get on with it. GO SABRES!!!
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Moving on. What a concept. Kassian. What a concept. GO SABRES!!!
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He's looked pretty much like he's looked all year. Flashes of his great potential, especially with his ability to control the puck along the boards and he's made a couple nice passes as well. He's in a good situation in Vancouver with so much more talent around him. I think the penalty he took a couple minutes ago was a bit unlucky. His stick got caught up in the Coyote player more than anything. I'm not sure where they got those five hits from, either. Regardless, he's more than holding his own out there. GO SABRES!!!
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Well, from all the accounts I've heard from those who watched him with the Amerks, he wasn't bringing it at the AHL level, either. Never mind that Foligno has no problem whatsoever bringing his physical presence to bear every game in the form of actually looking to initiate checks and finishing them. There are those fans who believe that toughness begins and ends with the ability to win fights. While that's all well and good, toughess means imposing your physical presence in every facet of the game every night. It's the difference between Dave Schultz and Cam Neely. Kassian has a long way to go regardless of who is coaching him. And whoever that coach is will be doing him a great disservice by insisting he goon it up every night. GO SABRES!!!
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So the Sabres made the mistake of drafting Kassian in the first place and then realized that Lindy has no idea how to coach him so they called the Canucks and made the deal because it just wasn't working out in Buffalo. It had nothing to do with the fact that in order to get a prospect of Hodgson's potential at a position of critical need it would take another prospect with equal potential. Interesting take. There is no doubt that the Lucic incident was the seminal moment of this team's season. On that we can agree forever. But that is a separate and far larger issue than what trading Kassian for Hodgson represents. GO SABRES!!!
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Oh, I've known GoDD for a while now from when he was just DD on the TSW and PPP boards. I think you have him pegged. He's obviously very bright and can be funny at times but his propensity to insult posters cancels that out and then some. GO SABRES!!! Are you implying that Kassian was traded because he didn't "fit the Status Quo mold?" Some of us might argue that Hodgson represents so much MORE of what this franchise is missing. GO SABRES!!!
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From what I can gather reading his posts, both to others and in response to my own, it's not the bashing of Kassian it's the glorifying of Hodgson. Whatever that is. GO SABRES!!!
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As was the case in knowing the difference between Kassian bashing vs. not buying into the myth, perhaps you need to understand the difference between finding positives about a player vs. glorifying him. Is being named a captain on a highly talented national team not a good thing? Does having that in common with Paille and Sarich mean he's not any more talented in the hockey department or possesses far more potential? Are there no two disparate concepts that you won't conflate to prove a point? Sure, you say "go ahead and be happy about getting Hodgson" but then knock a reference to something that expresses that. Why is that? And don't tell me that has anything to do with "bashing Kassian" because it doesn't. GO SABRES!!!
