dudacek

Holy losing context Batman! I said the Bills had 2 extraordinary players this year. So even if we agree that your additional 5 were also extraordinary, we’re down from 5 players to 1 because 4 of them get the qualifier “when healthy” which they weren’t this year? Never mind that you seem to have fallen into the same sports hyperbolic thinking that says “generational” players come along every year or two when, by definition, they come along once or twice every generation. Is Matt Milano a likely first-ballot hall-of-famer? In order to be considered extraordinary, I’d think he would have to be. Among the best linebackers in the league this year? Sure. That would make him excellent, would it not? As in better than the good and very good players, and way better than the solid or merely average?

Another thing that won’t be too popular here is that the Sabres will once again betting most of their chips on internal improvement. They gave Tuch Thompson Mittelstadt Olofsson Asplund Dahlin Bryson and Jokiharju plenty of time and opportunity to see what they could become. They are going to do the same with Cozens, Quinn, Krebs, Peterka, Power, Samuelsson and Luukkonen. Now maybe they move on from some of that first wave - like many of you have - and that opens up some room. Maybe Girgs Jost and Okie aren’t re-signed and the door opens further. But most of this team is coming back next year. Me, I’d look to add a Mike Foligno, Mike Peca and/or Mike Grier type to upgrade 2 of the spots currently held by Victor, Casey, Kyle, Tyson and Zemgus. And I’d add a Toni Lydman/Jay McKee style player to support Power and supplement Mule. I think Comrie/UPL with Levi looking over their shoulders is inevitable, although I’d personally try to upgrade Comrie with a guy who’s not carrying much term. If a Demko type is available, I’m all over that.

I like Bo Horvat. I would much rather have him than Casey Mittelstadt playing Casey Mittelstadt's role. But people need to understand that's the role he is best suited for: part of a scoring line and not its driver, good down low on the PP, and not our first choice to be on the ice much against the other team's best. It's the last part that people tend to not realize with Horvat; because he's got character and because he's good on faceoffs people seem to think of him as a strong two-way guy, but that's not really the case. My issues with Horvat as a Sabre aren't really about position though, even though he's worth more to a team without a Cozens or a Thompson and that will drive up the price point. (Not to mention something something feels off about making your 3rd-best centre your highest-paid.) I guess they're a bit about value, in that he's a buy-high asset, who will never be worth more than he is at the moment. But mostly it basically come down to opportunity cost. He's having a career year and he's going to cost a premium: at least the equivalent of 2 1st-rounders, and at least $8 million over 6 years, probably more on both counts. I have no problem making that kind of investment, but I want to spend it targeting qualities I think we need more: leadership, defence, abrasiveness. I'd prefer to target a better-value player who better complements our existing core. Who's this year's version of Hampus Lindholm? We have a lot of assets. I'm OK with holding onto them until we find the right players, instead of spending them on whoever is available.

Yep. Horvat doesn’t get Dylan Cozens on his own. Not even close. His career highs in his first 8 seasons are 31 goals and 61 points. His career numbers aren’t much different than Sam Reinhart’s and his price shouldn’t be much more: a mid-first and a good prospect. Canucks are smart not to be giving him a jt Miller deal.

It would be a mistake for the Sabres to pay Bo Horvat prices for their 3C. I would hope the Sabres are not be in on any pricey centres with term at all. They are set at the top 2 positions for a long time with Thompson and Cozens.

Maybe that’s an Ontario thing, but it’s definitely not a Canadian thing. (Anytime I’ve read it, I’ve actually assumed the poster must be American 😜)

Lot of words in that opening post. At first blush I don’t regret any. Never thought we were going to get through the year without a slump or a few stinkers. Still looks very much like a team on its way up to me.

I go back once again to the philosophy underscoring this rebuild: the principles of the US development program. The program has had amazing success developing elite talent like Matthews, the Tkachuk boys, the Hughes brothers, Adam Fox, Charlie McAvoy, Thompson, Tuch and Eichel. Are these guys winners?

Answers found in this description of how Roth stocked his investment funds: "He also considered established companies that are out of favor, look attractively valued, and might have a catalyst for improvement."

What's odd about this is that the two you cited — Tuch and Anderson — had two of their weakest efforts of the year.

Vinnie is an NHL hockey player and good teammate. He is not one of the Sabres 12 best forwards, at least he hasn't been this year. For selfish reasons, I hope he clears; he's good depth. For him, I hope he finds a place to play. But he's not as good right now as Krebs, Quinn or Peterka (or, for that matter, Girgensons, Mittelstadt or Olofsson) and should not be playing ahead of them.

Oh my god, this thread is hilarious. Kim’s illness has left a vaccuum at the top of the business side for an extended period. This guy is filling the gap. Why does it need to be anything more?

This doesn’t conflict at all with what I said. Hyde, Miller, White, Milano and Poyer at the top of their games are excellent football players. None are extraordinary, not even Miller at this point in his career. Each, save Milano, has been absent or limited in varying degrees. The rest supports my point.

Defence has probably been a little better than it was when we were winning. Chances seem down. What's changed is the offence isn't scoring 4 any more.

Why is the perception that the Bills are an extraordinarily talented team with inferior coaching, finding ways to nearly lose? Why isn’t it that they are a very good and well-coached team finding ways to win despite the buckets of adversity spelled out by @That Aud Smell up-thread? They only have 2 extraordinary talents on the roster, yet they are 14-3. Their losses are by the smallest of margins. The distortions of fan psychology are fascinating.

Season isnt fading because good teams are buckling down and getting serious. It’s fading because the Sabres have come up lame against bad teams.They played good enough to win against the 2 best teams in their recent stretch. Those games can and will go either way. But Philly, Florida and now Chicago were there for the taking. Blame it on the maturation process if you want, but it’s something they need to overcome.

Looks like Elite prospects calculates by birth year as opposed to draft year, so they consider this year for Cozens a direct comparable to Eichel’s year 3. Not disputing your point at all, just clarifying the discrepancy. Best U22 year in Sabres history was Pierre Turgeon’s 106. Andreychuk (80), Housley (77), Martin (74), Perreault (74), Gare (73) are the other guys to hit the mark - hall of fame calibre players, or close to it. My point is that the scope of what’s Dylan is doing hasn’t had enough attention. If he does hit 70, he will be doing something that hasn’t been done in more than 30 years. https://www.eliteprospects.com/league/nhl/stats/all-time-season?team=53&age=u22

Thanks for the reminder. Dylan Cozens has hit career highs in goals, assists and points already - 14/26/40 - before he finished half a season. Dude is 21. Only 6 Sabres have ever put up 70 points in a U22 season. Only 2 have put up 80. Eichel had 64 in 67 games in year 3. Cue @Brawndo and his John Malkovich gif.

I chuckled at that too. I think they were trying to emphasize that Roth was not Kevyn’s boss, but the way it came out is probably more realistic.

Dahlin and Samuelsson have been switching sides throughout the game on a pretty regular basis when they play together. Power has done the same when he’s not with Joki (Clague most notably) Donnie seems to frequently double-shift one of the top 3 with one of the bottom 3 with no regard to hands.

Johnson is never going to run an NHL PP. He might PK though. He projects to be Jokiharju and having those two trade off the #4 slot would put team and player in a great position to succeed. Dahlin, Sammy and Power have all shown no notable drop-off on their off-hand so far, so I’m not sure handedness is going to be an issue.

My favourite thing about this list is Dahlin getting the recognition he deserves.

Power is 10, Quinn 31, Kulich 47, Mule 48, Peterka 52, Krebs 76, Savoie 81, Östlund 141, Rosen 145 and Levi 151. That's 12 of the 154 listed,7 of them in the top 52.

Guess we like Corey again? https://theathletic.com/4046339/2023/01/17/nhl-players-prospects-ranking-young/ Dahlin tops the list. Cozens — who he calls a 1C and a future Selke candidate — is 5th, behind Hughes, Stutzle and Svechnikov. The were ranked 7 and 13 in the summer.

Or blow their doors off. Fill the net and laugh at them. Works just as well.