dudacek

that Beck kid looks as good as I thought he would. it is. I hope they are taking care of his mental health.

Just dogs every puck.

Laaksonen look smuch stronger physically against boys.

I don't like Rosen's defence so far, but the kid has some skill. Tough, tough shift for Lindgren

Guys playing too fast for their skill level. Not pretty, but entertaining. Kisakov looks like a sly bastard out there.

I've got it on their facebook page. Anthems on

I picked 65ish because my brain tells me that just seems to be the most logical choice. But from what my eyes saw since the calendar turned, the first option would not surprise me in the slightest, assuming good health and good linemates. Tage is a character guy with talent and a unique, hard-to-defend skill set, now that he’s finally figured out how to use it. All the criticisms amount to “he wasn’t that good before” and completely discount how good - not lucky, good - he was last year. I believe in development. I think he’s for real.

Yep, that's why they need Asplund or Tuch or even Girgensons with them. i wonder if Krebs has improved his strength, because with it, the cycle shouldn't be a problem. He looked notably batter in that area in the AHL playoffs than he did back in December down there.

List did not include goalies. Some of the forwards ranked ahead of Tage: Danault, Erikson Ek, Mangiapane, Nichshkin, Schiefele, Teravainen, Hischier, Buchnevich, Bratt, and Carter Verhaege

The Athletic’s top 100 - assembled in draft form by their analytics and scouting writers, then vetted and reshaped with feedback by actual NHL execs - is out. https://theathletic.com/3590441/2022/09/15/nhl-player-rankings-connor-mcdavid/ Dahlin is the only Sabre: 99th on the list, 33rd among defenceman. Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin was an interesting debate after an excellent offensive season. He has all the tools of a star defenseman between his elite hands and offensive instincts to go with good size and mobility. You could easily make a debate about whether he should be higher based on what we expect he could do next season, but that requires a step up in play at five-on-five, specifically in his own end. The panel held out that they wanted to see it more consistently, but not without detractors from around the league who expect Dahlin to make a big jump in the not-too-distant future. “Defensemen sometimes take longer than forwards. Some of the best defensemen in the league right now didn’t play like that until they were 22, 23, 24 years old. Dahlin will be a top NHL defenseman sometime in the next few years,” said an NHL executive. Among the higher-ranked defencemen: Thomas Chabot, Noah Hanifin, Rasmus Anderson, Mackenzie Weegar, Seth Jones, Darnell Nurse, Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock and Eric Karlsson.

Completely out of the box? Asplund Krebs Olofsson Quinn Cozens Okposo Girgensons Mittelstadt Tuch Skinner Thompson Peterka

It's the combos that get my mind buzzing: I think Tage/Skinner is the only given. Tuch worked well with them, but I also like the idea of him with Mitts and, really, his game fits with anyone. Asplund usually gets pushed down to the '4th line' in most of the mocks I've seen, but I don't think that's a given. he seems to boost whatever line he's on, and his defence is in high demand on the this roster. In fact the number of offence-first players on the team, coupled with Donnie's attacking style make me doubt if there will be a traditional 4-line hierarchy. Are you sure Zemgus will be on a "checking" line? Cozens/Krebs was a thing. I like the concept of Krebs/Olofsson. How do we maximize Krebs ability as a passer? Quinn/Peterka were great on the Amerks, will they have to be broken up in Buffalo? They each have pretty rounded games. If you push the traditional line hierarchy (other than a JAG line, Grananto didn't really use it at even strength) out the window and just look at chemistry there are so many intriguing options.

You know the story. You watched it unfold and discussed it thoroughly last month when Tage signed his $50 million contract. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=177831 Thompson enters the season with a well-defined role and the confidence of the organization. They gave him a contract that says we believe in you and we expect you to be a long-term leader. What do you expect from Tage Thompson? (Last year’s takes here):

UNLIMITED POWER!

The Krebs/Cozens/Olofsson combo did some damage on the PP last year and I’m curious to see what they might do 5-on-5. I really think Krebs has the sort of game that would mesh very well with Victor’s particularly if the have a two-way guy with some jam to go get pucks and help defend. Girgs, Asplund, Tuch and Cozens all fit the bill.

The team played about 41 games with all of Krebs, Tuch, Mitts, Samuelsson and Anderson available, and about 22 games with none of them available. My loose count puts them at 20/17/4 with and 5/13/4 without. To that group, they've added Lyubushkin, Comrie, Quinn, Peterka and Power. Yes, I realize everyone has injuries, but not half-a-season to their #1 goalie and #1C exiting camp. To say this team hasn't added anyone to a 75 point team misrepresents what has actually happened over the past year.

Correction: that's .29 goals/game, not 29 goals. Goals over 82 is actually 24

Adams has made it abundantly clear he wants to sign and keep his own guys and he's keeping his cap space powder dry for exactly that. Maybe circumstances and development will line up in a way where he will be able to keep Vic. But more likely he will eventually have to make some calls on who he signs long-term and who he trades. The contract he gave Vic tells me which way he's leaning. My own personal feelings on Vic is that he has a 30-goal, 60-point season in him and this year might be the year. And, as you point out, those are guys you'd like to keep.

Holding off buying my Winterhawk tickets until its confirmed he'll be there. Nice to have 3 prospects in the Dub for once.

How many teams had a dozen 10-goal scorers last year?

To me, this is what makes this team so fascinating this year: besides Girgensons, we've got no one who counts as a "we know what we have" Half-empty: Skinner: scored only 21 goals in the 2 seasons prior to last year combined Tuch: has topped 18 goals and 37 points just once in his career Thompson: just 35 points in 145 NHL games prior to last year Olofsson: has never topped 20 goals or 49 points Okposo: averaged just 8 goals and 12 assists over the 3 seasons prior to last year Cozens: 13 goals is his career high Mittelstadt: career highs of 12 goals and 25 points came 4 years ago Asplund: career high for goals is just 8 Krebs: career high for goals is just 7 Peterka: has played only 2 NHL games Quinn: has played only 2 NHL games Half-full: Skinner: 5-time 30-goal scorer, had 33 last year Tuch: produced like a 25-goal, 65-point 1st-liner during time with Sabres Thompson: finished 8th in goals among centres in the entire NHL last year Olofsson: 29 goals and 56 points are his career averages per 82 games Okposo: 21 goals and 41 points ranked him as a borderline NHL 1st-line winger last year Cozens: only 21, former top 10 pick with world-class 1st-line junior production Mittelstadt: 41 points over his past 81 games despite playing through an aggravated hernia and Ralph Krueger Asplund: Selke votes while putting up 27 points in first full NHL season Krebs: a point per game, including playoffs as a first-year AHLer Peterka: a point per game, including playoffs as a first-year AHLer Quinn: the most productive season by a U21 AHLer in a generation

Doesn't seem like a kid who has trouble focusing or getting excited about hockey, but that is one crazy slog — it includes 2 weeks in China! I can see how a total focus on being a Sabre this year would be beneficial.

I get the common belief the wheels are going to fall off the Bruins eventually as Bergeron and Marchand age out. But while they're still contributing I find it very hard to see a team with a top 4 of McAvoy/Lindholm/Grelczyk/Carlo and a duo of Ullmark/Swayman in net missing the playoffs.

This is the perception of an NHL fan who pays as much attention to the Sabres as we do the Sharks or the Bluejackets: A perennial loser: they've got dysfunctional ownership and they're barely spending to the cap floor They are a disaster in goal: an ancient Craig Anderson and who else? Some journeyman backups? Two first overall picks on D. Those guys should be good, but they're young and they've got nobody else back there. Up front, you can't rely on Skinner and that Tage guy was probably a fluke. Oh, I like Tuch. They were bottom 10 last year and they didn't really add anybody. They've got some good kids coming, but they're a few years away. It'll stay that way until wins change it.

With that contract, it makes a heck of a lot more sense to trade him at the 2023 deadline (if we're out of the race) or draft (to fix a roster weakness), at least from an asset management perspective. At the 2024 deadline, we don't expect the team to be in sell-off mode and he will likely end up walking that summer for nothing.