dudacek

I honestly think we haven’t made enough of Tage. He’s well-past the hot streak/puck-luck stage. He creates his own chances and legitimately snipes. He can dangle and protect the puck. He’s fearless and he plays with swagger. To my eyes he’s been very much a leader on the ice. When things are tight, he’s the guy I look for to make a play. I know he hasn’t had much competition in the past decade, but 34 goals in the same ballpark as the best Sabres seasons by the likes of Hawerchuk, Drury, Pominville and Eichel. It’s a number reached by (rough count) only 16 other Sabres. Other than Eichel, he’s become the most dangerous offensive weapon we’ve had up-front since Danny Briere. And it has literally come out of nowhere. Im sure I’m forgetting people, but the only Sabres I can recall making this sort of jump from spare part to legit top-6er are Robert and Satan.

This should make me excited, but it actually makes me question the validity of the stat.

I am troubled that Montreal, Ottawa, Detroit and Philadelphia are very much going to have a shot at this kid.

I don’t think this thread is asking an unnecessary question, just one that’s a little premature. We’re still in the process of taking the step from bad team to competitive one; which is is about adding talent and developing culture. Once we are competitive, there will be an increased focus on composition, filling the holes necessary to push from competitor to contender. And that may involve needing to add more brute strength or bite. in terms of identity, Adams talked early on about wanting to be fast and relentless; I think that is where we are trending. if there is a signature player who best represents that identity, I’m going to say Dylan Cozens, both in approach and in development.

Mitts has 15 points in 22 games since March 1, which also coincides with when he seemed to get past his injury in terms of the eye test. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the team started playing better around the same time. I don’t think he quite trusts his shot yet, but he’s got a good wrister. He may only end up as a Derek Plante level player, but on this team he has been the critical mass that seems to have jumpstarted us from being a 2-line team to a 4-line team.

They’ve been dealt a rough hand with injuries, but the real blow was the Fits/Mule call ups. Without those two the back end just hasn’t been able to defend. Losing Mule for them was like the ‘80s Sabres losing Mike Ramsey.

Hope we’re mature enough that it doesn’t bite us on the ass tomorrow, but we played the first like we thought it would be easy and the the 3rd like we wanted to give it away; we won despite playing just one period the way we’re capable of. I guess it’s a milestone when we aren’t the team on the wrong end of that equation. Philly is bad.

I gotta disagree with this. Dont get me wrong, I want the Amerks to win, but even more I want them to graduate good players to the Sabres. To me, they’ve turned Mule into a bedrock defenceman, Krebs into an NHLer and Fitzy into a useful spare part this year. And I suspect they’ve also prepped JJ, Quinn and UPL to do the same next year. That’s a damn fine season, certainly the best they’ve had by that definition since Ennis/Foligno (that may have been Portland, but you get my point) and it has the potential to rival the lockout team for among the best of all-time.

Thanks for the update. Missed you around here. My impression of the bold is that it’s actually good news because it means he’s actually going to try to get someone better. Ive been concerned he’s going to be OK with that pair and not even try for an upgrade.

I think we are starting to see confirmation that if Hayden, Bjork, Eakin, Miller and Pysyk have any future with Buffalo next year it will be as a spare part. They aren’t part of the experimenting, just filler rotating through. It’s something we’ve been waiting for and needing for a long time. A page is turning.

Ian Mendes and Katie Strang of the Athletic with a thorough and uncomfortable look at the late Senators owner. https://theathletic.com/3243198/2022/04/14/eugene-melnyk-ottawa-senators/?source=twitterhq Paywall. Homophobic comments and verbal abuse of staff are the things getting the headlines, but overall the piece is a portrait of how much impact the person at the top can have on all facets of a hockey team.

I agree with the first half of this post. Since four of the past five college players who stayed in college long enough to go to free agency ended up signing with the Sabres anyway, why do you believe the 2nd half? Particularly when just 3 months ago Johnson is on record as saying he was happy with the organization and there has been no indication that’s changed.

I like the fact they are using the stretch to try new things. Ive been hoping to see Tuch/Mitts since we added Alex, and I like Okposo/Cozens and think Asplund will make that combo hard to play against. I see VO as a guy who thrives on structure and Skinner on chaos, so I have my doubts there, but that line is 3 talented guys playing well, so why not give it a look?

You’re not wrong, particularly in comparison to the Leafs. Yet they also gave up a ridiculous amount of Grade A scoring chances. A ridiculous amount. The 1st 2 Tarasenko goals were well-earned, where the Blues created glorious scoring chances and buried them. I’m not sure how many other Grade A ES chances they had? 6? 8? To my eye we had significantly more. Butcher off the post, Olofsson all alone between the legs and wide, Krebs over the net on a breakaway, Asplund on a breakaway, Thompson twice from between the circles, Skinner poking it through beaten by the whistle, Tuch multiple times… It felt like they went 2 for 8 and we went 1 for 15 on glorious chances where the offence beat the defence. They scored 2 PP goals on penalties that aren’t always called penalties, a lucky bounce off Tuch’s skate and an empty netter. We got the Asplund deflection. So, 15–8 Buffalo on even strength chance generation 2-1 St. Louis on execution And 4-1 St. Louis on “hockey randomness.” Not making excuses, it’s just hockey. There’s no guarantee you can control it, you can only tilt the odds in your favour. It’s a chaotic, unpredictable game.

If Johnson is in the fence, that’s not going to tilt him toward Buffalo. (Unless of course Knies is an absolute prick like every other person associated with the Maple Leafs 😜 )

I’m I getting spoiled by recent improvements, or is Butcher Fitz among the most scary combos we’ve seen on the blueline since the prime of Messy Ballls?

I really think he is a low-key flat-personality hockey nerd. (Kinda like Crosby and McDavid)

This is interesting. The last two Sabres draft picks to stay in college long enough to qualify for free agency did not exercise that option and instead signed with the Sabres anyway. They were Linus Weissbach and Casey Fitzgerald. The one previous to those two may have been Will Borgen, who may have also been able to walk after 3 years because he was drafted at 19. Not certain on that one. Prior to Borgen, Sean Malone did 4 years in Harvard and still signed with the Sabres. It seems to me Cal Petersen was more the exception than the rule.

I can’t claim credit for that one, although I certainly have ripped it off to apply to other players over the years. 😁

I know scoring is up considerably this year. Curious if anyone knows if save percentages are down as a result. Like is a .910 this year equivalent to a .920 3 years ago?

No suggestion of that in the interview. The implication I took out of it was that the organization as a whole did not like McAvoy enough to invest #8 in him. Forton does mention discussion of trading down and taking him.

I think it's weird they dress Butcher when Pysyk and Miller are available. I wonder if they are being nice and trying to give will a shot to showcase himself for another contract? The other 2 will get offers. Not so sure about Butcher.

Adams and Granato haven't been shy about saying this season is about evaluating which "older developing players" they will be moving forward with. I'd say Murray, along with Ruotsalainen and Anders Bjork, failed their evaluation. Pretty sure Tage, Samuelsson, Jokiharju and Dahlin passed with flying colours. I'm not entirely sure where they are going to go with Mitts, VO, Asplund, Bryson, Fitzpatrick and UPL.

The McAvoy part was great. For those not listening, Duff and Biron asked him about his biggest regret at the draft table. Forton was a Sabres college scout during that draft who absolutely loved McAvoy, who the industry had pegged as a mid-1st player. He implies the sabres weren't really considering him in the 5-10 range and he really regrets not pushing harder for him at 8. He also says the team lacked cross-league scouts to compare players in different leagues. He also implies that the current regime has made changes to the way it does its business in order to empower the local scouts to speak up and to better compare players at different levels. He said he passed McAvoy on the concourse on draft day as he was heading up to the Bruins box and McAvoy said "Jerry, I really thought you guys were going to take me." Forton said he felt sick to his stomach. Forton comes across well. Looking forward to his preview of the coming draft.

10 goals and 20 assists are good totals for a checking specialist.