dudacek

It's really hard not to read the whole Reinhart thing as an exercise in "See, it's not Kevyn, it's Jack"

I think the spirit of the quote is "The best/most complete players usually play centre because that's where coaches can best maximize their talents" But I agree that this move seems forced and Adams has done a terrible job with the centre position.

You may have never expected it to come to this, but it is September and number 9 is still a Sabre. You know the drill and you know the back story. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=158169 I'll leave you with this largely forgotten quote from the infamous 'Disconnect' press conference. "But for now, obviously, I’m here. I’m the captain of this hockey team and my goal is to be available and to try and help the guys in the room and to help this organization win hockey games. I’ll continue to do that as long as I’m here.” What do you expect from Eichel this season?

You rejected 14 overall and Sam Reinhart for a chance to take (Clarke, Johnson, Hughes, Edvinsson...?) Dear lord, Rob Blake, Jarmo K, Stevie Y...

I think it's maybe about the interpretation of "play driving"? "Team A lacks real goal scorers" they don't have anyone who can score 30. "Team A is loaded with goal scorers" they have maybe 8 guys who can score 20.

I gotta re-watch, but I thought it was about Risto. There was a lot of time-jump editing in there. The almost avoided opportunities for us to build a concrete narrative, they just piled on a lot of tantalizing snippets and created an impression.

Not sure what you mean by this. it's a pretty open-ended statement. Panarin, Marner, Marchand, Kane, Ovechkin, Kucherov, Pastrnak... Arguably Rantanen, Stone, Huberdeau, Gaudreau, the Tkachuk brothers... I'm sure you could find a few more, and I guess there are different ways to define "play driver" but considering there's like 250 wingers in the NHL, I don't have a real problem with that statement

The Sam stuff made me sad. With the franchise in better hands he could have been one of those guys who will always be a Sabre like a Robert or a Pominville.

So there will still be taxi squads? Will they operate the same as last year?

Without question olofsson mittelstadt thompson skinner asplund and cozens. I would add ruotsalainen as well. I assume Pi means a number of them are traded or leave, because I expect all of them to be in the NHL in 3 years. I also expect Quinn and Peterka to be in the NHL in 3 years. The other 3 are 18, so probably not.

I would bet that 7 of them on the roster this year.

I suspect one or more of Hagg, Samuelsson, Bryson and Butcher getting a look on the right side during camp. I'd add Dahlin to that list as well if I wasn't so certain he's pencilled in with Jokiharju.

These two and Pysyk are the guys replacing McCabe, Risto and Montour. The latter two at least were bitched about frequently. The new guys aren't as good. Your math checks out.

Duff said on a team practice report video that Friday’s game will be streamed on the Sabres site.

Something to think about: I don't think he's as good, but statistically, and stylistically, Robert Hagg is Jake McCabe. 27, LD, Picked 44th, 6'1, 204, physical, PK, averages 59 games, 13 pts a season 26, LD, Picked 41st, 6'2, 204, physical, PK, averages 59 games, 12 pts a season

Hagg was a relatively touted prospect who slipped to the 2nd round in 2013 where the Flyers snapped him up at 41. After spending some development time in the minors, he's been a full-time NHLer for the past 4 seasons, playing about 16 minutes a game in a defence-first role. He plays a physical, stay-at-home style and kills penalties, mostly on the 2nd unit. He was second on the Flyers in blocked shots over the past four years and led them in hits by a wide margin. He's also been a bit of a whipping boy for the Flyers fan base (doesn't fight or provide offence, spends a lot of time defending) https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=161943 In a way, Hagg is like Will Butcher, in that his career showed promise early and took a downturn after a coaching change. His usage dwindled in Alain Vigneault's first year (Hagg's 3rd) and last year he slipped into the 7th defenceman role. Philadelphia was a disaster last year defensively and made wholesale changes this summer. it's not clear if Hagg is someone the Sabres were genuinely interested in acquiring, or if he was merely a cap/roster dump to facilitate the Risto trade. He told the media at Flyers locker clean-out day that he wasn't good enough last year and told Paul Hamilton he sees Buffalo as an exciting opportunity to get back on track. What do you expect from Hagg this season?

LOL. How did I miss that? Changed.

Quinn to centre is definitely a thing. More from the Sabres: https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/buffalo-sabres-jack-quinn-to-play-center-prospects-challenge/c-326159332?fbclid=IwAR2f51hZgSdlNJIF-C9GlFCgYo57FfV1kopz-21i1DaVlJBUbss-Ix-Bzvk

I don’t have very high expectations of Butcher (I picked 2) but I do think he’s one of the savvier moves Adams made this summer. The door is wide open for him to play on the 2nd pair and get significant PP time for a coach who knows how to maximize his skills. And he should be highly motivated. Motivation and opportunity often lead to good things. The thing is, I’m not so sure Butcher is good enough to fully take advantage. I see him as an Olofsson type in that he can take advantage of playing with good players at the NHL level, but he can’t do nearly as much away from them. And I don’t see the talented forwards and the savvy stay-at-home partner he needs most to thrive. I hope I’m wrong because I suspect we will be seeing a lot of him.

Wasn't going to go here, but my personal take is that it was an off-hand comment by the hockey department that a certain owner has adopted as a personal interest. This is fueled by my impression of the initial comment when it happened and the fact that Terry went with Adams to Rochester specifically to watch Quinn's debut at centre.

Quinn is a very good winger who should play in the NHL as a winger and should be focused on learning how to play in the NHL, not getting distracted by learning how to play a new position. This is something you might try once he has started to get established and has confidence, in order to grow his game. It feels more like a whim to address a roster hole than what is best for the player. Kinda like wasting a 1st-line centre prospect on the wing for 5 years because you had no one else to play with Jack Eichel. Development is about maximizing a player's skills and I don't think this is what's best for Jack Quinn.

I don't think Luukkonen will be permanently damaged by being elevated too fast. His development might be delayed though.

Not a fan of this if it happens. Not at all.

A 2013 Colorado 5th-rounder, Butcher was apparently told by the Avalanche two years into his college career that he wasn't likely to be signed. It backfired. Butcher blossomed into a stud during his 3rd year at the University of Denver, then won the Hobey Baker captaining the team to a national title as a senior. He became the subject of a rather large bidding war as a UFA, eventually choosing the Devils over the Sabres. He was an early success story, a power play force who put up 44 points and made the NHL all-rookie team in his first season, followed with more middling numbers his next two years in a less-sheltered role. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=132666 Last year was a disaster for Butcher. He clearly was not a fit with Lindy Ruff. He was a frequent healthy scratch and basically served as the team's 7th defencemen. The Devils ate $1 million in salary and a 5th round pick to get the Sabres to take him off their hands. Heading into the last year of his contract, he told the Buffalo News he was excited for the chance to be reunited with Don Granato, his coach at the USNDP. “A lot of familiarity, a lot of respect for him,” Butcher said of Granato. “I was really excited when he got the job and that I’m getting the chance to play for him again. … He loves smart hockey players. He loves playing fast, having the puck and being on the attack. Those are all strengths of my game. That’s why I think that when he was my coach we jelled well together because I think we see the game very similarly.” What do you expect from Butcher this season?

I think the Sabres want UPL to split the crease with Anderson and will fool themselves into believing he can. it's not unheard of for a 22-year-old goalie to get a lot of action, but they are usually prodigies with a strong support system around them. Neither of those things are true for Lukkonnen. The kid has just 25 AHL games under his belt and didn't shine there. He needs at least 100 AHL starts. It will be Mittelstadt all over again.