dudacek

What about Bjork or Ruotsalainen or Olofsson? Wasted on the left side?

From what I've seen Reinhart-haters are fueled by one or more of three things: His play style isn't fast or physical, and that's why they like hockey He's a cold fish, pretty boy, rich kid and they don't like guys like that The team has sucked his entire career so he must be a reason Only one of those things are actually related to his play and it doesn't actually have anything to do with him being good or not.

Because it was O'Reilly's fault all along!

They're just so excited assistant queen bee mean girl Sam has asked them come and sit at his table with the queen bee on vacation. 😁

Did you read the article @Brawndo posted? He has been asked to play a position he has barely played in his 6-year pro career. And not just on a trial basis, they threw him in the deep end as the #1 centre and asked him to absorb all the toughest matchups. He has responded by putting up five goals and nine points in 11 games and excellent #fancystats while the team has gone 6/3/2. His coach is complimenting him for the way he has stepped up to mentor the young guys. And we should note, he is doing it without Jack Eichel. This is the money quote for me: During one of His Appearances on the Instigators Elliotte Friedman mentioned that teams around the league including the Sabres have taken notice that Reinhart’s Play has never wavered during this season. This guy just shows up every night and produces. And he has for season after season no matter what kinda tire fire has been burning around him. He is the definition of a professional. Trading Sam will be like trading ROR; we will look back and say "how did we ever let that one get away?" He's one of those guys you look to buy, not sell.

6/3/3 in their past 12. GF: 43 GA: 36. Tied for 5th in the NHL in that span. 4th in GF, 9th GA. 15th on the PP, 21 on the PK, 3rd in 5on5 GF (29), 12th in 5on5 GA (23) Getting contributions throughout the lineup http://www.nhl.com/stats/skaters?reportType=game&dateFrom=2021-03-28&dateTo=2021-04-18&gameType=2&playerPlayedFor=franchise.19&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=points,goals,assists&page=0&pageSize=50

Did Eakin get a shift after that horrid play where he was stripped from behind while carrying the puck out of our zone? I don't remember seeing him again after that. Box score had him marked for just 5:55. (I think I know who's gonna sit when Caggiula comes in!) Samuelsson was fine, but I am struggling to remember the last time I saw a Sabre manhandling bodies in front and along the board's like that. Risto is a physical force and Bogo could be, but Mattias just seemed to have this natural Andre the Giant strength that made him able to move move bodies without even having to resort to violence. Also, those who say size doesn't matter should try to skate around big #54. That's a lot of real estate in those legs and arms. If you watched Sam Reinhart's anticipation, execution and competitive focus tonight and came away unimpressed, I don't know what to say. He was a step ahead of everyone tonight. 19 minutes and it felt like a lot of them were against Crosby. Bjork? Still seeing Girgensons there. It's not a bad thing. Tokarski makes me nervous as hell, but my god does he battle his ass off. I think he's another example of where size does matter, because he lets in shots from a distance, or by failing to close up to the post in a way bigger goalies don't. I am so happy to see the return of Henri Jokiharju. He can read the game so well and he should be allowed to trust his instincts.

I'm not sure any coach gets hired these days without a three-year contract. IMO, you either believe in him, or you don't. If you do, you have to be all in and give him the going rate for a coach of his stature. If you don't, hire a guy you do. I have come to one conclusion today: if he finishes the season at .500 or better after starting 0/6 with the disaster he inherited, and you don't offer him the job you are probably guilty of overthinking things too much.

On that note, goddamn was he ever good at centre tonight. Just a step ahead of the play constantly and playing with authority at both ends of the ice. That was the player i had envisioned him becoming when I watched him as a junior.

i don't think Sam Reinhart is a naturally warm and fuzzy guy in any way, shape, or form. I also think he was more cold and short in this interview (and his previous a few nights back) than what has been normal for him over the years. I wouldn't dismiss @nfreeman's opening concerns at all; it's more than possible he's sick of being a Sabre. It is a certainty however that he absolutely detests the Buffalo media and has tired of trying to hide it. Equally relevant to conversation is Granato's post-game comments about how Sam is not normally a vocal guy, but he has recently started becoming more vocal and actively talking with the young forwards on the bench and in the room. I've seen him talking on the bench regularly and congratulating guys after goals. I like his "when you get into the endzone act like you've been there before" demeanour. I think he's taking that "A" seriously, and if he's had enough and wants out, he's certainly not showing it on the ice.

Hmm... No one biting on this at all? Did anyone hear Donnie G talking up Ristolainen's game post-game tonight, about how he did such a great job mentoring Bryson that they were confident he's the right guy to do it again for Samuelsson? Am I the only one who feels Risto has been taking the "A" on his chest very seriously, or is noticing that this is the first time in his career he looks to be finishing up the year on a strong note? With exception of his bout of COVID, I think Risto has played good, useful hockey for the past two years now, and when passing judgement, too many people are focused on what he was rather than what he has become.

Because they have identified him as part of the problem?

I don't think the Sabres make those trades without a significant add, which I think is kinda @Curt's point. It's about the hole ripped in your team in order to add a player of Jack's quality. Real contenders already have core players and probably don't need a building block as massive as Eichel to put themselves over the top.

I think I would be happy if Bill Hajt was recalled to skate for Irwin, but this makes me happy. Been wanting to see how Mattias looks at this level.

Why are you so sure?

I think the discussion of adding a 2C through has gotten a lot more interesting over the past few weeks. Are you going hurt Mitts/Cozens or waste UFA dollars/trade capital by investing in a 2C? Don't get me wrong, adding a Danault makes us a better team, but cap remote is finite. Would we be better investing our $ in other areas? Particularly with the idea that Reinhart can cover the 2C position if Dylan or Casey is overmatched. One of the many tough questions Adams will be faced with this summer.

You're correct. But in order to be useful he needs to do those things with or without Eichel — which he did with the Canes.

Two years ago when Skinner did these things with regularity, he might have fit. That said, we are starting to see them more often in his recent game.

Nearly half the roster we dressed for yesterday’s game were not NHL regulars last year: Thompson, Asplund, Mittelstadt, Cozens, R2, Fogarty, Bryson, Tokarski and Housser. Four more - Dahlin, Bjork, Jokiharju and Olofsson - have yet play 200 NHL games. The latter three have yet to play 150. Have the Sabres ever dressed a more inexperienced lineup?

This team put together an historic 18-game losing streak featuring some of the most soul-sucking hockey I’ve ever witnessed. But our recent play has me questioning how bad we really are? I don’t want to use Covid as an excuse, but it is hard to ignore the timing of the streak coincided exactly with the outbreak. We have been about .500 since the streak ended, and we were about .500 prior to Covid shutting us down. Losing Eichel, McCabe and Ullmark at roughly the same time Covid hit was a perfect storm. I don’t want to dismiss the jump we are seeing now, but it is hard to ignore the fact that loose and relaxed non-playoff teams have a history of providing road bumps in the stretch for teams in the hunt who overlook them, or are wound too tight. Are we seeing the kids make a real jump? Can they maintain this -which is still only .500 hockey - or is a fallback inevitable? How much of a difference will having not-Ralph Krueger as our leader over a full season make? Most of us can agree that we need to fix the goaltending situation and get more physicality, but how much more of a makeover do we really need? Do we need to move some veterans to change the identity in the locker room? By bringing in too many new veterans will we just be throwing unwanted obstacles in the way of the kids? How much of a role did Covid play in the terrible March? How much of a role did Krueger? Is Don Granato the man, or is he just benefitting from “right place, right time, low expectations?” Is it foolish to expect a last-place team to progress without real change, or is that change already happening? I can’t think of a time where the Sabres seemed this hard to get handle on. Adams and Karmanos and whoever else is brought in have some difficult decisions ahead of them.

Rasmus Ristolainen to start the season: 10 GP 2/4/6/+2 Rasmus Ristolainen recovering from Covid: 17 GP 1/1/2/-12 Rasmus Ristolainen since: 10 GP 1/5/6/+9 Sabres record when Risto was recovering from Covid: 0/15/2 Sabres record in the 20 games bracketing Covid: 9/7/4 Correlation/causation? I don’t have a clue. But damned interesting nonetheless.

There is no way you aren’t going to be very disappointed if Jack is actually traded.

The kids are going to miss him. He was the anti-Staal

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl2019e.html

Looks like the top 3 picks all made the NHL immediately, none of them are studs yet. Then you've got Cozens and 40th pick Nils Hoglander making it this year, neither is a stud yet. And Bjornfoot (22), Byrum (4) and Zegras (9) have all seen action this year as well. And how about Tyce Thompson, a 4th rounder already seeing NHL action.