dudacek

Fresh Ralph interview on an NHL podcast today. Among the highlights: Some of their acquisitions were made specifically to address their inability to match up tactically with the Lightning The taxi squad and the 7 game trial will allow them until February to get a feel on Cozens despite the fact he is missing camp. They kept every player they wanted to keep (in case anyone was still wondering about Larsson) Thinks Irwin will add something but said the team kept the same starting six deliberately because they like the mix and believe they have more to offer; quickly mentioned Montour. Said physically the D corps has all added size and muscle and singled out Dahlin. Intimated that Miller’s early issues were that his heart was still in Vegas. Said Ullmark isn’t getting his due around the league, suggesting his injury last year was a big blow. Was also positive about Hutton’s recovery from his eye issue and about his attitude, but (IMO) didn’t give a ringing endorsement of his ability. Said communication, teaching and culture building has been happening steadily behind the scenes, player to coaches, and player to player. Said Eichel and Hall have been communicating regularly and mentioned Hall’s workouts with Skinner. Seems to treating the taxi squad like an expanded roster rather than a group of starters and emergency fillers; indicating they will be a full part of the team and will have to plug in and out of the lineup on a regular basis. Said we should be adding an extra line to our typical perception of 12 forwards and 7 D. Thinks tactics mean a heckuva lot more in a set-up where you play 7 teams 8 times, then indicated he knows the coaches in our new division very, very well. Goal is to win the majority of their 8-game seasonal series. He has been using his contacts with Premier League soccer, Euro hockey, and the Bills to learn COVID protocols; the Sabres will be using stricter guidelines than those being implemented by the NHL. will be two full-on regulation intrasquad games to make up for the lack of exhibition games.

Damn, Tourigny really loves his musical chairs, don’t he? That said, I don’t know if if I’ve seen great chemistry from any of Canada’s lines so far.

He was buried in the minors. They addressed that by the rule where you could only bury a portion.

Dea, Dawson Dipietro, and of course Nelson not there. And as expected the Euros with no NHL shot - Davidsson, Pekar, Lukkonnen, etc. - not there either. Any other notable omissions?

I disagree. There has been plenty of outcry about “retiring” players to LTIR. The fact that Canucks are eating Luongo’s cap hit when he retired from Florida, while Philly hid Chris Pronger’s similar backdiving contract on LTIR while he was working in the NHL office was a joke.

Except Tampa has not managed the cap poorly at all. Because they have managed it exceedingly well, they have more good players than they can afford. If they can’t trade players for cap space, what happens to RFA players like Cirelli and Sergachev? Do they just sit out? Unless the OP is strictly talking about this. This is a better conversation.

Going for hike right now, but I plan to work my way through. Week off during the pandemic leaves a lot of extra time on my hands.😄

Completely in favour. Cap space is a resource, just like draft picks and actual players. Also, if this kind of trade is not allowed, how does a team in a situation like Tampa address its situation?

The site is looking good. Thanks for providing a great space to hang out.

Ranking the division’s centres: 1C: Crosby Eichel Zibanejad, Bergeron Barzal Couturier, Backstrom Hischier A lot of very good players there. Jack is better than all of them and is, right now, probably on Sid’s level. 2C: Malkin, Kuznetsov, Staal, Krecji, Hayes, Nelson, Zajac, Strome Malkin is clearly above the rest, then Kuz. Peak Staal and Krecji probably lead a solid tier of the others, but they are old. 3C: Pageau, Coyle, Eller, Laughton, Hughes, Chytil, Eakin, Jankowski, The first three are among the league’s best 3Cs. Chytil, and particularly Hughes have upside, but were mostly filler last year. Last year’s Eakin was bad. Most versions would rank solidly mid-tier 4C: Zacha, Czizikas, Kuraly, Frost, Blueger, Lazar, Dowd, Howden I don’t see Frost playing the 4C role (top 9 or minors) and Zacha is likely 3C for Jersey, or moved to the wing. Cizikas might be the leagues best 4C. Otherwise, in a mix of typical 4Cs, Lazar is as good as any. Overall, the Sabres seem solidly competitive and will rise or fall based on what they get from the two new guys.

Sabres are pretty much the consensus pick for 7th, correct? Most people have them ahead of New Jersey, and very few any higher than that.

O’Reilly poisoning another dressing room. Blues will never win with a guy like that. I’d trade him for futures and move on.

If there is no AHL/OHL Sabres should carry six on the taxi squad to maximize development. And the taxi squad should lean toward prospects: Quinn, Cozens, Mitts, Asplund, Ruotsalainen, Samuelsson, Borgen, Bryson would be the group Id be choosing from. Tokarski is the goalie. If there is an AHL/OHL, then you take the opposite tack: Dea, Smith, Ogilvie, Davidson, Borgen, Tokarski. Sabres roster is pretty set, IMO: Eichel, Reinhart, Hall, Staal, Skinner, Eakin, Girgensons, Okposo, Thompson, Lazar, Reider, Risto, Montour, McCabe, Miller, Irwin. Olofsson, Joki and Dahlin can be moved back and forth freely but I doubt they will be. The team might play with Lazar, Reider and Irwin if they want to get cute for cap reasons. Cozens will be on the team, but he’s someone else they could get cute with, although I suspect he will make that seem silly.

I meant mostly in terms of the marching orders Melnyk gave out: Dorian added a young starter, good kids and veterans to shield their kids while keeping their actual payroll low and their cap clean for next year.

I haven’t seen star power, but Quinn plays hard and has a very good mind for the game. His defensive play has been hard to pick apart. Now we need to see that shot.

Ottawa has quietly had a pretty good off-season, if you consider two top-five picks quiet.

And Quinn with the nail.

You gotta love both Sabres out there with game on the line.

Cozens heads up all the way there. Good D, good pass. Big play with a tight game on the line. Ray Ferraro loves Cozens.

So basically he has a deal done, but won’t sign it until they can put Steen on LTIR?

Yep. Taking charge. Adding some pace and puck carrying to his smart game. His best period.

Certainly not based on what we saw last night.

Dylan Cozens does interviews exactly like the people around him would want him to.

Weird. Why did he sign a contract a few weeks ago, then?

Yes. I agree. But I don’t think it was a case of him being blackballed by his peers over his offer sheet. It was more of a Peter principle thing. There are fanbase’s and industry people who think Gillis deserves another shot in an NHL power position. I don’t think anyone thinks that’s the case for Feaster. Feaster is a very nice man who mostly lucked into a cup in Tampa and showed himself not to be a great GM after that. He got offered a job more suited to his temperament, ability, family and place in life after being fired in Calgary, and he stuck with it, and is happier for it.