DarthEbriate

The Oilers have also been on pace for 100+ points each of the past 4 seasons and have made the playoffs 5 in a row, so... the Sabres are missing something. Florida is so tenacious and fun to watch. I hope it's an entertaining series. Good playoff hockey is a beautiful bit of sport.

You get the low-remaining tread, leadership, guys on short deals to bolster what you’ve got. You don’t throw term at them. EJ this past season was a fail, but it’s fine because it was one year. Now, find a with-tread playoff machine (Pavelski when the Stars got him)… and we’re talking.

Yeah, Elder Foligno was before my time and I have an admittedly hard time placing him. On a “franchise” team he’s a bottom 6 grinder, though, so if we need more grit I dress him. If we lose some silk in the top 6, I dress Mogilny. Pommer is a great complementary piece. He’s a 2W through and through and he makes his line better. But again, on a franchise team I’ve got 1st-liners across their eras. (Or at least 1st line minutes [Peca]). My argument for Eichel is that final season. We rag him and I call him Jackikin Eichwalker and such, but he that year he *was* the offense. Dragging Krueger and that lineup into the playoff picture and putting himself into the Hart conversation. Plus, on my theoretical franchise team he’s a prove-it 4th line kid, and not a captain.

Lots of folks forget that Skinner got cold down the stretch and Eichel played hurt and has no points the final 10 games of that COVID season. History and the franchise are on a different trajectory if they make that 24-team field (especially if they do what Montreal did and knock off a beaten-up Penguins team). Remember, Ullmark was back to close that season and it was a different team with him in the net. As to Eichel/Thompson, Eichel has the benefit of his burst and playmaking that Tage simply doesn’t have. And TNT has the benefit of playing with Granato’s open attack (one season) and a career-coming-out-season from Tuch that Eichel never had. There’s an alternate universe where Skinner-Eichel-Reinhart play under Granato. Probably not as good as Tuch. But it creates a world where Eichel and Reinhart remain in the top six entering their primes (probably on separate lines). TNT with Reino on the 2nd line with Reino in the crease on the PP and we have a “veteran” team last season.

Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic, Slovakia (needed for scorers), and Czechia (not yet represented). Here's what I came up with a more standard approach: Martin - Perrault - Robert Andreychuk - LaFontaine - Gare Ramsay - Peca - Hawerchuk Vanek - Eichel - Briere (Foligno, Mogilny) Ramsey - Dahlin Schoenfeld - Housley Korab - Zhitnik (Hajt, McKee) Hasek Miller (Crozier) Lots of folks won't like my 4th line, but they'll win puck battles and imagine a breakout from their own zone. (Besides, they're only playing 10 minutes a night, so they're all angry.)

Satan - Kahun - Kotalík Grosek - Kulich - Varada Frolik - Sobotka - Ludvig Bartovic - Novotny - Rousek (Moravec, Kristek, Sejba) Obviously, Kulich could displace Kahun in 2 years. Svoboda - Sekera Spacek - Smehlik Meszaros - Hecl Hasek Halak* Neuvirth

Um… box score?

Yup. He’s a good role player. He’s not someone you build around. (To be fair: We still don’t know if Cozens and TNT are folks you build around, but Lindholm is a 2/3C, but not a core piece).

I’m not set on my Star Wars names yet, but I am open to Catton or Eiserman at 11. More snarl would be nice, but that can be found elsewhere.

But this far out… it’s like Chicago already knows the favorites at 18/19 or… Lou really wants that extra 2nd. You never know — you could swing those two 2nds for a Fasching and a D-Lo.

Against Poland, JJP with a penalty shot goal and the PP looks good running through him.

This season it’s pretty simple: 1. Run a real NHL PP with multiple looks, occasionally from behind the net, with movement and versatile shooters. (And someone near the net.) 2. Replace Jost and Krebs with legitimate 3/4C level players who can manage the ice in all three zones. (And ideally two 2/3Cs, but I can’t see that happening). 3. Crash the net on occasion.

Hasn’t anyone mentioned Peca multiple times yet? (It would be a title upgrade from being a bench assistant with the Rangers.)

It's not necessarily hard, although with 32 teams it is now harder than ever before. But the Sabres have done everything in their power to make it difficult, including actively dissolving core(s) and outright tanking in 5 of those seasons, plus the laundry list of all the other issues along the way.

He'll have that playoff shield down. We've gotta give him more time!

Pysyk, Risto, Gorges, Weber, Bogo, Fedun, Borgen, Scandella, Beaulieu, Miller Probably Pysyk, maybe Scandella. The most fun part of the ERod output is that he and Sheary were traded together for Kahun. Do you want Rodrigues and Sheary together on your 3rd line? No, probably not. But losing both of them for what amounted to be nothing (6 games of Kahun) continued the ongoing cycle of poor bottom sixes. (Note: The next season, the Sabres effectively replaced Sheary with Rieder and replaced Rodrigues with Eakin...or the checked-out Staal, depending on the lineup.)

He became so Powerful, the only thing he was afraid of was losing his Power.

Is this like when Tyler Ennis also played in the NBA? Two Sabres Tylers, two NBA players. Always two there are.

No GDT for the lottery = progress! GM Sheevyn is doing a fantastic job.

Lessa open letters to fans/city, more bombad pucky blocky and wins, meesa thinks.

Give him two years in Rochester and then see what he can do. In the meantime, the Amerks will have good use for him.

Co-coaches and co-captains.

Dahlin is willing to throw a hit. And might’ve thrown the hardest hits on the entire roster the past few seasons. As defenders, collectively they do need to run folks out against the boards, box out and fight for position and clear the view for their goalie, stick check, and clear the crease better. That’s on all 7 and the coaching. Look no further than their games against Dallas. The larger issue for hitting is they have no forwards who finish hard body checks. There is no one on this roster who makes opposing defensemen rush a pass. There are good and dogged forecheckers, yes, but no one who will wear down a defenseman through pain and attrition.

50 pages isn’t too many, is it?

But if the #7 stays healthy he’s going to play 40+ games. The Sabres d-corps was pretty darn healthy this season. 5 guys played 73 or more games (Dahlin, Clifton, Power, Joker, Byram). You can’t call for a vote of no confidence in the chancellor when he used the vote of no confidence to get into office in the first place. You’ve gotta throw him down a reactor core shaft.