mjd1001

I think I posted yesterday, if moved to wing he could be "Alex Tuch lite", meaning he could give you basically what Tuch gives you on wing, minus a little tiny bit (but still good enough to be potentially a postive player there) They both are aggressive skaters, they both are good skaters, they both have a hard shot with a good release (Tuch a bit more accurate). They both have a combo of good size/speed. Tuch is much, much more effective and valuable because he those traits are better suited at wing, which is where he plays. Cozens does not. We dont' really know if Cozens skills will translate to being effective at wing though, becuase they refuse to play him there.

The bolded above....on the surface...does not seem possible. However the 'eye test' often tells us that absurdly dumb, unaware plays he makes costs the Sabres a loss several times per year. And as you posted above, some basics analytics actually backs that up.

If the Sabres did make a move for Bennet, I would not be upset. I think he would being something positive to this team. I'm just not as high on him as I would be on some other players. When I watched Florida play, I see a player that is better than Cozens, but shares some of his bad qualities. In the opener this year vs Boston and a couple other games I have seen Florida play, I remember Bennet finshing checks he should not finish. He seems like he'll take himself out of the play and cause problems in his own end just to finish a check. Again, not that I would hate him here, but I think sometimes he creates almost as many issues as he brings and if given a choice, I would rather overpay for Marner.

Marner doesn't get much talk around here, and he is not a perfect player. He has a perceived lack of toughness and certainly size that many here want. But of all the players that MIGHT be available this offseason, I think he is the one that would help this team the most. $13-$14m per year is really high. I don't think/know if 5 years, $62m would get it done (probably not, maybe 6 years, $80m is where he would want to start), but if that would get him to start listening, I would for sure continue those talks.

I'm good with them not trading Power, not trading Bryrum, not trading anyone really. I'd like them to trade Cozens if they won't move him to wing. But if they moved him to wing, I'm fine with them not even trading him. I'm not in a rush to get rid of any ONE individual player (except Cozens) but I would like to see SOME movement though. Bring in someone that can help this team going forward. It doesn't have to be a blockbuster, doesn't have to involve several major pieces...just something, because, you know, I'm a fan and this is entertainment. Now, winning 5 of the last 6, if they go out and win 5 of the next 6 or 7 also I might be thinking....'lets see where this goes'. But lets see that first, in the next 2-3 weeks, they have games against Carolina, Florida, Tampa, and Vegas.

I haven't thought much about him lately, but for along time I would like him to get another stint in Buffalo. HE is the player that should be given a shot on the PP instead of Cozens. Just have him stand in front of the net, provide a screen, and bang away anytime there is a loose puck. I'd be willing to bet he scores more than 1 PP goal every 40 games (which is about what Cozens give you for his CAREER).

Those who support Cozens and want status quo with him.....the above is why that baffles me. You quoted the numbers....you don't even NEED the numbers to watch him game after game make dumb decisions at center. The numbers don't just back up that he makes awful decisions....they hammer it home like no argument has ever been hammered home. A bad year by UPL? Bad defensive play by Power and Samuelsson? Quinn being invisible early in the year? Injuries to Tage and Dahlin? They all pale in comparison to how much Cozens hurts this team. If Cozens was not on this roster from day 1, and his minutes were replaced with an 'average guy' who doesn't really help you but doesn't really hurt you, and I think this team would be much better in the standings with that one simple change.

Yep, I saw that someplace. A guy that on average will probably get you 20 goals, with a potential ceiling of 30 goals once every 5 years....but a potential floor of 15 goals 3 out of 5 years is my feeling. Not good production at the same time when you are one of the worst defensive centers and worst at making your linemates better of all the centers in the entire NHL.

Its apparent we agree he would be a lot better at wing. My criticism of him is as a Center. But that is all I can really talk about because this organization simply refuses to move him to wing. With that said, my view of him as Center: The 2 things I will repeat: -He does well in a system where he doesn't have to think it seems. In international tournaments, those guys have played and practiced together for days, not months or years like teammates in the NHL have. The coach puts in 'systems' that are very basic, as you don't know your line-mates that well. Internatioanl tournaments are closer to 'do the basics, go out there and play', where the NHL is more complicated systems, playing off of your line-mates, etc. Cozens plays well in the basic systems of international play. He flounders when he has to think. The NHL requires more thinking. Anytime he is put into a situation that seems to require any 'structure' of 'defensive coverage' where you are aware of your teammates and opponents, he fails. If/when the team makes the playoffs and the play gets 'tighter', its likely he would play even worse in that environment. -Is 31 goals repeatable for him? I guess its possible, but as more and more time goes on, he really looks like a 9% shooter, not a 15% shooter he had that one year. As a matter of fact, that 'one year' really wan't 'one year' of great shooting, it was about 1.5-2 months. For the entire rest of his career, hes a guy that gets you 200 shots a year (hes on pace for a bit less this year actually) and looks to normally be a 9% shooter. I agree he belongs on wing and he could be a GOOD player on wing. But if he stays at center, I'm not sure how any of the above changes or gets better. He's not 22 anymore with 100 games of NHL experience. Hes in his 5th NHL season and is approaching 350 games played. I will be a much, much happier Sabres fan when if he either gets moved off the roster, or moved to wing permanently. Either one will make me very happy (at least until the next 5+ game losing streak) The reason I keep wanting/pushing for him to be traded is that is someone in this organization...Adams? Pegula?...that just will not let him be moved away from Center.

I'm going to use the collapse against Colorado in Early December, part way into the 13 game losing streak, as the time when it should have been obvious that this team needed a move/trade to help the main roster. At that moment, you were a .500 team and still in the midst of the playoff race. Since then: 31 games and no trades 19 losses and no trades 83 days and no trades I'm not, and never have been a person who wants trades made for the sake of trades. It has to make sense...but c'mon already, there had to have been SOMETHING out there they could have done. Trouba, Blackwood, Cam Fowler, Kakko, Rantanen, Farabee, J.T. Miller, Marcus Pettersson, Granlund, Ceci, and many lesser players have all been moved/acquired since then...yet the team in most need of a move (Buffalo).....Well, I guess the solution was "in the room".

Another thing about Cozens that would be a good reason for him to move to wing. Quinn. As a Center, the 'eye test' tells some of us that once Cozens gets the puck in the slot, he is shooting it. He either doesn't have the vision, or the willingness to pass up a shot to find a better/open teammate. One positive number in his analytics this year and in previous years is he takes a lot of shots from prime scoring areas (high danger areas). That can be a good thing, meaning he is going to those areas, but it can also be a bad thing...he's a black hole..once the puck goes into those areas with him, it never comes back out. He takes shots from those areas...even if it means they are shots the goalie is ready for and lead to easy saves, or he shoots them into the shins of the guy right in front of him. If Cozens is in what is considered a 'high danger chance' zone, Cozens takes that shot, regardless of whether it is, in reality, a good shot to take. So why is that bad for Quinn? Quinn is a better shooter. Sniper? I'm not sure if I would go that far yet, but this year Quinn is shooting 4.3% more than Cozens this year. For their careers, Cozens has shot at 9% or under 4 of his 5 seasons. Quinn is at least 11% every year, and 2 years over 16%. For Quinn's sake, I want a center that is going to get him the puck more. I want a center that will shoot less and set him up more than Cozens does. Just move Cozens to wing already if he isn't going to be traded. It's not only what is probably best for him and suits his game better, but there is likely a knock-off impact that will help 2-3 other players on the team at the same time. Whoever gets Cozens as a winger might get the benefit of a hard skating, good forchecking winger that they didn't have, and whoever Cozens wingers used to be will get a center that might be able to distribute to them better. You can potentially improve 2-3 different players on the roster without making a single trade.

Zucker, Greenway, McLeod, Quinn, Peterka, Byrum, Jokiharju, and Reimer just some among guys who are on the last year of their deal. Of course the unrestricted guys are a bit more likely to be dealt. But, between the Trade deadline and the offseason, some pretty big decisions to be made.

I still haven't changed my mind.....I don't have an issue with the moves Adams has made overall recently....my issue is they haven't made ENOUGH moves.

I agree with a lot of what you are saying. But that is what nationalism it....dividing groups into 'us' vs 'them' based on the borders you live within that someone else made up. Its also what sports is. Sports often brings people together WITHIN a community (although it can drive them apart if they read or post too much to this forum), but in order to do that it does it by creating the 'us vs them' thing, creating that division again. My wife Grew up in NY city and has a lot of friends still there. I lived for years near Boston and my company has their headquarters there and I visit for meetings 2 times per year. I can tell you with 100% certainty that there are people from NY that hate people from Boston and people from Boston that hate people from NY and that hatred is there simply because of sports. I am attaching a somewhat famous NY post front page that they ran about a Yankees-Red sox game. But the article wasn't about sports, it was a why NY is better than Boston and why New yorkers are better than Bostonians, and it was about bashing the people and city of Boston Guess what, it sells $$$. That is an example of why I don't like sports. I know others disagree, but I would love to go to a Sabres-Leafs game and to meet some Leaf fans and talk to them about their team, to talk to them about the Sabres. But instead we have fans that when their team scores, they point at and mock the other team, and behavior that escalates from there. I know some people like that, it is their 'escape' from crappy jobs or other problem and sports allows them to vent. Its just not my thing.

I'm not talking about the fans doing something. I'm talking bout the tone of the discussion. A lot of people will post things and say "We should trade for this player" or "We need to get tougher". I'm using "We" in the same way. I try to stay truthful, but everything I post is not 100% literal that way.

And while I was a little kid, I watched hockey a lot back then. Even with that, I seem to think that Mario Lemieux in the middle-to-late 80's was just as much, if not more 'dangerous' than Gretzky was in the early 1980's. I was always a fan of Gretzky over Lemieux, but when I am honest with myself, I think Lemieux and Hasek are the 2 most dominant NHL players I have ever seen.

Maybe a guy like Tkachuk brings a 'level of compete' to the team that Buffalo doesn't have. If you think effort and toughness IS an issue, than a centerpiece player like him can have an impact. On the other hand, some of the 'insiders' on Canadian radio seem to think Tkachuk is a very important player to Ottawa, but they think that Stutzle drives the team. As he goes, so do the Sens. At least I have heard that converstation a few times.

I agree that McDavid is the best player of the current generation. I also think that the gap between him and the rest of the players isn't as big as it was with dominant players in the past. Over a period of 3-5 years, the gap between McDavid and guys like McKinnon, Matthews (playoffs are an issue I know), even where Eichel is now in 2025.....is not as great as it was in the past between the players of the generation. Gretzky vs all others in the early 80's....Lemieux vs all else in the late 80's. Its 2 guys but Crosby and Ovechkin vs all others in the 2000's. McDavid rightfully has acheived his title, but the gap between the 'elites' of this generation and the players just below them I think has narrowed.

There is a middle ground, which I admit many fans don't take. Instead of saying "if that losing streak didn't happen" or saying "It did happen and it will happen again" how about....."how do we make the team better/good enough so it doesn't happen again in the future"?

I'm more worried about his injury history than him being a floater. I dont' watch evey Canucks game, but as they are on HNIC quite a bit on Saturday, plus vs the Sabres, a lot of us get to see him 10+ times per year. He doesn't seem to be a 'floater' to me. He often skates hard. He for sure hustles back in his own end. The issue with me is not what does he CHOOSE to do, but rather what CAN he do. When I see what others see as 'floating', to me its often he just can't do what he was able to 2 years ago. Either way though, that isn't a good sign.

That is where we disagee I guess. I don't do it anymore, but during the game day threads I would watch the replays of the goals and see if I could see where the breakdown was. At least through the first month of this season, I found a lot more on UPL this year than last. Ultimately I do not disagree with you. I don't think he is THE problem. If he continued to play the way he is this year, but the other issues were improved, this team would likely be in the playoffs. He is playing 'good enough'. I would put the defensive play/support of the forwards in their own end as being multiple times more of an issue than UPL. I was just saying if he played at a VERY high level like he did the 2nd half of last year (and some of us expected that to continue for some reason), the team would be in a better situation. Thats all.

Since they played Buffalo right after Thanksgiving, he has 4 goals in 30 games. I'm interested in him, but it seems like since the moment he signed that extentions, his production dropped, and as we get farther and farther away from that moment, his production drop is accelerating.

I'd be good with signing McLeod for up to 5 years. Of course, it all depends on the cost.

Before the other league went other, didn't the Buffalo Beauts have one of the best attendance in the entire league for the other women's league?

Hat trick. He has scored a lot of empty neck goals in his career but from inside his own blue line he almost put a dead center into the net...maybe 150 feet away If the Sabres players had half the accuracy that Ovi has even shooting at an empty net, they'd probably have a few more empty net goals and a couple more wins because of it. 41 games.. half of a season.. 29 goals. At his age. He's scoring at a nearly 60 goal Pace.