mjd1001

Its not black and white with everyone. I'm interjecting a 3rd opinion, I'm not saying I totally agree or disagree with either of you, but for some of us, we don't like the last 14 years but that doesn't mean we hate everything about the team either. The NHL and the Sabres are entertainment for some of us. Each year, every change to the roster is new hope. Every bad coach or every bad GM CAN make a good decision. So no, we don't like the results, and may not think everyone in place is the best person for the job...but we do like to think of what each change can, and will bring, and not be negative about them all the time. I like to think of things 2 ways: 1.) The Sabres not winning the Cup doesn't mean everything is a total failure. I can watch each game each night and if they win, take that as one single night's positive entertainment. 2.) for some of us this time of year is just as fun as the actual season. The 'team building' the 'roster building' is as fun (or maybe even better than) the actual games. I likened this previously to someone who follows auto racing: Some people just want to watch the race. Others would much rather watch a documentary on the engineers designing the car in the off-season, they would rather see what changes are made to the car before the race, see the adjustments, follow the engineering aspects of designing the car. It can be the same with the results of the game and actually watching the games for some of us. Some of us want the results to be positive, but the 'hope' something can change ALONG WITH observing the results of the moves that are made are the primary entertainment for us.

I'm not so sure I want to break up Kulich and Tage. It might not work out long term, but they clicked big time in the 20 or so games they played together last year. For example: When Tage and Kulich were on the ice together, Their goals for % was almost 60 (meaning the Sabres scored alot more than they allowed) and the team scored a goal when those 2 were out there together once ever 12.6 minutes. For comparison: The Austin Matthews/Marner Combo in Toronto last had the leafs scoring a goal once every 17.4 minutes they were on the ice together even strength. In Edmonton, McDavid and Draisatl skating together had Edmonton scoring once ever 13.1 minutes. In Colorado after the trade, Necas and McKinnon spent most of their time together and Colorado scored a goal once every 18.1 minutes they were together. So again, Kulich and Tage played together for about 20 or so games, smallish sample size, but seeing how well they played together, I might want to keep them together, and that might mean Tage and Kulich on the same top line. I don't care if it was Kulich who elevated Tage's play, or Tage that lifted up Kulich. With the kind of production they had together, I at least want to see if that can continue in any way.

I don't understand the thought process for $9 million per year. Is he a high draft pick with potential? I guess so. But nothing in his play, even if you dig deep into the advanced stats, says $9 million per year... Or even close to that.

Also, it doesn't have to be binary, or maybe it does but in a different way. Sure, it would be great to have a hard nosed, hard-to-play against guy who is also skilled and can play with finesse, but not everyone is built that way. It doesn't have to be a problem through. For example, maybe you put a guy like Power on the ice with the other 'type' of guys, enough of them, so he doesn't have to play that 'tougher' game....and it allows his skills to flourish. Despite his size, it may not always be a bad thing if a guy is super-skilled and you put enough of the other type of guys in the team so he doesn't even have to put a thought to that type of game, and it allows him to just do what he does best. Hasn't Lindy said over and over and over you need some tough guys, some 'enforcers' maybe, to give the other guys more room to play their game?

I don't mind the concept of Social media. Twitter as a place to get information (subscribe to people who put out news, not to interact with them). But my big problem with social media is the interaction. It wouldn't be so bad if it was a place to share ideas. But alas, instead its a megaphone for people to blast their opinion and shout down anyone who doesn't agree with them....with a side of them making not-so-funny jokes as a way to make themselves look clever. I have my opinion, but if someone has a different opinion than I do, I'm willing to tell that person my opinion at our first interaction and then listen for them to tell me their logical reasons why their different opinion might be something I can consider. Who knows, maybe they bring up a point I never thought of? But Nope, Most often if you disagee with someone on social media, even in a pleasant, courteous way, you are met with something like "You are a F****N Idiot!! " or many variations of that. Then again, this very message forum is kinda of a cousin to social media (or maybe a precursor.)

Thats WAY too positive of a take. Don't you know around there you can only post about Adams if its pure, 100% bashing? Nothing he can do, say, no movement of his body can be anything but a total disaster destined to make the Sabres (along with the life every citizen of WNY) worse in every way.

Partially incorrect post on "X" by that guy. They have tried to bring in 'high end players'. Okposo and Taylor Hall were considered at the top of the class in terms of free agents. They brought them in, they both failed here miserably.

I would say that the players chiefly responsible for the terrible D-zone play....50% of them are gone. The 2 worst offenders are not any of the D-man, rather Quinn and Cozens. Quinn still here, Cozens gone.

If they get 'league average-to-slightly above league-average' goaltending (and no catastrophic injuries), they will be better, maybe considerably. If the goaltending is as bad as last year, they won't be.

As time goes on, knowing how much Greenway gets hurt, only 34 gp last year...i'm liking his extension less and less.

Agreed. This team was likely to only get better goaltending if it comes from Levi or UPL. Lyon is here that if those first 2 guys falter, the drop to the play Lyons gives you isn't as far.

You paid Danforth more because that is what it took to sign him. Between Doan, Kozak, Danforth, and anyone else up for a 4th line spot, let it be open competition. The best guys get the sports, whoever doesn't...down to Rochester.

I'm good with it. If he regresses SLIGHTLY its a decent deal. If he plays the same as last year or better, its a great deal. Plus, don't need another hole at center.

Good. On paper, He looked like a decent fourth liner but it didn't seem to work out. Good to get something for him and good for him to move on. It's a small, but a good lesson, that sometimes the statistics on paper and even the analytics don't mean much if he doesn't mesh with the coach or the rest of the team.

Ekblad at $6.1m per year to stay in Florida is less than I expected. I guess his injury history, or the fact they are giving him 8 years...maybe that makes up for it?

I'd love Marner, but .. I guess you have to make the call but I don't think you're getting him here without paying him and exorbitant amount of money. That will hurt your roster in many other spots. More importantly, you're going to get close to peak play from him for maybe 2 or 3 more years. Is this team going to contend for a cup then? I don't think so. Yes we all want them to make the playoffs but I don't want to mortgage 5 years down the road from now just to make the playoffs and get bounced in the first or second round. If you could get him at the same rate as any other team then sure, but you don't overpay for a contract that will be bad a few years down the road.

I love the Tavares deal for Toronto. This one I'm not so sure on. Is there a chance Knies will be really, REALLY good? I guess. But over the playoffs, over the last season, the year before basically his entire career, I think he is a product of Matthews. His numbers are worthy of close to $8m when playing with Matthews, if you look at his numbers, his production, his underlying metrics/analytics with not on the ice with Matthews, they are actually below average. Like he's kinda a bad player across the board without Matthews on the ice with him. I linked and posted his metrics with and without Mathews below (reg season and playoffs), but if you look at last year, they numbers are just as bad as this year. https://www.naturalstattrick.com/linestats.php?fromseason=20242025&thruseason=20242025&stype=2&sit=5v5&score=all&rate=n&team=TOR&vteam=ALL&view=wowy&loc=B&gpfilt=none&fd=2024-10-04&td=2025-04-17&tgp=2000&strict=incl&p1=8482720&p2=8479318&p3=0&p4=0&p5=0

Short answer, they are about the same, I think if there are no major injuries, slightly better....but that is only if there are no major injuries...and slightly is not good enough to make a major jump in the standings. 1.) Cozens/Norris. If Norris is healthy, this make the team better. The advanced stats, the simple stats, watching the games....all of those things pointed to Cozens hurting the team more than (or at least as much as) he helped. 2.) I liked Jokiharju, I think he was better than most people thought, but at BEST he was a serviceable mid-pair guy. Losing him not a huge factor. 3.) No clue. I think Peterka caused almost as many problems as he solved with his goals, but the key word there is 'almost'. While I think Cozens was a net negative player, Peterka was still an overall positive. He will be a loss, but hopefully the return will negate that loss. 4.) Clifton for Timmins? Not a big deal either way. 5.) Quinn. If he played like he did the last 1.5 years, I don't want him on the team. I guess the hope is he turns his bad play around (his own end and unwillingness to go to the net). More needs to be done. It'll be easier to have an answer to this question when we know if Byrum re-signs or what the return for him is...and we know more about the quality of goaltending they will get. This team had problem last year, but in my opinion the problems were in this order. 1.) How bad the goaltending was 2.) How bad Cozens and Quinn were without the puck 3.) D-partners/pairings that didn't look in sync with each other. #1 is still a wide open question. #2 has partially been solved, but not totall. #3, well, they are making an attempt, but we have no idea until October (or later) how successful their attempt is.

I know, they do. And I get it, this is a place for fans to vent. I have in the past defended people saying whatever they want, that is what message boards are for. Its just, I don't want to block people, I want to be exposed to all conversations, but when I have an hour to spare and read through various recent posts, it gets tiresome seeing the same people posting about how bad Adams is in the thread about Adams. Posting about how bad Adams is in a thread about a trade. Posting about how bad Adams is in a thread about the draft. Posting about how bad Adams is....you get the point. I get it, people don't like him, but the complaints about him in threads...especially when the post has nothing to do with the topic....for me at least it gets overbearing.

Agree. While I do like watching the games, for me the 'building of the team' is almost as fun, sometimes more fun than the games themselves. There are race car drivers, and their are mechanics that build the race care. More often I find myself a bit more interested in watching the car get built and learning how its built than always watching the guy drive it in circles for 3 hours.

Upon further looking at NHL edge, other analytics numbers, his basic numbers, some highlights posted here, some discussion on the leafs board, some discussion here, and most importantly (for me), me remembering talk about him or watching him with Toronto, my summary of all that regarding Timmins is (and of course I could be totally wrong): -Good skater but very slow (kinda like Jeff Skinner but slower) -Decent size but not an overly physical player, but can use his size for positioning. -Decent accuracy to his shot but not hard shot at all. -Doesn't like to carry the puck. He'll get it passed to him and move it quickly by passing it up to a forward. -Pretty good decision maker in the offensive zone. He knows his limitations and will get the puck to players in better position. Overall, not high on the raw skills, not an aggressive player physically, not aggressive in the offensive zone, or the defensive zone, but willing to play his position and the role asked of him.

A lot of his numbers, with Pittsburgh of all teams, were much better when he played with someone OTHER than Karlsson: Corsi for %: With Karlsson 54.9 With anyone else as his partner: 61.1 (those are both really good numbers, anything about 50 is 'positive' Fenwick: With Karlsson 51.3 With anyone else: 59.7 Shots for/against: With Karlsson 52.5 With anyone else: 59.6 Goals for/Against: With Karlsson 30 With anyone else: 78.6 (really, really good number) expected goals: With Karlsson 50.5 With anyone else: 62.1 High Danger chances: With Karlsson 45 With anyone else: 61.3 High danger goals: With Karlsson 28.5 With anyone else: 66.6 So, that is only from last year in his short time with Pittsburgh, and that is with limited minutes. But in the time he played with and without Karlsson, he not only did better without Karlsson, he was really really good. I haven't had a chance to do a deep dive into his numbers with Toronto for the rest of the year, but at quick glance, they are "OK" (everything is near 50, slightly above or slightly below, but not bad)

Ok, next to the Sabres I probably follow the Leafs the most of any time. Listen to a LOT Of 590 out of Toronto (seeing how I can't stand WGR and Mike Schopp and live in Northern Niagara county so I get the Canadian stations in pretty clearly.) So I'm trying to think of what I remember about Timmins game... Now the stats might prove my impression totally wrong, but what I THINK I remember about him is he was a decent skater but not fast at all, and he doesn't like to carry the puck. He would be a guy on a breakout that once he got the puck, he never took more than a stride or two with it, he would almost immediately pass it to someone else. Was not a 'full motor' guy, but more of a guy that paced himself, conserved energy on the ice and maybe took a slightly longer shift because of it. Of course, he was not one of the main guys in Toronto, so my memory and attention to him wasn't all that great. All this talk and effort acquiring a RHD...I personally never thought Jokiharju was all that bad and I'm not sure how much better these guys are than he was.

Any chance that Timmins is the guy who ends up skating most of the time with Power?

This thread regarding this trade is not really the place for this tantrum.