mjd1001

I don't have too much data to support thigs, so just throwing this out there... Maybe Pegula really really wants a skilled team and doesn't want the tougher/enforcer type guys and he set the direction. -When he speaks about him being a fan, he brings up the French connection (nothing wrong with that) and the players he liked....not much ever mentioned about guys like Shoenfeld, Ramsay, Foligno...etc. -During his time as owner, through MANY different GM's, very few tough/physical players were drafted. Maybe the last one that fits that mold was Marcus Foligno, but he was drafted Before Pegula. -Every year they have a chance to bring in guys like that, and again, through multiple GM's, they pass on them almost every year. -A lot of their coaching hires under Pegula are guys who don't seem to demand the 'though' part of the game but rather focused on skill. Not all of them, but certainly some. Again, no idea if it is a direction from the Top, but the lack of 'toughness' and 'accountability' seems to have started the moment he became owner and got his input in building the organization. The sign that all this started was the Miller-Lucic hit...was was just 2 months into the first year he owned the team, if i'm not mistaken.

The New Jersey player. No sabres would go after him, but the linesman did.

Did Quinn get hurt again or just benched? by far and away the least ice time among forwards with about 8 minutes. After looking like he was turning it around he now has only 1 goal and 2 assists in his last 9 games. I'm just not sure if its a benching or something injury related I missed (didn't see the entire game)

For me its not so bad if he told them not to retaliate after the moment was over to try to win the game. I could go either way on that. The issue was the lack of an immediate response. If you didn't see it, all you need to do is skate over to your bench and ask someone on it who did it...or better yet the guys on the bench should be YELLING out the the guys on the ice who did it. Once the moment is over. yeah, try to win the game and don't get sucked into something stupid. But in the moment, that is my issue.

The thing I keep going back to everytime the Sabres have an incident like this (which seems to happen a few times a year), is why doesn't Lindy demand a guy on his roster who can respond. He has spoken extensively since he came back in the offseason, both in an interview with Rob Ray and even when Ray wasn't there, about how having a guy like that is useful. He had MacDermid in New Jersey just for that reason. Why is it every indication is that Ruff likes having a guy or two like that 'in reserve' and has even talkeda bout it, but yet he didn't ask for one on this roster? Its not like he has been a certain type of coach for 20+ years and then just changed this very year with Buffalo.

That answer is the correct answer if you are in a playoff spot or have a legit chance of getting to one. But with the position the Sabres are in....not quite as much.

Its a tough question. Just even with the players you mentioned above, I can make a case for a few of them. No one really clear cut to me unless I can think about it a lot more.

That is the only thing about Tage's game I really am upset with, and I agree with you on the bolded. He plays like a 50 goal scorer when he his healthy, but it seems like whenver he comes back from any injury, it takes a couple weeks before he gets back to where he needs to be. The issue this seems to be happening a lot lately. its a bad time too, since the Holidays in the last 17 games, he has points in 14 of them: 10 goals, 23 points, kinda carrying the team. It seems that almost half of the offense the past month has come from just him and Kulich. If he misses any time, and if so when he does come back it might take his few games to get back to this level...just unfortunate.

Agreed. I do not like fighting in hockey, If I see a well played, end to end game I don't think about fighting anymore...but you should have 1 or 2 guys that can play that game. I know, an enforcer who is decent on the ice is hard to find, but they have had years to find one, its about time.

Is now. With the Sabres, wasn't always the case, as per my previous post. If you still insist on arguing he IS one now, then I obviously didn't do enough to explain my point of view in my previous post.

Yeah, I think we are disagreeing about different things. Again, I'm not saying he isn't a very good passer or he isn't a great player. He is. I was just confronted when I said he wasn't a playmaker when he was with the Sabres, and I stand by him. I'm talking STYLE with the SABRES, not overall ability and not what he is now. Maybe due to coaching, teammates, experience, he HAS become more of a playmaker in Vegas than he was here.

I'm not saying he didn't make the players around him better, but to me that's different than being a playmaker. A playmaker to me, as I described above for how we are having this discussion, is somebody who is going to look to set up his teammates first. Eichel made his teammates better because of his overall skill, not because he was a playmaker-set up my linemates first guy. He drew attention due to his overall ability and that opened things up fro them. And I'm not saying he was bad at passing. He was good but he wasn't always a.. get to the net and distribute type of guy. When he played for the Sabres, his game was he carried the puck into the zone, he controled the zone entries. But then, as we had many discussions on this forum years ago, he would cross the blue line with speed, then SLOW down and look to pass the puck to his wingers to set up the offense in the zone. When he did get the puck later deeper into the zone (even strength or on the PP) after the offense was set up, he would get to the slot and he would take more shots than he would pass. I'm pretty sure he had a good number more goals than he did primary assists. To me that is the sign of a good overall player, but not what we are discussing as a 'playmaker'. I understand all of your points but again... Maybe it's semantics... When I'm talking about a playmaker I'm talking about somebody like Adam Oates... Or Backstrom in Washington... Guys whose first thought was get the puck to my wingers at all costs in a great position before they would even consider shooting. Look at how Dubois is playing with Washington this year. When you watch him play, he sometimes skates the puck through or across the slot, not even looking at the net but looking to see who he can pass to. THAT is a playmaker. Or of course McKinnon...he shoots and scores a lot when on the rush, but when they have things set in the offensive zone, his game is to draw defenders toward him and then find the open linemate. That is another good example of a playmaker. (Jack Hughes and Barkov are 2 others I think of with this style of play also) Eichel may have made his wingers better because of his pure talent... But his mentality was that not that is he distributing playmaker. He was more balanced. Sorry.

When he was with the Sabres... He put up a lot of points one year but I wouldn't call him a world-class playmaker then. He's become more of a pass first player with Vegas than he was with the sabres. He's gotten better as he's matured. I'm sorry but his time in Buffalo, he was more of a balanced player. When he set up other players... It was less about him having great vision and looking to pass first and making pinpoint passes, rather than it was about him drawing attention as the best overall player on the ice and taking advantage of that. I remember he would often carry the puck into the offensive zone and slow down, looking to pass the puck as he just crossed the blue line. But once he got in close to the net, he was not always looking 'pass first'. When I think of the word 'playmaker', I think of someone who gets the puck closer to the net, and then looks to set up linemates. Eichel was almost the opposite with the Sabres...he would 'distribute' after crossing the blue line, but the closer he got to the net, the more he looked to shoot. That is my memory of him with the Sabres.

Last year I would have said Mitts. This year...I assume we are talking about forwards otherwise I would probably say Dahlin. I don't see a player on this team as a pure playmaking forward. When I think of players that make great passes, an occasional one by Tuch or Thompson comes to mind, but neither of those guys are pure playmakers. They might actually be shoot-first players who happen to have the ability to make a nice pass every once in a while which is the only reason I remember them. I can't even remember when they had a good playmaker. Reinhart maybe? Vanek had good vision and involved his teammates but he was more of a shoot-first guy. Eichel I guess? No one really stands out on this team in recent memory. Is Tuch a good playmaker from the wing and that is one of the reasons why Thompson is their best goal scorer because he plays with Tuch? I'm really at a loss here for thinking of anyone this team has, or has had, that is a legit good playmaker.

I guess its up to the coach and how you structure lines, and how well the players work together. But if you can structure lines a certain way....or have players play in 'non traditional' rolls, then I guess it doesn't really matter if you are a center or winger, so maybe this conversation is a moot point, just giving us something to talk about. But, then again, I DO think of defensive responsibilities. At least with the Sabres under Granato and Ruff, the person assigned to Center in the defensive zone is the one who covers the center of the ice, while the wingers seem to be the ones going to the boards. Maybe the roll of Center vs Wing in the modern NHL matters a lot for defensive zone assignments...a moderate amount for neutral zone play, and matters the least for offensive zone play?

I'm just going on the Center being more important on making the better choice, because historically I think the Center has more zone entries than the wingers do and the Center has more time with the puck in the offensive zone than the wingers do. I know I read someplace, on Twitter on on here, that someone posted something to that effect, and I think it makes sense. So, I was just going on the idea that the guy in the position that has the puck more often (usually the center) I want as the one that makes the best decisions.

In many ways this team seems so far away. In others they seem so close. As a team this year where are their shortfalls? We have discussed that almost endlessly, but I came across a few stats: -As a team this year, the Sabres 5 on 5 are actually a positive 3 (+3) -When either Dylan Cozens, or Jack Quinn, or both of them are on the ice, the team is -11. (38% of all even strength ice time 1 or both of them have been on ice) -When neither of them is on the ice (basically the rest of the team), the Sabres are a +14 (62% of the time this is the case) That even extends to the Powerplay and penalty kill. When either, or both of Cozens and Quinn have been on the ice, the team scores a PP goal once of every 9.4 minutes. When neither of them is on the ice, the team scores a PP goal every 7.7 minutes. Penalty Kill? When either or both of Quinn or Cozens are on the ice, they allow a goal once every 5.4 minutes. When neither is on the ice the PK is much better, allowing a goal once very 7.4 minutes. I know it doesn't always look like it when you watch the games, but the team as a whole is actually average-to-above average when those 2 aren't on the ice this year. Every aspect of their game is better with the other 16 guys than with either, or both of those 2.

Its not always about do you look to pass first or shoot first. its about the ability to make that decision correctly. Knowing at any given time if you taking the shot is better than your winger(s). Kulich might be a very good center who doesn't look like a playmaker. If at any given time when he has the puck on his stick, he he has a better chance of scoring than a winger would (because he has a better shot or is in better position)...then make the correct decision. That is one of the reasons Cozens isn't a good Center. Its not that Cozens shoots too much or not, its that he doesn't make the decision on when shooting is better or passing is better. With Cozens, the decisions are like flipping a coin. A good center isn't one who passes more than he shoots. Its one who can make the decision of when to pass vs shoot. If that means the correct decision is he shoots more and has more goals than assists, so be it. That would be a good center. Its not as simple as goal to assist ratio.....instead its about making that correct decision in the offensive end, whatever that decision is...and maybe even more so your defensive zone play or transitions through the neutral zone.

I'm cautiously more optimistic about Kulich than any of the other prospects, including Benson. Let me take a quick step back in this discussion. When we evaluate players, a lot of us, myself included like to look at just a portion of a season and project that for players. Such as "Peterka had 7 goals and 9 assists through the first 16 games, so that projects to a high 30 goal/80+ point guy... so that is who he is now" or "Cozens scored 31 goals one season so that is who he is and its just a matter of time until he gets back there". It doesn't always work out the way we want. I THINK you can do that, at least a little, with Kulich this year. Its not going to be 100% accurate, but there are reasons to do it with him. Kulich is a pretty decent (slightly above average) skater (decent speed, lots of effort), with a good shot and a very quick release. His strength appears to be shooting. You want him to not pass up shots when he is open he likely has a better shot than most other players on the ice. However, the first month-or-two of this season that is what he was doing, passing up things. The coaches, and himself, may have KNOWN he had a better shot than some of his linemates, but he lacked a bit of confidence....or maybe he still thought he was the 'new guy' so he wasn't playing to his strengths. The number of shots he took wasn't drastically different early in the year compared to more recently, but how much he carried the puck and the type of shots, to me, seem different. He seems more confident in his offensive game and I don't think that will go away (not to the extent of they way he was earlier in the year). So how do the numbers break down? There seems to be a clear break where his game changed in mid-December pretty much right at the Montreal game where Pegula told them 'no changes': First 22 games of the year: 3 goals, 0 assists, 3 points, 49 shots, -2. (82 game pace of 11 goals, 0 assists,11 points, 182 shots, -7) 15 games since mid Dec: 8 goals, 5 assists, 13 points, 35 shots, +7 (82 game pace of 44 goals, 27 assists, 71 points, 191 shots, +38) Now, do I think he has turned into a 44 goal, 70 point, +38 player? No. But that line between where his stats changed seems to be a bit more than something random used to make the numbers look good...its more of a point in the evolution of his game where he is playing with more confidence, something that is NOTICABLE to the eye when you watch him....not just something we say to justify an increase in production over a 15 game period.

I'm ready for another 'insider' rumor, this one has kinda played out.....we need something new to talk about.

I'm going to play devils advocate here....and I'm not saying I support this point of view, but just putting out out there of how people may think.... They might justify booing by saying....Pegula is never here. He hardly talks to the fans. Isn't avaiable for press. He is invisible to the fans and hides to not take any heat. If THIS night is the night he shows up, that is my only chance to boo him. If that takes away from Rob Ray's night...thant is on Pegula, not me for booing. In essense, if he shows up he's doing it this night as a way to 'hide' behind Rob Ray's moment. Again, I'm not a person who boos...but I can see those who would boo him as using the above as a justification.

I'd imagine McDavid's next deal, if longer term, will probably be worth about $17m per year. If it goes that high....is Edmonton still in on it?

Maybe it will make Cozens $7 per year a little better to another team considering trading for him? Of course with this franchise it'll probably work the other way around....probably make Pegula think Cozens is less of an issue in relation to the cap so they'll justify keeping him even more. If this is a bigger jump that most anticipated, it also makes signing Byram a lot more expensive if Pegula doesn't want to spend the money.

Those are huge jumps for the 2nd and 3rd year.

Nope. Tuch is not a legit 1st line star, and he's not the do every single thing people want, but he's a good player. He is a very good forchecker, above average at penalty killing and scores more clutch goals than anyone on the team. Zucker? Nope there also. Unless you are getting a top prospect or a 1st rounder, there is no reason to trade hime. Levi? I don't know much about how he is projecting now as a futur pro, but I think you are looking at him next year as a key part of your goaltending. Quinn? I could go either way on that. He has been playing better lately and I still see a path to him being a productive winger. I don't think he's an all around-2 way winger, but he is almost back on pace for a 20 goal season after an awful start (Since mid December vs the Leafs, 19 games played, 8 goals, 6 assists). I want more time to see if that 'turn around' is real. Cozens is the only one I want gone, and I'm willing to almost give him and his contract away.