Thorner

Agree. Draft picks and prospects are very overrated. These kids are more talented than ever, and more talented than ever right out of the gate: teams get a free 7 draft picks *every season*. Even drafting well you gain little ground vs the Net talent increase, league wide, every draft. A GM has to craft a team, not just run a prospect assembly line.

HoleZinger 😂

Yeap, spot on. And it’s been that way with past players as well.

Of course. But I’m admittedly not the biggest fan of the Ewoks, and their sudden intrusion into the world of Galadriel and Frodo caught me off guard

No way! Think of the message that sends to the rest of this roster about the organization’s failure to prioritize winning. If he’s one of our best players, he needs to stay. Results of the team were supposed to take priority this season. Especially considering we clearly aren’t hampering his development by keeping him. This shouldn’t be a “hey go enjoy a holiday break from this dogfight, kid, you earned it.” Gross

I just singled yours out. It was a comment for those in the discussion

70 assists, dayum

Skinner had scored 345 times. Maybe Benson already has better defensive awareness but it’s still a lot for him to live up to overall. People acting like Benson is a lock to be better just never learn.

That’s a tough loss. Sucks to say, but some of those top teams are probably playing down to us a little bit. It’s only human nature. Gotta get it figured out quick. 50 games left, now. Only one 2-game win streak at this time is kinda astounding if you think about it. Expected regression seems to have hit the top guys even more than expected, which probably leaves those guys somewhere in the middle, from what we saw last year and what we are seeing this. Good base, but plenty of work to do from management to help out. Still time to get a streak going, though. Maybe with Columbus into Toronto (one can dream.)

Even the smallest person can change the course of the future

Yessir. Tied for 18th with a few others. You didn’t elaborate but I’m inclined to guess your confusion stems from the tweet being about 5 v 5 specifically

Has gotta be a better mindset for the players than “what could he even have done? Our D is bad!” after a goalie gives up a difficult one

And, I don’t think the reasons being mentioned to give Tuch the C are actually real things: so much surrounding/attributed to the “C” is myth. Is Tuch going to do *more* of the leadership stuff he does if he arbitrarily has the letter? He’s holding back, now? Not in my estimation. Leaders lead. Personally I’m more interested in the tangible: I find it hard to think KO doesn’t get preferential ice time treatment due to his letter. Tuch’s next contract, as mentioned he’ll be in his 30s, on the downside. That’s the most dangerous spot to give out a contract. Can we afford to go long term? Do we want a captain on a short term deal? Even worse, does it lead to an overpay in term/value? Slap it on the franchise; slap it on Dahlin. It’s time. Doesn’t need to be vocal, he’s more of a Lidstrom

A win today would be noteworthy, being only our second 2 game win streak of the season A win today AND the next game would finally spark some genuine curiosity in a season that seemed likely lost A win today, the next game, and then beating the Leafs..

Legendary exit tbf

He absolutely shouldn’t be their best forward (if he is). He’s pretty good for a rookie, he’s not good for a team’s top forward. He’s pacing for 39 points over a full season He’s pacing for 34 points over the course of this season

Ya so about average overall. Like I said, I don’t really expect a team to ever be fully healthy, one game or no There will always be someone on the injury report. The link I posted demonstrates that 0/32 teams have zero 1/32 teams have one 31/32 teams have multiple players listed

T-18th in even strength points. Pretty darn good

Just as a side note, not really specifically relevant to the point you are making, but: I dunno, if this isn’t considered healthy, health is merely an abstract concept..we are pretty healthy overall now. Expecting better than current would require above average injury luck. “No injuries” isn’t really the goal. Length of our list par for the course, here: https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/injuries 10 teams have more, 10 teams have less, 11 teams have the same. And we only have 3 guys out relative to the roster we willingly entered into the season with. The list was a bit longer at other times (as with other teams) but as it stands now is a status you take and run with if given the option

Ya I’d go with Dahlin personally, not really a hard choice. He’s already our best player and will be here longer, and in his prime for the duration of his contract Also don’t really want the added pressure to lock up a guy who’ll be on the downside of his career because he’s captain, may even run into an Okposo situation

The Leafs game would be must-see tv if we can go in at nhl 500

Any player worth their weight will care as much as the fans do in the moment: the competitive nature the game requires at the highest level is considerable. But the players will never care about the *Buffalo Sabres* as much as the fans. We love the crest. We have the history. We feel the weight of it in a way they never could, including the drought. Most of these guys didn’t give 2 sh*ts about the Sabres before signing a contract here: they are professionals. It’s a job. A job they may love: but it’s still a job. So do they care as much in the moment? I’d say yes. Does the millions of dollars they make soften the blow? Of course. Do they care about the Buffalo Sabres franchise, beyond their current teammates? Not close to the level of a fan. When they get moved to a new team, that’s their team. So yes, they of course care. There isn’t any lack of it to the extent it would affect winning, imo. They care about winning. It’s just useful to keep in mind the things they don’t care about, as much

It sure as heck makes dealing with the losses easier, though

There’s over-analysis of one game in an 82 game season and one game in a 13 year drought and then there’s this. We didn’t win because we are better without one of our best players. If it’s a better line configuration on L1 without him that’s a *coaching issue*. If we need to save the team from themselves by not playing Skinner that would be a bandaid fix for an issue surely to arise with other lineup decisions