Thorner

Come on I don’t look THAT much like him

So what you are saying is Bowen Byram was a net negative player Just so I understand, you want to fight the battle that being only *somewhat* of an…overall disadvantage to your hockey team is a reasonable return for not only the player producing as your BEST forward but also, the largest trade chip your GM has ever utilized in a hockey trade?

Right right. The defense at least in ability definitely improved because of Byram. Remains to be seen if the team did. i think I said before I wouldn’t be surprised if they added no one on D (and they really haven’t). I think the group looks fine / good. There are some advanced stats out there suggesting otherwise maybe I’m being too traditional on this but the talent there looks good. Byram’s defensive impacts were the worst on the team. Like, the actual last position Train wreck in his own end and he’s a dman Also Casey’s good playoffs fairly or not prob factors in to perception

Johnson is a lefty just don’t see the relevance in terms of needing to play power with Dahlin Dahlin’s metrics are slightly better on the left They both play both Ya the handedness thing tends to bug me too

And?

So you are 100% certain the Sabres make it. I thought I was the guy selling the time share @dudacek

But, as of their current play, certainly not easier to replace Casey Mittelstadt than Bowen Byram, which, forgive me, is far more salient than somewhat arbitrary line designations I’ve had this discussion with you multiple times. That if we don’t address the need at F, we are relying on a potential Byram advantage on D to make up the gap, plus goaltending. I think I posted that literally today. We’ve also discussed how it’s only a concept: we aren’t getting good hockey from Byram yet. Perhaps it’s not so hard to understand why he’s an afterthought when his play was also an afterthought when measuring quality The ball is in Bowen’s court to show he can be that good Byram NOW In *Buffalo*

Hockey iq does fit Sam. A good measure of guys with high hockey IQ is how many times they score a goal and you ask, “why did THAT go in?” Or start questioning the total distance of the shots that went in. If you can’t really figure out why someone has that many, what physical trait is producing it, they have good hockey sense. That’s definitely Reino

At least the Amerks have been reaping the rewards amirite

It also obviously changes the equation if we are giving up players off our current roster. Like, the ones we want. It’s the futures assets pool that im referring to when I say I’d pay the price, that should be made more clear

I don’t like it. Strenuously against this idea. Someone will have to let me know, but I feel like I date myself in the sense all my practical hockey knowledge is from like..the mid 2010s, because that’s when I last paid thorough attention, and these things may not hold true anymore, BUT ..you only play Crosby and Malkin together down/tied late. Dahlin and Power should be our two best players. Even more so with D, the concept of playing, at least one of them, for around 66% of the game is…alluring and formidable

That may get him into trouble though I don’t know Rochester’s laws on that that

You’ll have to keep on wondering until you break me, physically. The other side ain’t happening

^

I’d rather have Jeff Skinner, absolutely KO and Girgs are good 4th liners. Them vs any of the 2 newbies is a toss up to me more less and yes, I wouldn’t play VO on line 4 but I’m the guy defending him on this site: he was good every season before last. His first 4 in the nhl he was good. He’s actually got a solid track record and definitely has a place on a competently built team He doesn’t make as good of a 4th liner (that’s why, if you see, I made a reference to “fit” in my post) but as a base asset yes I believe there’s more to be gotten out of Olofsson than Sam freaking Lafferty. His metrics were terrible. Honestly an “=“ there was generous. Yes, I get new guy = good guy buy shiny new toy syndrome ususlly wears off. They all have flaws

There are quite a few “another Benson situation developing” rumours out there right now…anyone else get the feeling we are slowly, likes lobsters in increasingly hot water, being messaging-slow-played, almost Inception-like, to the idea Helenius just *needs* be our 3C this season? “Who is out there that can guarantee you better results?”

Finally; a workable template I appreciate it and your conclusion is reasonable I do entirely disagree: Mittelstadt > Quinn Skinner > Zucker Girgensons = Malenstyn Okpsoso = Lafferty Olofsson = Aube-Kubel …I think there’s a solid argument to be made there enough “=“ there that style and deployment and fit could be a big factor so I’m not ruling out the group, in a all-avenues-considered sense, coming close to last year’s group. We’d need a huge year from Quinn though and a bounce back from Zucker Maybe the improved GT if we get it bridges the gap to the playoffs? I’ve already gone on record saying I think we have a “squint and you can see playoffs” roster - I’m not ruling out we make it with this But that’s a neither-here-nor-there position to me. The idea wasn’t to equal last year’s roster on paper and role the dice. Missing 13/4 years means nothing? The idea was to reinforce our chances by making moves tantamount to someone serious about year 14 being *UNACCEPTABLE*. you are configuring at roster where it’s merely potentially possible but leaning unlikely, if we make no other adds

Yes, it’s semantics. Because “top 6” being “better” only matters if it’s your actual best 6 forwards. Pretending Casey wasn’t in actuality part of our “top 6” doesn’t make any sense. It simply changes when the team falls behind in overall composition until one line further down in the post lol

My gosh. Greenway was on the roster to start last season, no? Just name the 12 guys, and guys who are on both teams get matched with eachother. I’ve already explained why with the JJP example

Agree, but if the price is comparable to any similar asset and what they moved for in the past, im paying it It would have to be a historic ask for me to decline So I don’t see much argumentative standing there. Is Chevy asking for more assets than a player of Ehlers ilk has ever gotten? If not, I’m paying it

You have to lay the first brick we continually try to lay a pie in the sky foundation

If Skinner was “replaced” by a guy we already had, then we need to consider who replaced JJP on the third line. It was, in your semantics, significantly downgraded to Skinner. So you can’t just say you replace skinner with Malenstyn reasonably so A-ok. Do you see the semantics yet? You are *actually* needing to replace what JJP was providing in a third line role. Which Beck doesn’t do The only way that makes sense is bodies in, bodies out

Even I can’t deal in this level of semantics. Every forward spot is improved ok? lol Your definitions are *arbitrary*. I don’t care if Mittelstadt was “top 6” in your comp or not. That is ardent semantics. He was one of our best 6 forwards

It could not be worse The “decline to protect the future” strategy has not worked and will not work Decline and be bad or accept and maybe be bad You operate based on a fear of the looming headline, admit it. You’ve basically admitted as much before. The word DROUGHT is printed on our foreheads until we make the playoffs. There’s no avoiding the headline. We are a headline