GASabresIUFAN

Ramadan Kareem my friend.

He needed a coach not named Ralph.

In many ways that was the best win of the year. Going down 0-2 against a team desperate for points to stay in the playoff race and you beat them 5-1 the rest of the way, including 3 in the 3rd. It's amazing how free these guys play without Rasputin gone.

G-d forbid, 3 possible scoring lines? Say it isn't so. Skinner with Reinhart Cozens with R2 ATM Nice! Looks like the seeds of a beginning.

There are 47 goalies that have played 15 or more games this season ytd. Ullmark is 15th in save % overall, 12% at even strength, 19th on the pk and leads the league in shoot out save %. Guys behind him include Hart, Quick, Price, and Rask.

Pay him the 5 for 5 and move on. He’s 27 and that will cover his prime. He is an excellent 5 on 5 goalie, a much improved PK goalie and the best shootout goalie in the league. His numbers are better then Demko’s but he is a couple of years older. If UPL develops into a star over the next 2-3 years then you let him back up Ullmark for a season or two and then trade Ullmark as the contract should be easily moved. This is what happened in Pitt and TB.

Risto is an impact player. McCabe is as well. Ullmark obviously is as well. Where we come up short was finding stars after the 1st rd. We also failed to get a volume of players to build a deep organization. Honestly the TM drafting years set the rebuild back for years. Jbot looks like he is going to get some volume and maybe a star in UPL. TB is so good because they found players everywhere. Palat, Gourde, Johnson, Killorn, Point and Cirelli were all drafted after the 1st (or even undrafted). We haven’t been that lucky or that competent. IMHO you need 3 players a year on average to sustain a pipeline and you need to get lucky and get a surprise star or two. Unfortunately we did neither in the last decade of DR’s tenure or in TMs tenure. It also didn’t help how many assets TM wasted.

Trading Miller next?

Actually the CHL does put aside some college money for the kids. Also they can go to Canadian University after the CHL and play.

Im going to remember Rasputin. I remember getting a root canal, why wouldn’t I remember something else as painful.

Next! Sure go pick up the cough drop.

What i’m talking about is Canadian kids increasingly avoiding the CHL so that they can go to college because they feel they’ll develop better there.

These kids are playing in the USHL or in the Canadian non-pro junior leagues like the BCHL before feeding into the NCAA so that they can retain their amateur status and play college hockey. Cale Makar maybe the most noteworthy example. He played in the AJHL before heading to UMass for 2 years.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-officiating-video-reverses-crucial-call-that-may-have-knocked-bills-out-of-playoffs-140251988.html And we thought the NHL was bush league. Cody ask for your money back plus interest.

They also sent some of their non-CHL players to the CHL to develop such as UPL. The question is would guys like Olofsson made it to the NHL had he been a CHL player? My guess is that he wouldn't have gotten a contract after 2 years. While I wouldn't not look at the CHL after the second round, I also wouldn't emphasize it either. I read an article the other day discussing why so many Canadian kids are opting for NCAA hockey instead of the CHL. The reasoning was is that these kids feel the NCAA is a better developmental league at this point.

Rasputin was that bad.

He certainly got caved, but was it immaturity or terrible coaching. Calling him lazy is complete BS and you know it. No one gets to this level by being lazy. Immature possibly but not lazy. After watching what RK did to Montour, Jokiharju, Dahlin, Skinner, Hall, Staal, Sheary, Vesey, Miller, Thompson and eventually Jack, are you really going to lay Mitts’ loss of confidence last year on Mitts being lazy?

Thompson (72), Asplund (74) and Mitts (37) - I hereby dub thee the “7s” Why was this the only line generating offense against the caps?

Why is this such a surprise? This is an uber talented kid who got rushed to the NHL then got destroyed by an incompetent coach. Instead of hanging his head, he went to Rochester, worked hard, got real mentoring and coaching by Chris Taylor, who also fixed Tage Thompson, and by the end of his 39 games he was well on his way to being the two way force we are now watching emerge in the NHL. The quotes from Taylor said this transformation had begun and that he was ready. Now that Rasputin, who had no idea how to utilize his players, is gone is it really shocking that talented players like Tage, Mitts, and Dahlin are now playing toward their potential? Sadly, it’s becoming abundantly clear that Rasputin wanted Taylor gone because Taylor challenged him and was a clear replacement when his own incompetence became apparent. Makes one wonder how much farther along Mitts and Thompson would be if they didn’t have RK as their coach.

Why is 7s the only line that creates offense?

At a Tenn vs UGA ACHA game in Macon GA watching the Sabres game on my phone. and I’m rooting for the Vols. My soon to be son-in-law is Captain of the Vols.

Mitts sucks. Who could ever promote such a player? Miller is moving toward Irwin territory.

Limbo?

.KA loves barely warm bodies. He acquired the near corpse of Eric Staal, Rieder, Sheahan, and Eakin. Why not Drake? I’m surprised we didn’t claim Vesey.

The list is logical. Who doesn’t need a top 6 winger? I think Toronto is a fit, but not Colorado. I think NYI are doubtful. Fla may be the best bet.