PerreaultForever

Honestly I really think all bets are off and I have no idea what Ruff is going to do or how he will (try to) have them play. Hence, who will play with who and where and in what role is unknown. I think he is going to go in with a blank slate attitude and not a take Granato's line up and tweak it attitude. So is Cozens 2C? Is he a 2 way player? Would he be better on the wing? idk. Does Cozens know? I hope Ruff does. I have faith in Lindy and if we come out of the gate looking the same as last year (or similar) I will be horribly disappointed.

I can guess perhaps that this is a new distinction police make for traffic incidents to distinguish them from EBikes or other motorized cycles. It might change some of the legalities around where you are on the road etc.

Sad tragedy which just shows you that things can happen to anyone any time no matter how rich or famous or great your life is, things can change in a second. Very sad for his family. Arguing about calling it "murder" is a little internet distastefulness for me though. The law is the law, if you want it changed call your representatives or go to a M.A.D.D. protest or something. It doesn't matter what it's called, the thread title is now inflammatory but whatever, it's the internet. It's a sad thing and if you are a Columbus fan you're gutted. Just horrible. But let's not get caught up on "murder" labels. Craig MacTavish has his name on the Stanley Cup after all.

He is and that's why I just don't know about the timeline. Ultimately I think he ends up somewhere between Tyler Myers and Alex Pietrangelo but where he is this year and whether or not he can be good enough to make this D core decent now is hard to say. The Ruff factor is an interesting one but with him and all the young guys any one or more of them might take a step back adjusting to what Ruff wants before leaping forward. No, I don't think he will ever be a heavy hitter either, but he does need to get strong enough to box out in front and win puck battles. Right now, the health of Samuelsson is more important to this D's success than Power's timeline. At least for this season.

This will not surprise anyone but until Power shows me something different I am quite skeptical about this D as a whole.

That's how I became a Sabres fan. Good old channel 2.

Yes, I agree, but Dahlin roaming over is part of why I'd try Thompson on that other point. He can drift in easier and have that shot option ready (or pass) but I also like him back there as better able to cover up for a missed pass or block that might trigger a short handed rush. His reach allows him better control or the ability to break that up before it starts. Anyway, his utilization has to be improved along with net front presence from whoever is that guy. Can't rely on Dahlin too much imo or else it's too easy to defend as teams will adapt to that.

Yes I know. What I'm saying is because of his size you could do that, but if you don't, I didn't like how they used him and I think that has to change. We were far too predictable and easy to defend with a left side bias.

I know things have changed, I'm not an idiot (well, not a TOTAL idiot) but I still think offering up free stuff increases your chances of growing a fanbase. I'm sure it's not their ideal option, but it could still work.

Sabres built their original fanbase with free tv broadcasts. They might not make a lot of money from this now, but maybe lots of kids watch free and they build a fanbase the same way.

means nobody offered them one. PTOs don't count to the cap. Only if you offer them a contract from that PTO and those are almost always league minimum.

I always think September, but we are almost there.

Probably. I am hoping for a more down to real business attitude this year but I am prepared to be disappointed. If that's what they were. Who are the captains???

More than anything I just want this team to get serious about winning and start hating to lose. Competitive on a nightly basis. I do not want to hear anything about "the process" "development" or "future _______________".

idk if they plan on some before the season announcement or something but imo it's time to name the captain now and let him start assuming that role sooner than later. I know the Bruins always start their Captain's practices in early September and that's a team building model Sabres should adopt. Maybe the Tuch Dahlin skate is a precursor but I think it's time to make things official. Serious hockey this year. No more country club.

It's bs anyway.

I guess it's a fake story much like the 10 million ask by Swayman has been shown to be fake. Tis the season. Bringing in some PTOs is a good idea though. You want a competitive camp and not a camp of privilege where jobs are guaranteed or pre allotted. All this not blocking the kids crap has to go out the door. PTOs are good.

We should have traded for Askarov.

Nope, he won't be getting that.

It depends how you are running your PP and where everybody is. That left half wall position isn't that dangerous if your primary point man is also left side. It means all your shots are likely coming from the same area and the PK can focus on that. If you have 2 snipers, one down low on the left closer to the goal and the other off wing on the right point (and he can move in as well) now Dahlin can go right or left and keep the D more honest. The snipes come from both sides with another guy rock solid in front and the last one mobile and able to come out front or go behind the net. He's QB 2 in essence. More motion, more cross ice passing rather than perimeter and a heavy net front presence. So if Thompson won't do net front then yes, I'm trying him on the opposite point as a sniper rather than the passer they were trying with Cozens over there. Consider how many PP goals Olafsson got there when we had Eichel as the playmaker on the other side and Reinhart nearer the net.

Weakness at the bumper position (or even in some cases not using that position at all) was a definite problem. Can Quinn be that guy? idk. Thompson is still an issue for me. If he doesn't want to be a true net front guy (which he tends not to be) maybe they should forget about his size and move him back to the point. idk, I wish he'd just do his best Dave Andreychuk and get in front and stay there so the goalies can't see nuthin.

You may have read it that way but it's not really contradictory. The various GMs have turned over the bottom 6 because they didn't value them and their roles. The emphasis for this team has always been (since Pegula took over) star power up front and puck moving D men. Everything else is an afterthought and has been a mess. Goaltending wasn't prioritized either. imo it's a flawed methodology that is only being recognized now (maybe).

Can't see that working. AI is getting sophisticated but the old early days of programming adage still holds - "garbage in garbage out". Your AI is only going to work with the parameters you give it and if your weight certain aspects over others it will do that as well. In my view AI, or analytics in general for that matter, can help you sort through the massive amount of potential players out there, but after shortening your list you still want your version of Rick Dudley to go down to those rinks and say "that guy has it, that guy doesn't."

I've been hearing a lot of podcasts with "expert" guests (hockey people) saying there's a move away from analytics currently and/or a trend towards a more balanced approach of using analytics but also going back to the eye test and other factors. I don't know if that's true but maybe some analytic failures have made people second guess. Size is in vogue again as well.

I've been saying he's Curtis Lazar (at best) for over a year now. With the players they brought in I suspect they will still try to trade him, but he might be the 13th man.