frisky Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Surgery to repair thumb ligament. 3-4 weeks...or more possibly. But, that just opened up a spot for perhaps MacArthur or someone else? I think we're still overloaded with forwards. thumb Edit: They also sent 13 down to Portland/minors. Mancari and MacArthur are still in camp. So is Darche. No one's mentioned Darche as possibly sticking with the big club. Does Mancari need to clear waivers?
shrader Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Yeah, that whole conversation of Kaleta starting the year in Portland just went out the window. The center position is going to be rough in the early going though.
carpandean Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Surgery to repair thumb ligament. 3-4 weeks...or more possibly. But, that just opened up a spot for perhaps MacArthur or someone else? I think we're still overloaded with forwards. thumb Do we have a fourth line center? It was going to be Mair, but he's out with a knee injury (any word on whether he will be back?) If he doesn't come back in time, it was supposed to be Goose. Now, he's out. Are we going to see the Kotalik experiment again? Clarke is listed as a center, but can he actually play the position at an NHL level? Zagrapan? Yikes!
darksabre Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 this season is going to be interesting
frisky Posted September 30, 2008 Author Report Posted September 30, 2008 They still have Roy, Hecht...MacArthur can play C. Mair supposed to possibly be ready by Oct 10. And, then there's Timmy...maybe. Would we perhaps see one of the kids start up here at the beginning? Zagrapan?
LabattBlue Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 They still have Roy, Hecht...MacArthur can play C. Mair supposed to possibly be ready by Oct 10. And, then there's Timmy...maybe. Would we perhaps see one of the kids start up here at the beginning? Zagrapan? Anyone can "play" at the center position. The question is can they excel at it? Good at faceoffs?
LabattBlue Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Surgery to repair thumb ligament. 3-4 weeks...or more possibly. But, that just opened up a spot for perhaps MacArthur or someone else? I think we're still overloaded with forwards. thumb Edit: They also sent 13 down to Portland/minors. Mancari and MacArthur are still in camp. So is Darche. No one's mentioned Darche as possibly sticking with the big club. Does Mancari need to clear waivers? Maybe Darcy can finally package Max with something else ;) for a vet center who can play on the 3rd or 4th line?
wjag Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Maybe Darcy can finally package Max with something else ;) for a vet center who can play on the 3rd or 4th line? hey, hey, hey.. leave Max alone.. :rolleyes: Goose is one of our few tough guys and he's on the shelf.... :doh: ... Gerbe.. Gerbe... Gerbe...
jwnikita Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 this season is going to be interesting Mair isn't in any shape to be playing. He hasn't had a camp or pre-season due to the surgery. Bring on Gerbe.
Stoner Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Just stupid. Why is there still fighting in hockey? What a waste.
Kristian Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 They still have Roy, Hecht...MacArthur can play C. Mair supposed to possibly be ready by Oct 10. And, then there's Timmy...maybe. Would we perhaps see one of the kids start up here at the beginning? Zagrapan? I'd rather see Max play center on the fourth line, than waste Hecht's services there.
carpandean Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 I'd rather see Max play center on the fourth line, than waste Hecht's services there. My guess would be: 1st: Roy 2nd: Connolly 3rd: Hecht 4th: Kotalik (Connolly and Hecht could be swapped depending on who gets paired with whom.) If not Kotalik, then it will be a kid (MacArthur, Zagrapan, etc.)
stenbaro Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Mair isn't in any shape to be playing. He hasn't had a camp or pre-season due to the surgery.Bring on Gerbe. Mair has been skating everyday..He just hasnt hit or been hit..He skates full euipment and a full hour every day on the ice with James Patrick..When he gets clearence it wont take him long..The stupid part of this whole center position debacle is they knew going in they needed help and they were gonna try to get away with what they had..They werent good enough last year and they certainly arent in any better shape as it sits now..Our defense is a bit stronger and older and our backup goaltender has a chance at being better but I dont see this team contending for a cup this year...
R_Dudley Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Good thing we held Connolly out so far it could have been him... :rolleyes:
nfreeman Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Regarding the "we don't have enough centers" issue -- this is true, but I don't think it is materially changed as a result of Goose's injury. Lindy said he was going to play Goose on the wing anyway. The centers were going to be Roy, Connolly, Hecht and Mair. Of course, it affects our depth at center, as Goose could have slid over in case of an injury to someone like, say, Connolly, and it affects overall faceoff wins, as I'm sure Goose would've taken a fair number of draws even at the wing. But it's not catastrophic from a depth-at-center perspective. However, I'm more than a little concerned about this injury from a team psyche standpoint. I continue to believe that this team has more than enough talent to be a real contender in the East (esp. with Pittsburgh imploding). The problem last year, and the question this year, is leadership, mental toughness and clutch scoring. After last summer's CF, the team looked and played like it had been stomach-punched and got off to a lousy start. It is very important that they get off to a good start this year. I think success will reinforce itself, but failure will lead to more failure. Where does Goose fit in to all this? He is one of our few physical leaders at forward. He got hurt doing something a physical leader does -- fighting someone on the other team who had just cheap-shotted one of our guys. He just got a nice contract extension, he was going to be a top-9 forward, and, I'd guess, was ready to take the next step and be an important forward on this team. It was going to be a positive for the other forwards to see a big, tough guy like Gaustad working his butt off to win as well as sticking up physically for his teammates. Losing that quality for the first month of the season handicaps our ability to get off to a good start, and increases the risk that the team's overall mental outlook doesn't change -- as it must -- from loser to winner.
Stoner Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Regarding the "we don't have enough centers" issue -- this is true, but I don't think it is materially changed as a result of Goose's injury. Lindy said he was going to play Goose on the wing anyway. The centers were going to be Roy, Connolly, Hecht and Mair. Of course, it affects our depth at center, as Goose could have slid over in case of an injury to someone like, say, Connolly, and it affects overall faceoff wins, as I'm sure Goose would've taken a fair number of draws even at the wing. But it's not catastrophic from a depth-at-center perspective. However, I'm more than a little concerned about this injury from a team psyche standpoint. I continue to believe that this team has more than enough talent to be a real contender in the East (esp. with Pittsburgh imploding). The problem last year, and the question this year, is leadership, mental toughness and clutch scoring. After last summer's CF, the team looked and played like it had been stomach-punched and got off to a lousy start. It is very important that they get off to a good start this year. I think success will reinforce itself, but failure will lead to more failure. Where does Goose fit in to all this? He is one of our few physical leaders at forward. He got hurt doing something a physical leader does -- fighting someone on the other team who had just cheap-shotted one of our guys. He just got a nice contract extension, he was going to be a top-9 forward, and, I'd guess, was ready to take the next step and be an important forward on this team. It was going to be a positive for the other forwards to see a big, tough guy like Gaustad working his butt off to win as well as sticking up physically for his teammates. Losing that quality for the first month of the season handicaps our ability to get off to a good start, and increases the risk that the team's overall mental outlook doesn't change -- as it must -- from loser to winner. Great post until the last four words. I doubt the Sabres look at themselves as losers. I think this is a confident, talented bunch, most of whom have been to consecutive conference finals. I imagine they look at last year as merely a blip. Front-office moves and the general vibe around the team and town would reinforce, you would think, the idea the winning ways are just around the corner again. If they get off to a horrible start, I'd say all bets are off in this regard. But I certainly would reserve the thought of a Buffalo sports team trying to break out of a loser's mentality for the Bills. A much better analogy, IMHO.
stenbaro Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Great post until the last four words. I doubt the Sabres look at themselves as losers. I think this is a confident, talented bunch, most of whom have been to consecutive conference finals. I imagine they look at last year as merely a blip. Front-office moves and the general vibe around the team and town would reinforce, you would think, the idea the winning ways are just around the corner again. If they get off to a horrible start, I'd say all bets are off in this regard. But I certainly would reserve the thought of a Buffalo sports team trying to break out of a loser's mentality for the Bills. A much better analogy, IMHO. They lost all the leadership this team had left last summer..Guys this team relied upon to get them over the hump have been whisked away by bad front office thought processes and the leadership and toughness we had 2 yrs ago is head and shoulders over where we are now, and that wasnt good enough then...Our team is smaller and has added a little character back to the dressing room but hardly what it was when we had our real chance 3 yrs ago.. This team is quite far from being a Cup contender from where it wasw 2 and 3 years ago..Thats not to say they wont grow into it but I saw last year what they had and it wasnt near goodenough...Drury and Brierre masked alot of the problems this team had..They havent been replaced and thats why they wont make the playoffs again..
Hawerchuk Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 We need Connolly more than ever this season. Hope he stays healthy and produces. Wouldn't that be nice?!
Two or less Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 We don't miss Goose for his skills on offense. We really will miss him on the PK and his toughness. This is a big loss, like losing a big offensive player. We are not a team who can go against big teams and start the contact. We will need Kaleta to play huge the first few weeks. And each day i'm more and more greatful for having Criag Rivet on the team.
nobody Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Lindy will just double shift Roy if he needs to.
TM8-PL16 Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Lindy will just double shift Roy if he needs to. THANK YOU! finally one of the most logical, rational and intelligent things posted on this thread. It might not always be Roy, but someone will just pick up extra shifts... we will miss his faceoff capability tho. It sucks that Goose is out, but if we have to rely on Keleta and are excited about that, this team is in trouble. Great fire the kid has, but come on people, he's not going to be up with the big boys right now. He needs to keep getting better in Portland. I know you all love him because he hits people and he's from Buffalo, but lets be realistic about really doing what's best for this hockey team. I like him too, but let's live in the rational world. *edit- well, now that I think about it, Peters is on the team and I really don't think that is "what's best" for the team so who knows... <_<
LabattBlue Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Under the category of there is a silver lining in every cloud... We won't see Gaustad on the PP while he is out! :thumbsup:
R_Dudley Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 We don't miss Goose for his skills on offense. We really will miss him on the PK and his toughness. This is a big loss, like losing a big offensive player. We are not a team who can go against big teams and start the contact. We will need Kaleta to play huge the first few weeks. And each day i'm more and more greatful for having Criag Rivet on the team. Your right about his contribution for more than just the score board. I think it was telling that Lindy had him with 'A" in some of preseason games. Looked like he was going to make that step... That said I agree with some other's here; that Lindy will just shift the load around and I really like that he is already singing the mantra that the players that step up will be rewarded with extra ice time, they will earn it. So while not ideal it could be just what this teams needs to start off to learn to play together tighter defensively (2-1, 3-2 games) till these things clear up and sort themselves out.
Stoner Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 They lost all the leadership this team had left last summer..Guys this team relied upon to get them over the hump have been whisked away by bad front office thought processes and the leadership and toughness we had 2 yrs ago is head and shoulders over where we are now, and that wasnt good enough then...Our team is smaller and has added a little character back to the dressing room but hardly what it was when we had our real chance 3 yrs ago.. This team is quite far from being a Cup contender from where it wasw 2 and 3 years ago..Thats not to say they wont grow into it but I saw last year what they had and it wasnt near goodenough...Drury and Brierre masked alot of the problems this team had..They havent been replaced and thats why they wont make the playoffs again.. Was last year more an issue of a team being wiped out physically and emotionally after two long runs in the playoffs than losing the co-captains? I don't know. My gut tells me it was just 1999-2000 all over again. I never viewed Drury and Briere as "carrying the Sabres" or irreplaceable elements. I'm not nearly as pessimistic as you are. Or realistic. :)
shrader Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Was last year more an issue of a team being wiped out physically and emotionally after two long runs in the playoffs than losing the co-captains? I don't know. My gut tells me it was just 1999-2000 all over again. I never viewed Drury and Briere as "carrying the Sabres" or irreplaceable elements. I'm not nearly as pessimistic as you are. Or realistic. :) And one of if not the biggest leader from the 06-07 season is back with this team again this year. Don't underestimate what Teppo's presence will have on the rest of this team, especially the blue liners.
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