Sandpapering The Lineup

[Lethbridge Broncos]

These are my views (and others on this site have articulated some great points that I might be reiterating):

 

 

1 )PP :

 

Vanek should be parked in front of the net always -- for 2 minutes. Roy on the side wall, Kotalik on one point with MacArthur on the other point. The other forward should be Gerbe. Skip the defensman. Roy and Gerbe are quick footed and very crafty. Clark has a terrfic shot and gets pucks to the net and can pass well too. His goal at the end of the Capital game displayed how soft his hands are. He can take a pass and give a pass nicely. Insted, Ruff has Stafford, Hecht and guys like Lydman out there. What the hell is he thinking? You want crafty puckhandlers with soft hands down low. They find the time and space to take advantage of the extra man. Insted we got slow footed, poor skaters (Pominville) trying to cycle and track pucks down the entire time.

 

2) Play Gerbe more. He is a legit player and a spark plug. Let him log some time. This guy is as skilled as any Sabre. He creates offense almost every shift I have seen. Mancari should be brought up along with kennedy. This "kid line" should be the 3rd line -- as the roster needs a massive shake-up. They ought to get PP time too -- as a unit.

 

3)

 

It is hard to trade right now b/k every team has a shot at the playoff and no one will unload their guys yet. But Regier should make a move for a checking forward. I've said this 10 times now. Guys like David Steckel, Manny Malhorta and Blair Betts are valuable and take the pressure off Guastud (who gets injured b/k he is the only guy that will take the body). This is a contact sport. Every time you see a hit on a defenseman it either causes a turnover, a penalty on the opposition, or softens them up for later periods (as they start to hear footsteps). Kaleta is good at this, but he too one demensional. He can't shoot or pass.

 

4) my lines are:

 

roy, vanek, stafford

 

pominville, macarthur, kotalik

 

the kid line (mancari, kennedy and gerbe)

 

gaustud, mair, afinogenov

 

 

paille and hecht should be sat.

 

5)

 

Rivet must get healthy. His knee looks weak and he looks a little slow b/k of it. The Defense has been pretty good overall (they could tighten up around the cage a little -- rivet could help with that) and Spacek has been awesome. Butler is the real deal. This guy can skate, and has very powerful backskating technique and gets in and out of his stance very quickly. He is like a tank downlow -- this is a top 4 guy in the national league. Reminds me of Brian McCabe a little. He also has a very calm and nice first pass to boot. He will bulk up to be a solid pro.

 

6)

Miller has been so-so. But his rebounds concern me. He is not camly controlling pucks or kicking them out. He seems a little rattled. I dont think he trusts he defense at all -- with the exception of a few guys (mainly Rivet).

 

7)

afinogenov should be playing. while he is crazy, his energy is addictive and his rushes soften up the defense off the blueline.

 

8 )

 

at the deadline this spring, Regier has to make a push for banging wingers with heavy shots and a pure goal scorer (ala pavel demitra).

[wonderbread]

nice post.

 

not sure about all of it but some good content I agree with point #5. Rivet was expected to be a major influence but has done jack.

[deluca67]

You lost me at #7. Max shouldn't even be on the roster let alone playing. He doesn't soften up defenses. They simply play off him and wait for him to spin and turn the puck over. When the season is said and done with the Sabres on the outside of the playoffs getting nothing out of Max and Timmy will be the number one reason why. The blame can go to the front office for not buying out these guys when they had the chance.

[dante23x]

Good post. I agree about Miller. It hurts that he is giving up fat rebounds often this year. The Buffalo defenseman play soft and need to make opposing forwards pay for being around the crease. A great example of that is when Matt Ellis got creamed by the Toronto defenseman yesterday. I have not seen a Sabres defenseman do that in years.

 

A completely disagree about Max. He is a lost cause and should not be on the roster. It is a crime that he is still a Sabre.

[LabattBlue]

These are my views (and others on this site have articulated some great points that I might be reiterating):

1 )PP :

 

Vanek should be parked in front of the net always -- for 2 minutes.

We disagree here. The PP would be so much better served by Vanek playing on the wing. He is a good passer and does not panic with the puck. He also has a great shot. To stand him in front of the net doing tip drills is a huge waste of his talent. That they won't even try things like this on the PP piss me off to no end. McCutcheon(who I believe is in charge of the PP) should be fired ASAP.

[dante23x]

We disagree here. The PP would be so much better served by Vanek playing on the wing. He is a good passer and does not panic with the puck. He also has a great shot. To stand him in front of the net doing tip drills is a huge waste of his talent. That they won't even try things like this on the PP piss me off to no end. McCutcheon(who I believe is in charge of the PP) should be fired ASAP.

 

That is a good point. Vanek is as good as any in front of the net, it would be even better if they had someone else so Vanek could play the wing instead.

[james duncan]

That is a good point. Vanek is as good as any in front of the net, it would be even better if they had someone else so Vanek could play the wing instead.

 

It was nice to see Pominville score from the point last night. Aside from Connolly being hurt most of the year, the inability to get shots on net from the point has been the biggest problem for the PP.

[That Aud Smell]

really nice post -- my only complaint, given its quality, is that you're not on the board more often.

[Lethbridge Broncos]

It is really hard to critique an a entire hockey team -- on a fan site. I mean, there is just too much to cover (i.e., over an 80+ game schedule, with the ups and downs, injuries, variables, etc).

 

To be fair, the Sabres should have made the playoff last season. They were terrible at shootouts -- and that did them in at the end IMO. They had a ton of injuries too. While they should have made the playoff, they would have had a lot of trouble advancing. They were inconsistant all season. In addition, the club seems to lack the types of players that excell in the second season. One looks at Detroit for the road map. Their roster was filled with fiber (Holmstrom, Franzen), roll players (Lebya), down low guys (Maltby, Clearly, McCarty), rugged defenders and ultra competitors (Zetterberg). The Wings also have Nick Lindstrom -- who is a decorated Norris winner/ Hall of Famer. That team would have crushed the Sabres, who on paper, look like a Bantaam team compared to that rugged Wing Cup club.

 

This season, Buffalo is again a 500% club. Regier has built the club around Roy, Vanek and Miller. he paid them huge cash and looks to them to lead the charge each night. He then signed a servicable defense that plays a transition game well -- but does not play physical. Rivet is the only checking defender. He is a legit grit type. Lydman checks on occasion, as does Spacek. And Sekara will toss a check here and there. HOwever, the defense as a whole, is not phyical or a check first bunch (the mentality is not to check, but to angle guys and use their sticks to defend). And Lydman, Sekara and Spacek, while they check sometime --- are not very good at it (they have poor form and miss hits and seem to only hit to appease Ruff). I mean, they don't scare anyone in the league. Lydman blocks shots however, and is servicable. Rivet does scare people - -he is a known nutcase and vicious. And Tempo and Tallinder are classic euro position players who use too much angling and "nudging" (see Richard Shmelik) to play defense in thier own end. They are like two friendly Russian Bears who like to play grab a$s back there all game. However, Tallinder is valuable because he can skate with any forward in the league. Not many defenders can track guys down like he does. He can stay stride-for-stride with even Ovechkin IMO -- and that is why Regier keeps him. He is useless otherwise. Tallinder is clearly a product of a friend-first Swed league (MODO style panzies) -- so you can't fault the guy for playing his natural/ comfortable style. Regardless, this defensive cast is what it is.

 

Upfront, Regier has tried to assemble a bunch of 20 goal scorers around Roy and Vanek. The Amreks of 2005-2008 make up the lines. In addition, he tried to add some grit /passion guys like Mair (captain of the canadian junior team) and gaustad (a 7th round learch who plays out of control like a bull in a china shop -- but you can't help but love him). They 20 goal guys, who are inconsistant (Hecht, Afinogenov, Paille, Pominville (he is a 20 goal in my mind) and Kotalik) play uninspired hockey. Paille takes far to many shifts off. Something is off about the guy. It's like he is bi=polar, becasue on some shifts he bangs guys and is drives the net. On other plays he skates in circles for 50 seconds and then goes for a change -- - and looks like he is confused about what happened. Hecht has no identity -- he is like adam creighton out there (he just kind of goes through the motions -- if the puck happend to hit his stick, he craddles it and is pretty effective). This happens about every 10th shift. Kotalik is a bruising player who I like. He could play a little better defensively, but for the most part, he does things pretty well out there. Afinogenov -- I like. He can take a pass with great ease and dash down the ice. His value is to back defenders off the blueline and gain it. His shift's keep the defense honest. While he is not a pure finisher (because he never developed a snap shot or wrist shot in junior russian hockey and can't pass with touch) he is still effective. His defensive play is suspect, but he is a solid pro IMO. Max is about the only guy on the team who can take a pass while at full speed that is in his feet and retreive it and head up ice (Vanek can do it too but not as smoothly). Pominville is a crafty little guy. He has a hell of an accurate and quick shot (QJMHL he potted plenty of goals) -- but is one ugly skater. He is a responsible hockey player -- no thrills. He is too small to win battles with defenders and only scores when he is in open space 20 = 25 feet out from the net. I know the guy scored 30 + and he puts up stats, but if he the 3rd best Sabre up front, then the Sabres have a talent shortage. Because Pominville can't generate offensive on his own and can't go wide on guys and he can't deek up the middle -- he is compared to Tony Tanti. As such, he is only as good as his linemates. MacCarthur is a special talent IMO. He plays a solid two way game and has all the tools. I see him after plays yapping/ yelling at the refs and showing great leadership characteristics. He competes and knows how to focus his energy each shift for a good play. He is a player to build around -- and has a little Andy McDonald (Ducks player who was so effective in the 07 Cup final) in him. Roy and Vanek are premier players. They create every shift -- and are legit allstars. Vanek if a bonafide sniper. You can't find fault in this man. Stafford, in the last 20 games is looking like a MAN. He is lugging the puck more and his skating stride has been direct and aggressive. He has had great balance and really looks comfortable of late. He reminds me of a slower/ less dynamic/ talented Mike Modano the way he uses his legs to shield off defenders to create to make plays and plays with his head up so much. This is a good player growing before our eyes.

 

My negative review, if you like it or not, paints a picture of an inconstant bunch. Lots a good stuff about them, but then the negative stuff. To hide the faults, a GM must sandpaper the roster and fill in the blanks. Here, Regier should have a few checkers who can rag the puck and play each shift with pure passion. These guys would counter balance the existing 20 goal clan who take too many shifts off and won't bang the opposition. Each shift, in the NHL, should result in a good pass, a shot on goal, a good defensive play, an advance of the puck into the zone to effectuate a clean shift change, or a hit of some sort. The rink has boards -- they are used to push players into them (sarcasm). Far too many Sabre shifts result iN NONE OF THE THINGS I JUST WROTE. Guys come back to the bench after skating around without touching the puck or wanting to touch it. THe roster should have guys who want the puck and who swing up ice into the defensive end and then go after it like flys on $hit. Grapes cherry, his frist day coaching the bruins, took a tennis ball and tossed it into the corner of the dressing room. Blue, his famous terrier went flying in after it full speed foaming at the mouth -- infront of the entire team. Cherry said, "go get the puck like that every shift boys."

 

I watched the 1987 Stanley Cup finals last night. Game 7, the Oil versus Philly. Two things to take away (and this was a game 7 of course, so the passion was running high ; and that Oil team had the best talent of any NHL club ever assembled): 1) Glen Sather let his star plays take 1.5 to 2 minute shifts. Wayne and Messier, Anderson and Coffey came off the ice when they were tired. Sather would also double shift these four players often. 2) The Oil also had a grind line of MacTavish, McSorely and Mark Hunter. All could take a pass at full speed and would bash the Flyers defense every shift. Each shift they would lean on the Flyers and when they got the puck, they would advance it and stress out the Flyers defense with wild rushes into the corners. They chased after Mark Howe and Doug Crossman like crazy orangutangs (apes) with their hands' and sticks over their heads.

 

Regier needs more passion. The deadwood has to be let go. The defense should say bye bye to Tempo. Butler is ready to take his spot. Sean ODonnell (LA) could be had for little and add some depth.

 

Ruff ought to have a legit checking line. The guys should be able to take a pass and all shoot. Gaustad is a good start. He fits that bill. RJ Umberger, bill guerin, Manny Malhorta, gary roberts, trent hunter types are welcomed to take Hecht and Paills spot.

 

The culture needs to change.