Confirmed: Sabres sign Ehrhoff

[nfreeman]

Ok, so despite the excitement of the arena renaming, I've got a need for some real hockey talk. Here's what's on my mind: How good can we reasonably expect Ehrhoff to be? I've heard/read a number of commentators pooh-poohing the Ehrhoff signing (and for that matter the Leino signing) as more a move by TP to make a splash than as the addition of a really good player.

 

From my perspective, while I watched a bit of the Canucks during the regular season, I didn't see them that much, and when I did, Ehrhoff didn't really stand out. I watched more of them in the playoffs, and Ehrhoff was somewhat disappointing. He was a complete non-factor in the finals. Statistically, his numbers dropped off quite a bit in the playoffs -- he went from 2nd on the team in ice time (first if Edler, who only played 51 games, is excluded) to 5th -- 4th among the D. He also was a minus-13 in the playoffs overall. He had ONE point (an assist) and a minus-7 in the finals.

 

I'd really like some reassurance on this from anyone who's seen Ehrhoff play a fair amount of games. I know what the numbers say, but I don't know what his game is really like -- and whether he's going to be Roy's chief lieutenant on the playoff-disappearing SGM brigade.

 

Thoughts?

[Weave]

I think it is perfectly rational to have concerns about whether Ehrhoff is going to be the answer on defense, for all the reasons you mention. I can't say I've seen enough of Vancouver to make an intelligent assessment of Ehrhoff's ability to fulfill the promise of that contract.

 

I can't really express anyhting more than my oft mentioned cautious optimism until I see on the ice what these guys are going to do for us. Ehrhoff and Leino could be just what the doctor ordered. They could just as easily become the next succession of whipping boys. About all I can do is hope that the Darcy that got us Briere and Warrener made these deals and not the Darcy that got us Torres, et al.

[waldo]

As far as his 2011 playoffs go, looks like he was badly wounded. It is possible that had a lot to do with fewer minutes and the -13,especially in the final series. Could also be the matchups. The bottom line is wounded or not he put one point on the board every two games in the playoffs and over the last two regualar seasons he has been a 50 pt defenseman. He is a definite upgrade on the back end of the Sabres power play over all comers. He finds lanes, puts shots on goal, and knows how to finesse a shot when necessary. It will be intersting to watch him with Vanek when they get their timing down.It could be wonderfull to behold. He is now what people hope Myers will develope into on the PP. He also brings experience to a blue line that was in need of some in the playoffs. I wonder if they would pair him with Grags on the pp. We will have to wait on the season to know. I am optimistic that he will not be a bust.

Now there is another interesting question. What does the Sabres # one pp line look like with him on board? Leino, Ehrhoff, Vanek,.............Boyes/Kotalik, Sekerra/Gragnani?

 

 

http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/40422-Canucks-look-to-overcome-loss-of-key-defencemen-in-playoff-series-against-Sharks.html

[Marvelo]

There are players like Mark Teixera, that clean up on the patsies of the regular season but once they get into the playoffs, with the fiercer competition, they choke or disappear. I'm afraid of that, by looking at Ehrhoff's playoff stats. (see bottom of page) On the upside, there are some players like Briere that languish in certain organizations but when brought into the right hockey environment and chemistry, they flourish; hope this is the case with Ehrhoff and Leino, our 2011 Euro imports.

 

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/bio/?id=2434

[waldo]

There are players like Mark Teixera, that clean up on the patsies of the regular season but once they get into the playoffs, with the fiercer competition, they choke or disappear. I'm afraid of that, by looking at Ehrhoff's playoff stats. (see bottom of page) On the upside, there are some players like Briere that languish in certain organizations but when brought into the right hockey environment and chemistry, they flourish; hope this is the case with Ehrhoff and Leino, our 2011 Euro imports.

 

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/bio/?id=2434

 

You could have added Swisher, Posada, Cano, and Gardner to your Tex example. Pitching , hitting,and guys who hit playoff pitching.Cashman never understood the third element. Same in all sports, there are guys who put up great regular season numbers and consistanly crap in the playoffs and the guys who consistantly step up in post season play. Stafford, Roy, Pom, Boyes, Hecht, and others I fear do not fall into the latter group. I have great hope that Ennis, Gerbe, Leino,

yers Erhoff, Regehr, and Grigani will.

[dudacek]

I've seen Ehrhoff play a fair amount and he'd have to be put in the very good, not great category — he's certainly no franchise guy.

He moves the puck very well and is among the league's top level when it comes to playing the point.

He's dependable, but not elite in his own zone. He's not soft, but he's no banger either.

He can eat a lot of minutes, reads the game better than most and he will usually make the right play.

He's going to create offense with his shot and his breakout pass, but don't expect him to lug it out like, say, Brian Campbell.

His skill set is not high enough to be a gamechanger, but he is smart enough and competitive (don't read that as edgy) enough to be a real asset as a number-two guy.

I'm trying to think of a former Sabre he compares to and the best I can come up with is Doug Bodger.

The scuttlebutt around Vancouver is that he was suffering from a bad shoulder in the playoffs and Roberto Luongo certainly didn't help his plus-minus.

If you expect him to match the $8 million or whatever outrageous amount he's going to make this year, you will be very much disappointed.

But if your expectations are in line with his $4 million cap hit, you should be more than satisfied.

[carpandean]

If you expect him to match the $8 million or whatever outrageous amount he's going to make this year, you will be very much disappointed.

But if your expectations are in line with his $4 million cap hit, you should be more than satisfied.

The only one who needs to worry about the $8 million is TPegs. For the rest of us, it's the $4 million that matter, so we should be satisfied. :thumbsup:

[Marvelo]

You could have added Swisher, Posada, Cano, and Gardner to your Tex example. Pitching , hitting,and guys who hit playoff pitching.Cashman never understood the third element. Same in all sports, there are guys who put up great regular season numbers and consistanly crap in the playoffs and average guys who consistantly step up. Stafford, Roy, Pom, Boyes, Hecht, and others do not fall into the latter group. I have great hope that Ennis, Gerbe, Leino, Erhoff,Regehr, and Grigani will.

 

Cleaning up in the regular season is nice but it's almost a intro to the playoffs, which have more intensity and more talent than you get in the regular season. Some players thrive on this geeked- up reality and others fizzle. It's funny how few times the President's Trophy winners (Sabres 2006-7) actually win the Cup. You think it' would be the opposite but something in the playoffs separate the men from the boys. How Gragnani and Niedermayer were top of the scoring stats for the Sabre last year and Connolly, Gaustad and Boyes brought up the rear...

[Bullwinkle]

There was a rumor going around that Pegula was very high on Ehrhoff and put some pressure on Darcy to sign him. I normally don't pass around every rumor I hear, but this one doesn't sound that far off. It would explain our glut at D. I know if I owned the Sabres there are players I would be pressuring Darcy to look into as well.

[Warriorspikes51]

There was a rumor going around that Pegula was very high on Ehrhoff and put some pressure on Darcy to sign him. I normally don't pass around every rumor I hear, but this one doesn't sound that far off. It would explain our glut at D. I know if I owned the Sabres there are players I would be pressuring Darcy to look into as well.

 

 

Darcy, Lindy, Black, Sawyer, Pegula sat down and identified players they wanted. Ehrhoff was at the top of the list.

[X. Benedict]

Ok, so despite the excitement of the arena renaming, I've got a need for some real hockey talk. Here's what's on my mind: How good can we reasonably expect Ehrhoff to be? I've heard/read a number of commentators pooh-poohing the Ehrhoff signing (and for that matter the Leino signing) as more a move by TP to make a splash than as the addition of a really good player.

 

From my perspective, while I watched a bit of the Canucks during the regular season, I didn't see them that much, and when I did, Ehrhoff didn't really stand out. I watched more of them in the playoffs, and Ehrhoff was somewhat disappointing. He was a complete non-factor in the finals. Statistically, his numbers dropped off quite a bit in the playoffs -- he went from 2nd on the team in ice time (first if Edler, who only played 51 games, is excluded) to 5th -- 4th among the D. He also was a minus-13 in the playoffs overall. He had ONE point (an assist) and a minus-7 in the finals.

 

I'd really like some reassurance on this from anyone who's seen Ehrhoff play a fair amount of games. I know what the numbers say, but I don't know what his game is really like -- and whether he's going to be Roy's chief lieutenant on the playoff-disappearing SGM brigade.

 

Thoughts?

Erhoff you are getting offense from the back end. I wouldn't make too much of the Stanley Cup series. Vancouver was down to 4 NHL defensemen....and Erhoff really shouldn't have been on the ice with his shoulder. They lost the war of attrition as far as defense-men went.

That's the game.

 

Erhoff gives you Sheldon Souray's shot, with great mobility on the back-end. Which will open up a ton of shots for the forwards. He's not going to maul people, but he's definitely more physical than say...Leopold.

[BetweenThePipes00]

 

You could have added Swisher, Posada, Cano, and Gardner to your Tex example. Pitching , hitting,and guys who hit playoff pitching.Cashman never understood the third element. Same in all sports, there are guys who put up great regular season numbers and consistanly crap in the playoffs and the guys who consistantly step up in post season play. Stafford, Roy, Pom, Boyes, Hecht, and others I fear do not fall into the latter group. I have great hope that Ennis, Gerbe, Leino, Myers Erhoff, Regehr, and Grigani will.

 

First of all, comparing baseball to hockey could not be more apples-oranges. In baseball, guys will have a hot series here or there, but offensive numbers are always going to go way down in the postseason because you are facing the best pitching on the best teams and more of it because you never see their worst starters. And if the Yankees got to play the 8 seed from the AL to start every playoff run, I suspect their numbers would look better at the end too.

 

Second, whatever Cashman does or does not understand, I'll take his 13-year record with the Yankees for the next 13 years with the Sabres, thank you very much. it's not hockey where so many teams make the playoffs ... you have to build a team for the long haul to a certain extent, and all those guys you mentioned play HUGE roles in getting them to the postseason every year. Sure he inherited a great team, but they don't win the 2009 Series without Damon, A-Rod and Sabathia, all guys that he brought in. (Yes, tha blank check helps.)

[Andrew Amerk]

Erhoff you are getting offense from the back end. I wouldn't make too much of the Stanley Cup series. Vancouver was down to 4 NHL defensemen....and Erhoff really shouldn't have been on the ice with his shoulder. They lost the war of attrition as far as defense-men went.

That's the game.

 

Erhoff gives you Sheldon Souray's shot, with great mobility on the back-end. Which will open up a ton of shots for the forwards. He's not going to maul people, but he's definitely more physical than say...Leopold.

 

Very well said sir.

 

:thumbsup:

[tulax]

All indications out of Vancouver, and everyone's factorite hockey twins, are that Ehrhoff is replaceable.

 

The Providence

 

Globe & Mail

 

My intuition tells me that this is just Sedin and Hamhuis doing a little PR and giving the media a show of support for the remaining defensive corps. However, it does have a very cold shoulder feel to it. Perhaps it's just the sport of hockey or the Vancouver club, but I've always thought that players responded to a free agent departure by saying something to the effect of 'sorry to see him go, it's a business.' Again, my guess is that these guys realize that they were a few games away from a Stanley Cup when this guy went out fishing for the biggest contract he could find.

 

My concern is that the fans of Vancouver, as can be seen in the G&M comments section, don't seem to be all that worried about his departure. I know from reading a limited sample of the comments in here that he's a productive player who's above average at the point and on offense and below average in his own zone. However, you'd think that losing that kind of production would at least produce some sort of response from fans that his loss is, at least, meaningful.

[BetweenThePipes00]

All indications out of Vancouver, and everyone's factorite hockey twins, are that Ehrhoff is replaceable.

 

The Providence

 

Globe & Mail

 

My intuition tells me that this is just Sedin and Hamhuis doing a little PR and giving the media a show of support for the remaining defensive corps. However, it does have a very cold shoulder feel to it. Perhaps it's just the sport of hockey or the Vancouver club, but I've always thought that players responded to a free agent departure by saying something to the effect of 'sorry to see him go, it's a business.' Again, my guess is that these guys realize that they were a few games away from a Stanley Cup when this guy went out fishing for the biggest contract he could find.

 

My concern is that the fans of Vancouver, as can be seen in the G&M comments section, don't seem to be all that worried about his departure. I know from reading a limited sample of the comments in here that he's a productive player who's above average at the point and on offense and below average in his own zone. However, you'd think that losing that kind of production would at least produce some sort of response from fans that his loss is, at least, meaningful.

 

Eh, I wouldn't sweat what the fans are saying too much. They are a bitter bunch at this point (and it takes one to know one, they have been waiting exactly as long as we have and got to Game 7 at home) and when you have a really good team like that as a fan, it takes a lot to shake your confidence. That team is like the hockey equivalent of the 1991 Bills after Norwood missed the kick ... they were that close. And Ehrhoff was at best, what, their 5th best player? (after the twins, Luongo and Kesler?) I know in 1991 I would not have been panicking if the Bills had lost Cornelius Bennett or Darryl Talley ... and I LOVE those guys, they were GREAT players, IMO ... but if one had left I would probably have said "Yeah, whatever, we have Kelly, Thomas, Reed, Bruce Smith ... plug Marvcus Patton in and get your butts back to the Super Bowl." Doesn't mean they were not good players.

 

Also, even if that assessment is correct (above average at the point and on offense and below average in his own zone), well, most of the Sabres were below average in their own zone last season and they have needed a PP QB forever ... if he can be average defensively and put up 50 points, I am not going to sweat it.

[waldo]

First of all, comparing baseball to hockey could not be more apples-oranges. In baseball, guys will have a hot series here or there, but offensive numbers are always going to go way down in the postseason because you are facing the best pitching on the best teams and more of it because you never see their worst starters. And if the Yankees got to play the 8 seed from the AL to start every playoff run, I suspect their numbers would look better at the end too.

 

Second, whatever Cashman does or does not understand, I'll take his 13-year record with the Yankees for the next 13 years with the Sabres, thank you very much. it's not hockey where so many teams make the playoffs ... you have to build a team for the long haul to a certain extent, and all those guys you mentioned play HUGE roles in getting them to the postseason every year. Sure he inherited a great team, but they don't win the 2009 Series without Damon, A-Rod and Sabathia, all guys that he brought in. (Yes, tha blank check helps.)

 

The point, simply stated , was. In all sports some guys bring it in the playoffs and some well above average players during regular season consistently do not. The Sabres still have a few too many of the latter. Hopefully the culture will continue to change. Cashman had nothng to do with bringing in Petite, Posada, Moose, Jeter,Rivera, Matsui, Arod,or Sabathia. Your are right on the record . I would take it in a heart beat for the Sabres

[rickshaw]

Oh yeaaaaaah, hockey is just around the corner.

 

So I read the comments from the Canucks' players on Erhoff and I read nothing into it. The Sedin comment wasn't a slag against Erhoff, it was more of a comment stating the Canucks have other good dmen coming up through the system. Sedin is not one to ever criticize management and if he was asked straight out if he'd rather have Erhoff or not, I'm sure he'd prefer to have him on the team again.

 

Erhoff will be a very good addition to the lineup. Like someone already said, he's a $4 million player not a $10 million player. We have to go by his cap hit. He's a great pp guy and will fit in super well as the 2nd pairing on most nights. Perfect. He's not being asked to be the number one guy so he's going to be very comfortable.

 

I'm excited about the new season. Gonna be going online on Saturday to get my Canucks/Sabres tix for Mar 3/12.

[beerme1]

I really didn't like this move at first; seemed to me the team was just showing off their new financial freedom. I can't think of another team with so many offensive defensemen so while I see how he can contribute, this just seemed like a decent amount of money spent on something that wasn't a huge need for us. I'm liking it more and more thinking of this guys shot improving our powerplay. Not to mention that, besides 1st and 2nd line centers, puck-moving defensemen are probably the 2nd most coveted commodity in the league nowadays so its a great surplus to have. I've always dreamed of the sabres being one of those teams who would make moves in the summer and trade-deadline day and that day has surprisingly come.....it's a fun time to be a fan of this team.

 

You seemed to have talked yourself out of worrying about nothing :beer:

With Regher and Weber, and Myers doing the tough guy and the offensive threat this year I am not worried about being able to punish people with our D at all.

In fact this will be our best defense EVER. Potent at both ends of the rink.