Leino asked to go back to wing....

[...]

I think Gerbe is capable of more, but he'll need more skilled linemates to bring it out.

 

I agree. I think Gerbe has more potential than the, what is it right now, third line? I wonder why he's not being rotated up to see what he can do.

[SabresMojo]

How does removing them from one another affect their chemistry negatively? Put them back together and they should operate no different. You don't lose that connection with a player after one game. It's not some magical essence that disappears forever if you stop using it. If that was how it worked, players would never be able to come back after injuries or work on lines with other players. Taking Adam away from Vanek and Pommers doesn't immediately write that line off. That's legitimately insane.

 

 

After reading all the posts in this thread, I think I side with those that say leave the top line alone. Leino will come around. He surely will. In fact, we'll eventually be talking about how good the Roy Leino and Stafford line is and what happened to the top line.

 

 

I'm not really sure where I stand. I think I like moving Leino to the top line, as that would be a good calculated risk. If it's horrible, we can just throw Adam back on the top line no harm done. As for the "scorers are streaky" argument, the chemistry between Pommer and Vanek is there... I don't know how two or three bad games could change that.

 

 

Is Adam really the key here? yeah he's doing well, but how much do Vanek and Pommers really need him? I don't recall many of Vanek's goals or Pommers assists being with Adam.The keys to that line are Van and Pommers. I'm willing to experiment.

 

 

Adam is playing with a great deal of confidence and has developed a chemistry with Vanek and Pominville. There is a level of comfort there. The Sabres at this point have a real top line that is producing at a rate comparable with the best lines in hockey. Vanek - Adam - Pominville should be printed on the line-up cards until they go cold. I think as Adam matures the combination can only get better. Lieno on the other hand hasn't shown anything over the first ten games and hasn't earned an opportunity to replace Adam on the top line. This move seems like a move to justify a contract and not a move to make the team better. I thought that mentality was gone in "hockey heaven."

 

 

I'm inclined to think this way superficially, but Adam has been a floater here and there. And he's learning some bad habits from Vanek, like coasting to get off the ice after a shift. It probably wouldn't hurt him to play with a less-productive line to see what it's like to struggle. Right now Vanek and Pommers are his security blanket. Which is not to say I think his game is poor, but is he a #1 center? So, I think for a few games, I guess I can accept the experiment, especially since there's no way Ruff will keep the original lines together right now. At least we will see fully and completely what we have in Leino - if he does no better than Adam between Vanek and Pominville, then the Sabres made a pretty big mistake.Conversely, we'll see what we have in Adam as well.

 

All of the above quotes are valid and present both sides of the issue.

 

But I agree here that Adam has just benefited well with Vanek and Pommers and that Leino being put into this line (removing Adam) is a good thing.

Worse thing that happens is that Leino falters and he doesnt work.

I dont think that will happen though.

I think Leino will work very WELL with those two!

Give him a game or two to adjust to the style of Pommers and Vanek.

[Guest Sloth]

All of the above quotes are valid and present both sides of the issue.

 

But I agree here that Adam has just benefited well with Vanek and Pommers and that Leino being put into this line (removing Adam) is a good thing.

Worse thing that happens is that Leino falters and he doesnt work.

I dont think that will happen though.

I think Leino will work very WELL with those two!

Give him a game or two to adjust to the style of Pommers and Vanek.

 

Good post. I like to think positive. I like the idea of Leino being the center Darcy "found", but I am getting a little frustrated. Leino was brought in to Buffalo to play center, but he literally asked Ruff to be put on the wing. Leino appears to have little self-confidence. Why not throw Gerbe in as center? The Sabres could use a change to spark things up. Right now, Buffalo has one line rolling and that will lead to another 1st round knockout. The Sabres have to get things going. To keep it simple, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th line simply need to start trying. Each of the 3 lines mentioned has had trouble creating scoring chances. Damn, Vanek looked pissed at the other lines when he had to score a wrap around goal the other night to keep Buff in the game. The guy has to be thinking wtf are they not trying.

[darksabre]

Good post. I like to think positive. I like the idea of Leino being the center Darcy "found", but I am getting a little frustrated. Leino was brought in to Buffalo to play center, but he literally asked Ruff to be put on the wing. Leino appears to have little self-confidence. Why not throw Gerbe in as center? The Sabres could use a change to spark things up. Right now, Buffalo has one line rolling and that will lead to another 1st round knockout. The Sabres have to get things going. To keep it simple, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th line simply need to start trying. Each of the 3 lines mentioned has had trouble creating scoring chances. Damn, Vanek looked pissed at the other lines when he had to score a wrap around goal the other night to keep Buff in the game. The guy has to be thinking wtf are they not trying.

 

Paging shrader, shrader to the blue and gold courtesy phone. ;)

 

 

Glad some here are optimistic about this experiment.

[DumbPuck]

I agree. I think Gerbe has more potential than the, what is it right now, third line? I wonder why he's not being rotated up to see what he can do.

 

Which center would he replace? Adam? Roy? Leno?

 

 

 

All jokes aside... I agree.

[Eleven]

Which center would he replace? Adam? Roy? Leno?

 

 

 

All jokes aside... I agree.

 

 

http://www.tsn.ca/fantasy_news/feature/?ID=10463

 

no. 29. He MUST be a center!

[RazielSabre]

I'm inclined to think this way superficially, but Adam has been a floater here and there. And he's learning some bad habits from Vanek, like coasting to get off the ice after a shift. It probably wouldn't hurt him to play with a less-productive line to see what it's like to struggle. Right now Vanek and Pommers are his security blanket. Which is not to say I think his game is poor, but is he a #1 center?

 

So, I think for a few games, I guess I can accept the experiment, especially since there's no way Ruff will keep the original lines together right now. At least we will see fully and completely what we have in Leino - if he does no better than Adam between Vanek and Pominville, then the Sabres made a pretty big mistake.

 

Conversely, we'll see what we have in Adam as well.

 

I think both of you are correct, I think we do need to see what we have in Adam when he isn't with VanePom. This move does also smell of 'please let him not be a bust'. We'll see on Weds and personally I cannot wait.

[dEnnis the Menace]

Is one good line the kind of consistency we really want?

 

Noting like building off of the mold of the old Ottawa...(Alfie, Spezza, Heatly)

[waldo]

1. Any player who ends up on the POM ,Vanek line will play better , numbers wise. Roy, Hecht and Boyes all know this well. They are both unselfish forwards with hands and vision.

 

2. Adam benifited by playing with them.Now,we will see what Adam looks like without them. His willingness to play down the middle, work on the boards and go to the net will not go away.

 

3. The context here is that in Lindys World this experiment with Leino could only last twenty minutes! This move is no big deal. POM,Adam Vanek can not and will not caryy this team for a year.

 

4. I called this a one line team a while ago and got pt stats to refute my statement. This is about distributed scoring, ie goals....not gold stars on your forhead....

 

 

Either this works or it does not... I said two months ago I think it will work...but now i am not so sure given the fact his head is so screwed up . I still want to see it for a couple of periods.

[Weave]

1. Any player who ends up on the Roy ,Vanek line will play better , numbers wise. Roy, Hecht and Boyes all know this well. They are both unselfish forwards with hands and vision.

 

2. Adam benifited by playing with them.(I wonder what they would look like with a real 1 center)Now,we will see what Adam looks like without them. His willingness to play down the middle, work on the boards and go to the net will not go away.

 

3. The context here is that in Lindys World this experiment with Leino could only last twenty minutes!

 

4. I called this a one line team a while ago and got pt stats to refute my statement. This is about distributed scoring, ie goals....not gold stars on your forhead....

 

Sounds good except Adam never played on the "Roy, Vanek" line. I'm assuming you mean the Pominville, Vanek line.

[shrader]

Giving a boost to Leino is obviously the main goal here. But at the same time, maybe Adam can give a bit of a jump start to Roy and Stafford as well. I hope that's the way Adam views it. His linemates have produced all year and hopefully that will carry over to his new line.

[X. Benedict]

I'm inclined to think this way superficially, but Adam has been a floater here and there. And he's learning some bad habits from Vanek, like coasting to get off the ice after a shift. It probably wouldn't hurt him to play with a less-productive line to see what it's like to struggle. Right now Vanek and Pommers are his security blanket. Which is not to say I think his game is poor, but is he a #1 center?

 

So, I think for a few games, I guess I can accept the experiment, especially since there's no way Ruff will keep the original lines together right now. At least we will see fully and completely what we have in Leino - if he does no better than Adam between Vanek and Pominville, then the Sabres made a pretty big mistake.

 

Conversely, we'll see what we have in Adam as well.

 

I haven't seen any bad habits from that line. But I would make a distinction - when a player is skating all out on a shift and then gets caught out on the ice from a long shift or a bad bounce. The legs going to rubber isn't floaing. Sometimes trying to do too much traps players on the ice and then the legs are spent.

[waldo]

Sounds good except Adam never played on the "Roy, Vanek" line. I'm assuming you mean the Pominville, Vanek line.

 

Good catch, i fixed it. Would you play Adam as the center on the Roy Stafford Line or as a winger. I think the puck get distributed better with Adam as the center?

 

Watching Roy.....I think it is half his injury and half not playing on the Pom line.Watching him without them has been interesting.

[sabre4life]

If Roy is not playing 100% then he should sit down and let his leg heal... It's not going to make it better stressing it every other night. Sit him down. I think Roy's problem is his health. I want Ville to get going offensively but at the expense of the top lines production... Not Sure, I'd start with putting Ville with Vanek and Pommers on the PP.

 

And I personally think Lindy should be double shifting the top line as much as he can, after all they are ones producing. If people are crying for Ice time as Lindy said they sure haven't shown it's warranted.

 

JMO

[cdexchange]

If Roy is not playing 100% then he should sit down and let his leg heal... It's not going to make it better stressing it every other night. Sit him down. I think Roy's problem is his health. I want Ville to get going offensively but at the expense of the top lines production... Not Sure, I'd start with putting Ville with Vanek and Pommers on the PP.

 

And yet it would appear that it IS getting better, as evidenced by his recently improved play.

[spndnchz]

If Roy is not playing 100% then he should sit down and let his leg heal... It's not going to make it better stressing it every other night. Sit him down. I think Roy's problem is his health. I want Ville to get going offensively but at the expense of the top lines production... Not Sure, I'd start with putting Ville with Vanek and Pommers on the PP.

 

And I personally think Lindy should be double shifting the top line as much as he can, after all they are ones producing. If people are crying for Ice time as Lindy said they sure haven't shown it's warranted.

 

JMO

 

Roy has a sore hamstring. He said so today after practice. As CDX said, he looked pretty good last game. He's on the top PP today playing the point. I'd expect big things out of him tomorrow night.

 

Edit: Wow I left that wide open didn't I?

[Weave]

Roy has a sore hamstring. He said so today after practice. As CDX said, he looked pretty good last game. He's on the top PP today playing the point. I'd expect big things out of him tomorrow night.

 

Edit: Wow I left that wide open didn't I?

 

I think you do it on purpose.

[frissonic]

I think you do it on purpose.

does what? leave things wide open on purpose?

 

cuz i'm not gonna lie ... i left *that* one wide open on purpose. :bag:

[deluca67]

Interesting to hear the WGR morning show so down on Leino. They are as Pollyanna as you can get. Basically calling him out as less than enthusiastic about his opportunity.

 

I hope this demotion doesn't hurt Luke Adam. Not only is he being dropped down they are moving him to wing. A team in desperate need of quality centers is moving a player that can actual play center and replacing him with a winger that hasn't even outplayed McCormick over the first 10 games. I would have less issues with this move if McCormick was the one moving to the top line center.

 

In memory of PA I have to mention how ridiculous Ruff sounds when he talks about younger players who work hard getting chances at more ice time. I wonder if PA and Luke Adam heard the interview this morning and laughed to themselves.

[X. Benedict]

With philly coming up I'm not surprised ruff is shuffling

DLuca. The adjustment is not so much in the offensive zone, it is dropping the center low in the defensive zone to snap the forecheck.

 

I think you'll see the first pass come to the center in front Miller to break the lock. Ruff will want Leino and Roy taking that spot. I bet we might see Gerbe at center defensively instead of Gaustad too.

[Andrew Amerk]

Instead of being benched to send him a message, he is promoted to the top line.

 

Nice.

 

I wonder if I start performing poorly at my job, if I can expect similar results...

[wjag]

With philly coming up I'm not surprised ruff is shuffling

DLuca. The adjustment is not so much in the offensive zone, it is dropping the center low in the defensive zone to snap the forecheck.

 

I think you'll see the first pass come to the center in front Miller to break the lock. Ruff will want Leino and Roy taking that spot. I bet we might see Gerbe at center defensively instead of Gaustad too.

 

 

Someone better do something because Jagr is on fire.

[RazielSabre]

Why is Ruff panicking and moving Leino about every damn game anyway? Try something for 3-5 games and see what happens. He is not to blame for this losing streak, I'd expect better out of him. DeLuca is right, we should leave the VAP line alone for a while and leave the LRS line for a while.

 

The other thing to remember is that the Sabres have always started strong or ended slow of ended strong and started slow, well, recently.

[RazielSabre]

Someone better do something because Jagr is on fire.

 

Anyone fancy going round to his place with a baseball bat tonight?

[FolignosJock]

Interesting to hear the WGR morning show so down on Leino. They are as Pollyanna as you can get. Basically calling him out as less than enthusiastic about his opportunity.

 

I hope this demotion doesn't hurt Luke Adam. Not only is he being dropped down they are moving him to wing. A team in desperate need of quality centers is moving a player that can actual play center and replacing him with a winger that hasn't even outplayed McCormick over the first 10 games. I would have less issues with this move if McCormick was the one moving to the top line center.

 

In memory of PA I have to mention how ridiculous Ruff sounds when he talks about younger players who work hard getting chances at more ice time. I wonder if PA and Luke Adam heard the interview this morning and laughed to themselves.

 

Agreed

 

This sucks and I dont like it at all. Its not like we have some giant first line like Vancouver with the Sedins and maybe they cant keep up this pace but why not wait and see? I understand that you need more lines scoring and we would like to be able to roll out any line and have them chip in but when you have a line playing at such a high level why would you not keep it the same?