Joe Finley signed/called up to Sabres

[korab rules]

I haven't seen them either, but to me it doesn't feel like Crawford belongs in the same sentence as Persson and Biega. Those two are also a bit older. Crawford's still just a 21 year old second year pro. Then again, if I'm giving him a pass on the 2nd year thing, why don't I do the same for Biega?

Pysik (sp?) and McNabb are the future. Brennan, Schiestal and Persson are likely to be moved - there just isn't any room at the Inn. Crawford and Biega, due soley to their age, will be given additional time to develop, unless some other team really covets them. Depth is a beautiful thing.

 

Of course, MAG or Weber or Sekera could be moved just as easily, which would re-shuffle the deck.

[LabattBlue]

Are all GM's in love with their prospects as much as DR? I can't believe there is not a franchise that is heavy on forwards and light on dmen, who wouldn't mind doing a one for one swap. With Finley under contract, that gives them...

 

Regehr

Myers

Sekera

Gragnani

Weber

Leopold

Ehrhoff

 

(I can see them walking away from Leopold, and maybe Regehr depending on if his play starts faltering(both contracts end after 12-13), but the other 5 are under contract, younger players, and don't appear to be heading anywhere based on DR's lack of trades in recent years)

 

Then you have...

 

McNabb

Crawford

Biega

Scheistel

Brennan

Persson

M. MacKenzie

Finley

Fienhage(ECHL)

 

 

(still in juniors or college)

Pysyk

Gauthier-Leduc

D. Mackenzie

Adams

Lepkowski

 

 

I realize all these guys are not going to become NHL'ers, but considering the lack of depth at the forward position(especially center), inking Finley to a 3 year deal is puzzling. Then again, I don't know what the Sabres list looks like compared to mine in terms of NHL potential amongst this group. It just seems easier to me to find blueliners from the FA market versus top 6 forwards.

[korab rules]

Are all GM's in love with their prospects as much as DR? I can't believe there is not a franchise that is heavy on forwards and light on dmen, who wouldn't mind doing a one for one swap. With Finley under contract, that gives them...

 

Regehr

Myers

Sekera

Gragnani

Weber

Leopold

Ehrhoff

 

(I can see them walking away from Leopold, and maybe Regehr depending on if his play starts faltering(both contracts end after 12-13), but the other 5 are under contract, younger players, and don't appear to be heading anywhere based on DR's lack of trades in recent years)

 

Then you have...

 

McNabb

Crawford

Biega

Scheistel

Brennan

Persson

M. MacKenzie

Finley

Fienhage(ECHL)

 

 

(still in juniors or college)

Pysyk

Gauthier-Leduc

D. Mackenzie

Adams

Lepkowski

 

 

I realize all these guys are not going to become NHL'ers, but considering the lack of depth at the forward position(especially center), inking Finley to a 3 year deal is puzzling. Then again, I don't know what the Sabres list looks like compared to mine in terms of NHL potential amongst this group. It just seems easier to me to find blueliners from the FA market versus top 6 forwards.

05-06 and visions of Jeff Jillson patrolling the blue line still haunt DR. I hear he wants to buy another AHL franchise so he can stash more D-men.

 

In all seriousness, this is what happens when you consistently spend 5 or 6 of your 7 draft picks on D AND actually do a halfway decent job of evaluating talent. No one makes fun of video scouting anymore, do they?

[Robviously]

(still in juniors or college)

Pysyk

Gauthier-Leduc

D. Mackenzie

Adams

Lepkowski

Pysyk and Gauthier-Leduc were both invited to Canada's WJC tryouts, and G-L was racking up ridiculous points in the Q to start the season. Both legit prospects that we don't even have signed yet.

 

Sabres have way more than enough D prospects. I hope Darcy can find a way to trade some of them for assets that we do need. I'd even think outside the box with a prospect-for-prospect or prospect-for-draft pick trade. It'd be dumb to keep all these guys when some will never get a legit NHL shot in Buffalo and then just let them go when they have no trade value.

[LabattBlue]

Sabres have way more than enough D prospects. I hope Darcy can find a way to trade some of them for assets that we do need. I'd even think outside the box with a prospect-for-prospect or prospect-for-draft pick trade. It'd be dumb to keep all these guys when some will never get a legit NHL shot in Buffalo and then just let them go when they have no trade value.

My point exactly.

[shrader]

Pysyk and Gauthier-Leduc were both invited to Canada's WJC tryouts, and G-L was racking up ridiculous points in the Q to start the season. Both legit prospects that we don't even have signed yet.

 

Sabres have way more than enough D prospects. I hope Darcy can find a way to trade some of them for assets that we do need. I'd even think outside the box with a prospect-for-prospect or prospect-for-draft pick trade. It'd be dumb to keep all these guys when some will never get a legit NHL shot in Buffalo and then just let them go when they have no trade value.

 

It will happen at some point. There is no other way around this. It should get very interesting around here once the trade season roles around. Everyone on Blue's non-pro list except Lepkowski and Adams will need to be signed or make the jump to Rochester this offseason, so the AHL ranks are going to need to be purged a bit. Schiestel, Brennan, Biega, and Persson are all RFAs after this season, so those are the most likely players to target for a change of scenery.

[Weave]

BAck to Finley.....

 

My take is this. He was signed as a project. A project the team normally wouldn't take, but with the emphasis on Sabres University I suspect they took a cheap, no-risk throw of the dice on a kid who had alot of things that can't be coached (size, smarts, and personality) and tried to see if they could get him skating and playing to their standards. I'm assuming SU is paying dividends with Finley so he's now worthy of a deal with the big squad.

 

Good on Joe. More depth = more cards to play at the deadline.

[korab rules]

BAck to Finley.....

 

My take is this. He was signed as a project. A project the team normally wouldn't take, but with the emphasis on Sabres University I suspect they took a cheap, no-risk throw of the dice on a kid who had alot of things that can't be coached (size, smarts, and personality) and tried to see if they could get him skating and playing to their standards. I'm assuming SU is paying dividends with Finley so he's now worthy of a deal with the big squad.

 

Good on Joe. More depth = more cards to play at the deadline.

 

And this is what it's all about.

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

I thought he already had a contract with the Sabres.

 

Not every Amerk has a Sabres contract.

 

The current AHL rules call for a minimum of 13 players to be signed by the parent club (Sabres) as "development players" (less than 260 games of AHL/NHL experience). The remainder of the roster can have either a parent club or AHL club contract, with no limitations on experience.

[Weave]

And this is what it's all about.

 

Yep. More capable guys under contract = more options down the road.

 

I love the size we now have on the farm. For every Catenacci there is a Foligno and every Biega is a McNabb. I can't remember a time when there was so much size in the system. I remember alot of end of year press conferences (going all the way back to the 80's) when the GM would say something along the lines of, we need to get bigger. But it seemed like the team never got bigger. For the first time I can honestly say I see a bigger team in the near future.

[james duncan]

Yep. More capable guys under contract = more options down the road.

 

I love the size we now have on the farm. For every Catenacci there is a Foligno and every Biega is a McNabb. I can't remember a time when there was so much size in the system. I remember alot of end of year press conferences (going all the way back to the 80's) when the GM would say something along the lines of, we need to get bigger. But it seemed like the team never got bigger. For the first time I can honestly say I see a bigger team in the near future.

Completely agree. I don't ever remember this much size in the pipeline. Whether that translates to success is another story but it is intriguing.

 

Tonite will be interesting. The performance of the kids against an admittedly very flat Caps team over the weekend should turn up the heat on the vets against a team that loses a lot but has a ton of talent up front that will play hard.

[Sabre fan]

I'd love to see Finley on the fourth line as a forward. We definately could use his size.

[Lanny]

Pysyk and Gauthier-Leduc were both invited to Canada's WJC tryouts, and G-L was racking up ridiculous points in the Q to start the season. Both legit prospects that we don't even have signed yet.

Just a quick note, Pysyk is signed: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=367658

[LabattBlue]

I'd love to see Finley on the fourth line as a forward. We definately could use his size.

The fourth line isn't the problem. Top 6 scoring outside of Vanek and Pomiville, an elite defense that is not very elite through the first quarter of the season, and inconsistent goaltending is the problem...

 

 

Finley is not going to help in any of those areas.

[dEnnis the Menace]

The fourth line isn't the problem. Top 6 scoring outside of Vanek and Pomiville, an elite defense that is not very elite through the first quarter of the season, and inconsistent goaltending is the problem...

 

 

Finley is not going to help in any of those areas.

 

Logic... ^LB's got it...

 

seriously though, why are the few of you thinking that he'd help our forwards? He is a strong, towering DEFENSEMAN! use him in that manner!

[james duncan]

Logic... ^LB's got it...

 

seriously though, why are the few of you thinking that he'd help our forwards? He is a strong, towering DEFENSEMAN! use him in that manner!

Yup. I cringe when they take wingers and try to make them centers. Now we are asking them to make defensemen forwards...?

[shrader]

Logic... ^LB's got it...

 

seriously though, why are the few of you thinking that he'd help our forwards? He is a strong, towering DEFENSEMAN! use him in that manner!

 

Because you see so many players at the professional level suddenly switch to/from the blueline. :unsure:

We should start a list of guys who have successfully done so. All of our fingers will fall off by the time we're done typing this up. :rolleyes:

[Calvin]

Unless the Sabres suddenly decide to have seven puckmoving d-men on the roster, there will always be room for players like Finley on the roster.

 

As far as I am concerned, the torch for hard-hitting stay-at-home d-man needs to be passed on from Regehr to Weber to Finley (or similar type player). No number of Myers and Sekeras and Gragnanis will change that.

[LabattBlue]

Unless the Sabres suddenly decide to have seven puckmoving d-men on the roster, there will always be room for players like Finley on the roster.

 

As far as I am concerned, the torch for hard-hitting stay-at-home d-man needs to be passed on from Regehr to Weber to Finley (or similar type player). No number of Myers and Sekeras and Gragnanis will change that.

Tell Lindy and/or Darcy that. <_<

[james duncan]

Because you see so many players at the professional level suddenly switch to/from the blueline. :unsure:

We should start a list of guys who have successfully done so. All of our fingers will fall off by the time we're done typing this up. :rolleyes:

I don't know, I've heard Enroth has one hell of a wrist shot...

[dEnnis the Menace]

Because you see so many players at the professional level suddenly switch to/from the blueline. :unsure:

We should start a list of guys who have successfully done so. All of our fingers will fall off by the time we're done typing this up. :rolleyes:

 

successfully is keyword there. They tried to switch MAG from D to left wing...didn't turn out so well. Just the idea of that happening is...well... :blink:

[X. Benedict]

You can hold 50 contracts.

 

Signing Finley is a low risk move. Most big guys can't skate; he can.

[Taro T]

successfully is keyword there. They tried to switch MAG from D to left wing...didn't turn out so well. Just the idea of that happening is...well... :blink:

Ottomh, the closest to 'successful' experiments I can come up w/ are Ruff, Whimpley, and Fedorov and IIRC Mark Howe played some forward as well. However, ALL of those were limited in scope, duration, and effectiveness.

 

But it worked pretty well for George Wilson. Ooops, wrong sport. :doh:

[LabattBlue]

Ottomh, the closest to 'successful' experiments I can come up w/ are Ruff, Whimpley, and Fedorov and IIRC Mark Howe played some forward as well. However, ALL of those were limited in scope, duration, and effectiveness.

 

But it worked pretty well for George Wilson. Ooops, wrong sport. :doh:

I wonder how Housley would have made out if converted to center? Still pisses me off...if he could have just vaguely resembled a NHL defenseman he would have won several Norris trophies, and the Sabres may not have gone 0 for the 80's(I know they had more problems than just him).

[shrader]

I wonder how Housley would have made out if converted to center? Still pisses me off...if he could have just vaguely resembled a NHL defenseman he would have won several Norris trophies, and the Sabres may not have gone 0 for the 80's(I know they had more problems than just him).

 

In my mind, not only was he converted to a center, but also a Hall of Fame center.