The WORST Thing About Missing Playoffs - No Evaluation

[darksabre]

 

 

That's right---- the Sabres have set a franchise record with man games lost (the stat has only been kept since, I think, 1998 or so) but they are barely in the top 10 for this season. It's a funny stat, though, and not completely accurate.

 

And it doesn't tell the whole story of just how many players we had injured, and how many injuries overlapped. We really got sh*t on by lady luck this year.

 

Next year will be different, because quite frankly what are the odds it could be the same?

[I am Defecting]

There was some good banter going on here :rolleyes: Looks like I missed out, so I'll just reset.

 

The worst thing about missing the playoffs is that it's one more year off the careers of older players who've never won the Cup: Miller 31, Vanek 28, Pominville 29, and Roy 28. Those are players that the organization has invested many years on, with the intention of winning the whole shebang. I don't buy the notion that the Sabres weren't trying to win under Golisano. They were trying to win by investing in those players. In hindsight, (no playoffs, no Cup) it's looking like wasted time.

[JJFIVEOH]

I don't know where to find the current official man-games lost list, but regardless of how accurate or inaccurate it may be the Sabres were listed as #2 about the time they got healthy and started winning games. At the time they were listed at 250 something man/games lost behind only Pittsburgh. They've probably dropped since because BFLO has been relatively healthy. But it just proves that they got the majority of their injuries within a 30-35 game stretch.

[spndnchz]

Did I read it wrong, or were there really 7 other teams who had the same or greater number of player minutes lost to injury as the Sabres did this year? I thought I saw that somewhere recently but can't remember. If I'm not hallucinating and this is a factual number, does anyone know who those teams are?

 

See here for a pretty good job of keeping track:

http://www.sabresinseven.com/2011/12/injuries-around-the-nhl-2011-2012-season/

[LastPommerFan]

That sums it up as well as anything.

 

All the excuses that get pulled out are a result of this. Everything has to go PERFECT for this team to have a chance. When they don't, some view it as a reason to keep the band together. If you look at it honestly, they just aren't good. [1] Pitt was decimated by injuries just like the Sabres, but were able to at least keep their heads above water before their run. That was without the best player in hockey on the ice.

 

I for one think this was pretty much an exact replay of last season. They go on a big run, some young guys get the juices flowing, many start getting giddy about the next year because they finished on a run and start projecting crazy things, then we have a repeat. Look who people were trumpeting last year at this time of the new blood.....Gerbe, Ennis, Weber, Gragnani. Gerbe was the hottest player on the team and much like this year, Ennis for some reason saved his best hustle for last. Weber looked like a top 4 stay at home defenseman, and Gragnani was a calming force in the playoffs who could rush the puck.

 

Just the fact that 3 of the 4 have regressed, [2] and the other one woke up just in time to get a Darcy-Special inflated contract......this year looks even more daunting. Foligno looks good, but he is still raw and doesn't have the smoothness of a guy like Kassian. He may make a career out of hustle and a mix of garbage and skill goals, but he isn't a [3]"sky's the limit" type of guy. Tropp is a hustler but a 4th liner on a good team. McNabb is exciting, but as we have seen in his 2nd and 3rd stints, he isn't improving like a rocketship. Brennan...ok. Pretty much we are set up like last year.....except there probably isn't room for any big f/a move since Hecht/Boyes is going to be gobbled up by Myers/Ennis. Then you need to decide of filler types like Kaleta and Sulzer.

 

I'm in the exact same spot as I was last year. That ain't good.

 

[1] Incorrect assumption- Pittsburgh has twice as many players that have played 70+ games this year, and they did not play a single game with 2 of their top 4 Defensemen out. They had a more high profile injury, but not nearly the roster decimation the sabres have faced. Not even in the same ballpark. The problem with the sabres injuries is that they all happened at the same time.

 

[2] Ennis had a handful of bad games and then missed half the season before coming back on fire.

 

[3] Who is claiming this?

 

[4] The cap will go up again. just like it has every year. And there is no evidence for the contention that Pegs will grow tired of burying salary in Rochester.

 

There are huge differences between this year and last year. Depth is needed, but we're pretty good, even with one top 4 defensemen and 2-3 forwards out. Beyond that is where the improvement needs to be made.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

[1] Incorrect assumption- Pittsburgh has twice as many players that have played 70+ games this year, and they did not play a single game with 2 of their top 4 Defensemen out. They had a more high profile injury, but not nearly the roster decimation the sabres have faced. Not even in the same ballpark. The problem with the sabres injuries is that they all happened at the same time.

 

[2] Ennis had a handful of bad games and then missed half the season before coming back on fire.

 

[3] Who is claiming this?

 

[4] The cap will go up again. just like it has every year. And there is no evidence for the contention that Pegs will grow tired of burying salary in Rochester.

 

There are huge differences between this year and last year. Depth is needed, but we're pretty good, even with one top 4 defensemen and 2-3 forwards out. Beyond that is where the improvement needs to be made.

 

1) I would trade any 5 players on the Sabres for Crosby and Letang....and that still leaves Staal and Kennedy out at the same time

 

2) Ennis is hit or miss. He sure looks like a small Max many times for stretches, but Max stayed on his feet with his turnovers. He is getting overprojected once again because of a nice stretch

 

3) Many balanced posters have him correctly pegged as a #3 winger....maybe #2 if things go perfectly. Darcy himself said there were no plans to have him up here this year and they lucked into it. That happened AFTER the Kassian trade, so anyone saying they moved Kassian because of so much confidence in Foligno.....that comment he made the other day proved otherwise.

 

4) Who will he bury in Rochester??? All the candidates will be off of the team next year. Lieno? Sekera?

 

And this whole injury thing.........when Ryan Miller got steamrolled by Lucic, he was the 1a goalie according to Lindy. Enroth had already been playing as much, or more than Miller the previous few weeks. Myers was a healthy scratch 2 games before his injury. You can't have it both ways......I understand these are some of your top players, but you can't project lollipops when these guys weren't going well at the time. Look at Gaustad's and Ehrhoff's injuries earlier......direct results of overcompensating for the Lucic incident and getting hurt in scrums. The whole "lady luck took a dump on us"......NO!!!! You create your own results and luck for the most part. Yes, injuries have played a role this year.....but people fail to mention that the game the Sabres had 9 AHL players in.....THEY WON IN A SLAUGHTER!!!

 

Good work on the pdf by the way..........

[Sabre Dance]

All things being equal - I would rather be in the playoffs. (The upside isn't terrific)

 

Pittsburgh and Philly just might beat the hell out of each other in round 1.

 

That would be awesome.... I've always hated the Flyers and lately, the Pens have been a pain in the arse as well. Seven games of these two teams going at each other would be a treat...

[LastPommerFan]

1) I would trade any 5 players on the Sabres for Crosby and Letang....and that still leaves Staal and Kennedy out at the same time.

 

2) Ennis is hit or miss. He sure looks like a small Max many times for stretches, but Max stayed on his feet with his turnovers. He is getting overprojected once again because of a nice stretch

 

3) Many balanced posters have him correctly pegged as a #3 winger....maybe #2 if things go perfectly. Darcy himself said there were no plans to have him up here this year and they lucked into it. That happened AFTER the Kassian trade, so anyone saying they moved Kassian because of so much confidence in Foligno.....that comment he made the other day proved otherwise.

 

4) Who will he bury in Rochester??? All the candidates will be off of the team next year. Lieno? Sekera?

 

5) And this whole injury thing.........when Ryan Miller got steamrolled by Lucic, he was the 1a goalie according to Lindy. Enroth had already been playing as much, or more than Miller the previous few weeks. Myers was a healthy scratch 2 games before his injury. You can't have it both ways......I understand these are some of your top players, but you can't project lollipops when these guys weren't going well at the time. Look at Gaustad's and Ehrhoff's injuries earlier......direct results of overcompensating for the Lucic incident and getting hurt in scrums. The whole "lady luck took a dump on us"......NO!!!! You create your own results and luck for the most part. Yes, injuries have played a role this year.....(6)but people fail to mention that the game the Sabres had 9 AHL players in.....THEY WON IN A SLAUGHTER!!!

 

7)Good work on the pdf by the way..........

 

1) This is absolutely true, I'd do it in a second. but it does not change the fact that losing your best skater for 60 games is easier to deal with than losing 4-5 of your top skaters ever game for 33 games.

 

2) I'm not projecting ennis as a Art Ross candidate Center. But I believe the idea that he was "bad" for half a season and then brought it on come contract time is misleading when the 34 injury games are considered.

 

3) I don't think the two comments are mutually exclusive. It was not the plan to have Kassian up this season either. Injuries forced it.

 

4) If he needed to bury Leino to get Parise, he'd consider it. If Gerbe doesn't fix his game, it could be him. With a potential $5M cap increase, it may not be needed at all.

 

5) Some players we playing poorly, but they were 10-5-0. They'd have 105 points right now if they had just continued at that pace, let alone the torrid pace they've been at since the ASG.

 

6) One game is irrelevant in this argument, the pens lost to the Islanders back to back with only Letang out.

 

7) Thanks!

[shrader]

1) I would trade any 5 players on the Sabres for Crosby and Letang....and that still leaves Staal and Kennedy out at the same time

 

This one has me wondering. I bet just about every single team could say the same exact thing.

[TrueBlueGED]

1) I would trade any 5 players on the Sabres for Crosby and Letang....and that still leaves Staal and Kennedy out at the same time

 

2) Ennis is hit or miss. He sure looks like a small Max many times for stretches, but Max stayed on his feet with his turnovers. He is getting overprojected once again because of a nice stretch

 

3) Many balanced posters have him correctly pegged as a #3 winger....maybe #2 if things go perfectly. Darcy himself said there were no plans to have him up here this year and they lucked into it. That happened AFTER the Kassian trade, so anyone saying they moved Kassian because of so much confidence in Foligno.....that comment he made the other day proved otherwise.

 

4) Who will he bury in Rochester??? All the candidates will be off of the team next year. Lieno? Sekera?

 

And this whole injury thing.........when Ryan Miller got steamrolled by Lucic, he was the 1a goalie according to Lindy. Enroth had already been playing as much, or more than Miller the previous few weeks. Myers was a healthy scratch 2 games before his injury. You can't have it both ways......I understand these are some of your top players, but you can't project lollipops when these guys weren't going well at the time. Look at Gaustad's and Ehrhoff's injuries earlier......direct results of overcompensating for the Lucic incident and getting hurt in scrums. The whole "lady luck took a dump on us"......NO!!!! You create your own results and luck for the most part. Yes, injuries have played a role this year.....but people fail to mention that the game the Sabres had 9 AHL players in.....THEY WON IN A SLAUGHTER!!!

 

Good work on the pdf by the way..........

 

1) Yes.

 

2) It's hard to project any player based off of a small stretch...Vanek and Pommer were both on pace for 90+ point seasons at one point, but I think most reasonable people would agree they weren't going to get there since they have long careers to go off of. Ennis essentially has 1.5 seasons of games played, with only about 25 at the position he'll be playing going forward. Looking at his game I think there's absolutely PPG center upside in his talent level, and I've compared him to Giroux because I think the skill set and early career production is very similar. Does this mean I'm projecting him to be Giroux? No, but to me it's pretty clear that kind of upside exists.

 

3) Pretty much what LPF said.

 

4) Who says he has to bury somebody already on the roster? There's nothing saying we don't make another Regehr/Kotalik style trade again if the deal is there.

 

5) Ehrhoff wasn't hurt in his fight "overcompensating" for the Lucic incident. And we both know 1 game sample sizes are crap.

[TheChimp]

See here for a pretty good job of keeping track:

http://www.sabresins...11-2012-season/

Thanks! And I wasn't totally correct in my assumption, but MOST of the teams with as many or more MG lost than the Sabres also missed the playoffs. The only ones with more than us but still made the playoffs were Philly, Pitt and Boston.