Tallinder traded to Buffalo

[TrueBlueGED]

This. What the hell are we doing with that guy? Either trade the guy while he still has a lot of value (is it too late for that?) or play him. A third year in Rochester isn't going to help him and it's not going to help the team figure out what they have with him.

 

Why the hell did we re-sign Sulzer if we had this in the works? Acquiring too many defensemen and then doing nothing to clear up the logjam is Darcy's new MO. What a goofy franchise.

 

While I'd like to see McNabb get some NHL time, a 3rd AHL season (or partial AHL season) for a raw defenseman drafted in the 3rd round is not outrageous.

[Robviously]

I'm not sure about this one. I can see the utility in Tallinder - - but for a crowded blueline -- this will force some decisions.

Maybe there is a trade coming - but right now I'm stumped.

They did this same thing last year. They accumulated too many defensemen. Everyone said they'd have to make a trade to balance things out. Then nothing happened.

 

Once again, I'm expecting very little to happen.

Talinder plus Sulzer has me stumped. Like mentioned upthread, we can only hope that we'll only see one of Sulzer, McBain, Talinder in the lineup at any one time.

I keep forgetting that McBain is here too for some reason.

 

Someone really needs to tell Regier that acquiring one million defensemen won't make up for the fact that we ran out of guys in 2006.

 

While I'd like to see McNabb get some NHL time, a 3rd AHL season (or partial AHL season) for a raw defenseman drafted in the 3rd round is not outrageous.

He has nothing left to prove at that level.

[Stoner]

While I'd like to see McNabb get some NHL time, a 3rd AHL season (or partial AHL season) for a raw defenseman drafted in the 3rd round is not outrageous.

 

I'm pretty sure we all liked the way he played in Buffalo though, no? Some serious jolts, nice hands moving the puck away from trouble below the goal line, pretty calm and mistake-free. I was pretty psyched about him. If we're rebuilding, I don't see why he doesn't play with the Sabres this season.

[IKnowPhysics]

Onus is on the young guys to crack the lineup. If these old timers are so crappy, then it shouldn't be so hard for them. Guys will get injured, guys will get opportunities if they've earned them.

[TrueBlueGED]

He has nothing left to prove at that level.

 

Then why did he have a pretty weak season and get passed on the depth chart by Pysyk? Seems to me he does have something to prove.

 

I'm pretty sure we all liked the way he played in Buffalo though, no? Some serious jolts, nice hands moving the puck away from trouble below the goal line, pretty calm and mistake-free. I was pretty psyched about him. If we're rebuilding, I don't see why he doesn't play with the Sabres this season.

 

I've stated this before, but I believe people were wow'd by his hug hits and let that overshadow the rest of his game, which certainly never screamed "holy crap he's gonna be good!" to me. And again, he had a relatively weak season...not terrible, but I think most expected more out of him than what they got in the A.

[deluca67]

#1 It was a boring trade but a solid trade nonetheless as Ehroff was definitely not getting it done as a leader of the D corp, and Myers wasn't ready to go potty like a big boy yet. And honestly, unless this Boychuk kid gets flushed down to New Joisey and becomes a superstar good 'ol boy Darcy just weaseled himself another solid deal. #2 I agree, however if they are solid veterans like Hank, what is the downside? the privates need Non-Coms to keep em in line, or else they wont develop properly (see Tyler Myers.) Besides with a rookie HC in his own right...

#1 My objection to he trade it's self is that the Sabres should have received at least a low round draft pick for taking on the salary.

 

#2 As far as Tallinder goes? I said this earlier, hopefully his primary function will be to eat up cap space to keep the Sabres above the Cap floor after they move Miller and Vanek. Other than that I see no value having him in a Sabres uniform.

[HopefulFuture]

Onus is on the young guys to crack the lineup. If these old timers are so crappy, then it shouldn't be so hard for them. Guys will get injured, guys will get opportunities if they've earned them.

 

Tally, Myers, hoff, McBain, Weber and Sulzer all have 1 way contracts. So what Regier has done here in signing these vets is told the younger guys you'll have to wait even longer? Considering Ruh was promised playing time with the big club and Pysyk's performance in the shortened season, I find that not just difficult to believe, but just not believing it.

[Weave]

Onus is on the young guys to crack the lineup. If these old timers are so crappy, then it shouldn't be so hard for them. Guys will get injured, guys will get opportunities if they've earned them.

 

For those that missed it, I'll repeat

 

Tom Gulitti ‏@TGfireandice5h

Lamoriello said trade was made to clear a roster spot for a young D next season, but also said it's still possible they'll re-sign Zidlicky.

 

Huh. I guess there are successful organizations out there that don't make their promising young talent fight for a roster spot. They actually make room for them so they develop. Whodathunkit?

[darksabre]

Darcy's comment came in an appearance on WGR after the Pominville trade. Schopp brought up the notion of rebuilding. Darcy talked about the Pittsburgh/Edmonton models of rebuilding, then said:

 

 

"...it's not my place right now at this point in the year to say that we would roll it back that far [as those teams rolled it back]. Or should roll it back that far and ultimately Terry Pegula is going to make that decision more than anyone else because he owns the team."

http://audio.wgr550....tm?pageid=28473

 

He went on immediately after that to praise the way Minnesota has rebuilt. "In my view" Regier said, it's not the right strategy to add free agents unless there's a foundation in place. He said you "supplement" with free agents and trades once there's a foundation. If you do it the other way around, you can't "link" the kinds of players on your team — free agents, Darcy said, "have their own views" about how things should be done. He finished by saying the Sabres tried doing it the wrong way, it didn't work, and now they have to do it the right way. Schopp nor the Bullfrog asked the obvious followup.

 

For starters, he was praising Edmonton, not Minnesota.

 

Second, it is apparent that Pegula does in fact have a large amount of say in the extent to which the team goes through a rebuild process, which Darcy seemed to have no problem admitting and is apparently not bothered by. If Pegula's involvement was in any way unorthodox would he be mentioning it on the radio, or is this simply another case of taking standard league-wide procedure and trying to make it seem like internal sabotage? It almost seems like a no-brainer that the owners of these teams would have a lot of say in what their GMs are doing due to potential impact on entertainment potential and revenue generation. Would a team like Edmonton or Pittsburgh have begun an extensive overhaul and youth movement without at least discussing it within the organization?

 

So you're right about Pegula having say about the extent to which he wants Darcy to conduct a rebuild. But why wouldn't that be the case everywhere else?

[Taro T]

Talinder plus Sulzer has me stumped. Like mentioned upthread, we can only hope that we'll only see one of Sulzer, McBain, Talinder in the lineup at any one time.

If Sulzer wasn't signed with the expectation that he'll be in Ra-cha-cha then I don't understand that signing.

 

Hank didn't look good this past season. I hope that he and Myers can refind their chemistry. If they don't, at least it was a low risk move.

 

Come October, I expect that they'll have 2 vets (Ehrhoff & Hank), 2 young guys that should be coming into their own (Myers & Weber) and then 2 real young guys (pick 2 of Pysyk, McNabb, or Ristolainen). And I'd expect the pairings to be

 

Ehrhoff - Ristolainen

Tallinder - Myers

Weber - Pysyk

 

with McNabb starting the year in Ra-cha-cha and getting called up at the 1st injury (unless it's Ehrhoff that goes down, then they'd probably put in Sulzer or McBain) and McBain being the designated pressbox sitter.

 

Can't say I particularly like those pairings at this point.

[darksabre]

Onus is on the young guys to crack the lineup. If these old timers are so crappy, then it shouldn't be so hard for them. Guys will get injured, guys will get opportunities if they've earned them.

 

If Mike Weber can do it...

[Robviously]

Then why did he have a pretty weak season and get passed on the depth chart by Pysyk? Seems to me he does have something to prove.

 

 

 

I've stated this before, but I believe people were wow'd by his hug hits and let that overshadow the rest of his game, which certainly never screamed "holy crap he's gonna be good!" to me. And again, he had a relatively weak season...not terrible, but I think most expected more out of him than what they got in the A.

A "weak season" where he was an AHL all-star. Again.

 

How much more AHL hockey does this guy need?

 

For those that missed it, I'll repeat

 

 

Tom Gulitti ‏@TGfireandice5h

Lamoriello said trade was made to clear a roster spot for a young D next season, but also said it's still possible they'll re-sign Zidlicky.

 

Huh. I guess there are successful organizations out there that don't make their promising young talent fight for a roster spot. They actually make room for them so they develop. Whodathunkit?

This is a completely insane concept!

[Ross Rhea]

Then why did he have a pretty weak season and get passed on the depth chart by Pysyk?

 

Define weak. He had 5 goals and 31 assists and -1 in 62 games. He missed alot of games and the playoffs because he was hurt. Whereas Pysyk had 4 goals and 14 assists and +8 in 57 games.

 

I had heard McNabbs game had fallen off a bit but did Pysyk get the call because of that or because McNabb was hurt?

 

There is absolutly no reason to keep him on the farm again.

[DarthEbriate]

Alright, my first reaction to this news was an exasperated sigh... and I like Tallinder. When he came back from injury year before last for the Devils in the Final he was consistently in the right place, stood up the LA forward, then smartly chipped the puck back out of the zone. It didn't matter in the long run of course, but he was solid after not having played for a couple months. He can help Myers. And maybe McNabb can learn to be a pro from him. Basically to do what Regehr did (or was supposed to do). And Hank's easily good (savvy) enough to be in our top 6.

This positive reaction was then followed by snark. We'll play it like soccer because we don't have enough talented forwards. We'll just roll a 2-3 alignment with 3 defencemen on the ice at all times. Rolston radically changes the face of hockey and we surprise people with lots of goals from the blue line. In a couple years, all of the minor leagues will copycat our success. Plus, we'd have a dream D-trio of McCabe-McBain-McNabb.

But the more I think about it -- the more it means my hope of McNabb-Pysyk as a 2nd pair in Sabres sweaters to start next season is a pipe dream. Instead, it's back to the Amerks for them as McNabb rehabs, and to rebuild their chemistry/confidence as a top pair for call-up after the trade deadline.

 

Ristolainen and Armia will need a solid 1/2 season to acclimate to the ice size in Rochester. Perhaps a top line of Girgsensons-Larsson-Armia and the Amerks could be pretty good next year. They'll miss Tarnasky to protect and open the ice for them, though. Makes me think McCormick will be in that role (he's still under contract, right?)

At the end of next year we could see: Ehrhoff-Ristolainen / Weber-Myers / McNabb-Pysyk (I'd kind of like to swap McNabb and Weber there). I don't think that's a bad way to start the 2014-15 season. Depends on whether Myers gets back to what he can be.

[TrueBlueGED]

A "weak season" where he was an AHL all-star. Again.

 

How much more AHL hockey does this guy need?

 

Serious question: does all-star ballotting have as much of a name-recognition bias in the AHL as in the NHL? Even if not, McNabb was still passed on the depth chart by a 1st year pro, so either Pysyk is very advanced or McNabb is not as advanced as he being made out to be. Stories of him struggling for the first half of the year weren't uncommon.

[Weave]

 

Come October, I expect that they'll have 2 vets (Ehrhoff & Hank), 2 young guys that should be coming into their own (Myers & Weber) and then 2 real young guys (pick 2 of Pysyk, McNabb, or Ristolainen). And I'd expect the pairings to be

 

Ehrhoff - Ristolainen

Tallinder - Myers

Weber - Pysyk

 

with McNabb starting the year in Ra-cha-cha and getting called up at the 1st injury (unless it's Ehrhoff that goes down, then they'd probably put in Sulzer or McBain) and McBain being the designated pressbox sitter.

 

I could live with that but I'd really like to see McNabb get priority over Tallinder.

 

Serious question: does all-star ballotting have as much of a name-recognition bias in the AHL as in the NHL? Even if not, McNabb was still passed on the depth chart by a 1st year pro, so either Pysyk is very advanced or McNabb is not as advanced as he being made out to be. Stories of him struggling for the first half of the year weren't uncommon.

 

I also recall hearing of McNabb stumbling out of the gate last season. Hopefully Inkman can chime in as he's got the skinny on what happened in Rachacha. Regardless, we're on a youth movement now. Why not throw the kid (McNabb) into the mix and see if he's got the moxie to hang? It's not like the team is concerned with making the playoffs at this point. See if he's gonna be someone to count on for the near future. If he fails, cut bait and move on.

[Robviously]

Serious question: does all-star ballotting have as much of a name-recognition bias in the AHL as in the NHL? Even if not, McNabb was still passed on the depth chart by a 1st year pro, so either Pysyk is very advanced or McNabb is not as advanced as he being made out to be. Stories of him struggling for the first half of the year weren't uncommon.

Pysyk was always supposed to be better and more NHL-ready. I'm not sure why him passing McNabb is an indication of anything.

 

McNabb had a slow start last season. So what? I don't think more AHL hockey is the answer. He's either going to be an NHL player or he's not. Time to find out.

[Ross Rhea]

Pysyk was always supposed to be better and more NHL-ready. I'm not sure why him passing McNabb is an indication of anything.

 

McNabb had a slow start last season. So what? I don't think more AHL hockey is the answer. He's either going to be an NHL player or he's not. Time to find out.

 

And that is just the bottom line. Coupled with the commitment of rebuilding there is no reason what so ever to leave him down.

[qwksndmonster]

Pysyk was always supposed to be better and more NHL-ready. I'm not sure why him passing McNabb is an indication of anything.

 

McNabb had a slow start last season. So what? I don't think more AHL hockey is the answer. He's either going to be an NHL player or he's not. Time to find out.

To the bolded: What? Said who when?

 

I agree with you that McNabb should get his shot next season, but I'm certainly not going to slit my wrists over it :P

[TrueBlueGED]

I also recall hearing of McNabb stumbling out of the gate last season. Hopefully Inkman can chime in as he's got the skinny on what happened in Rachacha. Regardless, we're on a youth movement now. Why not throw the kid (McNabb) into the mix and see if he's got the moxie to hang? It's not like the team is concerned with making the playoffs at this point. See if he's gonna be someone to count on for the near future. If he fails, cut bait and move on.

Pysyk was always supposed to be better and more NHL-ready. I'm not sure why him passing McNabb is an indication of anything.

 

McNabb had a slow start last season. So what? I don't think more AHL hockey is the answer. He's either going to be an NHL player or he's not. Time to find out.

 

I think there's a distinct difference with wanting to see him in the NHL and thinking another AHL year is going to ruin him and/or indicate bust. I'm fine with the former, it's the latter I'm taking contention with.

[Weave]

I think there's a distinct difference with wanting to see him in the NHL and thinking another AHL year is going to ruin him and/or indicate bust. I'm fine with the former, it's the latter I'm taking contention with.

 

1's AND 0's!!!!!

[Robviously]

I think there's a distinct difference with wanting to see him in the NHL and thinking another AHL year is going to ruin him and/or indicate bust. I'm fine with the former, it's the latter I'm taking contention with.

I guess it's a good thing no one said another year in the AHL would ruin him or indicate bust then. It probably hurts his trade value (which would have been really high one year ago), but the Sabres are usually pretty awful at trading guys at the right time anyway (see: Stafford, Drew).

[TrueBlueGED]

I guess it's a good thing no one said another year in the AHL would ruin him or indicate bust then. It probably hurts his trade value (which would have been really high one year ago), but the Sabres are usually pretty awful at trading guys at the right time anyway (see: Stafford, Drew).

We need McNabb in the NHL or we accept that we have just ruined that player. He has nothing more to prove in the AHL and if we leave him down there too log he will probably just stop trying (why bother to play well when there are 9 other d men who have a roster spot above you?)

 

:angel:

[MILFHUNTER#518]

#1 My objection to he trade it's self is that the Sabres should have received at least a low round draft pick for taking on the salary.

 

#2 As far as Tallinder goes? I said this earlier, hopefully his primary function will be to eat up cap space to keep the Sabres above the Cap floor after they move Miller and Vanek. Other than that I see no value having him in a Sabres uniform.

I look at this deal as an investment in Tyler Myers and an attempt to bring leadership into the D Corp. The management has invested a lot into Tyler Myers, and are obviously not going to let that investment go to waste. His two primary functions are going to be making sure Tyler's toys are picked up before bedtime, and leadership in the room. If he does those two things, the end result will be a revamped Myers (all joking aside, the kid has a lot of upside that is for damn sure) and a stable locker room. If Hank takes control of these young Defensemen and they listen to him and come into their own, who knows where we will be two years from now. We have gobs of fresh talent, but it all goes to waste with no vets to help the process along, they simply wont mature...

[inkman]

McNabb started off last year terribly. With Foligno, Hodgson and Brennan he really seemed to take a back seat. When the NHL season started he played even worse but eventually played at a decent level. Kevin Oklubja (I know I hammered that) said they essentially put McNabb in the all-star game because Pysyk was in buffalo.