Game discussion thread Pre Season GDT: Washington at Buffalo, 7 PM

[biodork]

I find the folks interesting that said "it is not about McEichel, it is about get the best players we can" that showed up in the last 24hrs with posts along the lines of, "If we don't get McEichel it's a failure".

 

Personally, I think we've got nearly all of our new core. IMO If we don't get a top 3 pick we are still headed towards a future where this team is talked about being at the top of the playoff brackets. Let's play some F'in hockey.

 

THIS. 100% in agreement.

[darksabre]

 

 

I find the folks interesting that said "it is not about McEichel, it is about get the best players we can" that showed up in the last 24hrs with posts along the lines of, "If we don't get McEichel it's a failure".

 

Personally, I think we've got nearly all of our new core. IMO If we don't get a top 3 pick we are still headed towards a future where this team is talked about being at the top of the playoff brackets. Let's play some F'in hockey.

 

I think you are right. Especially looking at the defense.

[LTS]

 

We were also playing the Caps AHL team so don't get too giddy, but Buffalo looked awesome tonight. I could get used to that.

 

I'm not worried about them lighting up the NHL, it's not going to happen against NHL caliber talent. However, in order to compete you have to play sound positioning and see your opportunities and the Sabres definitely did that last night. They had extremely good puck support. There were only a few instances (in what I saw) where the Caps were free. If a Sabre was pressured he had an outlet to a teammate. Certainly these opportunities won't be as prevalent against a full NHL squad but at least they had them.

 

If this team overachieves this year then I guess it's a good thing the NHL changed the draft lottery rules right?

[Weave]

I want to go back to cheering for playoffs and wins as well but I agree with those that think it will be a failure if we end up with two middling 1st and one late round 1st after this year. Many of the pieces are in place but who do we have that is dynamic? A guy a team has to game plan around? It's because we have all of the other things in place that I want one more huge tank. Imagine how much better guys like Reinhart and Grigo will be if they can play second/third line centre minutes rather than needing them on the top line. We already know how that worked out when we had to force Derek Roy into top line minutes. You can't find the Crosby's in free agency.

 

LA doesn't have a dominant, overly dynamic player. Neither does Boston really. There is no reason that Reinhart can't equal Kopitar in terms of dynamic play in a few years. He doesn't have the same skillset but if his ceiling is Adam Oates then his ceiling is equal to Kopitar in terms of need for game planning.

 

If Grigo and Reinhart pan out we would have a center ice lineup better than Boston's, and certainly as good as LA's. Maybe Colorado would have a better center lineup.

 

There are horses here. Risto, Zad, Reinhart, hell, Ennis is a damned fine player and not nearly the liability now that the lineup is bigger overall. Get a real nice scoring winger and we are done. Done.

Edited October 2, 2014 by weave

[SabresBillsFan]

 

I fully expect this. He will cut the nuts off of this roster if it goes above .500. Stewart, Stafford, Mitchell, Kaleta, Meszaros, Benoit, Neuvirth, and Enroth are all in their last year of their contracts. How many of these players does he reckon are untouchable components of the next Sabres era? At any point this season, in a period of about 8 hours, he could shred this team. And he would be lauded for it, because it helped to maximize either the next draft or the next team.

 

I don't know about this. I don't know how many guys Murray might move to help maximize the draft.

1. I think that Murray might move either Stewart or Stafford before the deadline or at the deadline.

2. Meszaros might just be a rental and then moved.

3. Benoit I think might surprise people but I haven't seen enough just yet.

 

I think you are right. Especially looking at the defense.

 

I think the defense is going to be real good moving forward without Weber of course!

 

LA doesn't have a dominant, overly dynamic player. Neither does Boston really. There is no reason that Reinhart can't equal Kopitar in terms of dynamic play in a few years. He doesn't have the same skillset but if his ceiling is Adam Oates then his ceiling is equal to Kopitar in terms of need for game planning.

 

If Grigo and Reinhart pan out we would have a center ice lineup better that Boston's, and certainly as good as LA's. Maybe Colorado would have a better center lineup.

 

There are horses here. Risto, Zad, Reinhart, hell, Ennis is a damned fine player and not nearly the liability now that the lineup is bigger overall. Get a real nice scoring winger and we are done. Done.

 

I don't think you guys have seen Kopitar enough. Living on the west coast and seeing alot of LA Kings games on tv. Kopitar is very underrated because alot of people back east don't see him enough. He does everything and he does it really well. And once Gaborik was paired with him those two have unbelievable chemistry.

[3putt]

I find the folks interesting that said "it is not about McEichel, it is about get the best players we can" that showed up in the last 24hrs with posts along the lines of, "If we don't get McEichel it's a failure".

 

Personally, I think we've got nearly all of our new core. IMO If we don't get a top 3 pick we are still headed towards a future where this team is talked about being at the top of the playoff brackets. Let's play some F'in hockey.

Talked about and being perennially expected are two different things. I prefer the latter. And I still do not see the dominant scorer on the wing on either of the first 2 lines. The farm is loaded i get it, but maximizing a premium position (3 firsts, 2 seconds) in a very talented and deep draft means walking away with a game changer, not just a good player. If that happens then the "suffering" was crap because you could have avoided the crash and kept feeding the masses near misses and hope for next year. I for one want excellence and the Sabres are poised to position themselves for excellence for a long time. Again JMHO. And I am one of those who believe it IS all about McEichel.

[SabresBillsFan]

Talked about and being perennially expected are two different things. I prefer the latter. And I still do not see the dominant scorer on the wing on either of the first 2 lines. The farm is loaded i get it, but maximizing a premium position (3 firsts, 2 seconds) in a very talented and deep draft means walking away with a game changer, not just a good player. If that happens then the "suffering" was crap because you could have avoided the crash and kept feeding the masses near misses and hope for next year. I for one want excellence and the Sabres are poised to position themselves for excellence for a long time. Again JMHO. And I am one of those who believe it IS all about McEichel.

 

I will agree with this but I think the defense this season looks very good as long as they can stay healthy. I just think you might get alot of production from players this year because I believe that Nolan gets alot out of them and now with Trots and the other coaches here I think you will have alot of guys with something to prove and be highly motivated. Plus I think Enroth has been waiting for this moment for awhile now. Yeah he might be small but I still think he's a really good goalie. And if you look at the history of the Buffalo Sabres you will find that we have always had solid goaltending unlike the Flyers.

[Weave]

Talked about and being perennially expected are two different things. I prefer the latter. And I still do not see the dominant scorer on the wing on either of the first 2 lines. The farm is loaded i get it, but maximizing a premium position (3 firsts, 2 seconds) in a very talented and deep draft means walking away with a game changer, not just a good player. If that happens then the "suffering" was crap because you could have avoided the crash and kept feeding the masses near misses and hope for next year. I for one want excellence and the Sabres are poised to position themselves for excellence for a long time. Again JMHO. And I am one of those who believe it IS all about McEichel.

 

Which still doesn't solve the one problem you state that we need, the scorer on the wing.

 

I don't know about this. I don't know how many guys Murray might move to help maximize the draft.

1. I think that Murray might move either Stewart or Stafford before the deadline or at the deadline.

2. Meszaros might just be a rental and then moved.

3. Benoit I think might surprise people but I haven't seen enough just yet.

 

 

 

I think the defense is going to be real good moving forward without Weber of course!

 

 

 

I don't think you guys have seen Kopitar enough. Living on the west coast and seeing alot of LA Kings games on tv. Kopitar is very underrated because alot of people back east don't see him enough. He does everything and he does it really well. And once Gaborik was paired with him those two have unbelievable chemistry.

 

And this is pretty much what was said about the future of Reinhart, no? That is pretty much what I was getting at. We donm't have a Crosby, Kane, or Stamkos, but we have in the system everything but goaltender that got teams like LA and Boston into the finals multiple times.

 

Well, not quite like LA. We still need a bonafide top line winger. But we don't need to finish in the bottom 3 to get that either.

[3putt]

I think the D will be better as well, barring injury (which I am not even remotely wishing for.) In 3 years it will be even better with the Young Turks having gained valuable experience at the NHL and AHL level. I think Ulmark may the dark horse "Next Great Sabres Goaltender", I watched a lot of his SHL games on Hockeystreams.com. But what worries me and always has, is the idea the the blue collar lunch pail type of approach will win in the NHL consistently. Kopitar is a stud! Gaborik is a great talent. And Boston didn't make it to the cup finals. Without a superstar we can still compete. With a superstar we can be a juggernaut. A lot of the players on the farm are "bring it every night" players and that's great. Are any 40-50 goal scorers? I guess we will see.

[SabresBillsFan]

Which still doesn't solve the one problem you state that we need, the scorer on the wing.

 

 

 

And this is pretty much what was said about the future of Reinhart, no? That is pretty much what I was getting at. We donm't have a Crosby, Kane, or Stamkos, but we have in the system everything but goaltender that got teams like LA and Boston into the finals multiple times.

 

Well, not quite like LA. We still need a bonafide top line winger. But we don't need to finish in the bottom 3 to get that either.

 

My big ? is suppose that the top 3rd and 4th pick are defenseman as ranked right now and we land in that 3-4 spot. What to do? Do you choose one of them or do you go for the next best offensive player not named McDavid or Eichel. I for one want one McDavid or Eichel as that would be huge for this rebuild. But just have this feeling we are going to be missing out on both of them.

 

I think the D will be better as well, barring injury (which I am not even remotely wishing for.) In 3 years it will be even better with the Young Turks having gained valuable experience at the NHL and AHL level. I think Ulmark may the dark horse "Next Great Sabres Goaltender", I watched a lot of his SHL games on Hockeystreams.com. But what worries me and always has, is the idea the the blue collar lunch pail type of approach will win in the NHL consistently. Kopitar is a stud! Gaborik is a great talent. And Boston didn't make it to the cup finals. Without a superstar we can still compete. With a superstar we can be a juggernaut. A lot of the players on the farm are "bring it every night" players and that's great. Are any 40-50 goal scorers? I guess we will see.

 

I'm thinking the Sabres might have like you said a great goaltender in Ulmark but I think Lieuwin if he keeps working could be very good as well especially because he's so big.

[Derrico]

Weave - I agree with you that we have a lot in our system, especially on D which is huge. That's something that's been killing Edmonton for a few years now. But after having 7 mediocre to crap years and especially 3+ years of 'suffering' then I want more then one season of something more than middling picks. The future is so bright already that think what one superstar could do to it. I don't want some improvements in some areas and a 10th place finish when McEichle (coupled with our deep prospect pool) can potentially make us perennial contenders. Do you think Boston or LA doesn't have room for a Crosby on their team? Think how good they would be with someone like that (especially on a rookie contract).

[beerme1]

Weave - I agree with you that we have a lot in our system, especially on D which is huge. That's something that's been killing Edmonton for a few years now. But after having 7 mediocre to crap years and especially 3+ years of 'suffering' then I want more then one season of something more than middling picks. The future is so bright already that think what one superstar could do to it. I don't want some improvements in some areas and a 10th place finish when McEichle (coupled with our deep prospect pool) can potentially make us perennial contenders. Do you think Boston or LA doesn't have room for a Crosby on their team? Think how good they would be with someone like that (especially on a rookie contract).

 

In say the last five years or so how many cups has Crosby won vs how many for the Kings. Just wonderin...

[Derrico]

Are you saying LA wouldn't be a better team with Crosby?

 

This could be a once in 25 year draft with the two guys at the top. We came in dead last in the previous season and it wasn't even really close. Somehow because LA won a couple of cups without a Superstar (although I think Kopitar is) then we shouldn't be disappointed if we end up 5th or 6th last then last?

[dudacek]

If we play ourselves out of the McEichel derby this year it means some of our kids are improving and that the veterans and Nolan are creating the right environment for that to continue. We still get five high picks in June and a couple will turn into really good players.

 

If we finish last we get McEichel.

 

It's a win-win.

[Hoss]

If we're anywhere from 3rd to 9th in the draft then I'll be pissed. If we're closer to the playoffs based on the play of our young guys (meaning Reinhart, Grigorenko, Girgensons, Risto, etc) then I'll be ok. Then just package the ###### out of our picks and move up to at least get one of the top end forwards this year (not meaning McEichel because they won't be traded).

Edited October 2, 2014 by Tankalicious

[That Aud Smell]

The converse/obverse/inverse/whatever-verse of Team "WE MUST TANK! WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S OKAY IF THIS TEAM OVER-PERFORMS?!" (ah, for the days of stormcloud and kittens and rainbows (was that it?)) is this: There is no silver bullet remedy, there are no guarantees, and there are many paths to success.

 

I'm just not going to get worried if the team plays well. I'm going to enjoy it for what it is.

[qwksndmonster]

Not to mention between us and Strong Island, somebody's gonna suck.

[Hoss]

Not to mention between us and Strong Island, somebody's gonna suck.

 

But it's much MUCH more likely that it's us. They'll probably be 8th or so.

[nfreeman]

The converse/obverse/inverse/whatever-verse of Team "WE MUST TANK! WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S OKAY IF THIS TEAM OVER-PERFORMS?!" (ah, for the days of stormcloud and kittens and rainbows (was that it?)) is this: There is no silver bullet remedy, there are no guarantees, and there are many paths to success.

 

I'm just not going to get worried if the team plays well. I'm going to enjoy it for what it is.

 

This. I want some games that thrill me this year.

 

I want the Sabres to be on a 3-game winning streak with Boston coming to the FNC and to be looking forward to the game all day.

 

I want Enroth to seize his long-awaited shot at #1 by the throat, even if it means JJ50 gets the biggest I-told-you-so in Sabrespace history.

 

I want Myers to approach his potential and for Risto to play like Myers did during his Calder season.

 

I want Stewart to explode in his contract year and to pummel opponents on occasion.

 

I want Reinhart to look like the natural.

 

I want Pysyk to play like Teppo in 2005.

 

I want Nolan and Trottier to make me believe.

 

I want hockey that I care about.

[dEnnis the Menace]

This. I want some games that thrill me this year.

 

I want the Sabres to be on a 3-game winning streak with Boston coming to the FNC and to be looking forward to the game all day.

 

I want Enroth to seize his long-awaited shot at #1 by the throat, even if it means JJ50 gets the biggest I-told-you-so in Sabrespace history.

 

I want Myers to approach his potential and for Risto to play like Myers did during his Calder season.

 

I want Stewart to explode in his contract year and to pummel opponents on occasion.

 

I want Reinhart to look like the natural.

 

I want Pysyk to play like Teppo in 2005.

 

I want Nolan and Trottier to make me believe.

 

I want hockey that I care about.

 

that's kind of sort of borderlining inspiring...

 

stop that! I want inspired hockey but the 1st overall pick. You start saying things like that, it makes me believe that I should want those things too :ph34r:

[Claude_Verret]

This. I want some games that thrill me this year.

 

I want the Sabres to be on a 3-game winning streak with Boston coming to the FNC and to be looking forward to the game all day.

 

I want Enroth to seize his long-awaited shot at #1 by the throat, even if it means JJ50 gets the biggest I-told-you-so in Sabrespace history.

 

I want Myers to approach his potential and for Risto to play like Myers did during his Calder season.

 

I want Stewart to explode in his contract year and to pummel opponents on occasion.

 

I want Reinhart to look like the natural.

 

I want Pysyk to play like Teppo in 2005.

 

I want Nolan and Trottier to make me believe.

 

I want hockey that I care about.

 

If all that were to happen you're likely looking at a playoff bubble team. Nightmare season.

[dudacek]

 

 

This. I want some games that thrill me this year.

 

I want the Sabres to be on a 3-game winning streak with Boston coming to the FNC and to be looking forward to the game all day.

 

I want Enroth to seize his long-awaited shot at #1 by the throat, even if it means JJ50 gets the biggest I-told-you-so in Sabrespace history.

 

I want Myers to approach his potential and for Risto to play like Myers did during his Calder season.

 

I want Stewart to explode in his contract year and to pummel opponents on occasion.

 

I want Reinhart to look like the natural.

 

I want Pysyk to play like Teppo in 2005.

 

I want Nolan and Trottier to make me believe.

 

I want hockey that I care about.

 

Dammit, that was good.

Thank you, Mr. Churchill.

 

[Hoss]

I am slipping. Time to go watch Conor McDavid to get my mind right.

[biodork]

 

 

This. I want some games that thrill me this year.

 

I want the Sabres to be on a 3-game winning streak with Boston coming to the FNC and to be looking forward to the game all day.

 

I want Enroth to seize his long-awaited shot at #1 by the throat, even if it means JJ50 gets the biggest I-told-you-so in Sabrespace history.

 

I want Myers to approach his potential and for Risto to play like Myers did during his Calder season.

 

I want Stewart to explode in his contract year and to pummel opponents on occasion.

 

I want Reinhart to look like the natural.

 

I want Pysyk to play like Teppo in 2005.

 

I want Nolan and Trottier to make me believe.

 

I want hockey that I care about.

 

Good stuff, man. I wish they were playing tonight... I'm ready for the regular season to start already!

[Derrico]

I am slipping. Time to go watch Conor McDavid to get my mind right.

 

Stay strong, I feel many troops have deserted post. There are very few left to defend the fort.