How long Until Jack takes over the team scoring lead?

[Doohicksie]

Oh fudge.

[sabills]

Oh fudge.

Still, good breakdown.

[Doohicksie]

:)

[Taro T]

Okay, here's the answer I conceived before I got all snarky and stuff:

 

"We were told he was generational."  And he may still be.  Or not.  The jury's still out.

"Top 25 at 20 yo is NOT generational."  True.

"We were lied to because Buffalo."  No, I think there's a bit of a crap shoot when assessing talent.  Because Eichel came out of the college ranks, it's a little tougher to gauge him against most NHL talent which comes out of junior hockey.  Not as many "comps."

"He sucks..... etc."  He was the best player available in the draft when the Sabres had their pick.

 

Sports teams are funny.  A GM can have a plan to build a team, but 1) he cannot control all the factors that make up the plan; and 2) Past performance does not guarantee future results.

 

So GMTM could not control the Sabres draft order.  He could only control (to an extent) the place the Sabres finished during the regular season.  He made the decision to tank.  I'm okay with that, because it maximized the Sabres draft order for those two years, so far as he could control.  GMTM also could not control where Mike Babcock would land.  He could make the best possible offer, but if Babs wanted to coach in TO and was only using the Sabres to maximize his payday, that doesn't point to a failing on the part of GMTM.

 

You could blame him for picking Bylsma, but at the time he was hired the consensus (though not universal) of the fan base was that DD's hiring was a good one.

 

You can blame him for several other moves such as the Moulson contract, but at the time they were mostly viewed positively or at least defensible; even if it was a bad deal, contemporary logic said, it was an important sign that Buffalo was no longer a pariah city in the NHL- players, even players who'd seen the team and city first hand, were willing to sign here, signaling a change from the time when both Drury and Briere bolted in free agency.

 

In hindsight, it's easy to criticize GMTM's track record, but each and every move could be viewed as making hockey sense at the time; it was just a question of how much risk was being accepted.  Some of those risks paid off, some not.  That's life.

  

Taro was being sarcastic though, I think.

 

 

 

Thank you.

 

No ####ing #### it was sarcasm. Thus the "(Miss any?)" and the comment about somebody's chicken hat possibly cutting off the oxygen to their brain.

 

 

 

Oh fudge.

You gonna loosen that hat anytime soon? :p

[Doohicksie]

Oh just stab me in the head.  :death:

Pretty sure you need to loosen that chicken hat. It seems to be cutting off oxygen flow.

 

It is.

 

 

:P

[Taro T]

Oh just stab me in the head.  :death:

 

 

:P

Would gladly do it, but not sure it'll help at this point. :p

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Well that was fun.

 

I think Jack will be the leading scorer for the Sabres in 2, maybe 3, games.

[TheAud]

#stillNotMatthewsLevel

I checked the other day and Matthews and Eichel were both on 72 point season paces (at 82 games) this year. Now of course it's Matthews 1st year and Jacks's 2nd. Byslma vs. Babcock, etc. etc.

 Matthews has more goals /fewer assists but his shooting % was quite high and Jack's is fairly low. Those may regress to the mean a bit and at least this year Jack is generating 0.5 more shots per game than Matthews. 

So I think it's pretty close and too early to say who is better. 

[Thorner]

But why Taro, why do you doubt Eichel so much? I just can't wrap my mind around it.

 

 

 

 

 

:p

[Taro T]

But why Taro, why do you doubt Eichel so much? I just can't wrap my mind around it.

:p

Because if he was any good he wouldn't have just led the league in assists in February but points too. He CLEARLY is overrated.

 

 

:wallbash: :wallbash: :wallbash:

[IKnowPhysics]

He's 6th in points since Feb 1.  If his shooting percentage were 15% (still below average for the top 20 point getters in the league during that time) instead of 4%, he would have lead the league over that period.

 

He's an elite talent.  But we're distracted by losses caused by a porous defense that allowed an average of 37 shots per game in those 13 games, the most in the league, by far.

[Doohicksie]

Because if he was any good he wouldn't have just led the league in assists in February but points too. He CLEARLY is overrated.

 

 

:wallbash: :wallbash: :wallbash:

 

Yeah but.....

 

 

 

 

Oh wait, sarcasm again, eh?

[Thorner]

Because if he was any good he wouldn't have just led the league in assists in February but points too. He CLEARLY is overrated.

:wallbash: :wallbash: :wallbash:

And why stop at February! :lol:

[GASabresIUFAN]

Jack has a 3 pt night and somehow he is still 3 pts back.

[Winston]

Kind of cool:

 

Jack: 15 G, 25 A, -7 +/-, 8 PIM, 16 STP

Sam: 15 G, 25 A, -7 +/-, 8 PIM, 17 STP

 

Of course, Sam has played 62 games to Jack's 43.

[matter2003]

I agree with this assessment. Jack has the "it" factor you could say... He is capable of taking it the length of the ice and delivering a perfect snipe. He can do it all on his own. He can also create and deliver a sublime pass. I love his game because you never know when he's going to lay down a highlight reel goal. He is why I tune in every game.

 

Those other guys are good, maybe great but Jack's our man and I'm just fine with that.

 

????

Why do we have one of the best PP units in the NHL? Because Jack is so calm with the puck..2 or 3 defenders come at him...no problem..stay calm, protect the puck and find the wide open guy and then start the tic tac toe passing for a goal...it's night and day when he has the puck on the PP versus someone else

He's 6th in points since Feb 1. If his shooting percentage were 15% (still below average for the top 20 point getters in the league during that time) instead of 4%, he would have lead the league over that period.

 

He's an elite talent. But we're distracted by losses caused by a porous defense that allowed an average of 37 shots per game in those 13 games, the most in the league, by far.

Imagine if we weren't running around in our own zone for 2/3 of the time he is on the ice how many points he would have?? Dude is a magician with the puck

[Doohicksie]

Kind of cool:

 

Jack: 15 G, 25 A, -7 +/-, 8 PIM, 16 STP

Sam: 15 G, 25 A, -7 +/-, 8 PIM, 17 STP

 

Of course, Sam has played 62 games to Jack's 43.

 

What's STP?

[Robviously]

What's STP?

[spndnchz]

What's STP?

 

Special Teams Points

[qwksndmonster]

That Scott Weiland sweater tho.

[DR HOLLIDAY]

That Scott Weiland sweater tho.

 

That sweater killed him, not the drugs

[Doohicksie]

Special Teams Points

 

I Google searched "STP hockey stat definition" and couldn't find it anywhere.

[Winston]

I Google searched "STP hockey stat definition" and couldn't find it anywhere.

Sorry, it's a fantasy stat that isn't used much in real NHL talk. Given the Sabres' lack of short handed goals and the fact that Jack and Sam don't get PK time, it's essentially just power play points.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Okposo out for at least two games. There goes his lead.

 

I always thought STP was an car engine treatment.

[mjd1001]

That is a very interesting take on the last 3 drafts.  Ekblad has taken a serious step back this season with a -21 and I'd rank him behind Reinhart at this point as Sam has improved with each season.  However you're point is very interesting.  Personally, Jack is unique in the group.  Matthews and Laine are goal scorers.  McJesus is on another level.  Reinhart is mostly a playmaker, but Jack is an interesting mix.  He is a better playmaker then Matthews and Laine, and if he chooses he could be just as lethal as either as a scorer.  Jack is simply an all around impact player and when we finally get him a defense that can move the puck up quicker, I think you'll rank him second behind McJesus.  

Just for fun, as of today I was looking at the points per game of those top players. Basically, 'project' out to a full 82 game season based on where we are today and this is what you get:

 

Matthews, 40 goals, 31 assists  71 points

Eichel,  29 goals, 48 assists      77 points

McDavis  27 goals, 65 assists   92 points

Laine  45 goals, 36 assists    81 points

 

Laine impresses me the most...I know he is a winger, but I value goals more than assists (I always thought the NHL should publish a points 'system' where you get 3 points for a goal, 2 points for a primary assist, and one point for a secondary assist....so the ammount of 'points' given out on a scoring play isn't twice as many for assists as it is for a goal)

 

Would Eichel be any better if the team played differnetly?  Or without the injury earlier in the year...would his numbers be even better on a points-per-game basis due to lingering effects?