2018 - 2019 Lineup

[Randall Flagg]

My memories of Vlad is that he was real ###### to play against.

Blues-watchers are saying that was lacking from his game last year.

 

When I think of Patrik Berglund, I think Jochen Hecht, a useful, versatile top-nine guy you can slot anywhere in the top nine.

Apparently he was also one of the best people in that organization.

 

Again, they may have fallen off a cliff last year like Pominville did, but I don’t see the evidence of that in conventional numbers.

I remember a troop of us went to the Blues board sometime in March and eagerly asked them if we could possibly trade for Vlad, and they described this and said they'd give him to us for free, and we returned feeling mildly dejected. He really was a fun player for a while. 

[TrueBlueGED]

My memories of Vlad is that he was real ###### to play against.

Blues-watchers are saying that was lacking from his game last year.

 

When I think of Patrik Berglund, I think Jochen Hecht, a useful, versatile top-nine guy you can slot anywhere in the top nine.

Apparently he was also one of the best people in that organization.

 

Again, they may have fallen off a cliff last year like Pominville did, but I don’t see the evidence of that in conventional numbers.

 

They're definitely not Pominville-like boat anchors, but they're not going to make anyone think of Hecht in his prime, either. They're okay 3rd liners that we blew a giant hole in the top of our lineup to get. 

[Randall Flagg]

They're definitely not Pominville-like boat anchors, but they're not going to make anyone think of Hecht in his prime, either. They're okay 3rd liners that we blew a giant hole in the top of our lineup to get. 

On the literal day that you can acquire that for just money

[Hoss]

Brian Duff just posted this depth chart on the Sabres website. It’s a mess but this is what the team-paid “journalist” thinks...

 

Buffalo

 

Forwards:

 

Conor Sheary - Jack Eichel - Sam Reinhart

Victor Olofsson / C.J. Smith / Evan Rodrigues / FA/Trade? - Casey Mittelstadt - Kyle Okposo

Vladimir Sobotka - Patrik Berglund - Tage Thompson / Justin Bailey / Nick Baptiste

Scott Wilson / Zemgus Girgensons - Rasmus Asplund / Johan Larsson / Sean Malone / Andrew Oglevie - Jason Pominville

 

Defense:

 

Rasmus Dahlin - Rasmus Ristolainen

Marco Scandella - Zach Bogosian

Brendan Guhle - Jake McCabe

Matt Hunwick - Casey Nelson

Nathan Beaulieu

 

Goalies:

 

Carter Hutton

Linus Ullmark

 

Rochester

 

Forwards:

 

C.J. Smith - Rasmus Asplund - Justin Bailey

Danny O'Regan - Sean Malone - Nick Baptiste

Alex Nylander - Kyle Criscuolo - Cliff Pu

Kevin Porter - Andrew Oglevie - Eric Cornel

Pascal Aquin / Vaclav Karabacek

 

Defense:

 

Lawrence Pilut - Zach Redmond

Brandon Hickey - Will Borgen

Matt Tennyson - Taylor Fedun

Nathan Paetsch - Andrew McWilliam

Devante Stephens - Arvin Atwal

Brycen Martin - Tobie Paquette-Bisson

 

Goalies:

 

Scott Wedgewood

Adam Wilcox

Jonas Johansson

[darksabre]

Do we have too many players? Like...way too many?

[Robviously]

Do we have too many players? Like...way too many?

Funniest thing I saw on Twitter this morning is that our Bottom 6 has 15 guys.

[WildCard]

Funniest thing I saw on Twitter this morning is that our Bottom 6 has 15 guys.

:lol:

[darksabre]

Funniest thing I saw on Twitter this morning is that our Bottom 6 has 15 guys.

So friggen true. 

[TrueBlueGED]

Funniest thing I saw on Twitter this morning is that our Bottom 6 has 15 guys.

 

It's one of those things where you have to laugh so you don't cry.

[Randall Flagg]

It's one of those things where you have to laugh so you don't cry.

Our top six has two.

[dudacek]

They're definitely not Pominville-like boat anchors, but they're not going to make anyone think of Hecht in his prime, either. They're okay 3rd liners that we blew a giant hole in the top of our lineup to get.

 

I see them as the types of guys that we need to support Jack and Casey and the rest of the kids, in the room and on the ice.

It’s part of the culture change.

[Hoss]

There's definitely an excess. Looking at contracts I don't really see any of their pending UFAs/RFAs being back except Ullmark and MAYBE McCabe (I still think he's a good NHL defender and a piece they should look at flipping). Pominville and Moulson are UFAs that are all but guaranteed to be out. I don't see Beaulieu coming back in any way after this season if he even makes the team. Larsson and Girgensons are also gone, I would assume.

 

I'm not sure what they do immediately but a lot of the clog of NHL bodies that aren't impact guys will be mostly cleared up once that happens.

[dudacek]

Funniest thing I saw on Twitter this morning is that our Bottom 6 has 15 guys.

Again, part of the plan of creating in house competition.

If Baptiste is going to be a Sabre, he’s going to have to push past six other Baptistes.

[TrueBlueGED]

I see them as the types of guys that we need to support Jack and Casey and the rest of the kids, in the room and on the ice.

It’s part of the culture change.

 

Jack is entering his 4th year, about to get the C, and has a mega contract. If he needs support from okay 3rd line players, we're screwed.

Again, part of the plan of creating in house competition.

If Baptiste is going to be a Sabre, he’s going to have to push past six other Baptistes.

 

 

Our top six has two.

 

Now if only Botterill could create that competition for the top of the roster, I might be quite a bit more optimistic about the direction of the team.

[Hoss]

Our top six has two.

Eichel, Reinhart, Okposo (I'm confident he's still a top six player) and Mittelstadt are all top-six talents. Sheary has spent a couple years in the top six on two cup teams and two years ago produced like a definitive top-six winger.

Ideally we add another real top-six guy but it's not THIS bad.

[TrueBlueGED]

Eichel, Reinhart, Okposo (I'm confident he's still a top six player) and Mittelstadt are all top-six talents. Sheary has spent a couple years in the top six on two cup teams and two years ago produced like a definitive top-six winger.

Ideally we add another real top-six guy but it's not THIS bad.

 

I don't see how you can be confident in Okposo. Hopeful? Sure. But confident?

[Taro T]

The only real positives from this trade are, our depth is technically better, we may have solved the locker room problem, and we have another 1st. We lost skill for sure but at least we have more NHL players I guess?

 

Sheary - Eichel - Reinhart

ERod - Mitts - Okposo

Sobotka - Berglund - Baptiste

Wilson - Girgs - Pominville/Larsson

Flip Girgensons & Sobotka & put Thompson in at 4RW and it's close to what we'll see in October barring another move.

 

NHLN had Thompson pencilled into the Blues lineup there prior to the O'Reilly trade. If he's pencilled into a bubble team's lineup, expect he'd be in this 2C-less team's lineup.

[Hoss]

I don't see how you can be confident in Okposo. Hopeful? Sure. But confident?

Two seasons ago he was on a 24-33-57 pace before the injury. I think that injury lingering all offseason really hurt his conditioning last year. I think he's removed enough from it after a mediocre but not putrid season to get back to where he was at two years ago.

[Randall Flagg]

Eichel, Reinhart, Okposo (I'm confident he's still a top six player) and Mittelstadt are all top-six talents. Sheary has spent a couple years in the top six on two cup teams and two years ago produced like a definitive top-six winger.

Ideally we add another real top-six guy but it's not THIS bad.

In a 30+ game stretch with ROR and Eichel Okposo pulled out 4 points at even strength, while being a boat anchor because of his lack of hands and inability to get to the right spots in both zones because of his deteriorating footspeed. 

 

He's top 6 like Lucic is top 6. In name only, or if it's 2012. 

Our offensive zone play observably dries up when he's on the ice. Ice cold areas get ice colder.

[darksabre]

The more I think about it, the more I think Pommers gets buried like Moulson after the preseason. I feel like he's just got to get beat out by one of the kids.

[Randall Flagg]

The more I think about it, the more I think Pommers gets buried like Moulson after the preseason. I feel like he's just got to get beat out by one of the kids.

I'll feel a lot better if guys like Asplund and Olofsson kick our dead weight into oblivion. 

 

Please forgive my cynicism - it would be the first time in my life something like that happened organically and deservedly. 

[darksabre]

I'll feel a lot better if guys like Asplund and Olofsson kick our dead weight into oblivion.

 

Please forgive my cynicism - it would be the first time in my life something like that happened organically and deservedly.

I just can't imagine someone not beating Pommers out for a roster spot.

[dudacek]

Jack is entering his 4th year, about to get the C, and has a mega contract. If he needs support from okay 3rd line players, we're screwed.

He needs players to be invested in and capable of their roles wherever they are in the lineup.

Off the ice, he needs key personalities to be pulling in the same direction because of the influence they have on the rest.

I’m always surprised by the lack of weight you give to the human part of team-building.

[Taro T]

The more I think about it, the more I think Pommers gets buried like Moulson after the preseason. I feel like he's just got to get beat out by one of the kids.

He is, with presumably at least another move or 2 to come this offseason, at best the 12F in the system at present & very likely 16th w/ Larsson, Thompson, Olofsson, Smith, & possibly Bailey ahead of him.

 

He's my guess for designated press box sitter as it's a waste to have one of the kids that could be getting top minutes in Ra-cha-cha hanging in the chow line w/ Hamilton.

Edited July 2, 2018 by Taro T

[dudacek]

I just can't imagine someone not beating Pommers out for a roster spot.

If I’m Housley, I’m literally holding Pominville up before Bailey and the rest and saying “you give me everything I get from this guy and a bit more and you are on the team.”