How real is Vegas

[SabresBillsFan]

With the best will possible: DELETE YOUR ACCOUNT.

Don’t be mad. Yes it was a long post but I gave everyone great insight to this Vegas squad. I was a diehard fan of the Sabres since I was little. I grew up watching Dave Andreychuck, Tom Barrosso, Phil Housley, Mike Foligno, John Tucker. I’m still a Sabres fan but I left Buffalo in 89 and now that we have a team here in Vegas it’s hard not to support this team. Like most others that came from other places they usually root for their team when they visit Vegas but the rest of the season they are Knights Fans. If you lived here you would understand how the fans have taken a liking to this team. Plus the players are very likable. Alex Tuch and Pierre Edouard Bellemare are just great human beings. Alex Tuch has been to every outside event with the public. Bellemare is always signing autographs, taking pictures and usually gives his stick away every game. This team has been awesome for this city. I still like Buffalo but the mismanagement of players and the way this team is poorly run it just seems like they can’t fix this mess.

From the very limited games I've seen of vegas, my eyes tell me two things.

1) All 4 lines are a threat. None of their lines look elite, but none look like total liabilities. This is a nightmare to defend against, because you can't take a single shift off against the team. Same with defense. Every defensive pair looks competent.

2) Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. Most of their roster is overachievers that have had to bust ass to make it in the NHL. Can you imagine walking into a room surrounded with people who give everything every shift and not busting your butt? You'd get murdered. Gallant walked into a room where every player was going to get on board and bust butt like a professional.

So yeah, wouldn't surprise me at all if they make it to the conference finals. They are going to make a deep run this year.

Your spot on. Like I said I see it at practice and at T-Mobile Arena. This team works it’s tail off. I haven’t had this much fun watching hockey in a while.

I still think he made some subpar choices. He got more than a little lucky Tallon thought 2/3 of a top line was a good price to pay to protect Bjugstad.

Believe me us Fans are Thanking Florida for that plus coach Gallant. I’m a big fan of his coaching style. You should run 4 lines out and get everyone involved. It makes for a better team plus players are fresh.

[erickompositör72]

SabresBillsFan-

 

I appreciate your input, so I did everyone the courtesy of consolidating everything you've said so in this thread into a nice, concise chunk:

 

 

Well as a season seat holder and someone that grew up in Buffalo I can tell you this much. This is a very well managed team. At the start of the season the talk was most of the unrestricted players were going to be moved for young prospects and picks. But now with them being as good as they are things have changed. Nobody really knows what McPhee has in mind but I’m hoping they resign most of these players. This team has great chemistry and it shows. At the start of the season the big question was where the goals are gonna come from. Well I have to say they are coming from all lines. All 4 lines are solid. Perron and Haula have been unreal on the first line, and no need to talk about Neal he just keeps doing what he does. The second line is just as good or better than the first line with Karlsson, Smith and Marchessault. I can’t believe how Florida could not protect either player. Both are really good players. Plus Karlsson watching him practice and play this guy can skate and he has been getting ice time and blossoming. Now onto the 3rd and fourth lines. Minnesota trading Alex Tuch to us for practically nothing is just goes to show you how many GM’s really have no clue to what they are doing. Since rookie development camp he has made an impact and has been getting better and better. All preseason he was making stuff happen almost every shift. He’s been very underrated as far as rookies go. Ain’t no one talking about him and he just keeps on being effective. Cody Eakin and Brendan Leipsic work hard and have had tons of chances to score. Now on to I think the best fourth line in hockey. Pierre-Édouard Bellemare is just a great great player. I say that because he takes a lot of the major defensive faceoffs, he is on the penalty killing squad, he is a shut down player and really good at it. I think he is the most underrated offensive defensive player in the league. He’s not gonna wow you with scoring because he more of a defensive player but he does have some skill offensively. Nosek, Carrier and Lindbergh have been great especially Carrier when healthy. Him and Nosek are a force on the forecheck and along the boards. Lindbergh has been on the third and fourth lines but has played well at times for this team. Now onto the defense. I think our defense 1-7 know their roles and all have been solid. Schmidt, McNabb, Thoedore, Miller, Sbisa, Engelland, Merrill and Hunt. Schmidt, Miller and Theodore have been playing unreal. Miller and Schmidt have cannons of shots especially Miller and both can really skate. Theodore started in the minors to start the season because of all the one way contracts but since his callup he had a rough first two weeks adjusting but the last two months he’s getting better and better each game. Now to the goaltenders. Everyone knows about Fluery but the unsung hero here is the goaltending coach. He’s been awesome and all 5 goalies used when we had those injury issues have said nothing but great things about him. Here was an interesting thing to start the season. Before the preseason Calvin Pickard had a mask contest designed by the fans. He played like ###### during preseason and was let go for Subban in which a lot of the things we heard was he was no good but very athletic. Well I have to say he’s become a fan favorite and is a very good young goalie plus with Fleury being a mentor the sky’s the limit. I was like most of you before the season and said they would win 20-30 games but not be the worst team in the league. But watching practice and the games this team is for real they are playing with chips on their shoulders, they like playing here and all have meshed well together off the ice. This is just a fun team to watch, how far they will go no one knows. But they play a fast paced exciting brand of hockey and they work hard. Don’t be mad. Yes it was a long post but I gave everyone great insight to this Vegas squad. I was a diehard fan of the Sabres since I was little. I grew up watching Dave Andreychuck, Tom Barrosso, Phil Housley, Mike Foligno, John Tucker. I’m still a Sabres fan but I left Buffalo in 89 and now that we have a team here in Vegas it’s hard not to support this team. Like most others that came from other places they usually root for their team when they visit Vegas but the rest of the season they are Knights Fans. If you lived here you would understand how the fans have taken a liking to this team. Plus the players are very likable. Alex Tuch and Pierre Edouard Bellemare are just great human beings. Alex Tuch has been to every outside event with the public. Bellemare is always signing autographs, taking pictures and usually gives his stick away every game. This team has been awesome for this city. I still like Buffalo but the mismanagement of players and the way this team is poorly run it just seems like they can’t fix this mess. Your spot on. Like I said I see it at practice and at T-Mobile Arena. This team works it’s tail off. I haven’t had this much fun watching hockey in a while. Believe me us Fans are Thanking Florida for that plus coach Gallant. I’m a big fan of his coaching style. You should run 4 lines out and get everyone involved. It makes for a better team plus players are fresh.

 

Edited January 4, 2018 by erickompositör72

[Sabres Fan in NS]

:lol:

[gilbert11]

Amazing that half way thru the year, the 1st year Vegas Knights have the best record in the Western Conference and 2nd best overall while our horse$41€ team is only 3 pts ahead of the worst team. How can one management team create such a great team in a few months while another organization can't seem to make any moves that work?

[Wyldnwoody44]

There's already a thread for this, be careful, the folks around here are already testy about a certain individual that loves the knights....

[PalmTreeMafia]

The Vegas Golden Knights valued the concept of a fast-skating, hard-working team while taking advantage of the generous expansion roster construction rules.

 

The current Sabres are the result of a decade of atrocious drafting, a reckless tanking strategy, and an incompetent Dwight Schrute doppleganger GM with an incoherent team-building plan prioritizing raw talent over hockey character.

[Doohicksie]

horse$41€

 

Good character utilization  I especially like the Euro symbol use; must have been tough to dig that up.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Where is JJ?

 

At this point it sure looks like he was right about Gallant.

[Stoner]

You are what your record says you are. 

 

I quite like that maxim.

 

Anything that is bound to happen -- because of what the underlying numbers say -- has not yet happened, and therefore has no bearing on what you are at that particular point in time. That sort of thinking bears on what you may yet become. But not on what you are.

[SwampD]

You are what your record says you are. 

 

I quite like that maxim.

 

Anything that is bound to happen -- because of what the underlying numbers say -- has not yet happened, and therefore has no bearing on what you are at that particular point in time. That sort of thinking bears on what you may yet become. But not on what you are.

Someone check on Randall. I think he just had an embolism.

[Swedesessed]

I think the expansion draft rules made sense when there were fewer teams. They need to change them for the next one.

 

Maybe Buffalo should fold and come back as an expansion team, and incorporate in a state with the tax benefits that Nevada WILL enjoy over New York for years to come.

 

Hard caps aren't fair. Adjust the cap to compensate for the taxes.

[Doohicksie]

Where is JJ?

 

At this point it sure looks like he was right about Gallant.

 

St00pid, sexy Gallant!  :wallbash:

[Iron Crotch]

I think the expansion draft rules made sense when there were fewer teams. They need to change them for the next one.

 

I agree with this. The league shouldn't be giving expansion teams Stanley Cup contending rosters right out of the gate. I'm overly simplifying it but they could have any second pair defenseman or any second line forward they wanted off of any team in the league. Plus tons of cash for free agents. Just seems like too much to me.

 

...not to mention, the other Cup contending teams (all of which had a ton of depth) became weaker from losing a player each to Las Vegas.

[SabresBillsFan]

The Vegas Golden Knights valued the concept of a fast-skating, hard-working team while taking advantage of the generous expansion roster construction rules.

 

The current Sabres are the result of a decade of atrocious drafting, a reckless tanking strategy, and an incompetent Dwight Schrute doppleganger GM with an incoherent team-building plan prioritizing raw talent over hockey character.

I put a lot of blame on our amateur scouting. Look at the pipeline the last few years. It’s not so great.

I agree with this. The league shouldn't be giving expansion teams Stanley Cup contending rosters right out of the gate. I'm overly simplifying it but they could have any second pair defenseman or any second line forward they wanted off of any team in the league. Plus tons of cash for free agents. Just seems like too much to me.

 

...not to mention, the other Cup contending teams (all of which had a ton of depth) became weaker from losing a player each to Las Vegas.

A lot of our success here was from Florida. Marchessault and Smith have been awesome. Then u put Karlsson on the line and that line has been a force. I live in Vegas and as much as people don’t like it most expansion teams weren’t paying 500 million to enter the league.

[dudacek]

 

The current Sabres are the result of a decade of atrocious drafting, a reckless tanking strategy, and an incompetent Dwight Schrute doppleganger GM with an incoherent team-building plan prioritizing raw talent over hockey character.

This is actually a very good take on what Murray’s legacy will ultimately be.