Ristolainen, time to trade him away

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, MakeSabresGrr8Again said:

This doesn't even come close to answering my question...deflecting???

Looking at your original question you want them to find a draft where 15-20 picks after our pick all hit. I couldn't even do that with Dahlin at #1 overall. That makes the question deliberate hyperbole to make a point.

The draft is somewhat of a crap shoot but the franchises that are good and somehow stay good have managed to draft well. Of course the second part of drafting is development which is one of the reasons Botterill hasn't called up some of the Rochester guys. Development is the key and the draft is the lock. 

Edited February 20, 2019 by LGR4GM

[Berg]

For me Risto is our best defenseman now. He can score, he have speed,  power. He is not soft. It will be big mistake to trade him

[jsb]

I wouldn't trade Risto either but the biggest issue I have with him is he obviously went to the Josh Gorges school of passing the puck, ping... 3 feet behind the guy, ping.... into the guys skates, ping..... 5 feet in front of the guy for an icing call. The guy kills more breakouts than a prison guard.

[Berg]

3 minutes ago, jsb said:

I wouldn't trade Risto either but the biggest issue I have with him is he obviously went to the Josh Gorges school of passing the puck, ping... 3 feet behind the guy, ping.... into the guys skates, ping..... 5 feet in front of the guy for an icing call. The guy kills more breakouts than a prison guard.

He have 31 assists) Even with our lame score..

[jsb]

 

1 minute ago, Berg said:

He have 31 assists) Even with our lame score..

See how many were on passes and how many ricocheted off of opposing players first while on the PP.

[Berg]

9 minutes ago, jsb said:

 

See how many were on passes and how many ricocheted off of opposing players first while on the PP.

maybe .. But it is also possible they do not have enough experience to take a pass

[MattPie]

3 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Anyone else notice it starts to look better in 2016? There's some possibilities from that draft and it continues past the GM change. Interesting. 

Players drafted in 2016 haven't had a chance to bust yet. I'm sure we'll be moaning about them in 2022.

 

[Brawndo]

4 hours ago, matter2003 said:

Not really...look at Barzal with the Islanders...dude had 85 points his first year after 1 year in the minors

 

Barzal was returned to the minors for one more year for proper development. He was ready for the NHL after that 

Risto played 68 games his post draft year 34 for Rochester and 34 for the Sabres. He was not ready for the NHL that season particularly as a defenseman whose development paths usually take much longer. 

[CallawaySabres]

Shoot me know if they end up trading Risto. He is one of 4 guys that I actually respect on this crap team....and Eichel is not one of them.

[PerreaultForever]

I'm sorry but this (somewhat recurrent) idea is just plain dumb. 

There are only half a dozen or so decent hockey players on this team and he is one of them. You don't want to ditch those pieces unless you're talking about an actual hockey deal that favors us. This D was the worst in the league last year and is only now taking shape as the beginnings, just the beginnings, of a half decent one. Risto is the D man every other team hates to play against the most on our team and that tells you something right there. 

When Dahlin develops into our #1 Risto will fall back to where he has always belonged. Asking him to do all they ask him to do is simply too much.Too often Risto has to chase guys cause his partner is out to lunch. Yes, he likes to wander, so pair him with a better stay at home guy and it's all fine. We don't have that pairing yet. 

Here's the main thing though that Risto haters always forget. Housley's system promotes a charging D that inevitably (assuming they do not score) gets caught out of position. Better teams that also rely on their D in the attack have better rotation and the forwards know their defensive assignments. Ours don't. You watch Boston for example and while Krug or somebody might get caught up by the net you'll see Marchand or Bergeron slide back to the point and either keep possession or at worst slow down the breakout so he can get back. 

It's a team system and right now we are asking an average at best D to do everything. Our forwards suck.

 

Edited February 20, 2019 by PerreaultForever

[Weave]

It just struck me.  Risto is Alexei Zhitnick all over again.

I'm OK with that.

[dudacek]

25 minutes ago, Weave said:

It just struck me.  Risto is Alexei Zhitnick all over again.

I'm OK with that.

Good take.

And I am too.

[Taro T]

34 minutes ago, Weave said:

It just struck me.  Risto is Alexei Zhitnick all over again.

I'm OK with that.

He is similar.  Has a better shot (haven't seen any wind up undeflected going into the 300's) but doesn't pass as well.

Would give Zhitnik the edge in his own end, but Ristolainen is still young for a D-man and likely will improve still.

Each as strong as an ox and seemingly nearly as smart as well.

Good call.

[Eleven]

39 minutes ago, Taro T said:

He is similar.  Has a better shot (haven't seen any wind up undeflected going into the 300's) but doesn't pass as well.

Would give Zhitnik the edge in his own end, but Ristolainen is still young for a D-man and likely will improve still.

Each as strong as an ox and seemingly nearly as smart as well.

Good call.

I think Ristolainen is meaner, too.

[Huckleberry]

No just no, he is on reasonable deal and our 2nd best on defense.

[Weave]

6 minutes ago, Eleven said:

I think Ristolainen is meaner, too.

I think so too, but I think Z was more consistently physical.  With Risto it comes and goes.

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, Eleven said:

I think Ristolainen is meaner, too.

Probably.

The other similarity is they both were (have been) #2's forced into the role of #1 that they couldn't quite fill.

Ristolainen though has Dahlin coming up to give him the relief Zhitnik never got.  Seriously, pairing him up with Richard friggin' Smehlik!?!?!?!  Took years to realize RJ was describing the play rather than using his full name when he (seemingly) always called him Smhlik-clears-it----not-out.

[Carmel Corn]

My memory of Z could be failing me, but I think Risto has a little more offensive upside as well. 

[Gatorman0519]

It takes a long time to mature a defenseman.  I would not want him traded.

[freester]

I'm going on the record as saying that trading Risto will be another terrible Botteril move like trading ROR and Kane.  While Risto is not a Norris defensemen he is a solid right handed second pair physical guy. we have no one to replace him with.  Bogo will clearly not be resigned when his contract is up.

[#freejame]

44 minutes ago, Carmel Corn said:

My memory of Z could be failing me, but I think Risto has a little more offensive upside as well. 

Z would have potted fifty if he had a lick of accuracy...the best part of his shot was startling the fans behind the net. 

[SwampD]

2 hours ago, Weave said:

It just struck me.  Risto is Alexei Zhitnick all over again.

I'm OK with that.

Zhitnick is the reason I wear 44.

With that said, Risto is better. Alexi could never carry the puck like Risto can in the offensive zone when he decides to pinch.

[Carmel Corn]

1 minute ago, IrwinNelson said:

Z would have potted fifty if he had a lick of accuracy...the best part of his shot was startling the fans behind the net. 

Ha!  One might be able to argue that the league should have put up the safety netting behind the zones a few years earlier than they did.....due to Z's tendency to shoot just a little bit high.  Come to think of it, he could have been the prototype for a hockey "launch angle" analysis like they do in golf.

[TrueBlueGED]

9 hours ago, SDS said:

So the idea here is that the fans have a solid read and who he is as a player and the hope is that we can trick one of those big dummy general managers, that worked their way up to the top of their profession, in hopes that their scouting department and entire roster-building structure has no idea what they’re getting? 

Sounds like a solid plan. 

You make it sound as if GMs don't make bad trades or that they all place the same value on players. It's not a matter of bamboozling some clueless schmuck, it's an issue of legitimately different evaluations. 

[TrueBlueGED]

8 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Anyone else notice it starts to look better in 2016? There's some possibilities from that draft and it continues past the GM change. Interesting. 

Does it? I just think we're still so close as to not be smacked with the reality of what they will (pr likely won't) bring to the NHL.