GDT:Buffalo at Columbus. 9/17/19 7pm Streaming at Sabres.com WGR

[TrueBlueGED]

1 hour ago, matter2003 said:

Maybe because centers don't just grow on trees. This isn't EA Sports...you cant just offer a team 3 garbage players for a 2C and they take it...too many people think EA Sports AI is realistic when in all actuality as someone who designs AI, i can tell you its pathetic.

This is exactly what St. Louis did last year. I know people are tired of hearing about the ROR trade, but the fact of the matter is Botterill blasted a hole in the most important position on a roster and has failed to even come close to fixing it. The trade will merit discussion until Botterill changes that. Unless something unexpected happens, it could torpedo a second season.

We all laughed at Philly paying Kevin Hayes north of $7M, but the harsh truth is he'd represent an exponential upgrade to our roster.

33 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

People aren't so much worried about Mitts as they're worried about the position that the Sabres were worst in the league at last season

Actually, I'm about 25 regular season games from officially being worried about Mitts. 

[Randall Flagg]

For the viewing pleasure of PA and anyone else

5 minutes ago, TrueBlueGED said:

Actually, I'm about 25 regular season games from officially being worried about Mitts. 

If by being worried you mean act under the assumption that no future or present 2C is currently in the organization then I beat you there by about 14 months hehe (not because I don't think he can get there, but because the chance he does is low enough and far enough away that if we want to win games before this decade ends we need to do something big there)

Edited September 18, 2019 by Randall Flagg

[Sabres Fan in NS]

So, what happened tonight? Also, last night?

[TrueBlueGED]

1 minute ago, Randall Flagg said:

For the viewing pleasure of PA and anyone else

If by being worried you mean act under the assumption that no future or present 2C is currently in the organization then I beat you there by about 14 months hehe

No, I mean worried as in I'm not sure he's an NHL center at all. I'm genuinely concerned we (in the general sense) got bamboozled by a short hockey tournament where his hard work was enough to push him above the pack, but he simply lacks the physical ability to do that in the NHL. He's gotta show something.

[Thorner]

4 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

For the viewing pleasure of PA and anyone else

If by being worried you mean act under the assumption that no future or present 2C is currently in the organization then I beat you there by about 14 months hehe (not because I don't think he can get there, but because the chance he does is low enough and far enough away that if we want to win games before this decade ends we need to do something big there)

Is this more about the how we should "act" or what you see to be the most likely outcome? I'd guess that between Cozens and Mittelstadt the odds are good we'll have 1. But it's way down the line. So I agree we should be acting as if it's a spot that needs immediate filling. Has been for over a year. 

[Randall Flagg]

2 minutes ago, TrueBlueGED said:

No, I mean worried as in I'm not sure he's an NHL center at all. I'm genuinely concerned we (in the general sense) got bamboozled by a short hockey tournament where his hard work was enough to push him above the pack, but he simply lacks the physical ability to do that in the NHL. He's gotta show something.

I've never assumed it's a given he'd be an NHL PLAYER, much less center

Won't do the same of Cozens either, or anyone else not at the level of Dahlin, Jack, or Sam as prospects

GMs can typically find a balance between acquiring and grooming prospects in a prudent way to supplement, and then become, an NHL roster. We goofed because we had them BECOME the roster before allowing them to grow into being able to supplement NHL players at NHL positions

[Thorner]

3 minutes ago, TrueBlueGED said:

No, I mean worried as in I'm not sure he's an NHL center at all. I'm genuinely concerned we (in the general sense) got bamboozled by a short hockey tournament where his hard work was enough to push him above the pack, but he simply lacks the physical ability to do that in the NHL. He's gotta show something.

To me if I'm worried about anything in a long term sense with Casey it's his skating/speed. He looks average speed and his quickness and speed was supposed to be something of a strength. 

For example, Cozens speed has already been on display in an NHL pre-season game. 

[matter2003]

10 minutes ago, TrueBlueGED said:

This is exactly what St. Louis did last year. I know people are tired of hearing about the ROR trade, but the fact of the matter is Botterill blasted a hole in the most important position on a roster and has failed to even come close to fixing it. The trade will merit discussion until Botterill changes that. Unless something unexpected happens, it could torpedo a second season.

We all laughed at Philly paying Kevin Hayes north of $7M, but the harsh truth is he'd represent an exponential upgrade to our roster.

Actually, I'm about 25 regular season games from officially being worried about Mitts. 

We got a 1st round pick snd a 2nd round pick and a young player they thought could make a big jump in Thompson.

Nobody expected STL to win the cup last year, most thought they would be closer to where they wwre at the new year...

Hind sight is 20/20. Please don't even pretend you thought OReilly was the missing piece to Saint Louis winning a cup.

 

[darksabre]

2 minutes ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

So, what happened tonight? Also, last night?

Preseason. 

They got outworked by Columbus early and never really found another gear beyond simply neutralizing the jackets attack.

They had more vets in the lineup and our vets didn't do much.

[Randall Flagg]

4 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Is this more about the how we should "act" or what you see to be the most likely outcome? I'd guess that between Cozens and Mittelstadt the odds are good we'll have 1. But it's way down the line. So I agree we should be acting as if it's a spot that needs immediate filling. Has been for over a year. 

Acting. You should, roughly speaking, build your NHL roster as if your prospect pool is completely empty, at least when looking at the important positions. Let growth and then overtaking of veteran players FORCE the coach's hand and always assume it won't happen, while doing your best in player development to maximize the chance it CAN happen. But, unless in a crazy cap bind or looking at stupid contracts, always assume it will not happen

I actually wrote a little thing about my personal, fundamental 'tenants' for roster building over that time I was gone from here, not sure where it is now. But we violated about five of them last summer hahah

Edited September 18, 2019 by Randall Flagg

[Thorner]

1 minute ago, Randall Flagg said:

I've never assumed it's a given he'd be an NHL PLAYER, much less center

Won't do the same of Cozens either, or anyone else not at the level of Dahlin, Jack, or Sam as prospects

GMs can typically find a balance between acquiring and grooming prospects in a prudent way to supplement, and then become, an NHL roster. We goofed because we had them BECOME the roster before allowing them to grow into being able to supplement NHL players at NHL positions

I think there's a real possibility Cozens is much closer to the Reinhart tier than the Casey tier. He was talked up higher at draft time, as far as I can remember. Plenty of the statistical deep divers had Cozens as a top 3 talent. 

[pi2000]

10 minutes ago, TrueBlueGED said:

 

Actually, I'm about 25 regular season games from officially being worried about Mitts. 

Same.  Too many tobacco fueled Fortnite sessions.   Maybe the inability to do a single pullup should've been a red flag after all?  Lack of internal discipline, lack of dedication?   Hopefully he finds his way.

[Thorner]

2 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

We got a 1st round pick snd a 2nd round pick and a young player they thought could make a big jump in Thompson.

Nobody expected STL to win the cup last year, most thought they would be closer to where they wwre at the new year...

Hind sight is 20/20. Please don't even pretend you thought OReilly was the missing piece to Saint Louis winning a cup.

 

It's Raining Straw Men

Edited September 18, 2019 by Thorny

[TrueBlueGED]

3 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

We got a 1st round pick snd a 2nd round pick and a young player they thought could make a big jump in Thompson.

Nobody expected STL to win the cup last year, most thought they would be closer to where they wwre at the new year...

Hind sight is 20/20. Please don't even pretend you thought OReilly was the missing piece to Saint Louis winning a cup.

 

Every last one of those things is useless until it isn't. We traded a Selke-caliber center for 3 garbage players and 2 draft picks, yet you tell me it's impossible. Find a bad GM and trade with them.

And actually, my fury over the ROR trade has nothing to do with hindsight. Go ahead and dig up the thread and read my posts, I slammed it as hard as possible from the moment it was made.

[Randall Flagg]

3 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

We got a 1st round pick snd a 2nd round pick and a young player they thought could make a big jump in Thompson.

Nobody expected STL to win the cup last year, most thought they would be closer to where they wwre at the new year...

Hind sight is 20/20. Please don't even pretend you thought OReilly was the missing piece to Saint Louis winning a cup.

 

TrueBlue and I were regularly posting evidence that ROR was usage tweaks from being a Selke winner, and thus outlining acceptable trades as only including NHL players at least as good as he is, for months and months before the trade even happened haha, literally citing exactly what would happen to the center spine with the murkiness left in his wake if it were to happen another way 

There's a reason we were probably the two most apoplectic posters here on July 1st and 2nd of 2018

[TrueBlueGED]

3 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

Same.  Too many tobacco fueled Fortnite sessions.   Maybe the inability to do a single pullup should've been a red flag after all?  Lack of internal discipline, lack of dedication?   Hopefully he finds his way.

Pi agrees with me? Crap. I might be wrong after all.

[Thorner]

2 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

TrueBlue and I were regularly posting evidence that ROR was usage tweaks from being a Selke winner, and thus outlining acceptable trades as only including NHL players at least as good as he is, for months and months before the trade even happened haha, literally citing exactly what would happen to the center spine with the murkiness left in his wake if it were to happen another way 

There's a reason we were probably the two most apoplectic posters here on July 1st and 2nd of 2018

Lorde (or anyone who posts here) knows I got on that train shortly after

Edited September 18, 2019 by Thorny

[Taro T]

5 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

We got a 1st round pick snd a 2nd round pick and a young player they thought could make a big jump in Thompson.

Nobody expected STL to win the cup last year, most thought they would be closer to where they wwre at the new year...

Hind sight is 20/20. Please don't even pretend you thought OReilly was the missing piece to Saint Louis winning a cup.

 

While the Blues were not expected to win the SC last year, they definitely weren't expected to be at the bottom of the standings.

The most common expectation was probably a 2nd round exit team.  And that pick would've been mid-20's.

THN had them 3rd in the Norris and 19-1 to win Lord Stanley's Challice.

[Weave]

12 minutes ago, TrueBlueGED said:

No, I mean worried as in I'm not sure he's an NHL center at all. I'm genuinely concerned we (in the general sense) got bamboozled by a short hockey tournament where his hard work was enough to push him above the pack, but he simply lacks the physical ability to do that in the NHL. He's gotta show something.

I think this is legit.  Not legit as in he's not an NHL center to be.  Legit in that it is time to express some concern.  He should have shined against a mixed NHL/AHL roster. 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

6 minutes ago, darksabre said:

Preseason. 

They got outworked by Columbus early and never really found another gear beyond simply neutralizing the jackets attack.

They had more vets in the lineup and our vets didn't do much.

Thanks. How did last night against the Pens end up?

[darksabre]

1 minute ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Thanks. How did last night against the Pens end up?

They dominated until the third and then took their foot off the gas and almost blew it. The Pens were playing mostly AHLers so it doesn't count for much. 

[Thorner]

2 minutes ago, Weave said:

I think this is legit.  Not legit as in he's not an NHL center to be.  Legit in that it is time to express some concern.  He should have shined against a mixed NHL/AHL roster. 

I heard him and Laine hang out together during the offseasons 

[Taro T]

8 minutes ago, darksabre said:

Preseason. 

They got outworked by Columbus early and never really found another gear beyond simply neutralizing the jackets attack.

They had more vets in the lineup and our vets didn't do much.

And the Sabres vets included Sobotka, Okposo, & Hammond.  (There were only 3 other guys who'd been in the NHL more than 3 seasons - Reinhart, Montour, & McCabe.)

[pi2000]

2 minutes ago, TrueBlueGED said:

Pi agrees with me? Crap. I might be wrong after all.

If it makes you feel any better, I do see alot of warning signs in Krueger's post game interview.   Already with the excuse making... sounds very much like Housley, started to nod off at one point.    Just nothing substantive at all when he dissects the game... Color me concerned.

[Thorner]

3 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

If it makes you feel any better, I do see alot of warning signs in Krueger's post game interview.   Already with the excuse making... sounds very much like Housley, started to nod off at one point.    Just nothing substantive at all when he dissects the game... Color me concerned.

Nothing the coaches or players say matters anyways. I'm not going to cherry pick, I think it's all bogus. Can't really learn anything from cookie cutter slogans and puff piece articles written all summer, and neither can you from lame post game conferences.