Risto to Right Wing??

[John Tucker]

I know it's been tossed around before, but with all the D-men in the system, what are the thoughts about moving Risto to the wing?  It's looking unlikely that JBots will get anything of worth for him at this point other than useless mid to late round picks.  With how awful Rodrigues has been and with Montour looking to return, why not give him a regular shot up front.  It's not like we couldn't use some size up front anyway.

[Curt]

8 minutes ago, John Tucker said:

I know it's been tossed around before, but with all the D-men in the system, what are the thoughts about moving Risto to the wing?  It's looking unlikely that JBots will get anything of worth for him at this point other than useless mid to late round picks.  With how awful Rodrigues has been and with Montour looking to return, why not give him a regular shot up front.  It's not like we couldn't use some size up front anyway.

First of all, no, he isn’t going to do that.  

Secondly, why do you think the bolded.

Edited October 31, 2019 by Curt

[John Tucker]

Gut feeling I guess... He's been looking slower than usual the last few games which won't help his trade value

[Brawndo]

He’s not getting points as he is no longer on PP1. Anaheim who lost Josh Manson for 5-10 weeks, is in need of a PP QB. There’s your match 

[darksabre]

The idea that Risto, a player who is clumsy as hell below the circles, should be moved to a forward position of any kind is laughable. Just delete this thread.

[Thorner]

Ruotsalainen is already a winger

[John Tucker]

20 minutes ago, darksabre said:

The idea that Risto, a player who is clumsy as hell below the circles, should be moved to a forward position of any kind is laughable. Just delete this thread.

Worse than Rodrigues?  Now that’s laughable!!  He’s a big body, something that we lack up front.  If we can’t trade him, may as well keep him off the blue line and at least throw his weight around

[SABRES 0311]

I seriously doubt this happens but it’s a good way to kill time between GDTs. 

[nfreeman]

Has he ever played forward?

It’s probably worth checking before throwing out this kind of suggestion.  

[In The Buff]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

He’s not getting points as he is no longer on PP1. Anaheim who lost Josh Manson for 5-10 weeks, is in need of a PP QB. There’s your match 

Anaheim has been mentioned as a possible match all thru the offseason too. The question is who would the Ducks be willing to get rid of & who would we even want & do those 2 things match. Its been an issue of compensation imo. But at this point I think Risto has been an asset to our blue line & offers something nobody else does & i dont know if i'd want to get rid of him. I'm guessing if anyone is gonna go maybe it'll be Scandella, since i believe he's also a UFA next year.

If we're not gonna re-sign him (and i would doubt that we would), makes sense to trade him before the deadline, sooner or later.

[shrader]

One defensemen goes out with an injury and another returns. Now all of a sudden you think they’d seriously consider changing the position of the team’s leader in ice time? He’s not just the leader, he averages nearly 3.5 minutes more than anyone else. That’s not a player usage that suggests any degree of disappointment from the coaching staff. 

[SwampD]

41 minutes ago, shrader said:

One defensemen goes out with an injury and another returns. Now all of a sudden you think they’d seriously consider changing the position of the team’s leader in ice time? He’s not just the leader, he averages nearly 3.5 minutes more than anyone else. That’s not a player usage that suggests any degree of disappointment from the coaching staff. 

And we're 9-2-2.

 

With that said. I'd love to see it.

[Eleven]

3 hours ago, John Tucker said:

It's looking unlikely that JBots will get anything of worth for him at this point other than useless mid to late round picks.

The Sabres will get more out of Ristolainen than they ever did out of John Tucker (if they haven't already).  IIRC, the Sabres actually traded John Tucker and cash for...John Tucker.

[Doohicksie]

I'd sooner move Dahlin or Montour to wing than Risto. (Not that I would do that, but I'm just saying if I had to, Dahlin and Montour would be a lot better at it).

 

Sometimes swapping someone out like that can have a pronounced effect on the whole team.  Sergei Fedorov played about a half season on D under Scotty Bowman, with considerable success.

Edited October 31, 2019 by Doohickie

[John Tucker]

44 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I'd sooner move Dahlin or Montour to wing than Risto. (Not that I would do that, but I'm just saying if I had to, Dahlin and Montour would be a lot better at it).

I’m just thinking that since we have a lack of big bodies up front he might be a good fit.  He has shown decent offensive ability over the years and may be able to turn his game around.  Because as we all know, he can be a defensive liability!  

[SABRES 0311]

4 minutes ago, John Tucker said:

I’m just thinking that since we have a lack of big bodies up front he might be a good fit.  He has shown decent offensive ability over the years and may be able to turn his game around.  Because as we all know, he can be a defensive liability!  

Sobotka is an offensive liability. Should we move him to D?

Edited October 31, 2019 by SABRES 0311

[John Tucker]

2 hours ago, nfreeman said:

Has he ever played forward?

It’s probably worth checking before throwing out this kind of suggestion.  

Who knows... It’s merely a thought.  We will eventually have a logjam of NHL defensemen when/if they all get healthy.  We have a shortage of size up front and if we can’t trade him for adequate compensation, I’m merely suggesting why not give it a shot.  If not him, maybe one of the others.  Can’t get any worse than Rodrigues!

[John Tucker]

4 minutes ago, SABRES 0311 said:

Sobotka is an offensive liability. Should we move him to D?

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.  Good Lord, it’s merely a suggestion.  It’s a lot easier to move a d-man to forward than vice versa.  Maybe we drop Sobotka off in Sweden next week

[SABRES 0311]

3 minutes ago, John Tucker said:

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.  Good Lord, it’s merely a suggestion.  It’s a lot easier to move a d-man to forward than vice versa.  Maybe we drop Sobotka off in Sweden next week

Dude it was a joke. But yeah if Sobotka can find the plane like he finds the back of the net we’re good.

[PerreaultForever]

Risto becomes Lindy Ruff. This is some Scotty Bowman types stuff. 

Do we need some size up front, yes. Do we want to remove size/strength from D, no.

I really don't understand this urgent desire to trade a D man. It took 2 years for JBot to build a D from virtually nothing and to make D a depth position, and now some of you want to trade that away? No thank you. Having a deep D core is what keeps teams winning over the long season and it's numerous injury stretches/moments. Maybe at the deadline, but no need to do it before. 

[Taro T]

6 hours ago, John Tucker said:

Who knows... It’s merely a thought.  We will eventually have a logjam of NHL defensemen when/if they all get healthy.  We have a shortage of size up front and if we can’t trade him for adequate compensation, I’m merely suggesting why not give it a shot.  If not him, maybe one of the others.  Can’t get any worse than Rodrigues!

Do they really have a shortage of size?

Except for the Mittelstadt line, which now has 2 smurfs (until Vesey is healthy) to go with Mittelstadt's youthful strength rather than "man strength", no line has more than 1 small player on it.  And though Larsson is relatively short, he is also quite strong so a case could be made that that line doesn't have any small players on it.

Ristolainen doesn't come across as the brightest bulb on the tree; and is Krueger 's most trusted D-man.  Would not move him to forward under any reasonably foreseeable situation.

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

I think that lately Dahlin's defense has been more suspect than anyone's.

He played center before and is very offensive minded......move Mitts to wing in Vesey's spot and try Dahlin at C. Out of all our D he would be the one I'd like to see at a forward position. You could probably put him on the wing as Sheary can play either side and leave Mitts at C.

Knowing from the time he was drafted that he was a C before he became a D has made me want to see him tried at a forward position, more or less just for s***ts and giggles.

[John Tucker]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

Do they really have a shortage of size?

Except for the Mittelstadt line, which now has 2 smurfs (until Vesey is healthy) to go with Mittelstadt's youthful strength rather than "man strength", no line has more than 1 small player on it.  And though Larsson is relatively short, he is also quite strong so a case could be made that that line doesn't have any small players on it.

Ristolainen doesn't come across as the brightest bulb on the tree; and is Krueger 's most trusted D-man.  Would not move him to forward under any reasonably foreseeable situation.

Maybe instead of size, I should've said physicality.  Size doesn't translate into strength/physicality.  Larsson, Girgensons and occasionally Okposo will throw their weight around.  Our lack of physicality up front will eventually catch up with us.  We didn't respond well to Anaheim's physical presence and will face more of it as the season rolls on.  All I'm saying is with the surplus of NHL defenseman we have, and if they are not traded, why not use one of them up front for an extended period of time until we can make moves to address it.  It doesn't necessarily have to be Ristolainen.  Again, this is all one guy thinking outside of the box a little!!

[John Tucker]

40 minutes ago, MakeSabresGrr8Again said:

I think that lately Dahlin's defense has been more suspect than anyone's.

He played center before and is very offensive minded......move Mitts to wing in Vesey's spot and try Dahlin at C. Out of all our D he would be the one I'd like to see at a forward position. You could probably put him on the wing as Sheary can play either side and leave Mitts at C.

Knowing from the time he was drafted that he was a C before he became a D has made me want to see him tried at a forward position, more or less just for s***ts and giggles.

I could see Dahlin there too, but we need him on the blue line.  His defense will eventually come around.  Maybe a return to Sweden will help him out.  Ristolainen is who he is at this point.

[Stoner]

12 hours ago, darksabre said:

The idea that Risto, a player who is clumsy as hell below the circles, should be moved to a forward position of any kind is laughable. Just delete this thread.

 

10 hours ago, nfreeman said:

Has he ever played forward?

It’s probably worth checking before throwing out this kind of suggestion.  

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. Obnoxious.