The Athletic Sabres All Decade Team

[Brawndo]

The Athletic Buffalo is posting all decade teams for Sabres and Bills. 
 

Here is the Sabres 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2019 by Brawndo

[Zamboni]

You’ve GOT to do better than Moulson, Ennis and Drew freakin Stanford. C’mon ...

[North Buffalo]

Meh who cares... bunch of losers...

[Stoner]

I just barfed. Clearing the way for tomorrow, I guess! And I'm supposed to pay for that trash?

[Randall Flagg]

hysterical

[Stoner]

They say those born around 2000 are not millennials but Generation Z. Think about a Sabre fan who's 19 now. Probably doesn't remember the playoff runs. You're really coming into sports awareness around the time of the last two playoff teams and Terry's arrival. Those are your good old days. Since then, nothing. You are a new Silent Generation.

[Torpedo Forecheck]

Wow just wow, somebody actually put that out with a straight face. SMH

[Randall Flagg]

11 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

They say those born around 2000 are not millennials but Generation Z. Think about a Sabre fan who's 19 now. Probably doesn't remember the playoff runs. You're really coming into sports awareness around the time of the last two playoff teams and Terry's arrival. Those are your good old days. Since then, nothing. You are a new Silent Generation.

My girlfriend teaches in a middle&elementary school in WNY. She, honest to god, has not come across a single Sabres/hockey fan in the 2.5 months since school began. 

She has interacted with most of the 7th graders there I believe. It's young, but my Sabres fanhood and those of all my friends that still follow today were well-established at that point

Edited November 27, 2019 by Randall Flagg

[Torpedo Forecheck]

3 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

My girlfriend teaches in a middle&elementary school in WNY. She, honest to god, has not come across a single Sabres/hockey fan in the 2.5 months since school began. 

She has interacted with most of the 7th graders there I believe. It's young, but my Sabres fanhood and those of all my friends that still follow today were well-established at that point

My wife teaches middle school and she tells me there are ZERO boys who play hockey (ten years ago 4-5 or more every year.) The kicker is she has NINE girls who play travel hockey.

Edited November 27, 2019 by Torpedo Forecheck

[GASabresIUFAN]

The team went 30-45-7.

[SwampD]

Is Ehrhoff still getting paid?

[Stoner]

1 hour ago, Randall Flagg said:

My girlfriend teaches in a middle&elementary school in WNY. She, honest to god, has not come across a single Sabres/hockey fan in the 2.5 months since school began. 

She has interacted with most of the 7th graders there I believe. It's young, but my Sabres fanhood and those of all my friends that still follow today were well-established at that point

That's not good. I wonder if the Sabres do marketing research on this stuff.

[Brawndo]

1 hour ago, SwampD said:

Is Ehrhoff still getting paid?

When the 2030’s Decade Team is released he still will be getting paid 

1 hour ago, Torpedo Forecheck said:

My wife teaches middle school and she tells me there are ZERO boys who play hockey (ten years ago 4-5 or more every year.) The kicker is she has NINE girls who play travel hockey.

This is awesome.

[Randall Flagg]

1 hour ago, SwampD said:

Is Ehrhoff still getting paid?

I'm not sure, though I know he doesn't count against our cap anymore.

Hodgson still does, and will be 750k per season through 2022-2023

 

[Neo]

4 hours ago, Brawndo said:

The Athletic Buffalo is posting all decade teams for Sabres and Bills. 
 

Here is the Sabres 

 

 

 

ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI

 

 

[ubkev]

1 minute ago, Neo said:

 

ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI

 

 

Hahahahahahaha!

That's the funniest thing I've read on here in weeks! Months even!

[Neo]

2 hours ago, Randall Flagg said:

My girlfriend teaches in a middle&elementary school in WNY. She, honest to god, has not come across a single Sabres/hockey fan in the 2.5 months since school began. 

She has interacted with most of the 7th graders there I believe. It's young, but my Sabres fanhood and those of all my friends that still follow today were well-established at that point

Sabrejaks were essentially school uniforms in the 1970s.  That is hyperbole in the smallest amount.

[Pimlach]

Terrible horrible decade.  

[Thorner]

6 hours ago, Randall Flagg said:

hysterical

 

5 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

The team went 30-45-7.

Really? The d-core they chose doesn't make sense to me but those forwards look pretty strong. That top 6 would dominate with a 2010 Vanek and Pominville combined with Eichel, Reinhart, Skinner, and ROR, no?

Maybe not against other all-decade teams, to be fair. But against the league's teams today we'd at least, I dunno, make the playoffs haha. But seriously, that's a really good top 6. 

Edited November 27, 2019 by Thorny

[Randall Flagg]

Just now, Thorny said:

 

Really? The d-core they chose doesn't make sense to me but those forwards look pretty strong. That top 6 would dominate with a 2010 Vanek and Pominville combined with Eichel, Reinhart, Skinner, and ROR, no?

Maybe not against other all-decade teams, to be fair. But against the league's teams today we'd at least, I dunno, make the playoffs haha. But seriously, that's a really good top 6. 

Sure, this team would be cup favorites. But assuming they mean time with Sabres, the fact that Larsson, Kyle, Moulson, Ennis, and Stafford all made it at the same time is rather damning of our decade, IMO. Kyle had a nice first year here, but it was one 45 point season. I love Larsson, but...yeah. Stafford did have a 31 goal campaign, but was universally despised for good reason pretty much every other season, and Ennis really never was all that good at hockey even if he flashed skill at times. And Moulson could finish on occasion, briefly, while doing nothing else. And yeah, that defense.

But to be completely fair, we'd have to compare these teams for those of other teams. Which might be something I work on during the game tonight if it sucks! 

[Randall Flagg]

So these are all the teams that made full lineups for this activity on The Athletic. The rest of them either didn't do it yet or only gave a starting 5 plus a goalie, which is lame as hell.

Honestly the Sabres don't look so bad now. I think the key difference is that for most of these teams, most of these players had their best seasons overlap for quite a few of the seasons, whereas in our lineup there's a chasm in the middle of two decent eras....

And it's funny how 25% of the Wild's forwards are our guys 

 

Ottawa
Hoffman - Spezza - Stone
Tkachuk - Duchene - Alfredsson
MacArthur - Turris - Ryan
Michalek - Pageau - Neil

Methot - Karlsson
Phillips - Ceci
Chabot - Gonchar

Anderson

Toronto
JVR – Matthews – Kessel
MacArthur – Tavares – Marner
Lupul – Kadri – Nylander
Hyman – Bozak – Kulemin

Gardiner – Rielly
Muzzin – Phaneuf
Kaberle – Hainsey

Andersen

Philadelphia
Hartnell - Giroux - Jagr
Schenn - Couturier - Voracek
Briere - Carter - Simmonds
JVR - Richards - Konecny

Timmonen - Pronger
Provorov - Gostisbehere
Coburn - Streit

Mason

New Jersey Devils
Hall - Elias - Kovalchuk
Parise - Zajac - Palmieri
Cammalleri - Henrique - Jagr
Zubrus - Hischier - Clarkson

Greene - Severson
Fayne - Larsson
Salvador - Zidlicky

Brodeur

Pittsburgh Penguins
Guentzel - Crosby - Hornqvist
Kunitz- Malkin - Neal
Hagelin - Bonino - Kessel
Dupuis - Staal - Rust

Dumoulin - Letang
Martin - Schultz
Orpik - Cole

Murray

New York Islanders
Lee - Tavares - Okposo
Nelson - Barzal - Eberle
Bailey - Nielsen - Grabner
Martin - Cizikas - Clutterbuck

Leddy - Boychuk
de Haan - Hamonic
Hickey - Pulock

Greiss

Carolina Hurricanes
Skinner - E. Staal - Williams
Svechnikov - J. Staal - Cole
Ruutu - Aho - Whitney
Teravainen - Lindholm - Brindamour (they put him under centers cuz he barely tipped the decade)
Slavin - Hamilton
Faulk - Pesce
Hanifin - Commodore (another guy who barely touched the decade, Ward/Gleason if not)
Ward

Chicago Blackhawks
Sharp - Toews - Hossa
Panarin - Richards - Kane
Saad - Shaw - Debrincat
Bickell - Bolland - Versteeg

Keith - Seabrook
Oduya - Hjalmarsson
Leddy - Byfuglien

Crawford

St. Louis Blues
Steen - ROR - Tarasenko
Schwartz - Backes - Perron
Berglund - Schenn - Oshie
McDonald - Stastny - Reaves

Bouwmeester - Pietrangelo
Parayko - Shattenkirk
Jackman - Polak

Binnington/Elliott

Dallas Stars
Benn - Seguin - Radulov
Eriksson - Spezza - Richards
Morrow - Ribeiro - Sharp
Roussel - Eakin - Ott

Goligoski - Klingberg 
Heiskanen - Daley
Lindell - Benn

Bishop

Minnesota Wild
Parise - Koivu - Granlund
Zucker - E. Staal - Pominville
Nino - Coyle - Vanek
Foligno - Brodziak - Clutterbuck

Suter - Spurgeon
Brodin - Dumba
Scandella - Prosser

Dubnyk

Vancouver Canucks
 Sedin - Sedin - Burrows
Pettersson - Kesler - Boeser
Miller - Horvat - Samuelsson
Torres - Malhotra - Hansen

Edler - Ehrhoff
Hamhuis - Tanev
Hughes - Bieksa

Luongo

Anaheim Ducks
Rakell - Getzlaf - Perry
Cogliano - Kesler - Silfverberg
Selanne - Koivu - Ryan
beleskey - Thompson - Palmieri

Fowler - Lindholm
Beauchemin - Vatanen
Visnovsky - Manson

Gibson

Calgary Flames
Gaudreau - Monahan - Iginla
Tkachuk - Backlund - Frolik
Hudler - Bennett - Lindholm
Glencross - Stajan - Ferland

Giordano - Brodie
Russell - Hamonic
Bouwmeester - Hamilton

Kiprusoff





 

[Taro T]

On 11/27/2019 at 9:45 AM, Brawndo said:

The Athletic Buffalo is posting all decade teams for Sabres and Bills. 
 

Here is the Sabres 

 

 

How do Roy, Connolly, Gaustad, and Grier (and Girgensons for that matter) not even make the scratches?

I'd've had Connolly at 3C, Roy at the 3 RW, and swap out the entire checking line with Girgensons, Gaustad, and Grier.  Would have Stafford and either Ennis or Okposo as the 2 spare forwards.

And if Bogosian in his handful of games can make the team, would put Montour into his spot and let him bump Weber.

[dudacek]

25 minutes ago, Taro T said:

How do Roy, Connolly, Gaustad, and Grier (and Girgensons for that matter) not even make the scratches?

I'd've had Connolly at 3C, Roy at the 3 RW, and swap out the entire checking line with Girgensons, Gaustad, and Grier.  Would have Stafford and either Ennis or Okposo as the 2 spare forwards.

And if Bogosian in his handful of games can make the team, would put Montour into his spot and let him bump Weber.

The team was largely based on an analytics guy’s formula that took into account contributions over the entire decade. Timmy played just 140 games.

[Taro T]

20 minutes ago, dudacek said:

The team was largely based on an analytics guy’s formula that took into account contributions over the entire decade. Timmy played just 140 games.

And Dahlin has played only ~110.

And they found a way to claim Moulson was useful?  Did they include his 2nd stint with the team?

 

[Randall Flagg]

40 minutes ago, dudacek said:

The team was largely based on an analytics guy’s formula that took into account contributions over the entire decade. Timmy played just 140 games.

Some teams were happy to include guys whose peaks were in 2005 but who still technically played games in the 09-10 season. And like I mentioned, others only picked 5 skaters and 1 goalie. I really wish these writers would have coordinated a bit more with this