Sabres Waive Dalton Smith

[Ogre]

TPeg gots da monays!

TPegs like.....

[PerreaultForever]

5 hours ago, Pimlach said:

On to JBot, he also traded Foligno and DesLauriers.   It’s not like he replaced them with better players either.  

I guess I'm one of those neanderthals but I welcome Dalton into the lineup. We are so soft any sort of muscle at any skill level will help balance the roster and get rid of some of the liberties being taken.

I knew we'd miss Foligno and at this point even the human punching bag DesLauriers would be a welcome addition to this roster. ERod is contributing nothing. Vesey has become nothing lately. Any grit or effort over guys like that will help. JBot has been one dimensional in his thinking so I am wondering if there is a Krueger/JBot disconnect now. I think it is Krueger, and not JBot, who has recognized the glaring missing pieces on this roster and he wants to win rather than worry about a plan, analytics, or styles. We will see soon if it helps at all. 

[Tondas]

What we are:

What we need to be:

[tom webster]

9 hours ago, Ogre said:

It seems like everyone thinks Smith is going to go full on goon. He has the infectious enthusiasm that @Weave mentioned and the toughness that fits the mold that you are looking for. Has anyone other than @inkman, @Amerks8796, and I actually even watched the dude play? He wins battles along the boards, takes a beating in front of the net and finishes his checks. He also doesn’t act like a wuss when people take liberties. Maybe they didn’t need to look any farther than Rochester to find the guy they need right now? It’s not like they just signed him to a multi year one way deal. He’ll probably get a game or two just to see what he brings. Geez. 

Have you watched the Sabre’s? They are losing because they can’t score. All the other crap is window dressing. The Blackhawks won three Stanley Cups skating around teams that tried to take liberties on them.

There are many ways to construct your bottom six and guys like this guy gave a place as long as they can skate, but none of it matters if you don’t have a number two center and can score.

[hockeyhound]

I like the fact they brought up a guy like Dalton. If he is as effective as he seems to be as a physical player, it will certainly help slow the game down at times.

If he is smart about his style of play it just might be exactly what the Sabres could use right now.

Teams like Anaheim, Boston, Tampa, Columbus, etc, really cause problems for the Sabres. If they're planning on going anywhere in the playoffs the team as a whole is going to have to evolve and get some nasty in their game.

I'm not talking about meaningless fights, I'm talking about an intelligent application, some physical artistry, by design. 

It can't be every once in a while ("Remember When..."), teams need to know that the Sabres mean business; if not, the Sabres will continue to be the red headed step child who everyone picks on because they can.

I'm having a tough time articulating what I mean. We don't need a bunch of fights... a bit of mean streak, sometimes you just have to born with it, a DNA thing...

Sabres still have half the season to figure it out.

 

Let's Go Buffalo!

 

[Neo]

5 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I guess I'm one of those neanderthals but I welcome Dalton into the lineup. We are so soft any sort of muscle at any skill level will help balance the roster and get rid of some of the liberties being taken.

I knew we'd miss Foligno and at this point even the human punching bag DesLauriers would be a welcome addition to this roster. ERod is contributing nothing. Vesey has become nothing lately. Any grit or effort over guys like that will help. JBot has been one dimensional in his thinking so I am wondering if there is a Krueger/JBot disconnect now. I think it is Krueger, and not JBot, who has recognized the glaring missing pieces on this roster and he wants to win rather than worry about a plan, analytics, or styles. We will see soon if it helps at all. 

I’m a neanderthal, too, in many hockey senses.  Oh, I quit on fights because of head trauma in young men, but I still love a grinding, physical, game.  My lack of enthusiasm for Dalton is that this “sign a bruiser”  approach to physicality is just “so Buffalo” since the end of the 1970s.  The twenty guys in the room have the ability.  Only culture (there’s that word, again) brings it out.  Nineteen guys standing around watching Dalton doesn’t thrill me.

[LGR4GM]

So we aren't losing because we can't score, we're losing because of "liberties" being taken. 

[SwampD]

7 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

So we aren't losing because we can't score, we're losing because of "liberties" being taken. 

I guess you are fine with losing two players to this team on dirty plays, then. (Well, I know you are fine with losing one of them.?)

[Weave]

51 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

So we aren't losing because we can't score, we're losing because of "liberties" being taken. 

Said noone.

Why do we constantly go to an extreme to counter a point that was never made?

 

I suppose you could loosely claim Ogre made that point.  Maybe you should have quoted him?

Edited December 31, 2019 by Weave

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

This kid isn't being brought up because he's a fighter only. He has a great work ethic and is a team player. He also has the bloodlines that some would like with his father being Derrick Smith and related to all the Primeau's. He may not be that talented but he tries harder than anyone on this soft team.

Give him a chance. I'll be willing to bet that when he goes back down, some will be wishing he could stay.

[Taro T]

37 minutes ago, SwampD said:

I guess you are fine with losing two players to this team on dirty plays, then. (Well, I know you are fine with losing one of them.?)

It certainly seems that this sign & callup has a 'we need a goon to make them pay for their thuggery' feel to it.  If it was simply we need more toughness, he would've been called up 2 games ago against an actual tough team; rather than right after playing a tough team but just before playing a team (for the last time this regular season, so any re-repurcussions will have to wait until April at the earliest (yeah, right) or more likely October or November) that injured 2 Sabres in careless, at a minimum, or downright dirty hits in separate games.

That the Sabres end up victims of friggin' Tampa Bat thuggery is surreal.  This is NOT Enrico Cerrone's Lightning.

And, on a positive side, we now have a couple threads not bemoaning the lack of a legit 2C. ?

[Pimlach]

8 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I guess I'm one of those neanderthals but I welcome Dalton into the lineup. We are so soft any sort of muscle at any skill level will help balance the roster and get rid of some of the liberties being taken.

I knew we'd miss Foligno and at this point even the human punching bag DesLauriers would be a welcome addition to this roster. ERod is contributing nothing. Vesey has become nothing lately. Any grit or effort over guys like that will help. JBot has been one dimensional in his thinking so I am wondering if there is a Krueger/JBot disconnect now. I think it is Krueger, and not JBot, who has recognized the glaring missing pieces on this roster and he wants to win rather than worry about a plan, analytics, or styles. We will see soon if it helps at all. 

Yes indeed, it appears RK is behind the Dalton Smith move.  In today’s BN he talked about grit and even the age of players on Boston and Tampa Versus his team.  It sure seems like it’s men against boys when we play those two teams.  
 

So far this year I’ve seen Skinner, Eichel, and Reinhart involved in scrums and even  drop gloves to defend themselves and we have no one to keep that from happening or bring fear to opponents.  I mean, Boston players come right out and say we dont like to hit, their announcer called us fragile.  RK is 0-6 against those teams and he must know what’s missing.  

I predict Dalton will hit, attract attention, get involved in a few scrums.  Probably no fights.   I just want to win the damm game.  

 

 

 

[LGR4GM]

44 minutes ago, MakeSabresGrr8Again said:

This kid isn't being brought up because he's a fighter only. He has a great work ethic and is a team player. He also has the bloodlines that some would like with his father being Derrick Smith and related to all the Primeau's. He may not be that talented but he tries harder than anyone on this soft team.

Give him a chance. I'll be willing to bet that when he goes back down, some will be wishing he could stay.

I'm sorry I don't give a ***** who his father is or who he's related too. If the Sabres need a 4th line plug to defend themselves or find the grit to score, this team is completely ***** for the foreseeable future and beyond. 

9 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Yes indeed, it appears RK is behind the Dalton Smith move.  In today’s BN he talked about grit and even the age of players on Boston and Tampa Versus his team.  It sure seems like it’s men against boys when we play those two teams.  
 

So far this year I’ve seen Skinner, Eichel, and Reinhart involved in scrums and even  drop gloves to defend themselves and we have no one to keep that from happening or bring fear to opponents.  I mean, Boston players come right out and say we dont like to hit, their announcer called us fragile.  RK is 0-6 against those teams and he must know what’s missing.  

I predict Dalton will hit, attract attention, get involved in a few scrums.  Probably no fights.   I just want to win the damm game.  

That's because no one is afraid of 1 guy on your 4th line. Unless this entire team actually becomes a team no one is going to be afraid of Dalton Smith or the Sabres.

[LGR4GM]

57 minutes ago, Weave said:

Said noone.

Why do we constantly go to an extreme to counter a point that was never made?

 

I suppose you could loosely claim Ogre made that point.  Maybe you should have quoted him?

Said a bunch of people in this thread. Lots of implications our problem is toughness. It's not, we don't score because we only have 3 guys who can playing forward.

[LGR4GM]

Last post today. You want to believe that some 4th line JAG, an actual jag btw, is going to make this team somehow better then I'm sorry. This team will continue to be trash as long as the management group believes that 1 gritty 4th liner is the key to a team that can't score, sucks on the pk, and regularly is simply not talented enough. We need at least 2 top 6 forwards including a 2c and #1 rw.  Adding Smith is like putting lipstick on a pig and saying you're dating a Victoria's secret model. I'm absolutely stunned the general feeling is that this move is anything other than window dressing. 

Edited December 31, 2019 by LGR4GM

[miles]

I'm hoping this guy whales on cernak for a solid minute or two. 

This guy took sobotka out nearly the entire season and 3 weeks on dahlin.

I lost complete respect for the entire team after dahlin hit and I'm hoping this guy was brought in for retribution. If this guy is only brought up for Tampa games to whale on cernak, I would be fine with it.

If I was cernak I would be treading very lightly 

Edited December 31, 2019 by miles

[SwampD]

3 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Last post today. You want to believe that some 4th line JAG, an actual jag btw, is going to make this team somehow better then I'm sorry. This team will continue to be trash as long as the management group believes that 1 gritty 4th liner is the key to a team that can't score, sucks on the pk, and regularly is simply not talented enough. We need at least 2 top 6 forwards including a 2c and #1 rw.  Adding Smith is like putting lipstick on a pig and saying you're dating a Victoria's secret model. I'm absolutely stunned the general feeling is that this move is anything other than window dressing. 

Um, no ***** it’s window dressing. They’re not putting him on the 1st or 2nd line.

In the past three games against Tampa, they have knocked out two of our players and tried to knock out our captain. If they know they might actually have to answer for it tonight, then a fourth line plug can absolutely make a difference.

i guess we’ll find out tonight.

Just now, miles said:

I'm hoping this guy whales on cernak for a solid minute or two. 

This guy took sobotka out nearly the entire season and 3 weeks on dahlin.

I lost complete respect for the entire team after dahlin hit and I'm hoping this guy was brought in for retribution. 

If I was cernak I would be treading very lightly 

Forget about Cernak. Go after one of their forward stars.

[Thwomp!]

11 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Last post today. You want to believe that some 4th line JAG, an actual jag btw, is going to make this team somehow better then I'm sorry. This team will continue to be trash as long as the management group believes that 1 gritty 4th liner is the key to a team that can't score, sucks on the pk, and regularly is simply not talented enough. We need at least 2 top 6 forwards including a 2c and #1 rw.  Adding Smith is like putting lipstick on a pig and saying you're dating a Victoria's secret model. I'm absolutely stunned the general feeling is that this move is anything other than window dressing. 

It is absolutely window dressing.  Very transparent window dressing.  The team is not tough enough.  This is management's response.  I feel sad at how far this franchise has fallen.

[miles]

2 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Um, no ***** it’s window dressing. They’re not putting him on the 1st or 2nd line.

In the past three games against Tampa, they have knocked out two of our players and tried to knock out our captain. If they know they might actually have to answer for it tonight, then a fourth line plug can absolutely make a difference.

i guess we’ll find out tonight.

Forget about Cernak. Go after one of their forward stars.

 

I don't agree. Cernak needs payback. I am not saying he shouldn't also go after the others too, but cernak is my #1 on my s&*% list

[Weave]

21 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Said a bunch of people in this thread. Lots of implications our problem is toughness. It's not, we don't score because we only have 3 guys who can playing forward.

Lots of implications that ONE of our problems is toughness, not THE problem is toughness.

Living on the extreme all the time must be tiring.

[SwampD]

2 minutes ago, miles said:

 

I don't agree. Cernak needs payback. I am not saying he shouldn't also go after the others too, but cernak is my #1 on my s&*% list

I really don’t care about payback. I care about making a statement that will help us win going forward. Take out one of our stars, we’ll take out one of yours.

[LGR4GM]

4 minutes ago, Weave said:

Lots of implications that ONE of our problems is toughness, not THE problem is toughness.

Living on the extreme all the time must be tiring.

Why are you trying to make this personal? One player who is a 4th line jag doesn't help toughness. It's gotta be a team concept. Happy New Year.

[PalmTreeMafia]

The Dalton Smith signing is an open acknowledgment from management that this team needs more toughness and grit, but why is this acknowledgment occurring midway through the third year of our GM's tenure? Is our GM even more clueless than we imagined? At bare minimum, the entire fourth line plus at least two defensemen should be made up of Dalton Smith personalities.

I see 3 main problems with this roster at the moment:

1. The aforementioned lack of toughness and grit. Start by replacing McCabe, Scandella, Sheary, Rodrigues, and Vesey with Dalton Smith personalities and see what happens.

2. Lack of second line scoring. Find two quality players to play with Skinner, even if rentals.

3. Bad goaltending. Replace Hutton with someone better.

All of these moves should happen ASAP, because a 9th straight year without playoffs is really bad for the team's locker room culture.

[miles]

3 minutes ago, Weave said:

Lots of implications that ONE of our problems is toughness, not THE problem is toughness.

Living on the extreme all the time must be tiring.

The problem with the team is not enough players are playing up to their potential/expectations. In fact, short of eichel and his line, joker and ullmark, there is not another player I can think of that is playing consistently good enough. It's not lack of toughness or lack of scoring, its lack of quality and consistency from the players overall 

[SwampD]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

Why are you trying to make this personal? One player who is a 4th line jag doesn't help toughness. It's gotta be a team concept. Happy New Year.

So, we’re starting by adding one guy. I’m confused. Do you want the entire team swapped in one day for toughness?

Ya gotta start somewhere.