Building the best Sabres team ever

[French Collection]

I went with Burnaby because he could instigate and fight.

Playfair is my deterrent, as his name suggests. He could also play. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

Honestly none of the players in these last two polls should ever make a best team.  The team needs toughness and being hard to play against but these guys don’t accomplish that as no coach would put them the ice given the other players we have chosen. 
 

Also if we are going to have such a list, where is Mike Grier?

[Eleven]

5 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Honestly none of the players in these last two polls should ever make a best team.  The team needs toughness and being hard to play against but these guys don’t accomplish that as no coach would put them the ice given the other players we have chosen. 
 

Also if we are going to have such a list, where is Mike Grier?

I don't think Grier was a pest or an enforcer.  He was in an earlier poll question.

[dudacek]

26 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Honestly none of the players in these last two polls should ever make a best team.  The team needs toughness and being hard to play against but these guys don’t accomplish that as no coach would put them the ice given the other players we have chosen. 
 

It’s interesting how the game has changed over the past decade or so. The enforcer has pretty much died out and the disturber isn’t what he used to be. But each was a staple in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

I think your second sentence makes for a good debate (and maybe influences your choices). How many of these guys could play effectively today?

Varada, May and Barnaby? Playfair was more than just a goon in his day, but his type of defenceman has become an endangered species. Kaleta retired what, just six years ago? But he’d be a walking suspension today. (Then again, so would Peca, but that’s a different discussion ).

[GASabresIUFAN]

10 minutes ago, dudacek said:

It’s interesting how the game has changed over the past decade or so. The enforcer has pretty much died out and the disturber isn’t what he used to be. But each was a staple in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

I think your second sentence makes for a good debate (and maybe influences your choices). How many of these guys could play effectively today?

Varada, May and Barnaby? Playfair was more than just a goon in his day, but his type of defenceman has become an endangered species. Kaleta retired what, just six years ago? But he’d be a walking suspension today. (Then again, so would Peca, but that’s a different discussion ).

Peca’s play style was one of the reasons I chose Drury over him.  

Grier would make us tough to play against.  Varada could play in today’s era because he was more then just a pest.

Edited April 19, 2020 by GASabresIUFAN

[nfreeman]

I think Kaleta had the hockey IQ, the skating and good enough hands to have been much more than the dirty-playing disturber that he was.  But he also had some kind of dark hockey pathology that made him keep crossing the line.  If he could've tamed those impulses, he would've been the best player in his group IMHO.

Playfair was the best fighter the Sabres have ever had, and one of the best in NHL history.

[Eleven]

2 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

some kind of dark hockey pathology

This shouldn't have made me laugh the way it did.

[dudacek]

1 hour ago, nfreeman said:

 

Playfair was the best fighter the Sabres have ever had, and one of the best in NHL history.

This, plus the fact that he wasn’t a disaster on the ice and he was well-respected off it made him my choice.

Brad May was pretty good hockey player, but he didn’t have Larry’s nuclear deterrent factor.

Edited April 19, 2020 by dudacek

[nfreeman]

11 minutes ago, Eleven said:

This shouldn't have made me laugh the way it did.

Sometimes I feel like I too am stricken with a dark hockey pathology!

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Varada and Playfair.

Next ...

[Weave]

50 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

I think Kaleta had the hockey IQ, the skating and good enough hands to have been much more than the dirty-playing disturber that he was.  But he also had some kind of dark hockey pathology that made him keep crossing the line.  If he could've tamed those impulses, he would've been the best player in his group IMHO.

Playfair was the best fighter the Sabres have ever had, and one of the best in NHL history.

I guess our opinions differ on Kaleta.  I don't think he had the hands or hockey sense at all.  I think he was a straight up give it everything you have and make the roster through sheer determination and effort kind of player. 

[nfreeman]

1 hour ago, Weave said:

I guess our opinions differ on Kaleta.  I don't think he had the hands or hockey sense at all.  I think he was a straight up give it everything you have and make the roster through sheer determination and effort kind of player. 

He had some nice moments:

 

 

 

 

 

[Weave]

So did Matt Ellis. LOL

 

[nfreeman]

Sweet goal by Matt Ellis!

[Taro T]

Went with Varada and Playfair but disappointed Spencer is getting no mentions.  He was fun to watch.

Varada was the most well rounded of all these players.  Couldn't go with Barnaby because pretty sure he's insane.

 

[Eleven]

2 minutes ago, Taro T said:

disappointed Spencer is getting no mentions.  He was fun to watch.

Yeah but he spun out of orbit.  I can't reasonably include him in an optimal team.

[Taro T]

Just now, Eleven said:

Yeah but he spun out of orbit.  I can't reasonably include him in an optimal team.

Which is why my choice was Varada.  Not disappointed that he didn't get the nod.  Disappointed he wasn't being discussed.

[Eleven]

1 minute ago, Taro T said:

Which is why my choice was Varada.  Not disappointed that he didn't get the nod.  Disappointed he wasn't being discussed.

You didn't even acknowledge my pun.  We used to be so close.

[Taro T]

10 minutes ago, Eleven said:

You didn't even acknowledge my pun.  We used to be so close.

Still playing the tuba Mr. Smith?

[Weave]

This particular set of players to me is a microcosm as to why we've never quite been good enough to lift a cup.  That first set of choices is the counter to Claude Lemieux, Brad Marchand, Ken Linesman, Esa Tikkanen.

Our historical best guys don't quite match up.  We see that in several of the categories so far.

[Marvin]

3 hours ago, Weave said:

This particular set of players to me is a microcosm as to why we've never quite been good enough to lift a cup.  That first set of choices is the counter to Claude Lemieux, Brad Marchand, Ken Linesman, Esa Tikkanen.

Our historical best guys don't quite match up.  We see that in several of the categories so far.

We did many times, but we often were out of step with the times.  We had Spinner, Duds, and mountains of skill during the goon era -- but we also would have needed to beat the Habs.  We had a tighter checking team when more teams were running fire wagons.  We had a small team in the dead puck era.  We have lacked quality depth -- particularly at centre and in goal -- in an era where the top teams go 5 lines and 4 pairs deep.

[nfreeman]

On 4/19/2020 at 6:06 PM, Taro T said:

Went with Varada and Playfair but disappointed Spencer is getting no mentions.  He was fun to watch.

 

On 4/19/2020 at 6:08 PM, Eleven said:

Yeah but he spun out of orbit.  I can't reasonably include him in an optimal team.

Didn't he...y'know...kidnap and kill someone?

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, nfreeman said:

 

Didn't he...y'know...kidnap and kill someone?

2 things: 1, not when he was a Sabre.

2, pretty sure he was found not guilty.

The guy (bad pun alert) spun horribly out of control after retiring.  He died in a drug deal that went bad.  Wonder how much his father's death affected him.

Voted for Varada, said Spinner was fun to watch.  That is all.

[Neo]

On 4/19/2020 at 6:44 PM, Weave said:

This particular set of players to me is a microcosm as to why we've never quite been good enough to lift a cup.  That first set of choices is the counter to Claude Lemieux, Brad Marchand, Ken Linesman, Esa Tikkanen.

Our historical best guys don't quite match up.  We see that in several of the categories so far.

Esa Tikkanen  ...  excellent.  And some real insight in the observation.

[Eleven]

Hey @dudacek any thoughts about resurrecting this?  It has been a very fun distraction so far.