Taylor Hall signing: 8 million one yr with Sabres

[Knightrider]

14 hours ago, SDS said:

Killjoy. 

 

14 hours ago, Taro T said:

True.  And, for the 1st time since Eichel has been here, the Sabres will truly have lines that follow the traditional 1st - 4th lines.  Having a bottom 6 that leaves something to be desired is OK when you have a real 1st & 2nd line.

Now trade Miller for a LHD & get someone to be the 1B goalie & we're in business.

Would still like Kahun back, but don't expect it as he's on the 4th line by ice time with this lineup unless Olofsson has a total sophomore slump & both Cozens & Thompson can't step by by mid-season.

I don’t know if he’s salvageable, but Middelstadt, Cozens, and Thompson kinda reminds me of a Roy, Vanek and Max type 3rd line from 15 years ago. Lots of skill playing protected minutes...  Top 2 lines look better than the 05-06 top 6 (Brierre/Connelly, pomminvile, and Dumont; Drury, Hecht, and Grier)... The 4th line seems stronger too, though I can’t remember who played with Mair atm...  The current defense seems far better than the 05-06 roster, too. 

Goalie is the weakness with this team.

Edited October 12, 2020 by Knightrider

[JohnC]

9 hours ago, nfreeman said:

 

 

So, a few weeks ago, if someone had told us that the Sabres had added Taylor Hall and Eric Staal to their top 6, AND that Cozens was such a force of nature in training camp that he forced his way in and Reino to 3RW, I think 97% of us would have been insanely psyched for opening night. 

And, as long as we're entertaining the idea, it's worth noting that Reino is an RFA, and the Sabres just gave Montour, also an RFA, a contract that walked him to UFA.  A 2-year contract would similarly walk Reino to UFA.  If they gave him that contract, the Sabres might find themselves, next offseason, in the position of choosing between a fat extension for Hall and a fat extension for Reino.  That would be an interesting subplot, and would probably motivate both guys throughout the season, and would lend extra weight to the question of which one plays with Eichel.

 

 

There are potentially multiple repercussions resulting from the signing of Hall. It is difficult to calculate what they will be for future roster and contract considerations. As it stands I still stand by my view that it is very improbable that Reinhart will not be a member of one of the top two lines. The primary reason is that he has been a good and consistent first and second line player. Throughout the team's oscillating performances he has been a dependable player. Another reason why I strongly believe that he will continue to be a first or second line player is his style of play. He is more of a facilitator than a primary goal scorer that can balance out one of the top two lines he would be on. Whether he is on a Jack line or a separate Hall line he will seamlessly blend the particular line and balance it out. If as you suggest he does become a third line player then from a contract standpoint he wouldn't be worth the cost as a third line player. 

With respect to the issue of future contracts for Hall and Reinhart I'm not going to look ahead. If both players play at premier levels and it lifts this bedraggled franchise into the playoffs and relevancy then I'm confident that the contract/s situation will work itself out. Right now I'm going to be more present oriented than future oriented. It's better to enjoy the day than fret about the future.  

[LGR4GM]

13 hours ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

So hall is a LW, so now what does the roster look like? 

 

13 hours ago, Weave said:

Hall Jack Sam

Skinner Staal Olofoson

Who cares

Who cares

 

13 hours ago, sabresparaavida said:

Hall-Eichel-Cozens

Skinner-Staal-Reinhart

Oloffson-Eakins-Thompson

Girgs-Lazar-Okposo

Just been thinking a lot about this. 

Hall - Eichel - Reinhart

Skinner - Staal - Cozens/Olofsson/Thompson

Olofsson - Eakin - Thompson/Cozens

Zemgus - Lazar - Okposo

I think Olofsson has to get moved and I think that against lesser competition he will be really good all while still getting PP1 time. The 2nd line RW spot is an open competition in my mind. I think Olofsson could slot there but really it is Cozens v Thompson with the loser getting bumped to the 3rd line. I could see Cozens getting it to play with Staal and learn. Idk, there are a lot of options now with that lineup. For the first time in forever we have 5 top forwards and really 6 if we count Olofsson. 

 

[miles]

i would like to see how skinner does with staal. staal is a slower skater. 

we know from 2 seasons ago that skinner is great with eichel.  i like the idea of staal and  hall on the 2nd line. 

either way, the sabres have  1a and 1b lines this season. their 3rd line wont look too bad either

Edited October 12, 2020 by miles

[Taro T]

7 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

 

 

Just been thinking a lot about this. 

Hall - Eichel - Reinhart

Skinner - Staal - Cozens/Olofsson/Thompson

Olofsson - Eakin - Thompson/Cozens

Zemgus - Lazar - Okposo

I think Olofsson has to get moved and I think that against lesser competition he will be really good all while still getting PP1 time. The 2nd line RW spot is an open competition in my mind. I think Olofsson could slot there but really it is Cozens v Thompson with the loser getting bumped to the 3rd line. I could see Cozens getting it to play with Staal and learn. Idk, there are a lot of options now with that lineup. For the first time in forever we have 5 top forwards and really 6 if we count Olofsson.

 

Which is why Olofsson should be in the top 6.  Let Cozens get acclimated on a 3rd scoring line & bump him up when he's ready.  Having 7 or 8 forwards that belong in the top 6 is how good teams make things happen.  And if Cozens can earn a top 6 role out of camp, great.  But he needs to earn it & heck, even Seguin spent ome time on the 4th line learning the ropes.

[LabattBlue]

This move bumps a good top 6 player to the 3rd line, and hopefully makes it a line that can contribute more often than not. 

[LGR4GM]

4 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Which is why Olofsson should be in the top 6.  Let Cozens get acclimated on a 3rd scoring line & bump him up when he's ready.  Having 7 or 8 forwards that belong in the top 6 is how good teams make things happen.  And if Cozens can earn a top 6 role out of camp, great.  But he needs to earn it & heck, even Seguin spent ome time on the 4th line learning the ropes.

Olofsson prefers his off side. If I can put him on the 3rd line and mismatch all while keeping him fresh for the PP, I probably do it. 

I think Thompson is most likely for the 2 rw role to start. 

[miles]

im looking forward to listening to the instigators this morning, i put an entry into my calendar to remind me 🙂

[mjd1001]

3 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

This move bumps a good top 6 player to the 3rd line, and hopefully makes it a line that can contribute more often than not. 

That is the key. Its not just Hall coming in and scoring a ton. If he scores 25 goals and gets close to 70 or more points....you don't need a lot more than that. What you do need is for someone who you had penciled in as a 2nd line player to not move to a 3rd line and make that line a bit more productive.  

[Taro T]

8 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

This move bumps a good top 6 player to the 3rd line, and hopefully makes it a line that can contribute more often than not. 

With the current roster, that only happens if Cozens or Thompson or somebody that was an Amerk last year force their way into the top 6.

Edited October 12, 2020 by Taro T

[Taro T]

3 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Olofsson prefers his off side. If I can put him on the 3rd line and mismatch all while keeping him fresh for the PP, I probably do it. 

I think Thompson is most likely for the 2 rw role to start. 

Which is why the left shooting F should be a RW.  😉

(In the top 6 of course.)

[LGR4GM]

1 minute ago, Taro T said:

Which is why the left shooting F should be a RW.  😉

(In the top 6 of course.)

Huh, he shoots left. Didn't realize that. I always had it in my head he shot right but now that I think on it, that made no sense. 

I like Olofsson but he's a borderline top 6 guy. He's not great at anything really outside of his shot and that is something to consider when rounding out the top 6. I would want a little more force for digging pucks out on that 2nd line than Skinner and Olofsson. Really depends on Tage and Dylan though. 

[Taro T]

5 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Huh, he shoots left. Didn't realize that. I always had it in my head he shot right but now that I think on it, that made no sense. 

I like Olofsson but he's a borderline top 6 guy. He's not great at anything really outside of his shot and that is something to consider when rounding out the top 6. I would want a little more force for digging pucks out on that 2nd line than Skinner and Olofsson. Really depends on Tage and Dylan though. 

Which is why IMHO the top line should be Hall - Eichel - Olofsson.  Having those 2 plus Dahlin to feed him 1 timers, he could have a huge year.

Reinhart can do the boardwork on the 2nd line.

[Weave]

14 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

That is the key. Its not just Hall coming in and scoring a ton. If he scores 25 goals and gets close to 70 or more points....you don't need a lot more than that. What you do need is for someone who you had penciled in as a 2nd line player to not move to a 3rd line and make that line a bit more productive.  

If Hall gets close to 70 points that second line was smoking hot.  Gimmesome

[WildCard]

2 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Which is why IMHO the top line should be Hall - Eichel - Olofsson.  Having those 2 plus Dahlin to feed him 1 timers, he could have a huge year.

Reinhart can do the boardwork on the 2nd line.

I believe Hall is very good defensively too

Edited October 12, 2020 by WildCard

[LabattBlue]

14 minutes ago, Taro T said:

With the current roster, that only happens if Cozens or Thompson or somebody that was an Amerk last year force their way into the top 6.

I actually was thinking about Cozens being the guy on the 3rd line.  Maybe it’s a bit of a stretch to consider him a top 6 forward going into the season. 

[Ross Rhea]

1 hour ago, SDS said:

Package the parts that you think you have  little value and give it to someone in exchange for something with value? 👍

Two young, former first round picks are little value? God forbid that every player isn't an Eichel or McDavid right out of the box and take some time. Being afforded that time is now considered little value, got it. I consider guys like Lazar, Okposo, Sobotka, Hunwick to be little value,  Casey and Tage have considerably more. 

[JohnC]

Attached is a 14 min interview with Krueger on WGR. He talks about the Hall acquisition and his knowledge of the player and person. He also superficially goes into the possible line combinations. It appears that he has already put some thought into where on the lines Olofsson and Cozens fit. He also talks about the other recent acquisitions. It's apparent that Krueger has a philosophy on how to build a roster and that it is his concepts that are being implemented by the GM. 

https://www.radio.com/wgr550/authors/howard-and-jeremy

[Zamboni]

10 minutes ago, Ross Rhea said:

Two young, former first round picks are little value? God forbid that every player isn't an Eichel or McDavid right out of the box and take some time. Being afforded that time is now considered little value, got it. I consider guys like Lazar, Okposo, Sobotka, Hunwick to be little value,  Casey and Tage have considerably more. 

CURRENT (not future potential) value of Thompson AND Mitts ... would garner an aging borderline NHL backup goalie. No better than a Hutton level. It would be nice to think they would get us a “starting level” of goalie. But current value ... no way.

[dudacek]

From the above interview, it sounds like Hall will be with Jack to start and frequently throughout the year.

[Weave]

Just now, dudacek said:

From the above interview, it sounds like Hall will be with Jack to start and frequently throughout the year.

Frequently sounds like predominantly. Ralph is pretty stubborn with his lines.  IMO it would take rather disappointing performance for him to split it up if he starts with it.

[Zamboni]

8 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Attached is a 14 min interview with Krueger on WGR. He talks about the Hall acquisition and his knowledge of the player and person. He also superficially goes into the possible line combinations. It appears that he has already put some thought into where on the lines Olofsson and Cozens fit. He also talks about the other recent acquisitions. It's apparent that Krueger has a philosophy on how to build a roster and that it is his concepts that are being implemented by the GM. 

https://www.radio.com/wgr550/authors/howard-and-jeremy

https://wgram.prd-radio-drupal.com/media/audio-channel/10-12-sabres-head-coach-ralph-krueger
 

^ this one takes you right to the interview.

[LGR4GM]

I still can't believe Hall is a Sabre. 

[Huckleberry]

2 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I still can't believe Hall is a Sabre. 

Well I always gave it a little shot with out coach, but he really gives a nice top 6.   Guess we can forget about the internal cap stuff 🙂

Edited October 12, 2020 by Huckleberry

[bob_sauve28]

Is Hall a good PP guy? What will PP look like now? Does he get Olofsson’s spot and Olofsson goes to second unit?