Advanced Analytics says this team might be VERY good

[dudacek]

  On 1/27/2021 at 3:20 PM, WildCard said:

Feel like Ullmark is better than Fleury by now

Just put Skinner on a scoring line, stop the Alamo, and we'll be fine

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LOL, it's amazing how embedded this is in our collective psyche, even though last night's 3rd was the first time we've seen it all year.

I'd go as far as to say that we haven't seen much of it since the Lindy days.

Those years with Robin Lehner turning 2-1 leads into 3-2 losses weren't the true Alamo because there was no conscious decision to go to a prevent defence then. That was just about teams waking up because they were about to lose to a really bad team.

Edited January 27, 2021 by dudacek

[WildCard]

  On 1/27/2021 at 3:39 PM, dudacek said:

LOL, it's amazing how embedded this is in our collective psyche, even though last night's 3rd was the first time we've seen it all year.

I'd go as far as to say that we haven't seen much of it since the Lindy days.

Those years with Robin Lehner turning 2-1 leads into 3-2 losses weren't the true Alamo because there was no conscious decision to go to a prevent defence then. That was about teams waking up because they were about to lose to a really bad team.

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To be fair I've posted that last night was the only game I've seen all year 😄 

[Gabrielor]

  On 1/27/2021 at 3:20 PM, WildCard said:

Feel like Ullmark is better than Fleury by now

Just put Skinner on a scoring line, stop the Alamo, and we'll be fine

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I'm trying to shore up Hutton, not remove Ullmark.

[inkman]

  On 1/27/2021 at 2:18 PM, spndnchz said:

[This is an automated response]

The topic title needs some TLC... It is too generic. The topic starter can edit the topic title line to make it more appropriate.

Thank you.

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This is a response from a human bean, this post is barely legible in dark theme.  

[Curt]

  On 1/27/2021 at 3:17 PM, Gabrielor said:

Gotta keep to the system (I'm talking to the free-lancers. Eichel, Skinner) and gotta improve goaltending, and not just slightly.

 

Hutton, Montour/Miller, asset for Fleury. Do it, and we'll be in the playoffs finally.

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Fleury may be just a slight upgrade.  He’s better than Hutton, but probably not any better than Ullmark.

Also, he should be almost free. I don’t think you need to give up so much for him.

[JohnC]

  On 1/27/2021 at 5:10 PM, Curt said:

Fleury may be just a slight upgrade.  He’s better than Hutton, but probably not any better than Ullmark.

Also, he should be almost free. I don’t think you need to give up so much for him.

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How much salary would you be willing to be responsible for if he were to be acquired? 

[Curt]

  On 1/27/2021 at 5:51 PM, JohnC said:

How much salary would you be willing to be responsible for if he were to be acquired? 

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Depends on the deal.  Sabres can only afford to take on so much.  They don’t have that much room.

[JohnC]

  On 1/27/2021 at 5:59 PM, Curt said:

Depends on the deal.  Sabres can only afford to take on so much.  They don’t have that much room.

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It's the money issue as much as the talent issue that will have the organization seek alternative options, assuming that they are seriously looking for options for our #2, and not our #1 goalie. My opinion is that the organization is more than satisfied with Ullmark as their #1 and heavy dute goalie. 

[Taro T]

  On 1/27/2021 at 6:03 PM, JohnC said:

It's the money issue as much as the talent issue that will have the organization seek alternative options, assuming that they are seriously looking for options for our #2, and not our #1 goalie. My opinion is that the organization is more than satisfied with Ullmark as their #1 and heavy dute goalie. 

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Really don't know that they're "more than satisfied" w/ Ullmark.  See him as being essentially Biron, though a much taller, blonder Marty. 😉

Would put him in the top 30 in the league, but don't see him top 15 & likely not top 20.  IMHO, he's a fantastic backup but a so-so starter.

And the team was OK with Biron, but still developed Miller & Noronen hoping at least 1 would pass him.  Being OK with a goalie to the point they don't want to burn a real asset(s) to improve over him is not, again IMHO, the same as being happy with the goaltending.  And Linus could still get better, but he's at the age where most guys are what they are.

The persistent rumors that the Sabres were inquiring about the availability of other goalies also seem to suggest that they want to upgrade (1, or 2, or maybe both) but couldn't bring themselves to pull the trigger.

And goaltending is a very fickle position.  The Blues thought they got a steal in picking up Miller, but used him improperly.  The Sabres trusted him to stop breakaways if their 1 D-man back system got beat and to play the shot on normal rushes w/ the D taking away the pass.  The Blues took more of a soccer stance taking away the shot and trusting the goalie to stop the shot off the pass.  He couldn't do that well enough & they got bounced early.

The Sabres could pick up a guy & have him simply not pan out.  Having Bales in house limits the likelihood of that, but it's not a certainty that the new guy will work out & also might cause the Sabres to feel they can bring Linus & Hutton along well enough, because at times Bales has brought them along.

[Curt]

  On 1/27/2021 at 6:03 PM, JohnC said:

It's the money issue as much as the talent issue that will have the organization seek alternative options, assuming that they are seriously looking for options for our #2, and not our #1 goalie. My opinion is that the organization is more than satisfied with Ullmark as their #1 and heavy dute goalie. 

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Yeah, the money issue very well may case them to look elsewhere.

I don’t believe that there needs to be a clear and definite label of a #1 goalie who gets heavy duty usage and backup goalie who gets light usage.  I think teams should try to split starts more evenly.

And I certainly don’t think that Ullmark has shown that he is someone a team should be comfortable with as a high usage #1 goalie.

[Curt]

  On 1/27/2021 at 6:29 PM, Taro T said:

Really don't know that they're "more than satisfied" w/ Ullmark.  See him as being essentially Biron, though a much taller, blonder Marty. 😉

Would put him in the top 30 in the league, but don't see him top 15 & likely not top 20.  IMHO, he's a fantastic backup but a so-so starter.

And the team was OK with Biron, but still developed Miller & Noronen hoping at least 1 would pass him.  Being OK with a goalie to the point they don't want to burn a real asset(s) to improve over him is not, again IMHO, the same as being happy with the goaltending.  And Linus could still get better, but he's at the age where most guys are what they are.

The persistent rumors that the Sabres were inquiring about the availability of other goalies also seem to suggest that they want to upgrade (1, or 2, or maybe both) but couldn't bring themselves to pull the trigger.

And goaltending is a very fickle position.  The Blues thought they got a steal in picking up Miller, but used him improperly.  The Sabres trusted him to stop breakaways if their 1 D-man back system got beat and to play the shot on normal rushes w/ the D taking away the pass.  The Blues took more of a soccer stance taking away the shot and trusting the goalie to stop the shot off the pass.  He couldn't do that well enough & they got bounced early.

The Sabres could pick up a guy & have him simply not pan out.  Having Bales in house limits the likelihood of that, but it's not a certainty that the new guy will work out & also might cause the Sabres to feel they can bring Linus & Hutton along well enough, because at times Bales has brought them along.

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Good post.  I don’t think people realize how much goalie performance is system dependent.  Not just the quality of the players in front of them, but the actual system they play and what type of plays that system requires the goalie to make.

[WildCard]

  On 1/27/2021 at 4:46 PM, inkman said:

This is a response from a human bean, this post is barely legible in dark theme.  

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They're evolving 

[JohnC]

  On 1/27/2021 at 6:34 PM, Curt said:

Yeah, the money issue very well may case them to look elsewhere.

I don’t believe that there needs to be a clear and definite label of a #1 goalie who gets heavy duty usage and backup goalie who gets light usage.  I think teams should try to split starts more evenly.

And I certainly don’t think that Ullmark has shown that he is someone a team should be comfortable with as a high usage #1 goalie.

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Ullmark has had a consistent pattern where whatever level he starts off at he at first struggles and then once he gets acclimated he solidifies his position and then moves up to the next rank. He then repeats the same struggle to getting better pattern. The point is that there an expectation that he does get better. 

[Doohicksie]

  On 1/27/2021 at 6:45 PM, WildCard said:

They're evolving 

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[woods-racer]

  On 1/27/2021 at 6:45 PM, WildCard said:

They're evolving 

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Some even have a kidney.

[GASabresIUFAN]

  On 1/27/2021 at 3:39 PM, dudacek said:

LOL, it's amazing how embedded this is in our collective psyche, even though last night's 3rd was the first time we've seen it all year.

I'd go as far as to say that we haven't seen much of it since the Lindy days.

Those years with Robin Lehner turning 2-1 leads into 3-2 losses weren't the true Alamo because there was no conscious decision to go to a prevent defence then. That was just about teams waking up because they were about to lose to a really bad team.

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It’s called a trigger.  Watching the 3rd brought back all the bad memories from the last decade.  

Oh, by the well Lehner let in 2 of 3 in the shoot out.  Some things never change.

[Curt]

  On 1/27/2021 at 7:21 PM, JohnC said:

Ullmark has had a consistent pattern where whatever level he starts off at he at first struggles and then once he gets acclimated he solidifies his position and then moves up to the next rank. He then repeats the same struggle to getting better pattern. The point is that there an expectation that he does get better. 

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Ok.  That’s fine.  Maybe he keeps getting better.  That doesn’t change the fact that he  simply has not proven himself to be the level of player that you should feel super comfortable putting out there in 75% of games.

[inkman]

  On 1/27/2021 at 8:36 PM, GASabresIUFAN said:

It’s called a trigger.  

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I frown upon your millennial internet language. 

  On 1/27/2021 at 7:51 PM, Doohickie said:

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I’d pay money to be as handsome as Mr Bean 

[GASabresIUFAN]

  On 1/27/2021 at 9:10 PM, inkman said:

I frown upon your millennial internet language. 

I’d pay money to be as handsome as Mr Bean 

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Daughter is a psychologist.

[That Aud Smell]

  On 1/27/2021 at 9:10 PM, inkman said:

I frown upon your millennial internet language. 

I’d pay money to be as handsome as Mr Bean 

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Trigger is all Gen Z, bruv.

[Doohicksie]

  On 1/27/2021 at 9:10 PM, inkman said:

I frown upon your millennial internet language. 

I’d pay money to be as handsome as Mr Bean 

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I'm so sorry to hear you say that 😞

[inkman]

  On 1/27/2021 at 9:23 PM, That Aud Smell said:

Trigger is all Gen Z, bruv.

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I think I’m 3 generations older than that 

[JohnC]

  On 1/27/2021 at 9:04 PM, Curt said:

Ok.  That’s fine.  Maybe he keeps getting better.  That doesn’t change the fact that he  simply has not proven himself to be the level of player that you should feel super comfortable putting out there in 75% of games.

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  On 1/27/2021 at 11:51 PM, JohnC said:

I agree with you that he hasn't proven himself to be the player one hopes he can be. It's still an open question. That's life in the sports world and the real world. You go with what you got, and if it doesn't work out then you do your best to rectify the problem. Because of the cap you just can't accumulate an abundance of talent. You have to make roster decisions on where you want to spend your limited money. There is no question that the Sabres roster is not a complete roster with all the positions staffed with high end talent. With the exception of a few talent laden teams (Tampa is one of them) most teams have deficiencies that have to be masked in some fashion.

I don't think that we are disagreeing as much as it seems. However, there are people (not you) who believe that addressing an issue doesn't have a cost of creating an imbalance somewhere else in the roster. I prefer not to dispatch Hutton for another backup and give up an asset such as Montour to make a deal. (I recognize that I'm in the distinct minority who believes that Hutton is a presentable backup.) 

There is nothing wrong with feeling queasy about Ullmark as your workhorse goalie. On the other hand if that's what you got then that's what you got. 

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Edited January 27, 2021 by JohnC

[Zamboni]

Gen Z, iGen, or Centennials: Born 1996 – TBD

Millennials or Gen Y: Born 1977 – 1995

Generation X: Born 1965 – 1976

Baby Boomers: Born 1946 – 1964

Traditionalists or Silent Generation: Born 1945 and before
 

 

 

 

yea, I’m a Gen X ‘er 

[Cityo'Rasmii]

go Boomers