Bjork-Eakin-Hayden 2nd Worst Line in NHL (now 437 out of 438)

[Norcal]

4 minutes ago, Thorny said:

People said last year that Eakin wouldn’t be seeing even meaningful time this season, never mind the amount he has. I’ll believe he’s done here for next year when I actually see it. 

Believe it or not, Adams *can* make poor roster decisions. The record is evidence enough of that 

I didn't expect Eakin to get many minutes this season but he did come out of the gate with his mullet on fire so maybe that influenced his early ice time.

The only explanation, without really knowing since we're not embedded with the team..... is that Eakin is providing some kind of development in the room, with the kids or whatever so Donny is rewarding that with ice time? 

Either way, there is no ***** way he is here next season. None.

 

I make my own judgements of Adams and I realize he's not infallable.

[Thorner]

13 minutes ago, Norcal said:

I didn't expect Eakin to get many minutes this season but he did come out of the gate with his mullet on fire so maybe that influenced his early ice time.

The only explanation, without really knowing since we're not embedded with the team..... is that Eakin is providing some kind of development in the room, with the kids or whatever so Donny is rewarding that with ice time? 

Either way, there is no ***** way he is here next season. None.

 

I make my own judgements of Adams and I realize he's not infallable.

You had me at Fire Mullet. That’s reason enough - sometimes I forget the pure beauty of the Beautiful Game 

Edited February 25, 2022 by Thorny

[Weave]

20 minutes ago, Norcal said:

No it doesn't.

Just wonder why Donny keeps sending them out.

I'd rather he double shifted the younger guys and gave them opportunities to win faceoffs at important times in the game rather than waste ice with Eakin.

I don't doubt the front office or their direction at this time though. 

I think it’s rather obvious that this trio is the sacrificial lamb trio.  They don’t want kids getting caved in.  The kids that could be rolling on the 4th line are better off in Rochester getting meaningful minutes in meaningful roles.

[That Aud Smell]

An infuriating but unsurprising stat from the OP.

When I watch Eakin play, I sometimes marvel at how feckless he is.

[Randall Flagg]

2 hours ago, Weave said:

I think it’s rather obvious that this trio is the sacrificial lamb trio.  They don’t want kids getting caved in.  The kids that could be rolling on the 4th line are better off in Rochester getting meaningful minutes in meaningful roles.

Any one of us could have seen this coming. This line could easily be an NHL average 4th line that doesn't get caved in and doesn't cost a lot of money. I get that we are injured but the roster we came in the season with was always going to either have a dreadful 4th line or spread out, even more subpar scoring lines. 

No reason not to have made this team better than it was, and kevyn owns two of the worst seasons in sabres history because of his own decisions 

The kids certainly wouldn't be WORSE off with a line that flips ice and plays defense rather than getting caved 

[Marvin]

Caggiula, Hinostroza, Girgensons, and Quinn being out does not help.

[inkman]

28 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

An infuriating but unsurprising stat from the OP.

When I watch Eakin play, I sometimes marvel at how feckless he is.

I don’t marvel at all.  He’s exactly the player we thought he was.  The worst skater in the NHL.  Hell, at least Hayden hits and fights.  Eakin doesn’t even do that.  
 

If Adams had some input into signing Eakin, which I still dispute, they now have the guys on staff to laugh Kevyn out of the room if he asks any stupid questions like, should we bring in Milan Lucic?  

[DarthEbriate]

6 hours ago, K-9 said:

If the thought is that KA insists they play because they are pieces he brought in and he doesn’t want to look bad if they don’t play, then I’d think he’d want them out of the lineup because they look so bad actually playing. 

The GM doesn't have to insist on anything, he simply makes the moves that keep them in the lineup. Biro was up for Olofsson's spot and played, now Olofsson is back and Biro is down to the AHL. Jankowski is the most recent signee and is the 13th forward currently, so he's first out.

The real indicator of Granato's preferred players will be if an when Girgs and Hinostroza return --- does Bjork or Hayden drop from the lineup first? And does Eakin retain a spot if they're both back?

Once healthy, my guess is Quinn heads back to Rochester, too. (And rightfully so, rather than burn an ELC year this season, save it for next year when he can contribute meaningfully).

[klos1963]

Shocking.

[Doohicksie]

7 hours ago, etiennep99 said:

Hinostroza(resign please)

Meh.  I mean, if they do, fine, but if not I won't miss him.

[NAF]

Anyone else think Hayden is pretty decent? Just eye test but IMO Eakin and Bjork bring him down.

[Taro T]

7 minutes ago, NAF said:

Anyone else think Hayden is pretty decent? Just eye test but IMO Eakin and Bjork bring him down.

Not really.  He busts his butt but he has hands of stone & is very low on the NHL skills spectrum.  His hockey sense is reasonable, but he really is at best a tweener.

If he had the skills of Bjork, he'd be a fixture in the middle six.  Neither belong in the NHL on a regular basis.

[JoeSchmoe]

45 minutes ago, NAF said:

Anyone else think Hayden is pretty decent? Just eye test but IMO Eakin and Bjork bring him down.

Nope.

Of forwards that have a minimum of 30 games, he's 379th out of 380 in points per 60min played.

The other two have NHL level skill, they just lack the IQ. Hayden has neither.

Edited February 26, 2022 by JoeSchmoe

[JoeSchmoe]

^^^^^^^

Bjork is 366 and Eakin is 368.

[French Collection]

Those guys are getting tons of ice time for a s****y line.

Eakin is not bad positionally but the play turns to crap when the puck is on his stick.

[LGR4GM]

There's no reason to keep any of the 3 and they shouldn't get any more ice time. 

[OrangeSeatVertigo]

18 hours ago, etiennep99 said:

And yet we have:

Bjork-Ruotsalainen-Hayden  at 54.2% xGoals ratio with nearly the same number of minutes played.  So clearly:

1. Eakin drives down the line

2. The Sabres have been playing relatively worse since their injuries blew up (Hinostroza, Goalies, Miller, etc.)

Bjork seems to be OK defensively. And Hayden seems to be one of our few relatively tough guys. Eakin needs to be replaced.

Next year they should be bench-warmers once we have Quinn, Peterka, R2, and Hinostroza(resign please) playing ahead of them.

exactly, everyone chill out.   Once Power, Sammy, UPL, Quinn, JJ and R2 are up for good next year, all will be well.  Sabres being patient, just building a roster with patience.  I like it.  So many top prospects.  

[Stoner]

And if I told you wolverines make good house pets?

[Thorner]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

And if I told you wolverines make good house pets?

I’d give it a cute x-men related nickname so it could masquerade as a valuable prospect in much the same way R2 has been carried by a reference to Star Wars

Edited February 26, 2022 by Thorny

[Believer]

Point made… perhaps it’s time to close this thread… 

No doubt Management, Coaches and Players check posts on this board from time to time… some more than others… Good way to get feedback from knowledgeable fans…

Don’t mind criticizing Management and Coaches…  Find it harder to keep banging on a handful of Players by name…

 

[Weave]

9 minutes ago, Thorny said:

I’d give it a cute x-men related nickname so it could masquerade as a valuable prospect in much the same way R2 has been carried by a reference to Star Wars

Yeah, anyone relying on R2 to be a functional improvement is setting themselves up for disappointment.

[Taro T]

45 minutes ago, Weave said:

Yeah, anyone relying on R2 to be a functional improvement is setting themselves up for disappointment.

Yep.  He might become useful, but t's not likely by even next season. 

[woods-racer]

13 hours ago, JoeSchmoe said:

Nope.

Of forwards that have a minimum of 30 games, he's 379th out of 380 in points per 60min played.

The other two have NHL level skill, they just lack the IQ. Hayden has neither.

 

13 hours ago, JoeSchmoe said:

^^^^^^^

Bjork is 366 and Eakin is 368.

My eye test tells me Hayden is better than the other 2. Putting 2 players on the line slightly better than Hayden (Jankowski/Girgenssons) would be a NHL competitive 4th line. 

It's doable if we ever get healthy. 

[French Collection]

45 minutes ago, woods-racer said:

 

My eye test tells me Hayden is better than the other 2. Putting 2 players on the line slightly better than Hayden (Jankowski/Girgenssons) would be a NHL competitive 4th line. 

It's doable if we ever get healthy. 

I don’t know why Jankowski is lower on DG’s pecking order. He seems to do everything other than faceoffs better than Eakin.

[JoeSchmoe]

Two more lines entered the 100 minute club. They're now 333 out of 333. 

I wonder, if these guys were as good as an average NHL 3rd line (which presumably could be had a relatively low cost through free agency), how many more wins would the team have?