Around The NHL 2022-23 Regular Season

[LGR4GM]

18 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Let's both walk away from this. It's not productive. 

You think Reeves would help this team make the playoffs. 

I think Reeves taking any shifts for us makes us worse. 

/ end conversation

 

1 minute ago, PerreaultForever said:

I think we're done here. 

 

[LGR4GM]

Bottom is falling out a bit in Detroit. 

 

[Ducky]

On 12/16/2022 at 2:46 PM, Thorny said:

Would love to get @Ducky‘s thoughts on the Jets so far successful, I’d argue somewhat surprising season thus far, and how it pertains to the idea in the offseason they seemed headed for a rebuild. 

Has that shifted? Just a retool now? Or do you expect the bottom to fall out? 

Imo it’s tough to fully rebuild in this sorta situation because Hellebuyck basically provides them a get into the playoffs free card whenever he has an “on” season 

Hellebuyck is the front runner for the Vezina.

Scheif has awoken under Bones and remembered how to play D.

Morrissey has the nickname Norrissey. 

Perfetti is on pace for over 50 points.

PLD is playing like a beast (gone this summer).

Up until last game Wheeler had 26 points in 29 points for a 82 game pace of 76 points.

We are in a scrap for first place with Dallas.

Ehlers isn't due back until after the holidays (played 2 games this season). They lost Wheeler for over a month last game due to surgery for taking a puck in the nuts. Schmidt is gone for 4-6 weeks after a hit to the head last game. Appleton is out and only played 14 games so far.

The next month will show us what we have for depth.

I see us finishing no lower than 3rd in our division but if we are in 2nd place 5 weeks from now, I'll be ecstatic.

Chevy has to do something and bring in a top 6 RWer in my opinion. I'd give up a lot for Travis Konecny.

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by Ducky

[HumanSlinky39]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Bottom is falling out a bit in Detroit. 

 

Just like last year.

[Taro T]

5 hours ago, HumanSlinky39 said:

Just like last year.

But they got Husso, Copp, & 2 other guys people heard of. 😉

 

[Refuting]

They could easily when the next bunch in a row like the Sabres have 

[HumanSlinky39]

50 minutes ago, Taro T said:

But they got Husso, Copp, & 2 other guys people heard of. 😉

 

All I read was how brilliant a hire Lalonde was and Stevie Y is such an amazing GM. Is he? First of all, being an assistant on a good team does not equate to being a successful coach of your own team. If Lalonde is so good, why have Raymond and Seider seemingly taken sizeable steps back from their brilliant rookie years? I'm not convinced Lalonde is an even average coach.

[sabresparaavida]

Are we starting to see things unravel a bit for the Devils? They’ve lost 5 straight (0-4-1) and have a brutal 6 game stretch upcoming, facing the canes and bruins twice each, along with the Panthers and Penguins.

[PerreaultForever]

5 hours ago, sabresparaavida said:

Are we starting to see things unravel a bit for the Devils? They’ve lost 5 straight (0-4-1) and have a brutal 6 game stretch upcoming, facing the canes and bruins twice each, along with the Panthers and Penguins.

Is there a reason? Injuries? Goaltending slump? There's probably some issue, much like us with Samuelsson's injury and the lack of D depth for our losing streak. 

[PromoTheRobot]

 

[sabresparaavida]

1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:

Is there a reason? Injuries? Goaltending slump? There's probably some issue, much like us with Samuelsson's injury and the lack of D depth for our losing streak. 

Not sure what the injury situation is like for the Devils. The first two games could perhaps be blamed on goaltending (goalie pulled in the first game, second had a sub-par save percentage). The more recent 3 looked like they haven’t been able to finish, scoring 1, 1, and 2 goals.

[mjd1001]

15 hours ago, Taro T said:

But they got Husso, Copp, & 2 other guys people heard of. 😉

 

They honestly don't have a lot of young talented guys, and they are relying on a lot of good-but-not-great veterans to carry this team.

-Lucas Raymond has taken a half step back this year compared to last year.  1 goal and 2 assists in his last 10 games. Sophmore slump...maybe. But they must be a bit unhappy with him as his ice time is down also.

-Seider is the other young guy they wanted a big step from but he is slumping badly over the last 12 games.  1 goal and 2 assists over his last 12 games, and a -9 over those 12 games.

-Rasmussen is their version of Mitts. Former top 10 pick who hit 15 goals last year and they (at least the fanbase) thought he would build on that this year. Only 4 goals and 10 points through 28 games though...with 1 goal and ZERO assist in his last 10 games, and a -8 over that same time.

-Chariot I think they expected more out of.  Plus/Minus we all know has limitations as a stat, but he is a huge minus player this year and he is getting 2nd or 3rd pair minutes lately for them. Not bad, but certainly not the 20+ EVERY game some expected.

-Vrana a lot was exptected from. I think he is close to returning though.

They aren't putting the young guys out there a lot. If you look at who has the most minutes up front, other than Raymond (who is slumping big time) it is all the veterans. And to be honest, they don't have a lot of high end talent on that roster. Raymond and Dylan Larkin. Who else do they have that has the more potential than the 6th or 7th best guy on the Sabres?  I don't think really anyone.

They are in a slump for sure, but as I am writing this and looking at their roster, its not a high end roster. For Detroit to be a good team long term, they need Seider and Raymond to turn into Stars, and Edvinsson and Kasper have to develop quicly and have at least 1 of them turn into stars.  Beyond that, this roster and the young talent in their system is a roster that CAN make the playoffs if everything falls right, but I don't see much beyond that.

Edited December 18, 2022 by mjd1001

[kas23]

3 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

They honestly don't have a lot of young talented guys, and they are relying on a lot of good-but-not-great veterans to carry this team.

-Lucas Raymond has taken a half step back this year compared to last year.  1 goal and 2 assists in his last 10 games. Sophmore slump...maybe. But they must be a bit unhappy with him as his ice time is down also.

-Seider is the other young guy they wanted a big step from but he is slumping badly over the last 12 games.  1 goal and 2 assists over his last 12 games, and a -9 over those 12 games.

-Rasmussen is their version of Mitts. Former top 10 pick who hit 15 goals last year and they (at least the fanbase) thought he would build on that this year. Only 4 goals and 10 points through 28 games though...with 1 goal and ZERO assist in his last 10 games, and a -8 over that same time.

-Chariot I think they expected more out of.  Plus/Minus we all know has limitations as a stat, but he is a huge minus player this year and he is getting 2nd or 3rd pair minutes lately for them. Not bad, but certainly not the 20+ EVERY game some expected.

-Vrana a lot was exptected from. I think he is close to returning though.

They aren't putting the young guys out there a lot. If you look at who has the most minutes up front, other than Raymond (who is slumping big time) it is all the veterans. And to be honest, they don't have a lot of high end talent on that roster. Raymond and Dylan Larkin. Who else do they have that has the more potential than the 6th or 7th best guy on the Sabres?  I don't think really anyone.

They are in a slump for sure, but as I am writing this and looking at their roster, it’s not a high end roster. For Detroit to be a good team long term, they need Seider and Raymond to turn into Stars, and Edvinsson and Kasper have to develop quicly and have at least 1 of them turn into stars.  Beyond that, this roster and the young talent in their system is a roster that CAN make the playoffs if everything falls right, but I don't see much beyond that.

From what you wrote, it seems we are doing the opposite of Detroit. We are allowing our young players to go through their growing pains, even if it leads to losses. No blocking young players here. Detroit seems to be taking responsibilities away from them and giving them to average or above average vets. Time will tell which is the right, but their approach seems to be what the NHL has been doing for decades. 

[Taro T]

29 minutes ago, kas23 said:

From what you wrote, it seems we are doing the opposite of Detroit. We are allowing our young players to go through their growing pains, even if it leads to losses. No blocking young players here. Detroit seems to be taking responsibilities away from them and giving them to average or above average vets. Time will tell which is the right, but their approach seems to be what the NHL has been doing for decades. 

Theoretically, the Sabres approach should be more sustainable because the kids should reach their peak performance sooner as they're learning to play at the NHL level in the roles they'll fill LT sooner and they should have more years at that level before eventually tailing off.

Again, theoretically it should work, but the only real example of putting that into practice (Edmonton) has failed at it spectacularly for well over a decade & only in the last 3 or so years have they finally been relevant.  And even then, they aren't true leading contenders to be champions.

Of course, Adams seems to have brighter people working for him.  And it might not be the concept that's flawed but rather the execution.  We'd better hope that's the case, because Adams isn't going anywhere any time soon.

[LGR4GM]

12 hours ago, Taro T said:

Theoretically, the Sabres approach should be more sustainable because the kids should reach their peak performance sooner as they're learning to play at the NHL level in the roles they'll fill LT sooner and they should have more years at that level before eventually tailing off.

Again, theoretically it should work, but the only real example of putting that into practice (Edmonton) has failed at it spectacularly for well over a decade & only in the last 3 or so years have they finally been relevant.  And even then, they aren't true leading contenders to be champions.

Of course, Adams seems to have brighter people working for him.  And it might not be the concept that's flawed but rather the execution.  We'd better hope that's the case, because Adams isn't going anywhere any time soon.

Im not convinced Edmonton ever had the critical mass of young talent to make it work. Yes McDavid and Draisaitl are awesome but that was kinda it for a long time. Skinner - Thompson- Tuch last game really gave some cover to the JJP - Cozens - Quinn to not produce. I think Edmonton finally started to get the parts to have some depth scoring and that is helping, but their defense has never had the skill that we have in Power and Dahlin. 

[Doohicksie]

On 12/17/2022 at 6:24 PM, LGR4GM said:

I miss that bloke.

[Doohicksie]

13 hours ago, kas23 said:

From what you wrote, it seems we are doing the opposite of Detroit. We are allowing our young players to go through their growing pains, even if it leads to losses. No blocking young players here. Detroit seems to be taking responsibilities away from them and giving them to average or above average vets. Time will tell which is the right, but their approach seems to be what the NHL has been doing for decades. 

I think the Sabres are taking the right approach, as painful as it is at times. 

But also... I think the Sabres "got lucky" with the emergence of Tage and how his line maximizes the talents of Tuch and Skinner.  Maybe if Mitts wasn't injured he would have been "that guy" last year and had a 30 goal season but I'm not seeing it.  The fact that Tage got 1C minutes with the most talented guys on the team, but really only due to the injury to Mitts, was a stroke of luck and an opportunity that Tage was ready to maximize.  For the Sabres that was like winning a lottery- something you don't expect and can't bank on.

The Sabres have a decent center spine for a young team:  Cozens is having a break out year, Krebs seems to be improving, Jost was a nice find, and only Mitts seems to be stagnating.

But as you say, a lot of this is the philosophy of letting the kids go through their growing pains together and grow together as a team.  As a development coach Granato is perfect for that assignment.

I think Yzerman doesn't have the same appreciation that Adams does for stocking the system and giving the youth a chance to grow.  He wants to start winning and it almost seems like he's making the same mistakes as XGMTM in terms of trading assets for good, not great, players to accelerate the build.

[Doohicksie]

13 hours ago, Taro T said:

Theoretically, the Sabres approach should be more sustainable because the kids should reach their peak performance sooner as they're learning to play at the NHL level in the roles they'll fill LT sooner and they should have more years at that level before eventually tailing off.

Again, theoretically it should work, but the only real example of putting that into practice (Edmonton) has failed at it spectacularly for well over a decade & only in the last 3 or so years have they finally been relevant.  And even then, they aren't true leading contenders to be champions.

Of course, Adams seems to have brighter people working for him.  And it might not be the concept that's flawed but rather the execution.  We'd better hope that's the case, because Adams isn't going anywhere any time soon.

I really think it's the unified plan between Adams and Granato that makes the Sabres approach different.  And specifically, Adams promoting an assistant coach focused on player development into the head coach role and giving him the charter to develop all the youth on the team to their NHL potential.  It's actually a pretty bold vision and if it works (playoffs this year or next, contending for the Cup shortly after) you may see other teams jumping on that model. 

We as a fan base have been frustrated by the lack of progress, especially when it appears that better defensive depth and goaltending would put the Sabres into solid playoff position, but I think it's a fine balance they're trying to achieve and where they lean too far they've decided to lean toward the youth movement.  We're not sure yet if that's the correct balance but like I said if it works it could be revolutionary in terms of how teams rebuild going forward.

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Skinner - Thompson- Tuch last game really gave some cover to the JJP - Cozens - Quinn to not produce.

And there have been other instances where other lines covered for the Tage line when they were stymied by the opposition. 

When the Tuch trade (see what I did there?) was in the works there was discussion about whether it's better to have the very best top end talent or have the talent spread throughout the lineup.  That trade represented a transition from the former to the latter (although most of the talent was already in the system prior to the trade).  The team that gets more "very good" pieces may, over the long term, be the team that wins the trade, as opposed to the team who got the best player. 

The Lindros deal between Quebec (/Colorado) and Philadelphia is a case where the team getting the best player lost the trade, which was a strong contributing factor to the Avs Cup wins and overall success in the 1990s. 

[Brawndo]

And Adams does nothing as usual 

[Porous Five Hole]

9 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

And Adams does nothing as usual 

DO SOMETHING DARCY!!

[shrader]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

And Adams does nothing as usual 

I assumed it was the equivalent of the deal Karmanos made last week (yes, I got that name right). I had no idea these are actually NHL players. 

[Doohicksie]

Just now, shrader said:

I had no idea these are actually NHL players. 

But are they?  Really?

[shrader]

Just now, Doohickie said:

But are they?  Really?

20+ games played… unless I was looking at the wrong season. If nothing else, that’s no Laaksonen (if I actually spelled that right, go me).

[Doohicksie]

2 minutes ago, shrader said:

20+ games played… unless I was looking at the wrong season. If nothing else, that’s no Laaksonen (if I actually spelled that right, go me).

I was referring more to quality than quantity.

But you got me lookin'.  Looks like Eurotrash for a Bruiser

Denis Malgin:  4th round, 102nd overall, 2015 draft by the Florida Panthers
2022-23 season:  23 games played, 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points
NHL career:  215 games played, 30 goals, 34 assists, 64 points

• During the 2019–20 season, Malgin registered 12 points in 36 games with the Panthers before he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forward Mason Marchment on 19 February 2020.
• On 2 October 2020, Toronto re-signed Malgin to a one-year contract extension worth $700,000. He began the 2020–21 NL season with Lausanne HC on loan from the Leafs while the start of the North American was delayed due to the ongoing pandemic. Malgin was placed on waivers by the Leafs on 5 January 2021 in order to continue with Lausanne for the remainder of the season. On 2 May, Malgin was re-assigned to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.
• On 6 September 2021, Malgin returned to the ZSC Lions as a free agent, agreeing to a four-year deal.
• On 13 July 2022, Malgin returned to the NHL signing a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Dryden Hunt:  Undrafted, Left Wing
2022-23 season:  3 games played, 1 goal, 0 assists, 1 point
NHL career:  168 games played, 13 goals, 28 assists, 41 points

• Signed as a free agent to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers on 2 March 2016 and played for the AHL Springfield Thunderbirds.
• In the following 2017–18 season, Hunt was assigned to continue with the Thunderbirds. After 13 games on 9 November 2017, he received his first recall to the Panthers. He made his NHL debut with the Panthers in a 4-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on 10 November 2017.
• After his fourth season within the Panthers organization, Hunt as an impending restricted free agent was not tendered a qualifying offer by Florida, releasing him as a free agent. On 10 October 2020, Hunt was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Arizona Coyotes. Hunt posted 3 goals and 8 points through 26 games as the Coyotes missed the post-season.
• On 28 July 2021, Hunt signed as a free agent to a two-year deal with the New York Rangers. In the 2021–22 season. He finished the regular season finishing with career highs of 76 games for 6 goals, 11 assists and 17 points. He went scoreless in 3 playoff appearances as the Rangers reached the Eastern Conference finals.
• In his final season under contract with the Rangers, Hunt began the 2022–23 season by scoring 1 goal in 3 games before he was placed on waivers on October 19, 2022. He was claimed the following day by defending champions, the Colorado Avalanche, on October 20, 2022. He made his debut on the fourth-line with the Avalanche in a 3-2 defeat to the Seattle Kraken on October 21, 2022. He registered his first point and goal with the Avalanche, in his 15th appearance, helping Colorado to a 4-1 win over Dallas Stars on November 26, 2022.