The Eichel 2022-23 Thread: "I'm not bitter -- I'm just interested."

[Punch]

A well constructed organization will build on and enhance improvements from season to season. Organizations without continuity and structure can flounder in the new season despite whatever success was achieved the year prior. Case in point: Vancouver ended 2021-22 well but is a mess to start this season.

The key for the Sabres is to identify ideal workload management for the goaltenders and closely monitor the ebbs and flows of confidence of the young players. It’s pretty clear Granato and Adams are clued in to those developments and have a plan going forward. Whether or not they can sustain it as the year progresses is the question for every team but it’s nonsensical to disconnect the focused start to this season from how they ended last year.  There’s clear continuity but it isn’t guaranteed to last. That’s why we watch.

 

 

[Buffalonill]

12 minutes ago, K-9 said:

I agree, but we aren’t talking about last season having an impact on this season. It’s about where the team has trended over the course of a decent sample size of games. You said you needed to see a 20 game trend. I submit we’ve seen that and then some since last February. There’s no denying the improvement. 

I need to see 20 games into this season before i believe. 

We all have seen this story many times start hot then straight to the bottom .

They have to prove they're over that 

[K-9]

6 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

I need to see 20 games into this season before i believe. 

We all have seen this story many times start hot then straight to the bottom .

They have to prove they're over that 

Have we seen the hot starts to a season on the heels of a hot finish over the last 30 games from the previous season? 

Good teams have to prove it every night, regardless. So of course, the Sabres have to continue to do so. I think everyone agrees on that. But I can’t dismiss the sample size from last season, either.

[Taro T]

21 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

I need to see 20 games into this season before i believe. 

We all have seen this story many times start hot then straight to the bottom .

They have to prove they're over that 

The hot start in Krueger's 1st year lasted closer to 30 games.  But, there were many (not including this kid) who thought the way they were winning was completely u sustainable (kind of like the previous year's 10 game win streak).

This year's play seems reminiscent of the way they ended last year which should be sustainable.

They should take it to Seattle pretty well - payback for 2 embarrassing L's last year.  No guarantee they will, but expect they will.

[matter2003]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

Its a new season those things don't matter to me thats like saying tampa is the same as last year then .

 

OK clownshoes.

[Buffalonill]

35 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

OK clownshoes.

[Eleven]

3 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Chef’s

Tell me you have no Italian grandparents without telling me you have no Italian grandparents....

[Mustache of God]

3 hours ago, Taro T said:

The hot start in Krueger's 1st year lasted closer to 30 games.  But, there were many (not including this kid) who thought the way they were winning was completely u sustainable (kind of like the previous year's 10 game win streak).

This year's play seems reminiscent of the way they ended last year which should be sustainable.

They should take it to Seattle pretty well - payback for 2 embarrassing L's last year.  No guarantee they will, but expect they will.

I recall during that hot start with Kruger, the analytics community kept saying their play was not sustainable and they weren't "outplaying" the other teams. I also recall ignoring that "nonsense" as "horse cuss" and then was depressed when they came crashing down to earth and those people said, "see, told you so". This is is different. The only game we didn't deserve to win so far was Edmonton but good teams eke out a few of those wins from time to time in a season.

[GASabresIUFAN]

30 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Tell me you have no Italian grandparents without telling me you have no Italian grandparents....

I have no Italian grandparents, but I’ve known the Billittier family all my life.

[Peter]

36 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Tell me you have no Italian grandparents without telling me you have no Italian grandparents....

I also have no Italian grandparents.

Nevertheless, the Chef's spaghetti parm is amazing.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

This thread is well worth the price of admission.

[Pimlach]

15 hours ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

This thread is well worth the price of admission.

I heard that Eichel is getting a haircut soon.  

[nfreeman]

Well, here's a pin for the schadenfreude balloon:  Vegas is 9-2 and Eichel leads them in points and goals and is 3rd among VGK forwards in ice time.

They're coming to Buffalo one week from tonight.

Mama, I'm scared!

[sabresparaavida]

12 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

Well, here's a pin for the schadenfreude balloon:  Vegas is 9-2 and Eichel leads them in points and goals and is 3rd among VGK forwards in ice time.

They're coming to Buffalo one week from tonight.

Mama, I'm scared!

Wild, we have 2 players beating him in points, and 4 beating him in goals. Despite one less game played. 

[Amaru523]

Eichel looks fantastic right now, but what happens when the winning stops? Losing effects Jick Eichel more than anyone I've ever seen, except my friend James, who broke just as many sticks over crossbars.

[SDS]

Fantastic seems overstated.

[Doohicksie]

On 10/22/2022 at 10:04 AM, Buffalonill said:

Just leave the dude alone

Do you think he reads Sabrespace?

[Doohicksie]

On 10/23/2022 at 11:23 AM, Buffalonill said:

This team is not the same as last just saying .

They're better.

[PerreaultForever]

They're healthy. They're well coached, but eventually players start to hate Cassidy.  If Jack has a slump and Cassidy rips him for it (as he is prone to do) then watch it all fall apart. If not, I look forward to beating them in the Stanley Cup final. 

[Huckleberry]

2 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Do you think he reads Sabrespace?

Maybe he is buffalonill , would make sense a bit 😛

[Huckleberry]

I don't really care how Eichel does somewhere else.  He wanted to leave, plays for another team.  

[Buffalonill]

7 hours ago, Doohickie said:

They're better.

I'll come to Judgment after about 50 games 

[mjd1001]

For me Vegas falls into the category of things I have been more wrong about than anything else.  i have said to many friends/coworkers and even on this forum, the thing about this NHL season I was MOST sure about is that Vegas and Boston would both struggle to make the playoffs this year.  As of now of course they are the #1 and #2 teams in the league. Oops.

I have watched a couple of Vegas games and while odds say that I was just very wrong, i still think they may be overacheiving a bit and could fall 'back to earth' so to speak.  Why? They may have found 2 young goalie "diamonds in the rough", but their team save percentage is just under .940. EVEN if they get very good years goaltending from their guys, that is not likely to continue.

League average/slightly above league average goaltending would have them allowing 8-9 more goals this year than they have already. That still makes them a good team, but probably a 14-15 point team, not a 20 point team. Still, I am 'looking' for something here, trying to find a reason that they will not be as good as they are,not sure if it will unfold that way.

The other thing to look at for those of us who don't like Vegas or are 'hoping' they are not as good as we think is their schedule so far.  They have played 3 teams so far we thought were elite coming into this year... Colorado, Calgary, and Toronto. They lost to 2 of the 3 (Toronto being the worst of that group is the one they beat.) Their wins? L.A., Chicago, Seattle, Winnipeg (twice), Anaheim, San Jose, Wash, and Ottawa. They don't hit their really really tough stretch of games until the first 3 weeks of January.

Edited November 4, 2022 by mjd1001

[JohnC]

16 hours ago, SDS said:

Fantastic seems overstated.

Fantastic is an exaggeration. But in the # of partial games I have seen him it is clear he is back to form when he was healthy here. The speed, power skating, the shot and eye-popping passing are back at the level when he was healthy. 

Jack gets vilified by Buffalo fans. (I'm not one of them. I wish him well and hope he thrives in the desert.) He's in a good situation in Vegas. He's playing on a Cup contending team and is playing his home games with a full house in attendance. 

Whatever one thinks about Jack it turned out that his insisting in having the surgery he eventually got and not the surgery the Sabre organization wanted him to have was the right decision for him. On one broadcast of a Vegas game it was noted after he got his surgery there were two players in the league who got the same surgery.

The Jack trade benefited the player and his career, and it benefited the franchise that dealt him by allowing the organization to do a reset and pursue a better course. It was a win/win for all the parties involved. 

[Sabel79]

As soon as Vegas missed the playoffs last year and set the draft pick coming back, I was done caring about them and any former Sabres they may employ.  I'll be heavily rooting for a beatdown when we play them, because of course I would, but other than that... meh.