How Good Has Zucker Been !!

[Night Train]

Parked in front of the net. Passing and shooting great. Leadership. 

Only a 1 year deal ?  Keep hum around. 

[Demoted]

It's an amazing start, he might have found his grouping that fits. That third line looking good right now.

[Flashsabre]

What an amazing concept. Bring in a seasoned vet who can still produce and not force a kid to magically figure it out in the pros.

This should have been the concept 5 years ago for this team instead of the washed guys they have paraded in here year after year.

Zucker has been great so far.

Zucker McLeod Greenway has been a very good 3rd line for them

[mjd1001]

He is playing like what you EXPECT a vet in his early 30's should be playing like when you sign him a 1 year, $5m deal.  He's good. he's usable, He is contributing, but he's not a revelation carrying the team to the promised land.

We've had so few good veteran free agent signings around here most of us forget what they are supposed to look like.

I think us as fans have walking trough a desert of non-contributing 'veterans' for so long, we have guys like Okposo, Gionta, Marcus Johanson, Pominville version 2.0, Jimmy Vesey that we have been convinced could fill that role.......or we simply accepted vets who were 2 steps below that level in both talent and pay that we were 'supposed' to think would fill the same role (Cody Eakin, Benoit Pouliot, Sabotka, Riley Sheahan, etc)

Zucker has been playing well lately, so far he is a good signing, the kind we should expect a bit more often.

[JustOneParade]

Plays the game the right way. Productive. Leadership qualities. Yes, that’s the type of player we should (and should have been) signing. We need another Zucker-type at F and another on the back end. But it needs to be guys who can help lift the team and not get dragged down into the muck.

[triumph_communes]

He’s the vet we’ve signed in theory but actually is the real deal for twenty years now 

 

if I bought a jersey today it’d be his 

Edited November 7 by triumph_communes

[Big Guava]

2 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

He is playing like what you EXPECT a vet in his early 30's should be playing like when you sign him a 1 year, $5m deal.  He's good. he's usable, He is contributing, but he's not a revelation carrying the team to the promised land.

We've had so few good veteran free agent signings around here most of us forget what they are supposed to look like.

I think us as fans have walking trough a desert of non-contributing 'veterans' for so long, we have guys like Okposo, Gionta, Marcus Johanson, Pominville version 2.0, Jimmy Vesey that we have been convinced could fill that role.......or we simply accepted vets who were 2 steps below that level in both talent and pay that we were 'supposed' to think would fill the same role (Cody Eakin, Benoit Pouliot, Sabotka, Riley Sheahan, etc)

Zucker has been playing well lately, so far he is a good signing, the kind we should expect a bit more often.

Most free agents are far overpaid and never come close to being worth the dollars they are paid. 

Zucker may be one of the ones who does, so we are winning on that alone.

[JohnC]

Zucker, Aube-Kubel, Lafferty, Malenstyn and McClead were all are good pickups. Collectively, they added speed, tenacity and experience to the roster. What the GM did this offseason is noticeably strengthen the lower half of the roster. And the bonus is that Zucker has the ability to play on a variety of lines and PP providing net presence to a team that historically was weak in that critical area. Zucker's net presence against Ottawa was a major factor in that game. 

[PerreaultForever]

Adding veterans who can play. What a concept. 

[French Collection]

He has even dropped the mitts to try and spark this team. He is always trying to get these guys going, leadership.

Worth the money.

[Pimlach]

Yes, Zucker is willing to do more to help this team than several past FAs.  I’m looking at you Taylor Hall.  
 

 

[msw2112]

5 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Yes, Zucker is willing to do more to help this team than several past FAs.  I’m looking at you Taylor Hall.  
 

 

No doubt.  Hall was a #1 overall draft pick and has more raw talent than Zucker, but Zucker is doing a whole lot more for the team.  In my opinion, Hall's had one of the most unimpressive careers for a #1 overall pick and his play with the Sabres was nothing short of a joke.  He had one good year with New Jersey and that was about it.  How many #1 overall picks have played for SIX teams in their career?

I've always liked Zucker throughout his career.  Although he's not a star, he's stood out in games against the Sabres while he was with Minnesota and Pittsburgh.  He's a good hockey player that plays the game the right way.  He was an excellent signing and I agree with those who say that the Sabres could use 1 or 2 more similar players (especially one on defense).

[#freejame]

I wasn’t impressed with Zucker’s signing, but so far he’s looked really good 

[LGR4GM]

56 minutes ago, #freejame said:

I wasn’t impressed with Zucker’s signing, but so far he’s looked really good 

[Porous Five Hole]

Great signing.  
I also like his vibe.  

We need vet guys to both be leaders and contribute (instead of just offering experience like Zemgus & Okie).  

 

[gilbert11]

On 11/6/2024 at 2:03 PM, Night Train said:

Parked in front of the net. Passing and shooting great. Leadership. 

Only a 1 year deal ?  Keep hum around. 

Yet, when someone started a thread before the season with predictions, the most common name for the worst offseason acquisition was Tucker.

I don’t follow hockey as much as most of you seem to, but those that picked him missed the boat.

[LGR4GM]

27 minutes ago, gilbert11 said:

Yet, when someone started a thread before the season with predictions, the most common name for the worst offseason acquisition was Tucker.

I don’t follow hockey as much as most of you seem to, but those that picked him missed the boat.

Boat ran me over. 

 

[RochesterExpat]

1 hour ago, gilbert11 said:

Yet, when someone started a thread before the season with predictions, the most common name for the worst offseason acquisition was Tucker.

I don’t follow hockey as much as most of you seem to, but those that picked him missed the boat.

Looking at the history of Sabres “veteran presence” acquisitions that were overpaid to get them, can you blame those posters? This certainly appeared a repeat of that.

[#freejame]

1 hour ago, gilbert11 said:

Yet, when someone started a thread before the season with predictions, the most common name for the worst offseason acquisition was Tucker.

I don’t follow hockey as much as most of you seem to, but those that picked him missed the boat.

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Boat ran me over. 

 

Yeah, I missed on this, too. I hope the Sabres continue to prove me wrong. 

[bob_sauve28]

He's a good hockey player.

 

Seems like the team, which has some new players, is starting to jell and find it's chemistry

[JohnC]

23 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Yes, Zucker is willing to do more to help this team than several past FAs.  I’m looking at you Taylor Hall.  
 

 

You bring up an interesting issue (intended or not) regarding scouting and roster building when comparing Zucker to Hall. Too often for the Sabres, the decision-makers seemed to be more interested in adding players without consideration to what the actual team need was. This offseason, there was a decided effort to better balance out this roster and have players who fit roles. The bottom half of our roster has been dramatically overhauled with the addition of nearly half a dozen players, who although none of them would be categorized as upper tier players, all are tough and responsible players. Collectively, they brough an element of maturity that did not previously exist and also had the benefit of supporting our younger players. 

I have been critical of KA for some specific deals (notably Mitts for Byram) but in general this was a good offseason for the front office. It didn't splurge but rather was judicious and discriminating in who they brought in. Maybe this can be attributed to the Lindy influence?  

[LGR4GM]

This is just some savvy veteran hockey ***** right here:

 

[Mustache of God]

2 hours ago, RochesterExpat said:

Looking at the history of Sabres “veteran presence” acquisitions that were overpaid to get them, can you blame those posters? This certainly appeared a repeat of that.

I can't think of another FA signing by KA that was actually...productive? Eric Johnson? Connor Clifton? Lybushkin? Comrie? 

 

[bob_sauve28]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

This is just some savvy veteran hockey ***** right here:

 

Fancy pass! 

[French Collection]

12 hours ago, Porous Five Hole said:

Great signing.  
I also like his vibe.  

We need vet guys to both be leaders and contribute (instead of just offering experience like Zemgus & Okie).  

 

More playoff experience and success than those guys combined. KO lucked into some serious success this spring but he wasn’t a factor. 

On 11/7/2024 at 8:40 AM, Pimlach said:

Yes, Zucker is willing to do more to help this team than several past FAs.  I’m looking at you Taylor Hall.  
 

 

Hall will be remembered as the tank fruit who commanded the most tanks.