BillsFan4

“.... and I said, That’s it?” ? too funny

I was high on Girgs that tank year under Nolan, too. I thought he had a chance to be our next captain, and hoped he’d be that hard working 2 way #2C for the Sabres in the future. But I think I kind of just got fooled. Someone had to play that #1 C role for the Sabres that year (looking back on the lineup that year is scary! lol https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/BUF/2015.html ). Whoever did was bound to put up some points by default. I think it helped having Ted Nolan as his coach. They had a prior relationship from their time together with Latvia, so Nolan has confidence in girgensons. Plus, All Nolan really asked for was effort (more effort was also his solution to every problem) and I think that suited Girgensons well. I think the biggest thing with girgensons last year was that he really seemed to finally accept and embrace his role as a shutdown guy. I don’t think girgensons had ever really accepted that he’s more of a defensive guy before that. Same with Larsson to some extent. Larsson had a down year 2 years ago coming off that bad wrist/arm injury, but IMO he’s always been pretty useful when paired with decent line mates. His line with Foligno and Gionta was one of our best lines that year, and he also (surprisingly) did pretty good in 2014 when he was paired with Ennis and Moulson. I think that we probably need to accept that they are both just good 4th liners who can add value in a defensive role. Both are UFA at years end though and with younger players coming up behind them (like Asplund) it wouldn’t surprise me if this was their last year in Buffalo.

I actually didn’t fully agree with that section. Bogo, Sobotka, Scandella yes (though I’m hoping for bounce back years for Scandella and Sobotka since it looks like both will be on the roster this year). But I have no issue with Larsson and girgensons. They were actually good in their roles as shutdown players. They were 4th and 5th in the league in d zone starts iirc and faced some of the toughest QoC of any Sabres forwards. Despite that, both of their defensive zone metrics were very good. They are actually 2 of the best defensive forwards we have on the team. When they are slotted into a proper role they add value to the team. It’s asking them to play roles they’re not meant for where the trouble starts. At least IMO anyway.

@JohnC here is the article I mentioned - https://theathletic.com/1078201/2019/07/17/by-the-numbers-grading-every-teams-contract-efficiency/ ‘By the numbers: Grading every team’s contract efficiency’ Heres the section on the Sabres. There’s also a graph but I don’t think I’m adding it properly because it’s showing up as a link. (edit, fixed it) It’s amazing the amount of work that went into this article. I don’t agree with everything his model spits out, but I appreciate the time and effort put into the analysis.

I’m ok with taking back money and I realize that it will likely be required in almost any Risto trade. I just want a more useful player than Perrault. Or, if we are taking a “cap dump” type of player in return to make the cap work I want a much better main piece than Roslovic. I just hated both pieces included in that hypothetical trade is all. Like Ehlers, he makes $6M for the next 6 years. I’m fine taking that salary back! lol If Winnipeg wanted to send up Perrault in a Ristolainen trade, IMO that would take a big sweetener because it would take away value from whatever else was included in the trade. Look at what it’d cost to dump cap this offseason. Toronto gave up a 1st to dump Marleau and he only had 1 year left on his deal and was still a very useful player, just slightly overpaid. Nashville had to basically give away P.K. Subban (a Norris trophy finalist just 2 seasons ago) to clear his cap hit to be able to sign Duchene. Perrault is like an Okposo level player. It should cost big to dump a player like that. If winnipeg needs to send salary back, then send a more useful player our way. The Sabres aren’t exactly swimming in cap space right now, themselves. We barely have enough to get our RFA’s signed. I’m fine with the trade being cap neutral for both teams, but I don’t want to trade a player like Ristolainen, who is totally worth the cap space he takes up, for someone who is going to be a big waste of cap space. We already have way too many of those contracts (according to a recent analysis of every NHL team’s contracts, we have the most dead weight contracts in the NHL) . I’m done taking other teams garbage unless it’s definitely worth our while. Plus, Perrault is yet another left winger, which is about our least needed position. (as you can probably tell, I hate the idea of this proposed trade. ?)

I created it mainly to give a space for non-thread worthy stuff people may not share because they were reluctant about creating a new thread for it (because some people here complain about that kind of stuff for some reason. “New thread shaming” is a real thing...lol). I wouldn’t have shared the stuff I’ve posted in this thread because it’s not something I would have created a new thread for and there was no other thread that I could find that made sense to stick it in. Like I said though, if the general consensus is that this thread is not a good idea I will let it die.

Here’s another article from that interview - https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/beane-and-mcdermott-reflect-first-two-years-discuss-what-lies-ahead

I could definitely get on board with an Ehlers trade. Even though we have a bunch of LWers he’d definitely be our 2nd best one and a guy that fits long term. I hated this part, though - https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/are-sabres-and-jets-match-ristolainen-trade Ive heard this trade suggested s few times now and it’s definitely not a trade I’d make. Perreault adds no (long term) value for me. He’ll be 32 this season, has never once broken 20g in his career or scored more than 45p and makes over $4M a year for the next 2 years. He’s basically a cap dump. Roslovic is nowhere near enough value coming back. He has been a disappointment so far. As of now he’s a bottom 6 guy. That may be all he ever is. He has a chance to become a top 6 player but I sure wouldn’t bet on it by trading Risto with Roslovic as the main piece coming back. I dont really want any winnipeg trade with a Roslovic in it. He adds just enough value to downgrade whatever other asset was included in the trade. As I’ve said before, I’d rather just trade Risto in a 1 for 1 hockey trade. Or if not I want a top tier prospect. A trade including Roslovic would almost surely be more of a quantity deal - something like Roslovic + pick + player to even out the cap hits. The last thing I want in any Risto trade is quantity.

Just reading this now. Mayfield doesn’t lack confidence, that’s for sure. How do people interpret this part - He’s not saying that mayfield was disappointed he was fired, is he? Hue can’t be that oblivious. He has to just be saying that mayfield was disappointed he went to a team in division right? Its s pretty good story. Worth the read.

Here is the podcast with Marrone - https://www.podcastone.com/episode/Ice-Cube-Jaguars-Head-Coach-Doug-Marrone-And-Mt-Rushmore-Of-Animal-Traits-You-Wish-You-Had Looks like it starts around 29mins in.

Burger King has tacos?

Might be something to that theory. I could definitely see that whole little tirade being something he planned before he went in there. He sure seems to be getting exactly what he wanted... and I guess he already had a YouTube channel with similar “rant” style videos. Looks like one finally went viral for him. I’ll be glad when his 15 minutes are up. lol

Finally got the chance to sit down and read this whole article last night, and wow! Excellent shift by shift breakdown. It’s amazing how well this kid was playing to start his NHL career. This has me even more excited about the trade! Articles like this are why I subscribe to the Athletic. (Btw, I have a link for 40% off 1yr, if anyone wants it). It looks like we may have a good one! He looks to bring a skill set that the Sabres don’t have enough of on defense. Edit - there are supposed to be video clips in those quotes. It showed the videos in my post before I posted it, and it shows the videos right now while I am editing this post. But I am not seeing them otherwise. Not sure how to fix it. Was really hoping to be able to share the 2 video clips above. And it was the second time Jokiharju stonewalled Tarasenko in the game. It’s

The contract will slide (for up to 2 years) if he doesn’t play 10 NHL games. So the count starts on his 3 year ELC in the 3rd season or whenever he plays more than 9 NHL games in a season. Id be surprised if he plays more than 9 NHL games this year, especially with the thumb injury.

Cirelli was very good last season. The biggest thing for me is the sample size. 1 year obviously isn’t much to go off of. He’s not a proven veteran player. And you worry how he’d do with an expanded role. But I don’t really see any red flags. It’d not like he was being sheltered in Tampa. all of his advanced stats were great even though he was used primarily as their shutdown center with 60% d zone starts against the other team’s top lines. His CF% should have taken a big hit (especially being a rookie) but he was a positive corsi player at 53.7% (which is very good). His takeaway way to giveaway ratio was insane at 46-15. A +31 differential! With Cirelli on the ice, the Lightning registered an expected goals for of 47.9 and an expected goals against of 36.2, a +11.7 differential. All the stats say that he made his teammates better and show that he was a good transition player that could be counted on not to make mistakes in the d zone (and exiting). Pretty much every advanced analytic says that the lightning were a better team with Cirelli on the ice, and the eye test matches up IMO. There are risks with any trade, but Cirelli seems like a pretty safe bet to me. Here is a good article outlining Cirelli’s impact last season. It also shows how high Tampa fans and media members are on him (not that it really matters) - https://www.rawcharge.com/2019/5/9/18538017/2018-2019-tampa-bay-lightning-player-grades-anthony-cirelli-another-midround-gem

Eh, I get what your saying because he’s only played 1 full season and part of another (this last season was considered his rookie year). But I’d be pretty damn happy with Cirell straight up for Risto. I am a big Cirelli fan though. He scored 19 goals last season with heavy defensive zone starts and no power play time. He was used as their 2 way shutdown C who faced a lot of the other team’s top competition and was depended on in a lot of late game situations. If Tampa had the lead late in a game, Cirelli was usually out there. He was also very good in the face off circle, which is something we need. all of his advanced stats look good too and it doesn’t appear that he was sheltered looking at QoC and matchups etc. He was already getting Selke votes last season (his first full NHL season). He finished 11th in selke voting (ROR placed 11th in selke voting a couple times before finally winning it this year) and he finished 6th in Calder voting. He’s only 21 and still on his ELC as well. He would be a perfect fit in Buffalo. He could be our #2 C this year and eventually slide into the #3C role if Mittelstadt or Cozens ever surpass him as the 2C. We would have elite center depth if either player ever passed Cirelli as the 2C, as he was already probably about the best 3C in the NHL last season (his rookie season) or damn close. I honestly don’t see Tampa trading him anyway. John Cooper LOVES him and uses him in a ton of key situations. Plus He’s still on his entry level contract. They need cost controlled players desperately with Point due for a raise this year and Vasilevski due next year. They have a bunch of guys with NMC too, which will make clearing our cap space harder. If they did trade him for Risto, I can’t see any scenario where they add a top prospect and a 1st, though. Maybe a pick if we were lucky. But not a prospect on top of that. I think they’d probably rather trade someone like Tyler Johnson because it would clear cap space. But he has a no trade clause. Id take Johnson though. He could be our 2C and is signed to a very reasonable $5M cap hit for 5 more years. The only issue is that he will be 29yrs old before the start of the season. His contract ends at age 33 so that’s not the issue. IMO the issue is that he probably doesn’t fit our long term rebuild window as well as Risto does. But he’d bring some much needed experience and leadership to the team. You can’t ice a entire roster of young guys (well, you can but it’s probably not going to be too successful as we’ve already seen). I would want a pick or prospect included with Johnson though (due to his age). He’s no longer waiver exempt. So it’s pretty much NHL or bust for Puljujarvi.

I think this guy is getting exactly what he wanted - attention and internet fame.

Pretty good read - https://hockeybuzz.com/blog/Ryan-Wilson/Growing-trend-in-how-Pittsburgh-and-Buffalo-are-building-their-defense/177/100456 Growing trend in how Pittsburgh and Buffalo are building their defense

https://www.tsn.ca/video/granato-there-s-no-limit-to-eichel-s-potential~1727585 “Sabres assistant coach Don Granato joins OverDrive to chat about Buffalo’s outlook for next season, and what it was like to coach Auston Matthews in the US developmental program.” heres the whole interview - https://www.tsn.ca/radio/toronto-1050/don-granato-on-the-teamsnap-coaches-conference-auston-matthews-his-hopes-for-the-sabres-this-season-1.1336177

I enjoy reading about all NFL news and am always hunting for a thread to post random non-thread worthy news/info etc. I come across on other NFL teams but I never know where to put it (this forum doesn’t have an “around the NFL section and I don’t want to start a new thread for it). So most times I don’t share it. I decided I’d try to make a thread to give everyone a place to share interesting news/stories etc. about other NFL teams/players etc. I’m hoping that it’s ok to put/keep this here seeing as it’s not Bills related news. I know we have the “off the wall” section but not as many people visit it, especially to talk football. If I am the only one interested in a thread like this, then I apologize and will let it die. To start, heres Josh Norman jumping bulls in Spain -

What I never got is that it’d pretty much a universally accepted fact in the NHL that defensive prospects take longer to develop than forward prospects do. So to ignore the defense at the start of a rebuild seemed weird. I remember early in our rebuild, people were saying “buffalo could be the envy Edmonton (re:failed rebuild)” and I proudly argued that we would not be because Buffalo was being smart and putting an emphasis on stocking the D pipeline and using high picks on D men right at the start of their rebuild (something Edmonton had pretty much ignored doing). At the time we had recently drafted Risto+Zadorov and had Pysyk, McNabb, Myers (who we were still pretty high on). lol

I don’t have an issue with the pick as much as I do with his policy of not even considering a defenseman with that pick because it was “too high” and you only draft forwards that high (something Murray talked about more than once). Nylander wasn’t a reach. He was ranked in the top 10 of the draft. But Sergachev should have been at least in consideration for that pick. Same with Chychrun and McAvoy. They shouldn’t have been disqualified from consideration because they played defense and Murray thought #7 was too high to take a defenseman. I was never that big of a fan of the Nylander pick, though. He was good in his draft year, but he didn’t destroy the OHL like other top prospects. Our 2nd round pick from the year before (Eric Cornel, another pick I wasn’t a fan of...lol) finished 14th in OHL scoring that year, where as Nylander was 19th. My main issue with Nylander was his compete level and work ethic issues. Plus he tended to play a soft, skilled game on the perimeters of the ice. I didn’t like his brother William either (and I still wouldn’t want him on the Sabres) for those same reasons. When he put in an effort, he could be dominant. But it was somewhat rare to see that real desire to make an impact. You’d see it on certain shifts, or for maybe a period. But almost never a full game. I really wanted Clayton Keller but he went 1 pick before us. So I was kind of indifferent when buffalo got on the clock. I could see Nylander doing well in Chicago, though. He may have a chance to play with some real skill players. I also expect he will get a (short term) boost in motivation from the trade. He’s still young, too. There’s a chance that light switch comes on for him. But I don’t think it’s a safe bet. I just look at his dad and his brother. Both leave (or left) you wanting more way too often. And both seem like a PITA to deal with. Personally, I feel relieved to move on from Nylander, especially since we got very good value in return.

Here’s a super salty take on the trade over on a Chicago Blackhawks blog. It’s way over the top but some of it is pretty funny. https://faxesfromuncledale.com/stan-bowman-is-a-moron-and-henri-jokiharju-is-better-off/ And a pretty decent video analysis from back in April - https://www.eprinkside.com/2019/4/9/video-room-henri-jokiharju-blackhaws-defensman-of-the-future