eball Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 Not much, but two good results for the Sabres last night. After tonight , worst case scenario is all teams at 60 GP, Sabes down 6 with 22 to go. Think they would to get to at least 93, 15-4-3.... Wow, that looks like a tall order Just think of it as needing to win 2 of 3. They can go 2-1 seven times, right?
JohnC Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 Not much, but two good results for the Sabres last night. After tonight , worst case scenario is all teams at 60 GP, Sabes down 6 with 22 to go. Think they would to get to at least 93, 15-4-3.... Wow, that looks like a tall order The required scenario you describe is very improbable. What I'm hoping for is that this team plays meaningful games up until nearly the end. The segment of games when Jack was out set us back and made the climb even more difficult. Did this team make progress? I believe so. But there are major holes on defense that need to be addressed this offseason. Please don't bring up a Kane trade because I see him becoming a top two line player and an important scorer for us. If he continues to score around the net then he will be the type of player that we really need. Most of the deals that the GM has made have turned out reasonably well except for the Pysyk for Kulikov deal. I wish we could do a do over. The more that Lehner plays the better that deal turns out to be. What is going to be most important for this team to make progress is the internal improvement of the young guys such as Jack, Samson, McCabe, Bailey, Carrier etc. Observation: Ennis is not the player he was. The concussions have seemed to have taken a toll on him. Maybe next year he can be rejuvenated?
26CornerBlitz Posted February 23, 2017 Author Posted February 23, 2017 @BuffaloSabres .@Dan_Dunleavy sums up our recent play & who his 1st Star lately would be: http://bufsabres.co/yfXKZs
shrader Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 People complained about so many "heroic runs to 9th place", but I think that would be great to see right now... then followed up with a miracle lottery win (yeah, I know, weak draft)
K-9 Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 Can't see Kane getting traded until after the season, if at all. I subscribe to the idea that the winner of any trade is the team that gets the best player which is why we can't win any trade in the short term. We will simply not get a player who is as good at his position as Kane is at his currently. It makes us a poorer team in the short term and may not ever pan out in the long term. Kane is playing like the player Murray envisioned when he made the deal. Can't see him ruining that unless the Pegulas, rumored to be upset with Kane over the summer, force his hand.
plenzmd1 Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 Can't see Kane getting traded until after the season, if at all. I subscribe to the idea that the winner of any trade is the team that gets the best player which is why we can't win any trade in the short term. We will simply not get a player who is as good at his position as Kane is at his currently. It makes us a poorer team in the short term and may not ever pan out in the long term. Kane is playing like the player Murray envisioned when he made the deal. Can't see him ruining that unless the Pegulas, rumored to be upset with Kane over the summer, force his hand. Generally subscribe to that as well...but seems to be working for Edmonton in the Hall trade. I have been on the trade Kane bandwagon...but changing slightly. I would now wait till post-July 1 when a new deal can be worked on...if no deal looks doable...i think a summer trade has to be explored...can't let that guy walk with zero in return
JohnC Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 Can't see Kane getting traded until after the season, if at all. I subscribe to the idea that the winner of any trade is the team that gets the best player which is why we can't win any trade in the short term. We will simply not get a player who is as good at his position as Kane is at his currently. It makes us a poorer team in the short term and may not ever pan out in the long term. Kane is playing like the player Murray envisioned when he made the deal. Can't see him ruining that unless the Pegulas, rumored to be upset with Kane over the summer, force his hand. Everyone in the organization was upset with Kane because his nightlife shenanigans. There were also issues relating to Kane's interactions with his own teammates that bothered the GM. He was very public (on WGR) and stated that he called in Kane and dressed him down not only for his boorish behavior outside of hockey but also for his aloof attitude toward the other players. He pointed out that Kane didn't interact very much with the other players prior to practice and after. He was a quick dresser before and after practice with no interest in mingling. Has Kane's attitude changed? Without knowing for sure I would say yes because Murray is not the type of person who is going to allow any player to ignore his advice. Kane has a talent that is prized in this league i.e. goal scoring. What makes him even more valuable is that he is not a one dimensional type of player like Vanik. He skates well, checks well, is responsible on defense, can play on both the power play and kill penalties and is somewhat of an enforcer on a team not noted for that attribute. It is unquestionable that he still at times plays an untamed style of play, mostly on office. But I have been encouraged with his recent scoring around the net where he should reside much more. The bottom line is that I would be very disappointed if he was traded at the trade deadline or before next season. I would rather build on what I already have and go on from there.
K-9 Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 Everyone in the organization was upset with Kane because his nightlife shenanigans. There were also issues relating to Kane's interactions with his own teammates that bothered the GM. He was very public (on WGR) and stated that he called in Kane and dressed him down not only for his boorish behavior outside of hockey but also for his aloof attitude toward the other players. He pointed out that Kane didn't interact very much with the other players prior to practice and after. He was a quick dresser before and after practice with no interest in mingling. Has Kane's attitude changed? Without knowing for sure I would say yes because Murray is not the type of person who is going to allow any player to ignore his advice. Kane has a talent that is prized in this league i.e. goal scoring. What makes him even more valuable is that he is not a one dimensional type of player like Vanik. He skates well, checks well, is responsible on defense, can play on both the power play and kill penalties and is somewhat of an enforcer on a team not noted for that attribute. It is unquestionable that he still at times plays an untamed style of play, mostly on office. But I have been encouraged with his recent scoring around the net where he should reside much more. The bottom line is that I would be very disappointed if he was traded at the trade deadline or before next season. I would rather build on what I already have and go on from there. Good points here. Kane's aloofness is just who he is and he's been that way since he started in juniors. While it's preferable that he be one of the guys and hang out, etc., it's not a big deal because of who he is on the ice and that's the consummate teammate in terms of effort which simply cannot be questioned in any aspect. He's a pain in the ass to play against, always has the backs of his teammates on the ice, and can score. I do think he has evolved this year in terms of his past tendency to hog the puck. It got in the way last year when he was paired with Eichel, but he seems to be learning how to create space and trust in Jack's ability to find him there, which he does more often than not.
JohnC Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 Generally subscribe to that as well...but seems to be working for Edmonton in the Hall trade. I have been on the trade Kane bandwagon...but changing slightly. I would now wait till post-July 1 when a new deal can be worked on...if no deal looks doable...i think a summer trade has to be explored...can't let that guy walk with zero in return The Edmonton situation is a little different from the Buffalo situation. In Edmonton they were trying to alter the construction of the roster. Without a doubt improving the defensive corps was an issue. But they wanted to adjust the balance from having an abundance of high end skill players and lacking tougher support players. Adding Lucic with a very rich contract (beyond his talent level/my opinion) was more than adding talent as it was getting the right mix of players. My constant duel with you over Kane has to do with the fact that I value Kane precisely because he is a multi-faceted player in that he can score and is tough. In my view when you have that type of rare player you covet it rather than shop him.
ricojes Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 Kane really pissed the Pegula's off with the bar incident, especially as all hockey eye's were on Buffalo as the draft approached. It pissed most off here as well as there were a lot of posters that just wanted to cut him! After the incident, I wanted to trade him at the deadline or after the season. I am with Plenzmd1 as my views are slightly changing as well, I like his hustle and it seems like he's a good fit for this team. I think a big factor will be his contract and upcoming contracts for pending and future FA's. It's not an easy decision and I really can't argue with either, depending on the return if traded of course. I have no idea what GMTM will do, but we'll know shortly...
JohnC Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 Good points here. Kane's aloofness is just who he is and he's been that way since he started in juniors. While it's preferable that he be one of the guys and hang out, etc., it's not a big deal because of who he is on the ice and that's the consummate teammate in terms of effort which simply cannot be questioned in any aspect. He's a pain in the ass to play against, always has the backs of his teammates on the ice, and can score. I do think he has evolved this year in terms of his past tendency to hog the puck. It got in the way last year when he was paired with Eichel, but he seems to be learning how to create space and trust in Jack's ability to find him there, which he does more often than not. Excellent post. His gradual transition as a player on your point in the highlighted area is why I am encouraged about him. It is not dramatic but it is evolving. He's getting there. Recently he has converted some of Jack's pretty passes while he was around the net. That's why I am so optimistic about him.
shrader Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 Excellent post. His gradual transition as a player on your point in the highlighted area is why I am encouraged about him. It is not dramatic but it is evolving. He's getting there. Recently he has converted some of Jack's pretty passes while he was around the net. That's why I am so optimistic about him. It took some young players more than one year to get used to each other. I'm amazed how many people expect people to click from day one and then never turn back. And for these guys, thanks to all the injuries, it probably hasn't even been a full year yet.
JohnC Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 It took some young players more than one year to get used to each other. I'm amazed how many people expect people to click from day one and then never turn back. And for these guys, thanks to all the injuries, it probably hasn't even been a full year yet. The Kane issue isn't only about him adapting to other players. It has more to do with his wild horse style of play not attached to his linemates. Kane is a young player but he is also a veteran/experienced player. So it's understandable why there was less patience with his slow pace of evolving. However, any fair-minded person has to acknowledge that his looser offensive style has been steadily getting tighter.
snafu Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 I was flipping through the channels last night and came across the Amerks vs. Utica game on MSG (in NYC area - no locals were playing). Nylander looked tiny out there. He's listed as 6'0" 180, but he doesn't look it.
shrader Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 The Kane issue isn't only about him adapting to other players. It has more to do with his wild horse style of play not attached to his linemates. Kane is a young player but he is also a veteran/experienced player. So it's understandable why there was less patience with his slow pace of evolving. However, any fair-minded person has to acknowledge that his looser offensive style has been steadily getting tighter. And trust goes a long way towards that tightening. "Hey, these guys (linemates) can do a lot more than I realize. It's time to trust them." Personally, when I see this type of change over the course of a single season, I'm going to lean more towards improved chemistry instead of maturity. The latter is a much more long-term development. That said, whatever the cause of this improvement is, hopefully we start to see it from 3 or 4 more guys very soon. That's what is needed for this team to take that next step to perennial playoff contention. I'm probably leaning towards the Baileys and Baptistes of the world as to where I want to see that come from.
QCity Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 Not much, but two good results for the Sabres last night. After tonight , worst case scenario is all teams at 60 GP, Sabes down 6 with 22 to go. Think they would to get to at least 93, 15-4-3.... Wow, that looks like a tall order They have COL, ARI, NAS, ARI right out of the gate. Three games against the two worst teams. If they come out swinging, there's a small glimmer of hope. If they drop the first two, GMTM can switch to seller mode and ditch the UFAs Gionta, Kulikov, and Franson.
snafu Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 They have COL, ARI, NAS, ARI right out of the gate. Three games against the two worst teams. If they come out swinging, there's a small glimmer of hope. If they drop the first two, GMTM can switch to seller mode and ditch the UFAs Gionta, Kulikov, and Franson. "Seller" or not, he should move Kulikov. I don't see what that guy provides at all. He's not solid defensively, and he's got about three or four points on the year.
K-9 Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 They have COL, ARI, NAS, ARI right out of the gate. Three games against the two worst teams. If they come out swinging, there's a small glimmer of hope. If they drop the first two, GMTM can switch to seller mode and ditch the UFAs Gionta, Kulikov, and Franson. First games out of the byes have been difficult for teams to say the least. Wouldn't surprise me at all to see us lay an egg vs. Colorado on Saturday. They've beaten two teams coming off their byes already.
QCity Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 (edited) First games out of the byes have been difficult for teams to say the least. Wouldn't surprise me at all to see us lay an egg vs. Colorado on Saturday. They've beaten two teams coming off their byes already. Wouldn't shock me either. Got to beat these bad teams though, no bye-week or road game excuses. Here's a site that nicely illustrates the bye-week curse. Edited February 23, 2017 by QCity
JohnC Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 I was flipping through the channels last night and came across the Amerks vs. Utica game on MSG (in NYC area - no locals were playing). Nylander looked tiny out there. He's listed as 6'0" 180, but he doesn't look it. Nylander is 18 yrs old and the youngest player in the AHL. He is at least another year or two away from being ready. It's going to take time for him to physically mature and be ready for the rigors of the NHL. This is case where by being patient you are being smart. Trust the process!
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