ExiledInIllinois Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 36 minutes ago, eball said: No offense intended, but this is spoken like a man who doesn't understand the importance of a true superstar #1 defenseman. No offense taken. When was last time we seen this? Paul Coffey? Been a while. I do appreciate the D-man, I realize the position is a lynch pin. I am just so conditioned for failure. Flashy forward takes all the hype! My bad... But I understand what You are saying. When it comes to BFLo sports, I am in "shock sheep" mode. I need to snap out of it!
26CornerBlitz Posted April 30, 2018 Author Posted April 30, 2018 1 hour ago, ExiledInIllinois said: No offense taken. When was last time we seen this? Paul Coffey? Been a while. I do appreciate the D-man, I realize the position is a lynch pin. I am just so conditioned for failure. Flashy forward takes all the hype! My bad... But I understand what You are saying. When it comes to BFLo sports, I am in "shock sheep" mode. I need to snap out of it! Nicklas Lidstrom and Erik Karlsson are recent examples of great defenseman who have been dominant.
JohnC Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 3 hours ago, shrader said: It all falls back on whether or not they would consider moving O’Reilly. After that, Moulson and Bogosian are the big money black holes. It would take some creativity and movement, but I think they can make a play for Tavares if they really want to. By all reports the Sabres are exploring moving O'Reilly but the preliminary offers are not close to matching his value. What makes it even more difficult to move him is not his annual salary but the remaining length of his contract. Make no mistake the Sabre brass are open for business but they are not going to be fleeced. The Moulson deal was a boondoggle deal by the tough talking former GM. Again, what made the deal so onerous for us is its length where the clock on his bloated contract still has plenty of time to run. With respect to Bogo I still have some unrealistic hope that he can make a comeback. The problem is that very often hope doesn't match reality. If Bogo can regain his health he very much fits in with what Houlsey wants his defense corps to accentuate i.e. skating and attacking. He needs to get away from his guerrilla game and become more of a finesse player. I have a different perspective on pursuing Tavares. I don't want the team to do it. The Sabres have to build for the future and not get weighted down with a super star whose next contract is going to be locked in for nearly another decade. Without question he's a great player. However, as with pursuing Moby Dick there are dangers when it is finally caught and it doesn't turn out what you expect it to be. Let's build the roster for the future and not be boxed in and lose out on our own in-house talent because there is little cap room. It's not about what's over there----it's about what you got here. 1
BillsFan4 Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 Just now, ExiledInIllinois said: But he is a defenceman. There is a disco (disconnect) between forward and defenseman. At least with me. I am nervous taking a D-Man. They take years to make impact? I know, it's the flashy, shiny, object, forward thing in front of me! Maybe that's why we kept Phil? Housley did have HoF forward game from the Blue Line. So... Can we say Bobby Orr? Does Dahlin score a lot? Somebody please put me @ ease! (I am alternating my spellings for the Canadian crowd. I am being "national neutral." ) Dude. Be at ease! Dahlin easily has the potential to not just be a 1 defenseman for the Sabres, but the #1 defenseman in the entire NHL - ahead of Doughty, Keith, Karlsson, Subban, Suter, Weber etc etc. He is absolutely the home run #1 pick and it's not even close. Svechnikov looks like an elite winger, but Dahlin is in a tier all his own. He is the McDavid of defenseman, and I'm not just saying that. He has been a phenom since a very young age. Started playing in the top men's professional league in Sweden by his 16th birthday, and made an immediate impact. He was the only teenager on the Olympic team. Many many people are saying that he is he is the best defensive prospect to enter the league since Potvin in 1973. This is the type of pick that can change a franchise. He's that good. I even feel that he will help us attract free agents, just like McDavid did in Edmonton. I expect he will be in the Norris trophy running most years. Players that played with him in Sweden said that he will be a first ballot hall of famer, and that they never played with anyone with his skill level before (and these are guys that played in the KHL, AHL and even NHL). Nick Lidstrom said Dahlin is way ahead of where he was at the same age, and has way more skill. That's amazing. He's not going to be one of those defenseman that take years to make an impact. He's much more skilled than Drew Doughty, who stepped into the NHL at 18 and made an impact. I'm sure it'll take him some time to transition to the North America game/ice, but he will be an impact player very quickly. Every NHL team that won a cup recently has had a true #1 C and a true stud #1 D. Now Buffalo has both! If you asked me would would I rather have McDavid, or Eichel and Dahlin, I take Eichel and Dahlin hands down (even though McDavid is probably the best forward on the planet). 2
Alaska Darin Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 Interesting conversations all the way around. 1. I have no issue with the Sabres not being "all in" for big dollar free agents. Far too many of these guys are getting huge contracts for past production and never come close to the dollars they're playing for (I'm looking directly at you, Paul Stastny and Kyle Okposo). That being said, O'Reilly is a little different because he signed the deal at such a young age and it pretty much locked him up for his entire prime. 2. Dahlin is a VERY unique talent and literally has every tool in his toolbox. That being said, it will be probably 3 years before he plays even close to a Norris Trophy level so everyone needs to be patient and understand that SEHL men's hockey is not close to NHL hockey. He's going to have struggles along with his signature moments. 3. College free agents are going to be the next big market. Hopefully the Sabres start winning a little and are able to leverage their deep-pocketed owners to move to the front of the line a few times. I've never thought the draft lottery was rigged. Honestly we may have won the most important one ever for our franchise. Guys like Dahlin are VERY rare.
shrader Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 I keep seeing the name mentioned in comparisons all the time. All I know is if Dahlin winds up as even half the player that Nik Lidstrom was, I'll be very happy.
Alaska Darin Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 Just now, shrader said: I keep seeing the name mentioned in comparisons all the time. All I know is if Dahlin winds up as even half the player that Nik Lidstrom was, I'll be very happy. If he's Nik Lidstrom, we're winning Cups. Lidstrom is the smartest 2-way defensemen I've ever seen. Dahlin appears to be a much bigger version with more wiggle.
ExiledInIllinois Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 (edited) 46 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said: Nicklas Lidstrom and Erik Karlsson are recent examples of great defenseman who have been dominant. Both teams in playoffs, right? Clarify: Will give you Linstrom... Past with Detroit. Not a naysayer, but frigtened & optimistic. Edited April 30, 2018 by ExiledInIllinois
Alaska Darin Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 1 minute ago, ExiledInIllinois said: Both teams in playoffs, right? Lidstrom is retired and was in the playoffs EVERY SINGLE SEASON of his career. Karlsson played with a significant injury most of this season and was a shell of himself. He was the best player in the NHL last season and was the biggest reason a significantly overmatched Ottawa team took the eventual Champion Penguins to 7th game, losing in double overtime.. 1
bbb Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 5 hours ago, Like A Mofo said: must admit, was dead wrong about the lottery fixes, happy to say I was 100 percent incorrect. The NHL is too dumb to fix a lottery!
ExiledInIllinois Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 6 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said: Lidstrom is retired and was in the playoffs EVERY SINGLE SEASON of his career. Karlsson played with a significant injury most of this season and was a shell of himself. He was the best player in the NHL last season and was the biggest reason a significantly overmatched Ottawa team took the eventual Champion Penguins to 7th game, losing in double overtime.. Yeah... I clarified my post, thought he was still playing... 7 minutes ago, bbb said: The NHL is too dumb to fix a lottery! Betcha that ball right next to Us was Chicago. Boy, we dodged a bullet!
Alaska Darin Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 1 minute ago, ExiledInIllinois said: Yeah... I clarified my post, thought he was still playing... Karlsson was sixth among defenseman in scoring and tied for the points lead on his team. He was not the reason the Senators didn't make the playoffs. Great, great player but hockey is a team game so no man is an island. Dahlin is going to be a huge star in the NHL if he stays healthy. Huge. 1
ExiledInIllinois Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 Just now, Alaska Darin said: Karlsson was sixth among defenseman in scoring and tied for the points lead on his team. He was not the reason the Senators didn't make the playoffs. Great, great player but hockey is a team game so no man is an island. Dahlin is going to be a huge star in the NHL if he stays healthy. Huge. Yeah... I am always fearing the worst. Glad we got him!
shrader Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 27 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said: If he's Nik Lidstrom, we're winning Cups. Lidstrom is the smartest 2-way defensemen I've ever seen. Dahlin appears to be a much bigger version with more wiggle. I hate all time player rankings, but I have absolutely no problem considering Lidstrom one of the greatest d-men of all time. The thing about his career that never ceases to amaze me is that he never won a Norris until he was 31... and then he wound up with 7. 2
bbb Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 4 hours ago, ExiledInIllinois said: So... Can we say Bobby Orr? Why would you want Bobby Orr - he didn't make the playoffs this year, either! 1
Alaska Darin Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 Just now, shrader said: I hate all time player rankings, but I have absolutely no problem considering Lidstrom one of the greatest d-men of all time. The thing about his career that never ceases to amaze me is that he never won a Norris until he was 31... and then he wound up with 7. His style of play really wasn't appreciated until much later in his career because he wasn't a banger and wasn't flashy. I also think he was overshadowed by all the talent on those loaded teams (Shanny, Hull, Federov, Yzerman, Chelios, Robataille, Larionov, etc.). He was pretty much the perfect defenseman and always made exactly the right play.
ExiledInIllinois Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 (edited) 36 minutes ago, bbb said: Why would you want Bobby Orr - he didn't make the playoffs this year, either! Touche! But I was astral projecting. Bobby would be great! Edited April 30, 2018 by ExiledInIllinois 1
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