26CornerBlitz Posted December 24, 2018 Author Posted December 24, 2018 (edited) NHL Standings at the Holiday Break Edited December 24, 2018 by 26CornerBlitz
26CornerBlitz Posted December 25, 2018 Author Posted December 25, 2018 Jeff Skinner is blowing up with the Buffalo Sabres. He is doing what everyone who has followed his career knew he could do, scoring a lot. The Carolina Hurricanes didn’t want to keep this stellar sniper on the roster so they traded him to the Sabres for Cliff Pu and a few picks.
Boca BIlls Posted December 25, 2018 Posted December 25, 2018 On 12/23/2018 at 9:18 AM, 26CornerBlitz said: Thank god b.c I love his voice.
JohnC Posted December 25, 2018 Posted December 25, 2018 As we enter the rest of the season one of the players that intrigues me is Tage Thompson. Because he is still so young and mostly because he has not completely physically matured there is still a lot of potential to tap. It may take a couple of years to get to a point where he will become more of a factor on the ice. Without question he has impressive skills. He can skate and shoot. He is not much of a force as a checker but he works hard at it. Maybe In a year or two the ROR trade will have worked out especially well for us because of how the younger player we got in the return developed? https://buffalonews.com/2018/12/24/buffalo-sabres-tage-thompson-phil-housley-nhl-news/
Doc Posted December 25, 2018 Posted December 25, 2018 15 hours ago, 26CornerBlitz said: Jeff Skinner is blowing up with the Buffalo Sabres. He is doing what everyone who has followed his career knew he could do, scoring a lot. The Carolina Hurricanes didn’t want to keep this stellar sniper on the roster so they traded him to the Sabres for Cliff Pu and a few picks. Why did they trade him again? Bad attitude? Didn't want to pay him?
plenzmd1 Posted December 25, 2018 Posted December 25, 2018 33 minutes ago, Doc said: Why did they trade him again? Bad attitude? Didn't want to pay him? Maybe the same reason we traded ROR..just wasn't working out with him
Alaska Darin Posted December 25, 2018 Posted December 25, 2018 46 minutes ago, Doc said: Why did they trade him again? Bad attitude? Didn't want to pay him? They've basically blown up their team. New owner, new GM, new Head Coach. None of them really have any loyalty to Skinner and their window to start really winning is a couple of years away, so they didn't see much reason to keep him around. Keep in mind that he's had some concussion issues as well, so they're rightly wary about giving a long term deal to him. As great as he's been, I'm VERY concerned about the Sabres giving him a 8+ year deal...not because he's not going to average 25+ goals a season when he's healthy, but because guys who've suffered multiple concussions have a much higher likelihood of suffering a long term/career ending injury from a hit or fall. Skinner has long been a very good/great goal scorer...a guy I really like. Make no mistake, though...Eichel is a HUGE reason he's on such a roll. He also got TRADED for nothing in a contract year...so he's REALLY motivated. I'll believe he's "this" guy if he's still here and doing it 2 or 3 years from now.
26CornerBlitz Posted December 25, 2018 Author Posted December 25, 2018 46 minutes ago, Doc said: Why did they trade him again? Bad attitude? Didn't want to pay him? I think both parties were ready for a change. He never tasted the playoffs in Carolina and being closer to home is something he has mentioned in interviews.
JohnC Posted December 25, 2018 Posted December 25, 2018 2 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said: They've basically blown up their team. New owner, new GM, new Head Coach. None of them really have any loyalty to Skinner and their window to start really winning is a couple of years away, so they didn't see much reason to keep him around. Keep in mind that he's had some concussion issues as well, so they're rightly wary about giving a long term deal to him. As great as he's been, I'm VERY concerned about the Sabres giving him a 8+ year deal...not because he's not going to average 25+ goals a season when he's healthy, but because guys who've suffered multiple concussions have a much higher likelihood of suffering a long term/career ending injury from a hit or fall. Skinner has long been a great goal scorer...a guy I really like. Make no mistake, though...Eichel is a HUGE reason he's on such a roll. I agree with you that Eichel is instrumental in Skinner's goal production. But there is a flip side to that point: Skinner is allowing Eichel's talents to be better utilized. Without a finisher such as Skinner Eichel's production would not be nearly so great. I'm not arguing which player is more important to whom as I am stating that each player enhances the other to the benefit of the team. As like youI don't like those long term 8 year deals because of the high incidence of injuries and future reduced production. But those extended contracts are part of the business model whether one likes it or not. If that's what it takes to secure him then so be it. All teams are subjected to those same lengthy contracts for the top players. As a scorer it is fair to categorize him as one of the top players in the league.
BillsFan4 Posted December 25, 2018 Posted December 25, 2018 47 minutes ago, Doc said: Why did they trade him again? Bad attitude? Didn't want to pay him? A new owner bought the team and was dead set on making big changes. He got rid of the coach + GM and felt more drastic changes were needed since they have the NHL’s longest playoff drought. So they traded Skinner, Lindholm and Hanifin. Rumors are the owner is actually involved in personnel decisions (which is part of the reason why he has trouble hiring a GM. That and the $$ he was offering was super low). I don’t know if he had a hand in the Skinner trade or not, but I know he pushed for big changes. I also read that their new coach (Rod Brind’amor) wasn’t the biggest Skinner fan (I believe because he felt Skinner didn’t play enough defense or something stupid like that). Mainly I think it boiled down to them wanting to change the culture and Skinner was one of their longest tenured players.
JohnC Posted December 25, 2018 Posted December 25, 2018 6 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: A new owner bought the team and was dead set on making big changes. He got rid of the coach + GM and felt more drastic changes were needed since they have the NHL’s longest playoff drought. So they traded Skinner, Lindholm and Hanifin. Rumors are the owner is actually involved in personnel decisions (which is part of the reason why he has trouble hiring a GM. That and the $$ he was offering was super low). I don’t know if he had a hand in the Skinner trade or not, but I know he pushed for big changes. I also read that their new coach (Rod Brind’amor) wasn’t the biggest Skinner fan (I believe because he felt Skinner didn’t play enough defense or something stupid like that). Mainly I think it boiled down to them wanting to change the culture and Skinner was one of their longest tenured players. You give an accurate depiction of the Skinner situation in Carolina. But the situation in Carolina is a common situation in the league. If you don't believe that your player is willing to sign a contract with you, regardless what you are offering, when he is entering his free agency year then you have little choice but to deal him for the best deal you can get. Even if it is an imbalanced deal you have make a deal or lose him for nothing. Skinner was not going to sign a contract with Carolina because he wanted out and he wanted to be closer to Toronto where his family was. (As you noted). It certainly has worked out well for the Sabres and for him. It is probable that he will sign with us but there are no guarantees about that.
Nextmanup Posted December 25, 2018 Posted December 25, 2018 44 minutes ago, JohnC said: You give an accurate depiction of the Skinner situation in Carolina. But the situation in Carolina is a common situation in the league. If you don't believe that your player is willing to sign a contract with you, regardless what you are offering, when he is entering his free agency year then you have little choice but to deal him for the best deal you can get. Even if it is an imbalanced deal you have make a deal or lose him for nothing. Skinner was not going to sign a contract with Carolina because he wanted out and he wanted to be closer to Toronto where his family was. (As you noted). It certainly has worked out well for the Sabres and for him. It is probable that he will sign with us but there are no guarantees about that. He's going to want and he'll get a long term K, other than that, I love the idea of re-signing him. He won't keep up peak production for each year of the deal though, but that's how the game is played these days. 1
BillsFan4 Posted December 26, 2018 Posted December 26, 2018 7 hours ago, JohnC said: You give an accurate depiction of the Skinner situation in Carolina. But the situation in Carolina is a common situation in the league. If you don't believe that your player is willing to sign a contract with you, regardless what you are offering, when he is entering his free agency year then you have little choice but to deal him for the best deal you can get. Even if it is an imbalanced deal you have make a deal or lose him for nothing. Skinner was not going to sign a contract with Carolina because he wanted out and he wanted to be closer to Toronto where his family was. (As you noted). It certainly has worked out well for the Sabres and for him. It is probable that he will sign with us but there are no guarantees about that. The reason that I buy the reports that moving Skinner was a owner/GM/coach driven move to shake the team up and change the culture is that they could have just kept Skinner until the trade deadline and got a similar return (I think he easily brings a 2nd + B prospect (which is what buffalo gave up), and maybe even a 1st + B prospect if he was having a very good season). There have been reports for months that the Hurricanes are shopping for a top 6 goal scorer/sniper. There’s been recent reports that they are desperate for one and have ramped up their pursuit after failing to land William Nylander. Had the Skinner trade just been about recovering an asset for a pending free agent, I’d think they would have just kept him for most of the season instead of creating a hole that they’ve been trying to fill ever since.
JohnC Posted December 26, 2018 Posted December 26, 2018 19 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: The reason that I buy the reports that moving Skinner was a owner/GM/coach driven move to shake the team up and change the culture is that they could have just kept Skinner until the trade deadline and got a similar return (I think he easily brings a 2nd + B prospect (which is what buffalo gave up), and maybe even a 1st + B prospect if he was having a very good season). There have been reports for months that the Hurricanes are shopping for a top 6 goal scorer/sniper. There’s been recent reports that they are desperate for one and have ramped up their pursuit after failing to land William Nylander. Had the Skinner trade just been about recovering an asset for a pending free agent, I’d think they would have just kept him for most of the season instead of creating a hole that they’ve been trying to fill ever since. I have a slightly different take. The Hurricanes wanted to make the transition from the old to the new culture. Why keep on a player that doesn't want to be there and get closer to his free agency year where his trade value is limited (as you noted)? Why start a season with a lingering issue (not necessarily a problem) when you can start it fresh? Even with Skinner's departure that doesn't mean that Carolina can't keep their options open to make a deal for another scorer. Maybe not someone who is as accomplished as Skinner but sometimes you are limited through no fault of your own because of the circumstances you are confronted with. If Skinner expressed a desire to play on the west coast would the Sabres have dealt for him? Considering what they gave up for him I think they still would have made the deal with the hope that playing on the Sabres and with Jack would better position themselves to sign a deal with them. These type of situations which to force transactions happen all the time in hockey. We had a similar situation with Evander Kane. We got what we could for him which wasn't much other than improve our cap situation. With respect to William Nylander next year either he or one of the sharp shooters on the Maple Leafs may be moved because of the cap stress when they negotiate with a number of their young and talented players entering their contract years. That's going to be interesting to see how they handle that situation. I think they might still move Nylander and try to get back a good defenseman and balance out their roster for the playoffs.
4merper4mer Posted December 26, 2018 Posted December 26, 2018 19 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said: Does anyone else find it weird that New Jersey isn't getting a new jersey? 1
Alaska Darin Posted December 26, 2018 Posted December 26, 2018 13 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: The reason that I buy the reports that moving Skinner was a owner/GM/coach driven move to shake the team up and change the culture is that they could have just kept Skinner until the trade deadline and got a similar return (I think he easily brings a 2nd + B prospect (which is what buffalo gave up), and maybe even a 1st + B prospect if he was having a very good season). Maybe...but maybe not. Skinner held ALL the cards because he could refuse ANY trade. I don't think anyone was giving up much to get him as a rental. 21 hours ago, JohnC said: I agree with you that Eichel is instrumental in Skinner's goal production. But there is a flip side to that point: Skinner is allowing Eichel's talents to be better utilized. Without a finisher such as Skinner Eichel's production would not be nearly so great. I'm not arguing which player is more important to whom as I am stating that each player enhances the other to the benefit of the team. I have no disagreement here. We've all watched Jack leave dozens of helpers on the ice over his career because his teammates either don't have the sense or talent to finish the plays he creates. No man is an island. As great as Gretzky was...he was better with Kurri.
26CornerBlitz Posted December 26, 2018 Author Posted December 26, 2018 The Buffalo Sabres will miss the playoffs this season. -- @bloodfury_96 Wrong. They have a seven-point cushion for a playoff berth now and they have 23 games remaining at home, where they are 12-4-2. The 3-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks at KeyBank Center on Saturday should do wonders for their team psyche, especially after back-to-back regulation losses against the Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals. I'm buying the Sabres as being for real.
BillsFan4 Posted December 26, 2018 Posted December 26, 2018 44 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said: Maybe...but maybe not. Skinner held ALL the cards because he could refuse ANY trade. I don't think anyone was giving up much to get him as a rental. I have no disagreement here. We've all watched Jack leave dozens of helpers on the ice over his career because his teammates either don't have the sense or talent to finish the plays he creates. No man is an island. As great as Gretzky was...he was better with Kurri. Yes, very true. I think it’s probably more likely that he’s open to more teams at th deadline than at the beginning of the season. But that’s just a guess. There’s really no way to know. He was in a contract year, so if he is shipped out to somewhere he’s not familiar with for an entire season, I can see why he would be picky. He wanted to make sure that if he wasn’t in carolina, that he was setting himself up as best he could for his ability to earn a big contract. By the time the deadline comes, there’s not a whole lot of hockey left to be played. Plus, with Skinner never having made the playoffs, I’d think he’d have been open to any contender.
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