I'm sure Grigs would be pumped about the opportunity to play in Rockford for 2 more years under Quenneville.
I dunno. Grigs may be ready to make the jump to partial NHL duty for the right org. The talent that had him in top-three talk the year before his draft (undeserved acclaim) and what made him the #12 pick, still exists. He did not go too high; Darcy fucked him up. There may never been a better example of a player that could benefit from a change in scenery.
I guess this means you do not think TM would get a call back. I think that would be a mistake. Getting the chance to acquire exceptionally talent 21 y.o. talent does not come around too often. That, plus a high pick in this draft. It would be an error to not take a hard look at acquiring two talented players while finding a way to staying cap-compliment.
The #31 doesn't do anything for the Hawks. Even if the pick is solid, it's probably 4 or 5 years from helping out. Sharp will get a better pick if they really want one. If Grigorenko isn't ready for all situations, there's a good chance he gets buried and becomes a malcontent. Hawks are already loaded up for PP forwards, with Panarin and Teravainen also set to snag scoring ice time. If he can't adjust to a 3rd line role effectively, there's a chance he gets buried behind system centers like Danault or one of the many defensive centers. The Hawks have too many slots filled for scoring play makers and they want to contend immediately. I'm not knocking Grigorenko's talent, he's just a bad fit for Chicago given their roster construction. I think it's too risky he becomes a Burmistrov with the Hawks.
I agree with the bolded about Grigs, I just don't think Chicago is a good fit. I'm with you about Darcy screwing him up too.
Things are gonna look a hell of a lot different next year, that's for sure. I'm wondering if they might've overpaid on ROR.
With McGinn in the deal, I think the opposite could be argued. The only asset moving to Denver that may have eventually played an important role once the Sabres become competitive is Zadorov and #31. And with these that's not certain and were at minimum of a year away from knowing. Grigorenko was included not because Buffalo gave up on him, but they have too many young skilled C's. They may have wanted to try him at the wings, but that would have required time in Rochester. Thanks to Darcy that was not an option. He could become a very good player but there's no looking back. There's just above a zero % chance that he'd ever be good for BUF. He effectively forced a trade. I really like JT Compher but he projects to the bottom six and I'd give that up every time for a player like ROR. ROR's going to be a huge part of turning this team around for two reasons. 1) The Sabres desperately needed a two way player that can improve the up-to-now pathetic possession stats. 2) He will prevent the need to throw Eichel onto the first line. Eich is physically capable of that but he's the franchise player but he is a teenager and "sheltering" him on his rookie campaign will help his career. In other words, ROR's intangible contribution are what TM wanted; the improved team scoring are secondary. The team's chance of ever hoisting the SC jumped when they took Eich. But the probability is dramatically better with ROR. That's worth paying for and I like that Buffalo gave up nothing for which the same can be said. And they have that Compher type player now rather than three years down the line.
Ok, I just thought they might have given up a bit too quick on on those russians and maybe the 31st didn't need to be thrown in there. My opinion is that he's asking way too much, he wants more than $6M for 55 pts, doesn't make any sense, and he was minus 5, doesn't rough it up by the low pim's, not sure what to make of this, they must really like the player.
Skinny, I cannot argue with you on this. I agree that on the surface ROR is asking for an awful lot based on his standard stats. We know for a fact that TM really liked him. ROR is valuable more for his intangibles than for his stats, (he's very good but no superstar on that level). He made the NHL right after his draft; he has heart; he has grit, and he has a tremendous work ethic. We also know that players rave about him as a teammate because he lifts the level of everyone else on the ice. The Sabres knew his contract desires when they got him and clearly intend to try to come to an agreement. TM has big brass balls and is very decisive. From day one he has maintained that goal is to get good quickly. Good is winning the Cup. He feels the chances of that happening are greatly enhanced with ROR on the roster. I agree with that assessment. He gave up a lot of nice young assets, but collectively they could never be expected to contribute to a championship team relative to ROR's individual contribution. And, McGinn was not a throw in like Legwand was.
I haven't watched his play close, but they say if you want the player bad enough you'll pay. The sabres have the cap space, so its a perfect fit. I was looking at the upcoming contract and his demands being what they are, the numbers didn't go with anything more than the 6M he's currently earning, from what I've read his corsi tells a different story.
TM and the Sabres made a lot of noise on July 1, 2014. They made a lot of noise last Friday. They seem to have come down with laryngitis this July. I think they've made enough noise for a while and am happy they're not chasing contracts. TM reports that he had offers to a few D-men that signed elsewhere. Gotta figure Sekera and Martin were in their scopes. I would have liked either but given everything considered, I don't think they'd be worth to the Sabres what they got paid. They could still sign Oduya. I am not a big believer in importing culture, (that comes from the top-down rather than roster-up), but I would not mind a bit of the Hawks' culture rubbing off on this team. TM has made a few minor deals to strengthen Rochester. It's all good. It helps a rebuilding cause when you don't have to worry about the cap floor. Still, I think TM will not hesitate if a chance to get another great player if the opportunity presents itself. A new coach, E. Kane, J. Eichel, ROR, and another year for Larsson, Ristolainen, Girgensons, et al leads me to a sanguine state. I think Buffalo is an 80-85 point team this season.
Colaliacovo signs a 1 year deal, never could stay healthy, misses at least 20 games a year if not more, but he knows what to do in his own zone. I was in a fantasy football league with his brother years back, always showed promise just can't keep off the DL.
If he can play more than 50 games he might be a bargain at $900k. The team was pretty dreadful at the bottom of the blueline. Half a season of him is an improvement over some of the hacks. Bogo, Risto, & Gorges can play, (but Gorges is coming off a major injury). Pysyk may surprise people this year; he's pretty boring - just the kind of blueliner I like on my team. McCabe probably needs more time in Rochester but I expect he'll see some time in Buffalo. The team actually has a pretty good top six, with a decent third line. Even their fourth line won't be the worst in the league. Possession stats will likely be vastly better, (they cannot get worse), and the team will look like they belong in the NHL this year. Lehner has to be considered a question mark, but nowhere near as big of a question in G as it was before the trade. Philly went from worst to the playoffs in one offseason, but even that season they endured a 10 game non-winning streak. I am not saying the Sabres are playoff bound - they're more likely to be 25th than missing the lottery - but they'll put together some nice stretches. They'll mix in some horrible stretches too. Rochester is likely to be a winning team and a year from now Buffalo should be in the playoff discussion.
900k is worth it, low risk for sure. Eichel will just be another average nhl'er in his first year, not sure if reinhart makes the club, probably yes. Kane, ROR and ennis will lead the way, I say they just might be on the outside looking in, they'll probably draft 10th next year.
Needless to say, it's a bit early to project the Sabres' opening day offensive line up, but I think it could look like this: Kane ? O'Reilly ? Ennis Moulson ? Eichel ? Gionta Larsson ? Girgensons? McGinn DesLauriers ? Legwand ? Foligno Three out of these top six have never skated for the Sabres, and I think it's a fair comment to say this line up looks better than a year ago. This leaves Samson Reinhart in Rochester; IMO that would be ideal for him this Fall.
...and that is not too shabby. I like whats going on in Buffalo. Get some D and goaltending with that forward core and the Sabres will be a much improved team... really they already are. Good Luck this up-coming season.
What I like is the versatility of this lineup. Two of the wingers, (Ennis & Larsson) have played C, and two of the C's, (ROR & Girgs), have played on the wings. There is an awful lot of work to do to incorporate the new coaching system and for the players to gel with each other. I expect that we could see a lot of line changes over the course of the season as Blysma tweaks things. The fact that so many parts can be moved around will make this easier. Many assume that Reinhart will play in BUF this year, (I do expect he'll play at least the first nine there). I would prefer - and it would be consistent with TM's view - to give him at least a half season with the Amerks. Samson could play 3C with Gus (Girgs) being kicked to the wing with perhaps Larsson as 4C. If Gorges comes back healthy, (one of the biggest ifs this offseason), then the D should look better than last season. Bogosian and Ristolainen are both young but I believe it's fair to call them established players. I maintain that Mark Pysyk is going to surprise a lot of people this year - he performed like the best player on the ice for small stretches last year. The team kept him in ROC for most of the season, (the theory is to aid the "tank"). If there's any truth to that then it tells you the team was concerned that he was too good. I personally believe that TM is sticking to his guns when he says he's not going to rush any young players. There is still time for the team to sign another blueliner (Oduya?). But the thing that will make the D look much better this season is the improved forwards; that plus a system that will care and pay attention to possession stats. Lehner is a clear upgrade over last year; at 23 is he really ready for a full time starter role? If he gets injured then things could be pretty bad. I expect TM is looking for a veteran backup that has had fulltime duty at some point in his career. All in all, this team is vastly improved; they could make one of those historic leaps in points. But there will almost certainly be some losing screeds as well. Unless TM pulls off another major quantity-for-quality trade or lands a prized RFA then I believe that 85 points is about the top end for what we could expect this year. It will be a different trade deadline this year; the team may sell pending UFA's (not too many of these: F: Legwand, McGinn; D: Weber, Colaiacova; & G: Johnson). If McGinn is peddled then it will be because the team has disappointed, and if Cola is moved it could only be because he's stayed healthy. The team has 10 picks in the '16 draft (in BUF) and because it'll be in BUF the team may make a move to acquire a second first. Otherwise, I think the long term lineup for this team is starting to come into focus and the team will spend more time assessing what they already have compared to what they still need.
This article from NHL.com on Blysma's perspective was interesting... As much as Buffalo Sabres coach Dan Bylsma wants to keep a calm approach and his comments measured in the media, he can't help but use words like dramatic and big-time to describe what his boss was able to do for him and his new team on June 26. "To have the ability to draft a player in Jack Eichel, that's a big day for your organization, that alone," Bylsma said during a phone interview. "To get a top-flight player in Ryan O'Reilly to your team, that's a big day. To get a young goaltender [Robin Lehner] and add him to your team, that's a significant day for the Buffalo Sabres. It all came on draft day. It's a dramatic day." Drama wasn't what Tim Murray, the Sabres straight-talking general manager, was going for; it was a byproduct of what he did. He had assets, including high draft picks, young players and prospects, and he used them to speed up the Sabres rebuild, giving Bylsma a team that this season better be able to play meaningful hockey in March and maybe even April too. On the same day Murray selected Eichel with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, he also acquired Lehner, O'Reilly and forwards Jamie McGinn and David Legwand through trades. He traded picks No. 21 and 31, defenseman Nikita Zadorov and forwards Mikhail Grigorenko and JT Compher. "When you say Eichel and O'Reilly and Lehner and McGinn and Legwand, and then you mix in Evander Kane, who hasn't played for the Sabres yet so he'll be new to the team, you're talking about very, very significant additions to your team," Bylsma said. "It's big-time." All of a sudden the Sabres roster looks good enough to compete, so much so that it's not outlandish to think Buffalo can win in the neighborhood of 35-40 games this season after winning only 23 last season. The top three centers should be O'Reilly, Eichel and Sam Reinhart (No. 2 pick in 2014), provided O'Reilly plays in the middle and not on the wing. Kane, Tyler Ennis, Matt Moulson, Zemgus Girgensons, Marcus Foligno and Brian Gionta should round out the top nine. Gionta is 36 and Moulson is 31; the seven other players that could be in Buffalo's group of top-nine forwards are 25 or younger. Eichel and Reinhart are teenagers. McGinn, who could be on the fourth line, had 38 points with the Colorado Avalanche two seasons ago. The defense still could use some help, but Josh Gorges, Zach Bogosian and Rasmus Ristolainen is a good start for a team that is still technically rebuilding. Murray is confident Lehner is ready to be a full-time No. 1 goalie. He has a lot to prove, but he's 23 years old and this is his first chance to be the unquestioned No. 1. "You have to draft well in order to make good trades," Murray said. "And if you can get guys that are 22, 23 or 24, they speed up the process if they're the right guys." But let's rewind back to Bylsma's measured comments and calm demeanor, because that's what he and Murray are trying to do. For all the additions, the expectations within the front office and coaching staff have not changed. "My clich? is we're trying to improve a little bit every day," Murray said. "We believe we've improved. But we know it's a new coaching staff, there's a lot of new players, there's going to be a lot of meshing and jelling that has to go on here." Talk of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs is not on Bylsma's or Murray's radar, at least not yet. The minimum number of wins it took to make the playoffs last season was 43. "We have to develop into a good team," Bylsma said. "We have to develop the pieces now that are a little more evident and in place to become a good team. It's not there yet. "Jack Eichel is the perfect example. He's an excellent player. The anticipation is that he's an extremely good player in the National Hockey League, but he's not there yet. He's got to develop his game and he has to develop as a player. He's got work to do to become a good NHL player. "It's exciting to add Ryan O'Reilly, and it's exciting to look at our lineup with the possibilities of having a top line winger in Kane, but we're not there yet. We're developing. But I do think after the draft weekend, I think people are saying the Buffalo Sabres just got a whole lot better." __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _______________________________ Pretty much sums it up. If i were a Sabres fan i would be kinda giddy about the up-coming season. I really think this team is going to make some impressions in the NHL that will be a source of a bit of conversation. Im happy for ya, and wish you the best... except when you play the Wings. ___________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _______________________________ Avalanche fan at all? Been to any games in Denver?
