Prospects, and the future of the NHL

Buffalo signed FA forward Evan Rodrigues from BU. Not surprisingly, his stats jumped when Jack Eichel joined the team.

I had been getting concerned since the Sabres have been pushing the 50 contract org. limit. I think it's at 48 now. However, several of the 9 or so RFA's won't be back. This will give them the flexibility needed to make roster moves and to jump on opps. that arise.

I'm not expecting a lot out of Evan, but it's nice that Jack will have a friend in camp.

 

Latvia will be a big part of the future of the NHL:

[video]https://youtu.be/PYSRbeYswGQ[/video]

 

Reminds me of my grade 11 geography teacher spricenieks from latvia, crazy fk.

 

I had a math teacher in 7th grade that would tell "Lithuanian jokes", because it was very likely that you meet someone from Poland or of Polish heritage, but not a Lithuanian. Apparently, he was under the impression that Pollocks were from Poland. This is what we have (had) laying down the foundation of the future.

 

O'Connor is in the mix for a job with the Rags and the Sens.

The Sens have 3 puckstoppers. That should be interesting. Is there a relationship to the organization in Ottawa or something?

 

Gryba was BU, Chiasson too. thats not much though, maybe in FO.

 

That Eichel kid looks like he may have a future in the NHL. I cannot recall an 18 y.o. with that combination of physicality and savvy fully developed. He may not have the upside potential of McDavid, but he'd step into any NHL lineup today and improve the team.

 

being a righty in the middle will be beneficial for Buffalo. righties seem to be more rare by the year. bigger deal for D but having all of your centers the same is a bad recipe.
Girgensons and Ennis are both lefties, Hodgson also a righty.
another thing somewhat on the same topic, look at how long Eichel's stick is. much longer stick than most. Spezza also uses a really long stick, not sure hope they can handle the puck in close but obviously they've figured it out.

 

eichel reminds me of a younger kesler, before the injuries...good looking player

 

Speaking of Hodgson, he's a candidate for a buy-out this summer. In typical Darcy fashion, he acquired a good talent and then lavished a stupid contract on him before he's proven. He put up Ville Leinoesque numbers for the Sabres this year. (Granted this ragtag collection could probably have made Patty Kane look like average talent.) The cap hit would be much softer if they bought him out now rather than waiting a year; hence he's a buy-out candidate.

I hope they roll the dice and retain him. He's shown very good offensive flashes in the NHL. However he'll probably forever be a defensive liability. I give him credit for being an extremely hard worker in the offseason. He should forget the fact that he was once a #10 pick, and come to camp with a chip on his shoulder to prove he's not a bust. The Sabres now run deep down the center, so he'll have to embrace, (distinct from accepting his fate), that he's now a winger. I would just like to see what he can do when surrounded by better talent, and when he has a real HC.

His contract makes his trade value about zilch. If he fails next season again then the cap hit could bite the team in a few years when players like Reinhart & Eichel are coming off their ELC's. Still, I'd hate to see him flourish elsewhere for a team that got him for peanuts.

 

I would also add that Hodgson's whining for a trade might make him a rehab project a rebuilding franchise isn't anxious to consider.

As long as Buffalo doesn't have to worry about space, I think they should keep him.
Put him down for 50 games, nobody worth worrying about will take that contract on waivers.

 

That's the ticket! If he gets claimed then BUF does not have any cap hit ramifications. It wouldn't happen, but the team would probably be happy if he was claimed. It's too bad to see such great talent wasted. It's worse to see a FO give him such a long term deal at $4MM/per.

 

I have not heard him even hint at wanting to be traded, but I do not hear everything. I watched his post-season interview with interest; I wanted to get an idea where is head was more than hoping to gain any insights into what went wrong. Cody said all the right things, and with a proper degree of humility. He claims he'll play where he's told and that he wants to be here.

He's a tough nut to crack because there are very valid reasons for believing he's an arrogant asshat. Teddy was axed the next day, so I expect that gave him a nice bounce to his step going into the off season. In the end, I expect that TM and Mr. Pegula will interview players like Gionta to determine what he's really like in the lockerroom and in practice and base their decision more on that then his stats for this year.

 

Sorry, should have clarified. It was reported that he asked to be traded out of Vancouver. I've had no reason to believe he's asked for anything in Buffalo. They gave him enough reasons to shut his yap.

 

I saw him play his first game for Buffalo in Anaheim. There are three things that stand out about that game:
1) Myers had his first NHL fight. He'd been in the league for nearly two years. That's his nature, but I would have expected a 6' 8" d-man to have been goaded into one sooner. As I look back at all the players Buffalo has shuffled out over the past three years it is astounding to think of how many talented pussies that didn't know how - or want - to step it up when needed that Darcy had accumulated. We may or may not see a winner any year fairly soon, but I am consoled with the certainty that I'd rather pull for losers than pussies.

2) Cody had a few defensive lapses. At the time I excused them because he had zero practices with the team. Now I know that he just doesn't play that game. That's the bane of highly talented offensemen that have too high regard for their talent. Cody whined in VAN because the Sedins were better. If he's ever going to amount to anything he's going to have to think like a third-rounder that has to battle for everything.

3) After the Sabres won that game I was right on the glass as he exited the ice. I gave him a hearty welcome to Buffalo cheer. He ignored me completely, and I know he could hear me. So, now I'm thinking "is he an aloof fuck?". Yup, he is.

Still, he's got undeniable talent. Some guys grow up and others don't. I'm hoping for the best.

 

t minus 48 hrs.

 

Boston University goaltender Matt O'Connor has signed with the Ottawa Senators.

 

not sure what that means for Lehner but it's nothing good. he was always sold as an elite prospect but the first thing anyone seemed to ever say about Lehner was how confident he was. false bravado it seems.

 

I really hope he plays in the Swiss-A and starts a trend. Bad for the CHL, and definitely not good for the NCAA, so I'm a huge fan of his future decision to jump the pond (fingers crossed). Anything that makes CHL, NCAA, and other traditional N. american hockey clowns think about the flaws in their systems is a win in my book. Nobody cares about average NHL hopefuls, but possible number 1 overalls jumping the pond will get some attention. Anything in Europe that dilutes the KHL is a plus in my book too. Small step but a noteworthy one...if it happens.

I hope he plays for Zug. They haven't had a championship since 98.

Isn't this the time where a magic, but invisible, bag of money from Boston, Minnesota, ND, etc. magically appears before him and he commits to the NCAA?