The future of the Buffalo Sabres starts tonight with the drafting of Jack Eichel (assuming he signs with us and doesn't go back to college which I believe he won't). He's our franchise player and it will be awesome to have a forward/ No. 1 center be our franchise elite player. It's been way too long since what LaFontaine or maybe even Perrault? Sure even Briere and Drury were very good for the short time they were here but this is an 18-year-old kid who will be here for a good 15 years or so helping leading this team to the promised land. Who doesn't love it when Tim Murray doesn't do the BS of thanking everyone just goes "Buffalo selects Jack Eichel" like he did last year with Sam Reinhart?
Eichel is considered to be one of the best prospects in the last what 15-20 years? Since then Eichel has been considered the number one pick in every draft in that time except the Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, and of course the Connor McDavid years. Ovechkin and Crosby helped turn their teams around from miserable failures to success and McDavid should do the same with Edmonton. I've heard Eichel compared to fellow American Mike Modano (1988 #1 overall pick) and current stars Steven Stamkos and Jeff Carter.
As of that wasn't enough, they traded for a goalie early in the day (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/sabres-acquire-goalie-robin-lehner-and.html) and right after selecting Eichel, the Sabres announced they traded for Ryan O'Reilly. They traded Nikita Zadorov, Mikhail Grigorenko, JT Compher, and the 31st pick in this year's draft for O'Reilly and forward Jamie McGinn. O'Reilly gives them a legitimate number two center behind Eichel and gives the Sabres one of the best center depth in the NHL with Zemgus Girgensons and Sam Reinhart also on the roster.
Now O'Reilly has one year left on his deal that carries a $6 million cap hit which the Avalanche matched an offer sheet signed two years ago by the Calgary Flames and that basically ruined the relationship between the Avs and O'Reilly. We have to sign O'Reilly and it appears he wants a deal in the $8 million range which might be steep but also kind of worth it given his offensive production and amazing two-way, possession game. He's the complete opposite of Cody Hodgson as a two-way player. Murray said they are preparing to offer him a big contract or else why did they trade so much for him?
Murray got a lot of flack for making this deal especially trading Zadorov. Zadorov can be a very good defenseman and showed flashes of brilliance last season. But he also really struggled at times and got benched and suspended and had an attitude of entitlement. That doesn't mean he should be gone yet he became expendable to make a big trade. Like I wrote the other day (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/i-would-trade-reinhart-for-oreilly-i.html), you have to be prepared to trade someone you might not want or be comfortable trading to improve your team and Zadorov (and maybe some who still had hope for Grigorenko) were the ones to go. Rasmus Ristolainen and Eichel are the only "untouchables" on this roster. We can fill another spot in free agency and one guy I'm very interested in is former Sabre Andrej Seker, who is a UFA. We don't have a guy on the defense for the power play and he's always been good at that and point producing even though a lot of people didn't like him here. I liked Sekera.
No surprise obviously McDavid went first overall with the Oilers. Arizona was not able to trade it's third overall pick (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/coyotes-looking-to-trade-pick-3-bruins.html) and instead took McDavid's Erie Otters' teammate Dylan Strome. Had the Sabres not picked in the top-2 for McDavid or Eichel, Strome would have been my top pick at number three. Toronto and Mike Babcock select center Mitch Marner, who finished a close second behind Strome for the OHL scoring title this past season which McDavid would have easily won had he not gotten hurt for six weeks of the season.
Carolina took Boston College defenseman Noah Hanifan and Carolina looks to get better on the blue line and they're a team I could see on the rise. Hanifan would make an excellent addition and partner for fellow defenseman Justin Faulk, who had a breakout season and franchise record-breaking season for most points by a defenseman. If they keep both Staals and maybe Jeff Skinner or get a great trade for him (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/jeff-skinner-might-be-available-id-go.html) they'll be on the rise no doubt. They're penalty kill (which dramatically) and possession numbers are both very great as first year head coach Bill Peters has done a great job and they finished the second half of the season really strong. They get a good goalie, they're a playoff team.
The team who hosted the draft, the Florida Panthers, took Lawson Crouse 11th overall. Crouse was talked as a possible top-5 pick as he was 5th in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings because of his size and scoring ability plus his play in the World Juniors this past season for Team Canada. He did not score a lot in juniors which is a red flag in my opinion as he was nowhere even close to the scoring leaders, but he did jump up significantly this past season from the season before as he went from 27 to 51 points. However, he still ranked 63rd in the OHL scoring race. 63rd!!! He just averaged under a point a game in a league where the best scorers averaged 2 points a game (or in McDavid's case close to 3 points a game). He has high bust potential but could be the next Milan Lucic or Todd Bertuzzi if it pans out, maybe even better. We shall see.
Ottawa took young American center prospect Colin White, who is considered one of the better prospects in this deep draft, 21st overall with the Sabres pick. White is considered to play for Boston College this upcoming season but who knows. The one and only goalie taken in the first round one pick after as the Washington Capitals took Ilya Samsonov 22nd overall as he was expected to go late in round one and if the Sabres still had pick 21, they'd probably take him.
One last thing is that the Boston Bruins continue to make mind numbing decision after decision. It didn't matter that Peter Chiarelli was fired for making mind numbing trades like Phil Kessel for two first round picks what turned out to be Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton then trading Seguin for garbage and put them in the place they're currently in. I didn't even mention Joe Thornton going for practically nothing before Chiarelli was GM but they get credit because they won the Cup. Yes they did get lucky trading Kessel, who even though he produces points, he doesn't always show up and puts in terrible efforts night in night out and is awful defensively. Seguin and Hamilton should have taken your team to the Cup for many years to come. I don't know what's in the water in Boston but whoever the GM is, makes dumb decisions enough said.
Reports were they were interested in trading top defenseman Dougie Hamilton to the Coyotes for the third pick in the draft to take Hanifan but instead, they trade him to Calgary for the 15th overall pick?!?! Huh? Don Sweeney is doing a great job let me tell you (smh). They also traded Milan Lucic to Los Angeles for the 13th overall pick and restricted free agent goalie Martin Jones combine the two picks with their own, they had the 13th, 14th, and 15th overall picks in the draft. Many thought they'd trade all 3 or 2 of the 3 along with either Jones or Tukka Rask to move up but did not.
Trading Lucic no big deal as he's on the decline. But trading Hamilton a #1 defenseman for many years to come for basically nothing is just pathetic and I will enjoy them being a bottom feeder for quite some time. They fired Chiarelli and should fired Sweeney as well along with President Cam Neely. They want to be a physical and tough team and I say fine, we'll just circle around you like we did 10 years ago after the lockout. I love how teams bring in former players to run their teams into the ground. I'll write more about that in the coming days.
Buffalo is a team on the rise and I for one can't wait for this season to start. Next year's draft will be held here in Buffalo even though more than likely next year's draft won't be as important as they should be on the way towards winning. Let's go Buffalo!!
Showing posts with label 2015 NHL Draft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2015 NHL Draft. Show all posts
Friday, June 26, 2015
Sabres Acquire Goalie Robin Lehner and David Legwand from the Senators for the 21st Pick; That's a Very Steep Price for a Backup Goalie; I Have to Admit This is My First Move from Murray That I Seriously Question!!! Prove Me Wrong Tim
The Sabres announced they traded their 21st overall pick (from the New York Islanders) to the Ottawa Senators for Goalie Robin Lehner and soon-to-be 35-year-old Center David Legwand. Tim Murray goes back to his roots in Ottawa getting a guy who he scouted and drafted. The price seems a little steep because he's 30-36-13 record with a 2.88 goals against average and a .914 save percentage. Essentially, the Sabres traded Thomas Vanek back in Oct. 2013 for Lehner and Legwand.
Lehner got off to a great start in his career with a .935 and .936 save percentages in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons in limited starts. He got off to a great start with a .930 save % the first half of the 2013-14 season then ended the second half under .900 to finish with a .913. This past season, Lehner was sharing with Craig Anderson and only went 9-12-3 with a .905 save percentage before sustaining a concussion on Feb. 16 and did not play the rest of the season.
The emergence of Andrew Hammond last season further made Lehner expendable on the trade market. Hammond went 20-1-2 with a .941 save percentage following Lehner's injury and helped guide the Senators to the playoffs. Like I said, it seems like a steep price sending the 21st overall pick for him. There must be more than meets than eye however. Murray scouted him and spent time with him in the AHL and Ottawa so he must know about him and sees something in him.
The asking prices of Cam Talbot or Martin Jones must be too high and if that's the case and Lehner performs, then it's a steal. I am in the middle I don't think it's the worst move ever but definitely don't think it's the best move either. Andrew Peters is too unobjectionable about this giving it too much credit. You don't have to bash it but don't act like it's the best move ever as well. I will have to wait and see.
He turns 24 in July and has two years left on his deal and would only be a restricted free agent when his contract is done so maybe that drove the price up. Also, maybe there's more teams interested and Bryan Murray was trying to get the best offer possible and the Sabres gave him the best. Other teams probably weren't interested in offering a first round pick whereas the Sabres can and would.
I like some of the things I've read and heard about him. I've also liked what I heard about Ville Leino too but let's not go there. Lehner should benefit from a better team and hopefully a better offense and defense that the Sabres will have. Ottawa is not that great. Legwand means nothing too me, he's got only one-year left at $3 million and could be waived.
It will be interesting to see Lehner vs. Hammond goalie matchups. Did Tim Murray raise the goalie market up significantly? We'll see what others go for. New York and LA and others will definitely ask for much more than the Senators did. Will Murray part ways with next year's first round pick for a top-6 forward? Hopefully even though that pick can turn into a lottery top-3 pick if they miss the playoffs and get a top-3 pick in the lottery.
Lehner got off to a great start in his career with a .935 and .936 save percentages in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons in limited starts. He got off to a great start with a .930 save % the first half of the 2013-14 season then ended the second half under .900 to finish with a .913. This past season, Lehner was sharing with Craig Anderson and only went 9-12-3 with a .905 save percentage before sustaining a concussion on Feb. 16 and did not play the rest of the season.
The emergence of Andrew Hammond last season further made Lehner expendable on the trade market. Hammond went 20-1-2 with a .941 save percentage following Lehner's injury and helped guide the Senators to the playoffs. Like I said, it seems like a steep price sending the 21st overall pick for him. There must be more than meets than eye however. Murray scouted him and spent time with him in the AHL and Ottawa so he must know about him and sees something in him.
The asking prices of Cam Talbot or Martin Jones must be too high and if that's the case and Lehner performs, then it's a steal. I am in the middle I don't think it's the worst move ever but definitely don't think it's the best move either. Andrew Peters is too unobjectionable about this giving it too much credit. You don't have to bash it but don't act like it's the best move ever as well. I will have to wait and see.
He turns 24 in July and has two years left on his deal and would only be a restricted free agent when his contract is done so maybe that drove the price up. Also, maybe there's more teams interested and Bryan Murray was trying to get the best offer possible and the Sabres gave him the best. Other teams probably weren't interested in offering a first round pick whereas the Sabres can and would.
I like some of the things I've read and heard about him. I've also liked what I heard about Ville Leino too but let's not go there. Lehner should benefit from a better team and hopefully a better offense and defense that the Sabres will have. Ottawa is not that great. Legwand means nothing too me, he's got only one-year left at $3 million and could be waived.
It will be interesting to see Lehner vs. Hammond goalie matchups. Did Tim Murray raise the goalie market up significantly? We'll see what others go for. New York and LA and others will definitely ask for much more than the Senators did. Will Murray part ways with next year's first round pick for a top-6 forward? Hopefully even though that pick can turn into a lottery top-3 pick if they miss the playoffs and get a top-3 pick in the lottery.
What Can the Sabres Do at 21? Get a Goalie? Or Get a Top-6 Forward Like Skinner, O'Reilly, or Okposo?
With all the hype of getting Jack Eichel, there is the question of what to do at pick #21? Do the Sabres get a goalie and/or a top-6 forward like Jeff Skinner, Ryan O'Reilly, or even Kyle Okposo? For goalie, the top guys to be traded are New York Rangers' backup Cam Talbot and Vancouver's backup Eddie Lack.
The Rangers reportedly want two first round picks but could just want pick #21 from the Sabres and a conditional pick, That pick might be too high for a goalie. Lack could go for a 2nd or even 3rd round pick and that could be a good price. There's also LA Kings' backup Martin Jones, who they could go after with an offer sheet as he's a restricted free agent.
The Hurricanes are looking to move Skinner (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/jeff-skinner-might-be-available-id-go.html) as they want to re-sign both Eric Staal and Cam Ward (I don't know why). The Hurricanes are in the position they are in because of giving Ward a big contract years ago in the first place. He's been mediocre at best and even great goalies who sign big contracts aren't worth that, it's even worse for a mediocre or worse goalie. I remember the game against them in the final week of the season last year where he was awful and cost them the game by allowing 4 goals and almost hurt our chances at McEichel.
O'Reilly (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/i-would-trade-reinhart-for-oreilly-i.html) is pretty much done in Colorado especially after they just gave Carl Soderberg a five-year deal nearly worth five million a year. I love how the Avalanche continue to fail and not use analytics to their advantage. Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic continue to thumb their nose at analytics because "they played the game."
Analytics called for a regression this past season after they miraculously won the division and had a 100-point season in 2013-14 after finishing with the second-worst record in 2012-13. Many analytics experts felt they were lucky to win the division and called for them to lose in the first round (which they did) and expected them to fail, which they did as they had the 10th worst record this past season.
Islanders' GM Garth Snow said he wasn't going to trade Okposo but take that with a grain of salt. Okposo is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Okposo is a solid player who would be a good fit for the Sabres perhaps for the 21st overall pick. He's had 18 or more goals in three of the last four seasons (the only one he didn't was the lockout-shortened season) and has had 27 goals two seasons ago. He had 18 in only 60 games as he missed 22 with injury, which would put him around his career-high if he played the full season.
Patrick Sharp is also available but unlikely for the Sabres because of the steep asking price of the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks reportedly want a first round pick, a top prospect, AND a top six forward on an entry level contract. I expect the asking price to drop because Chicago needs to ,over some salaries because they're in cap trouble with the upcoming raises of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. I like Sharp but not at that price.
Whatever happens later today will be very interesting. Don't expect Tim Murray to not just take Eichel as he will do whatever to improve this team as quickly as possible. For those who think this is a five-year project will be in for a rude awakening.
The Rangers reportedly want two first round picks but could just want pick #21 from the Sabres and a conditional pick, That pick might be too high for a goalie. Lack could go for a 2nd or even 3rd round pick and that could be a good price. There's also LA Kings' backup Martin Jones, who they could go after with an offer sheet as he's a restricted free agent.
The Hurricanes are looking to move Skinner (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/jeff-skinner-might-be-available-id-go.html) as they want to re-sign both Eric Staal and Cam Ward (I don't know why). The Hurricanes are in the position they are in because of giving Ward a big contract years ago in the first place. He's been mediocre at best and even great goalies who sign big contracts aren't worth that, it's even worse for a mediocre or worse goalie. I remember the game against them in the final week of the season last year where he was awful and cost them the game by allowing 4 goals and almost hurt our chances at McEichel.
O'Reilly (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/i-would-trade-reinhart-for-oreilly-i.html) is pretty much done in Colorado especially after they just gave Carl Soderberg a five-year deal nearly worth five million a year. I love how the Avalanche continue to fail and not use analytics to their advantage. Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic continue to thumb their nose at analytics because "they played the game."
Analytics called for a regression this past season after they miraculously won the division and had a 100-point season in 2013-14 after finishing with the second-worst record in 2012-13. Many analytics experts felt they were lucky to win the division and called for them to lose in the first round (which they did) and expected them to fail, which they did as they had the 10th worst record this past season.
Islanders' GM Garth Snow said he wasn't going to trade Okposo but take that with a grain of salt. Okposo is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Okposo is a solid player who would be a good fit for the Sabres perhaps for the 21st overall pick. He's had 18 or more goals in three of the last four seasons (the only one he didn't was the lockout-shortened season) and has had 27 goals two seasons ago. He had 18 in only 60 games as he missed 22 with injury, which would put him around his career-high if he played the full season.
Patrick Sharp is also available but unlikely for the Sabres because of the steep asking price of the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks reportedly want a first round pick, a top prospect, AND a top six forward on an entry level contract. I expect the asking price to drop because Chicago needs to ,over some salaries because they're in cap trouble with the upcoming raises of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. I like Sharp but not at that price.
Whatever happens later today will be very interesting. Don't expect Tim Murray to not just take Eichel as he will do whatever to improve this team as quickly as possible. For those who think this is a five-year project will be in for a rude awakening.
Happy Eichel Day!!! This Will Be Our Best (Non Goalie) Player Since LaFontaine? Perrault?
"Today is the Greatest Day Ever!" - Smashing Pumpkins
This is great!! Tonight in about 12 hours or so the Sabres make it official they're drafting Jack Eichel second overall!! This has to be the most excited anyone has ever been over the second overall pick in the NHL or any draft for that matter maybe ever?! We've been talking about Eichel for over a year more like a year and a half when we started hearing about how he was going to challenge Connor McDavid for the top spot in the 2015 NHL Draft.
It felt like June 26, 2015 would never come but it's here finally!!! All our patience and sacrifice and suffering have finally paid off. Waiting and watching the team lose and getting into arguments with each other about whether or not we want the Sabres to win or lose for "McEichel" are all done. Thank God!!
This is the best offensive player since what? LaFontaine or even Perrault? I wasn't old enough to see Gilbert Perrault as he retired when i was about 4 or 5 years old. I definitely don't know the feeling it was when the Sabres drafted him as their first ever draft pick as I am sure no one really knew as the information isn't like it was today. I'm sure most felt he was the best player in the draft and the Sabres thankfully won the spinning of the wheel to get him so there might be some excitement. But I am sure no one followed this guy's career and even life for about two years.
I was only about 10 years old when LaFontaine was traded here and I wasn't quite following hockey yet. A couple of years later is when I really started to follow hockey and the Sabres so LaFontaine (and Mogilny) were already here kicking ass. I'm sure most know he was a star with the Islanders when he was traded here and most were very excited to get him. But he wasn't a draft pick of ours and this isn't the same as it is today.
Both LaFontaine and Perrault are Hall of Famers and we should expect Jack Eichel to be in that group maybe even better (no pressure). I expect him to be the best player in franchise history not just forward but even better than Dominik Hasek. I definitely want the greatest player in franchise history to be a scoring forward and not a goalie. I'm sick and tired of our better players in recent history to be a goalie and constantly be bailed out by a goalie every night.
This is a new day and a new era!! The draft can't come soon enough.
Coyotes Looking to Trade Pick #3; Bruins Rumored to Give up Dougie Hamilton for the Pick; They're Nuts if they Do That
The Arizona Coyotes are rumored to trade the third overall pick in tonight's draft. Teams rumored to be interested are the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Winnipeg Jets, and even the Boston Bruins. Sources state that the Bruins have talked to the Coyotes to move up to the third overall pick and reportedly are enamored with Boston College defenseman and Boston native Noah Hanifan.
Reports are that the Bruins would offer 22-year-old up-and-coming future star defenseman Dougie Hamilton as part of the deal. It would be ridiculous to trade a future star like Hamilton, a no. 1 defenseman, which is hard to come by, for what would be an 18-year-old rookie defenseman. Rookie defensemen usually struggle early on (unless you're Aaron Ekblad) and aren't no. 1 defensemen for at least a couple of seasons. Even our no. 1 Rasmus Ristolainen struggled a little early on.
Hanifan has potential to be a no. 1 but also has been listed as a potential bust as well. There are no guarantees with defensemen as there are with forwards. If I were to make this deal, I'd do it to move up for a no. 1 center in either Dylan Strome or Mitch Marner. Although Patrice Bergeron is a good no. 1 center, they need to find a younger possible replacement for him. They are also looking to move on from Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara.
The Bruins are in cap trouble and might not be able to sign Hamilton, who is a restricted free agent. Boston and Hamilton are far apart in their contract negotiations. The Bruins have been a joke this decade trading away star forwards like Joe Thornton, Phil Kessel (say what you will about his effort which isn't great but he produces point wise), and especially Tyler Seguin. They essentially traded Kessel for Seguin as they traded Kessel for Toronto's first round pick, which ended up being the second overall pick and Seguin.
Those moves have come back to bite Boston in the rear, especially the Seguin deal. Yes they won the Cup in 2011 and went to the finals in 2013. Then they traded Seguin and have looked ridiculous in that trade as they got hosed by Dallas. Seguin looks like a star while no one in the trade has done anything for Boston. That's why Peter Chiarelli is the GM of the Edmonton Oilers right now. They were eliminated in the first round in the 2014 playoffs and missed the playoffs entirely last season and continuing to look like they're falling even farther. I couldn't be happier. Heck, Hamilton, helped get Boston in the playoffs last season before getting hurt and they struggled without him and missed the playoffs.
Boston President Cam Neely and new GM Don Sweeney want Boston to be even tougher than before and continue to be intent on trading skill for tougher players to be even tougher. Isn't that why they got into this mess in the first place? Well continue to be stupid and stubborn Boston while the rest of your division, and the Sabres, continue to lap you and laugh at you and your decisions.
Reports are that the Bruins would offer 22-year-old up-and-coming future star defenseman Dougie Hamilton as part of the deal. It would be ridiculous to trade a future star like Hamilton, a no. 1 defenseman, which is hard to come by, for what would be an 18-year-old rookie defenseman. Rookie defensemen usually struggle early on (unless you're Aaron Ekblad) and aren't no. 1 defensemen for at least a couple of seasons. Even our no. 1 Rasmus Ristolainen struggled a little early on.
Hanifan has potential to be a no. 1 but also has been listed as a potential bust as well. There are no guarantees with defensemen as there are with forwards. If I were to make this deal, I'd do it to move up for a no. 1 center in either Dylan Strome or Mitch Marner. Although Patrice Bergeron is a good no. 1 center, they need to find a younger possible replacement for him. They are also looking to move on from Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara.
The Bruins are in cap trouble and might not be able to sign Hamilton, who is a restricted free agent. Boston and Hamilton are far apart in their contract negotiations. The Bruins have been a joke this decade trading away star forwards like Joe Thornton, Phil Kessel (say what you will about his effort which isn't great but he produces point wise), and especially Tyler Seguin. They essentially traded Kessel for Seguin as they traded Kessel for Toronto's first round pick, which ended up being the second overall pick and Seguin.
Those moves have come back to bite Boston in the rear, especially the Seguin deal. Yes they won the Cup in 2011 and went to the finals in 2013. Then they traded Seguin and have looked ridiculous in that trade as they got hosed by Dallas. Seguin looks like a star while no one in the trade has done anything for Boston. That's why Peter Chiarelli is the GM of the Edmonton Oilers right now. They were eliminated in the first round in the 2014 playoffs and missed the playoffs entirely last season and continuing to look like they're falling even farther. I couldn't be happier. Heck, Hamilton, helped get Boston in the playoffs last season before getting hurt and they struggled without him and missed the playoffs.
Boston President Cam Neely and new GM Don Sweeney want Boston to be even tougher than before and continue to be intent on trading skill for tougher players to be even tougher. Isn't that why they got into this mess in the first place? Well continue to be stupid and stubborn Boston while the rest of your division, and the Sabres, continue to lap you and laugh at you and your decisions.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Jeff Skinner might be Available I'd go For Him; Maybe Eric or Jordan Staal Are Available Too
Jeff Skinner appears to now be on the trade market as well. Carolina is rebuilding picking in 5th in tomorrow night's draft. They are trying to get another high pick next year as well as possibly re-sign Eric Staal or else move him and brother Jordan and continue to rebuild. I'd take either Skinner or either Staal or take Skinner and maybe even Eric in a salary dump and let him play out one year before he becomes a UFA.
Skinner is a very talented and productive offensive player. He's only 22 soon to be 23 years old so he's just beginning his career really despite being in the league for five seasons already. Skinner was the 2011 Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year, playing all 82 games and scoring 31 goals at just 18 years old. He's the first player to win the award entirely as an 18 year old since Buffalo's Tom Barrasso did it in 1983-84.
Skinner has had injury problems especially with concussions as he only appeared in 64 games the following season but scoring 20 goals. He had 13 goals in the lockout shortened season in 2012-13 which would have amounted to about 25 goals in a full season. Skinner had a career-high 33 goals in 2013-14 after playing in 71 games after missing games because of a concussion. He regressed to 18 goals, 31 points in 77 games on a terrible Hurricanes team.
I'm sure Carolina would want a lot for Skinner and if I were them, I'd ask for next year's first round pick because if the Sabres miss the playoffs which is likely, they can get a chance at a top-3 pick next year in the lottery. I'm sure they're going to want one of our defenseman either Zadorov or Pysyk and maybe one of our top young forwards. If the Sabres are interested in winning which I think they are, they can't worry about next year's pick or any prospects, which I don't think Tim Murray will.
Skinner is a very talented and productive offensive player. He's only 22 soon to be 23 years old so he's just beginning his career really despite being in the league for five seasons already. Skinner was the 2011 Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year, playing all 82 games and scoring 31 goals at just 18 years old. He's the first player to win the award entirely as an 18 year old since Buffalo's Tom Barrasso did it in 1983-84.
Skinner has had injury problems especially with concussions as he only appeared in 64 games the following season but scoring 20 goals. He had 13 goals in the lockout shortened season in 2012-13 which would have amounted to about 25 goals in a full season. Skinner had a career-high 33 goals in 2013-14 after playing in 71 games after missing games because of a concussion. He regressed to 18 goals, 31 points in 77 games on a terrible Hurricanes team.
I'm sure Carolina would want a lot for Skinner and if I were them, I'd ask for next year's first round pick because if the Sabres miss the playoffs which is likely, they can get a chance at a top-3 pick next year in the lottery. I'm sure they're going to want one of our defenseman either Zadorov or Pysyk and maybe one of our top young forwards. If the Sabres are interested in winning which I think they are, they can't worry about next year's pick or any prospects, which I don't think Tim Murray will.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
I Would Trade Reinhart for O'Reilly; I Don't Need to Trade Reinhart but He's not Untouchable
Ryan O'Reilly is about out of Colorado and it would be great if the Sabres got him. He is a top-6 forward who could play either center on the wing. He is a two-way player who can score but play defense and shut down opponent's top lines. O'Reilly has one year left on his deal and it appears he'll be too rich for Colorado to sign.
The Avalanche have already given some of their high draft picks contract extensions in recent seasons (Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog) and the top pick of the 2013 NHL Draft Nathan MacKinnon's entry level deal is up after next season. They'll need to save some room for that. They already let Paul Stastny go in free agency last season and will likely let O'Reilly go, but not before his contract is up.
The asking price might be high to get O'Reilly out of Colorado. I don't think any team (including the Sabres) will trade for him unless they agree to a contract extension with O'Reilly first. It could mean at least this year's 21st overall pick and maybe next year's first along with prospects such as a defenseman and a forward. I know some have their heart set on giving up Jake McCabe but they'd want a top-3 either Zadorov or Pysyk. Obviously they'd want Ristolainen but he's untouchable. He's the only untouchable player on this team except Jack Eichel.
I bet many want the Sabres to deal Grigerenko even though he's an RFA because Patrick Roy was his junior coach. Do they want someone who is considered scrap? I bet they'd want someone like JT Compher, Hudson Fasching, and Justin Bailey. They might however want Sam Reinhart. Would you be ok and comfortable to trade Reinhart?
I definitely don't need Reinhart traded. I'd love to see how he'd do here in Buffalo. However, he's not untradable either. I'd definitely believe he'll be a very good player because he was drafted 2nd overall and players drafted at the top of the draft are usually good. I trust in the system. He may or may not be a star however. He'll definitely generate interest in a trade that's for sure.
There's a chance Reinhart can be better than O'Reilly but it's possible he'd end up just as good. That being 20-30 goals, 55-65 points, and being a very good two-way center either 2nd or even 3rd line of Girgensons is the 2nd line center. Of course if he's going to be as good as O'Reilly maybe just make the trade then for O'Reilly.
We kind of forget about Reinhart with the addition of Jack Eichel and we'll be good with or without Reinhart. Make no mistake I'm not advocating for him to be gone lthat's not what I'm saying. I'm saying if a trade makes this team better than explore that option and don't be afraid of him possibly being a star elsewhere. Tim Murray definitely does not worry about what anyone does elsewhere unlike Darcy Regier because he only cares about how this team does. If the other player turns out great than that's super. It's actually good to have deals help out other teams or else they won't want to deal with you.
O'Reilly's career high in goals and points are 28 and 64 in 2013-14. He also led the NHL in takeaways that season as well. He's great defensively and is a very good possession player. He also usually leads his team in ice time as well. It's amazing how great of a two-way possession player he is on one of the worst possession teams in hockey and one of the analytically challenged organizations in the NHL.
Does it scare you to possibly trade Reinhart, Zadorov, or Pysyk? It should but hockey trades for good players needs to include good players and players you aren't comfortable to part ways with. Even the Evander Kane deal might have had its share of detractors whether you hate trading Joel Armia or Brendan Lemieux or maybe even Tyler Myers if you were one of the ones who still had hope in him.
I remember people used to say "let's trade Ryan Miller for Patrick Kane or Ryan Getzlaf or Cory Parry" and I'd be like who else you want to give up because Miller alone won't do it. You'd have to trade Myers when he was at his best just to get the conversation started. Unlike video games, you can't trade your garbage you don't want for someone great, it doesn't work that way. You need to trade someone you don't necessarily want to part ways with. I'm just warning all you that it might include Reinhart or Zadorov.
But if you want to win now and improve the roster, you have to make tough decisions and Tim Murray is the man to make them. He won't always be right just a heads up but I think he'll be more right than wrong.
The Avalanche have already given some of their high draft picks contract extensions in recent seasons (Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog) and the top pick of the 2013 NHL Draft Nathan MacKinnon's entry level deal is up after next season. They'll need to save some room for that. They already let Paul Stastny go in free agency last season and will likely let O'Reilly go, but not before his contract is up.
The asking price might be high to get O'Reilly out of Colorado. I don't think any team (including the Sabres) will trade for him unless they agree to a contract extension with O'Reilly first. It could mean at least this year's 21st overall pick and maybe next year's first along with prospects such as a defenseman and a forward. I know some have their heart set on giving up Jake McCabe but they'd want a top-3 either Zadorov or Pysyk. Obviously they'd want Ristolainen but he's untouchable. He's the only untouchable player on this team except Jack Eichel.
I bet many want the Sabres to deal Grigerenko even though he's an RFA because Patrick Roy was his junior coach. Do they want someone who is considered scrap? I bet they'd want someone like JT Compher, Hudson Fasching, and Justin Bailey. They might however want Sam Reinhart. Would you be ok and comfortable to trade Reinhart?
I definitely don't need Reinhart traded. I'd love to see how he'd do here in Buffalo. However, he's not untradable either. I'd definitely believe he'll be a very good player because he was drafted 2nd overall and players drafted at the top of the draft are usually good. I trust in the system. He may or may not be a star however. He'll definitely generate interest in a trade that's for sure.
There's a chance Reinhart can be better than O'Reilly but it's possible he'd end up just as good. That being 20-30 goals, 55-65 points, and being a very good two-way center either 2nd or even 3rd line of Girgensons is the 2nd line center. Of course if he's going to be as good as O'Reilly maybe just make the trade then for O'Reilly.
We kind of forget about Reinhart with the addition of Jack Eichel and we'll be good with or without Reinhart. Make no mistake I'm not advocating for him to be gone lthat's not what I'm saying. I'm saying if a trade makes this team better than explore that option and don't be afraid of him possibly being a star elsewhere. Tim Murray definitely does not worry about what anyone does elsewhere unlike Darcy Regier because he only cares about how this team does. If the other player turns out great than that's super. It's actually good to have deals help out other teams or else they won't want to deal with you.
O'Reilly's career high in goals and points are 28 and 64 in 2013-14. He also led the NHL in takeaways that season as well. He's great defensively and is a very good possession player. He also usually leads his team in ice time as well. It's amazing how great of a two-way possession player he is on one of the worst possession teams in hockey and one of the analytically challenged organizations in the NHL.
Does it scare you to possibly trade Reinhart, Zadorov, or Pysyk? It should but hockey trades for good players needs to include good players and players you aren't comfortable to part ways with. Even the Evander Kane deal might have had its share of detractors whether you hate trading Joel Armia or Brendan Lemieux or maybe even Tyler Myers if you were one of the ones who still had hope in him.
I remember people used to say "let's trade Ryan Miller for Patrick Kane or Ryan Getzlaf or Cory Parry" and I'd be like who else you want to give up because Miller alone won't do it. You'd have to trade Myers when he was at his best just to get the conversation started. Unlike video games, you can't trade your garbage you don't want for someone great, it doesn't work that way. You need to trade someone you don't necessarily want to part ways with. I'm just warning all you that it might include Reinhart or Zadorov.
But if you want to win now and improve the roster, you have to make tough decisions and Tim Murray is the man to make them. He won't always be right just a heads up but I think he'll be more right than wrong.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
I want the Islanders to Give the Sabres Their 2015 1st Round Pick
I've been thinking about the up-coming 2014 NHL Draft where it appears that the Sabres will more than likely be drafting either 1st or 2nd in the draft. They have a 99% chance according to sportsclubstats.com they be drafting 1st or 2nd with a 94% chance they finish with the worst record in the league. The Sabres have a 25% chance of winning the Draft Lottery (which is easily the best odds of winning) if they finish last. If they lose the lottery, they draft 2nd, still a great chance at a great pick and player. I'll write more in a different entry about how great it is to draft in the top-2-3 picks as the NHL Draft pretty much always produces really good to great players in the top-2 or 3 spots.
They traded unrestricted free agent-to-be, 30-40-goal scorer Thomas Vanek to the New York Islanders for forward and fellow 30-goal scorer Matt Moulson, a 2014 1st round pick, and a 2015 2nd round pick. Now the Islanders can keep the 1st round pick this year if they draft in top-10 and then they can defer it and give us their 1st round pick for next year. The Islanders have struggled badly as they are 22-30-8 with only 52 points. Right now they'd be drafting 5th if the season were to end, or 6th if a team behind them wins the lottery or they could be drafting 1st if they win the lottery. Barring a ridiculous post-Olympic run, the Islanders will be no doubt drafting in the top-10, maybe top-5.
So I know many of you want their 2014 1st round pick because the Sabres could have two top-5 picks in this year's NHL Draft. But if I had my choice, I'd want their 2015 1st round pick. I know many of you are like "why would you risk a sure top-5, 10 pick on what could very well be a lower pick?" Good question and yes it could be a risk drafting lower than the top-5. But they could remain the same next year or be even worse. Now I don't have a crystal ball to predict the future but I don't see the Islanders getting better next year, I see them being the same if not worse next year, especially with Thomas Vanek being gone and probably won't return next year. If they again miss the playoffs and especially draft in the top-5, hopefully 2 or 3 so it increases our chances at hopefully getting the #1 overall pick and the top prospect in the 2015 Draft in Connor McDavid.
Supposedly next year's draft, led by top prospect McDavid, who is supposedly the enxt Sidney Crosby, is better than this year's class. Of course we'll never know for sure until they play the game and of course its all speculation. This year's draft with top prospects Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Leon Draisaitl aren't McDavid or Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin or Malkin or Kane or Stamkos; but they can be very good players as players drafted at the top of the NHL Draft usually are such as John Tavares, Matt Duchene, Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Gabriel Landeskog or even Nathan MacKinnon. Who wouldn't want one of those?
I don't expect the Sabres to be good again next year so they'll be in the McDavid sweepstakes next year and hopefully with the Islanders pick will double their chances. Plus I heard Tim Murray wants mostly 2015 first round draft picks if he unloads Ryan Miller, Matt Moulson, and Steve Ott. The more the merrier for me!! You can't have enough great players and you get them at the top of the draft. Imagine we get one of the top-2 picks this year, McDavid and maybe even another top-5 pick next year? Who wouldn't get excited? Plus we might be able to get a big free agent or two such as Kane.
Like I said I don't think the Islanders will be better next year, I think they'll be the same or hopefully worse so we can get another pick towards the McDavid sweepstakes. The Islanders have a terrible defense and their goaltending is really bad as they allowed the most goals of any team. I don't see them fixing their defense/goaltending issues in one off season. I think GM Garth Snow is in win now mode and really can't afford to wait another bad year or else he'll be out of a job. He's been there for eight years and produced just two playoff appearances. If they are in the top-5 they might have to just take the pick and hope for the best even if the class isnt as good as next year's. Tim Murray has the luxury of waiting a draft or two to fix this mess.
The Islanders just came off a playoff appearance in which they gave the top-seeded Penguins all they could handle in six games last year and hopes were very high for this once downtrodden franchise. They started a mediocre 4-4-3 when they traded for Vanek. Unfortunately, the Vanek deal has not brought a ton of success as the losses began to pile up. They've lost 31 of their last 49 games (26 of the losses were in regulation). Their 22 wins and 52 points in 60 games are two fewer wins and three fewer points than they had all last season in just 48 lockout-shortened games when they made the playoffs. They are moving to Brooklyn after next season and will need some marquee players in addition to Vanek to show they belong in the big city instead of the island. So they would be wise to wait till 2015 for McDavid but it's hard to predict whether they'll be as bad or worse next year.
They only have one good line which is John Tavares, Kyle Okposo and Vanek. Not much scoring outside of that line. Plus I think Vanek is gone, he'll probably be traded before the trade deadline as he recently turned down a 7-year, $50 million contract (which is the same contract he signed 7 years ago) extension from the Islanders as he wants to test the open market. Who can blame him? He's 30 years old, he will have maybe one big chance to make big money on the open market as he's averaged over 30 goals a season for his first 8 years in the league (which will bring big bucks to a team that needs goal scoring), and he's never had a chance to go to any or all teams to see what he's really worth and who really wants him. He's been in Buffalo all his career until last October when he was traded to the Islanders.
He's never had a chance to test the open market. 7 years ago when he was a restricted free agent, the Sabres matched the offer by the Edmonton Oilers which kept him here another 7 years. the Sabres just lost Briere and Drury for nothing and needed to keep a guy who just scored 43 goals and 84 points instead of taking Edmonton's 4 first round picks. Who knows, maybe Vanek wanted to leave and maybe he was upset that the sabres matched it and didn't allow him to leave for Edmonton or maybe somewhere else. Plus he was wondering if the Sabres really wanted him, why did they let him go to possibly be signed by another team and why didn't they give him an offer before? The Sabres, notable Darcy Regier really dropped the ball on that one.
So yea, I'm not only in 2014 NHL Draft mode, I'm also in 2015 NHL Draft mode because I expect the Sabres to be closer to the lottery than the playoffs for Connor McDavid. I hate to root for them to be bad, but I can't help but want a couple of high draft picks for potential great players. This franchise hasn't had generationally great superstars in a long time. Even for those of you who don't want to lose for the top pick in the 2015 Draft, that's why I want the Islanders to give us the 2015 pick and hope they are really bad so we get the top pick or win the lottery. Could you imagine being an Islanders fan and you give away what could be Connor McDavid? The fans would riot. But I hope the Sabres end up with him,
They traded unrestricted free agent-to-be, 30-40-goal scorer Thomas Vanek to the New York Islanders for forward and fellow 30-goal scorer Matt Moulson, a 2014 1st round pick, and a 2015 2nd round pick. Now the Islanders can keep the 1st round pick this year if they draft in top-10 and then they can defer it and give us their 1st round pick for next year. The Islanders have struggled badly as they are 22-30-8 with only 52 points. Right now they'd be drafting 5th if the season were to end, or 6th if a team behind them wins the lottery or they could be drafting 1st if they win the lottery. Barring a ridiculous post-Olympic run, the Islanders will be no doubt drafting in the top-10, maybe top-5.
So I know many of you want their 2014 1st round pick because the Sabres could have two top-5 picks in this year's NHL Draft. But if I had my choice, I'd want their 2015 1st round pick. I know many of you are like "why would you risk a sure top-5, 10 pick on what could very well be a lower pick?" Good question and yes it could be a risk drafting lower than the top-5. But they could remain the same next year or be even worse. Now I don't have a crystal ball to predict the future but I don't see the Islanders getting better next year, I see them being the same if not worse next year, especially with Thomas Vanek being gone and probably won't return next year. If they again miss the playoffs and especially draft in the top-5, hopefully 2 or 3 so it increases our chances at hopefully getting the #1 overall pick and the top prospect in the 2015 Draft in Connor McDavid.
Supposedly next year's draft, led by top prospect McDavid, who is supposedly the enxt Sidney Crosby, is better than this year's class. Of course we'll never know for sure until they play the game and of course its all speculation. This year's draft with top prospects Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Leon Draisaitl aren't McDavid or Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin or Malkin or Kane or Stamkos; but they can be very good players as players drafted at the top of the NHL Draft usually are such as John Tavares, Matt Duchene, Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Gabriel Landeskog or even Nathan MacKinnon. Who wouldn't want one of those?
I don't expect the Sabres to be good again next year so they'll be in the McDavid sweepstakes next year and hopefully with the Islanders pick will double their chances. Plus I heard Tim Murray wants mostly 2015 first round draft picks if he unloads Ryan Miller, Matt Moulson, and Steve Ott. The more the merrier for me!! You can't have enough great players and you get them at the top of the draft. Imagine we get one of the top-2 picks this year, McDavid and maybe even another top-5 pick next year? Who wouldn't get excited? Plus we might be able to get a big free agent or two such as Kane.
Like I said I don't think the Islanders will be better next year, I think they'll be the same or hopefully worse so we can get another pick towards the McDavid sweepstakes. The Islanders have a terrible defense and their goaltending is really bad as they allowed the most goals of any team. I don't see them fixing their defense/goaltending issues in one off season. I think GM Garth Snow is in win now mode and really can't afford to wait another bad year or else he'll be out of a job. He's been there for eight years and produced just two playoff appearances. If they are in the top-5 they might have to just take the pick and hope for the best even if the class isnt as good as next year's. Tim Murray has the luxury of waiting a draft or two to fix this mess.
The Islanders just came off a playoff appearance in which they gave the top-seeded Penguins all they could handle in six games last year and hopes were very high for this once downtrodden franchise. They started a mediocre 4-4-3 when they traded for Vanek. Unfortunately, the Vanek deal has not brought a ton of success as the losses began to pile up. They've lost 31 of their last 49 games (26 of the losses were in regulation). Their 22 wins and 52 points in 60 games are two fewer wins and three fewer points than they had all last season in just 48 lockout-shortened games when they made the playoffs. They are moving to Brooklyn after next season and will need some marquee players in addition to Vanek to show they belong in the big city instead of the island. So they would be wise to wait till 2015 for McDavid but it's hard to predict whether they'll be as bad or worse next year.
They only have one good line which is John Tavares, Kyle Okposo and Vanek. Not much scoring outside of that line. Plus I think Vanek is gone, he'll probably be traded before the trade deadline as he recently turned down a 7-year, $50 million contract (which is the same contract he signed 7 years ago) extension from the Islanders as he wants to test the open market. Who can blame him? He's 30 years old, he will have maybe one big chance to make big money on the open market as he's averaged over 30 goals a season for his first 8 years in the league (which will bring big bucks to a team that needs goal scoring), and he's never had a chance to go to any or all teams to see what he's really worth and who really wants him. He's been in Buffalo all his career until last October when he was traded to the Islanders.
He's never had a chance to test the open market. 7 years ago when he was a restricted free agent, the Sabres matched the offer by the Edmonton Oilers which kept him here another 7 years. the Sabres just lost Briere and Drury for nothing and needed to keep a guy who just scored 43 goals and 84 points instead of taking Edmonton's 4 first round picks. Who knows, maybe Vanek wanted to leave and maybe he was upset that the sabres matched it and didn't allow him to leave for Edmonton or maybe somewhere else. Plus he was wondering if the Sabres really wanted him, why did they let him go to possibly be signed by another team and why didn't they give him an offer before? The Sabres, notable Darcy Regier really dropped the ball on that one.
So yea, I'm not only in 2014 NHL Draft mode, I'm also in 2015 NHL Draft mode because I expect the Sabres to be closer to the lottery than the playoffs for Connor McDavid. I hate to root for them to be bad, but I can't help but want a couple of high draft picks for potential great players. This franchise hasn't had generationally great superstars in a long time. Even for those of you who don't want to lose for the top pick in the 2015 Draft, that's why I want the Islanders to give us the 2015 pick and hope they are really bad so we get the top pick or win the lottery. Could you imagine being an Islanders fan and you give away what could be Connor McDavid? The fans would riot. But I hope the Sabres end up with him,
Monday, February 10, 2014
Trade Miller, Build a Better Team, Don't Waste Big $$$ on a Goalie
I believe that trading Ryan Miller makes the most sense for this team if they want to rebuild and hopefully build a future winner. It makes no sense 1.) keeping a goalie who is 33 and will be 34 next season and 2.) keeping a goalie who is set to be an unrestricted free agent who doesn't seem to want to be here or else he'd sign already and they are in last place by a mile. Everyone is upset and panicking what will they do without Miller. Um hello, they are in last place, they aren't winning anything with him playing as well as he is.
If you say they'd be even worse, I think you're wrong I don't think they can really be that much worse. They have the fewest goals scored with 110 and they're 25 behind the team with the next fewest. They're 15 wins are the least and they are 5 wins behind the next team which is Edmonton with 20 and their 38 points are nine fewer than Edmonton, who is the second-worst team in the NHL. It can't get much worse than that. What they win 3-5 fewer games and have 10 fewer points? Big whoop. The Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, and New York Islanders are really, really bad but they are miles ahead of the Sabres. For me I like it because it means they have a really strong shot at the #1 overall pick in this June's draft and this team needs as many great players as possible and you get them at the top of the draft.
If you're gonna be upset that they'd trade Miller rather than re-sign him, would you rather risk losing him for nothing instead of hopefully getting a 1st round pick and maybe even a prospect? I don't think he's re-signing here and I don't think GM Tim Murray is interested in giving a long-term deal. So because of foolish pride, you'd risk losing him in free agency rather than getting something for him? I can understand if this team was say 7th, 8th, or even 9th place and are trying to get into the playoffs and don't want to lose him for the playoff run, but this team is in last place!!! It should be even easier to let him go and get over it.
This isn't like when we lost Briere and Drury after the 2007 season for nothing as they both signed deals with other teams as unrestricted free agents. The team came off a President's Trophy season and came off back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals appearances and were Stanley Cup contenders. I don't care what anyone thinks, the Sabres are still struggling to replace both those men as they will miss the playoffs for the 5th time in 7 years. It's also not like losing Dominik Hasek, yea we traded him but got nothing no where near what we should have in return because he didn't want Detroit to give up too much so he can win the Stanley Cup. Hasek took us to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 1998 and all the way to Game Six of the Stanley Cup Finals in 1999 and even lost in the 2nd round in overtime in Game Seven against Pittsburgh before he left. The team was very competitive and fell apart. But in this case, they are the worst team in hockey and it ain't even close.
I want to say I like Miller a lot and I hate to see him go. I appreciate all he has done here for the Sabres, for WNY, and for USA Hockey. I'll root for him of course in the Olympics and I'll even root for him if he leaves because I want him to succeed. I know what many of you are thinking: "if you like him and think he's so good, why do you want him traded? This team needs great players and why get rid of our best?" That is a great question and here is the answer. Because a goalie, even a really good one like Miller, really can't do much by himself on a terrible team.
Many of you are thinking "but if we build a better team, then it would help him out." True so why not just build a better team then? In the NHL, it's important to find a good goalie but you don't need a top-notch goalie to win. Teams have won post 2004-05 Lockout with decent, OK goalies but with better talent in forwards and defense. Notice I didn't say terrible goalie but if you can find a mediocre to slightly mediocre one and put him on a great team, they'll win no matter what. The goalies are pretty much similar as there are only a couple of elite and only a couple of really bad ones, everyone else is pretty much the same. So my question is if goalies are pretty much the same, then why pay big bucks for one when you can put money into much better forwards and defensemen and win with an average goalie?
It's about goal scoring and how do you score? With great puck possession numbers!! I looked at the top-8 teams in the NHL in terms of points (Chicago, Anaheim, St. Louis, Boston, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Colorado, and Tampa Bay) and all 8 of those teams are in the top-12 in goals scored and all are in the top-9 in puck possession. Guess where the Sabres rank? You guess it!! Dead last. Last year they were second-to-last only to the analytics nightmare known as the Toronto Maple Leafs. If you spend more time in your end than in the other team's end, then you will not score many goals and have more goals scored on you. So what would be the point of having a great, high-priced goalie who gets all these shots and goals scored on? It's not just stop the puck, there's all these bounces and deflections that go in all the time that you can't stop if you are in your own end. Conversely, if you are in the other team's end, then you'll get all the bounces and deflections. This team needs to be better possessing the puck. If a Miller trade can help enable that, then I'm all for it.
Miller is in the last year of his current deal which is worth $6.25 million a season, currently the 5th highest paid goalie in the NHL. To re-sign him you probably have to pay him in the $7-8 million a year range to keep him here as it appears he might want to move closer to his wife. Then you gotta give him 5-7 years so he'd be in his 40s by the time the contract is done. I don't want to do that. I looked up the goalie salaries and seven of the top-10 goalies are either barely in the playoffs, on the outside looking in, or completely out of the playoffs. That doesn't even include Henrik Lunqvist, whose $7.5 million a year deal doesn't kick in until next season, making him the highest-paid goalie in the NHL. I just don't get it, I'd never give a goalie that kind of money. Lundqvist and Jonathan Quick are the two best but teams paying goalies in the $2-3 million range are winning and are near or at the top of the league.
Players such as Ben Scrivens, Ben Bishop, Josh Harding, Cory Schneider, Frederik Andersen, Brian Elliott, and Jaroslav Halak are among the leaders in save percentage and goals against average and outperforming their much higher-paid counterparts. It shows if you have a great team, you can win with almost any goalie. Quick is having a great season, but was injured early in the year and Scrivens did well in his place and even third-string goalie Maritn Jones has played very well which led the Kings to trade Scrivens to Edmonton once Quick was healthy. Scrivens is doing well on a terrible Oilers team with no defense. Last year, Ray Emery, who was a big disappointment in the NHL, went 17-1-0 with a .922 save % and a 1.94 goals against average. Is it because Emery is good or the Blackhawks are great? Well it's because the Blackhawks are great. Emery is struggling on a worse Flyers team. Would you rather have Emery on a great Blackhawks team or Miller on a terrible Sabres team? I'd hope you'd answer Emery, but I can't control what you think or believe.
I want this organization and the fans to think they can win without Miller because it's probably gonna happen. That's what I hated about this organization under Darcy Regier is that they thought they can't dare win without Miller or they were doomed. The fans were conditioned to think the same. He's good but you can win without him. Miller as good as he is couldn't help this team from missing the playoffs five out of the last seven years including this year. The team was bad. When the Sabres were awesome in 2005-06 and 2006-07, they won with Miller and Martin Biron, in fact I believe Biron had something like a 12-game unbeaten streak one point. Even when the Sabres made the playoffs in 2011, Jhonas Enroth played very well in relief of Miller down the stretch run as he went 9-2-2 and an 8-game unbeaten streak which helped them make the playoffs I don't care what anybody says. Enroth's numbers are very similar to Miller's and can't do much more without a competant offense and team in front of him more than Miller can and he makes about 1/5 of the money Miller makes. We can win with Enroth (I'm not saying he's better than Miller but he's not worse) or any kid down in Rochester or anyone floating around the NHL.
I hate to say it, but it's time fans to move on from Miller and start over with a brand new identity that focuses on scoring and puck possession while the goalie is what he is supposed to be, the last line of defense. But go Miller and Team USA!!! Let's win the Gold!!
If you say they'd be even worse, I think you're wrong I don't think they can really be that much worse. They have the fewest goals scored with 110 and they're 25 behind the team with the next fewest. They're 15 wins are the least and they are 5 wins behind the next team which is Edmonton with 20 and their 38 points are nine fewer than Edmonton, who is the second-worst team in the NHL. It can't get much worse than that. What they win 3-5 fewer games and have 10 fewer points? Big whoop. The Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, and New York Islanders are really, really bad but they are miles ahead of the Sabres. For me I like it because it means they have a really strong shot at the #1 overall pick in this June's draft and this team needs as many great players as possible and you get them at the top of the draft.
If you're gonna be upset that they'd trade Miller rather than re-sign him, would you rather risk losing him for nothing instead of hopefully getting a 1st round pick and maybe even a prospect? I don't think he's re-signing here and I don't think GM Tim Murray is interested in giving a long-term deal. So because of foolish pride, you'd risk losing him in free agency rather than getting something for him? I can understand if this team was say 7th, 8th, or even 9th place and are trying to get into the playoffs and don't want to lose him for the playoff run, but this team is in last place!!! It should be even easier to let him go and get over it.
This isn't like when we lost Briere and Drury after the 2007 season for nothing as they both signed deals with other teams as unrestricted free agents. The team came off a President's Trophy season and came off back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals appearances and were Stanley Cup contenders. I don't care what anyone thinks, the Sabres are still struggling to replace both those men as they will miss the playoffs for the 5th time in 7 years. It's also not like losing Dominik Hasek, yea we traded him but got nothing no where near what we should have in return because he didn't want Detroit to give up too much so he can win the Stanley Cup. Hasek took us to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 1998 and all the way to Game Six of the Stanley Cup Finals in 1999 and even lost in the 2nd round in overtime in Game Seven against Pittsburgh before he left. The team was very competitive and fell apart. But in this case, they are the worst team in hockey and it ain't even close.
I want to say I like Miller a lot and I hate to see him go. I appreciate all he has done here for the Sabres, for WNY, and for USA Hockey. I'll root for him of course in the Olympics and I'll even root for him if he leaves because I want him to succeed. I know what many of you are thinking: "if you like him and think he's so good, why do you want him traded? This team needs great players and why get rid of our best?" That is a great question and here is the answer. Because a goalie, even a really good one like Miller, really can't do much by himself on a terrible team.
Many of you are thinking "but if we build a better team, then it would help him out." True so why not just build a better team then? In the NHL, it's important to find a good goalie but you don't need a top-notch goalie to win. Teams have won post 2004-05 Lockout with decent, OK goalies but with better talent in forwards and defense. Notice I didn't say terrible goalie but if you can find a mediocre to slightly mediocre one and put him on a great team, they'll win no matter what. The goalies are pretty much similar as there are only a couple of elite and only a couple of really bad ones, everyone else is pretty much the same. So my question is if goalies are pretty much the same, then why pay big bucks for one when you can put money into much better forwards and defensemen and win with an average goalie?
It's about goal scoring and how do you score? With great puck possession numbers!! I looked at the top-8 teams in the NHL in terms of points (Chicago, Anaheim, St. Louis, Boston, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Colorado, and Tampa Bay) and all 8 of those teams are in the top-12 in goals scored and all are in the top-9 in puck possession. Guess where the Sabres rank? You guess it!! Dead last. Last year they were second-to-last only to the analytics nightmare known as the Toronto Maple Leafs. If you spend more time in your end than in the other team's end, then you will not score many goals and have more goals scored on you. So what would be the point of having a great, high-priced goalie who gets all these shots and goals scored on? It's not just stop the puck, there's all these bounces and deflections that go in all the time that you can't stop if you are in your own end. Conversely, if you are in the other team's end, then you'll get all the bounces and deflections. This team needs to be better possessing the puck. If a Miller trade can help enable that, then I'm all for it.
Miller is in the last year of his current deal which is worth $6.25 million a season, currently the 5th highest paid goalie in the NHL. To re-sign him you probably have to pay him in the $7-8 million a year range to keep him here as it appears he might want to move closer to his wife. Then you gotta give him 5-7 years so he'd be in his 40s by the time the contract is done. I don't want to do that. I looked up the goalie salaries and seven of the top-10 goalies are either barely in the playoffs, on the outside looking in, or completely out of the playoffs. That doesn't even include Henrik Lunqvist, whose $7.5 million a year deal doesn't kick in until next season, making him the highest-paid goalie in the NHL. I just don't get it, I'd never give a goalie that kind of money. Lundqvist and Jonathan Quick are the two best but teams paying goalies in the $2-3 million range are winning and are near or at the top of the league.
Players such as Ben Scrivens, Ben Bishop, Josh Harding, Cory Schneider, Frederik Andersen, Brian Elliott, and Jaroslav Halak are among the leaders in save percentage and goals against average and outperforming their much higher-paid counterparts. It shows if you have a great team, you can win with almost any goalie. Quick is having a great season, but was injured early in the year and Scrivens did well in his place and even third-string goalie Maritn Jones has played very well which led the Kings to trade Scrivens to Edmonton once Quick was healthy. Scrivens is doing well on a terrible Oilers team with no defense. Last year, Ray Emery, who was a big disappointment in the NHL, went 17-1-0 with a .922 save % and a 1.94 goals against average. Is it because Emery is good or the Blackhawks are great? Well it's because the Blackhawks are great. Emery is struggling on a worse Flyers team. Would you rather have Emery on a great Blackhawks team or Miller on a terrible Sabres team? I'd hope you'd answer Emery, but I can't control what you think or believe.
I want this organization and the fans to think they can win without Miller because it's probably gonna happen. That's what I hated about this organization under Darcy Regier is that they thought they can't dare win without Miller or they were doomed. The fans were conditioned to think the same. He's good but you can win without him. Miller as good as he is couldn't help this team from missing the playoffs five out of the last seven years including this year. The team was bad. When the Sabres were awesome in 2005-06 and 2006-07, they won with Miller and Martin Biron, in fact I believe Biron had something like a 12-game unbeaten streak one point. Even when the Sabres made the playoffs in 2011, Jhonas Enroth played very well in relief of Miller down the stretch run as he went 9-2-2 and an 8-game unbeaten streak which helped them make the playoffs I don't care what anybody says. Enroth's numbers are very similar to Miller's and can't do much more without a competant offense and team in front of him more than Miller can and he makes about 1/5 of the money Miller makes. We can win with Enroth (I'm not saying he's better than Miller but he's not worse) or any kid down in Rochester or anyone floating around the NHL.
I hate to say it, but it's time fans to move on from Miller and start over with a brand new identity that focuses on scoring and puck possession while the goalie is what he is supposed to be, the last line of defense. But go Miller and Team USA!!! Let's win the Gold!!
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