GDT: #15 – Sabres at Devils – Sat Nov 12, 7:00PM ET – MSG-B

[ZZamboni]

To think that a player who TM didn't draft could be dropped into this team and have just as many or more points as they have on their current team is such a silly exercise.

It's a completely unknown.

 

[Sabre Dance]

How does anyone judge this team when their top 2 centers are out and 3 of their top 4 D are out? I'm as critical as anyone, but come on.

 

[tsujimoto74]

How does anyone judge this team when their top 2 centers are out and 3 of their top 4 D are out? I'm as critical as anyone, but come on.

Seriously. If you took the 2 best forwards (particularly when they're the top 2 centers) and half of the top 4 D away from any team in the league, they'd look like crap. This team has been hanging in games and staying afloat in the standings despite missing key players. The end of the world is not nigh.

 

[Cirris]

Remember when Girgensons was a highly coveted young player and teams were calling Buffalo to try and poach him in a trade.

He's barely playing like he's a 4th plug.

 

[1972]

We traded quite a few of them away. Travis Konecny who most of this board wanted would currently be the leading scorer on this team. Jack Roslovic has 10 pts in 11 games in the AHL and is their leading scorer as a rookie. You don't trade 1st/2nd round picks when rebuilding. Let them develop and grow. 18-20 year old players are making huge impacts in the NHL now a days.

Murray thought he could outsmart everyone. He should have used those picks and added to the roster with stop gap UFA's on 2-3 year deals. I'd feel so much better about our future not moving those two first on one of the best drafts in a long, long time.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

Easily TM's biggest failure as a GM. Everyone knew going into this year that one or two injuries on defense--and let's be real, with Bogosian, losing one defenseman for an extended period of time was more or less guaranteed--would create major problems, and he decided going with Franson as the #6 to start the season wasn't an issue (though he has looked better as of late). Gorges is garbage, too, Nelson needs some seasoning in Rochester, and Falk is Falk.

This team is just uninspiring to watch. We can't play an effective "grind 'em down" game, nor can we be an opportunistic team that cashes in on prime chances at a higher rate than other teams. Who on this team is a threat to score from a sniping standpoint? RoR? Maybe Moulson? And the D is, as noted above, a mess. Even when Eichel returns, these problems aren't gonna magically go away.

EDIT: Yes, all the injuries hurt, but some of the problems go beyond the individual players that are out. There's only so much RoR and Eichel can do.

Not sure what having half his team decimated by injuries has to do with it. He added kulikov and pursued other trades prior. There weren't many dmen available that id have paid up for. The cream of the crop was golo and Yandle both of whom we didn't need to overpay for...could he have added a decent pto guy like seidenberg etc? Yeah but who's to say he didn't try?

As long as the D-corps is the weak link, I would go 13-8 for the roster like last season. TM could take advantage of the waiver exempt FWs to shuffle them back and forth from Rochester as needed, and sign an extra vet D-man that is at least as good as Franson. Seidenberg and Ehrhoff could've been signed for cheap as vets that could step in and play either side. That keeps Nelson in Rochester. That's just a patchover for the mistake of signing Franson in the first place. Now it's not like it's a mistake that costs a SC run, because we know the team isn't there yet. That's the only reason I cut TM some slack right now, because it's not time quite yet.

Next summer, if not sooner, TM needs to improve the D-corps. That's all on him. I also want to see Bylzzzma gone, but I think that decision is not just up to TM, so who knows. Kane should be traded for a D-man and Ennis and/or Moulson need to be left as the only options for LV in the expansion draft. Any of this not happening is a small failure along the road to the rebuild panning out as a playoff bubble team.

 

[joshjull]

Remember when Girgensons was a highly coveted young player and teams were calling Buffalo to try and poach him in a trade.

He's barely playing like he's a 4th plug.

Not sure what you're expecting from him when he only plays 12mins a night at ES with almost no special teams ice time (he averages less than 13min night).

Even with that minimal ice time he has 1 more ES pt than Reinhart who averages 2min more a night at ES. Girgs also has the same amount of ES pts as Okposo and ROR. Players who get 4mins more night at ES than he does.

I'd love to see more from him but he's hardly the issue with this team.

 

[1972]

Not sure what you're expecting from him when he only plays 12mins a night at ES with almost no special teams ice time (he averages less than 13min night).

Even with that minimal ice time he has 1 more ES pt than Reinhart who averages 2min more a night at ES. Girgs also has the same amount of ES pts as Okposo and ROR. Players who get 4mins more night at ES than he does.

I'd love to see more from him but he's hardly the issue with this team.

Our team has been a joke at ES for a long time. Seems like the only way we can score is on a PP.

 

[joshjull]

Our team has been a joke at ES for a long time. Seems like the only way we can score is on a PP.

You're kind of missing my point. I'm questioning the idea of singling out Girgs in the context I laid out.

 

[1972]

You're kind of missing my point. I'm questioning the idea of singling out Girgs in the context I laid out.

I got your point and agree with it. I was just adding to that fact that we are abysmal 5 V 5

 

[joshjull]

I got your point and agree with it. I was just adding to that fact that we are abysmal 5 V 5

My bad then

 

[EichHart]

Murray thought he could outsmart everyone. He should have used those picks and added to the roster with stop gap UFA's on 2-3 year deals. I'd feel so much better about our future not moving those two first on one of the best drafts in a long, long time.

Agreed, if nothing more than to have stop gap players come in for injuries. The depth on this team is pathetic. We don't have the luxury of attracting top FA like Vesey/Panarin that the top markets use to complete their top 6s. We need to hit on late round picks to have that constant feed of top talent coming up through the ranks. Murray traded it all away for a quick fix and it's coming back to ruin him and this team.

 

[Aladyyn]

Our forward depth is fine

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

Our forward depth is fine

Bottom six depth is fine. The top six has to rely on great play from center, getting a heavy forecheck from the wings, because only Okposo right now can make plays from the wing. Next year Nylander can help and Reinhart probably goes back to Eichel's wing, but the top line LW might have to be Girgensons or Foligno - middle-six players.

 

[tsujimoto74]

Agreed, if nothing more than to have stop gap players come in for injuries. The depth on this team is pathetic. We don't have the luxury of attracting top FA like Vesey/Panarin that the top markets use to complete their top 6s. We need to hit on late round picks to have that constant feed of top talent coming up through the ranks. Murray traded it all away for a quick fix and it's coming back to ruin him and this team.

What the heck is Okposo? He was one of the top free agents available last summer, and he chose us.

 

[haseoke39]

Lehner still got Trump on his mask?

 

[EichHart]

What the heck is Okposo? He was one of the top free agents available last summer, and he chose us.

You're right with Okposo. But the young college FA/Euro players go to New York City, Chicago, Toronto, etc...We had to pay quite a bit to get Okposo here. No entry level salaries for those young guys like I mentioned.