Is Buffalo's Roster Better Than Montreal ?

[typicalsavage]

Goalie is Montreal easily.

Defense I'd rather Buffalo by a fair bit.

Offense Buffalo has the better top end but Montreal has much better secondary scoring.

I'd give the edge to Montreal for now seeing as how well they played a team game last year.

Until Buffalo can mesh together to find wins (which could happen as soon as this year under Krueger), I'd bet on Montreal.

Lol Montreals defence is miles ahead of Buffalo’s. Buffalo might as well play with 5 forwards with ghat defence core.

 

[typicalsavage]

You have to list the 25 and under to make
Your point, and yeah skinner missed the cutoff barely but I didn’t have to put that. Either way it’s still a gross top group for under 25, way better then people are showing respect to it by saying the habs prospects are lightyears ahead.

And Matthews and Marner? That’s better then Eichel dahlin mittlestadt Reinhart cozens Jokiharju montour ristolainen, Ullmark and arguably the best goalie prospect in the world right now in Luukonen not too mention Olofsson who lead the shl in scoring, and Edmonton? PleAse tell me your joking on that one. Broberg and Bouchard is cool, nurse too, and the big two but it gets veeeeerrry thin after that.

Lol whats was Mittlestadt done? Ristolainen is a pylon. Reinhart is on par with nylander and your other guyd havent done anything. McDavid/Drai or Matthews/Marner over anything Buffalo has. I swear just reading your posts its like you dont even watch games. You just fall for hype and base your opinions off it. You still go around spouting about Eichel being a franchise player, just because Buffalo gifted him $80M and the C and cause he was the 2nd overall pick doesnt make him a franchise player.

 

[GOALOFSSON]

Lol whats was Mittlestadt done? Ristolainen is a pylon. Reinhart is on par with nylander and your other guyd havent done anything. McDavid/Drai or Matthews/Marner over anything Buffalo has. I swear just reading your posts its like you dont even watch games. You just fall for hype and base your opinions off it. You still go around spouting about Eichel being a franchise player, just because Buffalo gifted him $80M and the C and cause he was the 2nd overall pick doesnt make him a franchise player.

Give Mitts time. Risto isn't that bad and i'd take Reinhart. Also you can't just completely disregard some guys because they haven't played in the NHL yet or only half of a season.

Find me someone who isn't a Leafs fan who would take Matthews/Marner over Dahlin/Eichel.

Eichel's contract > Matthew's contract (maybe Marner's too depending on what it is)

 

[Panthaz89]

Hey your the one who said ten teams.

Rather than pick out one name, you ignore the rest.

Absolutely in a few years Eichel and Dahlin will be part of a great under 25 core but right now those teams are all better than Buffalo in regards to the talent of their under 25s. The weakest of the teams named have Pasta who's had what 3 straight point per game seasons and had some crazy like 1.3pts per game last year. Also had McAvoy who's already a legit top pairing Dman. Nobody doubts Dahlin's potential nor his ability to meet it but as of today, Boston's youth core is stronger.

Doesn't even count the fact that Vancouver was on your list when they had EP, Boeser, and Horvat build a great under 23 core (which Hughes added to boot) that'll carry them for the next decade.

No, this isn't Buffalo hate. It's realist thinking. Dahlin and Eichel are great pieces to build around, absolutely positively cornerstones to a franchise, but after that the under 25 core just isn't as you advertised it.

I doubt you could find 10 percent of this community that would agree with you that Buffalo has a better unser 25 core than Vancouver.

Honestly anyone who thinks Vancouvers is better is pretty much hating on Buffalo....Franchise C Franchise D and a great goaltending prospect....OK practically any team would be lucky to have all 3 at the same time any management would love to be in Buffalo's position with those 3 pieces alone let alone the other nice pieces that are also with them find a competant management that can simply build depth around them and you have a Contending team...just because the GMs in Buffalo don't know how to build around them doesn't mean they aren't good and they produce for the most part while the rest of the team lags them down...Leafs, Oilers, Avs are definitely more in the ball park by comparison Vancouver doesn't really have much behind Pettersson, Hughes, and Boesar who I would instantly take Eichel, Reinhart, and Dahlin any day.

 

[Just Linda]

Honestly anyone who thinks Vancouvers is better is pretty much hating on Buffalo....Franchise C Franchise D and a great goaltending prospect....OK practically any team would be lucky to have all 3 at the same time any management would love to be in Buffalo's position with those 3 pieces alone let alone the other nice pieces that are also with them find a competant management that can simply build depth around them and you have a Contending team...just because the GMs in Buffalo don't know how to build around them doesn't mean they aren't good and they produce for the most part while the rest of the team lags them down...Leafs, Oilers are definitely more in the ball park by comparison Vancouver doesn't really have much behind Pettersson, Hughes, and Boesar who I would instantly take Eichel, Reinhart, and Dahlin any day.

Franchise D, franchise c, and super goalie prospect? That sounds like Vancouver for sure.

Im not convinced the gap between the big 3 of Buffalo and EP, Horvat, BB, and Hughes is as big as you think it is.

Reason I like Vancouver better is because of who they got playing NHL minutes already. Horvat is already a 60pt player, they have their 2c setup. I like Gaudette, he'll be a beautiful 3c. Their right side had BB and Virtanen, that'll be a fantastic right wing in a few years. LW has Podkolzin and Hoglander in the system.

I'm convinced Juolevi and Woo will make the team in the next few years and be NHL regulars though I doubt either will be top pairing guys, to me they are only missing Hughes partner.

So not to rosterbait (especially since I'm not sold on Vancouver being good for a while) but really,

Podkolzin - EP - BB
Hoglander - Horvat - Virtanen
Dahlin - Gaudette - Lind

Hughes - ?
Juolevi - Woo

Demko
DiPietro

To me that's a better future roster than Buffalo. I know many won't make it but their future shows a lot of promise

 

[Panthaz89]

Franchise D, franchise c, and super goalie prospect? That sounds like Vancouver for sure.

Im not convinced the gap between the big 3 of Buffalo and EP, Horvat, BB, and Hughes is as big as you think it is.

Reason I like Vancouver better is because of who they got playing NHL minutes already. Horvat is already a 60pt player, they have their 2c setup. I like Gaudette, he'll be a beautiful 3c. Their right side had BB and Virtanen, that'll be a fantastic right wing in a few years. LW has Podkolzin and Hoglander in the system.

I'm convinced Juolevi and Woo will make the team in the next few years and be NHL regulars though I doubt either will be top pairing guys, to me they are only missing Hughes partner.

So not to rosterbait (especially since I'm not sold on Vancouver being good for a while) but really,

Podkolzin - EP - BB
Hoglander - Horvat - Virtanen
Dahlin - Gaudette - Lind

Hughes - ?
Juolevi - Woo

Demko
DiPietro

To me that's a better future roster than Buffalo. I know many won't make it but their future shows a lot of promise

I try to be as neutral as possible but Hughes is mainly considered a #1 in the future but not really as much of a franchise superstar that people expect Dahlin to be....UPL just won the world juniors and was very dominant wherever he played all year and he's only 20...Petterson is pretty comparable to Eichel in ceiling I'd have to admit. I'd rather not get into the depth as that is easily debatable but the defenseman depth that the Sabres have right now is really good imo to the point where they can focus entirely on getting solid depth forwards. Cozens and Mitts obviously standout as the big contenders for that 2c spot in the future so its not really that big of an issue in the long run.

 

[Legend123]

I'd take Habs forwards, D, goal, coaching, and prospect pool over Buffalo's current. Long term, Buffalo have better D but there's not one part of the team (other than LD) that they are better

I would gladly take Eichel and Dahlin over any of our players/prospects with a doubt

 

[Nordiques1979]

Too early to say. It will all depends how the chemistry will work between all the new players. Defensively Buffalo looks more balanced, but Montreal got Weber who's when healthy is still a top 10 defenseman in the league. In the net the Habs got the advantage because Price can win games by himself when he's on a good day.

Offensively the Habs main asset was their speed, and several players had the season of their life points speaking. Still waiting if some players won't flat out. Add to that Kotkaniemi who should take another step forward after one season under his belt.

For me it's 50/50 honestly.

 

[Nordiques1979]

Lol Montreals defence is miles ahead of Buffalo’s. Buffalo might as well play with 5 forwards with ghat defence core.

Maybe not miles ahead, but obviously Buffalo got the edge. Dahlin will be a top 2 guy, still not convinced by Ristolainen, Montour, McCabe, Miller still need to prove that they can be top 4 dmen.

Hell even Scandella could find a way to find a spot in Montreal defense! The big question mark for me is how Jokiharju will perform (and if he start with Buffalo), could be the difference maker.

On the Habs side they will probably start with this as theirtop 4:
Mete-Weber
Chiarot-Petry

That's weak, no doubt, their weakest link is their LHD , Mete is good, but nowhere near good as a top 2, and well Chiarot has nothing to do there. I'm curious to see how Juulsen will pan out, he's got skill, size and grit, would be directly slotted in top 4 if he was a LHD.

Defensively, edge for the Sabres.

 

[NJ DevLolz]

are you joking ?

Hughes
Hischier
Bratt
Severson
Butcher
Smith
Boqvist
Blackwood
Zacha
Wood

 

[sharks9]

Maybe not miles ahead, but obviously Buffalo got the edge. Dahlin will be a top 2 guy, still not convinced by Ristolainen, Montour, McCabe, Miller still need to prove that they can be top 4 dmen.

Hell even Scandella could find a way to find a spot in Montreal defense! The big question mark for me is how Jokiharju will perform (and if he start with Buffalo), could be the difference maker.

On the Habs side they will probably start with this as theirtop 4:
Mete-Weber
Chiarot-Petry

That's weak, no doubt, their weakest link is their LHD , Mete is good, but nowhere near good as a top 2, and well Chiarot has nothing to do there. I'm curious to see how Juulsen will pan out, he's got skill, size and grit, would be directly slotted in top 4 if he was a LHD.

Defensively, edge for the Sabres.

Kulak will probably be on the 2nd pairing over Chiarot, he's seriously underrated and played at a top-4 level last year. Like Byron was at first, he's still underrated because people think of him as just a waiver acquisition.

 

[Washed Up 29YearOld]

Lol whats was Mittlestadt done? Ristolainen is a pylon. Reinhart is on par with nylander and your other guyd havent done anything. McDavid/Drai or Matthews/Marner over anything Buffalo has. I swear just reading your posts its like you dont even watch games. You just fall for hype and base your opinions off it. You still go around spouting about Eichel being a franchise player, just because Buffalo gifted him $80M and the C and cause he was the 2nd overall pick doesnt make him a franchise player.

Lol you obviously don't watch games if you think Ristolainen's a pylon and blindly believe narratives on this forum. Mittelstadt is ONLY 20, I'm not going on this long rant of why he'll improve, namely- he's bulking up, enhancing fitness, he is the 2nd best or best stickhandler in his entire draft, has great speed, has elite creativity and vision. Reinhart is on par with Nylander? I'm assuming you mean William Nylander but I can say with confidence that Reinhart is better and it'll be self-evident this season.... Sorry but Nylander didn't do ***** this season and needs to play with good players to even be effective with his "zone entries" and can't drive a line for his life. Reinhart was .792 PPG and Nylander only .5 PPG. Reinhart's on a whole higher tier dude... and if you were referring to Alex Nylander you're clearly just trolling.

You know not all stars have supernatural rookie seasons, and some take longer to develop. Joe Thornton was like 6 months younger than Mittelstadt his rookie season and only went 3 goals/4 assists for 7 points in 55 games, maybe not the best example but you get it. Strome was widely seen as this massive bust and couldn't do anything in Arizona at age 22 then became PPG the same season. Again Mittelstadt is only 20. Obviously he hasn't proven anything but you can't judge a player's entire career based on their first full season at 19-20.


There's really no convincing argument that Mittelstadt will 100% improve (or any player) except for me objectively watching him about 70 times last year and he's shown flashes of looking like a truly elite player, he looks like he'll be very good if he polishes his game.

Eichel is certainly a franchise player I'm not going to go on this long rant about it but I'm sure @TheJackAttack can enlighten you with his many obscure factoids. He's just not "generational" so people scoff at him, you can STILL be a franchise piece and not be generational.

For what Eichel brings and will bring, 10 mil will look more and more like a bargain every single year. (and already is when you see what these kids on RFA deals are asking)


I assume you watch Eichel very seldom or are just disingenuous but if your goal was to trigger Sabres fans you have succeeded, congratulations, because you compelled me to respond.

I think the difference between MTL and BUF is really tight. Who is higher in the standings, I really wouldn't be surprised either way. With a full season of Montour, the addition of Miller, and the acquisition of Jokiharju, yes, the Sabres D is looking good, maybe better than MTL.

With Reinhart, Eichel, Dahlin, Rodriquez, Mittelstadt, Ristolainen, Montour, Ulllmark, Girgensons, Larsson, McCabe, Pilut, Smith, Olofsson, Thompson all one year older, and closer to their prime; Skinner in his prime, the acquisition of a young near 20 goal scorer, and Johansson, the team make-up certainly seems like it should improve.
I'm not sure if people realize how young the Sabres are.
It all depends on how good of a coach this new Krueger guy is.


There's really no way of knowing who's better until the season starts with so many complex and unknowable variables, and team cohesiveness/chemistry of the team. I'm 50/50, on paper Sabres are the better team IMO, but depends on the cohesiveness, culture, and team-game of both teams.

Good luck MTL, when it's not against us.

 

[Team Cozens]

Maybe not miles ahead, but obviously Buffalo got the edge. Dahlin will be a top 2 guy, still not convinced by Ristolainen, Montour, McCabe, Miller still need to prove that they can be top 4 dmen.

Hell even Scandella could find a way to find a spot in Montreal defense! The big question mark for me is how Jokiharju will perform (and if he start with Buffalo), could be the difference maker.

On the Habs side they will probably start with this as theirtop 4:
Mete-Weber
Chiarot-Petry

That's weak, no doubt, their weakest link is their LHD , Mete is good, but nowhere near good as a top 2, and well Chiarot has nothing to do there. I'm curious to see how Juulsen will pan out, he's got skill, size and grit, would be directly slotted in top 4 if he was a LHD.

Defensively, edge for the Sabres.

When you say Dahlin will be a top 2 guy, I hope you mean as in Top 2 D in the LEAGUE. If you mean on the Sabres than your entire post just got flushed.

 

[Lshap]

Habs overachieved if anything and their roster is far ahead of what Habs was last year.

Offensively the Habs main asset was their speed, and several players had the season of their life points speaking.

I sincerely don't mean to pick on you guys personally, but this meme of the Habs overachieving or benefitting from career seasons has to be put to death once and for all.

Here are the facts: Toronto, Florida, Tampa, Boston, Carolina, NYI, and Buffalo all benefitted from multiple players with career-best seasons. In fact, career-best seasons happened all around the league. Check the stats -- each of these teams benefitted from career bumps. Montreal had no added advantage, no extra bump, no lucky break, no unsustainable spike that those other teams didn't also have. If you believe a team overachieved, the facts say it's one of those teams, not Montreal.

That includes health. Montreal was mid-pack for injury impact.

As I said, my frustration isn't directed at you two. This myth has been repeated by a number of people (including a few Habs fans) and parroted by others. A quick check shows that all the factors that supposedly helped Montreal, in fact, helped their competition even more.

 

[Nordiques1979]

When you say Dahlin will be a top 2 guy, I hope you mean as in Top 2 D in the LEAGUE. If you mean on the Sabres than your entire post just got flushed.

In the league no doubt.

 

[Nordiques1979]

I sincerely don't mean to pick on you guys personally, but this meme of the Habs overachieving or benefitting from career seasons has to be put to death once and for all.

Here are the facts: Toronto, Florida, Tampa, Boston, Carolina, NYI, and Buffalo all benefitted from multiple players with career-best seasons. In fact, career-best seasons happened all around the league. Check the stats -- each of these teams benefitted from career bumps. Montreal had no added advantage, no extra bump, no lucky break, no unsustainable spike that those other teams didn't also have. If you believe a team overachieved, the facts say it's one of those teams, not Montreal.

That includes health. Montreal was mid-pack for injury impact.

As I said, my frustration isn't directed at you two. This myth has been repeated by a number of people (including a few Habs fans) and parroted by others. A quick check shows that all the factors that supposedly helped Montreal, in fact, helped their competition even more.

Only the upcoming season will tell us. I hope I'm wrong, cause a guy like Danault deserves everything he gets, the guy is pure class and an hard working player, showing to everybody that you shouldn't bury them too soon. Same for Domi, love the kid, perfect example that a change of scenery for a young player is worth the bet. He's definitely the kid of player that Montreal need, plus he looks like he's having a blast in Quebec.

If Kotkaniemi take the next step like he should, next season should be exciting for Montreal.

 

[Lshap]

Only the upcoming season will tell us. I hope I'm wrong, cause a guy like Danault deserves everything he gets, the guy is pure class and an hard working player, showing to everybody that you shouldn't bury them too soon. Same for Domi, love the kid, perfect example that a change of scenery for a young player is worth the bet. He's definitely the kid of player that Montreal need, plus he looks like he's having a blast in Quebec.

If Kotkaniemi take the next step like he should, next season should be exciting for Montreal.

I'd be skeptical if a player in his late-20s or 30s suddenly had a spike in goals or points. Peaking at that age could be argued as unsustainable. But Danault is 26 and had 13 more points, all of them assists (he actually scored fewer goals). Domi was the only Hab who had a real spike, but he was 23 and had his first season away from Arizona.

Looking for players who won't repeat their lucky seasons? The best candidates play for other teams.

 

[Toene]

Reinhart > Gallagher

 

[John Eichel da GOAT]

Hughes
Hischier
Bratt
Severson
Butcher
Smith
Boqvist
Blackwood
Zacha
Wood

That list really isn't that impressive. Take off Hughes who hasn't stepped on NHL ice yet and it goes from hopeful to ugly real fast.

 

[Nordiques1979]

I'd be skeptical if a player in his late-20s or 30s suddenly had a spike in goals or points. Peaking at that age could be argued as unsustainable. But Danault is 26 and had 13 more points, all of them assists (he actually scored fewer goals). Domi was the only Hab who had a real spike, but he was 23 and had his first season away from Arizona.

Looking for players who won't repeat their lucky seasons? The best candidates play for other teams.

Cheechoo!

 

[lauraP]

Hughes
Hischier
Bratt
Severson
Butcher
Smith
Boqvist
Blackwood
Zacha
Wood

I like the devil but non of those guys are better than eichel/dahlin

Eichel
Reinhart
Dahlin
MIttlestadt
Risto
pilut
jokihariu
Johnson
oloffson
thompson
smith
cozen
UPL
Laaksonen
Bryson
borgen
GIRGENSON

 

[Nordiques1979]

I'd take Gallagher anytime. 30 goals scorer, futur captain, true leader, nose for the net, one of the best on 5vs5.

 

[EveryDay]

I'd take Gallagher anytime. 30 goals scorer, futur captain, true leader, nose for the net, one of the best on 5vs5.

I think he was THE best forward in the NHL last year at 5vs5, no? I mean advanced data

 

[Sensung]

Buffalo finishes ahead of Montreal.

Wouldn't be surprised if the gap > 10 points.

 

[NJ DevLolz]

I like the devil but non of those guys are better than eichel/dahlin

Eichel
Reinhart
Dahlin
MIttlestadt
Risto
pilut
jokihariu
Johnson
oloffson
thompson
smith
cozen
UPL
Laaksonen
Bryson
borgen
GIRGENSON

2/3 of this list is awful