Roster Speculation thread - the season is almost upon us.

[UnleashRasmus]

I've yet to like any line Eichel is on. Why is that? Makes me nervous.

It does take time for new line mates to gel. They have pieces up and down the line up to try out. I thought the ugliest line was Mittelstadt with Okposo and Sobotka, but that's just me.

 

[Sabre Dance]

It does take time for new line mates to gel. They have pieces up and down the line up to try out. I thought the ugliest line was Mittelstadt with Okposo and Sobotka, but that's just me.

I know it takes time, but this is year 4. He's played with some talented players also, Kane, Reinhart, now Skinner Nothing really clicks like we expect it to.

 

[TheMistyStranger]

I know it takes time, but this is year 4. He's played with some talented players also, Kane, Reinhart, now Skinner Nothing really clicks like we expect it to.

Reinhart works. Kane and Skinner are too similar to Eichel in terms of the areas they tend to skate to on the ice. If they're both within 2 feet of each other, you're essentially artificially making yourself short-handed. He needs a good, honest, north-south LW. I'm hoping that's Sheary. I wouldn't be shocked if the best fit were Erod or Berglund.

 

[Reddawg]

The forcing of ERod as center is asinine. Get him with another playmaker

I’ve been advocating him for the left side of Jack and Sam for like 18 months now, makes so much sense but for whatever reason it never happens.

 

[Sabre the Win]

Why does Twitter never single out the players being yelled at and talked too so we can shame them more?

 

[Sabre Dance]

Reinhart works. Kane and Skinner are too similar to Eichel in terms of the areas they tend to skate to on the ice. If they're both within 2 feet of each other, you're essentially artificially making yourself short-handed. He needs a good, honest, north-south LW. I'm hoping that's Sheary. I wouldn't be shocked if the best fit were Erod or Berglund.

Reinhart and Eichel together should be much better than they are. They are pretty average together compared to the rest of the NHL.

 

[TheMistyStranger]

Reinhart and Eichel together should be much better than they are. They are pretty average together compared to the rest of the NHL.

I'd rather they get another winger on the left to see how they work before dismissing it. Berglund - Eichel - Reinhart would be interesting to see. If not, Reinhart would probably play well with Berglund as his center.

 

[steveoath]

What do people see as Jack's main assets? What sort of player would complement those?

 

[nickdawg95]

what about something kookoo

mittlestadt-eichel-Erod
Sheary-reinhart-Thompson
SKinner-berglund-okposo
grigs-sobotka-pominvile

 

[dortt]

I’ve been advocating him for the left side of Jack and Sam for like 18 months now, makes so much sense but for whatever reason it never happens.

it did last year and the line was beyond dominant. So when Phil had the chance to break them up, he promptly did

 

[Paxon]

I know it takes time, but this is year 4. He's played with some talented players also, Kane, Reinhart, now Skinner Nothing really clicks like we expect it to.

He was nearly PPG after returning from a significant injury, playing on a team that is overall terrible offensively. Let's not overstate things. Obviously we want to see more.

 

[struckbyaparkedcar]

What do people see as Jack's main assets? What sort of player would complement those?

He’s a decent baseline of offense and individual production by himself. He’s really, really good in transition.

He’s also really, really bad at defense, and has never been paired with high-end shot suppressors, or players with NHL center experience.

Ryan O’Reilly was probably his ideal linemate.

 

[sabrebuild]

He’s a decent baseline of offense and individual production by himself. He’s really, really good in transition.

He’s also really, really bad at defense, and has never been paired with high-end shot suppressors, or players with NHL center experience.

Ryan O’Reilly was probably his ideal linemate.

Alas why would we ever try that...

He needs technical, positionally sound, all around players. Reinhart works well with Eichel because he can cater to Eichel’s needs and help him in zone with the movement to dirty areas.

Sabres historic ideals would be prime Hecht in the left with Pominville on the right.

This year, if Nylander can get up to snuff his style would be a good fit.

 

[Moskau]

We've talked a lot about Kane and Skinner being guys who look better suited to have their own line with plugs but that may actually be what is said about Eichel eventually. You could swear sometimes that he was a pass first winger being asked to fill in as a center. A lot of similarities between him and the way Drouin play.

 

[Snippit]

Nylander up, Thompson down

Sheary-Eichel-Reinhart
Skinner-Mitts-Okposo (soft minutes)
Sobotka-Berglund-Girgensons (match against the Bergeron lines of the world)
Nylander-ERod-Pominville (get some offense from line 4)

 

[struckbyaparkedcar]

We've talked a lot about Kane and Skinner being guys who look better suited to have their own line with plugs but that may actually be what is said about Eichel eventually. You could swear sometimes that he was a pass first winger being asked to fill in as a center. A lot of similarities between him and the way Drouin play.

I mean, that's closer to the truth right now than not, forget some narrative setting in eventually.

Unfortunately, our coaches have pretty consistently believed that the path to improving Eichel's on ice results was maximizing the offensive talent on his line, rather than reducing the amount of time that unit spends in the defensive zone.

Part of the reason you can write an article about how Jack can be better in the offensive zone is that far too many of his offensive opportunities come after his matchups tired themselves (and the Eichel line) out cycling in the Sabres end.

 

[struckbyaparkedcar]

Nylander up, Thompson down

Sheary-Eichel-Reinhart
Skinner-Mitts-Okposo (soft minutes)
Sobotka-Berglund-Girgensons (match against the Bergeron lines of the world)
Nylander-ERod-Pominville (get some offense from line 4)

With a few tweaks, I think this is pretty close to the way forward.

I hate Okposo with other talent right now. His interplay with Mittelstadt was nonexistant, he was a cartoonishly large anchor on a crucial power play, and the only times he looked good was going 1v3 to the net, linemates be damned.

Unless we're banishing him to the fourth line or using Eichel-Berglund in matchup situations, I think he slots best as the #1 scoring option on a checking line. Last year, he was a competitive defensive player and a giant drag on offense, and I'd rather he focus on getting his scoring chops back instead of figuring out how to fit around talent.

Sheary-Eichel-Reinhart
Skinner-Mitts-Rodrigues
Girgensons-Berglund-Okposo
Nylander-Sobotka-Pominville

 

[Moskau]

I mean, that's closer to the truth right now than not, forget some narrative setting in eventually.

Unfortunately, our coaches have pretty consistently believed that the path to improving Eichel's on ice results was maximizing the offensive talent on his line, rather than reducing the amount of time that unit spends in the defensive zone.

Part of the reason you can write an article about how Jack can be better in the offensive zone is that far too many of his offensive opportunities come after his matchups tired themselves (and the Eichel line) out cycling in the Sabres end.

I'm curious just how many line combinations he's been tried with over his career. Not just a shift or two but an actual line for a few games.

 

[Team Cozens]

I really like the Skinner - Eichel - Reinhart line.
I didn't like playing them against Bergeron, Marchand, Pasta when we had last change. At Home. Crazy.
Do we not have a checking line?

Just want to see Elie injected.

 

[struckbyaparkedcar]

I'm curious just how many line combinations he's been tried with over his career. Not just a shift or two but an actual line for a few games.

Interesting stuff I just dug up because Corsica's line combo data is back:

*disclaimer - this is all for funsies due to really small sample size, aggregating random post-PK shifts into actual runs of form, etc*

• Kane/Pominville is Eichel's second most common setup in terms of minutes played in just 40 games together
• All of the 13 lines with 50+ captured minutes feature one of Kane, Reinhart or Girgensons
• Each of these players is featured in 2 of the top 5 combos by Corsi
• Girgensons is featured on 3/5 of lines by GF (Reinhart twice, Kane/Pominville took 5th)
• Reinhart is featured on 3/5 of lines by xGF (Girgs 2, Kane 1)

Overall, this lends a bit of credence to the idea that you'd rather just stick Jack with some dudes, and that outright blunting his drag on team defense is a way to winning his matchup. This has only worked in small samples though, as all of Jack's most frequent combos appear to be hit with the regression stick.

 

[darcyRegier]

Erod and Jack are dynamic together...

Sheary - Eichel - Erod
Skinner - Mitts - Reinhart
Girgs - Berglund - Thompson
Pominville - Sobotka - Okposo

 

[sabrebuild]

I mean, that's closer to the truth right now than not, forget some narrative setting in eventually.

Unfortunately, our coaches have pretty consistently believed that the path to improving Eichel's on ice results was maximizing the offensive talent on his line, rather than reducing the amount of time that unit spends in the defensive zone.

Part of the reason you can write an article about how Jack can be better in the offensive zone is that far too many of his offensive opportunities come after his matchups tired themselves (and the Eichel line) out cycling in the Sabres end.

I would be very interested in them exploring this. Any different set of combos to exploit three dangerous lines.

Berglund Eichel Okposo
Skinner Sobotka Reinhart
Sheary Mitts Erod
Elie Girgs Pominville

Just off the top of my head, but ya a line for Eichel that explicitly aims to get him the puck in transition and not waste time on defense would be interesting.

It’s really just an extension of him playing at wing with O’Reilly, or what should have happened, but it would allow him to be even more dangerous, in transition 2v2 or 2v1

 

[Montag DP]

Why does Twitter never single out the players being yelled at and talked too so we can shame them more?

You answered your own question.

 

[sabremike]

I would be very interested in them exploring this. Any different set of combos to exploit three dangerous lines.

Berglund Eichel Okposo
Skinner Sobotka Reinhart
Sheary Mitts Erod
Elie Girgs Pominville

Just off the top of my head, but ya a line for Eichel that explicitly aims to get him the puck in transition and not waste time on defense would be interesting.

It’s really just an extension of him playing at wing with O’Reilly, or what should have happened, but it would allow him to be even more dangerous, in transition 2v2 or 2v1

So you are basically saying the team should try and emphasize the strength of our best player and hide his weakness? Sadly that makes far too much sense to ever happen.

 

[K8fool]

I’ve been advocating him for the left side of Jack and Sam for like 18 months now, makes so much sense but for whatever reason it never happens.

you are right , it may be three equal lines challenging each that works best... w skinner mitt pomm/ shear /er as the surprise , sheary /erod with eich and x/rein and nylander thonpson with berglung/asplund.. we finally have competition which kills complacency.. we have waited 5 years , a month is ok before lynching squishy owie.. i see a much more talented team findind its identity coming carefully out of a losing culture in a toxic home arena (for now)