Tanked season not hindering Ennis... Played his way into the "future core"?

[1972]

Last time we were actually good he had 49 points, and he is alot better now then he was then.

 

[jBuds]

Last time we were actually good he had 49 points, and he is alot better now then he was then.

I'd agree with this, but be more specific and say he's better in areas that he was notably weak in - honing his possession skills into a pro and not a con, d zone positioning, things like that.

 

[OkimLom]

Things I like about Ennis:

-Speed
-good, accurate shot
-Among the forward, he's been pretty consistent in terms of his effort. If this were the NFL i'd call him a "high motor" guy. Yeah, he's taken stretches 'off', but compared to pretty much every other top 9 forward save Girgenson's, he's been the most consistent offensive threat.

I think his role with the team will really depend on how he works with whatever our top 2 scoring lines are.

Actually I don't think he has that great of a shot. He scores most of goals in top of the goalie or around the crease, which I'm fine with but his shot is very underwhelming.

If you allow him below the faceoff dots he's more dangerous than anywhere else on the ice. I think if he was able to work on the strength of his shot he would be much more impactful goal scorer. He has below average shot power and his release needs a little more of an improvement.

As for OP's question I don't think he's a core player, but I also don't think he's a player you HAVE to get rid of. There is nothing really toxic about him. I think he just needs to be put I. The right role(2nd line winger) with the right guys.

 

[brian_griffin]

I have no doubt that Ennis will be a legit top-six FW. I expect around 55-60 pts per season with better Cs on the roster, and that would put him roughly in the top 60 in scoring for FWs. I just hope that he can also produce through 3-4 playoff rounds as well.

As Jame noted, I too have been an Ennis detractor, albeit less vocal, and Ennis has also proved me wrong.

I agree with the post above, Ennis is a legit top-6 forward when the roster is rounded out with better talent at center (and with more physical wings, like Kane and others BUF will need to add (e.g. Girgs moving to wing). But my biggest concern is the bolded above. We don't yet know if Ennis' game translates well enough to deep playoff runs when play often gets heavier and more physical in April and May.

He's worth keeping in the short term for his regular season contributions, even if he splits time in the playoffs depending on series / opponent / situation.

If Murray can trade Ennis to obtain a bigger, stronger, more complete player, while giving up a quarter to third of Ennis' offense, I'd be all for it.

 

[Royal Thunder]

As Jame noted, I too have been an Ennis detractor, albeit less vocal, and Ennis has also proved me wrong.

I agree with the post above, Ennis is a legit top-6 forward when the roster is rounded out with better talent at center (and with more physical wings, like Kane and others BUF will need to add (e.g. Girgs moving to wing). But my biggest concern is the bolded above. We don't yet know if Ennis' game translates well enough to deep playoff runs when play often gets heavier and more physical in April and May.

He's worth keeping in the short term for his regular season contributions, even if he splits time in the playoffs depending on series / opponent / situation.

If Murray can trade Ennis to obtain a bigger, stronger, more complete player, while giving up a quarter to third of Ennis' offense, I'd be all for it.

Absolutely a valid point and i'm not going to disagree but remember Ennis already has a playoff OT goal under his belt and was our best forward in that philly series

 

[jBuds]

Absolutely a valid point and i'm not going to disagree but remember Ennis already has a playoff OT goal under his belt and was our best forward in that philly series

And there's nothing in his game that would indicate he would be ill prepared for a deep run. It's not like he shies away from physical play or avoids the corners... Especially this year...

 

[CatsforReinhart]

He is definitely making smarter choices now. I remember him before very Afinegenov like.

 

[mikemcburn]

For my part -

1) Ennis is an interesting player to watch. Interesting insofar as he's always on the move (except in his d-zone where he either a. he has been the first forward back and is commonly falling over himself in a defensive panic, or b., is otherwise standing around looking uncomfortable while waiting for someone else to figure out how to get the puck moving in the other direction), and throwing his heart into the game.

2) Ennis is like every other guy will show the odd flash of a Crosby or Ovechkin move, but who really doesn't have the soft hands, the cycler's mentality, the snipper's shot or the power-forward's body to drive thru. He's interesting, shifty, and good for tight-in solo plays where the combo of his heart and his wrist shot work for him, but he's just not got extra-special quality that makes him a top 6 lock on any given roster.

3) Ennis' defensive game remains much the same as it was when he was playing center - it's subpar at best. He's for sure not the backchecking floater of Moulson's style thankfully, but I think Nolan did Ennis a disservice not keeping him on PK duty this season to refine his comfort in his own zone. Sabres could have dealt with a few extra short-handed goals to give Ennis that development opportunity. So, staying on wing seems to be his future, especially given the depth.

4) The bulk of his offensive wows seem to come from solo plays (see #1 re: always on the move and throwing his heart all in) rather than from chemical play with others (ie: give 'n go rushes, sustained o-zone cycling, etc.), so it'll be interesting to see how things unravel when the roster flushes out with a stronger top 6 of guys who are playing more than a dump 'n chase style of "offense".

5) The fact that Ennis' even-strength production numbers per 60 minutes have actually stayed the same from last season to this one raises more questions than it suggests he has merely "improved"...

a. relative to last year, he's had the benefit of playing with the best producing guys the roster has to offer so you'd expect his production to increase accordingly, but it actually hasn't.

b. offset a. with how he's arguably been playing against better quality opposing players yet still managed to produce the same numbers at even strength.

c. put a. and b. into context with the fact that he's produced the same numbers over a year of playing with multiple linemates, which at the very least suggests he doesn't need to rely on any one guy (ie: Moulson) to produce (it'd be interesting to see how his numbers break down according to who he has been playing with though...?)

d. if he's returned to the 2nd line, it's reasonable to expect that his production for the season will stay much the same as it has the last two seasons - this based on the notion that he sustains the same per 60 minute production but sees fewer minutes per game than this season

e. if he sticks to the 1st line, it's reasonable to expect that his production for the season will improve - this based on the notion that having Kane and Eitchel/McDavid for linemates will be an upgrade over Moulson/Stewart and Girgensens/Larsson, etc. and he'll likely see much the same minutes per game as this season​

6) The fact that Ennis' biggie "improved production" is actually sourced to nearly doubling his power-play per 60 minutes production over last season suggests a few things too...

a. if he sticks to the 1st unit power play next season he'll likely see much the same numbers - if not even better re: quality of roster improving around him

b. if he's shifted to the 2nd unit power play next season, it'd be unreasonable to expect his overall numbers to stay the same as this year because he just won't have the same opportunity​

All in, I think he's interesting and hope he's not traded (well, unless it's part of something way bigger of course;-)). He strikes me as one of the heart 'n soul types who will continue to have his slug/cool stretches but always turn up again to snag that timely clincher from shear will alone.

But to be fair to him and expectations of him, with the way the roster looks to be flushing out going forward, I think those of you looking for Ennis to be a locked-in top 6 who generates 60+ points are in for disappointment. He's 40-50 pts on a bad team in large part because he's been one of very few options for every opportunity possible. Even if you offset his lowered ice-time on a different roster with the fact he'd likely be up against weaker opponents, you're still only looking at a 20+ goal scorer maxing out at 40-50 points depending upon quality of linemates, etc.

That's not a bad thing, 40-50 pts is great for a 2nd/3rd line guy and Ennis has shown he can be consistently in that range regardless of the circumstances. But expecting 35+goals and double that on assists is arguably unrealistic.

 

[Husko]

Hed look great on a secondary scoring line with grigo in a couple seasons

 

[OkimLom]

For my part -

1) Ennis is an interesting player to watch. Interesting insofar as he's always on the move (except in his d-zone where he either a. he has been the first forward back and is commonly falling over himself in a defensive panic, or b., is otherwise standing around looking uncomfortable while waiting for someone else to figure out how to get the puck moving in the other direction), and throwing his heart into the game.

2) Ennis is like every other guy will show the odd flash of a Crosby or Ovechkin move, but who really doesn't have the soft hands, the cycler's mentality, the snipper's shot or the power-forward's body to drive thru. He's interesting, shifty, and good for tight-in solo plays where the combo of his heart and his wrist shot work for him, but he's just not got extra-special quality that makes him a top 6 lock on any given roster.

3) Ennis' defensive game remains much the same as it was when he was playing center - it's subpar at best. He's for sure not the backchecking floater of Moulson's style thankfully, but I think Nolan did Ennis a disservice not keeping him on PK duty this season to refine his comfort in his own zone. Sabres could have dealt with a few extra short-handed goals to give Ennis that development opportunity. So, staying on wing seems to be his future, especially given the depth.

4) The bulk of his offensive wows seem to come from solo plays (see #1 re: always on the move and throwing his heart all in) rather than from chemical play with others (ie: give 'n go rushes, sustained o-zone cycling, etc.), so it'll be interesting to see how things unravel when the roster flushes out with a stronger top 6 of guys who are playing more than a dump 'n chase style of "offense".

5) The fact that Ennis' even-strength production numbers per 60 minutes have actually stayed the same from last season to this one raises more questions than it suggests he has merely "improved"...

a. relative to last year, he's had the benefit of playing with the best producing guys the roster has to offer so you'd expect his production to increase accordingly, but it actually hasn't.

b. offset a. with how he's arguably been playing against better quality opposing players yet still managed to produce the same numbers at even strength.

c. put a. and b. into context with the fact that he's produced the same numbers over a year of playing with multiple linemates, which at the very least suggests he doesn't need to rely on any one guy (ie: Moulson) to produce (it'd be interesting to see how his numbers break down according to who he has been playing with though...?)

d. if he's returned to the 2nd line, it's reasonable to expect that his production for the season will stay much the same as it has the last two seasons - this based on the notion that he sustains the same per 60 minute production but sees fewer minutes per game than this season

e. if he sticks to the 1st line, it's reasonable to expect that his production for the season will improve - this based on the notion that having Kane and Eitchel/McDavid for linemates will be an upgrade over Moulson/Stewart and Girgensens/Larsson, etc. and he'll likely see much the same minutes per game as this season​

6) The fact that Ennis' biggie "improved production" is actually sourced to nearly doubling his power-play per 60 minutes production over last season suggests a few things too...

a. if he sticks to the 1st unit power play next season he'll likely see much the same numbers - if not even better re: quality of roster improving around him

b. if he's shifted to the 2nd unit power play next season, it'd be unreasonable to expect his overall numbers to stay the same as this year because he just won't have the same opportunity​

All in, I think he's interesting and hope he's not traded (well, unless it's part of something way bigger of course;-)). He strikes me as one of the heart 'n soul types who will continue to have his slug/cool stretches but always turn up again to snag that timely clincher from shear will alone.

But to be fair to him and expectations of him, with the way the roster looks to be flushing out going forward, I think those of you looking for Ennis to be a locked-in top 6 who generates 60+ points are in for disappointment. He's 40-50 pts on a bad team in large part because he's been one of very few options for every opportunity possible. Even if you offset his lowered ice-time on a different roster with the fact he'd likely be up against weaker opponents, you're still only looking at a 20+ goal scorer maxing out at 40-50 points depending upon quality of linemates, etc.

That's not a bad thing, 40-50 pts is great for a 2nd/3rd line guy and Ennis has shown he can be consistently in that range regardless of the circumstances. But expecting 35+goals and double that on assists is arguably unrealistic.

Enjoyed the read.

I think there some questions looking forward that may have an affect on Ennis' production.

Who's going to be coach going forward? Are they going to focus on Matchups or try to just roll 4 lines? What kind system are they going to implement?

Who is on the roster? How will the chemistry be?

I think answers those type of questions will be the most interesting to watch going forward in our rebuild .

 

[Sabretip]

If Murray can trade Ennis to obtain a bigger, stronger, more complete player, while giving up a quarter to third of Ennis' offense, I'd be all for it.

AKA, Ryan O'Reilly.

 

[jBuds]

AKA, Ryan O'Reilly.

I am so intrigued by the thought of Ennis on the wing of a guy like ROR.

 

[sand1138man]

I always liked Ennis and I think he's put together a solid season. He does a lot of good things, using his speed and puck handling to open space for himself and his linemates. And most nights, I'd imagine, against the toughest defence opponents can bring. Because Ennis' line is about the only threat we've got. And still he puts up points and highlight plays.

On top of that, he also shows leadership quality because he doesn't quit on his team, he goes into the dirty areas and despite his not so terrifying size he throws some good hits. I would say his allround game has improved. We always knew he had offensive upside.

Yes, Ennis is part of the future core. With Myers out of town, he's the veteran of that core.

One thing this season has done is finally kill the Ennis vs Hodgson debate.

yeah Ennis played his way into the "future core", and hogson may have played his way out of the NHL....he is just awful, and you can't blame it on having a bad team around him cause some players have actually looked good

 

[Moskau]

I actually think Ennis could be a player who sees his production dip playing with more talent

 

[kirby11]

For now, he's pretty firmly locked into our top 6. The fact that he's putting up points on this tire fire of a team consistently is impressive, as is his possession game/improved d-zone presence, as others have noted. I have no issue with keeping Ennis, but if the right deal came along for a guy like ROR, I'd be fine with trading him, as well.

 

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[SeanDog]

Nolan's comments about Ennis are extremely frustrating. Oh, Ennis would be an elite player with an elite center? Well why don't you go get him one by losing the rest of the damn games!! Any other coach in any other sport would be on board with management in this situation, this season is OVER Ted, it's time to plan for the future.

 

[Man of Principles]

His hockey sense has improved a lot over the last couple years. I was on the fence about him. The old Ennis was a passenger who would try and dangle around the exterior and wasn't really willing to actually "get in" the play. Now I recognize his presence. He's putting his game together for sure, to the point where we can actually say he's a legitimate threat to score every time he's out there.

Regarding his shot power, I agree..it's not top notch. But he's been better about putting himself in those areas where he can get a quick shot off. Much more opportunistic as a winger IMO. His problem was he was forced to be a pivot.

I don't mind him staying on as a 2nd line winger who puts up 50-60 points and can keep his +\- near zurra.

 

[Montag DP]

I actually think Ennis could be a player who sees his production dip playing with more talent

Why do you say that? It seems to me like playing on a good team with a better supporting cast and weaker opposition (because he'd be on the 2nd line) could only help his production.

 

[ZeroPT*]

Why do you say that? It seems to me like playing on a good team with a better supporting cast and weaker opposition (because he'd be on the 2nd line) could only help his production.

He's more successful when he's got the puck and can make things happen. He won't have nearly asuch freedom around more skilful players.

That's one way I could see his production deminish

 

[Montag DP]

He's more successful when he's got the puck and can make things happen. He won't have nearly asuch freedom around more skilful players.

That's one way I could see his production deminish

I haven't looked up the stats, but aren't we one of the worst possession teams in recent history? The team maintaining possession for more of the game will result in Ennis getting more touches too. Put him on a second line with a good passer like Reinhart and someone else more physically dominant and he will have a field day in the offensive zone.

 

[ZZamboni]

Nolan's comments about Ennis are extremely frustrating. Oh, Ennis would be an elite player with an elite center? Well why don't you go get him one by losing the rest of the damn games!! Any other coach in any other sport would be on board with management in this situation, this season is OVER Ted, it's time to plan for the future.

Players don't try to lose
Coaches don't try to lose

And no amount of thinking or wishing other players and coaches do this will make it true.

That's why GM's who look at the bigger picture, plan accordingly.

 

[Montag DP]

Okay, I have to admit a man crush is starting to take form.

 

[Snippit]

Absolutely terrific tonight.

 

[Eichel 9]

I am glad we didn't deal him and Murray seems to think of him as a core player, I don't think we would have gotten fair value for him. He is a guy that could absolutely feast if you put him in a 2nd line role or even 1st line with a really good center.