BillsFan4

I could definitely get on board with an Ehlers trade. Even though we have a bunch of LWers he’d definitely be our 2nd best one and a guy that fits long term. I hated this part, though - https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/are-sabres-and-jets-match-ristolainen-trade Ive heard this trade suggested s few times now and it’s definitely not a trade I’d make. Perreault adds no (long term) value for me. He’ll be 32 this season, has never once broken 20g in his career or scored more than 45p and makes over $4M a year for the next 2 years. He’s basically a cap dump. Roslovic is nowhere near enough value coming back. He has been a disappointment so far. As of now he’s a bottom 6 guy. That may be all he ever is. He has a chance to become a top 6 player but I sure wouldn’t bet on it by trading Risto with Roslovic as the main piece coming back. I dont really want any winnipeg trade with a Roslovic in it. He adds just enough value to downgrade whatever other asset was included in the trade. As I’ve said before, I’d rather just trade Risto in a 1 for 1 hockey trade. Or if not I want a top tier prospect. A trade including Roslovic would almost surely be more of a quantity deal - something like Roslovic + pick + player to even out the cap hits. The last thing I want in any Risto trade is quantity.

Just reading this now. Mayfield doesn’t lack confidence, that’s for sure. How do people interpret this part - He’s not saying that mayfield was disappointed he was fired, is he? Hue can’t be that oblivious. He has to just be saying that mayfield was disappointed he went to a team in division right? Its s pretty good story. Worth the read.

Here is the podcast with Marrone - https://www.podcastone.com/episode/Ice-Cube-Jaguars-Head-Coach-Doug-Marrone-And-Mt-Rushmore-Of-Animal-Traits-You-Wish-You-Had Looks like it starts around 29mins in.

Burger King has tacos?

Might be something to that theory. I could definitely see that whole little tirade being something he planned before he went in there. He sure seems to be getting exactly what he wanted... and I guess he already had a YouTube channel with similar “rant” style videos. Looks like one finally went viral for him. I’ll be glad when his 15 minutes are up. lol

Finally got the chance to sit down and read this whole article last night, and wow! Excellent shift by shift breakdown. It’s amazing how well this kid was playing to start his NHL career. This has me even more excited about the trade! Articles like this are why I subscribe to the Athletic. (Btw, I have a link for 40% off 1yr, if anyone wants it). It looks like we may have a good one! He looks to bring a skill set that the Sabres don’t have enough of on defense. Edit - there are supposed to be video clips in those quotes. It showed the videos in my post before I posted it, and it shows the videos right now while I am editing this post. But I am not seeing them otherwise. Not sure how to fix it. Was really hoping to be able to share the 2 video clips above. And it was the second time Jokiharju stonewalled Tarasenko in the game. It’s

The contract will slide (for up to 2 years) if he doesn’t play 10 NHL games. So the count starts on his 3 year ELC in the 3rd season or whenever he plays more than 9 NHL games in a season. Id be surprised if he plays more than 9 NHL games this year, especially with the thumb injury.

Cirelli was very good last season. The biggest thing for me is the sample size. 1 year obviously isn’t much to go off of. He’s not a proven veteran player. And you worry how he’d do with an expanded role. But I don’t really see any red flags. It’d not like he was being sheltered in Tampa. all of his advanced stats were great even though he was used primarily as their shutdown center with 60% d zone starts against the other team’s top lines. His CF% should have taken a big hit (especially being a rookie) but he was a positive corsi player at 53.7% (which is very good). His takeaway way to giveaway ratio was insane at 46-15. A +31 differential! With Cirelli on the ice, the Lightning registered an expected goals for of 47.9 and an expected goals against of 36.2, a +11.7 differential. All the stats say that he made his teammates better and show that he was a good transition player that could be counted on not to make mistakes in the d zone (and exiting). Pretty much every advanced analytic says that the lightning were a better team with Cirelli on the ice, and the eye test matches up IMO. There are risks with any trade, but Cirelli seems like a pretty safe bet to me. Here is a good article outlining Cirelli’s impact last season. It also shows how high Tampa fans and media members are on him (not that it really matters) - https://www.rawcharge.com/2019/5/9/18538017/2018-2019-tampa-bay-lightning-player-grades-anthony-cirelli-another-midround-gem

Eh, I get what your saying because he’s only played 1 full season and part of another (this last season was considered his rookie year). But I’d be pretty damn happy with Cirell straight up for Risto. I am a big Cirelli fan though. He scored 19 goals last season with heavy defensive zone starts and no power play time. He was used as their 2 way shutdown C who faced a lot of the other team’s top competition and was depended on in a lot of late game situations. If Tampa had the lead late in a game, Cirelli was usually out there. He was also very good in the face off circle, which is something we need. all of his advanced stats look good too and it doesn’t appear that he was sheltered looking at QoC and matchups etc. He was already getting Selke votes last season (his first full NHL season). He finished 11th in selke voting (ROR placed 11th in selke voting a couple times before finally winning it this year) and he finished 6th in Calder voting. He’s only 21 and still on his ELC as well. He would be a perfect fit in Buffalo. He could be our #2 C this year and eventually slide into the #3C role if Mittelstadt or Cozens ever surpass him as the 2C. We would have elite center depth if either player ever passed Cirelli as the 2C, as he was already probably about the best 3C in the NHL last season (his rookie season) or damn close. I honestly don’t see Tampa trading him anyway. John Cooper LOVES him and uses him in a ton of key situations. Plus He’s still on his entry level contract. They need cost controlled players desperately with Point due for a raise this year and Vasilevski due next year. They have a bunch of guys with NMC too, which will make clearing our cap space harder. If they did trade him for Risto, I can’t see any scenario where they add a top prospect and a 1st, though. Maybe a pick if we were lucky. But not a prospect on top of that. I think they’d probably rather trade someone like Tyler Johnson because it would clear cap space. But he has a no trade clause. Id take Johnson though. He could be our 2C and is signed to a very reasonable $5M cap hit for 5 more years. The only issue is that he will be 29yrs old before the start of the season. His contract ends at age 33 so that’s not the issue. IMO the issue is that he probably doesn’t fit our long term rebuild window as well as Risto does. But he’d bring some much needed experience and leadership to the team. You can’t ice a entire roster of young guys (well, you can but it’s probably not going to be too successful as we’ve already seen). I would want a pick or prospect included with Johnson though (due to his age). He’s no longer waiver exempt. So it’s pretty much NHL or bust for Puljujarvi.

I think this guy is getting exactly what he wanted - attention and internet fame.

Pretty good read - https://hockeybuzz.com/blog/Ryan-Wilson/Growing-trend-in-how-Pittsburgh-and-Buffalo-are-building-their-defense/177/100456 Growing trend in how Pittsburgh and Buffalo are building their defense

https://www.tsn.ca/video/granato-there-s-no-limit-to-eichel-s-potential~1727585 “Sabres assistant coach Don Granato joins OverDrive to chat about Buffalo’s outlook for next season, and what it was like to coach Auston Matthews in the US developmental program.” heres the whole interview - https://www.tsn.ca/radio/toronto-1050/don-granato-on-the-teamsnap-coaches-conference-auston-matthews-his-hopes-for-the-sabres-this-season-1.1336177

I enjoy reading about all NFL news and am always hunting for a thread to post random non-thread worthy news/info etc. I come across on other NFL teams but I never know where to put it (this forum doesn’t have an “around the NFL section and I don’t want to start a new thread for it). So most times I don’t share it. I decided I’d try to make a thread to give everyone a place to share interesting news/stories etc. about other NFL teams/players etc. I’m hoping that it’s ok to put/keep this here seeing as it’s not Bills related news. I know we have the “off the wall” section but not as many people visit it, especially to talk football. If I am the only one interested in a thread like this, then I apologize and will let it die. To start, heres Josh Norman jumping bulls in Spain -

What I never got is that it’d pretty much a universally accepted fact in the NHL that defensive prospects take longer to develop than forward prospects do. So to ignore the defense at the start of a rebuild seemed weird. I remember early in our rebuild, people were saying “buffalo could be the envy Edmonton (re:failed rebuild)” and I proudly argued that we would not be because Buffalo was being smart and putting an emphasis on stocking the D pipeline and using high picks on D men right at the start of their rebuild (something Edmonton had pretty much ignored doing). At the time we had recently drafted Risto+Zadorov and had Pysyk, McNabb, Myers (who we were still pretty high on). lol

I don’t have an issue with the pick as much as I do with his policy of not even considering a defenseman with that pick because it was “too high” and you only draft forwards that high (something Murray talked about more than once). Nylander wasn’t a reach. He was ranked in the top 10 of the draft. But Sergachev should have been at least in consideration for that pick. Same with Chychrun and McAvoy. They shouldn’t have been disqualified from consideration because they played defense and Murray thought #7 was too high to take a defenseman. I was never that big of a fan of the Nylander pick, though. He was good in his draft year, but he didn’t destroy the OHL like other top prospects. Our 2nd round pick from the year before (Eric Cornel, another pick I wasn’t a fan of...lol) finished 14th in OHL scoring that year, where as Nylander was 19th. My main issue with Nylander was his compete level and work ethic issues. Plus he tended to play a soft, skilled game on the perimeters of the ice. I didn’t like his brother William either (and I still wouldn’t want him on the Sabres) for those same reasons. When he put in an effort, he could be dominant. But it was somewhat rare to see that real desire to make an impact. You’d see it on certain shifts, or for maybe a period. But almost never a full game. I really wanted Clayton Keller but he went 1 pick before us. So I was kind of indifferent when buffalo got on the clock. I could see Nylander doing well in Chicago, though. He may have a chance to play with some real skill players. I also expect he will get a (short term) boost in motivation from the trade. He’s still young, too. There’s a chance that light switch comes on for him. But I don’t think it’s a safe bet. I just look at his dad and his brother. Both leave (or left) you wanting more way too often. And both seem like a PITA to deal with. Personally, I feel relieved to move on from Nylander, especially since we got very good value in return.

Here’s a super salty take on the trade over on a Chicago Blackhawks blog. It’s way over the top but some of it is pretty funny. https://faxesfromuncledale.com/stan-bowman-is-a-moron-and-henri-jokiharju-is-better-off/ And a pretty decent video analysis from back in April - https://www.eprinkside.com/2019/4/9/video-room-henri-jokiharju-blackhaws-defensman-of-the-future

Jokiharju didn’t try to carry the puck into the offensive zone very often, which is the only reason zone entries aren’t in the blue like everything else. I don’t think he lacks the ability. He was just on the ice a lot with Kane/Strome/DeBrincat, so he said he tried to get them the puck as much as possible. Look at those possession exits from the d zone though! Love it! Botterill is definitely putting a focus on good puck moving defenseman that positively contribute to possession exits, which is something buffalo has desperately needed for years now. It’s partly why they spend so much damn time stuck in their own zone. I am really loving the focus Botterill is putting on building this defense. Tim Murray mostly ignored the defense (at least high in the draft, outside of guhle) while also trading away numerous defensive prospects. Seeing as it’s a general rule that defenseman take longer to develop than forwards, it made little sense to me. I remember Murray (iirc it was when he was asked why he went with Nylander over a defenseman like Sergachev) said “we are drafting too high to take a defenseman”. Seems like a dumb, outdated strategy to me. Take the best player available, whether he’s a D or F.

Introductory conference call ^ Jokiharju on WGR with Howard and Jeremy - https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/07-10-sabres-defenseman-henri-jokiharju-howard-and-sal

Honestly, I am relieved to get rid of Nylander. I still held out hope that he would be an NHL player for us, but even if he does turn into a top 6 F, IMO I think he’s always going to be a player you have to worry about. Will he give s full effort today? Will he check out mentally? Will the other team make him check out by playing physical against him? Will he be a giant PITA to negotiate a contract with (his dad is kinda like Marner’s dad - a huge pain and very adamant about what his son is worth)? If he becomes an nhl player, I think he’s always going to be a guy that you will want more from, and someone who will disappear for stretches. I am am so happy we got such good value back for him. Missing on top 10 picks can set a franchise back years. Now we get s good NHL asset that isn’t going to bust and has just as much potential as Nylander. Plus Jokiharju is actually 1 year younger and his contract situation is exactly the same as Nylander’s. They are both entering year 2 of their ELC’s, so there is 6 years of team control left. I also think Jokiharju might be exempt from the expansion draft, which is a big bonus! It couldn’t be more perfect!

I can’t believe Chicago trade Jokiharju. Holy cow great job Botts! I still like Nylander but IMO he has major work ethic issues and is mainly a soft perimeter player. He could end up being good in the NHL, but Jokiharju is definitely a good top 4 NHL defenseman and even has top pair potential. I didn't want to give up on Nylander and sell low, but this isn’t selling low. Jokiharju IMO is the bette prospect right now. This is feels like a pretty nice win for the Sabres.

Ah ok. Yes, then I’d agree with Dr. Oz in this case. lol The CBD industry is like the Wild West right now. You really have make sure you properly vet a company before using their product. Too much stuff that is not what they say it is, or that comes from dirty Chinese industrial hemp.

Not sure if you’re recommending dr. Oz? Or saying to stay away. If you’re saying to stay away, I agree 100%. He’s a scammer. About half (or more) of his claims are bogus. Also, if you are are regular user of mj, there’s a better chance CBD will have little effect because you are already consuming a lot of the cannabinoids and terpenes that are in CBD oils/tinctures etc. Many strains even contain CBD (and CBN, CBG etc). It definitely doesn’t seem to work for everyone, though.