No what I'm saying is we gave this guy many opportunities on the PP on the top two lines last year and all he could produce was 25 points. Before coming here he only had one season where he had more than 9 pts. I think Darcy jumped the gun when he signed Leino. Now I'm not saying keep him on the third line obviously Scruff McRuff is known for his line juggling and he will eventually be inserted into the top lines but if its anything like last year I'd get rid of him with a buyout because no one will take him with the salary he has unless theres a teams still under the cap?

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"If you want to know what I've been doing lately, I've been driving around from Tim Horton's to Tim Horton's, rolling up the rim. Haven't won anything yet. Thanks." - Lindy Ruff

I always liked Jochen and if we had room I would sign him. We just don't have the room. 6 games for Mannheim and he has 5 goals and 8 assists playing along side Pommers. Also, Ott is not a center. He takes faceoffs, but then slides to the wing. Lines should/could be:
vanek, hodgson, pominville
foligno, ennis, stafford
ott, gerbe (or hecht), leino
ellis, mccormick, kaleta

let grigorenko finish with the remparts. there last regular season game is March 17th. They are still in the playoff hunt, but either way they would be finished before the end of the NHL season and if we make the playoffs we could bring him up at that time. He'll get more ice time there and it's a good relationship Buffalo has with Roy. Which is also good since we signed his son.

"I was playing with him all year long, I think he was one of the best linemates in my life," Grigorenko said. "With him, he makes you better. He’ll always support you and he works hard and he wins all his battles and he’s a really smart player and he always passes the puck. For me, I really enjoyed to play with him."

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We were biting this morning. We were biting this morning.

I think we are forgetting 2 very important facts here guys.

Gerbe had a procedure on his back, and is expected to miss all of camp, and time into the season.

McCormick's finger is still messed up too, and he could miss "a lot" of time this year if it hasn't healed correctly. Finger injuries are nasty to 3rd and 4th line guys, especially those who fight.

I also think a lot of people are forgetting about Kevin Porter and Brian Flynn, both of which are having excellent seasons in the AHL, and would make great 3rd line type of players in our system. Both are strong two way players, and can kill penalties. Both things that make people productive and successful in the Sabres organization.

What that being said, here are my lines.

LW - C - RW
Vanek Hodgson Pommers
Foligno Ennis Stafford
Kaleta Ott Flynn
Scott Ellis Leino

Myers-Regehr
Leopold-Ehrhoff
Sekera-Sulzer
Weber

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"She's like plan C after an 18 pack"

Squanto 7/27/2010

I knew I didn't just see things when I saw Gerbe was injured, but I couldn't remember where I saw it at.

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I've watched Flynn play, and I agree that he's been doing well, but there's no way he makes the team out of camp. As a call-up, probably, but I don't see how he makes it out of camp.

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Girgensons for captain. Team Keep Nick DesLauriers forever.

@TJLuckman550

Gerbe and McCormick are going to miss the start of the season, who is going to step in from them with Tropp out? Perhaps Porter but that's about it. Our two draft picks aren't wingers, and it wouldn't be worth putting them in Gerbe's 3rd line role anyway.

So there's a damn good chance Flynn does actually make this team out of camp, then it's his job to beat out Ellis for playing time. I don't think we're going to see McCormick very much, if at all this season from what I have read and heard. If it's taken 5 months for a finger to get fixed, and it's still not right, there is a serious issue, similar to what Hecht had battled a season or two ago.

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"She's like plan C after an 18 pack"

Squanto 7/27/2010

If we have a wing issue and Grigorenko/Zemmy actually do make the team, we could always move Ennis back to wing and replace his C position with one of them.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

There is a 0% chance Girgensens makes the team. He's very raw, and he's going to need a lot of time in the AHL to catch up. Honestly, he would have been a lot better off going off to college for a while.

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Girgensons for captain. Team Keep Nick DesLauriers forever.

@TJLuckman550

I think a year and a half in AHL will do Girgs fine. I see Grigs up here this year at some point, if not right out of the gate. I think he will
get a couple games get sent down and get a full call up after the trade deadline. Lest we not forget we have 9 NHL ready defensemen. A deal is going to be made. We could have ourselves a center so Grigs can get some needed time before coming up.

A lot of people were very excited about drafting Girgenson and now most guys are saying/writing that he'll need a long time to develop.
Has anybody here seen him play? Is his talent level lower than expected?

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I think most would agree he is just a year behind Grigs in regards to development. So i would say middle to end of next year he gets called up and has a chance to make the roster but will probably wait until the beginning of the following year to start. Grigs, IMO, will be on this roster by years end. Whether that be wing or center.

I've been going to Rochester about once a week for the past two months. Girgensens isn't getting a lot of ice time. He'll show flashes of brilliance here and there, but he's not doing it at a consistent enough level yet.

Like I said, he would have been better off going to college first, then getting so pro time. Making the jump to the pros right away isn't easy for anybody, so it'll take him some time. He's a 16th overall pick, so it's not really about his talent level more than it being he just needs a lot more seasoning.

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Girgensons for captain. Team Keep Nick DesLauriers forever.

@TJLuckman550

That's good news for us. McCormick has done nothing for us since he got that raise after that 1 good season he had couple years ago. We do have an abundance of NHL dfensemen so maybe a trade could be worked out for another winger. With Brennan, Pysk and McNabb doing great in the AHL I do not see Leopold or Regher back next season so it'd be a good time to start dealing. I know for a fact that Philly is in desperate need of NHL reday D-Men. I do a deal involving Pardy or Leopold or both. Regher should stay just incase we make the loffs.

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"If you want to know what I've been doing lately, I've been driving around from Tim Horton's to Tim Horton's, rolling up the rim. Haven't won anything yet. Thanks." - Lindy Ruff

I don't know where you're getting your information from, but McNabb nor Pysyk are doing great in the AHL. Brennan has been outstanding, but we still need to see if his game will translate in the NHL, which is probably why the Sabres are so hesitant to pull the trigger. Brennan's going to have to have an awesome camp to crack the top 7.

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Girgensons for captain. Team Keep Nick DesLauriers forever.

@TJLuckman550

He pulls his info from what he thinks he read or heard.

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Another question for the guys who could watch Amerks games. How is Luke Adam playing?
I completely forgot about him and he probably won't be part of the camp (Darcy mentioned that only Foligno and Hodgson were pulled out of the Rochester line-up).

What happened to him? 1,5 years ago he looked so promising.

Btw, I like our depth at defense and wouldn't like a deal right away unless somebody really good is available (which I doubt). People will get injured with this schedule and you can't afford a bad stretch this season.

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Luke Adam's been OK. He seems to be the type of guy who is in the right place at the right time in terms of his offensive output. For example, at the game I was at yesterday (they played the Syracuse Crunch), T.J. Brennan whiffed on a shot, which went to Evan Rankin behind the net, who blindly flipped it out in front to Adam, who was in perfect position to throw it in the net.

Of course, his back-checking is the problem, which we all know is why he was in the Lindy Ruff doghouse to begin with.

Worst of all, Adam's skating hasn't gotten any better, which is something that separates players as either a career AHLer or a guy that can cut in the NHL.

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Girgensons for captain. Team Keep Nick DesLauriers forever.

@TJLuckman550

Career AHLer? Wow, 2 years ago I thought he could be a solid 2nd liine center one day. 2008 was still a great draft for the Sabres, unfortunate that we could have drafted Derek Stepan instead of Adam (would have been the perfect draft choices).

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He could prove me wrong. If he was traded, and played for a coach that didn't stress two-way play as much as Lindy Ruff did, Adam could be successful

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Girgensons for captain. Team Keep Nick DesLauriers forever.

@TJLuckman550

29 goals, 21 assists in 31 games and a pretty nice run in the World Juniors. He also had good numbers the prior season in Quebec. The kid's seasoned more than Shake'n'bake.

You keep the Ennis line together at least for now. Hodgson centers Vanek and you put Grigs on the third line and create 3 true scoring lines. Its only 48 games, goals will be more important in this shortened season. You flip Cody and Grigs from time to time.

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If your having goal problems, I feel bad for ya son....we got 99 problems but Vanek ain't one!