Using something like this

Team A> Team B> Team C> Team D> Team E

Rate how Boston, Buffalo, Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto's defensive core are compared to each other. I see it like this.

Toronto>Buffalo>Montreal>Boston>Ottawa

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

Ditto

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Yeah. It seems Montreal fans think they have the best D in the division. LOL.

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

Lol thats funny cuz i was thinking about putting them below Boston, simply because Boston has Chara.

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I'm a fan of Markov, but PK Subban is DEATHLY overrated. I've seen this kid play. He isn't special. Myers is maybe 3X better than him.

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

Plus, somehow Toronto has Phanuef, Beauchemien, Komisarek, and Schenn (Who is meh), and they STILL finish second last...

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

By the way, welcome to the forums, ZacKrell!

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

Hmm, could it possibly be that OFFENSE is more important? lol

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True. They do have Versteeg this year, they look like a good team. But they did look like a good team last year, too. They were bunk mates with Edmonton in the basement last year, too.

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

Thanks for the welcome, ive been posting on the Sabres Forum on the Sabres website but i thought id diversify the group i blog with rather than with the same 4 people on there lol.

As for Versteeg, you have no idea how badly i wanted the Sabres to get him. My brothers a Hawks fan so i always wound up watching some of their games and i tell you Versteeg is pretty much what they need, a guy who can make some space for himself and then shoot a twisted wrister past the goalie. I was pissed when i heard he was headed for the big TO. I guess now i can only hope we make some trade that involves a forward and some D prospects since we have like what? 50,000 of them? and then sign Lee Stempniak.

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Honestly:

Mon>Tor>Bos(just because of Chara)>Buf>Ott

Ottawa's defense isn't really much this year. Volchinkov and Kuba left.

(Kuba was on Ottawa, right?)

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

Kuba still is according to NHLnumbers. Don't forget their rookie D-man from last year, Karlsson. He's one of their biggest assets.

i think schenn is going to be an outstanding defensemen. he may not have the offensive punch, but thats just fine.

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Are you fucking kidding me?? Luke Schenn is just "meh"?? He's soo amazing! He's the franchise! Don't you ever see Sabres-Leafs games on the Toronto feed, the announcers keep saying how awesome he is!!

Kaberle>Crosby>>Ovechkin>Schenn>Toews>Komisarek>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Ryan Miller


Kaberle for Myers, Vanek, Miller (who's sooo overrated), 5 first round picks, and Kassian. The Leafs are getting soooo ripped off, cuz Kaberle is the best d-man EVER!!!!




...I fucking hate the Leafs. I hate their stupid, delusional fans, and I absolutely despise their brain-dead announcers (Rickard Wallin is NOT a top tier NHL forward, so stop saying it!!!)

I need a drink

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"Let's just trap Sekera in the caverns underneath HSBC arena." -BlueandYellow

Reporter: "Steve, you guys now lead the league in defensive scoring."
Montador: "It's probably because of how good-looking we are."

I dont like Phaneuf. He had a decent end to the season once he was traded but he isn't worth what he makes. Same goes for Komisarek. A big bodied d-man who can barely skate. Francois Beauchemin is ok but nothing more than a second pairing d-man making just under 4 mill. Quite frankly when Schenn was playing the side he likes too(left side) and was matched with someone with decent skill(White or Beauchemin) he was the leafs best dman. Since they still have Kaberle they have the best d-core but once he is traded they go behind us imo. Boston has a good core as well. I'd say its very close between us TO and Bos and then the other two are a couple steps behind.

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Driver of the Tyler Ennis Bandwagon, Ridin' shotgun on the Tyler Myers Bandwagon, chillin' on the Luke Adam Bandwagon


Eh

ok, with my oddly-timed rant out of the way, here's how I rank the NE defenses;

1. Buffalo (whatever, I'm biased)
2. Toronto
3. Boston (Chara's UFA next summer)
4. Ottawa
5. Montreal

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"Let's just trap Sekera in the caverns underneath HSBC arena." -BlueandYellow

Reporter: "Steve, you guys now lead the league in defensive scoring."
Montador: "It's probably because of how good-looking we are."

Well said, I completely agree about Phaneuf. I still think it's going to blow up in a couple of seasons.

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"Let's just trap Sekera in the caverns underneath HSBC arena." -BlueandYellow

Reporter: "Steve, you guys now lead the league in defensive scoring."
Montador: "It's probably because of how good-looking we are."

Seriously? Montreal has the best defense in our division? This is what they got on D:

HAL GILL (Their best defenseman)
JOSH GORGES (Meh)
ROMAN HAMRLIK (Theyre dying to get rid of him and his terrible cap because hes terrible himself)
ANDREI MARKOV (36 years old and well past his prime)
RYAN O'BYRNE (Scores on his on net, enough said)
JAROSLAV SPACEK (I shouldnt even have to say anything)
PK SUBBAN (This is their best D prospect, and he cant even play defense really)

Put that group of D out on the ice and now that theyll be have the "great" Carey Price in net we'll see just how bad they are.

Lets move on to Boston:

JOHNNY BOYCHUK (not terrible)
ZDENO CHARA (Its Chara)
DENNIS SEIDENBERG (Pretty good)
MATT HUNWICK (-16, baaaaaaad)
ANDREW FERENCE (-7 +/- and had 8 points in the entire season, terrible)

Theyre not all terrible but their bottom two pairing is god awful, and they dont even have 6 defensemen on their roster and with their cap issues theyre either calling up some guy from Providence or theyre grabbing some scrub from free agency who will play for league minimum.

Senators lost Volchenkov and picked up Gonchar, which is a downer on the defensive side but a boost in offense.

The Leafs defense is tough to judge because the forwards have been so terrible that the stats are all askew, but going based on names alone they appear to have a pretty stacked D

FRANCOIS BEAUCHEMIN
JEFF FINGER
CARL GUNNARSSON
TOMAS KABERLE
MIKE KOMISAREK
BRETT LEBDA
DION PHANEUF
DANNY RICHMOND
LUKE SCHENN

Then you got us, the good old Buffalo Sabres, lets take a look:

CHRIS BUTLER (was great in his rookie season but had a bit of a slump as of late, look for him to bounce back)
JORDAN LEOPOLD (Has some good offensive skills, and when hes not on a terrible team hes always been a + player)
STEVE MONTADOR (hes prolly the most under rated defenseman we have, a career plus player and the last 3 seasons he has been putting up at least 20 points)
SHAONE MORRISONN (another career plus player and the past two seasons hes been playing with Mike Green for gods sake, imagine what he'll do with a guy who actually
plays defense)
TYLER MYERS (I shouldnt even need to comment on this fella, ROTY)
CRAIG RIVET (Maybe a little over the hill)
ANDREJ SEKERA (hes bad but i dont expect him to be on the team much longer)
Mike Weber (Hes taking Sekera's job at some point this year, and he's miles better IMO)

When you look at all the details the divisions defenses should prolly go like this:

Toronto≥Buffalo>Boston>Montreal>Ottowa

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The Laughs are currently spending nearly 28 (that's TWENTY EIGHT MILLION) million on their defense men right now. Clearly they have the most talent in our division and perhaps the conference. But they are paying dearly for it, and they have ZERO team balance or chemistry. Right now they have 6 guys that could and probably should be getting top 4 minutes.

Of course, one or two good trades could balance everything out. But look at their forwards *cringing*. They got Kessel and that's literally it. Versteeg is a coattails guy, a great compliment to other skilled players. But if a team is keying in on HIM, like he's a star? You can fucking forget it, he'll be lucky to put up 45 points on that team with 20+ minutes a game. 3 million on Armstrong? LOL Fringe NHLer at best. The only hits he throws that are effective at all are the dirty ones, and he's fricking slow too. The fact that Armstong is their 3rd highest paid forward is sad enough, but Luca Caputa plays a "power forward" game at about a buck-88. Grabovski and Kulmein would make awesome AHLers.

Guys, Toronto still has a LONG way to go. I promise you that the Sabres will win the Cup before they do again.

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"I love that you know how to do that." Cheryl/Carol/Crystal

"And I love that I have an erection that doesn't involve homeless people." Kreiger