I don't like Kaberle. I don't want him.

Next.

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Wheelhouse

Well Lord Preston Sir Mega Douche Dangler!, I disagree. I would love to have Kaberle on my team, especially if Stafford can be dumped in the deal.

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"Call a cop he robbed Delmore blind!!!"
Rick Jeanerette after Marty Biron's diving save back in 2000.

"I'm going to go to the spa and have a hot tub and massage and relax," Miller said. "That's it, and it's back to work tomorrow." Ryan Miller after clinching the North East division.

Yea I have mixed feelings about Kaberle. His level of physicality or lack there of for that matter are a concern. I also question his devotion to winning. I know there's family issues to consider but how could he want to continue playing for a team like the Leafs at this stage of his career? I dont know, just my two cents.

Kaberle plays like a zombie. I'd give him a month in Buffalo before people started hating on him.

Myers is our up and coming power play quarter back.

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Wheelhouse

I like the idea of signing Kurtis Foster a lot

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OK, if people don't like Kaberle, who's a tough PP QB to get that's available? Sergei Gonchar is a PP QB but he isn't tought, Scott Niedermayer may be on the market but is he within Buffalo's price range.

Even though, personally I don't want him, Kurtis Foster may be the best bet.

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mechaphil

Here's my thought on this.

We don't need a power play QB. The power play needs to be fixed through coaching and a more potent offense.

With myers showing strong rushing ability last season and grangani close to cracking the line up, I'd rather see us sign another lock down defenseman to fill in for Tallinder or Lydman... Whichever we end up losing to free agency.

Kaberle just doesn't seem like a good fit to me.

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Wheelhouse

The Sabres need a good PP QB to coach Myers as his defensive partner, much like Tallinder did with him last season. Someone needs to teach the boy how to improve his point shot and his decision making. Veteran mentors are a great thing - look at how much Adam Foote helped the youngsters out in Colorado. That's why I want a PP QB brought in, if only for one season.

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mechaphil

PSP, you're right about Kaberle, but you continue to be in denial about having a legit PP d-man. This is a glaring hole on the team, the team has acknowledged it, and the playoffs proved it.

Myers will be a good all around d-man on the PP, but he is not in the mold of a true PP QB. Kaberle is that type of player, but too high priced for his other shortcomings. Gonchar might also be in that same catergory and not worth his price. Foster is not the QB type either, but he is better version of Spacek - the good hard, accurate shot from the point. We all know how badly we missed a good accurate shot from the point. That was the big missing piece on the PP all season, and why Vanek and Gaustad didn't collect many PP points - because there was never any garbage around the crease to dump in.

There's no doubt about needing a boost from the blueline on the PP. It's just a matter of finding the right player at the right price, that can also be a solid 5-on-5 d-man.

I don't think Myers is ever going to be a PP QB. Once he puts on some weight he'll actaully get some zip to his shot. But he doesn't have the vision to run the powerplay like true QB's do. That's just my opinion.

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


Eh

I agree 100% on the Foster front.

Not to mention I think PSP has a huge point that people everywhere are seeming to overlook/forget. Why can't Myers be the PP quarterback we need? He CLEARLY has the offensive abilities, has a cannon of a shot, can score, moves the puck up the ice well on his own.....the only thing I think he would need to work on to play that role better than Kaberle plays it now would be passing. Myers is a future PP QB/Stud D man and its obvious that Ruff isn't afraid to use him and that he can handle the workload. Although I wouldn't mind Kaberle, I really think giving Myers the shot in that role would do nothing but good for him.

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"I can't really hear what Jeremy says, because I got my two Stanley Cup Rings plugging my ears...." -Patrick Roy in reference to Jeremy Roenick's trash talking

Foster would be OK but he is still frigged from the broken leg he had from the icing in 2008. I'd much rather see Hamhuis get signed here

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just call me Brad

Twitter @BUrbanowicz13

You just steered the bandwagon into a ditch, Debbie Downer.

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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

No he didn't. If anyone knows Myers better than the rest, it's him. He lives in Kelowna and watched Myers develop his entire junior career.

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mechaphil

boosh

And I think Foster is nothing more than a band-aid. I think PSP hit it on the head - our PP is abhorrent and I blame the coaching. Too many times did our guys look like monkeys fucking a football out there; you know how a PP QB becomes that QB? He learns the plays, he reads the field, and then picks the play.

Right now, our playbook has one play: the monkey football fuck.

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While your analysis is nothing short of intoxicating, I must elaborate and present a counter argument that suggest that a PPQB and in fact talent do not necessarily make a good power play.

I give you my former favorite team the Powerless Penguins. When Ryan Malone took his hulking frame to TB the Pens PP entered a downward spiral and the TB PP ascended. Having a player on the team with a big body, good hands, and above all a willingness to stand in there every power play is perhaps THE most important thing to have.

The Penguins rolled Malkin, Crosby, and one of the games best PPQBs Gonchar out there all the time but were 20th or lower on the PP for the past two seasons. Then you looks at the tactical wizardry of the humble Habs and their epic PP. They don't have a net guy or a great deal of talent but they constantly score on the PP.

Puck movement, having a guy who can waste little time setting it up, coaching, a net guy, a QB, play makers, puck retrievers, and snipers all play a role. Kaberle is no cure-all but it might help to have him. I dunno.

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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

An underlying theme to your last sentence is something that also disgusted me all season; the Sabres' puck control (or lack of ability to do so). I'm not talking about them playing keep-away, I'm talking about them trapping the puck along the boards when a defender tries to clear it, settling down errant or hard passes, or picking the puck out of mid-air on a clearing attempt. We fail miserably at closing the gap between the player and the boards, allowing the puck to leave the zone entirely too often.

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You're right NYI, also the D-men were never very good at quickly moving the puck between them and setting up a clear point shot. Myers has skills, but he is currently slow with puck movement/decision making on the PP, and he hasn't shown the type of accurate shot that makes a PP click. He might improve into a real PP asset...I expect it, but for the next couple seasons Buffalo could really use someone that already knows what they're doing. Even if Myers gets to that point this season, why would we not want another very capable PP d-man for the other half of the PP when Myers is on the bench??

Aside from the d-men, there needs to be more movement and quick passing by the entire unit. The only way to set up clear shot lanes these days is to move players side-to-side with quick passes and get them out of position for a one-timer. PK units are too disciplined and too good at blocking shots for what Buffalo does - stand still while they pass from point to point to side wall and back. It takes some confidence from both talent and experience to move the puck quickly and calmly for accurate passing and one-timers to get on net. Buffalo needs all it can get.

Kaberle? Pfft, no thanks.

I don't have a problem with Kaberle's skills and abilities. He'd be a good upgrade for the Sabres.

I just don't think that it's a good move to give up players/picks to get Kaberle for one season. Not much point in that unless you are throwing all your eggs in one basket to make a run, and I don't think as a team they're close enough to do that.