https://twitter.com/billhoppesabres/sta ... 7211404289



Pretty excited to see this bruiser in blue and gold. Lets see what he's made of.

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Wheelhouse

YOU LIKE KRABBY PATTIES DON'T YOU, SQUIDWARD...

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

Wow. What a fast track to the NHL.

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Really? Too bad Myers can't play, put them together for the tallest D tandem EVER!!!!!

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Two 6'8" D men paired together... My god what a fucking threat that would be.

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Wheelhouse

The span of their sticks would cover the entire ice.

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A jam packed roster full of vets to start the season has since turned into a mish mosh of AHLers making career debuts. This season has turned south so fast it's almost as disappointing as last season's mess going into December. Instead of steady division leading efforts, I now simply hope they can get their shit together by March and slip in as a 6-8 seed.

Anyway, nice for Finley, and I hope that somehow he's the real deal and can crush people. If a few prospects can turn legit (and a few vets get their head on straight) my dream blueline would be...

Regehr-Myers
Leopold-Ehrhoff
Finley-Weber
McNabb

Lotsa skill, lotsa nasty. I never want to see Gragnani or Sekera in a Sabres sweater ever again...EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!

Pretty close but I'd rather have McNabb in as starter than say Weber... Grags still has awesome upside... Guys gonna be a Brian Campbell type d-men so we shouldn't give up on him just yet... Sekera can go, I honestly have no idea what Darcy was thinking when he offered him and a couple of others contracts this offseason (Leino, Stafford.)

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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

Leino wasn't a mistake yet and Sekera played fine last year.

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Leino can still turn out, but he's not what they wanted - a 2nd/3rd line C. For now it's sorta lucky that Leino has been able to fill in at LW with Ennis out, but still that 2nd line has been almost garbage, whatever the 4-5 player combination has been.

Stafford's contract was predictable and I can't say it wasn't fair, but he just isn't capitalizing on his chances. At least he's getting them though. It would be worse if he wasn't sniffing the net, but with all three mainly 2nd line guys struggling with being new (Leino), returning from injury (Roy), it's been a perfect storm of disaster and I don't expect them to click for a little while still.

Sekera got benched (again) last season and then came back strong after, but has NEVER been consistent enough (or just plain good enough) to deserve his latest contract. I didn't get it then and apparently it won't ever make sense. He's still just a 6/7 man to me, but I want a d-corps good enough to win a Cup, and that means a 5/6 man being a healthy scratch because the depth is that good...better than Sekera for sure.

What kind of pictures does he have of Lindy.

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Thinking Lindy just said fuck it with 8ish people out, might as well give this kid a try too.

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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.

Jesus Christmas

I've been wanting this since before the first Boston game.

So common now, wee Lad.. Make us proud, and crack some skulls!!!!

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If it's a tight squeeze, spit on it! - NyI

He's a middling AHL player who had the good fortune of a drunk arbitrator. - The Squanto re: Tim Kennedy

It may not end up being this year, but I seriously think Leino will end up being a very good player for the Sabres and we will be happy.

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--Scott

lol can't stop laughing....

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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 think it is a bit premature to start thinking that they will be a 6-8 seed team right now. I mean in fairness we're only two wins behind second place. It's a tight race right now and I don't think we've shit the bed by a long shot. We've hung in pretty well with so many injuries and doing this well while we're beat up only spells good things for when the team is healthy again.

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I would like to agree, but every opening roster D-man aside from Rock Regehr has looked like shit in their own zone or coming out through the neutral zone. Ehrhoff has looked better lately and I'm pretty satisfied with him now, but I now think it more comes down to Lindy. He wants d-men pressing up ice 24/7, he wants d-men up-tempo, leading/joining the rush, pinching. His preference of Gragnani over Weber proves the style he wants. But this style puts WAY WAY too much pressure on the d-corps. Pressure that is either over their experience level (Myers, Gragnani) or talent level (Sekera, Gragnani). The mental mistakes the d-corps is suffering from plays right into the hands of trap teams and good forechecking teams.

It's not a coincidence that only Regehr has looked solid. Lindy doesn't expect or want him to move up ice. Weber would be in a better looking boat if he hadn't rusted in the press box for a month before getting a few starts and getting hurt. Obviously Weber has a ways to go before being on Regehr's level, but if he gets regular 3rd pairing time and Lindy doesn't force him to join the rush, Weber would be a solid stay-at-home d-man.

Last season's turn around was based on emotion about ownership. The team should be better off when healthier (although the AHLers have shown more intensity), but IMO Lindy has to let off the style he wants from his d-men if the team is going to get better this season. Make the game more simple for them, have the forwards come back and help with clearing the zone by carrying the puck out and through the neutral zone with short quick passing, not zone stretching passes that bounce off blades. Keep the d-men back until they gain the o-zone and then pinch when needed. Scoring might go down but they'll look a hell of a lot more organized and capable, and Miller won't have to get blasted with gimmies from 15 feet.