It's about Roy...
He seemed to be well-liked enough when he was 3rd line center behind Drury & Briere.
For the last year or two he's been regarded more like Sabres Enemy #1.
Can anyone explain a little about this strange reversal of fortune? I'm sure a lot of it is how we perceive him, but I wonder if there are any factors we can point to and say "Ha! There it is!"

I'm looking at it with a thought to leadership & locker room personalities, wondering if any of it can be tied to the departure of older (more stable?) players such as Greir, Biron, Teppo, Tallinder & Lydman.

He just sucks now. He has talent but he just doesn't seem to play smart hockey. That, or he doesn't care. I have no idea what it is but he's a complete idiot on the ice.

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

He's lazy, he whines on the ice (although not nearly as bad as he used to), and he's the master of the lazy penalty.

lydman was a goat for his last two seasons here, which was bullshit. he was consistently blamed for playing like shit, when he was really dealing with tallinder being a dumb shit most of the time. then, all of the sudden, everyone missed him when he was playing the same role and same quality in anaheim as he played here his whole career.

I dont remember loods being the whipping boy, ever. We were definitely critical of hank, and rightfully so, but I seem to remember a reasonably good forum opinion of lydman. Memory is odd though, maybe i'm totally wrong.

i was always a big fan of loods so i specifically remember a lot of that. some people learned the error of their ways faster than others.

Work ethic.

When he skates hard and competes for every puck, he's one of the best players in the league. And that is NOT an exaggeration. He can be dominant.

Problem is, you rarely get that out of him. He needs to be pushed. My guess is Drury did it when he was here, and now that he's gone, there's nobody left to do it. You know Pominville isn't going to bitch at him.

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Wheelhouse

The Roy we know never returned from that injury last year. He was only effective before that because he worked hard. When's the last time he dug a puck off the boards, and fed his wingers? Doesn't happen anymore. Simply enough, he isn't fully recovered, or he's forgotten what got him to the party. I think there's a chance he could have a bounce back season next year, but I'd personally like to go in another direction at this point. If his cap fits in as a 3rd line player, then I'm open to keeping him, because he offers some versatility. Ideally he is kept, and we somehow acquire a decent sized center to play top 6 minutes.

Lydman has been awful this year. I watch every game. Maybe he just pairs up with certain guys better, but then again, him and Hank were considered one of the league's top pairs at one point, so... I offer no explanations, but you're painting a far rosier picture, cuz you're a Toni homer. The giveaways that Lydman and Montador used to give up were not figments of everyone's imagination.

lydman was forced to play on his off side because there was no one to pair him with so he could play to his potential.

Lydman was a turnover machine. That didn't really help his case.

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Girgensons for captain. Team Keep Nick DesLauriers forever.

@TJLuckman550

I agree with the comments about Roy's on-ice work ethic. He's usually good for at least 1 lazy offensive zone hooking or tripping penalty per game. I truly believe it was no coincidence that they were a better team without him last year after his injury.