1641 replies to this topic

[nobody]

Adam was meshing well with Vanek and Pominville early on but we see where that went.  I've always been in the trade Stafford camp and will remain there.

Posted this in the draft thread but I guess the discussion is here:

Links up on Sabres site of interview with Darcy by Kevin Snow:

Audio:
http://sabres.nhl.co...id=16&iid=39901

Video:
http://video.sabres....bed-share-video

Edited by nobody, 22 June 2012 - 10:54 AM.

[HopefulFuture]

BuffaloSoldier2010, on 22 June 2012 - 10:45 AM, said:

Understandable, but if I'm not mistaken that line was up there with the best in the league once they were put together.  As far as I'm concerned, if that line gets split up for any reason other than one of the three being hurt, that should be Ruffs last coaching decision behind the Buffalo bench.  One of the most effective lines I've seen in Blue and Gold in years.



I think there are bigger issues on this team than Stafford right now.  Leave the line that works (and works well) alone.

Once you get three scoring lines back, tweak it.

EDIT: i really don't see how keeping one of the top offensive threesomes we've had in years together would be "counterproductive".  I wanna give Stafford a chance after what i saw at the end of the year.  Penner turned heads in LA this post season, and he was often likened to the Stafford of the West on this board.  That doesnt mean hes guaranteed to pan out, but based off what i saw from the Ennis Foligno Stafford line, i really want to see what kind of damage they can do over the course of a year.

This is where your view of that line and mine differ. True, they had chemistry for the short duration they were together, but Stafford's inconsistency sticks out like a sore thumb.

[LaFontaineToMogilny]

HopefulFuture, on 22 June 2012 - 10:41 AM, said:

This is counter-productive to the goal of Cup contention.
If you can move Stafford to upgrade the position, you do it, if the price is right.

I disagree, if the rest of the team would perform at the level Stafford did once teamed with Ennis and Foligno this would be the best Sabres team of all time. There are plenty of things to fix on the Sabres before you start breaking up the one line that looked like an elite scoring line all year long.

[HopefulFuture]

LaFontaineToMogilny, on 22 June 2012 - 10:58 AM, said:

I disagree, if the rest of the team would perform at the level Stafford did once teamed with Ennis and Foligno this would be the best Sabres team of all time. There are plenty of things to fix on the Sabres before you start breaking up the one line that looked like an elite scoring line all year long.

Wow!

Remind me again the stats of Ennis, Foligno and Stafford for the entire season.
They don't look like impressive, elite scoring line stats to me.
And Foligno was late in the season, not the entire season.

I'm not saying that the line isn't good, and since I don't know the player in question, let's speculate a bit.
On Ennis and Foligno, who appeared to have the chemistry more so than Stafford, I'd keep them.
Stafford on the other hand has been inconsistent since his arrival on the Sabres roster. If a deal to upgrade his position on that line can be had, it should be made in my opinion.
But, since we don't know the player in question, I can't say it was Stafford.

[nobody]

Darren Dreger ‏@DarrenDreger
Hearing Bobrovsky to Columbus for draft picks. Working on details.

[sabres1970]

Kind of strange that Philly is accepting a trade with Columbus that does not involve Nash. Whatever, maybe it'll break the ice for further trading.

[nobody]

HopefulFuture, on 22 June 2012 - 11:09 AM, said:

On Ennis and Foligno, who appeared to have the chemistry more so than Stafford, I'd keep them.

That is how I see the pair also - rather than Ennis Stafford.  Though based on the 2 Kevins on hockey hotline we can probably guess they still believe it is Stafford and not Foligno.

[Spndnchz]

Bobrovsky to Columbus.

[Suffer_enuff]

LaFontaineToMogilny, on 22 June 2012 - 10:58 AM, said:

I disagree, if the rest of the team would perform at the level Stafford did once teamed with Ennis and Foligno this would be the best Sabres team of all time. There are plenty of things to fix on the Sabres before you start breaking up the one line that looked like an elite scoring line all year long.

   I'm not even sure how to address this.  If the entire team played like Gretzky/Malkin/Perreault, we'd have a whole shelf full of Stanley Cups by now.  The thing is, they haven't and we don't.

[d4rksabre]

LaFontaineToMogilny, on 22 June 2012 - 10:58 AM, said:

I disagree, if the rest of the team would perform at the level Stafford did once teamed with Ennis and Foligno this would be the best Sabres team of all time. There are plenty of things to fix on the Sabres before you start breaking up the one line that looked like an elite scoring line all year long.

All year long?

Isn't it a little early to be this drunk?

spndnchz, on 22 June 2012 - 11:20 AM, said:

Bobrovsky to Columbus.

Good move for Columbus. Bobs has to be better than Mason, right?

[nobody]

nobody, on 22 June 2012 - 11:09 AM, said:

Darren Dreger ‏@DarrenDreger
Hearing Bobrovsky to Columbus for draft picks. Working on details.

Darren Dreger ‏@DarrenDreger
Bobrovsky to CBJ for 45 and 117 this year and 4th rd. (PHX) next year.

[Koomkie]

nobody, on 22 June 2012 - 11:50 AM, said:

Darren Dreger ‏@DarrenDreger
Bobrovsky to CBJ for 45 and 117 this year and 4th rd. (PHX) next year.

that's a ton of picks.

[apuszczalowski]

Koomkie, on 22 June 2012 - 11:53 AM, said:

that's a ton of picks.

A ton of picks for an unproven goalie

[Eleven]

d4rksabre, on 22 June 2012 - 11:45 AM, said:

All year long?

Isn't it a little early to be this drunk?

It's never too early but your point is correct.  Stafford looked like ###### for most of the year.

[IKnowPhysics]

LaFontaineToMogilny, on 22 June 2012 - 10:58 AM, said:

I disagree, if the rest of the team would perform at the level Stafford did once teamed with Ennis and Foligno this would be the best Sabres team of all time. There are plenty of things to fix on the Sabres before you start breaking up the one line that looked like an elite scoring line all year long.

Let me help.

What LaFontaineToMogilny actually meant to said:

I disagree.  If the rest of the team would perform at the level Stafford performed once he was teamed with Ennis and Foligno, this would be the best Sabres team of all time. There are plenty of things to fix on the Sabres before you start breaking up the only line all year long that looked like an elite scoring line.

Better?  Better.

Now, for the content.  In the nine games between March 10 and March 28, FES produced 17 goals, or 1.88 goals per game.  If every line on the Sabres produced like that, you'd end up scoring something in the neighborhood of 7-8 goals per game.  Seeing as how the '83-'84 Oilers, who hold the NHL record most goals in season (446 goals on 80 games) with a little over 5.5 goals per game, that imaginary Sabres team would likely be the best team in hockey history, smashing that record by about 170 goals.

Edited by IKnowPhysics, 22 June 2012 - 12:06 PM.

[sabres1970]

I'm buying into what Kevin Snow said earlier. If there's no deal(s) done by 5 o'clock it won't happen. At least not today.

[Koomkie]

apuszczalowski, on 22 June 2012 - 12:00 PM, said:

A ton of picks for an unproven goalie

it must be really difficult to be a CBJs fan.

[d4rksabre]

IKnowPhysics, on 22 June 2012 - 12:05 PM, said:

Let me help.



Better?  Better.

Now, for the content.  In the nine games between March 10 and March 28, FES produced 17 goals, or 1.88 goals per game.  If every line on the Sabres produced like that, you'd end up scoring something in the neighborhood of 7-8 goals per game.  Seeing as how the '83-'84 Oilers, who hold the NHL record most goals in season (446 goals on 80 games) with a little over 5.5 goals per game, that imaginary Sabres team would likely be the best team in hockey history, smashing that record by about 170 goals.

Swing that fact hammer!

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

HopefulFuture, on 22 June 2012 - 11:09 AM, said:

Wow!

Remind me again the stats of Ennis, Foligno and Stafford for the entire season.
They don't look like impressive, elite scoring line stats to me.
And Foligno was late in the season, not the entire season.

I'm not saying that the line isn't good, and since I don't know the player in question, let's speculate a bit.
On Ennis and Foligno, who appeared to have the chemistry more so than Stafford, I'd keep them.
Stafford on the other hand has been inconsistent since his arrival on the Sabres roster. If a deal to upgrade his position on that line can be had, it should be made in my opinion.
But, since we don't know the player in question, I can't say it was Stafford.

In the last 14 games of the season,....Marcus Foligno had 6 goals and 7 assists

In the last 14 games the previous year......Nathan Gerbe had 8 goals and 3 assists


A drunk is sober more than 50% of the day.

For once I'd like the team to start out hot then crash to where they always end up at the end of the year. It's amazing what a few good weeks can do to entrench mediocrity because of the recent effects on fan psychology. As a complete body of work, there really isn't anything to trust on this Sabres team.

[LaFontaineToMogilny]

HopefulFuture, on 22 June 2012 - 11:09 AM, said:

Wow!

Remind me again the stats of Ennis, Foligno and Stafford for the entire season.
They don't look like impressive, elite scoring line stats to me.
And Foligno was late in the season, not the entire season.

I'm not saying that the line isn't good, and since I don't know the player in question, let's speculate a bit.
On Ennis and Foligno, who appeared to have the chemistry more so than Stafford, I'd keep them.
Stafford on the other hand has been inconsistent since his arrival on the Sabres roster. If a deal to upgrade his position on that line can be had, it should be made in my opinion.
But, since we don't know the player in question, I can't say it was Stafford.

Be wowed all you want. I see what I see. When Foligno, Ennis and Stafford was put on the same line, the became one of the hottest lines in all of hockey. You can say it's the chemistry Ennis had with Foligno all you want, but what I saw happening was that the hands and speed of Ennis allowed that line to enter the zone with speed and set up a cycle much deeper in the zone than Stafford was able to do with any other line combinations he was on.

To keep the focus on Stafford. In the first part of the season he spent a lot of time along the boards and often high in the zone close to the blue line trying to battle the puck free. He was not successful at all playing that type of game. With Ennis as his center, defenders were backing up much closer to their own net, allowing Ennis and Stafford to work the puck down low, from behind the goal line and up into the low slot very effectively. At their best, Stafford and Ennis cycling the puck was at the absolute elite level. A great deal of these dynamics I attribute directly to great chemistry between Ennis and Stafford.

Sure, there are better 215 pound wingers in the league than Stafford, but until the Stafford, Ennis, Foligno line is proven to be a fluke that is not where I would focus on improving the team.

[Double-J]

Koomkie, on 22 June 2012 - 11:53 AM, said:

that's a ton of picks.

apuszczalowski, on 22 June 2012 - 12:00 PM, said:

A ton of picks for an unproven goalie

Damn. Regier better get on the horn if that is the kind of return a player like Bobrovsky is netting...

[HopefulFuture]

Double-J, on 22 June 2012 - 12:18 PM, said:

Damn. Regier better get on the horn if that is the kind of return a player like Bobrovsky is netting...

[Koomkie]

Double-J, on 22 June 2012 - 12:18 PM, said:

Damn. Regier better get on the horn if that is the kind of return a player like Bobrovsky is netting...

it's just odd when you compare to what they are asking for with Nash. flags go up that they have no clue what they are doing. it almost makes me happy to have darcy because at least he is consistent.

[LaFontaineToMogilny]

d4rksabre, on 22 June 2012 - 11:45 AM, said:

All year long?

Isn't it a little early to be this drunk?



Good move for Columbus. Bobs has to be better than Mason, right?

I specifically said : "perform at the level Stafford performed once he was teamed with Ennis and Foligno" so no, not all year. And yes, I do realize it's a minute sample, that line was ridiculously hot, Stafford is a notoriously streaky player, Foligno is unproved, Ennis at center is unproven and it's disillusion to think they will continue to perform at that elevated level for the rest of eternity.

However, with the exception of Vanek - Pommers early last year, that line was the only thing that caught fire for the Sabres last year. It makes no sense for me to break that up. In fact, I'd be working on fixing all other parts of the Sabres before moving on to tweaking that line.

Ah! I see now where I made the error! It seems I might have given the impression I thought Ennis et. co. looked like an elite scoring line all year long. I meant that all year long, they were the only line that looked like an elite scoring line. (the short time they were together)

I apologize for the confusion and blame that fact that English is not my first language.

[Double-J]

Koomkie, on 22 June 2012 - 12:25 PM, said:

it's just odd when you compare to what they are asking for with Nash. flags go up that they have no clue what they are doing. it almost makes me happy to have darcy because at least he is consistent.

I honestly wondered if the PHI-COL trade wasn't going to develop into a larger move (ala MLB) where we'd see another team jump into the ring with Nash ultimately ending up in Flipadelphia.

[Spndnchz]

Reports saying Flyers are trying to get Ducks #6 pick.

[Koomkie]

i wonder if philly was the team that asked darcy to move down in the draft as well.

[nobody]

Koomkie, on 22 June 2012 - 12:12 PM, said:

it must be really difficult to be a CBJs fan.

They might be happier if Yakupov actually winds up in their laps.

[Koomkie]

nobody, on 22 June 2012 - 12:56 PM, said:

They might be happier if Yakupov actually winds up in their laps.

Very true. they are at least attempting to rebuild and move in a direction. so i guess at least there is that. they really can't go wrong with the #2 pick right? can they?!?

[Potato]

spndnchz, on 22 June 2012 - 11:20 AM, said:

Bobrovsky to Columbus.

Philly clearing cap space for ???

[TrueBluePhD]

COSabre, on 22 June 2012 - 01:08 PM, said:

Philly clearing cap space for ???

Suter would be my guess.  Their blue line is a complete and total disaster.  I know that Suter apparently wants to stay out west, but hey, money talks.  On the other hand, I wonder if they'd be at all interested in a Sabres defenseman not named Myers or Ehrhoff?  I'd love to take a chance on van Riemsdyk.

[BuffaloSoldier2010]

Moving into a new house for the summer in Buffalo tomorrow so I've been away for a couple hours, but to reiterate my opinion on the Staff Ennis Foligno line:

Stafford had his career year while playing with Ennis.  Two years ago.  While Darcy may view chemistry as pairs, in this case i disagree.  Foligno creates space for the other two with his physical game, which in turn gives ennis more room to do what he does best, creative passing plays.  And say what you will about Drew, he's got a pretty great shot, and those three combine for a pretty lethal high pressure combo.  Those pointing at stats, dont forget that line wasnt even put together until the very end of the year.  Anyone denying that they were extremely productive is simply ignoring facts.  Give em a full year together, if it doesn't work out ship em.  I think it will work out however.

[Double-J]

Quote

Renaud P Lavoie ‏@RenLavoieRDS


Tim Thomas waived his no-trade. Still a chance he could play next season. Couple of teams called the Bruins in the last few days.

[IKnowPhysics]

Double-J, on 22 June 2012 - 01:31 PM, said:

Tim Thomas waived his no-trade.

[sabres26]

If Darcy uses all 4 draft picks and doesn't pick up a NHL ready player in going to snap.. http://www.hockeybuz...y-Picks/6/45133

[d4rksabre]

sabres26, on 22 June 2012 - 02:25 PM, said:

If Darcy uses all 4 draft picks and doesn't pick up a NHL ready player in going to snap.. http://www.hockeybuz...y-Picks/6/45133

Ah there's the inevitable hockeybuzz link

[BuffaloSoldier2010]

d4rksabre, on 22 June 2012 - 02:30 PM, said:

Ah there's the inevitable hockeybuzz link

It's posts like this that make me miss the good ol +1

[HopefulFuture]

d4rksabre, on 22 June 2012 - 02:30 PM, said:

Ah there's the inevitable hockeybuzz link

I'm a cup half filled kind of guy (hence the screen name).
I wouldn't be upset in the least bit if they used all 4 picks to restock the cupboard with 3 forwards and a netminder with those picks.

Hey, at least Rochester will be competitive in a few years

[CallawaySabres]

HopefulFuture, on 22 June 2012 - 02:39 PM, said:

I'm a cup half filled kind of guy (hence the screen name).
I wouldn't be upset in the least bit if they used all 4 picks to restock the cupboard with 3 forwards and a netminder with those picks.

Hey, at least Rochester will be competitive in a few years

If they stay put, that #12 guy will be a Dman and I would be willing to bet that #21 pick will be D as well.

[nobody]

So now there are rumors that both #1 & #2 could be in play?  That would be fun.