this isn't last years team.. how many new players do we have:
Eichel
reinhart
ROR
Kane
McGinn
Legwand
Carlo
Donovan
Franson
McCabe (to an extent)
Pysyk (to an extent)
Lehner

thats half the team.. and several of them could be high end players. i don't think you can take anythign from last years stats and apply it to this season
- IndianaSabresFan

Bolded are really just meh players, not sure they really affect the projected win/loss total all that much.

I guess the real question is how many more points do the "big" additions give us? 15-20 or 25-30 etc.

All and nothing .

Safe bet
- cabin

All and nothing .

Safe bet
- cabin

I like this

Bolded are really just meh players, not sure they really affect the projected win/loss total all that much.

I guess the real question is how many more points do the "big" additions give us? 15-20 or 25-30 etc.
- Sabresfan-365

yes i think another question is how many more points do they help players like Ennis, Moulson and Lion get?

the fancy stats are used to predict that (and more often than not they do)
- Sabresfan-365

Problem is the team was put together in such a fashion last year that they were going to fail no matter what, so for the guys still on the roster from last year to this year, the fancy stats are probably quite skewed the wrong way.

I've said since the draft that I can see this team finishing anywhere from 5th last in the league to being a bubble playoff team. It all just depends on how quickly they form chemistry, how the goaltending does and if the D can hold up.

yes i think another question is how many more points do they help players like Ennis, Moulson and Lion get?
- IndianaSabresFan

Agreed. I admittedly don't know everything that goes into projecting WAR so i don't really have a good guess on where the team ends up. There isn't much of a consensus either. I've read some predicting near miss on the playoffs and some who expect them to be closer to auston matthews than anything else.

this isn't last years team.. how many new players do we have:
Eichel
reinhart
ROR
Kane
McGinn
Legwand
Carlo
Donovan
Franson
McCabe (to an extent)
Pysyk (to an extent)
Lehner

thats half the team.. and several of them could be high end players. i don't think you can take anythign from last years stats and apply it to this season
- IndianaSabresFan

stop making sense

- IndianaSabresFan

Man calls cops on himself to report he's "too high on weed." Cops arrive to have his grandfather show them to his room: curled up in fetal position, groaning, surrounded by doritos, chips ahoy, and goldfish cracker.

http://thesmokinggun.com/file/too-high-weed

Problem is the team was put together in such a fashion last year that they were going to fail no matter what, so for the guys still on the roster from last year to this year, the fancy stats are probably quite skewed the wrong way.

I've said since the draft that I can see this team finishing anywhere from 5th last in the league to being a bubble playoff team. It all just depends on how quickly they form chemistry, how the goaltending does and if the D can hold up.
- HonkFortheGoose

That's where i'm at with them. I really don't know what to expect. it's fascinating but also worrisome at the same time.

the fancy stats are used to predict that (and more often than not they do)
- Sabresfan-365

More often than not you could say, "this team has a lot of good players" without looking at any numbers, and if it were true that would predict W/L/OTW.

The question isn't how often they make the prediction, its whether they have reliable causal effect.

so i think we all agree that this team could be decent or suck.. this should be interesting to see it all play out

Bolded are really just meh players, not sure they really affect the projected win/loss total all that much.

I guess the real question is how many more points do the "big" additions give us? 15-20 or 25-30 etc.
- Sabresfan-365

While McGinn may just be "meh" in your mind, he still scores near a .50 PPG pace. That's a solid top 9 forward spot, which in past seasons has been filled with too many guys barely suited for 4th line duty.

While McGinn may just be "meh" in your mind, he still scores near a .50 PPG pace. That's a solid top 9 forward spot, which in past seasons has been filled with too many guys barely suited for 4th line duty.
- stashu

when your 3rd line is populated by McCormick, kaleta and Ellis you are screwed

That's where i'm at with them. I really don't know what to expect. it's fascinating but also worrisome at the same time.
- Sabresfan-365

The only thing I know, is that this year is going to be a lot more fun because I can actually hope they win games. The games themselves should also be a hell of a lot more entertaining.

This team was down 5-0 the other night and came back to get the score to 5-4 with 6 minutes left in the 3rd. We may see a lot of games that are 6-4, 5-4, etc. If preseason as a whole is any kind of indicator, they're going to score a lot of goals this year. They're also probably going to let in a lot. But at least it won't be boring.

when your 3rd line is populated by McCormick, kaleta and Ellis you are screwed
- IndianaSabresFan

Yep, 2 of the 3 are ok in a pinch (fill-in duty), but Ellis shouldn't be on an NHL roster, let alone anywhere above the 4 minute TOI line.

While McGinn may just be "meh" in your mind, he still scores near a .50 PPG pace. That's a solid top 9 forward spot, which in past seasons has been filled with too many guys barely suited for 4th line duty.
- stashu

Right, but the same way we can't take data from a team designed to tank we also can't compare newcomers on that level as well. Just because McGinn is a significant upgrade in comparison to matt ellis doesn't necessarily make him anything more than a decent top 9 option, which is good but im not expecting an extra win or two as a result.

Side note, I wonder how much of that offensive output came while in the top 6 as a result of an injury to someone else. It's very likely im being harsh on mcginn based off what i saw in the pre season so feel free to ignore everything i just said.

The only thing I know, is that this year is going to be a lot more fun because I can actually hope they win games. The games themselves should also be a hell of a lot more entertaining.

This team was down 5-0 the other night and came back to get the score to 5-4 with 6 minutes left in the 3rd. We may see a lot of games that are 6-4, 5-4, etc. If preseason as a whole is any kind of indicator, they're going to score a lot of goals this year. They're also probably going to let in a lot. But at least it won't be boring.
- HonkFortheGoose

It's a start

It's a start
- Sabresfan-365

Unfortunately the goal song we're going to be subjected to is going to be horrible.

Unfortunately the goal song we're going to be subjected to is going to be horrible.
- HonkFortheGoose

doesn't bother me at all

Left Wing
Sergei Plotnikov
Artemi Panarin
Mike Hoffman
Chris Kreider

Center
Alex Galchenyuk
Ryan Johansen
Jonathan Toews
Teuvo Teravainen

Right Wing
Nikita Kucherov
Mark Stone
Marian Hossa
Alexander Semin

Defense
Morgan Rielly

Keith Yandle
Erik Karlsson
Cody Ceci
P.K. Subban
Duncan Keith

goaltenders
Carey Price
Devan Dubnyk

for Hockeybuz

Unfortunately the goal song we're going to be subjected to is going to be horrible.
- HonkFortheGoose

The opposite side, is that if I am annoyed by the goal song it means they are scoring. I'll take that.

The opposite side, is that if I am annoyed by the goal song it means they are scoring. I'll take that.
- thatsapickle

I know. It just would have been much more ideal to have a song that's tolerable to go along with it.

Right, but the same way we can't take data from a team designed to tank we also can't compare newcomers on that level as well. Just because McGinn is a significant upgrade in comparison to matt ellis doesn't necessarily make him anything more than a decent top 9 option, which is good but im not expecting an extra win or two as a result.

Side note, I wonder how much of that offensive output came while in the top 6 as a result of an injury to someone else. It's very likely im being harsh on mcginn based off what i saw in the pre season so feel free to ignore everything i just said.
- Sabresfan-365

McGinn scores on a pace similar to Stafford, and I'm pretty sure Stafford is a decent NHLer.

McGinn scores on a pace similar to Stafford, and I'm pretty sure Stafford is a decent NHLer.
- stashu

He sucks... I hate him.

McGinn scores on a pace similar to Stafford, and I'm pretty sure Stafford is a decent NHLer.
- stashu

How many wins does stafford add to the average team though?