Your overly simplistic view is endearing.

Do you remember when we made the cup finals against Dallas with the #1 and #2 PP and PK in the playoffs?

Don't remember what it was in 05-06, but I'm sure it was close.

And how Rod Brind'Amour was an absolute monster on the dot; but that doesn't matter either, or so I've heard.
- BareMetal

The Canes have been an elite level faceoff team for well over a decade.

It's worked out great for them.

The Canes have been an elite level faceoff team for well over a decade.

It's worked out great for them.
- BINGO!

Seriously. People are just stuck in the good ole days

The 2 firsts and probably next years 1st

I am petrified of USC QBs though
- Stripes77

I know What you are saying.

I really think the bills brain trust has a guy or 2 in mind.

They went tipping their hand at all.

Matt Moore makes sense with his background with our new oc.

Even with the currency maybe 1 or 2 of those picks would be NHL ready by now

So again Darcy and his horrible drafting left the Sabres with no prospects

Murray with throwing away draft picks didn't help build the prospect pool either

Placing the blame squarely on Murray's shoulders is short sighted when you look at how bad the Sabres drafted for the last decade.
- Stripes77

Not really
GMTM could’ve traded Larsson & Girgs just like he traded Grigo & Lemieux, etc etc

I don’t blame Murray for Darcy’s bad drafting
I blame him for not trading those who weren’t worth keeping to get back other pieces that could be useful to us

Murray was a “scout” after all
He should’ve been able to identify who would & wouldn’t play a role in the future of this franchise

Another failure by him in those regards

I’ve explained it 1,000 times, and it’s getting tiresome.

I don’t mind sarcastic shots at my opinions, but at least get them correct

Special teams matter. Never once said they don’t. They don’t matter a lot over the course of an entire season. You can go ahead and do the math yourself. The difference between *most* teams is small. It makes a difference comparing the 1st and 30th teams PP.

When your team is talented, they are going to score PP goals. It’s not an impressive feat. Racking up PP points with Jack Eichel is one of the least impressive things a player can do.

Score when things are even. Then you see who seperates themselves from the pack. It also will separate your team from the pack
- sbroads24

I was only matching the sarcasm you provided in response to my post.

I know you never said special team don't matter. I wasn't throwing dirt in any particular direction, just things I've read on this board.

Seriously. People are just stuck in the good ole days
- sbroads24

Winning faceoffs feels great until you realize you can't actually do anything with it anyway.

Winning faceoffs feels great until you realize you can't actually do anything with it anyway.
- BINGO!

I’ve said it before, this isn’t NHL18 where is always goes back to your D man and you get an immediate shot on goal.

Half of them aren’t clear wins and they just create a battle between two other players

The Canes have been an elite level faceoff team for well over a decade.

It's worked out great for them.
- BINGO!

When games are on the line, I want my team with possession of the puck as soon as it drops.

I understand people can make arguments against the importance of faceoffs, but I for one just don't buy it.

I’ve explained it 1,000 times, and it’s getting tiresome.

I don’t mind sarcastic shots at my opinions, but at least get them correct

Special teams matter. Never once said they don’t. They don’t matter a lot over the course of an entire season. You can go ahead and do the math yourself. The difference between *most* teams is small. It makes a difference comparing the 1st and 30th teams PP.

When your team is talented, they are going to score PP goals. It’s not an impressive feat. Racking up PP points with Jack Eichel is one of the least impressive things a player can do.

Score when things are even. Then you see who seperates themselves from the pack. It also will separate your team from the pack
- sbroads24

Scoring plain and simple separates teams from the pack.

Any type of scoring:

The teams with the best goal differential are the best teams in the NHL. It's not an opinion. It's fact.

Today the top 15 teams are positive goal differential.

I know What you are saying.

I really think the bills brain trust has a guy or 2 in mind.

They went tipping their hand at all.

Matt Moore makes sense with his background with our new oc.
- Boss34

Matt Moore sounds like he is going to end up here

I am alright with him starting weeks 1-4 before the rookie comes in

I am a Mayfield guy but at this point I think Beane and McDermott get a pass from me with who they go with because lets face it, they traded down and got a steal in White, they moved a lot of salary from the old regime and got the first pick in the 3rd round for Tyrod, not to mention the Watkins and Darby trades.

AND to top it all off they ended the draught (with a little luck)

When games are on the line, I want my team with possession of the puck as soon as it drops.

I understand people can make arguments against the importance of faceoffs, but I for one just don't buy it.
- BareMetal

Oh situationally it can be great, but it's fool's gold to think of them as any more important than a regular puck battle. Incredibly important in the moment, but when summed out over the course of a season they don't count for much of anything.

When games are on the line, I want my team with possession of the puck as soon as it drops.

I understand people can make arguments against the importance of faceoffs, but I for one just don't buy it.
- BareMetal

Remember when Drury scored the goal against the Rangers to tie it in the playoffs? You know the game where Max scored the GWG in OT?

They lost the faceoff...

Matt Moore sounds like he is going to end up here

I am alright with him starting weeks 1-4 before the rookie comes in

I am a Mayfield guy but at this point I think Beane and McDermott get a pass from me with who they go with because lets face it, they traded down and got a steal in White, they moved a lot of salary from the old regime and got the first pick in the 3rd round for Tyrod, not to mention the Watkins and Darby trades.

AND to top it all off they ended the draught (with a little luck)
- Stripes77

I having been this blindly faithful since John butler.

Great points. All those trades look great

Scoring plain and simple separates teams from the pack.

Any type of scoring:

The teams with the best goal differential are the best teams in the NHL. It's not an opinion. It's fact.

Today the top 15 teams are positive goal differential.
- Boss34

Score 5 on 5, be a good team.

Score on the PP, possibly be a good team.

We literally were #1 last year and were a bottom 5 team, with two goalies that had a .920 sv %.

How can you possibly argue there are remotely as important as each other?

McNabb's was an awful trade. However, Murray knew Pysyk would have just been an expansion draft casualty, Kulikov wouldn't have been as bad if he wasn't assaulted by a bench door...that one I forgive him for. It didn't work out, but he wanted to move up for Asplund (who still looks to be a good "get") and Kulikov WAS about equivalent to Pysyk without the expansion issue. That one made sense.

McNabb ++ for D-Lo and Fasching, never did.
- RhinoFan

The Pysyk/Kuli trade really had nothing to do with Asplund, it was two separate trades that went down at the same time. The trade was Kuli (a vet and the better Dman with one year left on his contract) for Pysyk, a cheap RFA.

The second trade was our picks #38 and our 3rd rounder to move up 5 spots to 33.
It was a picks for picks trade and it would've/could've been made regardless of the Kuli/Pysyk deal.

Score 5 on 5, be a good team.

Score on the PP, possibly be a good team.

We literally were #1 last year and were a bottom 5 team, with two goalies that had a .920 sv %.

How can you possibly argue there are remotely as important as each other?
- sbroads24

The sabres didn't score enough:
5 x 4
5 x5
5 x3
3 x3
6 x4
4 x5

They need to score more goals: big ones, small ones , ot goals.

Why are the best teams positive in goal differential?

The sabres didn't score enough:
5 x 4
5 x5
5 x3
3 x3
6 x4

They need to score more goals: big ones, small ones , ot goals.

Why are the best teams positive in goal differential?
- Boss34

Empty net goals help pad this number in each direction.

Again, if you are good, and have talent, you are going to score PP goals.

The Penguins will always score on the PP as long as 71 and 87 are around.

If you are good 5 on 5, you are going to generate more PP’s, and more PP goals. Even if your PP % isn’t that great.

Remember when Drury scored the goal against the Rangers to tie it in the playoffs? You know the game where Max scored the GWG in OT?

They lost the faceoff...
- Stripes77

Which is all well and good, but plays are even developed with the intention of losing the faceoff. I'm not saying that was an instance of that, maybe it was, I can't remember; it worked out for them, but teams are fighting for possession.

I just think it's kind of funny when people harp on the importance of puck possession, but dismiss the importance of faceoffs for puck possession.

I having been this blindly faithful since John butler.

Great points. All those trades look great
- Boss34

They still have a long way to go but the 2019-2020 season could be something special...

They are still transitioning players from old systems to their current one.

Hot take here:

The Browns will finish with a better record than the Bills this coming season

Browns: 8-8
Bills: 7-9

Which is all well and good, but plays are even developed with the intention of losing the faceoff. I'm not saying that was an instance of that, maybe it was, I can't remember; it worked out for them, but teams are fighting for possession.

I just think it's kind of funny when people harp on the importance of puck possession, but dismiss the importance of faceoffs for puck possession.
- BareMetal

There was an article posted the other day about teams that lose the faceoff end up having the puck shortly there after like 68% of the time or something

Believe me I understand what you're saying, down by 1 with 6 seconds to go you want to win the draw but I think the faceoff % narrative is an old one up there with the +/- stat

Bills interested in Malcolm Butler


Joe Arrigo
@joearrigo

Empty net goals help pad this number in each direction.

Again, if you are good, and have talent, you are going to score PP goals.

The Penguins will always score on the PP as long as 71 and 87 are around.

If you are good 5 on 5, you are going to generate more PP’s, and more PP goals. Even if your PP % isn’t that great.
- sbroads24

That's a valid point with the empty netters, but not the complete answer.
And I'm not saying 5 x 5 are any less important then sh or pp. All goals are important.

We need to score more goals period.
That's how we win.

Our defense last year was brutal.
And our goalies had a good save %'s
Lehner sucked, sucks now and will suck in the future

The Pysyk/Kuli trade really had nothing to do with Asplund, it was two separate trades that went down at the same time. The trade was Kuli (a vet and the better Dman with one year left on his contract) for Pysyk, a cheap RFA.

The second trade was our picks #38 and our 3rd rounder to move up 5 spots to 33.
It was a picks for picks trade and it would've/could've been made regardless of the Kuli/Pysyk deal.
- sskkoo1

I think my point would stand either way. Kulikov was considered by most to be a competent middle pairing defender. Wasn't great, but Pysyk projected at that level or a bit below. We would have let Pysyk walk for nothing, so we got Kulikov to try and avoid that issue. Pysyk did well and improved, Kulikov got assaulted by a door...not sure I blame Murray or think that was a dumb as the rest of his moves.

Matt Moore sounds like he is going to end up here

I am alright with him starting weeks 1-4 before the rookie comes in

I am a Mayfield guy but at this point I think Beane and McDermott get a pass from me with who they go with because lets face it, they traded down and got a steal in White, they moved a lot of salary from the old regime and got the first pick in the 3rd round for Tyrod, not to mention the Watkins and Darby trades.

AND to top it all off they ended the draught (with a little luck)
- Stripes77

I liked your "Brees and draft" option better haha, but yeah again, they put in the work to make the QB cost a lot less of a blow. As long as they don't trade up to 2 and draft Allen, I'm happy.

Bills interested in Malcolm Butler


Joe Arrigo
@joearrigo
- gerbe75pts

Hmmm

The Bills secondary had the second most INT's+pass break ups last year...adding him over Gaines would be interesting

Imagine if the Bills had any sort of pass rush last year how much better though numbers would have looked