The 2024-2025 Roster Thread

Irie

Registered User
Nov 14, 2010
4,680
4,632
Pacific Northwest
What about the opposite? Are there players with bad metrics that are actually good, after correcting with the eye test?

Washington's 4th line last year is one potential example, although the article I posted over the summer seems to attribute the positives mostly to Dowd and not the other two players on Buffalo now.

Can't think of many other examples, although our GMs and coaches have insisted to fans for the past decade+ that Risto and Joki are good, despite their awful numbers.
I think too often there are narratives that certain players are just plain bad players while they are in Buffalo, when in reality, most of those players are just bad when misused. They often perform quite well when used appropriately, or go elsewhere and are slotted into roles that better fit their skillset.

Knowing the player's limitations and putting them in the best situation for them to succeed is where the various coaching staffs of this organization have failed for a long time. As fans we should probably question some of the crazy coaching decisions more often than blaming the players who are playing roles that are obviously above what they are qualified to play.
 
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Sabre the Win

Joke of a Franchise
Jun 27, 2013
12,792
5,432
Cozens and Quinn sucking is just a nightmare. Those guys are too important to our future.
Add UPL into that mix, we cant win when hes letting in 6 goals, I haven't liked his low glove and making himself small in the net again. Its like he reverted back to his suck before the second half of the season. At least hes not as scrambly like he was before and in Europe.

I see Levi running away with the start and we have a 5 million dollar back up.
 

Deep Blue Metallic

Bo knows hockey.
Mar 5, 2021
4,950
6,099
Leave lines 1 and 3 alone. Temporarily platoon Cozens and Quinn; each could use some PB time.

2: Benson-Krebs-Kulich (heavy to o-zone starts)
4: Malenstyn-Lafferty-Cozens/Quinn

6K only plays the second game of back-to-backs and whenever Levi needs a rest. (I'm not giving up on 6K. He was crap early on last season too.)
 

SnuggaRUDE

Registered User
Apr 5, 2013
9,378
6,927
What about the opposite? Are there players with bad metrics that are actually good, after correcting with the eye test?

Washington's 4th line last year is one potential example, although the article I posted over the summer seems to attribute the positives mostly to Dowd and not the other two players on Buffalo now.

Can't think of many other examples, although our GMs and coaches have insisted to fans for the past decade+ that Risto and Joki are good, despite their awful numbers.

Wild guess about 10-20% of goalies fall into this category every year.
 

joshjull

Registered User
Aug 2, 2005
79,427
42,086
Hamburg,NY
Cozens and Quinn sucking is just a nightmare. Those guys are too important to our future.
It really is.

I wish Ruff would swap Benson and Peterka. JJ would really give the Cozens line a boost and his years of chemistry with Quinn could get him going.

Cozens needs to get his head out of his ass and start engaging. That physical player we saw awhile back has been MIA this season. It started after getting his face smashed last year.
 
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joshjull

Registered User
Aug 2, 2005
79,427
42,086
Hamburg,NY
I can’t wait until NAK returns from injury. The 4th line is just not the same weapon it was in preseason and the first game without him. Plus Lafferty hasn’t been nearly as good on the wing as he was at center.
 

tsujimoto74

Moderator
May 28, 2012
30,499
23,211
The horrible PP is killing us early on this season. We’re soundly out-chancing and, more importantly, outscoring opponents at ES so far, but we’re missing out on points because the PP is inept.

Something has to change there. Personnel, coaching, both…something.
 

Fjordy

Registered User
Jun 20, 2018
16,772
9,185
The horrible PP is killing us early on this season. We’re soundly out-chancing and, more importantly, outscoring opponents at ES so far, but we’re missing out on points because the PP is inept.
Apparently it was so difficult to hire a PP coach, I don’t understand why they didn’t do it.
 

joshjull

Registered User
Aug 2, 2005
79,427
42,086
Hamburg,NY
Apparently it was so difficult to hire a PP coach, I don’t understand why they didn’t do it.
They did hire someone to fix the PP, Appert. So far he’s been terrible at fixing it.

I’m only half kidding when I say bring Ellis back to run it. His PP was #9 his first year running it. Then crapped out last year when Tage broke his hand and Ellis couldn’t adjust. A predictable PP getting the occasional goal is a pretty big improvement over the current mess.
 

Jacob582

Registered User
Oct 16, 2012
10,067
3,685
They still have a forward problem.

They have one 2nd line (Tage)
One 3rd line (McLeod)
And two 4th line (Cozens, Krebs)
 

Fjordy

Registered User
Jun 20, 2018
16,772
9,185
They did hire someone to fix the PP, Appert. So far he’s been terrible at fixing it.

I’m only half kidding when I say bring Ellis back to run it. His PP was #9 his first year running it. Then crapped out last year when Tage broke his hand and Ellis couldn’t adjust. A predictable PP getting the occasional goal is a pretty big improvement over the current mess.
But as I understand it, Lindy is also responsible for PP, because it seems it wasn't just Appert, but also Ruff. Ellis? It's funny, but maybe it really would have been better. So far, it's just some kind of horror.
 

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