NYR Sting
Heart and Soul
Byfuglien would lead NYR in points if he was here.
I don't get the hate for him. He's really not lazy. He's frustrating sometimes, but he's a huge difference maker from the blueline. He's on pace for 60 points. Maybe 3 d-men a year get that many.
Put him on Staal's right side and watch him flourish.
He's REALLY lazy. Watch him in transition. He reminds me of Jagr skating to his own bench on line changes: gliding in regardless of what is happening as the other team rushes into his own zone. Buff is an AWFUL defensive player. He is last on his team in +/-, he has the worst giveaway/takeaway ratio on his team, because he turns the puck over all the time. He's lost in his own zone, often out of position, and he doesn't really see the game. His positioning and anticipation is poor. You can kind of get away with that as a forward, but this is a glaring deficiency on defense.
He and his 60 points a year are such huge difference makers that a mediocre bubble team is probably willing to part with him as he enters his prime, despite the fact that he is signed for several years to a contract that one would deem reasonable if one assumes, as you do, that he is something special.
Flourish into what? He has a hard shot and he'll hit someone if he can actually catch up to them. At no point in his career has he ever proven that he has any other notable attribute. Guys don't tend to flourish 9 years into their career. They tend to settle into the roles they've already carved out for themselves.
Big slap shots have always been flashy enough to mislead people into overvaluing players. Buff is an incredibly overrated player. Please stay away. Stop getting stupid, low IQ players. How many years, how many decades have to pass before this lesson is learned?
