Sabres @ Leafs - Jan. 17th, 7:30pm - SNO, TSN 1050
- Thread starter CarltonTheBear
- Start date
So, the Leafs have the 11th best points percentage in the league right now.
WhatIfGodWasALeaf
Active member
The Leafs are now officially on the Babcock pace of 6 from every 10 points on offer.
98 point pace.
98 point pace.
herman
Well-known member
It's Mike Harrington
Sabres getting left in the dust by Leafs' rebuild
http://buffalonews.com/2017/01/17/mike-harrington-sabres-getting-left-dust-leafs-rebuild/
I gave him the click because I am a sucker for not just plain butthurt, but jealous butthurt. All I got for my effort was grudging admiration. Dang.
Okay there was a little butthurt. Like one whole little paragraph.
Sabres getting left in the dust by Leafs' rebuild
http://buffalonews.com/2017/01/17/mike-harrington-sabres-getting-left-dust-leafs-rebuild/
I gave him the click because I am a sucker for not just plain butthurt, but jealous butthurt. All I got for my effort was grudging admiration. Dang.
Okay there was a little butthurt. Like one whole little paragraph.
disco
New member
herman said:
Good read, thanks Herman. More than just the difference between a 1st overall / 2nd overall pick, being all-in with your rookies and allowing them to make mistakes, to the coaching, to the firm hand from the top... that might be a tough one in Buffalo. Like he says, we may be beating up on them for years and years.
bustaheims
Active member
herman said:
The Sabres are actually a really good cautionary tale about a team getting ahead of themselves in the rebuilding process. They made some bold moves, and acquired some big pieces that they expected to push them to the next level - but, they did all that before the pieces they had proved they were ready to make that kind of leap. Now, they're kinda stuck waiting for their young players to catch up to the vets they acquired.
herman
Well-known member
bustaheims said:
I can't remember who I heard this theory from, but he was saying the Sabres went hard to the tank two years, and a lot of the players from both those teams are still part of the mix this year. Coupled with injury issues, and a rather recent news of an unstable sounding ownership/management, the Sabres fanbase is mired in a sense of hopelessness, without a 'process' to focus their hopes on.
I really like the way Shanahan has tried to control the message about this rebuild. Everything Babcock's been saying has been to push the media to the even-keeled middle. Losing games late? Oh they played good, but bounces be bouncing. Trust the process. Winning streak to the playoffs? Well, we gave up too many chances and had to be bailed out by Andersen too much, so we have to trust the process.
I am hoping we stick with that plan and sell judiciously at the deadline.
Kin
New member
bustaheims said:
Maybe, and I definitely think you can look at the O'Reilly, Kane and Lehner trades as ones where they put the cart well in front of the horse, but the whole thing still seems premature. The Leafs more or less dumped all of their farm system onto the big club at once and are experiencing some success with it because of how good/ready some of these guys are before we realize it.
But honestly I don't think there's the difference there that Harrington sees. Is Matthews better than Eichel? Maybe/probably but I think it's early to call the fight. Reinhart is having basically the same year Nylander is, Ristolainen seems like a pretty legit #1/#2 sort of guy and I think the Sabres had a really interesting 2016 draft, the fruits of which they haven't really seen yet.
So, yeah, Buffalo probably should have been a little more patient in trying to rebound from one of the worst seasons of all time but I don't think the solution to that is to be more impatient with the pretty solid group of young players they have.
tl, dr: Harrington is, and always will be, a dope.
crazyperfectdevil
New member
Loved the read because I'm a leaf fan but seriously this guy seems like a hack. He's no more insightful on the eichel/matthews debate then gary lawless is on the laine/matthews one. I doubt buffalo has become the tirefire that he claims and really the thing that's looking buffalo look really bad this year? The leafs. And that's not really fair. IF (see big if) the leafs were to keep having the success they've been having it would go down as something fairly rare. Only three teams in the last 20 years (i think) have made the playoffs after being deadlast the year before. But it's hard to be told all one season that you're way ahead of the leafs rebuild and then the next year watch them seemingly just get better and better while your own team struggles. Buffalo has had periods of play where they've looked like world beaters and then other stretches where they can't even beat the worst teams. They're inconsistent. That's not surprising they've got a lot of youth. To have youth and not have to deal with inconsistency? that's definitely the exception, not the rule.
So enjoy the article as it's a byproduct of the moment but just imagine that someone will be writing the opposite version if the leafs go on any kind of losing streak.
So enjoy the article as it's a byproduct of the moment but just imagine that someone will be writing the opposite version if the leafs go on any kind of losing streak.
Making the playoffs one year doesn't mean things are good. If the stars align then it can happen. the real test isn't this year, it is next. What happens next year. We like to think that it's going to be a linear progression but it may not be. Colorado thought they were just going to keep getting better the year they made the playoffs, and that didn't turn out so well for them. I know the underlying numbers were different in both cases, but I don't think you can predict results for the next year for a team like the Leafs with just a one year sample size.