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Skyraider112

Sabres are elite
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Forum: Armchair-GMNov. 19, 2022 at 4:47 a.m.
Thread: Tell me your true thoughts
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Buffalove</b></div><div>It’s very arguable whether he’s still top4 quality or not
Jersey isn’t treating him like he is
-They dropped him to the 3rd pair
-They reduced his icetime by 5min per game, which is significantly less
-and most telling, he’s now getting less than 40% starts in the defensive end
That tells me they don’t trust him defensively- at least not like they used to

Too many red flags to expect him to come here &amp; be a good partner for Power- at least for me

And as u pointed out, he’s a UFA to be
One who might not wanna sign with us
He just isn’t a guy we should be giving up assets for
Especially not Olofsson</div></div>

Seems to me that these Severson takes ignore the context of the Devils roster.

There was always gonna be a top 4 RHD playing on the third pair for the Devils, either Marino or Severson.
To decide which one should play 2nd pair and which to play 3rd pair two questions need answering...
1. Which of Marino or Severson has the best chemistry with Graves, the Devils 2nd pair LHD and...
2. which of Marino or Severson has the best skillset to offset Brendan Smith's shortcomings?

The answer to question 1 is Marino, answer to question 2 is Severson.

Severson didn't find much success with Graves (and vice versa) in 21-22 therefore it was always gonna be Marino winning the 2nd RHD job over Severson.
However Marino wouldn't be able to help the Devils tilt the ice as well as they do playing with Brendan Smith, but Severson can do that (and he's doing it really well).
The result is that the Devils have three pairs that are all heavily contributing in creating very favorable playing conditions for the team as a whole, at all times.

It's not down to any shortcomings of Severson that he's seeing less ice-time, a sharp decrease in box score production and getting more oz starts.
It's because Severson is busy keeping Smith's head above water while still driving play.
There are not many third pairs in the league that play contribute as much as the Smith - Severson pairing, and that's all down to the very important role Severson is playing here.

This is not to say that Smith is a terrible NHLer, in my view he's been playing to the level of an above-average bottom-pair guy (which is a big step up from what Ty Smith contributed as 3LHD last year).
Smith is pretty good at rush defense, winning puck battles and in-zone coverage.
But he is not very good with the puck, whether it be carrying it, passing it or shooting it.
That's exactly how Severson complements Smith, and he does it to such a degree that the 3rd pair is overall a significant net positive.
Forum: Armchair-GMNov. 18, 2022 at 5:41 p.m.
Forum: Armchair-GMNov. 17, 2022 at 2:10 p.m.
Thread: I Have No Idea What Is Wrong
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Skyraider112</b></div><div>Yes the losing streak looks bad and is disheartening as a fan. Remember that 4 of those losses were close games against top teams in the league (Tampa, Carolina, Vegas, Boston). We are not expected to beat those teams, even when we play relatively well. What concerned me was the loss to Arizona where no effort was put in by the players. The losses to Vancouver and Ottawa were tough but let's be honest, both of those teams should be better than their records show, so again I'm not overly distraught that we lost to them. Sucks that its all in a row though, and you know if it sucks for a fan its a heck of a lot tougher as a player.

Sabres gameplan fell apart since we lost Samuelsson and had to play Pilut and Clague. That's a big reason why we are giving up 4+ goals a night. Goaltending has not been good, but I'm gonna shift the responsibility on that mostly to the D-core playing in front of them. Would love to see a healthy UPL get some starts soon.

Offensively it seems like only Thompson and Cozens give it everything they can each shift. Tuch sometimes still appears careless with the puck and doesn't keep his feet moving when he's not attacking. Rest of the forwards are not engaged in the game it would appear. We need our offensive players to produce offense, but we also need all our of players to be tough to play against defensively and be wayyyy more willing to win puck battles and defend the neutral zone, as other teams have way too easy of a time entering our zone with the puck.

If I'm Adams, I look at moving guys like Mittelstadt or Krebs for a quality defenseman who plays a 2-way game with an edge, but I certainly don't panic and make a poor trade. We have 3 2nds in this upcoming draft, I'd look at moving up to 2 of those for a player that fits well into either the D-core or the center depth. Biro and Weissbach deserve a call-up, Bjork needs to be converted into a Viking or something and go on an exploration of anywhere but Buffalo, and Quinn should return to the AHL until he gains back some confidence.

I conclude my rant. Thanks for putting up with it</div></div>

Agree with pretty much everything except Quinn in the AHL. I think he was not bad, his metrics show that he helped in defense, I also liked the Quinn - Cozens - Peterka line in the game with Boston. Krebs probably deserves a demotion to the AHL then as much as Quinn.
Forum: Armchair-GMNov. 3, 2022 at 11:08 p.m.