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Murray, Nolan Want Players Who Reflect Their Core Values |
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Monday has come and gone, and the Buffalo Sabres have opted to stand pat on their roster. For now, that is. While the majority of NHL clubs were cutting down their rosters, the Sabres were practicing. Remaining idle on Monday means that Tim Murray and Ted Nolan will be finalizing their next round of cuts on Tuesday or Wednesday. By the time the Sabres will host the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night, Murray and Nolan will be one long skate stride closer to their opening night roster.
Since Day 1 of tryouts, Nolan and Murray have been adamant about upholding their core values. If the vets and kids want to succeed, they will need to exhibit compete, structure, discipline, battle, and smarts. Talent is one thing, but talent will only get a player so far.
Thanks Sabres.com
Nolan met with the media on Monday, then adjourned to Tim Murray’s office where he and the GM had a meeting to discuss among other things, roster moves and cuts Murray isn’t making the cuts in a vacuum. He’s relying heavily on Nolan to provide context and anecdotal evidence to support his position on whether to keep a player or to move them along to AHL Rochester. It’s a symbiotic relationship that Murray and Nolan share in Buffalo. Crafting the opening night roster will be a plural process. The GM and head coach will arrive at the final roster together. Since Nolan and his new coaching staff will be tasked with winning games and developing the organization’s treasure chest of young prospects, Murray will
“We talk about it on a daily basis and one thing I wanted to make sure we establish was competition for jobs. Truth be told, that’s what’s happening,” Nolan said after practice on Monday. “They (the players) are making decisions tough on us and we wouldn’t want it any other way"
Here are my forward choices who are “locks” to make the opening night roster:
Matt Moulson, Brian Gionta, Tyler Ennis, Zemgus Girgensons, Drew Stafford, Marcus Foligno, Cody Hodgson, Chris Stewart, Mikhail Grigorenko, Cody McCormick, Nic Deslauriers, *Pat Kaleta, Torrey Mitchell
Bubble forwards: *Pat Kaleta, Sam Reinhart, Matt Ellis and Johan Larsson. Kaleta and Larsson visited team doctors to have their facial injuries evaluated on Monday. Kaleta blocked a Morgan Rielly point shot with his face and was forced to miss the rest of the game after playing only 2:24 TOI. If healthy, I can see Kaleta platooning with Mitchell on the fourth line. If injured I see Kaleta’s roster spot going to Mitchell.
Larsson was elbowed in the face by Peter Granberg. Even before the injury, I had Larsson and Joel Armia heading back to Rochester to continue their development this season.
Reinhart, in my opinion, has been just okay in the exhibition games that he’s played. I really like his game when he was moved to the Gionta-Girgensons line against Carolina last week. His speed, vision and defense have been as advertised in this training camp. Where I see him lacking is the physicality department. He absorbed quite a few hard hits at the Traverse City tourney. He’s performed just okay against the 26-32 year olds that he has played against in exhibition games. I love his skill and vision, however, I feel like he belongs in Kootenay this season, after he plays his nine NHL games at the beginning of the season. I’m a big believer in allowing Reinhart to skate 28 minutes TOI per game in junior hockey. I also feel like he’ll benefit greatly by playing for Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships which will kickoff on Boxing Day. Toronto and Montreal will host this auspicious tourney and Reinart will delight the home fans along with Sam Bennett and other notable quotable Canadian stars to be. When I thunk of Reinhart’s NHL path, I’m reminded of Jonathon Drouin, the thoird overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, who played his rookie season in Tampa’s AHL program. Rather than rushing Drouin to the show, Bolts GM Steve Yzerman played the patience card which allowed Drouin to spread his wings and fly high while playing with and against men on a nightly basis. Playing another season in junior can only help to further develop Renhart’s sick skill set.
I’ve really liked the play of center Torrey Mitchell, and could see him earning an bottom six roster spot. At this point in the tryout process, I like Mitchell to survive the cuts moreso than I do Joel Armia, Brian Flynn and Tim Schaller. The latter will add grit and depth to the Rochester lineup. Murray and Nolan will have a tough decision to make between keeping Matt Ellis or Torrey Mitchell. Both veterans have been accountable and have been very visible in the ice when they have gotten the opportunity to play in exhibition games. A tie breaker will be that it will be tough for Murray to justify sending Mitchell and his $1.8 million contract to the Amerks. I feel like he’s earned the right ti stay and play in Buffalo. That’s not to say that Ellis hasn’t. I like Ellis to be the captain of the Calder Cup candidate Amerks squad this season. Ellis will do a great job playing the role of coach on the ice, on the bus, and in the room.
Here are my defenders that will make the club:
Tyler Myers, Josh Gorges, Andrej Meszaros, Andre Benoit, Rasmus Ristolainen, Jake McCabe, Mike Weber.
Bubble D: Mark Pysyk and Nikita Zadorov.
Right now, I have Weber as my seventh D and his stick isn't rising. He was -30 last season when he was paired with Jamie McBain. He has struggled mightily in this training camp. He was minus three in the first period of the Maple Leafs game on Friday night. His decision making processes have been sketchy. The only thing keeping Weber in the conversation right now is his physicality. He won't make the roster on hits and fights alone. He's going to have to prove to Nolan and Murray that last season's putrid season was a one-off, not a trend.
Even before he was injured, I had Pysyk on the bubble. For no other reason but the outstanding overall dominating play of Ristolainen and McCabe. Nolan can only kep seven D. Pysyk’s injury has opened the door to an expanded role for Ristolainen and McCabe and both players have seized the day, and have seized their opportunities. Which leads me to ask:
Where in the world has Nikita Zadorov gone? I love the kid’s size, snarl, skill, jam and tenacity. I was anxiously looking forward to watching him dominate opponents at the Traverse City tourney and in NHL exhibition games. I’ve been waiting for Zadorov to over exert himself for the past 90 days. I’m still waiting. Were it not for his ass over tea kettle hip check on Washington’s Michael Latta last week, then Zadorov’s shett would be clean. He hasn’t had many awe inspiring plays, be they at the offensive or defensive end of the rink. At this point, I have Zadorov destined for OHL London where he can play upwards of 30 minutes TOI per game.I think its best for Zadorov to go back to London and throw his 250ish pounds around his with kids his own age. I’m not sure where its gone wrong for Zadorov. I recommend that he goes back to juniors to find his complete game. The kid has the entire suite of essential ingredients to become a dominant top four NHL D. He needs to go play hockey and have fun again.
Its hard to ignore the exemplary play of kids Mikhail Grigorenko, Rasmus Ristolainen, Nic Delauriers and Jake McCabe. All four players have played brilliantly in exhibition games and in practices. All are making strong cases for why they deserve to stay in Buffalo after the final roster cut downs have been made. With the injury to Mark Pysyk and the erratic play of veteran Mike Weber, its possible that both Ristolainen and McCabe will make the opening night roster. Pysyk hasn’t skated since he suffered an upper body injury after blocking a shot just :54 second into the 2-0 Sabres win against Carolina last week. While Pysyk has been listed as day-to-day, Ristolainen and McCabe have been making and reinforcing their strong cases for to be included on the seven man Buffalo D corps.
Grigorenko has been Buffalo’s most remarkable player thus far in training camp. Nolan has been singing his praises for his creativity and adherence to the many nuances of the Nolan system. Grigorenko has played both sides of the puck with great dexterity and vigor. Ditto Delauriers who has been a tower of power for the Sabres in training camp. He’s big, strong, fast, and skilled. Nolan has been impressed with Delaurier’s contributions to this point.
Personally, I’ll stunned and shocked if Ristolainen, McCabe, Grigorenko and Deslauriers are sent to Rochester. These four kids have vibed well with their veteran teammates and have risen to the top of the charts in terms of adding value to the lineup.
Murray and Nolan will emerge from their hockey laboratory on Tuesday with a roster in hand. Only those players who check all of the boxes in terms of espousing all of the organizational core values will earn a roster sot.
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There's not so much joy in Columbus right now.
The Blue Jackets learned Monday that forward Boone Jenner will be lost to his club for the next four to weeks. Jenner has been diagnosed with a broken bone in his hand. Jenner was injured in practice on Sunday.
The 21 year old center scored 16 goals and added 13 assists in his NHL debut in 2013-14. He added another 3 goals and 2 assists in the Blue Jackets' first round playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Talk about being up sh*t's creek without a paddle. The Blue Jackets are in a world of hurt right now.
Power forward Nathan Horton has been shelved with a “degenerative” back condition.
Power center Ryan Johansen is locked into an ugly contract dispute with the Blue Jackets right now and no apparent end is in sight for the two sides.
How are the Blue Jackets going to overcome this three-headed adversity beast?
Columbus' entire first line has been wiped out.
“That is why we have a second line, a third line and a fourth line,” Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen told the Columbus Dispatch.
“It’s an opportunity for some of other guys now.”
The Blue Jackets won the championship at the Traverse City Prospects Tourney earlier this month. Kekalainen could fill Jenner's roster void with one of his top two center prospects in Marko Dano and Alexander Wennberg.
The Jax lost hot shot LW prospect Sonny Milano to injury at Travesre City.
The Blue Jackets will open their season in Buffalo on October 9th.
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