Paetsch was the Sabres 7th D and 13th forward last year. He's a good soldier in the sense that he'll do anything asked of him and even in the midst of not playing, he's reportedly a great teammate.
He will try to take the body, moreso playing forward, and has been at times a good fit as a 2nd PP pointman although in the last two seasons that time dried up completely in Buffalo. He's done some crazy things -- blocking a Chara slapshot with his helmet being the biggest. Oh, and Cat fans will like this --- he and Mike Richards have a "thing". They've had a couple of very spirited tilts over the last few years. Not sure what it is or was, but they do not like one another at all.
Works hard, cheap, versatile... good depth signing by Tallon.
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It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle
Good depth signing by the Panthers. For $525k, there's almost no risk. He'll be a serviceable 7th defenseman and can play forward in a pinch. I like him on the forecheck as a forward.
I'm pretty sure Garrison has a spot. Tallon talked about locking him up long term and Gorton tweeted about it yesterday.
Good point, Garrison will probably be here on the bottom pairing.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Ellerby though. Do we keep him as the 7th d-man or send him back to Rochester? It looks like Gudbranson is going back to juniors unless he can beat out someone in training camp.
Also, this should provide more competition between Garrison, Gudbranson, and Ellerby for the last spot on defense.
Besides the competition for the last D spot, there is good trade flexibility with the signing. If we decide to deal a player, either a F or a D, Paetsch can step in and be a stop-gap for the short period of time. He'll serve the role Montador had a few years ago by being a flex player(both F and D).
The guy fought Mezei before. LOL. If this is our only defenseman signing, I think Guds has a good chance to make the team this season. These one-year deals are great.
If we decide to deal a player, either a F or a D, Paetsch can step in and be a stop-gap for the short period of time.
For some reason I'm thinking that Ellerby is no longer in the long-term plans of the franchise. My gut tells me that this signing indicates that he's going to be on the block in the coming months if he doesn't absolutely kill in camp.
I'm not so sure. McCabe, Kulikov, Wideman, Allen, Garrison and now maybe Ellerby and Paetsch are above him on the depth chart.
He's going to have to prove himself worthwhile in camp to make the team. It depends on how well he does, and what Ellerby and Paetsch do in camp.
Agreed. Mercifully, this year it appears that there is some depth at F and D. This means that no one will be handed a spot and competition will drive those bottom positions(a motivational tool Deboer has yet to implement since he arrived).
I remember liking what I saw the few times I noticed him....not claiming to watch a whole lot of him, I remember that he showed smarts and effort and a couple sweet hits.
I'd like a Gudbranson-Kulikov, Wideman-Ellerby, Paestch-Garrison core...rid of Allen(like him but his knee) and McCabe(TORONTO WAS RIGHT).
I have a bad feeling this is our D signing and they really want Gud to make the team. I think he will beat out Paetsch and Ellerby for the last spot. Then Paetsch will become the 7th D and Ellerby will be sent down. I don't know if that will be the best thing for Gud though. It depends on how he does in camp, maybe he's ready. We better not rush him though and I hope we know what we're doing.
like others said an apparent great teammate will do whatever he can for his team.
his career high is 24 points in 63 games during the 06-07 season.
had 50 points in 72 games in the AHL during the 05-06 season
Agreed. Mercifully, this year it appears that there is some depth at F and D. This means that no one will be handed a spot and competition will drive those bottom positions(a motivational tool Deboer has yet to implement since he arrived).
When did he ever really have the option? The team's been riddled with injuries for half a decade now, and the two years under DeBoer have been no exception.
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"...and ultimately it doesn't matter."
like others said an apparent great teammate will do whatever he can for his team.
his career high is 24 points in 63 games during the 06-07 season.
had 50 points in 72 games in the AHL during the 05-06 season
