All Activity

So, I’m supposed to believe that the Jedi, this elite fighting force, that can read the feelings and thoughts of others, from great distances, had no knowledge, whatsoever, and never caught wind of Order 66, something that was intended to wipe them all out and known to grunt storm troopers across the galaxy?! Maybe they didn’t deserve the power that they had.

SOMEONE probably accomplishes that same thing at a cheaper cost. But we aren’t the field: that’s always the issue with said logic. If we want the one team that consummates the deal to be us, the offer you proposed is the one that actually results in completion rather than a “we stayed true to our value evaluation” scenario

Ya I mean if Edmonton wins the cup we’ll have to grudgingly agree they are the 6th best team in the nhl. We can’t forget to square the data the league uses to determine who the best team is for the season with our own personally chosen, biased markers for success, like Expected playoff wins inferred based on how tired we are randomly guessing the teams to be and also prospect pool strength.

You get the low-remaining tread, leadership, guys on short deals to bolster what you’ve got. You don’t throw term at them. EJ this past season was a fail, but it’s fine because it was one year. Now, find a with-tread playoff machine (Pavelski when the Stars got him)… and we’re talking.

Yeah, Elder Foligno was before my time and I have an admittedly hard time placing him. On a “franchise” team he’s a bottom 6 grinder, though, so if we need more grit I dress him. If we lose some silk in the top 6, I dress Mogilny. Pommer is a great complementary piece. He’s a 2W through and through and he makes his line better. But again, on a franchise team I’ve got 1st-liners across their eras. (Or at least 1st line minutes [Peca]). My argument for Eichel is that final season. We rag him and I call him Jackikin Eichwalker and such, but he that year he *was* the offense. Dragging Krueger and that lineup into the playoff picture and putting himself into the Hart conversation. Plus, on my theoretical franchise team he’s a prove-it 4th line kid, and not a captain.

Lots of folks forget that Skinner got cold down the stretch and Eichel played hurt and has no points the final 10 games of that COVID season. History and the franchise are on a different trajectory if they make that 24-team field (especially if they do what Montreal did and knock off a beaten-up Penguins team). Remember, Ullmark was back to close that season and it was a different team with him in the net. As to Eichel/Thompson, Eichel has the benefit of his burst and playmaking that Tage simply doesn’t have. And TNT has the benefit of playing with Granato’s open attack (one season) and a career-coming-out-season from Tuch that Eichel never had. There’s an alternate universe where Skinner-Eichel-Reinhart play under Granato. Probably not as good as Tuch. But it creates a world where Eichel and Reinhart remain in the top six entering their primes (probably on separate lines). TNT with Reino on the 2nd line with Reino in the crease on the PP and we have a “veteran” team last season.

Nice job. I would move Foligno into a top 4 line, and certainly would move him ahead of Eichel based on his time and his output with the Sabres. Foligno has more goals, more points, more seasons, and was a better captain and a better Sabre. He fought for what was on the crest. Next, I would move either Pominville or Don Luce (others might say Satan) ahead of Eichel. Again citing more seasons, more goals, more points, and they were just better Sabres. Base on pure talent you could argue a slot a Eichel. Looking at his production as a Sabre he falls short, and everything else about about him - no way.

Ok, but at what cost? 2 mill for Tanev and 3.5 for Gourde are all they are worth at this point. Spending nearly 8.7 on them is terrible cap management. We can get currently better players for the same money or less. Bennett for example. He has one year left and no trade protection at $4 mill. I’d rather take on Jeannot at 2.6 vs Tanev at 3.5, but I don’t want either.

In 2021, McKenzie had Rosen at #18 in final rankings and we took him at 13. In 2022, McKenzie had Savoie at #9 in final rankings and we took him exactly there. In 2023, McKenzie had Benson at #9 in final rankings and he fell to us at 13. Will somebody fall to us, like last year? Or will we stretch a little like in 2021? I'm a bit guilty of looking at the top 10 and wondering who will fall and not paying enough attention to the players ranked 5-6 slots lower than where we will pick.

Gourde is still a solid player and Tanev isn't exactly over the hill for 1 year. I wouldn't go so far as to extend Gourde for 4/5 years but both he and Tanev have another couple years of bot 6 play in them.

How far would Vancouver be from Florida? I'd guess that would be the max possible

I think you're missing the broader point. Acquiring diminishing vet players simply because they are vets is a failing strategy. How did signing Johnson or re-signing Okposo work out? We need to acquire players with tread left on the tire. Larsson ok, but as to the other 2, there are cheaper and better options.

Martin - Perreault - Robert Andreychuk - LaFontaine - Mogilny Hawerchuk - Gare - Briere O'Reilly - Hecht - Peca 13th: Gilmour Zhitnik - Dahlin Scheoenfeld - Ramsey Korab - McKee 7th: Tallinder Hasek Miller

Thxs everyone. Know it's a random question, but was curious

This becomes even more interesting if you build it out to include a few more productive Sabre centres Turgeon 40/66/106 Hawerchuk 23/75/98 Hawerchuk 16/80/96 Briere 32/53/95 Thompson 47/47/94 Hawerchuk 31/58/89 Turgeon 34/54/88 Hawerchuk 35/51/86 Eichel 28/54/82 Turgeon 32/47/79 Eichel 36/42/78 Luce 33/43/76 Ruuttu 26/45/71 Luce 21/49/70 Drury 37/32/69 Luce 23/46/69 Thompson 38/30/68 Drury 30/37/67 Ruuttu 23/42/65 Briere 28/37/65 Eichel 25/39/64 Luce 26/35/61 Luce 26/35/61 (yes, he did it twice) Ruuttu 14/46/60 Ruuttu 19/41/60 Briere 25/33/58 Eichel 24/33/57 Thompson 29/27/56 Luce 26/30/56 Eichel 24/32/56 Drury 18/35/53

Trade for one Tanev and then try to entice another Tanev in free agency? Not quite my Foligno dream but pretty good if they were interested. If we made this trade and I was Adams I'd slap a letter on Gourde's jersey and offer him a long term extension with a promised leadership role. I know a number of you will think he's too old for that but I think a 5 year deal would entice him and 3-4 of those years will be good ones if not more. Overpay? Yes. Invaluable? Also yes. If Larsson worked out with Dahlin and he signed you'd also then have the luxury of being able to flip another D man at some point. Byram if his next number is too high for your liking or the oft injured Samuelsson. Consider Larsson-Dahlin, Power-Tanev, Samuelsson-Clifton (Byram traded for a power forward) Off season dreams are nice 🙂

It’s like 40 miles farther than Boston/Vancouver.

My guess would have been Boston Vancouver because they are both on the far coasts. Edmonton is a fair distance into the interior so a straight line down is shorter I'd have thought.

Andreychuk and Ramsay is an interesting debate for #2 at left wing. One of the best net-front specialists of all time and a hall-of-famer versus one of the best defensive forwards of all-time and a Selke winner. Andreychuk is 2nd all-time in franchise points, Ramsay 4th. Ramsay is 2nd and Andreychuk 6th in franchise games played. While each was dominant on his half of special teams, I’ll take Rammer as the better ES player. That +324 over a career spent lining up against the best the NHL had to offer still blows me away. And my #4 goes to Thomas Vanek, who ranks very high in all the statistical categories, but was also probably the best weapon for a very good run of Sabre teams and showed a ton of courage for the abuse he took in front game in and game out. Without knocking Vanek - who was an excellent Sabre - there’s not many others worthy of consideration.

Seeing Eichel pop up on a few lists makes me wonder how history will compare him and Tage Thompson as Sabres. Eichel had 5 good years to Thompson’s 3 and has a significant lead in career points, but Thompson certainly has time to make up the gap and his recent years stack up pretty well Thompson 47/47/94 Eichel 28/54/82 Eichel 36/42/78 Thompson 38/30/68 Eichel 25/39/64 Eichel 24/33/57 Thompson 29/27/56 Eichel 24/32/56 I think you have to take into account how Eichel may have been robbed of a 90-point year by COVID. It all comes down to how much of an outlier 22/23 was for Thompson. If he has another point-per-game season or two in his holster, history will probably come down on his side.

Kapanen is one of the softest players in the league. While overpriced we are also desiring that playoff experience and general veterancy

Ramsay is a nice segue to a best LW post. To me there is only one choice for #1. Rick Martin is 3rd all-time in franchise points and 2nd in goals, 2nd in goals per game and 11th all-time in NHL goals per games played. He’s one of only 2 Sabres to score 50 twice, he finished top 10 in NHL goal scoring 5 times. Eight 30 goal seasons in his first nine, and he had 28 when injuries cut short the ninth. 2-time first team all-star, 2-time 2nd team all-star. Hasek is the only Sabre to dominate his position more on a league-wide basis for such an extended period of time. It’s too bad injuries cut his career short. He should be in the Hall of Fame.

Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic, Slovakia (needed for scorers), and Czechia (not yet represented). Here's what I came up with a more standard approach: Martin - Perrault - Robert Andreychuk - LaFontaine - Gare Ramsay - Peca - Hawerchuk Vanek - Eichel - Briere (Foligno, Mogilny) Ramsey - Dahlin Schoenfeld - Housley Korab - Zhitnik (Hajt, McKee) Hasek Miller (Crozier) Lots of folks won't like my 4th line, but they'll win puck battles and imagine a breakout from their own zone. (Besides, they're only playing 10 minutes a night, so they're all angry.)