PotentPowerPlay22

I believe 3 points should be awarded for a regulation win, two points for an overtime win, 1 point for a tie. No shootout at all.

Maybe Ottawa would give a 1st rounder for him! Now you can see how ludicrous that trade by GMTM really was!!!

If the Sabres were offered a mid-first round pick for Lehner would they take it? In a heartbeat !!!! It was a terrible trade. It is also frustrating watching McNabb thrive playing top 4 minutes for the LA Kings. Has our genius GM been a success? The evidence says ....

One week it's Jack Eichel blowing his top on the lack of effort, then it's Lehner blowing up about it. Maybe some of the specific players should be called out publicly for not working or producing. Where there's smoke, there's fire. The locker room has some bad apples apparently. It's real easy to put all the blame on the coach. He may be part of the problem, but the players are the product on the ice and they're not doing their jobs consistently well. Tim Murray needs to weed out the dead weight and get better quality, harder working players.

In ten years time you will be able to look back and analyze the deals and drafts that were made by Tim Murray, but nobody ever does that. In the meantime, the only objective way to evaluate his work is to look at the records of the teams he is responsible for. He has control over the personnel and head coaches for the Sabres and Amerks. What have they accomplished under Murray? At this point, his record is clearly incomplete, but the results have been shaky at best. I have always felt that he overpaid in virtually every trade he has made so far. It can be argued that a couple of his deals have strengthened the team in the short term. The bottom line is that both the Sabres and the Amerks are still irrelevant. I believe there is not enough talent in the organization and several of his deals depleted the talent pool. I think it is fair to measure a GM by tangible objective results in the standings. As such, this GM has not produced much considering the stockpile of assets he inherited on his arrival. Time will tell, but he still has a long way to go to prove he is a quality GM.

(Speaking of Rochester) The canary in the coal mine for the Sabres is the Amerks. As long as Rochester continues to dwell in the bottom third of the league, the Sabres will remain non-contenders. The entire Sabres system does not have enough talent. If you see the Amerks become contenders in the AHL, then you may see the Sabres becoming contenders in the NHL soon thereafter. At the moment there are not enough top prospects in the pipeline. Who is responsible? Has anybody seriously questioned GM Murray for trading away so many prospects for negligible returns thus far? If the "Fire Bylsma watch" is in play, what about the fire Murray watch? Just wondering.

Tim Murray says he likes big goalies!

Has anybody started a "Tank 3" thread yet?

It is a results based business. If I were the owner I would ask the GM, "Where are the results?" Tim Murray has a lot of people who defend him, but considering all the assets at his disposal when he arrived, what has he really accomplished? Frankly, not much. It remains to be seen, but I believe history will show his time as Buffalo GM will end as a failure.

I already see posts that illustrate the fable about the fox and the grapes. Since the fox can't get the grapes, he just says they must be sour and he doesn't want them. Sour grapes! When will the Sabres fans wake up and recognize that GM Tim Murray made a bad decision giving up a 3rd round pick to Nashville for the rights to Vesey. Two pertinent facts to keep in mind: 1.) Vesey said all along that he was going to wait until he was a free agent on August 15 to decide his future. If the Sabres wanted to make a pitch to him they could get their chance on Aug. 15. There was no need to waste a draft pick! 2.) Vesey has proved that he doesn't care if you waste a draft pick on him. He feels no loyalty to anyone as he clearly demonstrated to Nashville. Given his track record with Nashville, why would any team think they he would behave differently if they acquired his rights? There is no logical reason to believe he would change his mind. If Buffalo thought they could sweet talk him into a deal in June, why wouldn't they believe they could sweet talk him in August? It was a strategic and tactical error by Tim Murray. For all the admiration and adulation Murray has received by many fans and media, he hasn't proved he is terribly good at being a GM. IMO, he has received less in every trade he has made than he has received back. His only real success has been overpaying in money and assets (players and draft picks) to pick up some decent players. Murray has depleted much of the stockpile of assets he inherited from Darcy Regier. He needed no expertise in the acquisition of Reinhart and Eichel. Now is the time for Murray to show if he is a worthy GM. I think he blew the Vesey deal, but I'm sure he will (and already has) downplay it as just a gamble worth taking. It wasn't smart.

Wait a few years and then re-evaluate. It is too early to tell how players like JT Compher, Joel Armia, Brendan Lemieux and Hudson Fasching will develop. Personally, I think he gave up too much on almost every trade, but it was easy dealing away stockpiled assets he didn't accumulate himself. The real test for Murray is how he deals with an empty cupboard that he himself emptied.

This is the guy Tim Murray desperately wanted from Winnipeg (baggage and all). Tim Murray needs to take full responsibility. The red flags were flying high and yet he ignored them. What have you got to say Tim?

Believe whatever you want, but I don't like the trade. You can have your own opinion based on what you heard or read elsewhere. I'd rather rely on my own two eyes and I prefer Pysyk.

Murray does it again. He overpays consistently in trades. He has traded away numerous #1 draft picks and to this point has very little to show for it. Kulikov is essentially a one year rental for Pysyk? I don't get it.

I bet Murray trades for a defenseman now that he selected Nylander.

SERGACHEV is there!!!

Damn it! He was my choice. Sergachev please!

I wouldn't trade #8 for Fowler. Murray might and I think that would be a mistake. I would prefer Sergachyov or Juolevi as I believe they have more upside than Fowler. If the top 2 defensemen are gone then Nylander looks like the next choice. In my dreams, I would hope for Pierre Luc Dubois or Tkachuk to fall, but stranger things have happened.

Vesey was drafted in the third round. Is he no good? Vesey will be available August 15 for free. If the Sabres are confident that they can sign him, then they should have waited and kept their pick. If they are not confident, then they wasted a good pick. Don't underestimate later picks. How about Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Brett Hull, Doug Gilmour, Henrik Lundqvist, Jamie Benn, etc. All were drafted later than round 4. The argument that the Sabres could give away a 3rd since they had four reduces the odds of hitting on one of those picks. Four picks improves your odds over a lesser number of picks. The argument that IF Vesey signs all these other possibilities are in play. Based on what is known, Vesey intends to wait until Aug 15. All your scenarios for trades and moves based on a "what if" become invalid. Stamkos is gone, Nash is traded, etc. Sure, a good GM identifies the pieces he wants, but it is foolish for a good GM to overpay when that player will be available for free in 7 weeks. I really hopes Vesey signs with the Sabres. I hope Murray succeeds. Time will tell.

If Murray was so confident he could sign Vesey, then why didn't he just wait until Aug 15?

Today, the winner is Nashville because they literally got a 3rd round pick for nothing. Vesey wasn't going to sign for them. Good move by Poile. Tim Murray is gambling here. Maybe he figures a 3rd rounder is worth talking to Vesey before anyone else. He gains a few weeks to convince him otherwise why didn't he wait until Vesey was a free agent and sign him for NOTHING! If Vesey signs with Buffalo (which is an unknown) then the trade makes sense, otherwise Murray blew it. I'm hoping he signs, but gambling is risky especially when Vesey has said repeatedly he wants to test free agency and see what is out there. Why didn't Murray just wait?

I think you underestimate greatly the Bruins future. They are highly ranked here. http://www.hockeysfuture.com/team-rankings/ The Bruins are the clear favorites to sign Vesey. Eichel probably would have signed for them if he had a choice.

Unfortunately, you'll feel more uncomfortable when he is playing for the Bruins against the Sabres.

Neither free agent will land in Buffalo. Drake to western Canada and Vesey to Boston. Sorry one of them won't choose Buffalo. Just a prediction. I have no info, just a gut feeling.

I guess Murray is happy he got something for McGinn. Murray got nothing for Chad Johnson, David Legwand and Carlo Colaiacovo. This was a disappointing result today.