PotentPowerPlay22

GM Tim Murray has proved he can trade former 1st round draft picks, future 1st round draft picks and other prospects for players, but he hasn't made a believer out of me. It can be argued that almost all of his other deals he received less than he gained. I'm still waiting for his reputation as a scouting "genius" to show itself in real terms.

Yawn! I don't see much here. The gave up nothing much and received nothing much (maybe a little bigger) Tim Murray might get stuck holding Chad Johnson and receive nothing for him. He might get something for McGinn, but the price is dropping as teams complete their moves. I hope Murray shows me something clever before tomorrow.

I would love to get JT Compher back from Colorado somehow. I really wish they kept him. Foligno is expendable in my book.

Okay. Do you care to revise your remarks?

Let's be realistic here. Through Feb 21, 2016 the Sabres have a 0.2% chance of making the playoffs. The GM must sell before the trade deadline to recover something from the pending UFA's. It only makes sense from a practical point of view to finish as close to the bottom as possible to increase the odds for a better draft position. I know the players will give 100% to try to win every game and I'm not talking about players tanking at all. The management must realize that this is not their year to shine. Maybe the lottery will reward the Sabres this year after the last two years of being unlucky at the draft. (The thought of Edmonton winning again makes me want to scream!) Murray must let trade away McGinn, Johnson, Weber, etc. and whoever can bring something back in return. He can try to re-sign McGinn in the summer. The season started with promise, but who knew Ennis would be hurt all year and who predicted Moulson would implode so spectacularly? If I were GM, I would sell or trade players who I felt had no future with team looking out two or more years. Everyone but the core group of about 10 players could possibly be moved. Murray depleted the stockpile of assets he inherited really quickly to get Kane and O'Reilly. Now it's time for him to prove his worth going forward. With a top 3 pick, the future could get brighter much sooner than picking 8th or later.

Auston Matthews. It would be poetic justice. After tanking and finishing last two years in a row and failing to get the no. 1 pick, it would only be fair to not finish last and get still get the top pick!

It's too early to evaluate these trades.

The game has changed. The goalies and their equipment have become huge. If you look at the pads the goalies wear now compared to 20 or more years ago, the difference is staggering. The huge pads make it harder to score. Fewer goals is obviously less exciting for the most part. Boring. In addition, the game is played along the boards constantly. The players have their backs to the goal and it is just one long scuffle trying to circle the puck from one side of the ice to the other along the boards. Boring. The defensemen also wear bigger and better pads which allows them to block so many shots without fear. It is very difficult to get shots through to the goal. Boring. The rules of the game have put a damper on hitting too. The added hard pads the players wear on elbows and shoulders are like weapons and can cause serious damage to heads. Every hit in a vulnerable spot can cause injury now. The league has decided that hitting is the problem and is trying to legislate it out of the game. The problem may be the body armor that has become weaponized. No hiiting can be boring. Also, the ice surface is too small. There is no room to skate. Fast, skilled skaters have been replaced by grinders. The game is played along the boards where the grinders chug along. Boring. I've watched a lot of hockey over the years and I can say without hesitation that the game is not that interesting anymore. I try to watch a game on TV and it just bores me. I don't think I'm alone. The league better wake up.

Johnson has been excellent. I thought Neuvirth and Lindback were very good also last year. [ I said it before and I'll say it again, I still think GM Murray made a mistake trading a 1st rounder for Lehner.]

Wow! The sky is the limit for Risto! What a player!!!

A quick glance at the top ten threads on "The Aud Club" and only one thread was about hockey. Interesting?

Ditto. Rex Ryan is an embarrassment to Buffalo. Buffalo fans deserve better. Remember what a class act the Bills had with Marv Levy? Intelligent, well spoken a real gentleman and good coach too! This is what kind of coach that makes Buffalo proud. Rex Ryan is just the opposite in every way. Nobody can tolerate a buffoon for long. Rex is a buffoon!

Tim Murray

Samson Reinhart At least spell it correctly!

I don't have time to search for the Cody Franson thread, but I read this analytics article about him and it is very interesting for Sabres fans. http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/why-cody-franson-is-the-nhls-best-bargain-player/

On paper, I think this is a good solid signing. It's a two year deal that only cost the Sabres money. No prospects were sacrificed to help the team. By definition, this is good. I think Franson adds to the power play for sure. He also adds veteran depth on a back line that is relatively thin. Overall, I like it.

He is definitely worth a shot. I like obtaining assets for money alone. Money is far less risky than trading away draft picks and prospects. He can always be traded down the road if necessary. I hope he signs with the Sabres.

Cunneyworth had a great year as Amerks coach in 2004-2005, but otherwise he was a .500 coach. I hope for the best, but I am not too excited to be honest. It sure does look like Murray took the easy way after waiting so long.

I really enjoy how impaired driving is viewed as a joke to many people here. Maybe some of you should be so lucky to have someone in your family killed by a drunk driver.

Peter Chiarelli wouldn’t take all the credit for what the Edmonton Oilers did at the NHL Draft, stating that Craig MacTavish was the one who laid down the foundation that allowed him to do what he did. Chiarelli showed some class. It's too bad Tim Murray didn't have the class to acknowledge the work of Darcy Regier. Regier took all the pain of tearing down and stockpiling the assets that Murray so rapidly and happily traded away. Trader Tim was the beneficiary from some of the great trades Regier made near the end of his term. To my knowledge, GMTM has never even spoken the name of Darcy Regier in any public comment. It wouldn't kill Murray if he acknowledged the work his predecessor did that has helped him greatly.

Seven 1st round picks counting Stafford. I remember the euphoria when the Bills got Rob Johnson, Doug Flutie and most of all Drew Bledsoe. Don't fight the euphoria the day after. Time will tell. Murray gambled a big chunk of the future on the near term and nobody knows how it will ultimately turn out. I had criticized the Bledsoe trade the minute it happened until he eventually left Buffalo. At the time about 99% of the fans were ecstatic and they wondered (in no uncertain terms!) why I doubted the value of the trade, but time revealed the truth. Time will tell if Murray used all the assets wisely. Most every one of these assets were accumulated by Darcy Regier in several excellent trades. I still believe he blew the Robin Lehner trade. A 1st round pick was too much considering the number of goalies available. Other good goalies were acquired for less. The O'Reilly trade is less clear. I really think Zadorov and Compher will be missed dearly in the long run. We will see.

Murray trades 1st round draft picks like he is throwing out junk mail. He has now traded away 7 players/picks from the 1st round in addition to 3 second round picks from the top 5 of the second round. Ten premium picks he has traded away. The short term should definitely improve, but he has unloaded some top prospects as a result. And still Cody Hodgson is a Sabre! I loved the idea of Brendan Lemieux and JT Compher playing together for the Sabres, but now it's history.

Lehner is arguably no better than Lindback or Neuvirth or Enroth. You could get any one of these goaltenders without giving up anything but salary! This is a bad freaking trade!! Giving up a 1st round choice for an average goaltender is irresponsible and shows bad judgment by Murray. Murray brags about drafting Corey Perry with the 28th pick. The Sabres selected Tyler Ennis 26th. The 21st pick in a deep draft is a valuable pick! Murray blew it! (again) http://www.tsn.ca/sabres-pay-the-price-to-get-lehner-1.318675 "At 6-foot-5, Lehner's frame covers a lot of the net, and when he's on, he looks every bit a future number one goaltender. However, his focus isn't always where it needs to be. Using War-on-Ice's definitions for low-medium-high danger save percentages, Lehner ranked 52nd out of 53 goaltenders that played at least 1000 5-on-5 minutes last season when it came to low-danger shots. Those are the ones that he really should stop."

Exactly, he traded a 12th, a 15th, a 16th a 21st and a 31st for a 3rd and a 4th. I think he paid too much! He just paid another 1st for a second round goalie with a potential career threatening health issue plus a washed up big salary dump.

My worst fear comes true. Murray is pissing away first round picks like bottle caps!!! The number of top picks (players drafted in the first round and 1st round picks) he has traded is staggering!!! It takes a lot of rationalization to make sense of this idiotic trade!