PotentPowerPlay22

Absolutely terrible trade! I was afraid this would happen. There are several free agent goalies as good as Lehner without health problems. Tim Murray has lost every trade he has made so far. LA, WIN, and OTT have all see him overpay. WTF?

Reinhart is not going to be traded. Zero chance. Please Friday! Get here now and stop this nonsense!

Trader Tim will certainly be active this week. My hope is he can somehow get rid of Hodgson by trade and resolve the uncertainty surrounding Grigorenko. My biggest fear is that he gives away too many draft picks to acquire an asset he desires. I firmly believe he gave away too much in the Winnipeg trade. I believe he also gave away too much in the trade with the LA KIngs. He is really burning through all the assets he inherited from the Darcy Regier trades very quickly. This year it ends. Here is what I fear: he trades #21 for a goalie like Cam Talbot. The price is too high. There are numerous goalies who are available in free agency who can do the job in the short term. I thought Neuvirth and Lindback played well last year. Another fear is that he trades multiple picks and a prospect, including #21, for an overpriced veteran forward. My hope is that if he trades #21, then he trades up toward the top 10-12 to get another top prospect without giving away future 1st round picks. I would trade #21 and #31 to get #10 if I had a chance at premium targeted player. I hope Trader Tim keeps his head and negotiates a good deal or two.

Las Vegas is not a sports town. It would be a bad choice. Hamilton Ontario or a second team in the Toronto area would be much better.

Based on history, Murray will make a big trade and overpay again.

I would consider Luke Richardson a strong candidate for the Amerks job. I think the Sabres need a coach with top level NHL experience.

This is business, not personal. Time to move on. Babcock has a responsibility to take care of himself. He did. Case closed. Pegula and Murray better have a satisfactory plan B!

I think this is the key to the whole situation. The guy is a very good coach, but he never really wanted to be here. Period. He found Buffalo a useful tool to get more out of somebody else. The Sabres need a head coach who will put his heart and soul into the team and the region. This could be a blessing in disguise. A head coach or a player who doesn't really want to play somewhere is better off getting out or never coming! It is a business. Pegula has made billions and do you think he has done that without casualties? Don't be so naive. Babcock showed smart business sense, but it was at the Sabres expense; particularly the Pegulas and Murray. The Sabres got the short end of the stick for sure, but maybe it wasn't the worst thing that could happen. The Sabres-Leafs rivalry has always been hot and now it is even hotter. Every Ali needs a Frazier. Rivals will bring the best entertainment. The Sabres have reason to be optimistic. This is no time to panic. I hope GMTM hires a coach with solid NHL credentials and not an unproven AHL coach.

As I said in my previous post, Babcock just used the Sabres! He jerked them around to get a better deal elsewhere. It is not complicated. He played the Pegulas and Murray for fools!!!!

A masterclass in negotiating by Team Babcock! He visits Buffalo with an owner willing to spend big knowing that he never intends to sign with them. He dangles for a few days to stir up a bidding war between Buffalo and possible suitors. A desperate Toronto takes the bait and outbids the Sabres for his services. Team Babcock just USED the Sabres brilliantly. At some point the Sabres smelled a rat and pulled their offer when they realized that they had been used as a tool to lever more money from Toronto. Great strategy. My guess is his wife and kids said NFW we're going to Buffalo!!!

Time to move on I guess. I'm not surprised he didn't choose Buffalo, but I am surprised he will choose Toronto.

I think he stays in Detroit. I hope I'm wrong, but I feel he will back away from the Sabres offer after saying many complimentary things about the Pegulas. When push comes to shove he will decide his family wants to stay in Detroit and that will be that. The Sabres gave him some bargaining leverage to get more money in Detroit. If not Babcock, steal their AHL coach. Younger, cheaper but the same system.

Extremely. I watched ROR in the world championships and he was largely ineffective on a dominant team. Ennis was far superior to O'Reilly.

Vanek should have been let go years ago when Edmonton signed him to an offer sheet. One of the worst moves in Sabres history was when the Sabres matched it. However, when they traded him to the Islanders it was one of the best moves in Sabres history. He is gone from Buffalo forever thank goodness!

Wow! Since when did it become so popular to shoot the messenger? Why all the hate for the Buffalo News? The Sabres should do what everyone else does in pro sports. What is their problem? Just meet with the media for 20 minutes at the end of every season and there is no issue. Stop acting arrogant and stupid and give the FANS some information. What is so freakin hard about that? The haters who bash the media are going to be the big losers some day when the only source of information comes from the idiots on Twitter.

I think the odds are greater than 50% that Tim Murray trades away this pick anyway.

Trading Ryan Miller was a good idea.

Kane was done in Winnipeg. They wanted him gone ASAP. You would think this would give Murray the bargaining leverage, but he caved to Cheveldayoff's demands anyway. Murray has got to stop telling his trading partners how much he loves their guy. He is playing poker by showing the other guy his cards. Bad strategy. Murray is known in hockey circles as a scout (and definitely not a negotiator it seems.) Right now he is getting by with this strategy because the Sabres had acquired so many assets previously. Those assets are drying up as Murray deals them away at a brisk pace. I guarantee you he will overpay again in a couple months!

Here is what I believe Murray will do. He has identified a player or two that he likes and he will trade for him(them) near the draft. The problem is that the league GM's now know that he will severely overpay to get the player he wants (based on the over payments he made with trades previously i.e. LA ans WPG) For instance, lets say he likes Ryan O'Reilly from Colorado. He will give up two players, two top prospects or top draft choices to get him. He will pay too much. I believe this is a mistake, but his track record says he will do it. When Murray talked about the Winnipeg trade he said he had to give up a top pick Myers to get two top picks in return (Kane,Bogosian). I saw him give up much more than that, but he sees things through weird glasses.

The lottery is stupid from top to bottom. What is the purpose of a draft? Allow the bad teams to draft the best players. The worst team should get the best player. The biggest off season move will be the hiring of a top quality coach regardless of the draft. Edmonton has failed with 3 overall #1 picks so adding McDavid is no guarantee they will succeed this time. If the Sabres add Eichel and a top coach, I'll be pleased.

Edmonton does not deserve the first pick! Buffalo finishes last two years in a row and don't get the first pick either year. The lottery system is stupid. Period. I would have been really sick if he had gone to some team with 90+ points.

If the Sabres are content with Eichel and believe he is close to McDavid in talent, what happens if Buffalo the wins the lottery? Would the Sabres consider trading the first pick to Arizona if they called? Stop and consider the possibilities. The Sabres trade the 1st pick to AZ for the #2 pick(Eichel), 2016 and 2017 1st round picks or more. How about the Sabres trade the 1st pick to AZ for the #2 pick(Eichel), 2016 1st round pick and Oliver Ekman-Larsson? If you you would happy with Eichel by himself, wouldn't you be thrilled to get Eichel plus a couple more premium assets? I would consider it myself. The Sabres have done stranger things. Remember the horrible move to match the offer sheet given to Vanek and forfeit four 1st round picks from Edmonton. How did that work out?

He past his "sell by" date. His production does not justify his salary. Just say NO!

The Bruins are going to regret firing Chiarelli. He is a top GM who just got stuck with some bad salaries. He refused to give up top prospects to pick up Chris Stewart from Buffalo at the trade deadline. I was frustrated by that and I respect him for keeping his draft picks and prospects. He knows the game. Some other team is going to hire him and be very lucky. I hope it is not Toronto.

What are you drinking?