nfreeman

Very interesting. Thanks.

That song (which is great, IMHO) is actually by Meredith Brooks, not Alanis. Speaking of which, I heard they are both interviewing for GM.

Things are falling apart up here at mission control.

That was a poorly piece by Graham.

The concept of Pysyk as a possession-driving, defensive-zone-exiting, offense-starting, accurate-passing, puck-carrying, difference-making, analytics darling unappreciated diamond defenseman in whom the primitive barbarian GMTM couldn't see the value and shipped off for the unskilled, knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing old school Kulikov.

Stranger Things was great.

Well, I think my position is and has been that the tank would result in the Sabres being materially worse off than they would've been sans tank. That's not the same thing as saying we are certain to end up like Edmonton -- although I think the Edmonton scenario is more likely than the Pittsburgh scenario.

Thank you sir. While I admit to frequent pessimism about my hometown teams, I also think (i) the facts have generally borne out this view and (ii) long-term, both teams are in about as good a position as could reasonably be hoped for -- i.e. secured in Buffalo with a committed, deep-pocketed owner. More broadly, and more importantly, I think pretty much every day is a great day to be alive.

Well, I think it's possible to think both things -- i.e. that the tank was a mistake AND that there is reason to be optimistic for the team's prospects next year and in the long term.

I wouldn't go quite that far, but I agree that any Buffalo discount will be negligible. If they want to keep him, they're going to have to pay the market rate -- ie at least what KO got.

Geez. It's like no one ever hired a GM that didn't work out before. May I remind you two poopy posters of: - Eichel - Risto - ROR - Reino - Kane - Okposo - McCabe - Lehner - Nylander - #8 overall pick in draft next month - RJ - No internal salary cap - State of the art practice and conditioning facilities - Unlimited resources for scouting, assistant coaches, etc. - Burning desire by ownership to win and willingness to spend whatever it takes to get there - Dedication by ownership to downtown urban renewal, with tangible accomplishments already Next year's team will almost certainly be significantly better than this year's team. Quit feeling sorry for yourselves. It's a great day to be alive.

Unbelievable.

Regarding Watkins: the story is far from being fully written, but certainly this decision reduces by quite a bit the likelihood that he stays here long term -- probably to below 50%. And that's too bad, because when healthy he's terrific.

Whoops. I've got a lot on my mind.

But they haven't really dipped into that well for a hockey (or football) guy previously, innit? It was just Ted Black and, for a cup of coffee, Cliff Benson, right?

GA -- very good info on the Preds in your post, but the question isn't how does Nashville's drafting compare to Buffalo's -- it should be better than Buffalo's, because the Sabres stink -- the question is whether Nashville's drafting is good relative to that of the NHL's good organizations.

GA -- too much #Hammymath.

What is it about McD that makes him a prima Donna? That he didn't want to work with DW?

Y'know, when I watch Hall, he kinda looks like a star, but is he really? In 6 NHL seasons, he's never exceeded 27 goals. Last season, as NJ's top gun, he produced 20-33-53. Those of course are good numbers, but elite? And of course it can't be ignored that he didn't disrupt Edmonton's chronic suckitude one iota -- whereas McD, who is unquestionably elite, immediately muscled them into relevance. The broader point is that there are very few players that can make that kind of difference -- and thus it's almost always not worth tanking for a high draft pick -- especially when the lottery gives you only a very small chance of getting that guy even when there is one.

Maybe until McD the talent they acquired wasn't really elite.

Serious question: how much credit should Fenton get for Nashville's deep, talented blueline? Didn't they keep drafting BPAs who happened to be defensemen, most of whom developed really well?

Didn't Edmonton tank during the McD year? Either way, they finished DFL or close to it for quite a few years. I think it's fair to hold them up as an example of what happens when you drop to that level, regardless of whether it's intentional.

Yes -- the Sabres are interviewing pretty much every highly-regarded GM candidate; I see no reason why the Bills won't have similar interest from the field of candidates. I agree with your concern about McD getting too much too soon. Totally agree.

I don't think McD making the firing of DW a condition to McD taking the job necessarily indicates dysfunction or is even terribly unusual. I'd expect that DW's reputation around the NFL as a GM was/is pretty poor -- especially following his presser after Rex was fired. It seems pretty reasonable that McD wouldn't be interested in working for DW.

Exhibit A for the #NeverTank position.