thewookie1

Yes, it completely changes the city as a whole. Buffalo would no longer be a champion-less city. Perhaps we sign Briere, and have a serious contender that lasts into the early 2010s.

It wouldn’t be the Sabres delaying a trade, it would be the league. The league would probably want us not to distract fans from the Cup Finals with a humongous trade.

Just wanted to add, which would you rather deal with..... The next 10 years listening to the media talk about how Eichel was stolen by Boston or the NYR for peanuts as he personally keeps us in the dirt. or How the Sabres ruined Eichel's career by demanding high value and ending up holding him for 5 years. To be honest, if no one will give us value that includes a high 1st and a Top Tier Prospect at very least; Eichel better get ready to either beg another team to pay his ransom or start thinking of a few hobbies.

Depends, under zero circumstances do I trade Eichel in the division. If the Bruins want him I'd want Mcavoy, Pasta and Marchand for starters. I will always say, if you can't get fair value and/or wants a team like Boston; we are better off holding him hostage and just taking the loss to prevent others for taking a further step forward. Effectively mutually assured destruction in hockey terms.

I'd rather let him sit 5 years then capitulate and take garbage or trade him to the Rangers/Bruins

I'd say the one thing about Granato I find very interesting is how while still giving "Front Office" vagueness as all coaches do; he still gave us clues to how he wants the team to play. For the 1st time since Ruff we may have finally found a coach interested in trying to build a structure around the players versus forcing the players into a specific structure.

Wonder if they’ll call Buffalo about Quinn and/or MIN about Rossi?

I'd rather take Gourde's contract to be frank. Mainly because he would have a solid purpose as a defensive center versus Johnson who's more or less just a dude at this point. 1 more year at .166 more but far more usable.

To be blunt, if the difference between a Western team and an Eastern team is a 2nd rounder. Then I don’t care about that random 2nd If between Perrault and Lafreniere then I’d need to bite the bullet but I’d take Zegras over Lafreniere

Also, do you guys really want to hear about how Drury destroyed our center depth again and how the NYR are somehow this great organization and NYC is so much better than Buffalo BS we always hear?

I just see it as justifiable loss. The .05 per year will mean less than what Eichel creates.

If we have to trade Eichel for .85 on the dollar to NYR or .80 on the dollar for Anaheim. I’d take Anaheim since while I lose a little more, the difference is less destructive. NYR would then have 1.15 whereas Anaheim would have 1.20 However a out of Conference trade doesn’t mean we end up .40 short because we aren’t compared 1 to 1 Alright, I understand better however I’d still fully disagree with improving the team in the league overall being the most important goal.

I get the sense we have completely incompatible opinions on this. You want to effectively go big or go home where I look to reduce risk and maintain status quo. Yes, technically if you can fleece a team, you’d want it to be in the Conference where it’s impact would be multiplied. However the opposite also is true and it is nearly impossible to win a trade where you give up the best player involved.

That I wouldn’t want, I would want my GM to be able to figure out the calculus around how much the trade would shift the teams. Your quote is as a fan I’d feel that way. As a GM, if I’m having to trade Eichel; I want the trade to benefit me greatly without causing further difficulties for us. Akin to a divisional game being a 4 point game, inner-conference trades have far more impact overall. For instance, if we trade Eichel to Anaheim; Anaheim gets a boost in the standings more than likely however that boost doesn’t effect us in any way. If we send him to NYR we are directly hindered by Eichel’s play. In the former case, the acquisitions have more time to produce fruit where as in the conference they’d have to go tit for tat with Eichel to merely keep the overall status quo in the Conference

I honestly disagree. Your first thought should be to beat your division, the vast majority of your schedule; then the Conference, and then the League. If there are 3 Powerhouses in the West and 1 in the East, still only 1 from each goes to the Finals. We don't play in a Top 16 of 30, we have a Top 3 of 8 and a Top 2 of the remaining 10 in the East. What Chicago, Anaheim, or LA does will only effect me in the event we play them in the Finals. Otherwise, we play them twice a year and have zero impact on each other's standings otherwise.

How often do we play St. Louis?

Depends on how much worse the offer is. The last thing I want is to constantly be reminded of a mistake or aid an opponent in any regard.

No thank you, not good enough

Hope to see Thorn and Clement make at least some type of appearance Not exactly excited about a woman play-by-play announcer; its just such a different feel. Otherwise they look good, not sure about Melrose at this point; haven't seen him really in over a decade lol.

Sure but worse than others

Oh, I'm not saying force one onto his staff; I would just hope he Granato finds one.

No #1 Center potential and he stays in the East; not very interested.

Burnt in a bar? Stuck in a jar? Covered in tar? Meeting the czar?

The one thing noticeable about Granato was in every two game series we saw: Per 1 & part of 2, overwhelmed. 2nd half of Per 2 and Per 3, adjusting and playing better. Then in Game 2 they tended to play with or better than their opponents for good stretches. If we can make the playoffs with the guy, he should be great a mid-series adjustments.

Perhaps a Gronburg hire to use us as a landing in NA Hockey?