thewookie1

At the end of the day, I refuse to let NYC steal more from Buffalo. Not to mention the endless torment we'll get from Rangers fans and the implications of our former 1C poaching our newer 1C

Nope, not sending him to the Rangers, end of story.

https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/2376716 How's this, I effectively tried to gut everything and replaced the elders to help set up for Cozens/Mitts/Byfield and Dahlin

In that case we hold him hostage until his contract is up

Much bigger since they still had other stars around them. We would have a bunch of kids with some potential and two anchor contracts to watch.

I don't care, don't trade him in the division or to the Rangers. Last thing I want is to deal with is another ROR situation and further bullying from other teams' fans.

Well this is certainly depressing

I’d easily decline that for sure. Not one potential game breaker is an immediate kill switch for me.

I'm curious about Logan Couture; he's a clutch performer and loves the Bills but has a rather rough contract for his age.

Loved GMTM's persona with the public but it wouldn't last long behind the scenes with such an abrasive/blunt way of communicating. He had some very good ideas yet simultaneously seemed determined not to use the many draft picks at his disposal even though he was a supposed draft guru. He brought in some great players but seemed incapable of understanding personalities and how they interact on a macro level. He was single minded on players and would spend anything needed to acquire them to a fault. In the end I think his plan hinged on McDavid; the tank wasn't meant for the safety net of Eichel but McDavid or Bust. When we lost the lottery, we all saw his anger over the outcome and it may have begun his downward spiral with the Pegulas. Bylsma was a separate story; he had the correct approach of trying to build a system around the team's personnel but fully looked to cover weaknesses instead of pushing their strengths. Byslma seemed incapable of adjusting on the fly and seemed to base his entire offense on low percentage stretch passes while GMTM brought in his version of LAK styled players. Effectively making one of the two completely on a separate page in terms of direction. However his biggest problem was his nigh-emotionless demeanor. When your team is feeling lax; a coach needs to show some emotion; not screaming, but emotion. Additionally he seemed incapable of creating a connection with the many players on his roster which alienated parts of the younger players altogether. He worked well in Pittsburgh because he adjusted a preset team with a vet core, young super stars, and a young stud goalie. He never did well generating a leadership core after that old vet core had left which is evident in Pittsburgh's lack of playoff success after their Cup in 09. It would take Crosby until 2014/2015 or so to start really showing he could be a mature leader that showed it both on and off the ice and didn't fall into every honey trap set by the Flyers or Bruins.

He'd have to do it remotely but based on how COVID changed things I can't see that being a major problem.

Quite sad for a final game. Sabres played at least equal to the Pens yet lose on a goal off a lucky bounce. We were shut out 9 times this year in 56 games...... That's over 16% of the games Hopefully the offseason brings new hope with a healthy Eichel, a freshly signed Reinhart and Ullmark along with some new players and a coach like Gallant to instill that "us against the world" mentality.

Mole Whip!

That's a bit of an oversimplification. If he requests a trade and we can't get what we deem proper compensation; he won't be traded end of story. The teams aren't out there looking to make sure their players are happy and comfortable over winning. Also, wasn't Peca's saga over a contract dispute? Eichel doesn't exactly have an out; if he publicly demands a trade I'd actually guess there's a better chance he isn't traded due to his value potentially taking a hit. We have zero obligation to help him anywhere outside of Buffalo. My 3 Rules/Requirements for trading Eichel: 1. Untenable relationship (He is hellbent on leaving, not even a yacht could change his mind) 2. Western Conference team (I am not interested in anything coming from the Eastern Conference; they can offer us their next 20 1st rounders, don't care) 3. Returns are massive and highly applauded overall. (For instance, Byfield, Kempe, Brown, 2021 1st & 3rd, and 2022 1st for starters) Maybe another prospect too?

I just have difficulty imagining any basket worth the drop off. I'd want nothing to do with the Rangers. And LA would have to part with Byfield, a 1st, and then some to get my attention. To win a Stanley Cup you need a few elite super players. Teams almost never win otherwise; you could literally have the most balanced team in existence and you'll lose to a team with a more traditional 1-2-3-4 line group more often then not because that "elite" level is a far greater advantage than a pseudo-2/3 line playing another team's 4th line.

I guess in a sense why bother following the team otherwise? I'd rather be optimistic on a sports team than pessimistic and I'd assume @GASabresIUFAN is the same way. At the end of the day this is supposed to be fun; if it isn't fun anymore than perhaps you need another hobby.

Really it would come down to who is actually trading a player on Eichel's level? Seeing as I doubt Toronto or Edmonton plan to trade Matthews or McDavid. Colorado won't be trading Mackinnon. Petterson, Jack Hughes, and similar centers don't come close to Eichel's overall value. Barkov only has 2 years on his contract and likely wouldn't be traded anyhow. Am I missing anyone? In the end I keep Eichel; there is little to nothing a team could offer me to budge on that. If Eichel wants out, you just tell him tough ***** kid, play or don't play but you are our player until your contract says you aren't. I'm not being bullied by some hockey player, no matter his skill level, into another rebuild because I'm unsure what our fanbase will even be at that point.

Jones is only under contract 1 more year so that makes it immediately a no go for me.

I'd like Rob more as the guy in-between the glass and not also the color commentator.

Machiavellian Wombats

Dan is certainly a great guy, but he's also having to follow up a "Gretzky of announcing."

I think we sneak into the playoffs; it’s bound to happen for us eventually after all

Edited my post lol

Technically if we remove the 18 game winless streak we’d be 15-16-5 for 35 pts in 36 games Next let’s split the final 20 games 9-9-2 24-25-7 for 55 pts in 56 games. Thus we played at nearly a pt per game while not in that streak. You give us a healthy Eichel, McCabe and Ullmark and that’s approximately where we’d be

He has literally been a different player since then.