dudacek

I am of the opinion Cozens, Quinn, Peterka, Asplund, Mittelstadt, Thompson, Jokiharju, Dahlin, Samuelsson, Johnson, Lukkonnen is a respectable collection of young talent. We are going to add this year’s 2 2nds, plus a 1st OA, plus another sizeable collection of young pieces by trading Risto, Sam and Jack that could conceivably double that. It should be a base a good hockey man can build a competitive team around. It’s just too bad the previous guys failed despite having similar tools at their disposal. And that we are going to have to wait even longer to see if Kevyn is any better.

Meaning Granato? What is the right decision for this moment?

Have you guys watched much Max Comtois?

OK, this was posted on Reddit by some random guy. Too funny not to share: So none of you are going to believe me, but I'm posting what I've witnessed today during my reffing experience today. Rob Blake is in town for his son's hockey tournament (Battle of Buffalo). During warm-ups, one of the kids goes to Blake's son and the conversation goes like this: "dude, is your dad really trying to trade for eichel?" "***** no, he's trying for Reinhart and Risto" "why not eichel?" "he's a whiny bitch from what my dad says" I skated away cause I was laughing too hard

I just want to be clear: Its your take that Adams would probably rather be keeping Jack, but the injury and the difference in opinion of its treatment has driven enough of a wedge that he has decided the right path is to trade him, even if it means possibly taking a hit on the return. Im not saying you’re wrong, but I am saying if you are right Adams is an idiot.

That was precisely the moment I decided to move on. I'm surprised it hasn't been talked about more. Anyone who said what Jack said in that presser cannot be the captain of this hockey team.

I don't discount this because I don't know Adams. But you are essentially saying Adams is a rat-bastard bureaucrat who values keeping his job over being successful in it, and that he immediately made it his priority to consolidate power, as opposed to building a winner. It seems that you are basing that almost completely on his decision to trade Eichel, and the premise that Eichel should not be traded. Am I missing other factors? It is interesting to observe who Jack has connected with off the ice and who he has not.

Friedman had an interesting choice of words in his Adams/Granato meeting tidbit. “No finality there yet.” Because this has been followed up by Wawrow’s report that the finalist is off to Florida to meet with the king and queen, I’m going to conclude that Donnie is the candidate Terry needs to rubber stamp. If Kevyn met with Donnie to tell him they are offering someone else the job, that constitutes finality. I cannot see a scenario where Kevyn met with Donnie in advance to tell him someone else is going to meet with Terry, but he’s still in the running. Donnie knows they are looking at other people. That wouldn’t require a face-to-face meeting. However, I can see Kevyn meeting with Donnie to say, ‘you are the finalist, but you’ve got one more hurdle, you need to meet with Terry.’ With the understanding that if that meeting goes well, Donnie will be offered the job. To me, it’s the only scenario that fits with both reports.

I’m with you. No objections to Power, but the more I look at the top players, those are my favourites.

No stuck involved. I’m very comfortable choosing to remain a fan of this incompetent shitshow over becoming a fan of that graceless piece of excrement, thanks.

So I guess if we are adding a 2nd top 10 pick, I need to be looking at guys like Kent Johnson? What’s up with this guy, is he an Sonny Milano/Alex Nylander type? Skills competition stud who doesn’t make things happen when the bullets start flying? Because those hands are pretty slick. http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/michigan-star-kent-johnson-intriguing-option-for-sabres-early-at-nhl-draft/

And I would just kill Marchand…

And that kid with all the Ks in his name, did you hear he was actually OHL MVP? A goalie, who would have thought that could happen, right? Anyways, make sure he’s starting opening night. I’m tired of driving to Rochester to watch him play. Good goalies always look better in the NHL than they do down there.

I don’t think this coinciding with the Brind’Amour timing was coincidental. The meeting today was either to offer him the job, or tell him it was being offered to someone else. I wonder if it was Donnie all along, unless Rod shook loose. I wonder how serious all these other interviews were. I also wonder if the Florida trip is a rubber stamp, or a final test - the “second interview” I wonder how much interaction Donnie has had with Terry?

There is nothing we’ve seen yet to indicate this is about cutting costs. Prior to being hired as GM, Adams was brought in to review the culture of the team, mostly off the ice. It would be natural for him to continue that on the ice. It would not be entirely surprising to learn that he has concluded that Jack’s approach and attitude is standing in the way of a needed culture shift. It would be even less surprising to learn that someone further up the food chain has grown tired of Jack’s approach and attitude and instructed him to move on. We can only go by what we’ve observed in the past and how it applies to the present.

Thanks. I should have checked. It doesn’t invalidate my opinion, but it does shift it; Turcotte may not be as far behind Comtois as I thought on the development curve. Separately, I wonder if that “fair” offer the Rangers made last summer is still on the table, or if Jack’s injury or the GM switch moved it? Does some version of Chytil, Buchnevich, 15 OA and Strome still look awful compared to what we are now steeling ourselves for?

Lebrun says Sabres asking teams for lots of futures: https://www.tsn.ca/radio/ottawa-1200/lebrun-i-m-hearing-that-the-sabres-are-looking-for-a-lot-of-futures-in-return-for-eichel-1.1656366 Says he ranks the bidders as: 1. LA 2. Minnesota 3. Anaheim and to a certain extent Columbus, with three 1st-round picks and no top centres

3 is definitely a lot better than 8 I like the concept of Turcotte. I am not convinced about the player. Comtois is just a year older and already making an NHL impact. No contest for me. The adds could change that.

You know that stuff about the market sure seems to be ringing true with Sam and Jack. Jack is a $50 million investment with questions about his leadership and health. Not everyone is going to step up to the plate. Sam is a blank slate contract with a history of being reasonable and no character or health questions whatsoever. Sounds like half the league is knocking at our door. I know I'm going to be disappointed with Jack's return. I think we might be pleasantly surprised by Sam's

That's part of what I was getting at in the dawning thread: moving those guys essentially closes the book on the tank.

I have been operating under the premise that Jack is being auctioned off with the understanding that the buyer has done their medical homework and expects that he will fully recover. I would suggest that a buyer putting a top 10 pick on the table supports that; they wouldn't do it for damaged goods. But if we are auctioning him off at an obvious "health risk" discount, as @SDS believes, we are playing an extraordinarily dangerous game and Adams needs to be fully accountable for what happens. He does not have to trade him. He can wait to see if his value returns.

Nothing in there but speculation. But @nfreemanneeds to give this reporter a call. "He’s a speedy playmaker..."

Thanks for posting. I've been expecting this point of view and surprised that we haven't seen more of it. We are going to be trading an elite talent for a grab bag of parts. No one will be impressed by the return. It will feel like the O'Reilly trade. For us oldsters, it will feel like the Alex Mogilny trade. The ROR return was even worse than it appeared. Hopefully, this trade skews more to the Mogilny trade over time. But get ready, it's happening. (PS: Comtois is better than you think. He's definitely top 6 and hard to play against. He's good enough that I worry that they won't trade him. He will help.)

He’s trading him. He’s too far down the path to stop. And we will not win the deal.

Is this that darkest moment before the dawn? February 20, 2013 was a significant day for the Buffalo Sabres. On that day, the Sabres fired Lindy Ruff after nearly 15 years, officially drawing to a close the most successful run in franchise history, straddling two eras, the Hasek years, and the post-lockout years. It also officially marked the start of the tank years, the least successful run in franchise history, eight nightmarish years that began with intentional losing and has continued with a revolving door of bad executives, bad draft picks, bad players and bad spirits. Sometime before the end of July, another significant day will dawn. On that day, the last of the tank fruit - Ristolainen, Eichel, Reinhart - will be scrubbed away from the franchise. A handful of young players, unblemished by the stink of the tank will arrive to complement a new coach and the bright-eyed group that finished the season. Our neophyte GM will finish hiring his people and begin to put his stamp on the organization. I don’t expect to be happy with the return of these trades, or with the new hirings, or the results next year. I don’t blame the players who are being discarded. But I am weary. I am beaten. I want to move on. I crave new, something fresh to fire my ambition. I crave hope. The proverb says the definition of stupid is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. This does not feel good, but it at least feels different. And I can’t help but feel that with this off-season, for better or for worse, a page is being turned. And whatever story these new Sabres become, it won’t be the story of the tank. Maybe this story will be a better one. I’m ready.