Crusader1969

thats why I said - it won't happen but I am asking from a Sabres stand-point. IF the other team was willling would you trade all your draft picks for McDavid v Eichel?

just for fun. Wont happen as no GM will ever want to be known as the guy who traded away McDavid But, If Sabres end up with the #2 pick - would you trade all your 2015 picks to move up 1 spot?

I agree as long as the team entering the playoffs on a hot streak have elite talent. At the end of the day, unless you can find a Zetterberg and Datsyuk late in the draft, you need high end talent to win the cup. Since 2004/05, the only other team to win the cup without at LEAST 2 players drafted in top 5 was the 2012 LA Kings. However they did use a guy they drafted 3rd overall to trade for Jeff Carter. Carter was the 11th pick in the loaded 2013 NHL draft. List of winners and players drafted in top 5 2014 Kings 2 2013 Hawks 2 2012 Kings 1 (see above) 2011 Bruins 2 2010 Hawks 3 2009 Pens 5 2008 Wings 0 2007 Ducks 5 2006 Canes 5 I don't care where you get your top end talent but you need to find them. One sure fire way to aquire that level of talent is through the draft and going through a few years of suffering. Sorry you're not entertained by the product, I know watching them and cheering for their opponent sucks but at the end of the day it will be worth it. If you want to be entertained in the mean-time, go watch Erie v Ottawa this afternoon. I can promise you McDavid won't disappoint and I'm sure watching Eichel won't either.

Interesting to see who is heating up: Coming into January PPG: Konecny .88 Sprong .75 Meier .81 Bittner .82 During the Month of January Konecny 11GP 8G 10A 1.64PPG Sprong 11GP 4G 11A 1.36PPG Meier 9GP 7G 9A 1.78PPG Bittner 14GP 6G 10A 1.14PPG Debrusk (1.03prior and 1.00during)and Svechnikov (1.33v1.08) stayed consistent Boesser struggled .70PPG for January vs 1.38 prior

Recap from Saturday Jan 31 Players who may be of interest to the Sabres with later 1st round picks Travis Konecny C Ottawa 1G 3A Daniel Sprong RW Charlottetown no game Timo Meier RW Halifax 1 assist Yevgeni Svechnikov LW Cape Breton no game Jake Debrusk LW Swift Current 0 points Paul Bittner C Portland 0G 3A Brock Boeser C Waterloo 0 points

Sorry, meant if Benning is smart enough to trade for prospects and futures.

side note - Dergachyov had 1G and 2A today in 3-0 win for SKA

you mean by having a GM that will be smart enough to trade away his vets for prospects and draft picks? i think that may work but I think the Sabres would be 3years ahead still.

there their shortcoming is that they don't have the elite talent that it takes to win the cup. their problem is that no one on their current roster is worth another team trading said talent to them. Stuck in the middle - no mans land - a fate worst than death. but dont worry about their fans - they probably have the talent to play .550 hockey and make the playoffs once every two or three years and maybe just maybe they can spoil their fans by winning a round at some point.

Recap from Friday Jan 30 Players who may be of interest to the Sabres with later 1st round picks Travis Konecny C Ottawa 2 assists Daniel Sprong RW Charlottetown 2 goals Timo Meier RW Halifax 1 assist Yevgeni Svechnikov LW Cape Breton 0 points Jake Debrusk LW Swift Current 2G 1A Paul Bittner C Portland 1 assist Brock Boeser C Waterloo 0 points

Canucks are stuck in no-mans land right in the middle of the NHL standings. is there anyone who wouldn't agree Sabres are closer?

60 points till Sabres clinch Eichel. with 32 games remaining could they take care of 45 themselves? that would mean they go 10-21-1. Could they do 50 (7-25)? If miracle of the Sabres playing .500 hockey (16-16) happens the Oilers would then have to go 14-19 to finish ahead of the Sabres Even if Oilers keep up their season pace of .350 hockey and win just 12 out of their last 33. Sabres would then have to go better than 14-16 to finish ahead of them, If you are worried about the Coyotes - if the Sabres finish strong with a record of 10-22 the Yotes would could have to be worse than 6-28 to pass them. Bottom line - we are getting seriously close to being able to buy a Sabres #9 jersey and no not a Derek Roy (Though I would consider buying an Oilers #8 as well for helping turn that team around) but there is still work to do. Keep the foot on the pedal and lets get the losing streak to 18 or 20.

article on Brycen Martin that may be of interest. Future Considerations scout also said that he has really stepped up his game since being traded. http://www.thestarphoenix.com/sports/hockey/blades-hockey/Martin+much+happier+Saskatoon/10773120/story.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

inferring that the Sabres have "timed" the tank to perfection.

You still arent' getting elite talent back for guys like Vanek, Pommer, Gaustad and everyone else. I will stand by my statement I made the other day - I would trade all those "cancerous" players for Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel. I Just came back from lunch after listening to Sportsnet Hockey Central here in Toronto. They had a 5 minute segment on the Sabres and the 3 commentators agreed that in a couple of years a line-up that featured Girgensons, Reinhart and McDavid / Eichel down the middle will be the envy of every other team in the league. They also spoke about about how timing is everything when it comes to the draft. How different the Oilers would have been if they finished last the year Stamkos and Toews instead of getting RNH.

He still plays for the Sabres? Haven`t noticed him in ages

Do you mean the orgainization as a whole or do you mean the current Sabres line-up? If you mean the organization as a whole I will have to repectfully disagree - once Miller was run over and not one player had an ounce of care - that team was never ever ever going to win a cup. The Sabres also didn`t have the top prospect pool in the entire league as they do now.

9th place when? next year? If you are talking next year I would say im still expecting a bottom 10 team and I have absolutely no problem with that. I also don't want to totally dismiss the possibility for challenging for the Play-offs if Murray is to pick up a few cap-casualities in the off-season but I am not banking on it. I'm looking into the future 3 or 4 years from now when yes we are probably competing with the Isles and the Oilers for the Cup.

If you have access to TSN they may still have some some of Russia's WJC games OnDemand. I think I PVR'd a couple so if I can find some time I may go back and watch him a bit closer. I notice they have him listed as a centre on most draft boards but Im pretty sure he played LW with Russia and he is listed as LW on SKA1946 in the MHL.

I found this but not sure its 100% official There is a private agreement in place between the NHL and the CHL that governs when a player coming from the CHL can play in the AHL. A player from the CHL has to either turn 20 by December 31st of the season (ie a player born in 1987 can start playing in the 2007-08 season, a player born in 1988 can start playing in the 2008-09 season etc.) OR have completed 4 seasons of junior eligibility. This agreement also covers European players if they are drafted out of the CHL (Examples would be players like Petr Vrana and Ivan Vishnevskiy). Also - CHL players are eligible to play in the AHL once their junior season is over (either by virtue of their junior team not making the playoffs or being eliminated from the playoffs) even if they don't yet meet the age or eligibility criteria listed above.

I could be wrong but Samson will have completed 4 full seasons in the CHL. Will that not allow him to play in the AHL next year if needed? Im still anticipating he will be on the Sabres roster but just in case.

how different things are for people. Im an "old" hockey fan and the Tank has completley renewed my enthusiasm for this team. The year after year of being stuck in the middle was was was "turning me off". Now I have a chance to be excitied about the future for my team. I watch the NHL all-star game where our representative just turned 21 years old. I watch the 14/15 WJC and see a Sabres prospect be the #1 centre leading Canada to Gold - a year after I see a Sabres prospect score the winning goal for Finland leading them to Gold. I look at the OHL Goal leaders and see 2 Sabres in the top 10. I look at the roster of the Amerks and see Grigerenko and Armia scoring at almost a point per game. All the above is exciting but the "coupe de grace" is still to come - a top pick in the 2015 NHL draft. The Tank is over come the NHL trade deadline in 4 1/2 weeks. Just don't expect things to turn around on a dime. This team is historically bad. It will take time for ALL of the prospects to be ready to contribute. I will guarantee you this - you may be turned off and may even stop following the Sabres but once you see a team with Rienhart and one of McDavid, Eichel or Marner you will be back and your disgust will be forgotten.

Also NA Central Scouting came out today. 12 is Bittner - much higher than I have seen him before on any list 10 Konecy - a bit surprising since he struggled until recent 16 Debrusk - again higher than I have seen on any list 20 Svechnikov 22 Sprong 31 Vande Sompel almost missed Meier at 33 - I think he would be a steal if he drops into the 20s. Guess Murray will have to figure out how much of his scoring is attributed to playin with Ehlers. My dark horse is Alexander Dergachyov who NA Central Scouting has at 35 and McKeen has at 34. I thought his WJC would have had more of an impact on his ranking. his write-up: A huge unit at around six-foot-four and two hundred pounds, Dergachyov brings a high level of skill and intelligence to the table. Plays with a lot of grittiness and is able to create scoring chances through bullying his way to the net and then exhibiting his fine puckhandling skills. Possesses a set of soft hands and a keen awareness of teammates' positions; although an intimidating sniper in nature, Dergachyov has proven himself to be a formidable and creative playmaker. All-in-all, a sizey power forward that has all of the technical skills to be successful in his role as a scorer, and versatile in the lineup as a gritty grinder

The guys i'm watching all fall in the area Sabres could be drafting if the Blues and/or Isles go out in the first round. 18. Travis Konecny, RC, Ottawa (OHL) 19. Evgeny Svechnikov, RW, Cape Breton (QMJHL) 20. Daniel Sprong, RW, Charlottetown (QMJHL) 29. Jake DeBrusk, LW, Swift Current (WHL) 31. Mitchell Vande Sompel, LD, Oshawa (OHL)

new rankings out today: http://www.mckeenshockey.com/prospect-editorials/youngblood-mid-season-2015-nhl-draft-ranking/ Youngblood does a great job covering the OHL but may have a slight bias towards players he has seen more often than players in other leagues.