DHawerchuk10

You are right on the money, but GMs will consistently fall into the "size trap" until the end of time.

Too bad your entire assertion is complete fiction. What makes you believe there is some master plan to purposely lose on Murray's part that Nolan hasn't "bought into"? We are rebuilding. Rebuilding teams lose, and take time to develop. Those were the expectations, and it was assumed logically we would "compete" for the top two picks. But if you think Tim Murray expected to be guaranteed last place as part of some diabolical plan, you are off in la-la land with a good portion of the fanbase. The fruits of labor from the coaching staff are starting to be seen with the improved play of Risto, Larsson, Foligno, and to some extent Grigorenko. Nolan and company should be praised for this, not lambasted for "not being part of the plan". The poor guy is in a no win situation. If he wins, crackpots want him fired for not following the "plan". If he loses, its proof he can't coach. Ridiculous!

You do realize they play columbus correct?

Well, Edmonton has their 1st rounder. So worst case scenario because Edmonton would get McDavid and another really good player?

2-1 yotes

I'd be calling for Murray's dismissal immediately if he even entertained that for more than a few seconds. Although Strome is a fine player, the separation between him and Eichel, from what I have seen, is substantial in terms of how quickly they could impact the team.

I guess you don't remember Power Stick Hockey Week. "And now on to the Smythe Division....."

You can probably drop those three right now. I know that "officially" they catch Buffalo, but does anybody realistically think that will happen? If Buffalo wins (or losses in CHL language) 4 games the rest of the way, it is nothing short of a miracle.

I saw Eichel play UNH on NESN over the weekend. All I have to say is....Holy Crap, that kid is good! I don't think I have ever seen a player dominate as a freshmen in college hockey to that degree. Kariya was pretty close, and Vanek even had spurts....but Eichel looks like he is already a NHL'er playing against a bunch of pee-wees out there. I saw him waltz through the UNH defense like they weren't even there. A couple weeks ago, I was scared to lose out on McDavid...but that sample of his work made me feel a whole lot better if we lose the lottery.

Wasn't that used for Ray Sheppard? Or was he sold for $1? It was something ridiculous from what I can remember.

Yeah, my head almost exploded when I heard this much was given up. Once I came off the ledge, I could see what Murray is doing (by overhauling the style of play), but just don't agree with how he is going about it. I get aggravated when I hear that Kane is a "legit 1st liner", "an elite player", "a 30 goal scorer", etc (which have all been said either here or other comment sections) as if these are all givens that should taken at face value. Outside of his impressive 30 goal campaign 3 years ago, Kane is none of that currently. "30 goal scorer" implies he's been rattling off 30 goals season after season, when its much more like 15-19 goals. In addition, he wasn't even a first liner on his own team. And we aren't talking about the Blackhawks here, its the freakin Jets. And a guy who scores 30 once is elite?!!!! Wow, how times have changed. Of course this could all change in Buffalo, and I hope it does, I just don't see enough evidence in suggesting that it will. Kane certainly has all the tools to live up to his potential, but I have seen countless of guys come through with the same hype and skill set only to disappoint. I also don't see the logic in pointing out that we gave up only "potential" in acquiring a proven player, only to come back in the next sentence, and rave about Kane's potential. If nothing more, we gave up potential for a different kind of potential. Although I see Kane in very much the same vein as I saw Myers....a guy with an unbelievable tool set who lacks the "it" factor, and praying to God my eyes are just lying to me. To me, there is nothing exciting about this trade (maybe that will change a little when I see more of Bogosian, if he has a physical edge everyone is talking about), other than it shuffled the deck and drained us of a little organizational prospect depth as I see no "provens" or "givens". The real excitement for me comes draft lottery day. That is when the real game changer comes into focus, and even then, its more "potential".

Indeed! I'm just waiting for the improbable 6-7 game win streak with Matt Ellis leading the charge. I toss and turn at night with the thoughts of "with the 3rd pick, Buffalo selects Biggie McProject". "Despite scoring only two goals in the QMJHL, he has NHL ready size....this guys has lots of potential even if he is soft in the corners". "We'll change him!"

I'm not sure what he sees in Kane. I see a younger Chris Stewart quite frankly.

Perhaps he was a victim of his own early success. I would certainly agree with that, however, the majority of folks only raved about him because of what they thought he could progress into...he has instead, regressed. I disagree with everything else you said though. "GMs and analysts don't agree with you". Says who? The rumor mill? I am not sure this matters anyway. GMs and analysts miss all the time. They tend to do what everybody else does and fall in love with size. Myers is like that bad boy in high school that every girl thinks she can change. I guess my opinion doesn't matter a whoot either, outside of complaining making me feel better.

When hype doesn't match performance the result is a very polarizing player. As I have said before, if Myers was 6'1, I highly doubt even the true believers would be singing about "his potential" so much. And therein lies the frustration, in that he doesn't play like a 6'8 defenseman, yet people use this as an argument "Alamo" when all other excuses fail (i.e. "can't teach size", "6'8 guys don't grow on trees"). He's not an imposing force whatsoever, and in fact, he's almost the complete opposite, and gets easily taken off the puck. If he can't impose his will on other players (and there are NO indications he ever will), size is meaningless. When you take size out of the equation, what do you have left with Myers? In my mind, a pretty mediocre NHL defenseman.

Nope, give me Fowler and I will walk away a happy man. I'm not sure what upsets me more about Myers, his average/below average play spotted by excellence, or the legions of apologists who refuse to see that their is nothing more you are ever going to get out of him.

Tell your buddy Zadorov doesn't wear #57. The numbers can be confusing from a distance.

If that were true, even remotely, Buffalo would not be as historically bad as they are right now. By what measure, observational or statistical, makes you think that? I'm not seeing much....he's not falling down all the time, but he's still getting outmuscled by the likes of Deharnais. For his size, that is just flat out inexcusable.

I wouldn't do the trade solely because I think Ennis is a better player.

Yeah, I'm somewhat puzzled why folks think so highly of this guy. Granted, I've only really seen him against the Sabres, but the current write-ups and his stats don't really scream "Go get this guy". I'm with wookie on this one. If I was Murray, I'm not giving up much IF I decide to take a risk on Kane. And that is a big IF based on his immaturity issues.

I wonder who would be coming back the other way?

The comparison is more from the viewpoint that his potential has blinded people of his real production, which is average at best. They are also power forwards who are good in spurts and can play physical, but leave you thirsting for more both from a physical perspective and production. Maybe I'd trade Hodgson for him...but that is pretty much it. Attitude issues are a major red flag, and this team needs none of that going forward, especially with all the other young talent we are about to cultivate.

Evander Kane isn't that appealing either. He scored 30 goals once....big whoop. He's the same player as Chris Stewart with more tread on his tires. Not worth the hoopla he is getting.

What makes that '92-'93 team even stranger was that their supporting cast was pretty darn solid. A young Audette, young May, Presley, Hannan, Wood, Bodger, Carney, Khmylev, Sweeney....not world beaters, but not fringe AHLers either. Its hard to believe we lost seven in a row to end the season that year.

To add to your point, it also depends on how much, we as fans, have invested into that particular player. If you jumped on the Tyler Myers bandwagon from the start, and are a charter member of his fan club, generally speaking, you are going to see him through rose colored glasses thus jading your opinion. I was a charter member of the Thomas Vanek excuse makers club, so I am fully aware of this phenomenon. Oddly enough, when you hear people refuse to recognize glaring faults in a player and defend them to the bitter end, it makes the opposing side dislike that particular player even more.