DHawerchuk10

I keep reading Sprong has some baggage. But in all the write-ups, they never say what the baggage is. Anybody know? Is he a prima donna or did he kill a man?

Out of curiosity.... For anybody who put in for draft tickets next month, has anybody heard back from the Panthers yet? I put in for them in January by filling out that online form and haven't heard a thing yet.

touché.

The frequent and sometimes inappropriate us of the word "hyperbole".

Going to away games has jaded my view. No longer can I view fellow Sabre fans as generally "very knowledgable" without having a lengthy conversation with them. Perhaps I have had just bad luck over the years, but the fans I run into at away games are some of the most obnoxious, unknowledgeable hockey fans I have ever met judging from their behavior towards other fans. Its as if these fans have taken their queue from visiting Leaf fans from years gone by. Unfortunately, I have seen this same attitude bleed into home games. As has been mentioned before, it could be the luck of the draw in terms of where I am seated, but I feel this has happened far too regularly than to be chalked up as bad luck.

Although this probably the minority view, I agree with pretty much everything you said. The arena atmosphere has been deteriorating for many years now. It got better during 05-06, but then fell to pieces at times the following year in my view (although it returned briefly for the '07 playoffs). So although performance certainly has an impact, its not the only factor. Something like this is very hard to articulate, because it is a matter of perception. In my opinion, the arena atmosphere is plagued by a large contingent of fans who haven't necessarily followed the team since they were kids. Again, this is perception as I haven't done a double blind study researching this. I merely have to go back to my high school days for evidence. I was one of the few who would wear their Sabre Jersey to school (heck, I was known as the "Sabres guy" for most of my time there as if wearing a jersey regularly and talking about the team was a novelty). Flash forward a few years, and everybody I went to school with now identifies themselves as a hardcore fan. This is almost an affront to me. Its like the people who espouse science on everything, but they failed every science class they ever took. There is a certain entitlement attitude associated with many Buffalo fans, as if being from Buffalo makes you instantly knowledgeable and better than other teams fans, because "hey, you are from Buffalo, and that is what Buffalo is all about". Unfortunately this knowledge/dedication takes decades to develop no matter where you are from. The passion required to make the arena atmosphere like Winnipeg extends out of these many years of dedication. Call me an elitist, but it appears a large contingent of Sabre fans want to short circuit the process, call themselves hardcore after a couple years, and don't realize what many of us have really invested, and therefore their passion is limited. I have babbled on long enough. But this is an interesting topic of discussion, as during the past year this "feeling" became even more palpable.

I've been critical of Murray, but people are taking his "disappointment" way out of context. It is right and appropriate to say you are disappointed in not drafting first. That is just common sense. Not sure why people equate that to disappointment in Eichel. I didn't hear that at all. I'm sure if Murray had another chance, he would have just given the sterile, canned GM answer.

It is interesting how kids of the original Star Wars (now adults) view the prequel, versus kids of the prequel generation. My nephew loves the prequels a lot more than the originals, which is blasphemy to me. Although, I have to admit, I viewed the prequels favorably for a view years before I couldn't live with lying to myself anymore. The only one really worth watching is Episode 3. I am pretty elitist when it comes to Star Wars, and view it as "my movie". So there is a strong desire to have Abrams placate folks of my generation. I could care less if my kids like it or not. Its all about me this time! There are few things in this world I generally like...Star Wars and Sabres are the big two.

Yeah, totally freakin amazing. Chills were running right down the spine. I felt like I was a kid again.

Were you around in the 90's or lived in Buffalo for a long period of time? If not, that is your explanation for why you "don't get it". People love him because they can identify with his principles, and they'd like to think those principles represent Buffalo. You may not care about that sort of thing, but respect the fact other people do.

I think that is the extreme, but I certainly am skeptical of Murray, and moves like this certainly don't endear him to me even if it was inevitable (as I liked Ted Nolan). With that put aside, a rational opinion of Murray hinges on how you think we made out on the Kane trade, and how "pro Tank" you were. If you liked that deal and were pro-Tank, it is natural why you don't understand the dislike for Murray. If not, what has Murray done that has any value to date? I personally don't care for the Kane trade, and was "Switzerland" with the whole tanking thing (I'd be lying if I said I didn't want a top pick, but I have serious misgivings about the toll it took on the "culture" both from a fan and team perspective. I am downright starting to loathe a certain portion of the fanbase...but that is a whole different topic). Adding the Nolan firing, is just another thing I am not crazy about. I don't think its terribly fair to judge Murray thus far (although I thought the same about Nolan as well), but my skepticism/distrust will only grow if there isn't some appreciable growth on this team next year. I am aware my view is in the extreme minority, but its important to know the reasons why everyone isn't in on the Tim Murray love fest...even if you don't agree with those reasons.

Good work! This is great!

I want him back for no other reason than it will piss off the contingent of Sabre fans I want to strangle right now. :wallbash: The young guys are really starting to play well, and are really one of the reasons why this race to the bottom is even close, along with goaltending. I think Nolan and his staff have to be credited with that to some extent. Personally, I think the bright spots have been so obscured by the overall horrid record and obsession with the draft, that it makes it almost impossible to truly judge Nolan's performance.

I don't think that view is "hippy" at all. It is very sensible. I was one of the outliers when it came to "standardized" testing in that I never really did well on them. I found the way they asked the questions as indirect, and the solution choices were even more confusing (i.e. choice B greater than choice A, but less than choice C). My way of thinking/learning is very direct, and done by experimentation and repetition. Finding patterns is key for me at first, especially when trying to grasp complicated theories. When forced to learn a certain way, I do poorly. I can't imagine what would have become of me with common core.

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".