DarthEbriate

He’s more vaccine than man.

So... this is the year I break down and get one of those nice new sweaters? (and retire the black 19 Holzinger? Never!)

Y-wing

Execute Order... Sixty-One. That's right, if all goes according to plan, the Great Eichel Purge will take place in just five more transactions. That's on schedule to be before the season begins. Of course... his trade value is unlikely to be maxi-big before proving his health.

This thread is too strong for blasters credibility. 'Space Group, use your rumors and unverified Twitter handles. Bet the over on the poll. It might be our only chance of stopping them to get over 400 pages. (We'll one day look back at the reward of the Eichel trade being the threads we made along the way.)

^ This is my favorite response. I will add that Samson Reinhart will be fine (in the playoffs). He'll throw a check or two his first shift while everyone else doing the same, then settle into his usual good-vision, park-by-the-net and deflect-a-goal, game. Probably have a game-winning goal, probably lose defensive coverage badly on a goal, but overall be a net positive influence on a good Panthers roster in the opening round. I definitely don't see him folding or backing down come playoff time, just as he was often the only guy to stick up for Eichel when anyone took a run at him (as opposed to say, Casey Nelson). Don't know if his contributions will be enough to get by Tampa in the first round, but it would be enough to get by Toronto.

Karmanos filling out the AHL and ECHL lineups. Not in the Sabres pipeline, but uber-veteran-ECHLers Vaive and Schultz are returning to Cincinnati once more after the COVID-cancelled year. So there'll be a couple experienced folks down there to lead the way.

Absolutely he shows up. He has to pass or fail a physical, so he'll be at camp at least for a couple days. His trade value is nil until he plays and shows himself healthy, so he either gets surgery and LTIRs it, or he passes the physical and returns to the Sabres lineup with the goal of getting his trade value back where it should be. No sane GM would meet GMSheevyn's current demands for Jack's contract and upcoming NMC without seeing if he'll be capable of playing again. And Adams shouldn't lower his trade demands for Eichel. Jack Eichwalker can live out the Tank Sabres dream of the goalies before him: play well and get teleported off this rock.

It could also be argued that season was the last time we had a viable center spine where each player was a) an NHL-caliber center at the time, and b) playing in the right place for their development. 1-ROR, 2-Eichel, 3-Larsson, 4-Legwand. XHCDDB also put an end to the charade of Girgs at center over Angry Larry -- who would turn into a capable 4C the next few seasons when his wrist wasn't mangled.

Like the late '90s Sabres. I like it. That's good hockey. But with Anderson/Dell and a rushed UPL instead of Hasek. Oh. Hmmmm.

It was during a WSH game this season (or the end of 2019-20?) where the camera showed Peca up in the boxes for the Caps and we lamented in-thread, "It'd be nice to have him be a player dev guy in our organization instead of the flim-flammin' Capitals". Well, lament no further! ... at least... lament no further regarding Peca in the organization... Other topics are open to the lamentations of the 'Spacers.

'Lach, you were right about me this. Tell your sister 'Spacers, you were right.

^ Clearly this requires a punishment. How about their most recent 1st round pick must be placed on waivers for any team to claim? That seems just.

It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. In my head canon, GM Adams staged a 10-year coup to become Emperor of the Buffalo Sabres, akin to Senator Palpatine's 10-year plan to go from senator to chancellor to Emperor in Star Wars. Palpatine's first name is Sheev. He's totally a Steve, but creepier. Skeevier, really. So therefore, Sheev/Kevyn = GM Sheevyn. They're playing the same role --- doing what they believe is right and taking the Sabres Republic into the dark times.

The good news if Eichel plays is that we don't need to overpay some scrubs to get to the salary floor. Instead, we can just let him play 1C, get PP points with Olofsson and Dahlin and hopefully stay healthy. He should be motivated to play well and get some other GMs to teleport him off this rock.

So the question is --- does the Pegulas' love of GM Sheevyn allow him sufficient time to do his long-term, slow-burn version of a rebuild --- or do they sour on him as well as he plays his cards as he sees fit, and they listen to the churn/noise from folks like us and national media and just axe him in a year or two anyway? That's what makes this a fascinating space soap opera.

Oh I agree it's likelihood of working is approximately 3,720 to 1. But this is the gonna be fun thread, so I figured I'd give it a shot. 🍺

Ritchie would be good. I'd also offer Cizikas a solid overpay on a 1-year deal with the promise that I'll retain the max 1/2 salary and deal him to a contender in the event we're not going to the playoffs. No NMC, but instead a handshake that I'll try to keep it to top teams. Just say I learned NMCs are bad from Hall last year. In the meantime, he gets to play middle six minutes instead of 4th line, and be looked up to by a young squad of centers.

Assuming someone else already made a bad joke is the Matt Ellis of making Matt Ellis jokes. I'm happy Bales is staying. I figured Girardi was going to remain as the bench D coach, but maybe he wants to be out of the spotlight another year or so and focus on development. Nothing alarming in any of the hires.

5-11, 182? That's not physically imposing enough to be a Prowse. Oh? Just a Prow, you say? Carry on, then. Carry on. Hope he can be a Zach Redmond type and provide Laaksonen some competition for being point on the power play.

She's skipping in a straight line... Skip serpentine! Serpentine skip! Also, it could be a lot of fun to just watch a team of talented youngsters try to outscore everybody 8-7. Will it work? Errrrrr..... But that's not important right now. It could be highly entertaining hockey.

If I'm another GM, my offer is shrinking even further. I mean... the Sabres don't want to win anyway. Why would I send a talented kid like Zegras off to get ruined here? Best keep him and let him play competitive hockey on my squad. Whatever my squad is.

Eichwalker: I don't know. I really thought he'd change his mind. PrinceMattEllis: He's got to follow his own path. No one can choose it for him.

He can buy every drink and appetizer, as he'll be making 16% of the team's salary.

So... the plan is UPL/Anderson in Buffalo, Tokarski/Dell in Rochester, and... Houser/Christopoulos in Cincinnati? This is the plan? This plan makes as much sense as Luke's plan to rescue Han in RotJ. Or any of the prequels. Or Rise of Skywalker. If this is the plan, it's garbage. UPL needs another 50+ starts to hone his game at the appropriate level. That's an entire (un-COVID-broken) season. His last appropriate level was the ECHL. This year, it's 50/50 split AHL with a veteran. He's a good pick. He was the #1-ranked European goalie at the time of his drafting. He has oodles of potential and can become an NHL starter. Don't blow it by rushing him. Sure, maybe he fails anyway, but don't overburden him and increase the risk of failure by bringing him into a loss-heavy dumpster fire where he'll get shelled. Get him to Rochester and keep him there. Get a real goalie here in Buffalo. ... which means including a goalie in the Eichel trade because we let all the goalies go wandering elsewhere before and during UFA. Gahhhhhhh!