3putt

The other thing to consider is that in a deep draft, everyone improves and the opportunity to close the talent gap with the top teams decreases. Getting the very best players in such a year becomes that much more important imho.

Not if they are Stafford Hodson Stewart prototypes.

Word.

Anyone not named McDavid or Eichel. Let the arguments begin

Interesting stat...at the start of play Ekblad is tied in scoring with.....Nate MacKinnon That is a step up from Mezzaros

I do but had to see what depths you would plummet.

LMFAO

Call me crazy Because he can.

Hmmh I think we should give him some more time. Just a hunch...

But Daszyuk might be the most under rated player in the league by fans.

Trottier is sporting some military grade hearing aids. I didn't know he suffered.

Is there a rule requiri g that we wear the turdburger more than once a year?

(Standing) Bravo!

No worries. I don't define my self worth by the wins or losses of the teams I follow. I am however discriminating in what I choose to consume whether it is sustenance or entertainment. You may wish to think this team is more talented than Tampa or LA so be it. But as comprised today would you be confident that the Sabres could take 4 of 7 in a 12 day span? I am not. They are not talented enough. We can remedy that with at least one franchise player from the very top of this coming draft. The idea that we can buy that type of player in fa or acquire one through trade ignores the reality of the cap and its limitations. One can believe anything they wish, but that doesn't necessarily make that belief a fact. Only a a tenet of the one who believes it n

Kitchner v Sarnia on NHL network. An opportunity to see Bailey.

Oh I am willing to give the guy some credit, he is single-handedly derailing the tank and has been other worldly the last 6 weeks or so. I think the pressure of starting 50-60 games a year is a bit different than spelling the starter 10-15 times a year. I think the back up gets the benefit of a team realizing the starter is not in there and they need to tighten things up. That said he has been great this year. I am one of the few who believe that goaltending is the easiest thing to find via trade or FA. Also it is the last thing needed in a rebuild. Put your O and D together and it will determine the level of goaltender you need. Crawford and Niemi won Cups with the hawks and they are good but not all world tenders. Also I think the praise is a recent phenomenon, in October it was Neuvirth's team and Enroth sucking wind. Funny how things change so quickly.

I am unabashedly pro tank to the point that I think they should run a contest on WGR where a random caller gets to start in goal that night. We shed ourselves of the aging core and kept pieces to ice a team. Those pieces, i.e. Myers, Ennis, Stafford Enroth etc., to me are expendable for a reasonable price. I think that rebuilding must be approached with the same zeal as "going for it." Imagine if the situation was the team was a solid top 5 team with a few surprise injuries, but available rentals to overfill the void. This board would be on fire if the response was "we think we can get past the first round and really value our picks prospects." Everyone would be demanding they go all in because you never know when you might be in such a good position again. This draft is similar. After that business as usual.

I qualified his "consistency" because he just played his 100th game. 4 years of spot duty is a small sample size to determine he is one of the most consistent goalies in the league.

Thank you but I still have faith. When the calendar flips and the pressure ratchets, I believe we will come back to our norm. Let's not forget Mezzaros is still on this roster.

Fixed.

I think GMTM already has. I fail to see what he might be able to do absent out right releasing players to alter the teams fortunes. Trades seem to be tougher this year or he is overplaying his hand. Enroth has been on fire but I don't think any of the other teams GM's see this as anything but an aberration. I do not want to deal the kids. They will win at home where they can get match up advantages to avoid the shut down lines facing the GEM line. On the road the GEM line will face the top checking line. I believe against the better opponents they will lose. That formula has fair to middling written all over it. Need to keep the faith that they will come back down to earth.

Two different points here. I will not speak for Crusader, but I watch hockey because it is a truly wonderful game requiring skill, stamina, creativity and physical exertion at high levels. The fluidity and drama of a well played game is better than any other sport. I get irked by this ridiculous illusion that this team is winning because it has the requisite skill. It doesn't. Not today. The team was positioned to correct that by maximizing its draft position. The current roster has maybe 6 -7 pieces of what it will look like in 3 years. Creating a winning culture for guys like Mitchell Flynn Benoit Weber Foligno is ridiculous. If the true intent of this season was to ice the best product possible, then we would have more current Amerks in the lineup and a different crew of new FA's. Ones who can score. But the admitted purpose of the season from management to even the coach was to rebuild. But until you finish the tear down (jettisoning Foligno, Weber, Stewart et al), procure the new lumber (MCEichel and others) you shouldn't be building anything. A rare set of circumstances presents itself this year in the form of a loaded hand for a very deep draft with two or three franchise (notice I did not say generational) players at the top and strong compliments through the top 10. In light of these circumstances and the structure of the current roster, I fully support the effort to maximize the chances of landing one of those two top players, And before you respond that we don't need them, save it. I have seen both play in person on numerous occasions and they are worth doing what it takes to acquire them. Making a playoff run to exit in the first round or worse, just barely missing them would be negligence of the highest order. What i always see a waste of ink and paper serving no general purpose.

They are not winning anything. They are failing miserably in their rebuilding effort. They are being a stereotypicalBuffalo team. Close but no brass ring.

For the same reason Johnny Football is starting this week. The Browns (and the Bills) deceived themselves into believing a career journeyman suddenly found his groove. They are career journeyman for a reason. When it matters, i.e. moving from pretenders to contenders, they wilt. I don't care what the return is, cut him outright if need be, but don't let the aberration derail the tank. We are succesful at home with the last change. On the road, when the opponent can match up with Ennis Moulson Girgs, we are offensively anemic. We are not good. But some will desire to believe that we are.

Enroth is in a contract year, nothing more. He is who we thought and know he is. Nobody is ringing TM's phone off the hook because they know it too. This is an aberration but it is also a dangerous illusion. Move him at his peak. Jmho.