kas23

It’s from a recent internal email.

Here’s something for you guys to chew on. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) helped fund the development of the Moderna vaccine and was a site in their trial. We are people who generally “believe in science” because it’s what we do. The NIH is mostly based in suburban Maryland, but do have operations in NC and Montana, is only reporting 65% of their employees vaccinated. Montgomery county, where the NIH is based, is a solid Blue county. Here, vaccine acceptance is not a political issue, maybe not even an educational issue. I’m not quite sure why many (35%) are shunning the vaccine.

Drinking early (or late)? Not that I disagree, but geez. I happen to really like Ohio, btw. I lived in Cincinnati for 4 years, loved it. Now, I live in a suburb of DC and my quality of life is about 10 notches lower.

A POHO for the Sabres really doesn’t need to do too much. Their only job would be to serve as a buffer against the negative impulses of the Pegulas. For example, they would need say stuff like this: “let’s think about this a minute to help me understand, Terry. Maybe we don’t want to fire our entire scouting department?” or “it’s just my humble opinion, but maybe we should interview a few people before naming Kevyn GM?” or “Terry, as always, you’re probably right, but shouldn’t we pay ROR’s bonus to maximize our trade return?”

Wallstedt is, by far, the very best name for a goalie. Love it.

Well, considering our roster, then Gallant wouldn’t be the best HC for the Sabres.

For the first part, this is debatable. Again, if we go in insisting we “win” a trade, the trade won’t happen. Maybe that’s good, maybe that’s bad. I certainly don’t know. Plus, keep in mind, there’s a time value of prospects. These 2 players are likely to be top-6 players and are likely to be on the Sabres roster sooner than any 2021 1OA, especially given our lack of a amateur scouting department. That’s of more valuable to Adams and the Pegulas. As for Eichel, I definitely think he’s in a different league than Byfield. But, if he’s dead set on being a jerk, and the severity of his injury is still unknown, then maybe this isn’t such a lopsided trade. Remember, one GM has called him “untradeable”. I also said I would want some sweeteners. But, minor stuff, like a 2nd or a conditional first in 2022.

It doesn’t matter how we value a player. We got market value for ROR, which was clearly a lot less than we expected. I don’t think it was proper value, but that doesn’t matter. It also doesn’t matter what you valued him at either. We got market value, which was his true value at that moment. As fans, do I think we are going to get less than what we believe is a good value for Jack? Absolutely. And this is mostly based on his injury history. What’s the probability that he is damaged goods right now? I think it’s low, but it’s certainly not zero.

A center prospect, plus 2 other decent prospects (ages 19 and 20). All of which will likely contribute on the Sabres roster before this year’s 1OA does. TSN’s Seravalli was the one who first reported the Kings interest. So, if Byfield is off limits, then this is all moot. Cross the Kings of the list and we just lost a great trading partner. However, if this is posturing and it may take more to pry him out, then it’ll take us adding to the trade. I just think that as Sabres fans, we always overvalue our players and suggest potential trades that would never happen in real life.

Probably not the right thread, but the above Kings trade idea may not be so laughable. TSN has already reported that Byfield is a non-starter. I think for a fair trade to occur, but sides need to feel some pain. It’s gotta hurt. 1OA this year has no consensus and likely won’t be a contributor for 2-3 years (and it possible, may never be). We’re trading away a guy who’s elite when healthy, but also has a solid injury history. There’s risk there. And I didn’t even get into the “malcontent” stuff. Coming back are 3 players who are farther along than this year’s 1OA and very likely will be very good NHL players, plus Byfield has 1C potential. If anything, maybe the Kings throw us a 2nd rounder or condition 1st next year.

Definitely did not. I would never give that that credit. GM Beane and HC McDermott have too much self-respect to take any Pegula meddling seriously. They’ll allow stuff like Kim listening in on McDermott’s headset during a live game, but when it comes to anything serious, there’s no way they would allow it. So, how can Beane and McD tell the Pegulas to take a hike? My guess it’s a combination of being 100% professional (Beane) and respectful (McD) about it, and providing evidence of progress. Now, GMTM probably did know what he was doing, but apparently was not professional. JBott? He was professional, but no progress was demonstrated.

This is exactly what they should be doing. If they want to get good value for him, they need to make him look like a god.

It’s an interesting take. It’s been well-documented that Jack has been close to the Pegulas in the past. So, what has changed? It’s also evident that when the Pegulas are done with an employee, they don’t hesitate to remove them. Sometimes abruptly. This isn’t something that can or should be done with Jack though. Would love to know about this dynamic right now.

The strange thing is, if this team wants to get maximal value for him (or any player), don’t you talk them up and blow smoke by saying they are an integral part of the team’s future? I haven’t heard all of these interviews, but have they been doing this? Or, do they keep repeating the “we only want players who want to be Sabres” line? If it’s the later, maybe they already have a trade in place dependent on the outcome of the medical situation.

I’m waiting on pins and needles for this one. Could be make or break for the legitimacy of Kevyn’s tenure. Wait, it was last Monday...carry on.

Correct. We need the Rangers to continue to be in the mix as a decoy. They’ll keep the price floor elevated.

Pegulas just haven’t yet hired a person with gonads as large as McDermott or Beane. Once his happens, I do think they will back off. It’s just that no Sabres FO personnel has given them the impression they know what WTF they are doing. Have they given any fan this impression? And yes, this fault solely rests in the Pegula’s lap.

And they probably wouldn’t be wrong. If I were Adams, would be praying teams are thinking this way.

Question, why did you have to go and get opinions from 3 different neurosurgeons in 3 different cities? Did they all have the same medical opinions?

Completely odd. What’s even more strange is that Jack is talking about this to reporters. For the record, it’s hard to have an opinion on this one. We don’t know the facts. There’s only 2 things we know; Sabres medical staff recommended surgery AND Jack Eichel disagrees with them. I think most of agree Jack should’ve kept his thoughts to himself.

Standard of care for disc herniations is conservative care as most herniated discs will resolve on their own. Now, when will that happen? Very hard to tell. But surgery not what you go to first.

There’s no touchy-feely stuff here. He has a contract. He can honor it, or he can not honor it. He has complete control over what happens to his body though, not his boss. But, there may be consequences to his decision. All decisions have potential consequences. btw, my employees love me. None of them would’ve got to the point of Eichel. But, since he’s aired his laundry in public, he’s now going to face brutal criticism. I’m a physician btw and you would be shocked. Not saying you are wrong though. But, it seems everyone has taken a class from Google Medical School nowadays. I wouldn’t be completely surprised if Jack got a second opinion, who then recommended surgery. Jack goes home and Googles it and reads about some success stories and begins to idealize this option.

Ok, he chooses to have surgery. Goes splendidly and he’s pain free. Everyone is happy (until next season...). In another scenario, surgery goes very bad as Sabres docs said it could. He’s damaged goods, his contract is void, and he loses $50M. Given these scenarios, are the Sabres forcing a medical decision on him as some here are suggesting? Is he in the right to publicly complain of his treatment? Answer is “no” and it’s not because of his “contract” as he spelled out. He has the God given right to do whatever he wants to his body, contract or no contract. There may be consequences though. My personal opinion is he’s being selfish and thinks his medical opinion (he’s the one who said he wants surgery at today’s presser) is better than the Sabres medical establishment.

Ok, he’s surgery goes bad, he loses $50M. His surgery goes well. His contract is void. He becomes a FA, he’ll likely recoup that $50M fairly quickly in the form of a new contract of his choosing. So, he has the choice to have surgery, does he not? Let’s say he doesn’t want to roll those dice. He wants to keep his $50M. Doesn’t want to risk it, even though the man himself says he desires surgery. Does he have a single reason to complain? That’s what I’m saying. If he’s complaining about how the Sabres are denying him surgery, he’s completely within his right to undergo surgery, no? What exactly is he looking for? Permission from Mom and Dad?

There’s no evidence he has received a “variety” of medical opinions. Do you evidence otherwise? All we know is that he has received at least 1, that of the team. In likelihood, he received at least another, but this and beyond this opinion is just speculation.