kas23

Who does Boston have on their roster or system that we'd want?

I have a conspiracy theory, which may just have some substance. The reports a Russian named Antipin was coming here surfaced March 14th. We end up firing not only our coach, but also GM. Strangely, this doesn't faze him at all - still says he's signing with the Sabres. We also heard he was considering the Pens, but no, he's still signing with the team with no HC instead of the SC contender. JBot was hired and comes out and says plans haven't changed in regards to Antipin signing Sabres. Then we hear rumblings that Pegs had contacted JBot while GMTM was still employed, at some point at the end of the season. Just what if JBot was the person who oringally recruited Antipin, but not for Pens, but the Sabres? This would mean JBot would've had a gentleman's agreement with Pegs before March 14th. As well as GMTM being dead man walking before March 14th as well.

I can see why he'd turn down the Pens. He can only sign for 1 year, so he'll need as much ice time as possible to prove himself. That wouldn't happen playing for the Pens or any other playoff contender.

No doubt. His "jail" could've been guilt. I think the is the Buffalo Inferiority Complex rearing its ugly head. In the end, I doubt his sense of "jail" had anything to do with the city or the franchise, but more to do with the situation.

But he wasn't trapped. He had the financial means to easily walk away. As another poster pointed out, he could've asked for his release, had his agent seek a trade, or just dissolve his contract and walk away.

Someone should get Eichel on the phone and him if this dude's for real.

Being miserable at work, regardless the "large and big contract", does not equate to being in jail. No way, no shape, no how. Ridiculous. Plus, show me someone who's never been miserable at a job during their career and I'll introduce you to the Easter Bunny.

That's a strawman argument. He never said that. I would hope you know that.

I'm pretty sure he's trying to make the point that great defensemen can come in any size and not to automatically dismiss a player based on size.

Great. I hope 0% of this actually went into the decision to hire him. This was specifically brought up. I think during the GR interview.

True. Contracts are null and void only if they enter coaching/GMing. And even if they are hired to coach/GM for less money than the Buffalo contracts, Pegula needs to make up the difference. Most of them choose TV for obvious reasons.

Blahterrill

Ok. Pens still alive. Still no hire. If not, I would move on.

Well, there's Koch's postulates, but over the years they have taken many hits. For example, a pathogen may not cause the same disease in 2 different hosts, or maybe just in 1 host and not the other. The pathogen is still believed to cause disease though. The framework they are built around still a good exercise in scientific thinking. I think if anyone's watching hockey tonight, they are most interested in the Pens/Caps game, but not for its playoff implications.

Well, I have to admit, I work in the pseudoscience called medicine. I'm a physician-scientist at very large research hospital located in Bethesda, MD . There's no such thing as "theories". At my workplace, it's show me the evidence or we just don't know (which is mostly the case when it comes to the human body). And every time I saw an experiment won't/can't show anything or complication X can't happen in disease Y, it does. Like clockwork.

Don't remember. True, the Higgs Boson has theorized to exist from the 60's, but wasn't shown to exist until 2012. But, I'm not big on theories, but more interested on what the data shows But as a scientist, or from a scientific point of view, how can you say ghosts don't exist? All you can say if there is no evidence that supports the existence of ghosts. As for the GM search, I really like Housley as a pick and think Botterill should be spelled Blahtterill.

Trust me. Been there, done that. Horrible. Rejecting the null is hard enough. It reminds of this article I read that quoted a CERN particle physicist who was claiming particle physics proves ghosts can't exist. Geez, all the crap he current studies was believed not to exist 20-30 years ago.

True. But if you trade a pick away, you immediately guarantee there will be no future for that would've been pick. I know, the draft is a crapshoot, but 100% of people who don't buy a lottery ticket lose. These young, but established, players you want come at a hefty price. They've already burned through many RFA years and believe or not, their clock is ticking too. What happens in 5 years when they are either too expensive to keep or their skills have peaked? Who replaces them? Or are we going to "rebuild" again. While GMTM was here, he traded away 2 1st rounder and about 5 2nd rounders. It would be irresponsible to trade another away, especially given how high it is. That would be the definition of mortgaging the future. And for what? Just so we can say we made the playoffs?

Expect structure, communication, discipline, and character. Order doesn't matter.

It's extremely hard to prove something doesn't exist. Heck, it's even hard to prove something period.

It's a team game. Your best player doesn't have to be doing these things, but someone has to. It takes a collection of players where the sum is greater than its parts.

This is a great post. It reflects what we've been saying about the Sabres for the past 8 years. In reality, we have no idea when we'll actually be competing for a cup and I don't even consider making the playoffs "competing for the cup" as many teams make the playoffs. Until we become the Pens, Nashville, Caps, etc., I don't want to be mortgaging the future. Draft the player and develop him.

But that's exactly what I find wrong with this situation. Pegs is looking past those "who can build a team and organization" and favoring those who show communication, structure, character, etc. I'm not making this up. This is exactly what he said he would be looking for in his next GM. Finding the person who would the best to build a competitive team was not a criteria he publicly voiced. Why do I like Fenton over Botterill? To start, he has over double the amount of experience as an AGM than Botterill. He hasn't helped build a team by drafting a can't miss generational player, but by continuously stacking his system with talent. And he didn't have to Tank to do it. He isn't first mentioned as a cap person. Whenever we hear about Botterill, he sounds more like an executive rather than a team builder. I couldn't care less if he got an MBA from University of Michigan. Now, you tell me why you think Botterill is more qualified than Fenton. As a manager/supervisor/owner/CEO, you better be able to navigate diverse personalities, good or bad, or you will fail. It's that simple.

I'm doubtful, but I really hope Pegs knows what he is doing with this hire. Maybe we don't know much about him, but Botterill seems like a safety choice. And I really hope Fenton didn't get the job based on more than just his "abrasive" personality. Seriously, isn't Pegs able to deal with anybody but yes men?

They may very well get the axe post-draft too. If I was them, I'd be very concerned.