jad1

The rape talk. I'll miss that the most.

Ryan O'Reilly @Ryan_OReilly90I'm thrilled to be welcomed into the @BuffaloSabres I've heard nothing but great things and I'm extremely excited to get started! #Sabres 1h

Are you referring to when the Rangers brought in old talent at the cost of young prospects? Cause if that's what you are saying, I don't see it. Kane, O'Reilly, and Lehner will be 24 when the season starts. Bogosian will be 25. Murray has used assets to bring in a core of highly-skilled players who are entering their prime. This isn't a case of spending assets on players on the wrong side of 30.

The Sabres closed last season with a 2-0 loss to the Penguins. The centers of record for them for that game were Grigorenko, Ennis, Larsson, Dalpe, and Hodgson. So, I guess, boo Murray, right? :w00t:

It's obvious that Murray highly prioritized the goaltending position, targeted his guy and got him. Meanwhile, Edmonton has needed a goalie for the last five years and continues to wait for the market to come to them, with a similar set of assets as the Sabres to move. It looks like Edmonton is going to be forced to either overpay for Talbot and Lack, or sign a leftover FA. As a side note, Murray had an up close look at several goalies on the trade and FA market and targeted Lehner. It'll be interesting to see how this turns out for Edmonton and Buffalo.

It would be a great market. There are 25000 hotel rooms within walking distance of the arena,and close to double that on free monorail lines. It's already a sports destination city, filling up on NFL weekends and during events like the final four. A hockey game would be the perfect filler activity between dinner and club outings for guys weekends or conventions. There would be huge corporate support from the convention trade and casinos. Sure most of the tickets would be from out of towners, but that's support that Seattle or KC would never get. Very few fans would travel to KC from California to watch their team play. Those fans will travel to Vegas. Seattle and KC would be bigger risks, because if local interest for the team doesn't materialize, the NHL would have another Phoenix on its hands. In Vegas, the tourist trade can sustain the franchise as local interest builds.

Vegas should be a slam dunk. The place is always flooded with folks from the western US and Canada. They'll sell out every game against western teams, and will be able to charge a premium price for the tickets.

If they're doing this, they're going to need a first class GM with unquestioned authority over player acquisition and development. Good luck finding that with the position being sandwiched between Shanahan and Babcock.

Any fan of Sabres history should realize that a GM/coach doesn't work. The Sabres walked away from a ticking time bomb today. The Leafs just paid top dollar for 5 more years directionless mediocrity.

You think the Leafs organization and fan base has the patience to go through what the Sabres just went through? Led by the highest paid coach in the league?

Toronto is insane to offer him this. Babcock is a great coach, but he would be a novice GM. Toronto is at a critical stage and the team's issues are extremely complex. Forgoing a seasoned GM to guide them through this transitional time could prove to be a massive mistake.

Murray and Babcock worked together in Anaheim. They should have a good enough understanding of one another at this point to determine if they can work together. And not to rehash to much about Nolan, but Murray and Nolan have completely different philosophies about the game. Murray wants to play a puck possession game and relies on analytics. Nolan plays a trap/counter attack game, and relies on hard work and hustle. Babcock and Murray have a similar approach to the game, where as Nolan and Murray do not.

My guess is that the Red Wings don't want this to drag out til July. Basically they're telling him to make up his mind before June.

That's not true. The big hockey markets wanted a shot at top talent in the draft. It has nothing to do with tanking. In fact, the new rules encourage tanking on a wider scale. Instead of one or two teams tanking for the 30th spot, the 7th or 8th worst team will tank to finish 3rd or 4th worst, for an increased chance at the top 3 picks, similar to what the Leafs did this season.

Where do you get the idea that Murray feels he is owed a stage? The general observation on Murray is that he avoids the media.

I guess it was obvious to most that Murray was carrying on two narratives yesterday. One was about the idiocy of the draft lottery (and it is idiotic) and the other was about Eichel, which was unmistakably positive. Won't get into the narrative about the lottery too much, because Murray has consistently gone on record about how much he dislikes it over the last two years. The new twist he added last night was his distaste for being dragged out of his cage to participate in the circus. Again,hard to blame him for this. In the narrative about Eichel, he had high praise for Jack. He said his talent was apparent to anyone who saw him play. He said he's ready to make the leap to the NHL, and he would advise him to make the leap. He compared the sabres depth at center with the Penguins. It was all high praise for Eichel for anyone who took the time to listen. Murray's taken a lot of crap for this rebuild, and he's shone he has the guts to weather the criticism. The guy has laid out his plan and is following it. The Sabres will be greatly improved next season.

If he decides to join that organization because of one guy, he's not the guy you want to coach the Sabres.

It'll be interesting to see if Edmonton becomes more of a destination for FAs and players with no-trade clauses with McDavid in the fold.

Right, because coaches have always had such power in Philadelphia :blink: . Clarke and Holmgren are much bigger control freaks that you imagine Murray to be. If Babcock is looking for more say in the organization, he won't choose Philly.

I'd be surprised if Toronto isn't already desperately offering Kessel and Phaneuf for Edmonton's former #1 picks.

Yes. I believe that IF Murray decides to go after Babcock, Pegula will make him an offer he can't refuse. McDavid OR Eichel will be a key selling point with Babcock, along with the other young talented guys on the team.

Not sure if Edmonton wants the third pick. Their fans would revolt if they didn't get McDavid or Eichel.

So McDavid's career ended tonight. Edmonton is the place #1 picks go to die. The place is a graveyard for talent.

Yeah, on second thought I agree with you. Too many periods of getting out shot 17 to 2 to buy into the idea that this team gave a solid effort night in and night out.

Wheelchair Lebowski?