jahnyc

The defense is weak after McCabe and Risto and some of the young players are not developing (Girgs, Foligno and Ennis) or not at the pace that we would have expected (Reinhart). While there has been some progress, the rebuild by GMTM is very disappointing at this point. I would have expected more with the resources he had available in terms of draft picks and salary cap. Of course, maybe now I have better understanding of GMTM's reaction when he lost out on the first pick overall and the opportunity to select McDavid. McDavid was the building block this team needed after all of the pain of the tank.

Poor drafting in my response. I meant that the process of tanking decimated our level of overall talent, not that GMTM has decimated our talent with his efforts.

For me, it is not whether GMTM won the trade for Kane, but more about was this the best use of assets or where there there other alternatives that would have produced better results. I also think that GMTM has undervalued draft picks in the trades that he has made (e.g., two second round picks for Fasching) and traded away too many of these assets. Acquiring Lehner was fine, but using a first round pick to do it? Were there commensurate free agent options or other trades that could have been made for less value? In his trades, GMTM has used many of the draft picks that had been accumulated in the process of the team tanking over a number of years. Because of the process of tanking, our pipeline of talent and overall talent was completely decimated. I was looking forward to the rebuilding of our talent by using the draft picks that we had accumulated. I thought that was one of the primary reasons that we had hired GMTM (his ability to draft players). I get it that it is too early to tell with many of our recently drafted players, but I am feeling disappointed about where we are currently because I do not see the pipeline of talent that I would have expected at this point.

Seem to be a lot of problems, including the lack of development from many of our young players and, in some cases, regression. Foligno, Girgenson, Reinhart and Ennis have been disappointments. Reinhart is not playing like a #2 overall draft pick. They are young players and things can change, but it is concerning. I also get it that injuries have been a problem, so maybe this is not an entirely fair assessment, particularly with regard to Ennis, but I was expecting more from these players and others, such as Larsson, Fasching and Carrier. I also do not have a lot of confidence in our pipeline of talent. I would have thought that we would have better prospects at this point. I do not see much on defense now, and other than Guhle, is there much in our system? GMTM had a lot of picks to play with and he made some trades, some of which (i.e., Kane) have not worked out. I just don't have a lot of confidence in our rebuild. Maybe we started as such a depleted level of talent we all underestimated the time and work it was going to take to replenish the talent level, but I don't like where we are now.

I have no idea how well Vesey will project to the NHL, but I do think it was wrong to assume that he was some super intelligent, analytical and thoughtful kid just because he went to Harvard. He may have had a thorough decision making process, but his actual decision does not seem particularly well thought out. Even the character of Vesey may be somewhat suspect if you factor in what happened with the Predators and that he spurned his hometown team for one of their biggest rivals.

Sure seems like we were never really in it. If we had a shot, he would have signed before becoming a free agent. I don't think he had any interest in Buffalo. This whole thing was really silly but it will be interesting to see how he does in the NHL.

What Chicago is doing is really sleazy. I have a feeling he ends up in Chicago. If that happens, or if he chooses another team (not the Sabres), fans of the Sabres should feel free to boo him.

If Vesey was really interested in potentially signing with Buffalo, wouldn't he have come to Buffalo to get a better sense of the city, the arena and the facilities? He has the time to do it now since he is making his decision after August 15th. When August 15th arrives and we find out he visiting other cities, that likely will be very bad news.

Sure seemed that he was more animated talking about what it would mean to be a Bruin than the comfortable fit with Buffalo.

I think that some find it a bit unusual and possibly something worse for a young player with no NHL experience trying to receive guarantees as to the line he would play on and power play time to maximize the value of his next contract. Layer in some of the things that were said by the Nashville GM when Vesey opted not to sign, and there are some legitimate concerns, even if he is well within his rights according to the CBA. I understand that this type of situation is not particularly common, but I think Vesey would have been better served to just let his agent do the talking during this period.

Didn't Barnaby say a few weeks ago that he was hearing Chicago for Vesey (or something to that effect)?

A bit presumptuous of him to think that he should be playing on the power play when he has not skated in an NHL game? Must be quite confident in his abilities and where he will fit on an NHL team's roster of forwards. I find the last comment about him thinking about the next contract a bit concerning. Starting to think that he may be too selfish, self-impressed and high-maintenance.

Maybe he still would have trade value if he was a consistent 40 plus goal scorer. Since he is not, the best we can hope for is that he stays out of trouble, gets along with his teammates and plays effectively this season. Seems like this is not too much to ask, but given his past history, one has to wonder. Not sure why GMTM thought things would be different in Buffalo for Kane. The trade with the Jets has turned out to be a real stinker for both teams.

Not much to be excited about in the near term. Surprised that many of the draft picks are relatively small. I thought we were trying to build a line-up with size and speed. Maybe speed is trumping size at this point.

Yes, he has traded away too much for what we have received. The O'Reilly trade looks good. The others not so much. He has traded a staggering number of high (first or second round) draft picks. I believe it was two second round picks for Fasching, the first pick of the second round was part of the O'Reilly trade, a first round pick for Lehner, and a first round pick and a second round pick (Lemieux picked at the top of the second round) in the trade for Kane et. al. I have not been following the Amerks too closely, but it does not seem that we have a lot of young talented players in the AHL ready to contribute in the next few years to the Sabres. I think the picks traded were important to building a pipeline of talent. I also do not buy the argument that the Kane trade has not been a great success for either team so Murray cannot be faulted for that trade. Maybe Murray should have made a better trade for those assets. Clearly it is too early to make any final determinations about any of these moves, but as of now, I think Murray has been too generous in terms of trading away draft picks.

I don't think we should be as focused on who got the better of this trade. Maybe the better question is whether we could have received better value from another team in return for trading Myers, Stafford, Lemieux, Armia and a first round pick.

Grigorenko had to go. He needed a fresh start. Not sure whether it was him, coaching or the way he was handled, but it was not going to work out in Buffalo. The defense still seems pretty weak to me. Trading Zadorov hurts, but maybe there were enough questions about his commitment that necessitated a move.

I know that I am in the minority on this, but I wonder how the young players and draft picks would have developed over time instead of using these assets in the trades that were made. Clearly, some players needed a change, including Stafford and Grigorenko, but I continue to believe that we overpaid in some of our trades, particularly for Lehner. I understand that O'Reilly and Kane are quality players, but it seems that the trading of a significant portion of our assets has left us with a weak defense with few options in free agency. Of course we could make more trades to upgrade the defense, but do we really want to use our remaining assets to do so? The rebuild has been painful, and fans of the Sabres should not be happy about the last few years, but I was willing to be patient for a bit longer.

Happy that he is signed long-term, but not sure if this contract is setting such a great precedent. No trade combined with no real buyout option means he better be as advertised, although if there is a player who seems like low risk given his work ethic and talent, it is O'Reilly. Does this set contract terms in the future for players like Reinhart and Eichel if they produce? Having one player with these contract terms is likely not a problem. Many players with these contract terms probably is.

One additional note, Murray also has acquired some expensive assets (O'Reilly (assuming he re-signs with Buffalo), Bogosian and Kane), and traded another (Myers). I agree that you cannot look at the trades in a vacuum, but cost of players in terms of salary is another consideration. As another poster noted, it comes down to whether Murray used his assets wisely. Should be interesting, although I really do not understand the Lehner trade in terms of trading a first round pick in a strong draft.

Murray has essentially traded six first round picks (players that were first round picks or picks to be made in those rounds) and four second round picks (Lemieux and three second round picks to be made) for an amazing total of ten first/second round picks or players drafted in those rounds that have been traded during his short tenure as GM. I would have thought that most new GMs would have relished the idea of drafting players in the first and second rounds, but that is not the way Murray has operated. Not too sure about the overall value received in exchange for all of these assets. I think he overpaid in the Kane deal and overpaid significantly to acquire Lehner. Short summary which does not include all of the components of the various trades: Fasching: two second round picks. Kane/Bogosian: Myers (first round), Armia (first round), Lemieux (second round), first round pick (2015) Lehner: first round pick (2015) O'Reilly/McGinn: Zadorov (first round), Grigorenko (first round), second round pick (2015)

I suppose that Murray's comments before and immediately after the lottery run the risk of alienating Eichel, particularly in light of the ProHockeyTalk conversation with Eichel and the way they seemed to phrase the questions to Eichel, but Murray will have every opportunity to make Eichel feel like he is wanted and valued. Let us hope that Murray is smart enough to do this before any unnecessary damage is done.

I do not think that Edmonton has any interest in trading McDavid, but I do believe that Murray would trade any and all assets to make it happen. The only thing that would make this even a small possibility would be if McDavid makes it clear (either privately or publicly) that he will not play for the Oilers. In that situation, the Sabres would be be in the best position to consummate a trade with the Oilers using the number two overall pick in the drat and other assets.

Seemed kind of agitated about the whole thing.

Well, this puts the pressure on Murray now. He will not be able to blame the new coach since it will be the one that he chose. Seems like he has had something of a free pass to this point. I have not been impressed with Murray so far and I do not particularly like his personality. How can a GM and coach not communicate at all during a season? That likely is on both of them. Reinhart and either McDavid or Eichel are easy picks, but it will be the other picks that will be a test for him. We will need to see how last year's draft and the next few work out before we really can evaluate him. Not sure about his ability in making trades, but we will see.