Thorny

The place has become SO overwhelming “fall in line with the plan or you aren’t a true fan” positive that even the smallest critical take sticks out, like the singular drink to the non-drinker. It’s why we get takes like that, when it’s by FAR the most optimistic (deservedly so) its been in a while

This is the exact policing that is severely cutting down my enjoyment here: an *overwhelmingly* positive board that has certain members actively losing their minds at even the sniff of the suggestion of concern you have it ass backwards. Respectfully

We aren’t in a “fantastic” position if we miss the playoffs lol. Maybe you weren’t referring to this coming season, though I thought I was the guy who said that

Get rid of the pond hockey, shinny-esque 3 v 3 OT that bears as little resemblance to actual hockey as the shootout: I don’t need 5 minutes of keepaway. PP merchants would have even more value

Literally the same thing lol just depends what you are used to

Love long movies anyways OPPENHEIMER was great. My third ranked film of the year and 5th ranked when considering the last 3 years

Don’t really like being condescended to. If you didn’t mean it that way it’s fine but I’m still going to react to the actual words

You lost me at “Well,” and what you mentioned you are agreeing to isn’t what I said Yes, I understand all GMs have evaluations in mind, thanks

I think how they’ve dealt with the Quinn situation is probably illuminating - Adams isn’t going to break his evals, I keep coming back to it. Quinn being hurt doesn’t change what any team would need to give up to get any particular asset on the Sabres, be it player or pick. If Quinn’s spot needs to be filled, it will be filled internally with a young player if Adams terms when looking outside the organization aren’t met to a T. If UPL is bad, it isn’t going to change the fact Adams want to evolve the team almost purely through what we have in house

Sometimes acquisitions don’t work out: why try welcome to Kevyn Adams sabrespace

I think Bennett was in play too

@Sabres Fan in NSim glad you’re with me, here at the end of all things

Whoever can get the most “eye rolls” for daring question it, wins

#2 overalls from 00-20 Dany Heatley* Jason Spezza Kari Lehtonen Eric Staal* Evgeni Malkin* Bobby Ryan Jordan Staal James Van Riemsdyk Drew Doughty* Victor Hedman* Tyler Seguin Gabriel Landeskog Ryan Murray Aleksander Barkov Sam Reinhart Jack Eichel Patrik Laine Nolan Patrick Andrei Svechnikov Kaapo Kakko Quinton Byfield ...I’d say the 5 guys with a * are something truly special whereas the rest are varying levels of good with which Reino fits right in on a reasonable spectrum

People should really go look at the history of #2 overall picks. Reinhart fits right in

The “IT IS GOING to be Levi and UPL!!!!!!!!” crowd has been oddly obsessed with continually hammering home the idea that things ASSUREDLY won’t shake out any other way. It’s a little funny. It’s like, SUPER SUPER important to them that people know it won’t be different No one can be disappointed in it unfolding any other way, because it’s predetermined, ok? Don’t argue with THE PLAN

Totally agree on the first bits IMO he should necessarily fail twice before getting canned. Waiting until year 4 to expect any kind of results certainty shrinks the amount of runway he has to deliver at the end, but he shouldn’t be fired if we miss the playoffs this year. Coming back the next season and again missing, like ya, you’ve missed 5 straight years and contributed 36% of our historic 14 year straight playoff drought, that’s not job well done, why should he be the GM. Missing this year just gets him on the hot seat for the following, again imo. Speaking outside my own viewpoint, zero chance he gets canned after this year if we miss.

I don’t really see a meaningful distinction between the two, in this case. Valuations includes his analysis of his prospects

The funniest thing is that we are all willing to spot the Sabres the gamble that Levi is great right out of the gate. I believe. Everybody seems to think he’s the next League great. The amount of expectation on the kid is astounding though, it just is. But even granting him that, it’s also pretty true that your backup still plays a lot, REGARDLESS, like it’s still an important position to address when in-house options would suggest it’s a FURTHER risk on top of Levi to expect UPL or Comrie to amount to being a good backup. The fact an upgrade there would provide insurance to Levi being unproven is the icing on the cake and seems to make it an obvious area for supplement - with the cap space we have I just don’t understand the extra risk ie willingly, seemingly making their own degree of difficulty harder. but in the end I agree with dudacek, not just his post above but his point that it doesn’t matter if Adams HATES the idea of setting a hard line expectation, it doesn’t even matter what he hates, he could hate winning itself but if the trajectory of improving continues you literally can’t argue it The trajectory we’ve seen. You could make a limp one that we could have improved more but like, given whet we’ve seen for over a decade... I mean really?

Again, this is sort of my point. If Kevyn *already* had a predisposition to “doing what he’s been doing”, the more the market gets inflated by teams looking to make something happen, the LESS likely KA finds that odd move that meets his exact value requirements, no?

Semantics. Not wanting them enough is functionally the same as not wanting them. Of COURSE he’s in on things, are you speaking to the board at large, or me? I’ve said countless times it’s not that he’s not interested, or doesn’t try, it’s that he doesn’t break on his valuations. That’s kinda what YOU are saying, no? It’s still a choice. If that unfolds, he couldn’t make anything happen *by choice*, because he wouldn’t break his terms. His chosen terms.

I’d wager that the more we see the Ottawas the Red Wings of the division employ “go for it, win now” strategies ie more splashy/significant additions from the outside, the *more* we adhere to the draft and dev strategy and the more we actively avoid other options. Ie the market is even more served/cornered by those teams leaving KA no option in his mind than to retreat further into his chosen pathway Ie it’ll always be an anti-arms race with Kevyn. The more teams “beef up” the more inclined he’d be to stand pat

And Malkin has lined up as the Pens 2C for a couple decades. Malkin a 2C? poor argument is poor

Really like both

Love it - we’ll either be good, or if we aren’t we couldn’t have done anything about it anyway. One day this will be every thread. Plan is the plan and what happens is the plan and there’s no sense debating anything cause we know the plan Yes. There are no options. Anything to the contrary is simply, as you say, whining. I think that’s the board’s big trick of the last year- convincing everyone that if you question one iota of anything you are simply, again, to use your words, crying promo was on my ass for pointing out a single solitary negative play in a *prospects game*. Even then, any comment that wasn’t simply shining had to be pointed out, and squashed for fear of breaking trend. Not everyone will agree, but I do honestly feel the temperament of the board is one that suggests a “buy in, or get out” attitude. Even as a (I guess I’m a vet, now?) long time poster, I’m finding it’s becoming a grating squeeze where there’s pressure at the seams to fall in line. That’s the vibe