Curt

TOR vs MTL?

Tom Wilson with the 1st goal of the 2021 NHL Playoffs.

My Picks: TOR over MTL in 6 EDM over WPG in 5 PIT over NYI in 6 BOS over WSH in 7 COL over STL in 5 VGK over MIN in 6 CAR over NSH in 6 TB over FLA in 6

I certainly agree with the bolded, and I think that being notably mature is a very desirable quality. What can I saw about the lack of a 2C that hasn’t been said 1,000 times already. Being a 2C is also a very desirable quality! Basically, I think that the Sabres are in a particularly depressing situation, and player with an especially resilient and determined spirit would be a great help in turning this around. You can disagree and say just get talent, we’ll worry about whether they are aholes/lazy/immature/justlooking for a payday/or whatever else later on. But I think that the high standard of conduct needs to be established first.

All things considered? No, I would rather have Jack Eichel. He is too talented and I would never consider him a terrible person, or culture killer or anything. He is like a neutral for me, put into a position where he was expected to be a ++. Cozens is like a ++. I hope that makes sense. True that Eichel sounded more mature last season. I think I’ve said this before, but it shouldn’t be noteworthy when the team captain gives a mature sounding interview. That should be the default. I never said that you can’t win with Eichel or any nonsense like that. You are the one who brought up Eichel. I ardently disagree that the importance of players’ personalities is all BS, as you say.

Disagree to be honest. Not that there is something particularly wrong with Eichel, but he has never come across as an especially mature, mentally resilient guy. From his first year he was prone to frustration and publicly venting it. Compared to Cozens, for example, their personas are night and day. I don’t really want to get too deep into this because it quickly gets judgy and we can’t know everything about these guys. My goal is not to trash anyone.

I think you get rid of a losing culture by assembling the correct mix of players who have a resilient mentality as well as the talent. That and good coaching. If that group of players acquired includes prospects who aren’t quite there yet, and that results in the team being not quite playoff ready, then so be it. If they are the right guys then they are the right guys. I’m trying to put high value on the type of person brought into the organization right now.

Imaging you are Kevyn Adams, how would you handle this? We don’t know for sure if Eichel has actually asked to be traded, but it’s fair to say that he seems upset and just willfully aired dirty laundry in the media. How would deal with this if he has said he wants to stay, even though he kind of threw a fit just now and seems pretty upset? How would you deal with this if he has told you that he is so frustrated that he would rather be traded to another team?

If the forum was a person, they would get sent home from work, not to return for 72 hours and not without a negative Covid test.

You did say that some here were projecting an 80 point season. Hey, I would prefer they be a good team (nay, great team!) too. And I think that playoff contention is a possibility. However, I disagree with the course of action being decided by fan sentiment. That’s not a good compass for decision making. Also, I think if they were to acquire lots of high quality futures (prospects/players who aren’t quite baked yet) in trades, an 80 point season would not be the end of the world. Honestly, this team could go in so many different directions right now, and I’m not one to say there is only one single pathway to success. They can get there different ways. The important thing is to get the right players, be they veterans, young pups, or prospects.

I’m saying that I don’t know what it would take to outbid other teams because I don’t have a very firm grasp on what NHL teams will actually be offering. We don’t have a great understanding of Eichel’s value. Are teams scared off by his attitude? By his neck? By his Sabre stink? But the Rangers have a lot of good pieces and could probably outbid most any if they really wanted to. You want me to just make up a potential offer? Here are a couple. They could trade Lafreniere, Miller, Georgiev/Shesterkin, and two 1sts. They could trade Strome, Buchnevich, Chytil, Georgiev, and a 1st. You want a list of Rangers assets? Here is a rundown. They have a lot of good very young NHL players (Lafreniere, Kakko, Chytil, Kravtsov, Miller, Lindgren) They have a couple good veteran NHLers who aren’t too old (Strome, Buchnevich) They have young goalies (Shesterkin, Georgiev) They have some decent prospects who are a year or two away. They have a full supply of draft picks. A lot of it would depend on what type of assets Sabres want. Do they want NHL players? Do they want all youth/futures?

Yup, that was written. Then the owner fired the GM and the Team President. So who knows now?

I don’t buy this either exactly. You don’t need a true 1C, which I’m assuming you mean a point per game+ top-10 type of C. Cozens, Mitts, Turcotte, Beniers could each develop into 60+ point players, 3/4 with excellent defense.

Outbidding? That means offering more than anyone else. Seriously, how could I answer that without knowing roughly what other offers are out there? It probably would need to include Lafreniere. They have lots of high quality assets. I would not believe that players like Lafreniere or Kakko are “off the table” just because some Rangers fan sites wrote it. Dolan and Drury, and maybe Sather, will decide who is available. (Fox I think is truly untouchable. Their best NHL player and soon to be captain.)

I’m getting this vibe too. I hope that Dolan thinks he finally “fixed” the Knicks, so now it’s time for him move on to “fixing” the Rangers. He hasn’t been super involved in Rangers stuff, until just now it seems, so I’m not sure how many hockey fans realized that this guy is kind off his rocker. It’s absolutely possible that he almost mandates his neophyte GM to outbid everyone else and acquire Eichel. He is that kind of cray cray.

Ducks have some actual good NHL players on their roster who could be part of a win now team.

The first four and TB are ok. Although I worry about Tkachuk. I wish the Ducks and NYR Athletic guys would have participated.

Zegras or Drysdale. In my eyes they definitely have the pieces. That makes no sense really, but ok. Maybe they think Anaheim would be a lot more interested than LA for some reason. Or maybe it’s just an empty head talking.

I wouldn’t want him either but he could just be waived to Rochester or bought out. Only one year at $4M on the contract.

You talking about Samson Reihnhardt?

-No one projected an 80 point season. How could someone make a projection? We don’t have to foggiest idea what the roster will be. I said exactly this in the post you quoted. -I don’t know if they are going to be trying to make true hockey trades or trades for youth. I think either path, or some combination of the two, could lead to great success if properly executed. I will not scorn the moves until I actually see them. -This may be an unpopular thing to say, but I don’t think the team needs to go for an immediate playoff push. They need to follow the path that is best for the team mid-long term. While I don’t think that should be a “tank” because it’s emotionally destructive, I also don’t think it needs to be an immediate playoff push (although that could potentially be successful, depending on the moves that are made). I just don’t think that decisions should be made based on fan frustrations built up over a decade. Decisions need to be made based on an honest evaluation of the roster situation here and now.

We don’t know what the roster will be next season. The 80 points thing was not a prediction. It was a bar for what constitutes a non-soul crushing season.

Who proposed these proposals?

Or your phone was unlocked in your pocket or something and you didn’t even know what was going on. This is dumb. The Sabres have actually problems.

I don’t know man, I press ***** by accident all the time. Also, I don’t think this means anything.