JoeSchmoe

Lafreniere too.

After being fully into watching the world juniors this year, having both Cozens and Zegras would be a nice core for the future.

Who would do Zegras and a non lottery protected 1st for Eichel?

Sorry... I meant that without Eichel and Sam (and goaltending), we'd surely be looking at last place in 2022 which is the Wright draft... Then the same team with rookie Wright would still suck and set us up for 2023.

Man... If only there was a guarantee of Hughes this year and Bedard/Michkov next year.

I still would like to know why the team wouldn't let him get the surgery if it means hes back in time for the season as Jack says he would be.

He said he'd be back at the start of the season.

I don't get why the team would not want him to get the surgery? Is it going to cost too much with boat payments coming up?

Remember that time when Darcy Regier traded Paul Gaustad for a 1st round pick?

Huh? My buddy scored more goals than me on our beer league team, but he's still not going pro. Think about how many high draft picks he gave away. That was our future he flushed down the toilet for a quick fix. We know how it worked out. Loading up on veterans will only get so far until you run out of cap space.

Everything Murray did to move us one step forward, put us three steps back in future years. In the cap era, you need a constant supply of good cheap youngsters each year. Shipping out all those picks and prospects was what made the tank as bad a plan as it has been.

Is this what looking to get traded looks like? https://www.nhl.com/news/sabres-captain-jack-eichel-sends-flowers-to-nurses-in-buffalo/c-324421324?tid=281396148

Since March 29, when Granato turned the team around, he's 3rd on the team in scoring, playing under 15min per game.

Who said he's going anywhere?

How do these trade speculators, including the big names sleep at night given all the BS they're constantly shelling out. They know nothing, but are just looking for cheap clicks and views.

That's augmenting. What struggling team has turned themselves into a contender by trading their young up and comers and high draft picks for veterans?

Augment yes, or trade away their young talent and draft picks, no.

Start with the draft picks. Two firsts, and two seconds out the door for veterans that cost $$$$$$. You need a constant influx of good cheap players to be good long term. There isnt a single example in the league of a team that is a perennial contender that does so by giving away their picks.

I had a lot of fun watching the games since Granato took over Hopefully he's back. I know i might be a minority on this but I'm very excited for next year.

That season we mortgaged our future by depleting our stock of picks and prospects to bring in non-sustainable veteren contracts only to miss the playoffs by a mile anyways. We're only starting to recover now for that horrible asset management.

He gets better and better all the time. Seeing the ice comes with minutes played... Something hes just starting to get consistently under DG.

This type of thinking is precisely why we still suck all these years after the tank. Aspland and Thompson are good hockey players that still haven't hit their ceilings. And most of all, they're cheap....way cheaper than any vets a team would be willing to trade away that have already hit their ceilings and are on the decline.

LA, Pitt, Chi, Wash, TB, etc, etc are all home grown cores of elite talent. In all cases but Wash, they were winning cups based around these cores too. In Wash's and TB's case, their core was still home grown and playing under team friendly contracts keeping them as a cup contender year after year. The veteran's they brought in did not win the cups for these teams.

I know you have a bunch of likes on this, but i dont think I agree with it. Every cup winner is largely made up with players that are/were put into roles beyond their expectation... And in the end they rise to the challenge and succeed. I think that's what we're seeing with the ATM line. In some cases, those kids that exceed expectations eventually become veterans and form the core of their teams. A cup winning team is NEVER made through free agency or through a wiley GM trading his way to the top, which is what it sounds like you and many others are looking for by bringing in "support". Also, on average... Home grown talent can typically be locked up for terms that are more friendly than what it would take to get those players by competing for them on the open market. So, i think we need to continue to give our young talent every chance to succeed time and time again, until we finally hit it right. At the same time, we need to be patient by accumulating and developing as many picks as we can until we build our cup winning core.

He should be on a wing next year protected by one or more defensively responsible centermen. 2019-20 Eichel was good if not very good defensively... Maybe him?