erickompositör72

I was thinking the same thing. And if he wants to play in the NHL, woe is GMBot to deny him and tempt him to pull a Vesey/Butcher

Can we trade him to a tanking team for anything useful?

Probably for the same reason Eichel's contract was based on the potential he shows, not his slumps

If GMBot trades Reinhart- in my mind, it will be a litmus test in how he judges young players. If he gives him away for more than what I believe his potential is, I will become very skeptical. On the other hand- maybe GMBot and Wowie have decided that the team needs the Eichel-Reinhart-Kane bromance to be completely disrupted, and both 9 and 23 need to go to get 15 to focus... just a crazy theory!

Completely disagree. Not only could it provide carryover momentum, but it will build a trust between Phil, Jack, and the rest of the core, that they have a formula that will work. Jack, as the leader, will be able to sell this formula to any new faces in the locker room with genuine belief. Think about it. We hoped we'd be a bubble team this year. What "good" would that have done us? The "good" it would have done is show growth. Why wouldn't it be just as satisfying to show that growth, albeit with a late start? What if we play the second half of the season like a bubble team? I'll tell you why some people don't like it. Because they started daydreaming about the draft already. It's a fool's errand. If we played as a "bubble" team since October, would you be talking about how we "screwed ourselves for the draft?" No! You'd be talking about what great improvement it is. Why can't you say the same, even though it took a while to set in? Because of your draft wet dreams. Get over them. Some people here seem to actually want either playoffs or 30th place. I think that train of thought is... well... nevermind- nfreeman will call me "obnoxious" if I say :P

Trade Lehner right away! Perfect time to do it!!!!

Yeah, I wanna go forward into the next decade with the basket-case core. Yay! Not sure the relevance of the latter part of your post

Win. No more loser . We're at the breaking-point

I think you are severely mis-remembering My broader point was- he had good seasons as a 19-21yr old on a not good team, and he slumped in the worst Sabres half-season I've ever seen. I hardly hold that against him.

Is it the term or the $ amount that makes you sick? Don't you think we should take his first two seasons into account? (as a 19-21yr old)

Not to beat a decomposing horse, but... I don't buy that he's kept us in any games that a solid NHL starter would not have also kept us in. He flails around and makes saves look more spectacular than they are at times, because it's a wonder a slow-reflexed, 6'5", 240lbs guy can do it. Most starting goaltenders move much more efficiently than he does, making what might be an "impressive" save by Lehner look routine.

Maybe the refs consider everything catchable, if it's NE?

I think Lehner has cost us as many as 8 games this season. 16 points. That doesn't explain every problem. But, just for shits, how would we evaluate things if we were currently at 47pts, 6pts out of the last wildcard?

I have a theory that all of Phil's rhetoric (playing fast, attacking, exciting) had the effect of making the entire team think they no longer had to play smart, disciplined hockey. I think that subconsciously set in before they even got to training camp. I think their PP success last year came from a combination of skill and discipline. This year, the discipline went out the window (hence all the early season shorties we allowed). Not to mention that stupid drop-the-puck-back-5-times-in-the-neutral-zone-before-entering-the-offensive-zone thing.

If Casey did, for some reason, want to stay in Minn for one more year, would that preclude him from Roch this spring, and a possible NHL call-up?

Maybe they just blamed Bylsma, like we did :P

I was postulating that maybe ROR does, indeed, have depression

I watched exactly 1 quarter of college football this past year, and it was Lamar Jackson. After the game, I was thinking, why don't I see his name in any of the QB prospect discussions?

I'm starting to put more merit into the idea that Phil and JBot went into this together, thinking: let's just throw 'em into the deep end and let 'em sink. Maybe Phil has a really convincing breakdown of his theoretical system, and knows his X's & O's, and Botterill is a believer. JBot then got excited about building a team around that philosophy, and wanted to see every player completely exposed, to know what work he has to do. Kind of like an audition year for the whole team. It would make sense, especially if they trust one another as a tandem, and don't feel any of the "win now" pressure. Maybe they got the "OK" to play the long game. It would be fantastic if GMBot really unlocked the secret to NHL success in building through the farm team. If this is phase 1, I think Housley gets a full shot at going through phase 2, which will probably be next season. Maybe Botterill is actually more focused on who is going to replace the Roch call-ups next year, rather than who is going to be the key UFA signing or blockbuster trade.

I don't think it's that. Depressed people are a buzzkill. I can imagine him moping around, feeling sorry for himself, and just taking the air out of the room. Imagine teammates thinking- "man, we're getting outplayed tonight, and on top of that, I have to convince my center not to jump off a cliff afterwards..."

I feel like after this season so far, it's a horrible time to trade him (unless there are Samson believers in other front offices), but a great time to sign him for cheap. I think he could potentially be a top 6 player*, but maybe not. I do think he is much better than this season would indicate. I don't think he will be a complete bust. *Edit: on a contending team

It's because, as I mentioned earlier, GMBot was shopping Reinhart earlier in the season. I didn't want to reveal my source, so some hurled insults at me.

Also, when the puck bounces off Lehner about 3-4 feet away, he doesn't have the quickness/reflexes/instincts to grab it and cover it up, like Ullmark was doing. Instead, Lehner just stays on his knees, as if temporarily paralyzed. He then winds up to make is next move, but by the time he's actually re-oriented, the puck is in the net.

I don't think you are. But then again, I'm one of the obnoxious ones :P

Correct. If it had happened during the game, it would not have been counted as a shot on goal/save