PerreaultForever

the key word is "interesting". That could mean anything. Could be Kane, could be Husso, could be ? What exactly would be "something interesting" ? You really seem to love KA as GM. Why I don't know, but it's clear you are all in on him 100%. To me at this point he still needs to prove himself. Deconstruction was not the hard part. At this point for me he's no different than the others. You called him the "young GM" earlier which made me laugh as the implication was that somehow made him what, better? We've had nothing but young GMs in this era and they've all screwed up royally. Until we see the results of his drafting we can't really evaluate him. As to his "plan", of course that's the plan, and there's a bunch of picks coming, but there comes a point where you need to make other moves too. The draft is without a doubt how you build, but the teams you mentioned, Yzerman and all that, also made trades and signed UFAs to make them better. You want to win you don't just save money for the future, you balance your payroll. For example after his entry level deal ends you'll need money for Power, so you can sign a UFA with a contract that expires around that same time. You MANAGE the cap as you are the GENERAL MANAGER. Spending nothing and sitting on the cap floor cheats the fans and only lines the pocket of the owner. Two things I don't want. I don't want to wait any longer, and I definitely do not want to teach this group that they have to wait and that losing is acceptable. We do that, and this will all unravel yet again, just like last time. No thank you.

Given what I'm reading about Ivan Fedotov I think I'd stay away from any Russians in the first round. Just out of principle if nothing else. https://www.newsweek.com/nhl-player-ivan-fedotov-detained-russia-draft-dodging-missing-lawyer-1721289

I predict he signs with the Wild for a lot less. Unless he REALLY wants another cup in which case he signs with the Avs for even less than that.

So presumably with that last sentence you think I do? Nice. What's with all this "young GM" and "Italian coach with the cool blue framed glasses" stuff? Sounds like you're in the fantasy world. Now to hockey, and what matters, you acknowledge we need a goalie to succeed and you believe all of those positions need to be addressed as I said, so there's really nothing to argue about. The rest is just a question of degree. Mitts? Believe it when I see it, not when the little balding man who looks like Moby tells me.

I think you misunderstand me. It's not a "level of despair" I just think that we could leap forward a lot (like the Rangers did) if we add some key pieces to fill the soft spots and that opportunity is here, but based on what I've read and heard it seems like they will pass on that opportunity. I'm not sure which young players will improve or not. I hope they all do. They might, but some might not. Some might disappoint. It's hard to say. Will we be better? Maybe. If we have decent goaltending. But I see an internal development improvement as a SLOW progression and I want PLAYOFFS! Add a good goalie, a solid veteran RHD and a proven 2C and maybe one solid upgraded grit player penalty killer to this young core and we could challenge for a wild card spot and maybe make the playoffs if somebody falls off a little (Boston or Pittsburgh maybe). If we don't add those players we will not be in the running come season end. We wait another year. Is that despair? If you want to call it that, but I just want playoffs.

The last sentence is definitely true, but the circumstances are not entirely different, the Sabres made them different. Choices are always made, and the Sabres made a lot of bad ones. As have the Sabres. It is still tbd whether or not this has changed.

I know what you mean but Bogo is irritating to watch still playing on a roster as good as Tampa's. He went from the very bottom to the top in the same year. Definitely fits that graphic. Hasek I wouldn't count as he did have success here and almost got us to the very top. I just hope Eichel and Lehner don't get to raise the cup in Vegas. That would be the worst.

This would be a lot funnier if not for ROR and Bogo .

Damn it, I thought I had a chance at beating Brawndo to this one. Pretty much a done deal now. So no Quinn after all. https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-bruins/2022/06/30/bruins-to-hire-jim-montgomery-as-their-next-head-coach/

It's always NEXT year with the Sabres and I'm tired of it. Nothing personal, but this sort of wait one more year attitude sucks imo. There is a moment to be seized here and it'll slip away fast without the right moves. There's simply no need for it. It is possible to develop kids and a young core and also be competitive NOW. L.A. Kings seem to understand it. Just another in the long line of teams that were just as bad as us not long ago moving way ahead of us. But don't worry, grampa's in net!

Never, but maybe here: https://canucklegame.github.io/canuckle/ They like hockey related words often at least.

maybe we will trade for Mike Smith next so that we can have the oldest starting tandem in NHL history.

This just tells me it is very likely that they have a very long slow (low budget) build timeline in mind and there is no interest in taking a leap forward. It's an extreme opposite plan and imo it'll be a moment missed. If this is just insurance and they sign a good goalie as well, I will take that back.

Possible, but I'm not really worried about it. I suppose it comes down to whether or not you think Mitts/Cozens or Krebs is a legit #2 center (assuming Tage at #1). If for example you think Mitts will take the great leap forward this year drafting a sure fire Zemgus replacement isn't a terrible outcome. We're going to need all kinds of players on the roster in different roles. Kasper is a relatively safe pick and the work ethic is definitely what you want going forward. Having said that, I'm thinking I'd probably still pick Savoie. It will be interesting (and perhaps tempting) to see how far the Russians fall. I'd still like to see them pick Warren or Lamoureux, but if McKenzie's draft order holds up that would be sweet at 41 (Warren).

It's not so much that Savoie will bust, I don't think so, but he might take a long time to transition into the bigger and tougher NHL game. Briere is the hope, but Briere took a while to become Briere too. Kasper might be the safer choice. I'm honestly not sure this year. I guess to use the popular vernacular Savoie has a higher ceiling, but Kasper has a higher floor. I just don't like Lambert. Don't think he has the right attitude so not worth the risk. Overall I would rather they made the safer picks this year rather than swinging for the fences. We are at a pivotal point and a solid draft is all we need. A great draft is possible but a failed draft could turn everything upside down again.

You never know with drafts, but that has the potential for disaster. Gauthier likely gone before we pick as he keeps moving up and up so Savoie is a definite possibility. Is he too small? idk. It's a tough one. Definitely has skill.

Regarding the unsigned, just start winning and they will ALL clammer and beg to sign asap.

It's highly possible. Montgomery is the other name being mentioned but Quinn is a leading candidate for sure. Don't think it has anything to do with Eichel but the brain trust does like the local connections. Neely is on record having said he would have drafted Eichel over McDavid. An old comment from their first season that gets resurrected each year the Bruins fail to win the cup. But who knows, maybe Mungo still believes it. Bruins fans are still miffed over the Sweeney extension and old wounds over not keeping Gorton way back when have been resurrected so the Quinn thing would be interesting. For those who ignore the Bruins totally, when Gorton was interim GM for Boston in 2006 he drafted Kessel, Lucic and Marchand, traded Raycroft for Rask, and signed Chara. Was then pushed back down to assistant GM when Chiarelli was hired and he was fired the next year and went over to NY. Gorton's 2006 draft is often contracted with Sweeney's 2015 disaster. Go figure how Boston stays good with management decisions like that. Quinn's a decent coach though. I suspect if they do hire him they are hoping he can elevate some of their younger players in contrast to how Cassidy would only go with veterans.

Will they be idk, but they should be. The way I look at it, is if any of these guys are upgrades from who was playing the position on this year's team, well then it's a good signing, even if it might not be a perfect signing. There are many options.

lol, I've been critiqued at times for going on about the same things over and over again too. It's okay, kind of ends up happening until they actually fix it. We have the draft in a little bit and a few weeks to free agency. Kind of a hopeful anticipatory period. Come the end of July we should have a good feel for things and be pessimistic or optimistic about next season accordingly. As I've said many times, I think this team can take a leap forward and this is a good moment to do it, I hope so. KA may have a longer time line in mind which may work eventually, but will piss me off for now. We shall see.

Sports is always about heroes and villains. After his comments following the return to Buffalo loss he will forever be cemented as a villain in my book. I truly hope his time in Vegas is horrible.

They are totally full of it. You can always say we need more elite players, we need more talent, whatever. It's a silly argument. Obviously, the more skill you have on a team the better it's chances, but it's still a team sport and a lot of things go into it. I mean Connor McDavid had the most points. Draisaitl had the most assists and Evander Kane had the most goals, but none of them played in the final . Although McKinnon had the most shots on goal Arturi Kehkonen had the most game winning goals (so I guess that makes him elite). Hitting in the draft is what really matters. Makar obviously, but how about Bowen Byram who was damn impressive all series. Many pieces go into the mix.

and people will pay attention if we win games. Perceptions will not change, and they shouldn't, if we don't win games.

True, but I don't put all of that on the organization. When the players who are supposed to lead don't lead, it becomes pretty hard to work with. Current orgnaization just cleaned house and started over. Only option. The correct option imo, that I had been advocating for a couple years now. I still believe that if they'd named ROR captain things may have gone quite differently.

It's not about a "dream goalie" but it can be better than just a "stop gap". Rumour has Husso in the 4X4 range, so offer him 5. Kuemper, Campbell, Fluery, DeSmith, there are goalies out there. Just overpay one of them to come here. I don't really care if 3 years from now we have too many goalies and we are over paying the guy who is fading, I think that'd be a refreshing issue to deal with. What I don't want is a season of "if only we had a good goalie we'd be a contender ". It's time. It's time for this franchise to think like a winner and raise the bar of acceptability accordingly. We can't let this new generation learn to be okay with losing.