Cascade Youth

McCabe is headed to Chicago

What are the chances there’s a 75% chance?

And then using cutting-edge technology to broadcast doubts about science…

And I could well be wrong but I don't see him suddenly excelling elsewhere. Hockey sense/instincts is hard to improve upon by this point in his career. There were just too many times throughout his career where he clearly didn't see what was happening around him or react quickly enough. He just lacks "it."

That I agree with. And I'm biased - I prefer to keep him. He has generational talent and no one could seriously assert that he's been set up for success by the various coaches and GMs we've seen paraded through here. A good manager should be able to build around talent and help them find their best self on and off the ice. If Adams is too insecure to do that, he's the problem, not Jack. If you can't get a franchise-altering haul for Jack, keep him.

It just becomes tautological when you put it that way. The Sabres have been bad for over a decade not because of any choices they made but because their hands were tied, they took the only path they could given their option set. That just CANNOT be right.

They don't have to trade him. They don't have to trade him. They don't have to trade him. They DO NOT have to trade their best player.

Couldn't agree more. It's a freakin' zombie apocalypse. If kids start getting critically sick and dying from a variant allowed to spread because of anti-vaxx lunacy, there is going to be an outright civil war.

This is where I'm at. The "idiot tax" in this country is becoming unacceptably high.

Cakers gonna cake

I would be very surprised if Adams pitched it that way to his bosses. More likely, he sold them on the possibility of winning sooner by cleansing the culture and they were all over it since it worked with their football team.

When you hire rookie GMs and coaches - which the Pegulas are ADDICTED to doing - you create these conditions. Unproven leaders often lack the track record and confidence to execute their vision without jettisoning any perceived threat to their authority. Hence why relatively new owners don’t want veteran GMs who threaten their sovereignty. And with the Bills, their rookie GM Beane couldn’t wait to ship Sammy Watkins out of town. Adams doesn’t seem able to instill his “culture” without removing threats like a sometimes-mopey star player who rightfully is fed up with losing. But make no mistake - this is a Pegula problem, not an Adams issue. These people are highly insecure and it cascades down the organization.

One last tugger for the road? 😩

To quote the (now-disgraced) Louis C.K.: Love + Time - Distance = Hate

We want them to beat us up without Eichel instead of beating us up with Eichel. Something about getting hit with your own shoe hurts more?

…Skinner? <ducks>

Honestly don’t care if the team moves. It’s a joke. They staff it full of their friends and sell hope to the fans but aren’t willing to make the hard decisions needed to actually become successful. Hope is not a plan. Good riddance.

Well then he better go find out whether Jack is skating. MORONS.

“Tank” implies a careful plan to finish at the bottom of the standings in order to acquire high level draft assets. I don’t think that’s what this is. I think it’s more reactive and reflexive. The Pegulas have poured money into this franchise for a decade and have nothing to show for it. (It’s their own fault, of course, because they’re addicted to rookie GMs who won’t challenge their authority, but that’s another matter.) This is just: “Why spend all that money to finish last and have a roster and fanbase full of ungrateful pouters, when we can spend a fraction of that amount and do no worse?” They’re just ripping it down to the studs to conserve assets. Maybe it’s to position the team to sell (or sell a part of it) as you suggest. Maybe it’s just a misguided effort to replicate the culture-building program the Bills went through (nevermind that it would’ve likely been for naught had they not struck gold with the QB). But what it’s NOT is a purposeful attempt to lose in order to eventually win. I suspect they truly think they might be more competitive next season - because they’re complete morons. All of them. Giving them the benefit of having a plan is not something they deserve.

That’s all well and good but then don’t use your marketing department to lie to the fans. I am fascinated to see what they’re selling and how.

At Tempo.

It’s not like they’d do WORSE at the deadline. You know how much value I put at “avoiding distractions” and “culture cleansing”? ZERO. This isn’t Cambodia in the 60s. Christ I hate this franchise.

I did the same.

Don't. Pay. For. The. Product.