Cascade Youth

I read this as "dental" and it still kind of made sense.

Tim Murray’s problem was Doug Whaley’s problem which was understanding scouting but not understanding the concept of team-building. Put another way, Tim Murray evaluated individual players in a vacuum. Tim Murray’s revenge is this thread.

You've got a thing for Montour?

Why are we talking about hitting? Maybe Phil’s system simply requires elite goaltending - which the Sabres do not have. The defensemen focus on providing offensive support which leads to many breakdowns and chances on the other end. When our goalies stand on their heads, we can win. When they’re just average, as Hutts was tonight, we lose. Simple as that?

It’s funny, I suspect many folks wouldn’t have minded at all if BooLoo had been waived outright - but now that some team wanted him enough to trade for him we’re outraged that Botts couldn’t get more in return...

Bah. I know I'm not saying anything particularly profound. Just trying to add a new sub-topic for discussion...

I understand JB gave Phil a public vote of confidence, but I tend not to put too much stock in those. Structural changes such as a trade of future assets for a player who fits Phil's system, on the other hand, seems far more final.

The only issue I have with this trade - and it's not a huge one - is that it would seem to lock in Housley for 2019-2020, because if you fire Housley this offseason you're burdening the incoming HC with a blue line that is not necessarily suited to his system, and less draft picks to acquire players for the new system etc.

I actually think they should just reduce his minutes. He seems to be overused. I definitely wouldn’t trade him unless they’re blown away by an offer - but I suspect that trading him would result, in the short-term, in a further defensive collapse of epic proportions.

Some interesting takes here - you've got me thinking.

This entire season has been a punch in the jaw.

I would kill to be able to listen to RJ pronounce Huberdeu on a nightly basis.

This team is garbage.

He can’t finish.

Eichel has been terrible today. Just awful.

To be clear, I'm not claiming that the Leafs rebuilt quickly - although they rebuilt more effectively than the Sabres have IMO, and did so during the time that the Pegulas' teams have tanked/bottomed out TWICE. There are many other teams however, in both sports, that have rebuilt quickly during the Pegulas' tenure. I could start listing them but I have to go back to work - will try to come back to this later.

I don’t really see how that question goes to the point I’m making. The Leafs almost surely will push into the playoffs this season. There have been multiple teams in both sports that have quickly rebuilt themselves during and much faster than the Bills and Sabres, respectively.

BOTH of the Pegulas' franchises are kind of a mess right now, and for similar reasons: namely, they continue to entrust his scouting and managing operations to new GMs and coaches, without bringing in outside help. Not that a "Czar" is guaranteed to fix the problem, but you'd think that new owners with zero experience in professional sports might want to pay experienced advisors to help reduce the steep learning curve. But no, they continue to believe they can do it alone, and continue to entrust green general managers to carry out full rebuilds down to the studs. Both the Bills and Sabres seem headed toward 3-10 year "rebuilds" ("We're finally doing things the right way, for the long term!") while other franchises completely flame out and rebuild themselves over and over again in the interim, i.e. the Leafs. It's just not nearly as hard to succeed in either sport as the Pegulas are making it look.

Maybe showcasing Okposo - hoping to get him a few rebound goals off of Eichel's offense. Would still need to retain some salary if he gets dealt.

Raw data

It's a combination of system and talent. They lack the talent to run Phil's system - they simply cannot abandon their defensive zone responsibilities like they've been doing. They're also mentally and physically SOFT.

Great so by this time next year we’ll be reading about how much happier Hutton is since quitting bath salts and changing uniforms...

They just don’t hate losing.

Terry should fire himself - he’s the problem. His teams are a disgrace.

There is something seriously wrong with this team.