JohnC

I appreciate your comments and will take it to heart. But my stance on the Eichel trade issue has not been static. At first like most posters I was requiring a high yield in return for a trade. As time has gone on and the situation has evolved it is apparent that until his health status is clarified the return offers will not be consequential. The choice is either accept the lower return or wait until Jack is restored as a player (if that will happen) and then go back to the market. So in order to not create an obstruction on this topic I won't further post on it. At least for the foreseeable future.

In general, I agree with you that there were alternative strategies to take that would have (possibly) changed the course of this franchise. As you point out some key decisions were made that didn't work out and contributed to this downward spiral. As you noted just maybe if there was a different coach, an upgrade in a backup goalie, Ullmark being injured and also forgotten the effect from Covid that not only sidelined players but also had a lingering effect during the season. Those are a lot of ifs. Our roster and talent pool within the system wasn't deep enough to overcome those challenges . On the other hand the problems we faced are the same unanticipated problems that many teams face during the season. When your roster and system is thin and flimsy it doesn't take much for house to collapse when some replaceable parts can't be replaced. That's the lesson that needs to be learned. The talent base needs to be increased and spread out more.

You are missing the point. His current value because of his uncertain health status is severely diminished to a fraction what many people believe. And that is evident by the lack of movement on offers. In general. the offers being proposed are much higher than what would be realistically offered by any interested parties for this injured player. That's the point.

From a hockey perspective that yacht is adrift and is lost in a storm of its own making.

This is not going to happen. Until Jack's injury status is clarified I don't see any meaningful offers being made for him. Ask yourself why no team in the league (so far) has offered one of their top tier center prospects or young centers currently in a trade package for him? The clock is ticking. Assuming he gets a fusion surgery the recovery time is four months. That's how long it will take for the treated area to solidify. On top of that because of the nature of his surgery he won't be able to be physically active during his rehab. That means his conditioning will take another month or two to reach a level that will allow him to play. I want to be wrong on my prediction about when he will be able to play again. I just don't see him back on the ice this year. And witnessing the responses from other teams in making offers they don't seem to be willing to risk any of their valuable assets for a health gamble on another player.

The AMA took a survey that indicated 96% of the doctors are fully vaccinated. https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-survey-shows-over-96-doctors-fully-vaccinated-against-covid-19

I'm not trying to ridicule anyone or be dismissive. But when facts are no longer a factor in a discussion it becomes pointless to engage. The lesson to be learned is: Zealots can not be penetrated. They are in a world of their own.

You are out of decisively step with with the medical community.

The vaccinated are upset with the unvaccinated. And they should be. The entities that also should be very upset with the unvaccinated are the insurance companies. Having to pay out a lot of money to cover the medical costs of those unvaccinated who get sick and require comprehensive medical treatment must make them angry. So what should happen next. When the rates are determined for the next billing year it goes up for everyone in order to cover the costs of treatments that could have been avoided. What is the solution? There should be clauses in the insurance policy that if one foregoes being vaccinated for a designated category of illnesses the rates should be higher for this anti-vaccine population or the coverage will not be provided for those who contract the virus after willfully decide to go unvaccinated. There should be consequences for reckless behavior.

Who is your source? Is it your imagination?

I understand your sentiment and I feel it to. But the problem is that there are too many people who have not gotten the vaccine who not only are making themselves vulnerable to infection but because the pool of unvaccinated is still so large it is resulting in not only more infections variants but variants that are also capable of infecting the vaccinated. While the vaccinated are not getting seriously sick they become carriers of the of Covid and infect others. My biggest worry is that these new pernicious variants will become resistant to the current vaccines and will require new vaccines to provide protection. So the cycle repeats itself. It is the sabotaging of the community that has acted appropriately. Freaking insane!

Jack certainly wants out of Buffalo but that isn't his biggest concern. Far from it. The issue that is consuming him more than wanting to play elsewhere is his health situation. He very well knows that if he fully regains his health and gets back on the ice to play at his pre-injury level that he will be on the market with many suitors. Jack may be young and impetuous but he isn't a dummy. He may have found a doctor/s promoting a procedure that will quickly get him back on the ice but he and his advisers know very well that the predominant medical view from the best surgeons who deal with his type of injury are recommending a procedure that will keep him off the ice for maybe this season. Jack can get any procedure he wants. But after the procedure there are no guarantees that he will be able to return to form, and maybe even not play again. So I don't see him cavalierly breaking his contract and giving up his guaranteed money. Any way you look at this issue it is a very complicated situation for the player from a health and playing standpoint. The bottom line is that there are no easy solutions.

I wish you and your family the best. I just don' understand how people can minimize this health crisis that has killed more than 600,000 people and has affected millions more. They are living in their own delusional world and are sabotaging the efforts to deal with this pernicious virus. It's frustrating and maddening.

I have had surgery for spondylitis a long time ago and then disc surgery maybe a dozen years after that. Each surgery allowed me to return to normal pain free living. Much of that health outcome can be attributed to a healthy lifestyle that included regular workouts. What I can say is that after the surgeries that gave me relief there are things that I could not do and would not do, such as contact sports. For the sake of this discussion let's put aside the surgery that Jack prefers and discuss the fusion surgery that is recommended by the doctors in the field. If you look at the recovery time of 4 months for this surgery and you consider when it might happen it seems more likely that Jack won't play this season. I said this before and it drew harsh criticism. I'm sticking to this assessment. Even if he does return to the ice this season it probably will be sometime late in the second half of the season. And if he does play it will most likely be on a very limited basis. It isn't a surprise to me why a top 10-12 player in this league who is on the market is not attracting much in the way of offers. So far not one team is willing to give up a top tier young center prospect for him. That is an indication that other teams also are wary about his current and future health status. I hope my pessimistic view of this situation is wrong for Jack and the organization's sake. It seems to me that maybe the best outcome is for Jack to have the recommended surgery and then undergo the extensive rehab in order to get back to form. Then he should be placed back on the market. However, if he does get traded before the surgery I will be pleasantly surprised.

It's politically more advantageous to take the position that less support rather than more support in using taxpayer money for a stadium project that mostly benefits a billionaire owner. And I will go so far as to say that more western NY voters would also favor that position.

I'm not worried about the NMC. If he gets his health back and regains his form then his value will exponentially increase. If a team that he doesn't want to go to makes the best offer and refuses to go there then keep him. Jack clearly wants out. I'm confident that there are few places he wouldn't want to go to rather than staying here. I just don't see that limiting clause being so limiting.

Where do you get your data from? A Qanon website? When I hear people speak crazily about the vaccines I get so frustrated and angry. The vaccines have been a blessing that has given us a degree of freedom that we lost at the height of the pandemic. Now it seems that we are going back to that hellish period because of this lunatic cultish fringe with the mindset that is anti-science and and rationality. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/08/09/dick-farrel-dies-covid19/

If UPL demonstrates in training camp that he is not in over his head and is the best option as a backup then it is very possible. I would prefer he start in Rochester but the advantage of sticking with the big club is that he will get plenty of practice time with a good goalie coach and be mentored by a supportive veteran goalie.

If a person doesn't want to spend money or time on an inferior product then he/she shouldn't. Everyone has a different tolerance level. What's the point of constantly lamenting about something that is evident to all. If the situation is dire then the next obvious question is what are the solutions? Is there a course of action that will get this team to a better point? If so, what is the timeframe? That's where my focus has been this offseason and will be this season. Howling at the moon might be cathartic but after a certain point is it useful?

Everything you said about the subtractions creating a talent deficit is true. But if you review the players on your departure list there are factual reasons why they are no longer here. Montour, Risto, McCabe and Reinhart were in contract years where they were not going to re-sign. So even if the team wanted these players they made individual decisions to move on. So they were dealt for whatever could be gotten back. Even if the return was not commensurate with the talent it was better to get something than retaining in the short term for nothing in the near future. With respect to Ullmark the organization made the right decision not to give him what he wanted. Keeping him at a gilded contract level would have been a poor value decision. And although I like Borgen he is an easily replaceable player. There is no need to go over the Eichel situation. Whether it is sooner or later he will be dealt. Much of it has to do with his decision and also the organization's decision to reboot the roster. The point that I am making is that the decision to rebuild with the younger players makes a lot of sense. There really wasn't another feasible option. Would it have been better to rebuild around Jack and Samson? No. For the simple reason that Samson was not going to sign an extended contract and Jack understandably didn't want to be a part of a rebuild. I'm not arguing that the organization didn't put itself in this bad situation with their ingrained ineptitude. But when you make hard-decisions you have to make a cold-blooded assessment of where you are and what are the best options to move forward. In my judgment KA has made the right call in cleaning the slate with the old guard and moving on.

When the Pegulas bought the Bills they made some crazy staffing decisions such as hiring the then recently fired and buffoonish Rex Ryan. The disastrous results were predictable. After going through a number of bad hires they finally got it right with the hiring of McDermott. What they got right is not simply hiring the right person for the job but also empowering him to run the football operation without interference. The results are evident. The organization went from being ridiculed to now being a model football operation. I'm just hoping that he will take the same approach with KA and this staff. Whether one agrees with the rebuilding strategy at least there is a coherent plan to follow. Now success or failure is predicated on the execution. Will the owners have the fortitude and patience to follow through with the strategy? That's the challenge.

The biggest mistake the owners could make is to not give this regime the time to implement their rebuilding plan. The biggest mistake the owners have made throughout their reign is constantly churning through coaches and GMs. It is this instability that has repeatedly set back this franchise. The lack of follow through and this constant starting and stopping with new rebuilding plans has not only not advanced this franchise but has repeatedly set it back. Continued foolishness leads to predictable results.

Added to your comments if Jack hasn't had whatever surgery that is chosen when training camp starts then his season may be in jeopardy. If he is not dealt the current position of the organization is that it is not going to approve the player's preferred surgery which supposedly has a shorter rehab period. My understanding is if he undergoes the fusion surgery the reported recovery time is 4 months. If you add this time to the mostly missed season last year then you are talking about a player who has not not played for nearly a year and a half. That extended period of time being on the shelf is going to add time preparing to play. There are many people who believed that the GM should only deal Jack if he can get full value. At least for this offseason that shipped has sailed. Because he is a damaged player that is not going to happen. The choice is to get whatever you can get or hold on to him with the hope that he can regain his health and value. It's a tough call for the GM.

I suggested to another poster who was battling the same Sabre blues to take a pause from following the team if it was making him so angry and frustrated. Those comments were misinterpreted that I was forcing the poster out. That was not the case and not my intention. When someone has reached their exasperation limit then it is time to take a break and use the interlude to refresh oneself. I'm not looking at this season from a typical perspective of the standings. That's not going to be my measurement of success. My attention is going to be on the young players. I will be watching to see how they advance in their game. There are a number of young players who I consider in the upswing category. Players such as Dahlin, Joki, Cozesn, Mitts, Bjork, Apslund, Thompson, Arttu, Olofsson, Samuelsson and Bryson with maybe others if the probable impending Jack trade brings in a return. On top of this list is there is another retinue of players who a year or two away from moving up the ranks. Those in that category are UPL, Quinn, Peterka, Power and maybe a few more. When you add both grouping you can see the nucleus of a core forming that refashions the roster. Where I disagree with you is in your assessment of KA. He has laid out a roadmap to remake this roster and in my estimation that is exactly what he is doing. Contrary to your view I believe that Krueger was more influential in addressing the last year's roster than was KA. There are many things about the recent history of this bedraggled franchise to complain about. If you allow yourself to be captured by the past problems it will spill over and contaminate your view on some of the positive things that are occurring. There is nothing wrong in taking a break in order to refill the tank that has been emptied.

Speaking of mouths: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9876135/Woman-31-worlds-biggest-mouth-winning-Guinness-World-Record.html