SabresVet

It's gonna get real interesting if this team stumbles out of the gate and cannot play at least entertaining hockey. Will fans re-direct their ire at certain roster players or continue attacking Eichel?

The youth you're referring to will not be providing much help this season in all likelihood. Banking on them to provide minutes and production in 2021-22 is wishful thinking. They need development time and fast-marching them to the pros is not appropriate. That's what has hindered development during previous GMs. The whole point of this thread is discussion into whether this is a tank. Adams isn't gonna tell us...but this roster is a lot hopes, what-if's, and someday's at this point. That's not enough in professional sports. Nor does it (EDIT: definitively) represent a long term plan other than to clear the decks of veteran players they could off-load.

This is all nice, but essentially fan-speak. They've already made financial decisions semi-long term on Dahlin, Jokiharju, Mittelstadt, Thompson, and to a lesser degree Asplund. None are killing their cap, but re-signing them sends a message they expect those players to fulfill those roles. Nothing wrong with that. The point is, the youth they've drafted are far away and there's little in Rochester to replace with. Definitely not Adams' fault, but not good to enter the season under that situation either.

Taking payroll down 20% supports the theory (before Jack's traded) that this was never intended to be a winning season. It's a roster of journeymen, those in their RFA years without options, and players on long term contracts they can't get out from. Yet, if the team gets out to a bad start and it devolves into another season near/at the bottom, I fail to see how that helps the youth develop. They'll be in the same place as their predecessors were a few seasons ago.

I'm more concerned with Terry's Pegula's antics at this point than a 24 year old enjoying himself at a baseball game.

Except McBeane had one of the oldest rosters in the league in 2017 upon taking over that franchise. And that happened after trading Watkins, Dareus, Darby, etc. The McBeane "tank" still led to a playoff appearance in Year 1, followed by a really bad team in year 2. That doesn't exactly fit the definition of a tank. It's also practically impossible to tank a NFL team...even to get the top college QB. Too many moving pieces in that game. If the Sabres continue with what they've got at goalie, it's hard to see them really competing. Besides, their lowball offer in term to Ullmark kinda sealed the deal at the position. Who goes with a 40 year old to play more than 25 games per and/or expects Dustin Tokarski to be a reliable backup? That's straight-up hockey malfeasance.

Suspending Eichel only reduces the team's professional reputation among players and agents who they may have to work with in the future. The throwaway line Adams uses about "players wanting to be here" will be even more hilarious as they burn bridges with contacts throughout the league. If they suspend him and take that heavy-handed approach, rebuilding just got a whole lot harder. Plus side is it'll whet the appetites of fans who want Jack to pay for abandoning their team. Of course, that does nothing to win games, but they'll be celebrating a healthy dose of schadenfreude. 😄

Every piece that returns should be one for both the short and long term. If they're receiving a goalie, that player shouldn't be a bridge to someone in their system especially if they carry a decent cap hit. And if a younger goalie comes back, how does that player impact Sabres' goalie development? What if UPL plays well at Rochester and they see him worthy of elevating? That newly acquired guy would definitely stand in the way. Top-6 forwards are at a premium and I'd hate to see them sacrifice receiving one back because the self-imposed goalie situation was up to par.

It was a joke.

Well there's a whole 750k contract down the pipe. What are we gonna do now? 😉

You've got to be kidding. Teams don't draft for straight need and they shouldn't be expending their best assets (especially when healthy) for the same return. This is a trade for more than just about this season or even next.

I will take back my contention given that, according to the BN, they lost about 11M in 2019-20. Don't see losses surpassing that level for previous season. https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/sabres-lost-10-9-million-value-dropped-in-2020-according-to-forbes/article_9e2c7828-3a3b-11eb-b9e4-17ec3fa4b12d.html

I am aware. But if someone said your share of say, 520k tickets sold (8 games at ~90% capacity for Highmark) it's still 50M in revenue, and after splitting 60/40 with the opponent (last I knew this was the breakdown) it's still ~30M in revenue.

The Pegula's took a decent hit on the Bills last year when fans largely could not attend regular season games. Same went for the Sabres, who IIRC, did not offer tickets until March and even then it was quite limited. Combined with the financial reality that the Sabres, who were already losing 40-60M per before the virus. The upside is they can cry poor when proposing a renovation of the Key Bank Arena. I really don't have much sympathy for them at this point. Decisions made long ago have put the Sabres in this predicament and fans are finally voting with their wallets.

What do you call Vinnie Hinostroza? 😉

Mismanaged at the GM level and above. I don't think there's as much value in targeting Granato for the level of play from that roster. He didn't impose the spending limits or decide to let Ullmark go only to wind up with league minimum goaltending options. Historically, the fan-base of bad teams will fix their ire on field level down to individual player. I'd like to see that change for once if the team remains entrenched in the league's basement. Adams owns this roster now.

I think in all things Sabres the Pegula's are focused as much on optics as they are on revenue. It's why they insisted Tage be re-signed a 3 year deal as some sort of face saving to ROR winning the Conn Smythe and hoisting the Cup. Because that trade was so badly lost it was embarrassing to their thin egos and two veterans (Berglund and Sobotka) were already long gone. It's petty how this is all going down. And that comes from the top, not merely with Adams.

An established franchise? 31 other teams are relatively established except the Kraken. If you're a career-minded employee and your company is bottom quartile in their industry, should you stick around and miss out on being successful elsewhere?

It's definitely not a situation where NFL players have complete control over their medical treatment if they disagree with team doctors. But in light of the issues with concussions, I'm theorizing that players wanted assurance from management to seek out in a more mutual process another medical treatment. Also recognize the contracts are indeed different and there is more flexibility for NFL teams. I still contend this gets some attention at next NHLPA-NHL CBA time.

Sure, whatever. If I'm a player and know that my chosen medical professionals do not matter and my health long term is in question, I'll remember which teams did what. I will predict that at the next CBA, the players insist a new clause similar to the NFLPA's where a player can obtain surgery as was discussed late on the GR morning show today.

Today's PC demonstrates that Adams is focused on winning a battle but has lost sight of winning the war. For surface thinkers, Eichel is the battle. Having a playoff level hockey team is the war.

At this point the ship has sailed beyond the horizon. I expect Brisson to take an extraordinary step in this unique situation. He wasn't hired and being paid what he is to stand idly by for his client to remain injured and off-ice for an entire season. All I know is something's gonna happen from Jack's side.

I didn't say another team's free agents.

Destroying a person so publicly will have repercussions for this organization. This isn't as visible now, but I'll remember this day when players choose to hit UFA and/or don't re-sign here. I fail to see how this PR attempt to beat up their now former captain helps them in the long run. Seems like Adams is focused on only this situation with Eichel regardless of the impact it has later. And a GM has to be focused on the big picture, which Adams clearly isn't concerned with.

And the entire NHL world is watching this unfold. Players, agents, other executives. I can't see another top notch player wanting to come/remain here again unless they start winning. And the winning part is far off in the future if ever.