pi2000

Suspend him indefinitely. He can sit out the remaining 5 years if he wants and his career is basically over. But I'm not trading him at a diminished value. If he wants out then prove to the league you're healthy so I can get fair value.

Just because something hurts doesn't mean you can go on LTIR. The Sabres would likely suspend him instead of put him on LTIR.

He can't fake the injury, a scan will show if it's healed.

IMO there's a better than 80% chance he improves and has a much better season than last. I like those odds and if that means I wait one more year to move him so I can sell high, then I'd wait it out. And I'd be upfront with him about too.... "hey Jack... you want out? OK, get after it this season and we'll be happy to move you... because we can't get fair value currently due to your dislocated neck and bitch attitude"

They went through a similar scenario with Ryan O'Reilly.... they sold low because he wanted out (?) and they felt pressured to move him. I disagree with the bolded. How is it getting uglier? KA and Eichel have been dead silent in the media. That's a good sign IMO. If it was getting worse Eichel's camp would come right out and tell the media that he has no plans to return to Buffalo. That hasn't happened yet.... maybe it does if he's not moved by draft day? Time will tell. If Reinhart and Risto are traded, who cares what Eichel thinks? He can't trade himself and he's under contract for 5 more years. Nobody forced him to sign a 10 year deal, and he's getting paid handsomely. You think he'd be the first star player to disagree with a teammate getting traded? They get over it, they're professionals, it's part of the business.

Jack is only 24, sure he's acting like a little bitch but maybe he comes to the realization he needs to suck it up and move forward. He's unhappy at the moment but I don't see him grenading his career just out of spite. I don't believe his value could tank any more than it is currently.... chances are his neck heals (+90% of those types of injuries heal on their own) and he rebounds after a normal offseason of training and a full training camp.

great interview guy.... apparently

Right. My point is don't sell low this summer (injury concerns, coming off a lackluster season) just because the NMC is looming next offseason.

The NMC doesn't scare me because the team's currently in the mix (NYR, ANA, LAK) would 100% be on his allow list.... so if it means he takes next season to prove himself healthy and put up numbers, then it's worth waiting. I just don't believe you should sell low this summer just because you're scared of the NMC kicking in.... if the teams interested were Edmonton, Winnipeg and Ottawa, then yeah move him now.

Ain't happening... Ducks are not trading Zegras nor is LA trading Byfield. The return for Eichel will include picks, 2 tops prospects (sans Zegras/Byfield) and roster player(s). So long as Buffalo is holding out hope for either of those players, Eichel will remain a Sabre.

Correct, the school is not mandating vaccinations, but part of his decision was the fact he doesn't want to miss any hockey.

nah

Sam has never been a big assist guy, his offensive awareness and ability to find teammates on the attack is lacking. This season he had a grand total of 3a over his last 17 games played.

I don't believe Ullmark wants to be here.

Some great info there, agreed, it's much different raising teenagers these days vs 10 even 5 years ago. My 17yo wanted the vaccine and got it as soon as he could. My 15yo bought into all the anti-vax propaganda online and initially refused. I've had a few talks with him to help him understand how the vaccine works and why it's safe. He's going away to a hockey prep school on the east coast in August, so we gave him some time to think about it and he's agreed to get vaccinated. It honestly didn't take much convincing, just addressing his concerns about stuff he's heard or seen online. That said I would've been OK if he ultimately decided not to get vaccinated.

We've done this same exercise the past 3 seasons and nothing has changed.

Aa someone who's played both D1 and pro, the coaching really isn't that much different at all. My main concern is you're basing the hire off a 30 game stretch... that's it. And if you peel back the onion, their advanced stats were actually worse under Granato than Kruger. The only real difference was shooting % and save % at even strength. Their shooting % was ridiculously high the last few months of the season... unsustainable moving forward IMO. Defensively they continue to give up too much and took a step back under Granato in that area (high danger chances against per 60)... so yeah, I'm skeptical.

Throw a pair of gardening gloves on him and you wouldn't know the difference.

We'll never know. It depends on the player, they're all different.

Not true. Rolston had 12 years coaching at the NCAA D1 level before heading up the NTDP U17 team and then being hired as Amerks head coach. Granato had 13 years coaching experience (USHL/AHL) before heading up the NTDP U17 team. Their backgrounds are very similar, they're the same age, both played in the WCHA at the same time, and had short careers in the ECHL. It's just more of the classic Sabres "let's keep doing the same thing over and over and hope it works out this time" mentality.

Aren't most NHL players a "better Zemgus"?

Do better. This is Ron Rolston part duex... they're basically the same person (same USA hockey background). The only difference being Rolston went 15-11-5 (35pts) to end the 2012-13 season before being hired full-time, whereas Granato went 9-16-3 (21pts) over about the same number of games (28 vs 31). If he's hired, what that tells me is simply that no other qualified candidates wanted to come here.

The fact they're trying to get another top 10 pick tells me they highly value somebody who they may not be comfortable taking number 1 OA, like Johnson, Guenther, or Eklund. I predict Beniers will slip in this draft so he might be around as well.

Should I force my 15yo to get vaccinated?

So they're going to settle for Granato. Great. smh