IKnowPhysics

At first I was gonna rag about about the thread title, but then I decided... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aor2eMbXbhI

Yes.

Jay Feaster, of all idiots, did this with three years left on his contract and with good reason after the owners coerced Dan Boyle to waive his no-trade clause and made other moves. Neil Smith got fired by Charles Wang after only 41 days because he "didn't fit into the management model." Pat LaFontaine would quit as Senior Adviser as a result. Would Smith have quit? Maybe, but then he probably wouldn't have gotten paid. He may have asked to be fired.

Donate old crap electronics, get free Sabres preseason tickets:

Meh, I live as if I'm never going to die, then die having never really lived.

My estimated NHL equivalency points: Connor McDavid (OHL, 0.29) 42 points Jack Eichel (USNTDP, 0.27?) 41 points Note that this is based on their statistics from this year. They've got another year to go before the draft, during which they could legitimately jack these up 25-60% (50-64 NHLe points). Eichel is headed to BU (NCAA, 0.41), where we might expect him to post 1.5-2.0 points per game based on that NHLe. Comparing to last year's NCAA scoring race, that would put him in the top three. Is that realistic? Possibly, but not probably. Players that post 1.5-2.0 points per game in the NCAA are upperclassmen- there were only two freshmen in the top 50 in NCAA scoring (~0.95 points per game and higher). More likely is that Jack Eichel will post about 1.3-1.4 points per game in the NCAA (this uses Compher's progression as a model). He'll be regarded as a special and outstanding freshman, but the increased challenges of the NCAA will present themselves. In that model, Jack Eichel's NHLe points will increase to somewhere about 44-47 points. Not a big increase in points, but he will have generated them in a much higher level against much tougher components, playing a much more complete system of hockey on both sides of the puck, and maturing more mentally and physically. It'll be very close to the level that Jonathan Toews was at (45NHLe points) after his sophomore and final season at North Dakota, except that Jack Eichel may arrive there after his freshman year.

Oh, they gonna.

If SabreDance is right and all it takes to win games is working hard, then nobody should be blaming Darcy Regier for anything- it was all on the players' shoulders the whole time. But that ain't the case, mostly. The players we bring in will work their hardest to win games. That is how they will keep their jobs. None of them want to be replaced. The roster we assemble will not win many games. That is how we tank. We assemble the veteran players we think we may want as mentors going forward, but they won't win without the influx of young top-end skill and the kids aren't here yet. Call it what you want, but this year is an audition year for players to play with what will eventually be an NHL powerhouse. Players are going to be asked to give it all when the season is all but lost. If they do, then they're of the exact fortitude we need. If they don't, they're on the next train out with Leino and Ehrhoff.

Heh, 2-16-2 to finish the season. My tank is so hard right now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FFG1NqKzCg

Top bottom spot? Buffalo Sabres: Power Bottoms

Think of Bucky and Mike Harrington. Then imagine fifteen Buckys and Mike Harringtons, all writing through their anuses, competing with each other for readership. More than a few of them are going to vie for Press Czar of Turdistan.

Oops, didn't read that StL won the draft lottery in your scenario. I'm definitely not betting that StL wins the draft lottery, though. Still. No reason not to take the first three picks of 2015. It would be ludicrous and unprecedented. But it would also be ###### sweet. Imagine drafting a forward line of skilled players like that. McDavid, Eichel, and [doesn't ###### matter]. Stellar. My point is, that's like drafting three #1 overalls in ONE year. That hurries up the rebuild quite a bit. I'd say that if we drafted 1-2-3 after drafting at #2 this year, and each of those four kids is NHL-ready, it suddenly becomes winning time.

Nope. Maximize the draft assets. Don't compromise. Can't get McDavid? Better get Eichel. But be sure to have the best chance at getting both. Also, consider later rounds. Finish 29 and 30, and we don't just get two top players, we get four players very near to the first round: at worst, picks #2, #3, #31, and #32. That's much better than #2, #10, #31, and #41. This isn't counting St Louis' pick. This rebuild centers around building through the draft. Don't give up because you got one (or two) high draft picks. Finish the job.

20-47-15, 55 points, should pretty much guarantee it. I wouldn't "try" for much higher. If that looks gross, note that we just finished 21-51-10, 52 points.

These things. I'm pretty sure that no one ever kicked Jean Knox out of a meeting. If Kim's interested to get to know the business, that's good. If she wants to do more, she can do that too. I'm glad she's interested. If Terry keels over after eating a bucket of Duff's Armageddon wings, it'll be good to have her on board. Also, Bucky's a weiner.

Customer retention? :thumbsup:

When we're tanking, offer sheeting is no way to go through life. I wouldn't want to move a 31-35 pick for a player that signs for $1.6M-$3.3M, let alone what could be multiple top five picks.

Good on him. I was confident he'd be employed in the NHL again. Buffalo Sabres because the Phoenix Coyotes don't have any money. And that's partly why Regier's a good fit there; he excelled for a long time with stringent financial constraints. He also GM'd a team through bankruptcy. Darcy gets an ex-Sabre-player level of respect from me; he wanted to win one for us as much as anyone during his time.

Understandable. I can't, with any tangible evidence, claim that Moulson made Tavares the player he is. But he certainly didn't ###### up Tavares' development, and the lack of a measurable increase in production with Vanek at least partially verifies that to me.

EJ Hradek made an abbreviated point on the wrapup tonight about Moulson and Tavares and what it could mean for Reinhart. I'll expand upon it, because I think it's worth serious consideration. MattyMo played with Tavares in Long Island and helped him develop into the player he is today. They played together through Tavares' entire career until Moulson's trade to Buffalo. Tavares' game developed from 54 points in 82 games in his rookie season to 47 points in 48 games in his 4th season. Tavares started the 2013-14 season with 13 points in 11 games until Moulson was traded; Tavares would keep the same pace with Vanek to finish with 66 points in 59 games. That's proven mentorship for our young centers, especially Reinhart (and in the future, McDavid, Eichel?). There's not many opportunities to find players that have that on their resume.

There used to be a street named after Tim Murray, but it was changed because nobody crosses Tim Murray and lives. Tim Murray can win a game of Connect Four in only three moves. Tim Murray doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

Stock Leino.

But it's a chance for Edmonton to get better. As long as we and the Islanders still stink, we're good to go.

Put this in the All About Threads thread.