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JohnRobertEichel

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Posts posted by JohnRobertEichel

  1. 3 hours ago, LTS said:

    So, you don't buy into his explanation that he wanted to stock the lower tiers of talent first and begin to create a level of competition there before letting players make it up to the big club?

    That's what you get with players like Girgensons, Larsson, and Nelson.

    Okposo and Bogosian are not his contracts but the only way those contracts move is if you can package them up with a super prospect or a top pick in the draft.  The Sabres are lacking those pieces so how did you expect him to move them?  Hell, Bogosian has the injury problems, so it's unlikely anyone is taking him.  So, that really leaves Okposo.  What do the Sabres have to throw into the deal to get him off the roster?  When they do that, are they better or worse because they've now lost that piece in addition to Okposo?

    As for Pominville, a $1M contract to add depth to the organization wouldn't be the end of the world right now.  It's unlikely he's going to go anywhere else next season.  So, the Sabres can talk to him and he can accept that he's the outgoing piece on the only team that will take him.  At $1M, even if he ends up in Rochester, it's money well spent.

    I'll address your points in order:

    1. No, I don't buy into that explanation at all. JB should have been simultaneously improving the big club while also improving the lower tiers of talent. He doesn't need to do the latter first before addressing the former. He couldn't have found better alternatives to Girgensons and Larsson at any point during these past two miserable seasons? Both have been with the Sabres for 6 seasons (and Casey for 4). How much more time is needed to evaluate these players? 

    2. Okposo and Bogosian could have been traded for other salary cap burdens on other teams in "change-of-scenery" situations that could potentially benefit all involved in such trades. My issue with these two has always been less about their ridiculous contracts and more about the "A" each wears on their jersey. Both have been a part of the older veteran leadership group for the past three seasons in which the Sabres have horribly underachieved and managed to get two coaches fired. Neither did anything to elevate or motivate the rest of the team when difficult times arose. We quickly got rid of O'Reilly for being so dejected at the end of last season, so why not these two losers?

    3. The main issue with keeping Pominville would be him taking up a roster spot better reserved for one of our many young forward prospects. And if it's veteran depth we want, why not someone else from one of the 30 other teams in the league? Preferably somone with a known history of quality leadership? Pominville has been associated with underachieving teams for his entire career. Nice player, solid career, but he does nothing to improve the losing culture here in Buffalo.

    Look, I'm not losing sleep over JB's individual decisions to potentially extend Pominville, Girgensons, and Larsson or keep Bogosian, Okposo, and Nelson. You could make a case for a positive on-ice contribution from each one of these players. Even I have done this in the past for some of these guys. But collectively, these decisions represent greater problems with JB's tenure as GM: he's too slow to make decisions, doesn't seem to have a coherent plan on what kind of team he wants to build here, and doesn't know how to fix the diseased locker room culture that persists post-O'Reilly/Kane/Lehner.

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  2. 47 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

    That’s troubling.... if true 

    Very troubling, but it makes sense given everything we know about this GM for the past 25 months. For whatever reason he is having a very difficult time letting go of the proven dead weight from the two previous failed regimes. At this point I've resigned myself to the idea that Girgensons, Larsson, Bogosian, Okposo, and Nelson will all be on the 2019-20 roster along with Pominville on another triumphant quest to land a top 3 lottery pick.

  3. 15 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

    Sure, cause the D was so good last year right? Face it, we need upgrades top to bottom. D might not be #1 priority but if anyone thinks Montour coming in fixes the D you are dreaming. I'm hoping the new coach can fix Risto, but aside from Dahlin there is nothing to rave about on D. or in goal, or..........etc etc etc. 

    I wasn't arguing that the D doesn't need upgrades. My point was that the remaining cap space should be allocated toward increasing the talent at the top-6 forward positions first before getting to the problems with the talent on D. The reasoning is that the problems last year on defense could have conceivably had more to do with Housley coaching issues than with the raw talent. No one can make that case with the forwards, however. There are only 3 legitimate top-6 forward talents on the roster and in the entire Sabres development system right now (Eichel, Skinner, Reinhart) with a 4th still a year or two away (Mitts).

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  4. 1 hour ago, 7+6=13 said:

    I get it, but Skinner is so much more important for this team than O'Reilly was and would be.  So if it's an either or,  it's an easy choice.  

    Of course we need a 2C and desperately.  O'Reilly would be the perfect player for the job in theory but hey JBot and/or the owners didn't want him on the team anymore.  We probably have 12-14 million to address 2C, top 6 winger and a top 4 defenseman.   Bit of a tall task but let's see what they do. 

    Assuming we keep Ristolainen and re-sign McCabe, there's no urgent need to address defense this summer. That $12-14 million you cite needs to go to the far greater needs of a 2C and a top-6 winger.

  5. 1 hour ago, Ogelthorpe said:

    Yeah, that worked so well with Vanek. Would rather of had those 4 1st rounders all day. Overpaying a player for the optics is not the way to win. 

    No way they can afford to keep all their young players now. Have to think Samson or Risto is traded. 

    Also dont forget a Dahlin deal has to be done in the next 2 years. 

    Have a great weekend!

    This seems like irrational fear that is not supported by the cap numbers. Remember that all of the non-Okposo roster garbage (Sobotka, Sheary, Hunwick, Scandella, and Bogosian) comes off the books next summer (about $18 million in total). There will be enough money for Reinhart next summer, Dahlin the summer after, Mittelstadt at some point, and the C2 and top-6 winger we desperately need now. 

    • Like (+1) 2
  6. 7 hours ago, #freejame said:

    How would you jettison either player? Nobody should be willing to touch Okposo with a ten foot pole. 

     

    By trading for some other team's salary cap albatross in order to give all involved players a new change of scenery. Buying them out or relegating them to the minors may also be alternate emergency options. The point is that both need to go if our dead-man-walking GM ever intends to change the losing culture on this roster. Okposo and Bogosian have been with the team for the past 3 seasons in which the franchise has been underachieving. They represent the veteran leadership of this club and have done a pretty miserable job of "leading." Bogo is still a capable NHL 3rd pair D and Okposo a capable NHL 4th line wing, so both will have some minimal value to another club with a strong leadership core intact...but clearly not to this one any longer. 

  7. 1 hour ago, dudacek said:

    I don’t know why the typical Sabre fan would have any issue with the Blues in the final, unless they have a severe sense of schadenfreude tied to O’Reilly, or the fact they have one of the few longer cup droughts.

    That's exactly what I was referring to. Of all 15 teams in the Western Conference, the Blues would be the most galling to your average Sabres fan because we gave them the #2C we desperately needed this season in exchange for a bunch of trash (Berglund, Sobotka, draft bust Thompson) and a couple irrelevant draft picks in the scheme of things. The Sabres don't really have any rivals in the West.

  8. On 5/17/2019 at 4:59 PM, PerreaultForever said:

    I'm pretty sure he knows the real stuff and these sort of things are just empty media answers. He knows Casey was an inadequate 2C. He was hoping he'd be a rookie sensation but he knows he wasn't but he's not going to say it cause it makes himself and Casey look bad. So he's going to try to find a 2C but if he can't we will hear more stuff about developing our own players. Same for all other positions. It's good diplomacy, but ultimately empty and meaningless.

    He better do a lot more than try this off-season. JBot seems to be all about player development and building a winning organization super slowly from the ground up. But if he doesn't fill the glaring roster holes (#2 center, top-6 winger at bare minimum) in Buffalo NOW and this team has a 2019-20 season similar to the past 2 (or doesn't make the playoffs within the next 2 seasons), he'll find himself fired.

  9. On 5/18/2019 at 5:50 PM, LGR4GM said:

    ***** garbage that they didn't get the colors correct. Seriously ***** this. How mofo tone def can Pegula Sports get. Trash. 

     

    I personally think it's perfect. It looks as bland and irrelevant as the Sabres franchise has looked for the past 48 seasons.

  10. I'm not strongly opposed to keeping Girgensons as a 4th line LW, occasional 3rd liner, and emergency center. I also don't think it's fair to say we need to get rid of him simply because he's been around a losing culture for a long time (what about Jack Eichel, for example, who has been a big part of the team for the entirety of the past 3 seasons in which the Sabres have horribly underachieved?).

    But here's the thing: we have too many other candidates more suited for the 3rd and 4th lines next season (Rodrigues, Olofsson, Sheary, Smith, Mittelstadt, Larsson, Wilson, Asplund, Sobotka, Okposo, Thompson, Nylander...I just named 12 others for only 6 active spots). Krueger will probably also insist on a couple new additions from outside the organization. I just don't see it working out for Girgensons here any longer because of the numbers game for roster spots.

  11. 7 hours ago, jad1 said:

    Dragons have killed plenty of Targaryens, so the reason Drogon let Jon live is uncertain.

    Further, Jon being a Targaryen had no impact on the show's plot at all.

    Some claim it helped drive Dany to madness, but the last show explained Dany's actions as tactics, not madness.

    She burned Kings Landing to show future foes that using innocents as shields will not prevent her from using her Dragon. Tywin Lannister would probably agree with this strategy.

    And it can be further argued that listening to Tyrion's advice to avoid immediately attacking King's Landing in season 7 cost her 2 dragons.  At this point, she realizes that delay caused by mercy has cost her power.

    Dany had also found her purpose as a liberator back in season 3.  So it makes sense that she would want to continue her crusade after winning the Iron Throne.

    She's not mad, she's just determined and ruthless, like several other characters in the show.  Jon being a Targaryen doesn't change this.  In fact she willingly accepts Jon's killing embrace.

    Which comes back to the purpose of Jon being a Targaryen.  There is none. It's like it was just thrown in there for (show) fan service.

    By the way, Gendry had the best claim to the throne at the end of the show.  Robert, Joffrey, and Tommen were all Baretheons.  Even Cersi gets her claim from being married to Robert, and not from her being a Lannister.  When Dany legitimized Gendry as Robert's heir, he also gained a claim to the throne.

    That the writers didn't even recognize this at the council scene shows how the quality the writing has declined as Dan and Dave have looked to move on from the show.

     

    But there was a purpose: it contributed heavily to Dany's mental breakdown knowing that Jon is the rightful heir to the throne, especially given his popularity in Westeros and the fact that this secret was leaked. For those viewers paying careful attention since the beginning, Dany "breaking bad" was always the most logical conclusion to the story. The personality traits required to be a great conquerer aren't the same as those needed to be a great ruler. The fans upset with what happened to Dany's character fall into two basic categories: social justice warrior feminist types infatuated with the idea of any strong female leader regardless of that female's specific character details (see: Hillary Clinton voters circa 2016), and horny males blinded to Dany's faults because she's hot and they want to ***** her (see: Sarah Palin voters circa 2008). I will give all the Dany fans this, however: the plot, the dialogue, and the character development definitely suffered once the show's writers got ahead of Martin's books and once they forced themselves to rush the series to completion for the final 13 episodes. So Dany's complete character arc did come off a bit incongruous and disjointed toward the end.

     

    By the way, this show is getting absolutely MASSACRED on the internet! There's a petition with well over 1 million signatures demanding a do-over for the final season. And check out the imdb ratings for the final 3 episodes, compared to the previous 70.

  12. 21 minutes ago, Ogelthorpe said:

    Rumors about more dragons showing up. 

    Makes sense. In the absence of good writing these last two seasons, you might as well just throw in more dragons. And show more titties too.

  13. 2 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

    Why does Buffalo always get screwed? Honestly, we have won one lottery and besides that have only ever had the worst possible scenarios play out practically.

     

    Burn in hell Dallas for failing us.

    I hope the Blues are wrecked in the conference finals.

    This is unreal, no? It's like the Buffalo Sabres fanbase has truly entered Hockey Hell. And so now who gets to win the Cup? Is it Kane's team? How about O'Reilly's team? Or how about Skinner's former team and the guys who stole the Cup from us in 2006? Or how about another annoying Boston team winning a championship?

  14. 29 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

    Yes, but I like the Blues and aren’t we supposed to hate Dallas for “no goal” and winning a Cup on our ice for a market that knows nothing about hockey?  

     

     

    You are certainly free to cheer for whomever you like, but I'm hearing that this Dallas vs. St. Louis Game 7 outcome could mean a 1st round draft position swing from the late twenties to the late teens. That's significant enough for me to root for Dallas.

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  15. 5 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

    Living with n St Louis, I’m pulling for the Blues. Great hockey town.  Loyal fan base that is patiently waiting to win one someday.  

    Strong TV ratings and excellent youth hockey in the area.  Lots of Blues retire and stay here and the6 have helped by coaching the top youth programs.  As a result, quite a few NHL players from St Louis these days 

     

    Score Blues.  

    Aren't we supposed to be rooting for the Stars tonight because of the better potential draft position?

  16. 18 minutes ago, Hoss said:

    the more i think about this the worse it gets.

    we never got to see the night king fight a ***** thing. was he actually ever good at anything other than throwing a spear and raising the dead?

    we never got to see any of the night king’s main henchmen fight.

    we never learned who the night king is and it’s irrelevant now.

    everyone of consequence survived.

    it took a throw from the left field wall to tag the night king out at home in the bottom of the 9th. (also, how did literally nobody stop arya considering they were surrounded?)

     

    This. I'm still hoping it will be addressed in these last three episodes. But if it isn't, that's just some really terrible storytelling right there. I assume at least Martin planned to have an explanation for the Night King?

  17. 1 hour ago, JujuFish said:

    I'm bored on a Sunday evening, so here's the last 5 years of 3rd round RBs:

    2018
    Royce Freeman - 15 carries for 71 yards in the Broncos' season opener

    2017
    Alvin Kamara - 7 rushes for 18 yards, 4 receptions for 20 yards in the Saints' season opener
    Kareem Hunt - 17 rushes for 148 yards and a TD, 5 receptions for 98 yards and 2 TDs in the Chiefs' season opener
    D'Onta Foreman - 1 rush for 4 yards in the Texans' season opener
    James Conner - 4 rushes for 11 yards in the Steelers' season opener

    2016
    Kenyan Drake - 0 carries, on the field for 1 snap in the Dolphins' season opener
    CJ Prosise - 1 rush for -2 yards, 1 reception for 13 yards in the Seahawks' season opener (coincidentally against the Dolphins)

    2015
    Tevin Coleman - 20 rushes for 80 yards in the Falcons' season opener
    Duke Johnson - 7 rushes for 22 yards in the Browns' season opener
    David Johnson - 0 rushes, 1 catch for 55 yards and a TD in the Cardinals' season opener
    Matt Jones - 6 rushes for 28 yards in the Redskins' season opener

    2014
    Charles Sims - Did not play until game 9 due to ankle injury.
    Tre Mason - Did not play until game 5
    Terrance West - 16 rushes for 100 yards in the Browns' season opener
    Jerick McKinnon - 1 rush for 1 yard in the Vikings' season opener
    Dri Archer - 1 rush for 4 yards in the Steelers' season opener

     

    It would seem that it's not fairly common for 3rd round picks to start their rookie seasons inactive.  Of the above 17 examples, only 2 were inactive, and one of those due to injury. That leaves 1 out of 17 third round running backs from the last 5 years that did not play in his team's season opener barring injury.

    Touche! Sort of.... I was referring to third round picks in general. But for third round RB's, yes apparently they are normally expected to contribute right away. Nevertheless, I stand by my claim that McCoy will not be traded. I appreciate the research though!

  18. On 4/27/2019 at 1:10 PM, GASabresIUFAN said:

     https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/cap/

    According to Spotrac.com, the Bills still have 30 mill to spend and therefore can afford to keep Shady.  However, in the NFL, teams can roll forward their excess cap from a prior year.  In simple terms this means that Buffalo can exceed the 2020 cap by 30 mill if they keep the current cap situation.  Trade Shady and now you have 36 mill to rollover on a young and improving team that may need to make a splash in the 2019 off-season to fill some holes.  Also don't assume only a draft pick is coming back.  I can see a cap dump kind of trade that benefits both teams. The Bills trade Shady and get back a DE and another play with a cap hit that helps our depth for the season and is then let go.

    The RB room is getting crowded.  Yeldon, Gore, Shady and now Singletary.  Also they signed Perry, and still have Murphy and Wade hanging around.  A few of these guys won't make the team.  I think Shady is one of the odd men out.  I admit trading Shady could leave a suspect backfield with an aging Gore, a rookie in Singletary and the inconsistent Yeldon, but that also opens up opportunity for the talented Yeldon and Singletary, who as @Hoss said, they didn't spend a 3rd on a guy who isn't going to play.

    Also McCoy should be sent packing after the End Game Tweet

    The Bills have over $70 million of cap space in 2020 with 50 players signed, and that's not even including any of the potential $30+ million 2019 rollover cap. The $6 million additional rollover cap gained from getting rid of McCoy this year is COMPLETELY NEGLIGIBLE. McCoy is a future Hall of Famer ready to redeem himself after one bad season, a season in which he was surrounded by perhaps the most atrocious collection of pass catchers, offensive linemen, and QB performances in Bills history. The 2019 Bills will feature a run-heavy offense, and McCoy helps the 2019 Bills win now, which is simply more important than having $6 million extra to spend in 2020. It's only a crowded backfield right now while everyone is healthy. Yeldon isn't actually that good, and the 2019 free agent market supported this argument. If Singletary shows any ability to catch out of the backfield, Yeldon is gone. And yes, it's actually fairly common for 3rd round picks to start their rookie seasons inactive on rosters that are healthy and full of depth like the 2019 Bills. Look it up.

  19. 16 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

    McCoy is going to be traded.  He is owned 9 mill this season, but the Bills save 6.8 if he is traded or release.  Expect him to be traded and soon.

     

    Why?! Are the Bills hurting for cap space this season or something? Do we really need another 2020 6th round pick so badly? Are we really going to get rid of the main guy who recruited Gore? Are we confident enough that injuries won't happen at the RB position this year?

    Here's my prediction at RB/FB: we keep 4 active on the roster (McCoy, Gore, Perry, DiMarco), Singletary inactive, Yeldon cut.

    By the way, the Bills are having an amazing draft so far and a very impressive off-season overall! The one glaring roster need is starting DE opposite Hughes, but I suspect we either go Ansah or a Clowney trade to resolve this issue.

  20. 9 hours ago, SDS said:

    To be clear, I actually don’t really care what these guys look like or say in interviews. But the playoff beard tradition of looking like 2 miles of bad road as a symbol of your trials and tribulations during your Cup journey has been co-opted by the hipsters. These guys could just as easily be seen ordering avocado toast and a nice triple IPA in flannel shirts as diving in front of a shot from the point.

    It’s over man. Just play hockey. 

    Truth.

  21. On 4/17/2019 at 8:59 PM, #freejame said:

    Have the Bills ever played on Thanksgiving though?

    Yes, 8 times before: 1961, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1975, 1976, and 1994. Also, the original Buffalo NFL team played on it from 1921-1924 and the AAFC Bills played on it in 1948.

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