Robviously

HOLY ####!!!!!!!

So how much is Bettman paying you?

Like when everyone in Buffalo hated the trade up to get Watkins and then it turned out awesome?

No. The pick is trash but if he's as bad as we all think, hopefully they're smart enough to draft another guy in a couple years. Maybe we'll even have receivers by then.

ZFG!!!!!!!!!

Your an idiot. It's 8!!!

OK, did literally anyone feel this way during the season when we were watching him play 2-3 times a week? I really don't remember anyone being over the moon about him this year when we were actually watching games. To put it another way, if all you knew about the next 5 seasons of Sabres hockey is that our top 2 centers are Eichel and ROR, how confident are you that we become a contender in that time? Most of the hope from the last few games of the season was from imagining a future with a top 2 of Eichel and Mittelstadt.

Well, yes. We can't go into next season with Eichel and Mittelstadt are our top 2 centers. Keeping ROR prevents that if nothing else, and he'd be a great 3rd C to have when both guys are a couple years older. But it really depends on how much you think we need a major shake-up to change things around. Can you change a team's identity by swapping out role players? Maybe, but that's what we tried this season and it didn't get us far. I do have more faith in guys like Mittelstadt and Guhle can change the team than most rookies (the Guhle/Ullmark game against CBJ in January looked like a completely different team). But if the core of the team is still completely in place come October, chances are pretty good we're lackluster again. I hope we make a hockey trade. Gratton for Briere. Warrener/Ballard for Drury. Do something to change our trajectory and shake things up. It's worked before.

How's Borgen looking?

One guy is on his ELC and the other is in the prime of his career and was brought in for his leadership. This is illustrating why I'm fine with the Sabres using ROR as part of a big trade this summer. He hasn't led the way. His level of play is generally just there with the rest of the team.

Jack blew by him last year. Where is all this love for ROR coming from? No one on this board was over the moon about him during the season. But now he emotes harder than he's ever emoted when he cleans out his locker and we love him again? This is two seasons in a row where he muddled his way through the first 3 months of the season and then put up numbers starting in January once we were well out of the playoff race. He's talented and a good 2nd line center. But he's not indispensable. We brought him in and paid him to be a leader and the team has been half asleep for two years. We can trade him if the right deal is there. Two seasons in a row where he start putting up numbers in January. His game logs are on ESPN.com if you want to check them out.

Sometimes it's fun to pretend Jack Eichel isn't easily our best player. If he hates losing, he wouldn't have found his game in January this season. He's definitely made a big show of trying to be the most sad after losses but he's been as consistent as the rest of the team in terms of showing up.

This is it. And was anyone dying to give him 8 years last summer after that season? The most I remember was posters saying they'd want to sign him for modest deals that probably weren't what he was looking for.

I'm not sure Southern Ontario could support two teams in Buffalo.

In the 90s I remember reading a Sports Illustrated (in a waiting room, because that's where you read magazines) about all the goofy stuff they were doing in Nashville to get fans to embrace hockey. That's definitely not why Nashville is the coolest NHL market right now (the good team is why) but doing fun, cool, sometimes corny stuff pays off.

Worth Repeating: Please stop assigning magical properties to the Tank.

Wait, how is this a "Because Buffalo" thing? If anything, it's the opposite. The argument is literally that the player is too mopey and dour to actually lead this team, or even to improve himself really. Taro put it nicely - you can't lead by self-flagellation. No one is going to give you kudos for being the most sad when you keep losing. +1

He started putting up numbers in January, when the season was effectively over. Are we supposed to feel awesome about it? I want the most talent we can get but I'm also fine with giving something up to get something. The dream is to give up junk for star players but I'm not counting on that (unless someone rehires ZFG). I hope we're considering big trades. I'm ready to shake things up.

Kane wasn't pushed out of here by the fans; he was pushed out by his impending UFA status and the fact that the Sabres didn't think they could re-sign him for a contract he'd agree to. Botterill isn't responding to what the fans on message boards are saying. As for ROR, if he's traded, it'll be a hockey trade. And it'll happen if Botterill decides we need a big trade or two to shake things up. Should we be demanding he holds onto something that isn't working?

I think he did that with Tim Murray. The problem was he hired the wrong "hockey person." Let's hope he hired the right one this time and can keep out of the way.

It's because he speaks almost entirely in passive language. "I should be better." "We know we need to be better." "I have to be better." Right or wrong, when you hear that it sounds like a guy hedging his bets. Like he wants things to turn around but he doesn't want to say they will because he's worried he can't back it up. And he's been talking like this FOREVER. The ROR quotes about "I need to do better" were a joke by the middle of last season. He's not a bad player at all but it's hard to imagine things getting better if he's the one we're building around after all this. The Sabres don't have to trade him but they'd be dumb not to shop around.

Even me? :(

So....are you gonna share your updates and rationale or did you just want to let us know you're thinking about the draft a lot? ;)

No.

Captain Needa got what he deserved. "Apology accepted."