Robviously

No thanks.

As long as the Top 6 forward is Stafford or Ennis, we can talk. Not sure what "top prospect" means exactly, but they'll have to throw in more than O'Reilly if they want Armia.

Here's what I wrote that AP accidentally helped me prove: He then proceeded to find 12 games against back-up goalies where we went 11-1.

Actually not. Of the 12 games he put in bold, we went 11-1. So, like I said, we got fat against back-up goalies during that run. Myth proven. Here you go Sabres fans: http://espn.go.com/nhl/team/schedule/_/name/buf/year/2012/buffalo-sabres

Wait, we didn't face everyone's back-up ALL the time? Oh, that changes everything! :doh:

I *do* realize that. I also realize that during our "awesome" second half runs each of the past two seasons, we got fat by playing against a lot of back-up goalies. Silly me for looking at a sample size larger than two games. :rolleyes: That's NOT why they do it? Don't most teams try to pick games for their back-up based at least partly on whether they think they can still win despite not having their best goaltender in net? By the way, being condescending isn't the same thing as being smart or insightful. But, of course, continue pretending it is.

Wow, again? We must be an awesome team that so many other teams are scared to play that no.1 goalie against us! Here come the garbage points!

So would I. Definitely. But I'm more limited on what I'd trade to get that roll of the dice.

He quieted down some after Kaleta kicked his ass.

I guess Marchand missed the memo last game.

:unsure:

I'm cool with moving Ennis or Stafford. I don't think either one is a long term solution for us. That would pretty much kill my interest. We don't have enough size, strength, and intensity up front to trade Foligno just to have the right to give O'Reilly a giant contract after his one good season. The Sabres have two power forwards in their entire organization - one is Foligno and the other is Girgensons. Less than a year ago we traded Kassian at the deadline. We're never going to have any size or toughness up front if we keep trading our best young power forwards every time we see a shiny object. I'd want O'Reilly and a 2nd rounder for that. Pysyk would probably step in for them immediately and Ennis would obviously do a lot more for them than O'Reilly (who is currently doing nothing). Again, O'Reilly is good but the fact that we have to overpay him as part of getting him hurts his value. We're basically trading for a bad contract if we get him.

Good point, although the Sabres also have no idea what the F they're doing so it could all balance out.

Let's hope they pick the right one this time around. Our depth in goal is awful. We don't have any other options to replace Enroth as the back-up (if that's what we have to do) and I'm not seeing an heir to Miller that we can feel confident about.

We definitely need to draft a goalie or two this year, we should be able to do that in round 2 or later.

I'd still rather finish last in the East than 9th in the East.

Is it that obvious that it'll take a ton to get him? I think it all depends on the teams Colorado is talking to getting into a bidding war. If they don't, then Colorado is basically trying to trade a young player with one good season under his belt who refuses to play unless he gets a long term contract for $5M per year. Ryan O'Reilly is a gamble even if you do get him. I'm not in a hurry to package players, prospects, and draft picks just to get the chance to invest tens of millions of dollars in a guy who may not be as good as his career season. I'd take that gamble for a reasonable price, but this isn't the "Get him at all costs" situation the thread title suggests. And from Colorado's perspective, this guy is doing nothing for them (i.e. he's not playing). If I could trade him for one awesome prospect (e.g. Filip Forsberg), I'd be happy to do that. They should try to encourage a bidding war and should not be in any hurry to pull the trigger, but one awesome young player coming back could be enough.

Well said, and completely understandable. If following this team isn't making your life better, it's OK to stop. At this point, the Sabres are just something I watch on TV to get my hockey fix. I can't develop an emotional attachment to any other team in the league so I stick with them. I absolutely don't expect them to win anything any time soon. They're getting a "Bills" vibe where even the talk/daydreams about what they could do to transform into a winner is starting to feel abstract and hollow. They aren't as hopeless as the Bills, but something big is going to have to happen before I can really take them seriously again. Grow up.

I seriously can't imagine a scenario where they'd be interested in Leopold. If they want Leopold, they can just sign him this summer. It's not like they're going all-out to win the Cup this year. Colorado is basically where the Sabres are. They're building around Landeskog (who is 20) so they're probably going to primarily be interested in future assets. I basically hate the idea of trading Girgensons too. He's the type of player our franchise needs more of, and we'd have no power forwards in the pipeline with him gone. We shouldn't make trades that simultaneously fix old problems and create new problems.

That's still going to be up to Vanek though. If he decides the Sabres are going nowhere fast, I could see him taking less money to go to a contender for the last few years of his career. I hope he does retire here though.

Really? We couldn't have just gone with "dream" there?

TROPP-ic Thunder update from 2/12: Really wish he was healthy this year.

The Sabres shouldn't rule out a total rebuild. Long term, that might be what's best for the team. Vanek, Poms, and Miller each should be able to fetch us top prospects and first round picks. That said, I'm a huge Vanek fan and I'll be pretty miserable if/when the day comes that they decide to trade him. And that day may be sooner rather than later if they can't get an extension done with his contract expiring after next season. (Same goes for Pominville and Miller.) And if they do get the extension done, I'll probably run out and buy an authentic #26 jersey from the Sabres Store.

I like draft picks. So we should only trade the guy they definitely wouldn't want?

Signing Myers was good. Signing him to the crazy contract we did (he's the highest paid player in the league this year) was just stupid. It's not just that we overpaid, the pressure of that contract is probably hurting him right now too.