Serious question now that the offseason dust has settled: would you rather go into the 3rd-last game of next season with ...

[nfreeman]

... a decent shot at the playoffs -- i.e. win all 3 games and probably in?

 

or

 

... a decent shot at the 2nd-worst overall record -- which means pretty likely to end up with the #3 overall pick?

 

 

I'll take the shot at the playoffs.

 

I am growing cold and dead inside. I need the electricity.

 

Nolan and Trottier behind the bench making like Paul Newman in Slapshot, with the jittery foreign goaltending coach smoking cigarettes and yelling curses in Latvian.

 

Myers and Risto dominating.

 

Gionta and Georges steering the canoe.

 

Stafford and Stewart playing hard and locked in for big paydays.

 

Enroth finally getting his shot at #1 and putting the death grip on it.

 

Girgensons starting to make his mark and lifting Foligno up with him.

 

It could happen.

[HopefulFuture]

I like the thought of Risto dominating, I just don't believe he'll be up with the big club until much later in the season to have any impact on the outcome.

 

I take that 2nd over all pick 50% over a possible playoff birth. Getting drummed out in the 1st round doesn't feed my appetite much. Getting Eichel does.

[IKnowPhysics]

First round loss or just barely not making the playoffs (again)

 

VS

 

Connor McEichel

 

 

 

No brainer for me, man.

[SwampD]

First round loss or just barely not making the playoffs (again)

 

VS

 

Connor McEichel

 

 

 

No brainer for me, man.

That is a no brainer. Unfortunately, that isn't the poll question. When you phase it like

First round loss or just barely not making the playoffs (again)

 

VS

 

A less than 50% chance of Connor McEichel

 

It gets a little trickier. Give me playoffs. F the tank, F Darcy, who started this whole thing, and F promoting losing as something good.

 

Of course, if we end up with Connor McEichel, I will change my answer.

[bunomatic]

One and out in the playoffs or a potential stud for the next 10 years getting us back to the show year in and year out. I'll take the pick at this point. Hang on nfreeman, its almost over. Don't give up.

[Claude_Verret]

Playoffs with no real shot at the Cup next year would be a huge failure. I've seen that movie too many times and I've got zero use for it. Give me a legit shot at the Cup or tank it to high heaven.

 

and if the complaint thread were open, I'd complain that it's 3 AM and I'm at work because some jackass attached my name to a -80 freezer that went down that I've got absolutely nothing stored in. I've spent the last two hours moving ###### to other freezers around the building. Fargin bastages.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Claude_Verret

[Byebye]

Best option isn't available, as IKP pointed out. How about this last place by a long shot with less then 25% chance at McDavid, but guaranteed Eichel. Makes me wanna say, bring on the playoffs so Pittsburgh can sweep us and we can draft??

 

Hope you don't mind the acronym

Edited August 7, 2014 by Naulter8

[Kristian]

I don't like losing.

 

Which is why I'm perfectly on board with another year of tanking and a guaranteed McDavid or Eichel.

 

THEN we can shove losing up the rest of the leagues backside.

[TheMatrix31]

Playoffs, any day. Any. ######. Day.

[LastPommerFan]

Your description leaves something off. If we are fighting for the playoffs, it probably means our #1 center is gonna win the Calder. I really don't see how it could happen if our pivots are Ennis and the Class of 2012.

 

If that is the case, i think it means the team is better than we currently believe, reducing the need for Conner McEichel (although in my heart of hearts I believe Garth Snow will somehow manage to win him for us) and short cycling the rebuild by 1-2 years.

 

At the end of the day, what I really want as a fan is to add a top two pick to a team that played in the Atlantic Division Finals.

[kas23]

Every day of the week I'll pick delayed gratitude in order to achieve greatness. I don't want a good team, I want an elite team.

[Huckleberry]

another tank year is what we are here for

[Crusader1969]

when you say " just give me the playoffs" you sound exactly like Leaf fans - believe me I hear them every single day.

 

As Sabre fans we should be saying "just bring me the cup". Want the best possibility to see the cup in Buffalo? give it one more year and draft McDavid or Eichel.

[darksabre]

I want elite players. I'll take another year of suck over squeaking into the playoffs. Let's see the plan through to the end.

[LastPommerFan]

I want elite players. I'll take another year of suck over squeaking into the playoffs. Let's see the plan through to the end.

I guess there's a solid caveat here.

 

If we're sneaking into the playoffs with Risto, Pysyk, Zadarov, Reinhart, Grigorenko, Armia all in the lineup, That might mean we already have elite players. If a team with 6 rooks is finishing ahead of two of Detroit, Ottawa, Tampa, Montreal that will indicate we have found what we are looking for.

 

If Nikita, Mikhail, Joel, Samson are not on the roster and we're battling for 4th, that indicates that the pieces that are not part of the solution just screwed us again.

[It Figures]

This is a fun question.

 

As someone else has noted, it's possible that we could be a bubble playoff team and the Islanders could be "working" to bring us one of the elite prospects. That just seems unlikely, no?

 

I agree that we need to be prepared to see this plan through. We need and want elite players. In order to get them, we need to stink it up. Again. We need to "trade the days for the years," as a parenting book once counseled me.

 

Darcy was not wrong when he talked about "some suffering."

[Taro T]

I want the Isles to be the worst by a large margin, and FOR THIS SINGLE SEASON, I am fine w/ them being bad (especially if they are entertaining & bad, like TN's initial Sabres squad. Fighting for 28th, even though it doesn't guarantee 1/2 of McEichel, it does guarantee another borderline elite guy.

 

Like Maggie said, "this is no time to go wobbly now." See it through.

[nfreeman]

Let's remember that by the time the playoffs roll around, it will have been 4 effing years since we knew the gut-churning, unbearably tense thrill ride of playoff hockey.

 

April 22, 2011. That was the last time the Sabres won a playoff game (it OT, no less -- on an Ennis putback).

 

Would you really rather wait another 20 freaking months for the Sabres to play a playoff game? And do you want to wait that long in exchange for a 42% chance (probably less, since they are changing the rules) at the #2 overall pick?

 

And what about the regular season? Don't you want to wake up on a Wednesday, with the Sabres on a 3-game win streak and the Bruins coming to town, look forward to the game all day, wonder whether the Sabres can deliver a statement win, go crazy when Kaleta lines up Lucic, break the game down here afterwards and then go to bed happy?

 

Why do we care about this team anyway if not for the thrills?

[dEnnis the Menace]

One and out in the playoffs or a potential stud for the next 10 years getting us back to the show year in and year out. I'll take the pick at this point. Hang on nfreeman, its almost over. Don't give up.

Playoffs with no real shot at the Cup next year would be a huge failure. I've seen that movie too many times and I've got zero use for it. Give me a legit shot at the Cup or tank it to high heaven.

 

these here. I don't want to barely make the playoffs only to lose in the first round. I'd rather draft the guy that is going to keep pushing us there and have a legitimate shot the following year.

[biodork]

I know it's not the popular answer, but I'm with you, nfreeman. I miss caring about this team. If they're truly not good enough this year and finish 29th-30th in spite of trying, then so be it. But, if something amazing happens and the kids coalesce into a legit team that is contending with the heavyweights, I don't want anyone on the coaching staff or FO telling them to back off for fear of hurting our draft status.

[...]

We have come all this way with the Sabres, knowing throughout the latter half of it that, in the end, the goal is to build a true contender.

 

We know this is the last season for it. We know that, even without getting the number 1 pick, if the Sabres tank, they will get a player whose caliber we have dreamed of for many seasons now.

 

Do we want a legit chance at building a true contender? Yes. Is tanking the only way? No. Tanking is the path they started on, though, and it's something they haven't really tried before (in earnest).

 

I don't like it while it's happening, but I do like the end game...a lot. And since, again, we have all travelled this far and the end is in sight, it only makes sense to stay the course.

 

 

 

[thewookie1]

It would very as to where the NYI are in the standings and to a lesser extent ST.L along with who's helping us make it to the playoffs.

 

If Girgs, Risto and friends are at least a good part of the reasoning behind a playoff push then certainly. If its merely Stafford, Stewart, Gionta, and Moulson having career years I'd rather not.

 

 

If NYI was near the bottom however, I wouldn't care about Buffalo's position.

 

 

So to sum it up, if the rookies and youngsters are the primary or at least a large part of the reasoning Buffalo is going to pull of a worst to 7/8th in a year then logic would dictate the NYI are very likely not also in thus still giving us a lottery pick. As long as we don't middle it and have the NYI going to the playoffs I can live with it.

 

[LastPommerFan]

Even if I'm fighting for a playoff spot, I'm not trading picks for players in March, and I'm entertaining all offers for pending UFAs, including goalies.

 

So even if I'm not in favor of losing, my team gets significantly worse (minus Stafford, Meszaros, Stewart, Mitchell, possible Enroth and Neuvirth) for the final 6 weeks of the season. Should be enough "tank".

 

Would any of the "I want to be excited now" crowd like to offer their thoughts on what should be done at the deadline in 2015 (buy/hold/sell)?

Edited August 7, 2014 by Glass Case Of Emotion

[nfreeman]

Even if I'm fighting for a playoff spot, I'm not trading picks for players in March, and I'm entertaining all offers for pending UFAs, including goalies.

 

So even if I'm not in favor of losing, my team gets significantly worse (minus Stafford, Meszaros, Stewart, Mitchell, possible Enroth and Neuvirth) for the final 6 weeks of the season. Should be enough "tank".

 

Would any of the "I want to be excited now" crowd like to offer their thoughts on what should be done at the deadline in 2015 (buy/hold/sell)?

 

Good question.

 

I would trade Stafford at the deadline, and I don't care what kind of season he has. I'm not giving him an extension -- I know how that story plays out.

 

I'm open to giving Stewart an extension if he's crushing it this year. If there is no extension in place at the deadline, though, I would trade him too.

 

I'm skeptical as to the deadline value of Enroth, Neuvirth, Mitchell and Meszaros. If any of them would return a 2nd-rounder, though -- off they go.

 

Bottom line is that I'm fine with trading any of these guys at the deadline if they return good assets -- but not if the Sabres are on the bubble and the point of the trade is to weaken the team in order to improve their draft position.

[That Aud Smell]

But, if something amazing happens and the kids coalesce into a legit team that is contending with the heavyweights, I don't want anyone on the coaching staff or FO telling them to back off for fear of hurting our draft status.

I don't think anyone is suggesting or thinking that this could happen. That said, is there any chance that a waiver-immune young player (e.g., Risto) could be sent back to Rochester if he were rounding into a stud d-man form and thereby threatening the tank? That also seems unlikely. The blowback would be overwhelming.

 

We need to "trade the days for the years," as a parenting book once counseled me.

Well, we're trading more than days for those years, but I take your meaning.