dudacek Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 We will probably be in the race at the end. This season is really starting to mirror last season's: 1) godawful start where we look like we couldn't win in the minor leagues. 2) competitive middle where we lose more than we win, but at least look in the game most of the time. 3) Lousy finish after the UFA sell-off leaves us with not enough horses. Strome or Marner or Zacha look like the most reasonable scenarios to me. Finishing outside the top 10 aint gonna happen. McEichel was always about winning the lottery anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robviously Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 We will probably be in the race at the end. This season is really starting to mirror last season's: 1) godawful start where we look like we couldn't win in the minor leagues. 2) competitive middle where we lose more than we win, but at least look in the game most of the time. 3) Lousy finish after the UFA sell-off leaves us with not enough horses. Strome or Marner or Zacha look like the most reasonable scenarios to me. Finishing outside the top 10 aint gonna happen. McEichel was always about winning the lottery anyway. I doubt losing Stafford and Stewart is going to mean a whole lot to us. Or, at least, not nearly as much as the sell-offs the Coyotes and Hurricanes might be prepping for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derrico Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) Ya I think what really 'helped' the tank last year after the deadline was Enroth and Neuvirth both getting hurt almost immediately and forcing us to play the two AHL goalies (in which Hackett then also got hurt) down the stretch. I think we will be picking between 5-8 which will still be a hell of a player but not nearly the level of McEichel. By the way I'm not giving up on the tank but this is just where I see it going. Edited December 29, 2014 by Derrico Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudacek Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 I doubt losing Stafford and Stewart is going to mean a whole lot to us. Or, at least, not nearly as much as the sell-offs the Coyotes and Hurricanes might be prepping for. Those two mean more than you might think. The kids seem to look up to them. But the one I'm really thinking of is Enroth. Take the keys away from him and the tank will start crushing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 We will probably be in the race at the end. This season is really starting to mirror last season's: 1) godawful start where we look like we couldn't win in the minor leagues. 2) competitive middle where we lose more than we win, but at least look in the game most of the time. 3) Lousy finish after the UFA sell-off leaves us with not enough horses. Strome or Marner or Zacha look like the most reasonable scenarios to me. Finishing outside the top 10 aint gonna happen. McEichel was always about winning the lottery anyway. I thought McEichel was about finishing last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samson's Flow Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 I thought McEichel was about finishing last. Yeah. McDavid was about winning the lottery. McDavid/Eichel was about finishing last. Eichel is the supermodel's hot friend for when you don't win the lottery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drunkard Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 I doubt losing Stafford and Stewart is going to mean a whole lot to us. Or, at least, not nearly as much as the sell-offs the Coyotes and Hurricanes might be prepping for. We need to trade both Enroth and Neuvirth with the understanding that one of them will pull a Moulson and resign with us during free agency. If we do that and have to pull up 2 of our goalie prospects (the worst ones statistically like Hackett and Knapp) along with selling off our other pending UFA's it may be enough to push us towards the bottom, although it may still not be enough to catch Edmonton. That would still give us a 33.5% chance of landing one of the big 2 hoping us or Edmonton win the lottery so nobody else can jump ahead of us with Hanifan as a consolation prize. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudacek Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 I thought McEichel was about finishing last. To the hardcore tankers, yes. To me, this season will see so much competition to finish last that it will be about as difficult a goal to reach as winning the cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) We need to trade both Enroth and Neuvirth with the understanding that one of them will pull a Moulson and resign with us during free agency. If we do that and have to pull up 2 of our goalie prospects (the worst ones statistically like Hackett and Knapp) along with selling off our other pending UFA's it may be enough to push us towards the bottom, although it may still not be enough to catch Edmonton. That would still give us a 33.5% chance of landing one of the big 2 hoping us or Edmonton win the lottery so nobody else can jump ahead of us with Hanifan as a consolation prize. This might work out as something akin to the best of both worlds. The youngsters wouldn't feel like they're playing for a franchise that tanks — after all, they replaced Rolston with Nolan, fired the tank architect Regier, brought Moulson back, Gorges, Gionta etc. But they'll understand that their taste of success wasn't nearly enough to get seriously into the playoff race, thus the braintrust is looking to the future, with the idea of adding an elite piece and turning things around even quicker than planned. Edited December 29, 2014 by PASabreFan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wjag Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 We need to trade both Enroth and Neuvirth with the understanding that one of them will pull a Moulson and resign with us during free agency. That would be an interesting move. I just don't see the need out there in the supposed playoff teams. Someone will need to lose a starting goalie. Maybe the Leafs could make the argument that Enroth could keep their playoff aspirations alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drunkard Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 That would be an interesting move. I just don't see the need out there in the supposed playoff teams. Someone will need to lose a starting goalie. Maybe the Leafs could make the argument that Enroth could keep their playoff aspirations alive. Not necessarily. All you really need are teams that would like to upgrade their backup goalie situations. Neither of them has a large cap hit and we don't have to ask for the moon for either of them. There are a lot of questionable backup goalies in the league and we should know because we've been beating them. A solid insurance policy who can hold down the fort down the stretch to give their starter some rest before the playoffs without hampering their playoff seeding should definitely be worth a 2nd or 3rd round pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader1969 Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 at this point I would trade a 3rd with Enroth just to stop him from winning all those Shoot - Outs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brawndo Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 This might work out as something akin to the best of both worlds. The youngsters wouldn't feel like they're playing for a franchise that tanks — after all, they replaced Rolston with Nolan, fired the tank architect Regier, brought Moulson back, Gorges, Gionta etc. But they'll understand that their taste of success wasn't nearly enough to get seriously into the playoff race, thus the braintrust is looking to the future, with the idea of adding an elite piece and turning things around even quicker than planned. Very well put. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 at this point I would trade a 3rd with Enroth just to stop him from winning all those Shoot - Outs! I hear that. Friggen Enroth has turned into some kind of shootout savant. GO SABRES!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Current standings through games played 12/29. Team ----- GP - L - W - OT - PTS Edmonton 36 22 7 7 51 Carolina 36 22 10 4 48 Buffalo 37 20 14 3 43 New Jersey 38 18 13 7 43 Arizona 36 18 14 4 40 Colorado 36 15 13 8 38 Philadelphia 35 15 14 6 36 Columbus 34 16 15 3 35 Ottawa 36 14 15 7 35 Dallas 34 14 15 5 33 It's getting tight up in here. If only they could've closed out the game against New York... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
French Collection Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Jordan Staal's first game back but Canes still lose. They should "win" a few more. I hate to see this team be pushovers and still hope we play well. Tankers will be numerous in the New Year and will make it difficult to be dead last. Second last still means a shot at first pick and second pick provided the last team wins the lottery. Decent McEichel odds with Hannifan/Strome/Zacha/Marner choice as consolation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Jordan Staal's first game back but Canes still lose. They should "win" a few more. I hate to see this team be pushovers and still hope we play well. Tankers will be numerous in the New Year and will make it difficult to be dead last. Second last still means a shot at first pick and second pick provided the last team wins the lottery. Decent McEichel odds with Hannifan/Strome/Zacha/Marner choice as consolation. You've got it backwards buddy. They won in his first game back. They should "lose" a few more. Nice to see you posting and welcome to the wonderful world of Carrion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi2000 Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Sabres are still in great position to make a run at the Shart. 10 points is only 5 games, and there's over half a season left. The Oilers can't get any worse and the Cane's glorious record in 1 goal games will ultimately even out dropping them out of Shart contention. Likewise Buffalo's putrid record in 1 goal games will also even out as they rocket up the standings. Almost have their wins have come in the shootout. 8 ROWs is second worst in the league... EDM with 7, CAR with 9. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
respk Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Jordan Staal's first game back but Canes still lose. They should "win" a few more. I hate to see this team be pushovers and still hope we play well. Tankers will be numerous in the New Year and will make it difficult to be dead last. Second last still means a shot at first pick and second pick provided the last team wins the lottery. Decent McEichel odds with Hannifan/Strome/Zacha/Marner choice as consolation. Really need to secure one of the top two picks ensuring McEichel. The dropoff from McEichel to the second tier forwards makes finishing last well worth it. Yes the second tier will most likely be good but what is the difference between drafting first/second and third or below? And sure we could draft Hanifin but that leaves us without a top line forward, which is a much bigger need, or the option of a trade. I don't like the thought of settling for Hanafin or even more so the second tier of forwards after two years of losing. We most likely won't get a top line player the quality of McEichel in any trade. This leaves us with the best option for the franchise as finishing last and drafting McEichel. Finish last, keep all of our assets (no reason to make a trade for a forward) and get McEichel. The rebuild would be on with the best possible start we can reasonably hope for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samson's Flow Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Really need to secure one of the top two picks ensuring McEichel. The dropoff from McEichel to the second tier forwards makes finishing last well worth it. Yes the second tier will most likely be good but what is the difference between drafting first/second and third or below? And sure we could draft Hanifin but that leaves us without a top line forward, which is a much bigger need, or the option of a trade. I don't like the thought of settling for Hanafin or even more so the second tier of forwards after two years of losing. We most likely won't get a top line player the quality of McEichel in any trade. This leaves us with the best option for the franchise as finishing last and drafting McEichel. Finish last, keep all of our assets (no reason to make a trade for a forward) and get McEichel. The rebuild would be on with the best possible start we can reasonably hope for. Well obviously last -> McEichel is the ideal result. Unfortunately, our team appears to be a bit too lucky/opportunistic to secure last place. Hence the discussion of other options in the 3-5 pick range. Obviously I'd like to be dating a supermodel, but you don't see me whining on my man Uggs every Sunday... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
respk Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Agree the current team doesn't seem to be able to secure last place but the team can change. Murray should be doing what's best for the long term prospects of the team not just this year. I'd like to see him start trading assets until the team comes back to the top of the standings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
French Collection Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Reading comments from Oiler fans. One guy suggested they tear down the team like the Sabres did. We're battling for last place yet they admire our rebuild! I have to agree their team is a disaster, while we see a light at the end of the tunnel. Their last 6 draft positions were 10th, 1st, 1st and 19th, 1st, 7th, 3rd and they suck that badly. They are a Carrion Juggernaut! Six consecutive years with a top 10 pick, including three firsts. I'd be embarrassed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samson's Flow Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Agree the current team doesn't seem to be able to secure last place but the team can change. Murray should be doing what's best for the long term prospects of the team not just this year. I'd like to see him start trading assets until the team comes back to the top of the standings. Who exactly are they going to trade? All of the key pieces of this team are under 24 and still in entry level contracts or locked up long term. Trade Enroth would have a big negative impact in the standings, but then who is the goalie for the next few years when the team is supposedly going to compete in the playoffs. We've had this discussion before, there's very little to trade that would have the impact to move us further into last. This isn't last year where we had UFA rentals waiting to be dumped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derrico Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Trading Enroth would help the tank. It won't happen but I would trade him and worry about our goaltending in the offseason. Who knows if Enroth doesn't want to wait and hit the free agent market after this season anyways? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Trading Enroth would help the tank. It won't happen but I would trade him and worry about our goaltending in the offseason. Who knows if Enroth doesn't want to wait and hit the free agent market after this season anyways? I'd prefer that they start talks Friday to lock him up (that's the first opportunity, I think--chz, do I have this right?), but if they're not going to to that, then of course they must trade him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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