Almost time to think about Gavin McKenna?

[Crusader1969]

If the wheels fall off on this road trip, and they come back with two or fewer points from the next four games, I think it’s time to have a real conversation about direction.

 

This season has been wrecked by injuries. The forward group wasn’t deep to begin with, and now the defense is missing its top guy for a meaningful stretch. At some point, we have to stop asking this group to be something it isn’t and start thinking about next season.

 

A new GM and a new coach will be coming in. It might be the right time for a clean reset — moving on from the last ties to the Eichel era. And I’m not talking about a blatant, recognizable tank where you gut the roster. I mean making smart moves that position the team to finish as low as realistically makes sense.

 

Why? Look at who drives elite teams in today’s NHL:

 

Celebrini

Bedard

Eichel

McDavid

MacKinnon

 

 

Two key points:

 

These guys were drafted at the very top, not 8th–12th.

They don’t take long to make an impact at the NHL level.

 

 

If this team were to land Gavin McKenna, there’s a real chance he becomes their best player within two seasons. That’s how you turn the corner.

 

So yeah — if things spiral:

 

Listen on Tuch and Power if the returns align with a reset (and especially if Power plays well enough to maximize value).

Explore deals that bring back players with upside and compete — your “Josh Doan” types.

Play UPL the majority of the starts.

Let Rasmus take whatever time he needs. If that means the full season, fine.

Make sure no one comes back from injury early.

Protect Norris and any core pieces dealing with nagging issues.

 

 

Bottom line: Don’t force a doomed playoff push.

Do what positions the franchise to finally get the elite, game-changing player it has been missing for 15 years.

 

Not a tank — a strategic reset with purpose.

[DarthEbriate]

Almost there...

 

Personally, I'd want to hold off on the rebuild/re-tank threads until Adams is dumped before jumping to hyperspace. Or at least until New Year's if he remains. At a certain point, though, you're going to have to think about those "Josh Doan types" -- Doan, Benson -- and whether they want to pull the JJP approach and just not provide counteroffers. Right now, Doan is looking at Buffalo as the opportunity of a lifetime, but that can easily change with how GM Sheevyn executes his master's wishes.

[pi2000]

Not a fan of McKenna's game, he's not it.    Trust me on this.

[LGR4GM]

Sabres aren't finishing bottom 3-5. Bottom 10, yea but unless the tires fall off they won't drop too the very bottom. 

Now if Dahlin is gone for months and Norris isn't back until the new year... coupled with other key injuries, maybe. 

I think McKenna is good, but all those other players are centers. Something to keep in mind. 

[Pimlach]

You are giving up on the season November 8th?   Can we try for 19 more days, at least until Thanksgiving?  

There is no indication that we are getting a new GM at this point.  We can hope because that is the obvious first step to fixing this.  

McKenna is from Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory.  Can you imagine the excitement he will feel if drafted by Buffalo? 

 

 

 

[Bangarang]

Wish we had a fella like Eichel. He seems pretty good.

[PASabreFan]

How the hell big is Whitehorse?

Just stahp. Terry would never Tank, least of all for a player from Penn State.

[oddoublee]

Meh....I actually think this team is going to compete all year. They seem bought into the system and are skating hard more consistently. 

Don't discount the Dahlin situation bringing these guys closer. Humans are good that way in terms of bonding. 

I see a team that hovers around 9 and 10 until spring. 

[GoPuckYourself]

We will finish in 8th since that is where we always seem to finish. We had our shots at the top picks and either traded them away or made the wrong choices and now we’re living with those choices.

Edited 3 hours ago by GoPuckYourself

[LGR4GM]

6 minutes ago, GoPuckYourself said:

We will finish in 8th since that is where we always seem to finish. We had our shots at the top picks and either traded them away or made the wrong choices and now we’re living with those choices.

At 8th in this draft, we'd have some excellent options if Forton and Adams don't ***** it up. 

[Scottysabres]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

How the hell big is Whitehorse?

Just stahp. Terry would never Tank, least of all for a player from Penn State.

“The Yhinzer Connection”? 😂

[Scottysabres]

1 hour ago, GoPuckYourself said:

We will finish in 8th since that is where we always seem to finish. We had our shots at the top picks and either traded them away or made the wrong choices and now we’re living with those choices.

“Wrong choices” has some inclined to believe the Sabres brainless-trust actually put effort in to those decisions.

i prefer to call them the “Donkey choices”, because I actually envision Sabres mngt playing pin the tail on the donkey when they made those decisions. No reason Kevyn and the gang can’t have fun while going balls deep on Sabres fans.

[Crusader1969]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Sabres aren't finishing bottom 3-5. Bottom 10, yea but unless the tires fall off they won't drop too the very bottom. 

Now if Dahlin is gone for months and Norris isn't back until the new year... coupled with other key injuries, maybe. 

I think McKenna is good, but all those other players are centers. Something to keep in mind. 

The question isn’t “is he a center?”

It’s “does he drive a line?”

You don’t need to be a center to do that — Marner drives a line as a winger.

That’s the comparison: the guy who controls pace, makes plays through the neutral zone, and makes his linemates better.

McKenna projects as that type of winger.

He’s got the edgework, the transition game, and the puck touches to run a line at the NHL level — more Nylander/Ehlers than pure finisher.

Benson isn’t a center either, and that’s fine.

He drives play through forecheck, retrievals, and making winning plays — but he’s not the offensive organizer of a line. He’s the engine that we sorely miss 

IF  Center Spine You’re Talking About is:

Kulich

Östlund

HeleniuS

All smart, detailed, two-way players — but they’re more connectors than line dictators. They’ll play well within structure, but none of them are guaranteed to be the “tilt the ice, run everything through me” guy.

That’s exactly where McKenna fits.

2 hours ago, Pimlach said:

You are giving up on the season November 8th?   Can we try for 19 more days, at least until Thanksgiving?  

There is no indication that we are getting a new GM at this point.  We can hope because that is the obvious first step to fixing this.  

McKenna is from Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory.  Can you imagine the excitement he will feel if drafted by Buffalo? 

 

 

 

Actually I'm giving up if they finish the road trip 0-4.  1-3 and I'm almost there 

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

How the hell big is Whitehorse?

Just stahp. Terry would never Tank, least of all for a player from Penn State.

Its the capital of the Yukon Territory man.   Population is about 30,000 people and you are allowed to drive a car in certain areas of town.  

I can see Terry gushing over the Penn State connection.  

[PromoTheRobot]

Is this not rooting for failure? I was told this doesn't really happen here.

[Crusader1969]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

At 8th in this draft, we'd have some excellent options if Forton and Adams don't ***** it up. 

Sure but wouldn't drafting top 3 have even more "excellenter" options 

[PASabreFan]

1 minute ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Is this not rooting for failure? I was told this doesn't really happen here.

Blame your favorite billionaire. But Terry doesn't meddle... the tank must have been Darcy's idea.

[Believer]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

How the hell big is Whitehorse?

Just stahp. Terry would never Tank, least of all for a player from Penn State.

It’s where Dylan Cozens was raised. 

[LGR4GM]

5 minutes ago, Believer said:

It’s where Dylan Cozens was raised. 

Thought that was west Philadelphia born and raised?

[Believer]

Ha.

3 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Thought that was west Philadelphia born and raised?

Plays a little undisciplined like a street kid from Philly.

[Pimlach]

2 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

How the hell big is Whitehorse?

Just stahp. Terry would never Tank, least of all for a player from Penn State.

46 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Its the capital of the Yukon Territory man.   Population is about 30,000 people and you are allowed to drive a car in certain areas of town.  

I can see Terry gushing over the Penn State connection.  

46 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Is this not rooting for failure? I was told this doesn't really happen here.

It is not rooting for failure.   Its called banter.   It is @PASabreFan being humorous and a bit thought provoking.   Followed by me feeding the beast because I think he is hilarious and comes up with some good stuff on occasion.  

This little sidebars are what makes the community fun.  Not meant to harm a sensible persons sensibilities.  

[GASabresIUFAN]

Tank’in for Gavin?

 

[SwampD]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Thought that was west Philadelphia born and raised?

On the ice rink is where he spent most of his days.