darksabre

I was thinking about this exchange specifically today. I believe, now more than ever, that what Jack was trying to do was force the surgery AND the trade, and now, over 4 months later, he has not gotten either. It seems very possible that this timeline (wait and see on the hernia, fusion surgery in the fall, no Olympics) was what Adams proposed to him way back in May and caused Jack and his team to go nuclear because Jack wanted to be back on the ice (and for a different team) ASAP. Regardless of how this all eventually shakes out, I don't think this was the result Jack wanted. Which is why he and his team did what they did.

Sure. We're in a bit of a gray area here. People have gotten very obsessed with throwing the work tank around whenever a team looks like it'll be bad. This isn't a tank in the traditional sense, but it's not like they've got a team assembled that is unlikely to finish in the bottom 6. It's not a tank, they just aren't planning to be very good. The pressure is off the kids in this way. Fans won't be cheering for them to lose (I hope...) but there won't be an expectation that they'll win either. Just show up and put in the work. It'll be a lost season for anyone who expects the playoffs, and so people will just call it a tank instead I guess.

I firmly believe they expected to sign Ullmark and he pulled the rug out from under them. I like Linus, but he kinda effed the Sabres. They also aren't looking to "replace Eichel". They've already done so. They believe Cozens is going to be the number 1 center going forward. It could not be more clear. They will be bad this year, and will probably pick high. But there's no way picking 1st overall is the plan. It's just not entirely out of the question looking at where the roster is right now. The "let the kids drive it" philosophy will probably result in a bad team, but not on purpose. It's just the development philosophy they've agreed on.

I'm neither here nor there on whether or not Adams is succeeding. I just think this whole thing was sort of...inevitable. Which is why I haven't been killing myself to debate it much or worry about if/when it was going to get done. An extremely valuable player wanting to be traded while simultaneously very injured was always going to be a heavy lift. A quick resolution, knowing the facts of the situation, just seemed out of the question. And that is bearing itself out. I don't think the Pegulas care at this point if it makes them look bad, the damage is done. They'll hold Jack hostage as long as they need to. This turned from a skirmish into a siege months ago and it won't be ending anytime soon. And the longer it goes on, the less newsworthy it will be when he is finally traded. He won't be around the team so that's all that matters to them I think.

At this point I expect that Jack won't be traded until the spring at the earliest. He'll get a surgery of some kind once he realizes the Sabres are fine with holding him hostage on LTIR for as long as needed or he actually wins a medical arbitration case. Then he can rehab and get back to 100%. Then he gets traded.

I mean, we know the team doesn't care what the fans think anyway.

That's just it. He wouldn't be the Captain. No one would be the Captain. The result is exactly the same but without any of the circus. They're already not going to have a Captain this season. The players know there won't be a Captain this season. They know Jack won't be the Captain because he's not coming back. So just let it be.

That's not the point. The point is that it would have been very easy to say: Jack is hurt and as a result we are going to start the season without assigning a captain. And then eventually he gets traded and you just let it happen organically. It's that simple and drama free.

She's sneaky good in the movie HANNA

Just because Jack's presser was unprofessional doesn't give the entire Sabres org cart blanche to just act the same way. PLEASE MAY I HAVE JUST A CRUMB OF CREDIBILITY

I just don't know what to think anymore about any of this. It all seems so ridiculous.

It looks incredibly unprofessional. I can't understand why any of this needed to be said. All they needed to do was say that due to Jack's injury situation the team won't start the season with a Captain. It's that easy. Instead he's taking shots at Jack for not being the team's heart and soul? Even if that is true, you don't need to say it. Adams, and I guess the Pegulas, must really hate Jack. Like, they must think he's the biggest piece of ***** in the world.

If the Sabres haven't found a way to fall bassackwards into a playoff spot by the end of this contract then he would probably be looking to John Eichel his way out no matter what contract he signed and no one will be watching the team anymore anyway.

Yup. Easy to side-step. Just say you're doing rotating C's or something.

I expected him to be showing us a little more at this point, but who knows which way is up or down with this team. Is anyone good? Is everyone bad? No idea.

That's fine. I just think the bridge deal is the better play here. I don't have Sam Reinhart Trauma.

I'm not too worried about savings. Good teams find ways to make the money work.

I think it's the right move from the standpoint of trying to get as much time from "prime Dahlin" as possible. He's 21 right now. He'll be 24 when this bridge is up and they have to get a new deal done. At that point, if he's turned into the player we want him to, no one will have a problem with the Sabres signing him to a big money 8 year deal. That will carry him to 32 and then the Sabres can walk away from him knowing they got him in his prime. I prefer this to signing him to 8 or 9 years now and then having him turn out to be good and trying to decide whether or not they need to lock him in for another 6-8 like Karlsson when he's 29-30 years old. No thanks. I don't want anything to do with that.

Everything is a mystery!

Define "safe" 😅

Good.

Again, the thing to keep in mind here is when the stadium was built. If you look at other stadiums around the league that were built during the same era, nearly all have been demolished. Foxboro, Giants Stadium, Pontiac Silverdome, San Diego Stadium, Tampa Stadium, I could go on... It's a building code issue. The way we started building stuff, both commercially and residentially, changed in this country in the late 60s. Lower standards, lots of new materials, lightweight materials, etc. Stadiums built in the late 60s and 70s were not built to last.