nfreeman

That's an interesting question -- would I rather have Mitts or a low 2nd-rounder that the Sabres would've chosen today? I think I'd rather stick it out with Mitts for this coming season, but it's not a no-brainer.

Geez. So no trades at the draft? I sure hope they don't sit on their hands tomorrow and Friday.

Well, your question related to their strategy, which I took to mean that you assumed that they drafted for need and not BPA. Is that not the case? In any case, you are certainly welcome to your opinion/evaluation/interpretation that they drafted for need and not because they think JQ is a better player than Rossi, Perfetti, etc. I just think it is highly unlikely that they did so -- and in fact so unlikely as to be unrealistic. You are right that that is my opinion/interpretation.

This question is based on an assumption that assumes away the whole conversation -- i.e. you are assuming that they drafted based on need as opposed to BPA. There is zero evidence that this is the case. More specifically, there is zero evidence that the Sabres didn't view JQ as the BPA, regardless of what McKeens, Pronman or various SabreSpacers think. As I mentioned in a different thread, it would be nuts for the Sabres to have taken JQ because they are deficient at RW today -- so nuts as to be highly implausible. Of course, which is why @Thorny's assumption is deeply flawed.

I would guess that drafting for need was a factor in the sense that the Sabres needed to bolster their very limited stable of forward prospects as opposed to D or G. However, within the group of good forwards that was available to them, I would guess that they chose BPA. As others have noted, due to the development timeline, it would be nuts for them to draft RWs based on their current roster needs.

Well, he's 5'11", 192 lbs, so pretty solidly built. He's evidently quite fast and highly competitive. Also, he's one of only 3 players to play in the German men's league during his draft-eligible year. Works for me.

You guys are right. I deleted it.

I’d rather have Anderson than Domi.

Not-so-hot take: I'm going to be pretty disappointed if they don't make a real trade today.

First bolded -- do you not think economic activity -- i.e. millions of job losses -- affects public health outcomes? Second bolded -- no -- they say this, which I also quoted upthread: Third bolded -- I don't see any claim of a consensus anywhere in their statement. Fourth bolded -- the declaration doesn't claim to be a cost-benefit study that is submitted for peer review. Fifth bolded -- there are literally millions of people in this country who have acquired immunity at this point. I don't see why this isn't feasible. Sixth bolded -- what is your expertise in this area? Is it comparable to that of the authors? Last bolded -- no one is saying that the vulnerable should be "separated out." The point is that masks, distancing, visiting outdoors, limiting workers to those with immunity and other measures would be implemented to protect them.

Well, I think you're right that the virus spread like crazy initially when there were no measures in place to prevent the spread, and it caused a lot of harm among the most vulnerable segments of the population when there were no measures in place to protect them. I think the point of the GB declaration is that now that the world has 7 months of experience with the virus, we are better off allowing schools and society generally to reopen, as long as there are well-constructed measures in place to protect the most vulnerable. In other words, if we protect the vulnerable, we can live with the spread of the virus among the rest of the population, since (i) doing so will get us to herd immunity more quickly and (ii) the virus isn't that dangerous to the rest of the population. I'm not saying that the GB declaration is unquestionably correct, although I tend to agree with it. I just think it's worth noting that there are a ton of sober, respected experts in the field who are advocating for this approach.

Of course, and the devil will be in the details. There aren't many details on that website, although they do offer this: I think the main takeaway from the declaration is that these epidemiologists/HC professionals believe, as a scientific matter, that a broad reopening will have substantially fewer destructive consequences than a broad lockdown. This is certainly true, but I doubt you could find many epidemiologists at Harvard, Stanford and Oxford to advocate for a flat earth. Tupac, of course, is a different matter.

The Athletic has Perfetti going #4, Rossi going #7 and the Sabres with... https://theathletic.com/2072618/?source=twitteradsbc&ad_id=29871744

How so?

https://gbdeclaration.org/ This is a statement authored by epidemiologists from Harvard, Stanford and Oxford, and co-signed by 1400 other public health scientists and 1600 other medical practitioners.

That contract is like herpes, but Schmaltzie has been in the NHL for 4 years and has produced at a 50-pt pace in years 2, 3 and 4, including for a crappy AZ team in year 4. He also had good Corsi and Fenwick #s this past year for AZ, FWIW. He's not super-fast but is a respectable skater, has good hockey IQ (at least on offense) and is pretty decent at both passing and finishing. OTOH, he's on the skinny side and averaged 1 hit every other game, so don't expect physical play from him. Also, he played 18 min per game in his 2nd and 3rd seasons but dropped to 15 min this past season. I like the idea of snapping up a good forward to round out the top 6 at a heavy discount due to highly unusual circumstances, and this could be an excellent opportunity, but I'd sure like to know what else is out there.

Having now watched the entire presser, I agree with @dudacek's assessment upthread that KA didn't really make any firm statements on anything. I would add that I can see why TP likes him -- he's got that earnest, aw-shucks, clean-cut but competitive and (hopefully) smart quality that Brandon Beane and McD have. He might be the right guy. We'll see.

It has to be said: if they sign Jesper Fast, and if he's really good, you will have earned a big, fat, juicy "I told you so" to everyone here. The men of the Night's Watch are keeping an eye on this. I think both are gone. Thank you sir. That seems quite fitting actually. No -- IKP has it a bit upthread -- but Zeisbarger was certainly a hearty fellow too.

And who's the dude in the black beret and red tank top? Mike something?

Here's the burning question I'm left with after watching the first 8 min of the presser: is @john wawrow better dressed or worse dressed than the average SabreSpacer at this point in the quarantine?

Is he UFA at the end of it?

How about Alec Martinez as an LHD stopgap? Here's Pierre Lebrun on Martinez: Martinez just turned 33 a couple of months ago. He's one year away from UFA. 6'1", 209 lbs, doesn't score much but is a good, solid defensive LHD (he's listed as an LHD by dailyfaceoff.com; based on Lebrun's quote above I expect he can play either side) and has played over 21 min per game for the last 5 years. And no NTC. If he's a cap dump with 1 year until UFA, he won't cost much.

Good stuff, and I am reasonably confident that KA is indeed trying for this. Does anyone have any knowledge on how credible David Pagnotta is? I, too, am well put off by that contract. It has to be asked: could a trade for Schmaltzie presage a trade of Reino, on the theory that KA doesn't think Reino is worth what it will take to sign him?

From the Athletic today: https://theathletic.com/2068947/2020/10/05/wheeler-final-2020-nhl-draft-thoughts-notes-and-predictions/ It just feels like they're going to keep the pick, take a forward, and that forward is going to turn into a very good player.

To be clear, Danault is UFA after this coming season. So the Sabres wouldn't give up much in trade to acquire him unless an extension is part of the deal.