nfreeman

I think some AHL time would be good for learning some humility and some appreciation for their opportunity to play in the NHL and for the need to play the game the right way in all areas. There is zero possibility of him walking away from $3MM, let alone $8MM.

Your first paragraph is classic #Hammymath. We were discussing the trades that brought in Lehner, Kane, Bogo and ROR. You omitted the salaries the Sabres parted with in bringing in those guys (in particular, Myers and Stafford, who come close to netting out Kane and Bogo). You also included a bunch of other guys in your $37.5MM, including a few whom I included in my "giving big contracts to underperforming vets" point. You make some good points in your 2nd paragraph -- but it's important to remember that those issues were the reasons those players were available to begin with. Bottom line, IMHO, is that as I said above, while you are right that those trades haven't delivered what GMTM was hoping for, none of them has really crashed and burned, and those trades are not the reason the Sabres are where they are.

Well, I agree that it would be nice to have a bunch of potentially good prospects in the system right now. I just think that those trades were and remain defensible -- even the Lehner trade, which I think has busted -- and that those trades are not where the franchise went astray. The team's problems, IMHO, stem from: - the tank - poor drafting - giving big contracts to underperforming vets (primarily Moulson, KO and Gorges) - mediocre goaltending - failure to bring in good leaders

Leaving aside where they were drafted, who among the guys GMTM gave up is a quality NHL player? It looks like Myers, who seems to have settled into a "solid 2nd pairing defenseman" role, is the only one.

It's too bad -- I think they both would benefit from some AHL time.

I'm pretty sure the answer is no, but I'll ask the question anyway: Can Reino or Eichel be sent down to Rochester without clearing waivers?

You're probably right about ROR and Risto, but I can't say I'd be surprised if either of them gets moved out. I have a deep, dark fear that Risto is more Bogo 2.0 than he is a #1 defenseman.

Zemgus might also have some "I can fix him" cachet.

I agree with most of this, except that I don't think they'll be able to unload Bogo due to his contract, and that a Lehner trade will be more because JBott thinks he just isn't good enough than due to attitude. I also think that if any or all of ROR/KO/Risto are moved, it will be at least as much due to loser mentality (especially ROR, who is supposed to be a leader) as due to cap space.

I changed it to "who do you MOST want them to unload?".

OK, who's next? And who will be the biggest name to go, even if he's not next? And who would you ship out? I voted Zemgus, Kane and Reino. Note: edited to add Lehner.

No one is giving the Sabres anything good for Lehner. 3rd or 4th round pick at best.

There is NFW that Moulson retires and walks away from the last $4MM he'll ever earn as a pro hockey player. While I agree that this is a step in the right direction, it's the babiest of baby steps IMHO. Everyone knows that Moulson stinks, is overpaid and no one wants him. If they really want to get the attention of the group of losers they've collected, and to start excising the rotten core, they'll need to trade someone like Reino or ROR.

Of course he's taking calls on those 2. He's probably open to dealing Moulson as well.

No one is going to take Moulson, Pommer or KO. I think 2 or 3 of Reino, ROR, Kane and Risto are going to be traded.

It is kinda obvious where this is going.

I'm totally on board with the "rotten core" theory. Not quite there that Kane is in the middle of it, but he certainly could be, and more importantly it seems pretty likely that he doesn't want to stay. I think some core pieces need to be moved, and I'd be surprised if JBott and Howie don't think so as well. Approved, except that if Tavares is willing to come to the worst team in the NHL for his prime, that means he's all about the Benjamins, so I don't want him. Very, very plausible. Uh-oh.

Sakman — excellent post.

Very good article. Thanks for posting.

Excellent post. I agree that Botteril can't just embark on a 5-year rebuild solely through the draft, but I doubt that is the entire plan. I also think you are underrating Scandella -- I think he's a top-3 defenseman here for the next 5-7 years. Another very good post.

The likelihood that Russ played a significant role is regrettably greater than zero, and you are right that that does indeed scare the poop outta me. But I think it's much more likely that the NHL played a real role in TP formulating his list, and that RB did not.

No. Not “because billionaire.” People think he’s a good owner for the reasons I mentioned, and because they know too well what bad ownership looks like. As for JBott — TP interviewed 7 candidates, each of whom was a well-regarded and respectable hockey guy. How do you think he formulated his list? Do you think he was too busy rolling around in a bed of money to consult with NHL people about this? Or do you just assume, because of #narrative #fearandloathing, that he...what, exactly?

More fear and loathing of the wealthy nonsense. How ‘bout this: TP, out of a desire to be a good guy and not blow into town and fire everyone, mistakenly kept on DR well past DR’s expiration date. He then recognized that DR/RR was a debacle and tried to hire the right guys to lead a turnaround. He gave them 2 years, recognized that the train was going off the rails in multiple ways, sent them packing and again tried to hire the right guys. All the while, the checkbook has been open, there have been no inflammatory challenges from him to his underperforming team in the media, he’s funded a ton of urban renewal in a blighted city, he hasn’t demanded that the city build him an arena and he’s generally conducted himself like a gentleman. He agreed to the tank, he retained a lousy GM and hired another lousy GM (and hopefully not a 2nd one), which all turned out to be poor decisions but all of which were reasonable when made and most if not all of which were made with the assistance of knowledgeable professionals — and none of which were made based on greed or dishonesty or any of the other malicious intents that certain trolls for some reason feel the need to attribute to him.

This is exactly my point -- if your plan relies on a perfect storm, you don't have a plan (or you do, but it's a stupid effing plan).

This is the "sell my house to pay for lottery tickets" mindset. It works once in a blue moon but leaves most of its adherents homeless. (The Sabres are in the "homeless" category, BTW.)