nfreeman

Well, you're counting chickens awfully prematurely here. Plenty of prospects have looked great in juniors and done nada in the NHL. GMTM's job is to ice a winning team. To date he has undeniably failed to do so.

No. I "admit" that the rare team that is fortunate enough to land transformational players at the top of the draft (or elsewhere) benefits greatly from doing so. That is substantially different from the position that a team is likely to become a contender by tanking in order to draft high. In most cases, teams that bottom out stay lousy for a long time. That unavoidable reality is why I and many others opposed the tank. The Sabres have drafted, in the last 4 years, #8, #2, #2, #8, and will probably be around #5 this year. Do you think they will make the playoffs next year? If they don't, that's a solid 8 years (at a minimum) with no playoffs. It's not just numbers. This isn't fantasy hockey. Derek Roy put up numbers too. Toews is a leader. He raises the level of play of those around him. He's also a very clutch player -- Conn Smythe winner, led Canadian Olympic team in scoring, scored in the gold-medal game, etc. And while his scoring is down this year, I think it's an exaggeration to say that it's been in decline for 3 years. He's had 28 goals per year for the last 3 years prior to this one, plus 17 pts in 19 playoff games, then 21 pts in 23 playoff games, then 6 pts in 7 playoff games -- all during a period of increasing offensive constipation league-wide.

I posted the numbers on Toews' production at age 20 in response to TB's assertion that Reino's production at age 21 was comparable to Toews'. It isn't. As for outscoring Toews this season: if the NHL were folding after this season, and you were GMTM, would you trade Reino for Toews? I certainly would. As for the bolded: perhaps Toews' production this year doesn't live up to his career standards, but he's had a fantastic career. Reino is a nice player, but "impact" isn't something I associate with his game -- and to think his career will hold a candle to Toews' is wildly optimistic.

Completely agree.

No. When Toews was 20 (not 21), he was named captain of the Hawks (before his 2nd NHL season), then put up 34-35-69 (plus 51 PIM) and led the Hawks to the playoffs for the 1st time in 6 years (which was the 2nd time in 11 years). The Hawks made the conference finals that year and Toews had 13 pts (7 goals) in 17 playoff games. When Kane was 20, he put up 25-45-70 in the regular season -- comparable to Eichel -- and then 9-5-14 in 16 playoff games. If the Sabres are very lucky, Eichel will be in the same ballpark as Kane. I don't see Reino approaching Toews' production or leadership.

Do you think Eichel and Reino are as good as Kane and Toews? I do not. Also -- Chicago didn't tank -- they just stunk for a generation.

Well, I'm not sure GMTM embraced it -- I see it more as "we're already in this poopstorm, let's ride it out and get Eichel or, if we're really lucky, McD" -- but that is certainly a reasonable take on it. I assume you mean the trades were unintentionally awful. As for whether it worked -- serious question: do you think Eichel is a good enough player to justify the tank? I do not. I think only a truly generational talent -- like McD or Crosby -- is worth it.

The few, the proud... It should of course be noted that the tank was not GMTM's idea -- he inherited it from Darcy "time for some suffering" Regier.

No. They started it too soon. The correct time to have started it would've been "never."

Questionable analogy. I would've gone with something like ..."because the napkins are 2-ply instead of 4-ply."

If GMTM's plan relied on winning a lottery that he had a 1-in-5 chance to win, then he is a blithering incompetent. I don't think he planned on getting McD. I do think he thought the team would be further along than they are now -- although last week on WGR he emphasized the effect of the injuries on the team's performance this year. That concerns me, because they are pretty much fully healthy now and they still stink.

Welcome to both of you!

I think the odds of Romo surviving a year as QB for the Bills without sustaining a major injury are close to zero.

In the 22 games since Eichel's return, they are 10-8-4. That is 2 games below DeLuca .500 and, more importantly, well off a playoff pace. In 6 of those losses, they produced 1 goal. In 4 others, they produced 2 goals. So 10 out of 22 games with 2 goals or fewer. They've won more than 2 in a row just once this season -- that was a 3-game streak -- after which they immediately lost 7 out of 8. I have been generally fine with GMTM, but if this is how the season ends up, he will need to do something significant in order for there to be any reason to think next year will be better.

Read into this what you will (heh), but I freaking hate progressive lenses. They are good for working at a desk, but I find them unworkable for watching TV, driving or pretty much anything else.

I watched most of the game and had the same thought. They look freaking terrible on defense -- i.e. not like a well-coached team. I kinda think we're seeing the same thing we saw in the 2nd half last year -- the opponent sees the close-to-DFL Sabres on the schedule and takes its foot off the gas. Very nice.

That was an HOF-level performance by Rogers.

There's a reason we'll look that way, eh?

Where I am going, you cannot follow.

you make some good points, but i must disagree that GMTM joined a "perfect " situation. joining the worst team in the nhl isn't the perfect situation. It's the worst possible situation. and that's because, as I've been saying for years, tanking usually fails. bonus points for usage of "put paid."

Sorry -- I'll say NFW on this. Eichel is fast, but there are plenty of guys in the NHL as fast as he is. McD is an order of magnitude faster.

That 2nd one is scrapbook-worthy, IMHO.

In terms of speed, I don't think it's close. McD is much faster than Eichel.

Beautiful post Weave. God bless you and your family.

Good counterpoints here boys.