dudacek

I'm real curious to see how real "consensus #1" is. I think it's like the president being an "overwhelming choice" because 48% of the population voted for him and only 34% voted for his opponent. Or so-and-so being "the hottest guy/girl in school" because a lot of people are repeating it. I mean the label exists, and it's real, but it's also purely subjective, rarely unanimous and exists because a name gets repeated a lot from a lot of different sources. We know for a fact that "consensus top 5" pick Marco Rossi went at nine and that a credible source reported he was outside at least one team's top 15. Except in rare cases like McDavid, it's a perception honed as a talking point more than anything else — not meaningless, but not particularly meaningful either. If nobody else has your guy there, or even that close, then you better be doing a lot of double-checking. If a few more people have another guy slightly ahead, then (to me, at least) meh.

So, besides Victor, which other Sabres should not be traded?

Thank you.

Not sure what you are referring to here? Other than O'Reilly, what core players have we traded since the tank? Myers?

Guys, there is no ***** way we are taking Matt Beniers. That would be too much of a perfect fit.

I don't know about Victor fitting here, but I think you have to be seriously looking at trading some of our key players who have experienced too much losing. Give your new coach a canvas with a little less baggage.

I'm fully on board with more passion and edge, but be careful about the butthole factor and how it can detract from the team. Brendan Lemieux is an outright turd I want no part of. Give me the calculated malice of Mike Peca or the bull talent of Mike Foligno please. Of course, obvious miss. And Zadorov fits as well.

Same reason you trade most players: you think the players coming back might make your team better. He's one of the few players we have that might net a good return. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not pushing to trade Victor.)

Mostly true, especially here, but he has blown a fuse several times over his career. I think he fits the profile Ink was looking for.

He makes a terrific pass in the clip above, and I've seen him make numerous plays like that. I like his approach, he works hard and is very responsible. There was a sick shootout move with the Amerks, but other than that, he hasn't shown any signs of being a goal scorer at all.

Seriously, there are some I think are just plain bad, but is there anyone who wouldn't be better elsewhere right now?

So, three edgy players since 2009?

Let's take a closer look at Crowe as well. Previously under Adams he was the director of both pro and amateur scouting. Prior to that, he was a pro scout for three years under Botterill, and he worked for the USNDTP before that. He had to have had some voice in this off-season's acquisitions of Hall, Staal, Eakin, Rieder, Irwin and Davidson. He may have had some voice in the acquisition of these Sabres: Skinner, Johansson, Berglund, Sobotka, Sheary, Vesey, Frolik, Lazar, Simmonds, Kahun, Elie, Montour, Miller, Hutton, Jokiharju and Thompson. Honest question: I wonder how he has demonstrated the keen eye for talent that earned him this important post?

Why in the world would the Flyers make dat trade?

It seems to me they have only drafted two players like dis in any round since the Dark Days arrived: Pekar and Lemieux. Did I miss anyone?

You've seen him play. You know the cap hit. We are not getting anything of significance for Hall, certainly not a young top six forward under contract, no matter how far in the doghouse he is.

Oh Punch, your memories of when you watched him back in the Aud must be clouding your vision. I was excited to get him, but he was so, so very awful. He didn't win a puck battle or footrace the entire season. Every single time he touched the puck his feet stopped moving. The only time he ever did anything worthwhile was when someone (essentially, only Sam) put the puck on his tape in open ice with time; then he would often make a good pass or shot. But if he was at all under pressure in those situations, or the pass wasn't on the tape, all he would do was lean, reach, and lose the puck. It was his signature move, the lazy poke. He can still think the game and he still has hands, so a well-coached, more talented team with something to play for might mask his flaws a bit. Maybe it was attitude, maybe age, maybe a little of both, but he was flat out bad in Buffalo. The worst player on a bad team.

Yes, Eric's impact on our young players was obvious. Look at how well they've played. Based on the way he played in Buffalo we should have been paying other team's to take him. Getting a 5th was a miracle, let alone a 5th and a 3rd. ***** dis and ***** dat and ***** you, Eric.

Edited the damn thing three times and thought I was losing my mind. I was also worried you guys were going to find out I was actually Marty.

Crowe ran last year's draft. Sounds like Adams has come to the proper conclusion dat one man can't oversee both the amateur and pro scouting departments. Also sounds like he handed the gig to the most senior guy in-house (it was him or Kevin Devine) rather than hunt for the most qualified person for the job. Forton struck me more as a schmoozer than a bird-dog even before @brawndo offered more of his excellent info. As always, I've got limited insight and will judge him on results. But dis is not promising.

Mind hasn't changed at all. The ability is there and he is a good kid. I do not think he will bust; he's clearly already proven he won't. Ryan Murray is a competent NHL defenceman. Same with Adam Larsson. I mean even Greg Joly played 350-plus NHL games. I worry about his ceiling, especially with our track record on development.

You're right and I wasn't really responding to the conversation in the thread. I was just expressing my concern. A year ago I had no doubt in my mind dat Dahlin and Eichel comprised the necessary core building blocks around which any halfways competent GM should be able to build a competitive team and could be able to build a contender. Now I do.

The other big difference between Sam and Dahlin is Sam was never supposed to be a franchise player and this team never needed him to be a franchise. My expectations for Dahlin are quite different. If he ends up a Sam level player, I will be disappointed. He's not supposed to be Keith Yandle or Brian Campbell.

Reinhart didn't produce. That's not the same thing. Dahlin's production is the thing I'm least worried about.

I think @Thorny and @LGR4GM are too quick to dismiss how concerned we should be about Dahlin. I'm not aware of many franchise players who performed as badly as a 20-year-old as Dahlin has played this season. It doesn't mean he can't, or won't be good, and he's clearly talented. But he's not good right now. At all. This is not a case of slumping, or of inconsistency. If his name was Jacob Bryson he would not be in the NHL based on the way he has played. I worry about his mental health, given his struggles, his personality and his likely isolation in a foregin country during a pandemic. Rasmus is a much more talented player, but you can make an analogy to Mittelstadt here. Expectations have had to be adjusted based on what we've seen on the ice. This has to be of serious concern. Right there beside Eichel's commitment as the biggest concern facing the franchise.