mjd1001

But that didn't work for the Sabres, and with the talent on the team at that time, and what was in the minor league system, it wasn't going to happen for years. Look at those teams, look at what the players they got rid of did, and look what was in the minors back then. That team was going no-where. It doesn't matter what 'should' have happened, it mattered the position they were in. And with the position they were in (their own fault or not) the status quo of a 'non tank' wasn't going to get them anywhere.

I wanted the tank and i'd want it again the same situation. The problem was not the tank, it is just the Sabres did a crappy job of executing it (poor drafting, speeding it up to much, poor development). Other teams have used the same strategy and it worked well for them. Don't blame the tank, blame the execution. you know what would be worse than the tank? The status quo of what we had before it....when the Sabres management/ownership team got their hands on that, things could have been just as bad or worse than the tank. If they screwed up a 2nd overall pick and other high picks, just how well do you think they would have done with only having middle first rounders to work with? I don't think well at all.

And remember what came of that deal? That first was flipped to Calgary along with Buffalo's 2nd..and that was turned into...Zemgus Calgary then used Nashville's first that they got from Buffalo and selected current Sabre...Mark Jankowski The 2nd that the Sabres sent to Calgary, the Flames took...Patrick Sieloff (who was later traded by the Flames to Ottawa for Alex Chiasson, and Sieloff since then has pretty much been a career minor leaguer) So Buffalo basically traded Gaustad and a 2nd (that became Sieloff) for Zemgus I guess Buffalo won that trade?

I can't see a 1st for Miller. If they do, great. I was thinking if he was moved, I'd thought they would be hoping for a 3rd but maybe getting a 4th or 5th...of course they know that market 1000 times (or more) better than I do. There is a value to 3rd, 4th, and 5th round picks at times. They rarely make the NHL, but there is that 'lottery pick' aspect to them. You can get a Klingberg or a Mark Stone, Brayden Point or a Johnny Gaudreau...but those guys in the middle round are rare, once again it is a lottery ticket. The thing is, there are only so many contracts you are allowed to have as a team, you can't just keep stockpiling and stockpiling these 'lottery tickets' waiting for one to hit. I think the Sabres are at that point. To some teams (Pittsburgh is a good example), their minor league system is so bare they can use a lot of those extra 3rd or 4th or 5th rounders to restock. The Sabres, if they do draft, have to focus on quality. What does that mean? I think the Sabres are at a point where if you can trade Miller for a 2nd....you are close to getting a 1st but can't quite do it...then you trade him and thrown in one of your 3rds or even a second to upgrade to that first. You have another pending FA someone wants but only wants to give you a 5th? See if you can trade that player and your 5th rounder to get the other teams 3rd or even 4th rounder back. If a guy isn't going to be with you next year, the thought was 'get SOMETHING for him', even if its a late round pick. Right now, I don't want something back for them...I'd trade them instead to upgrade my current draft position. If that means giving someone away and going from your early 4th round pick and upgrading that to a middle-to-late 3rd rounder...so be it. If they are even CLOSE to getting a 1st for Miller but no one bites....I'd take my 3rd rounder (even though it will be a high 3rd) and throw it in with Miller if that gets it done.

I don't see him making a difference in the Big club this year...so....give him another callup before the end of the year...a week or 2 taste of the NHL...but other than that let him stay in Roch.

This is obvious but I didn't think about it. Other than with the exception of penalties, the Bills gained the maximum number of yard they could. Based on their field start, they could not gain more yard than they did. What was it, 484 yards? I guess the kneel down took a couple away, but other than that nothing else.

The thing I don't like about the private equity ownership is..they would be ALL about the money. Terry and Kim may not want to sell the Sabres and potentially have them moved, but if Private equity buys into the Sabres (one of the lower value franchises in the league with a low buy-in cost), the best way for them to make a LOT Of money is to do whatever they can to get the team to move to a bigger market with a sweet-heart arena deal. Not saying Terry and Kim would do that..but If I'm private equity, the Sabres are close to my #1 target to do that.

I KNOW some first overall picks are able to play in the NHL right away, but I almost wish everyone could play in the AHL for a while. The AHL is a stepping stone form college/juniors to the NHL, an increase in speed and strength compared to what they are used to, but yet not as big of a jump to the NHL. Guys like Eichel, McDavid, McKinnon, Dahlin may have been talented enough for the NHL right away, but that doesn't mean that a short stint in the AHL may not have helped their 'long term' game even more.

Yeah, I agree. The funny thing is, I don't really care. Does he win an MVP and a Cup and a scoring title? Well someone has to win those things, if it is him I don't care. Does he score a hat trick in the first game against the Sabres? Wouldn't care more or less than anyone else. Or doe he have a disappointing rest of his career, being a 70 point guy that ends up being a 2nd line center? Again, not a big deal to me. To me Jack is a very strange player in terms of how I root for and against him. If I were to look up my posts over the last 3-4 years, I kinda always felt that way about him. I wanted him to do well as a Sabre, but I never really rooted for him the way I would have for a lot of less talented Sabres players in the past. I can't really describe it...with him there was always some kind of void with me where that fan-player 'fandom' should have been.

I'm only going with guys who have played at least a handful of games this year: 1. Dahlin 2. Joki 3. Bryson 4. Pysyk 5. Hagg 6. Miller 7. Butcher

No, the problem is lack of talent.

How 'provincial' or territorial not only sports fandom has become (that is expected) but sports Media has. Sure, I know media in a particular city had to tell their audience 'what they want to hear' to a certain extent, but it is annoying how they cross the line. Almost EVERY NFL fan thinks their team is better than their record, and that with 'just one or two' plays changed they could have jumped up the standings and deserved to. The Media used to be there to remind fans that...that is true for EVERY team. But now it seems that in some cases, the sports media in a city is the very thing that riles up the fanbase even more. Look at Boston Media with regard to the pats. They are in denial about the dynasty being over more than some fans, and they tend to write and post to twitter 'stats' that are cherrypicked to support a very small argument to support that role. F1 is another good example (for race fans out there) You can have your opinion of whether how the season ended was fair or not. You can also have your opinion on it shouldn't have mattered because both drivers got 'screwed' by various calls throughout the season and the title should have been decided before that last race anyway. Of course the British media is going to probably defend Hamilton over Verstappen (because Hamilton is British), but the way they do it is so crazy. Just about EVERY article I read about f1 from out of Great Britain or a British writer doesn't just suggest Hamilton should have won the title, a lot of them pretty much consider him the champion with only 'that bad decision' in the last race preventing it from being official...ignoring the things that happened to help him in the rest of the season. Like I said, there are points to both sides, but the homerism in many media markets is getting out of hand.

Not really for me. I'm not sure why, but probably since the very beginning, I didn't have much of a connection as a fan with Eichel. Its not that I disliked him, but there was something always different about him compared to what I thought I should think about a 'generational player' for the Sabres. I just never, even in his best year...got to that super high level of fan/player connection.

I like the double space after a period and will continue to use it. It makes it easier to read, when a sentence end, that is usually the end of a thought, so I want that 'extra space' in there.

Is he likely a bust? probably, but I'm not 100% there on him yet. Last year he was on a 82 game pace for just short of 15 goals and about 30-35 points. Not an offensive powerhouse, but yet that isn't nothing. If, IF, he is a late bloomer or just 'gets' the NHL game in the next year or two, he still might turn out to be a somewhat productive player. Do I think that will happen? No I don't, but I won't rule it out 100% yet.

In most cases, the 7th D-man has an opportunity to get close to 50% games played just due to injuries and suspensions through the course of the year to the top 6. With the versatility of someone like Pysyk, and with the top 6 containing a lot of potentially 'young' guys that might find part of the season where they need a 'day or two' off, Pysyk as the 7th D-man might end up getting 60+ games played pretty easily.

if he wants to be here, and you can value him as at worst a 3rd pair guy (I do think he is at least that), then yes. 2 year deal, wouldn't be terribly opposed to 3 if you think he can be the 'long term, affordable veteran' guy.

Double the average ticket price...and then Buffalo has the highest average price in the entire league. Double concession prices, and then Buffalo has the highest average concession price in the league. No, I do not think this market can bear having the highest average ticket price AND the average highest concession price. Not even close.

What does a beer cost at a Bills game now? $11? Double that and you get to a $22 beer. Last I checked a hot dog was $7....double it and you get to $14. And remember, concessions and merchandise is more than gate/ticket receipts for revenue per game. If you DON'T double concession prices...that means ticket prices will have to do a LOT more than double if you want to double total revenue. I do not see a path for the Bills to double Revenue out of a new stadium vs the current one.

Other than by more than doubling ticket prices AND doubling concession/merch prices, how would that be possible?

The question is how much of a return on that $2 billion are you going to get? Some numbers: https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/business/what-playing-empty-stadiums-cost-nfl-franchise/ It says the Bills get about $56 million in gate receipts and $357 in all other stadium revenue (food and merch) per season for a total of about $413 million. Just how much will a new/better stadium increase those? Lets say you can increase that 10% to $454 million. Is $40 million in revenue (not counting expenses) worth a $2 billion dollar investment? To the owners sure, they get all that revenue but only pay for a portion of the $2 billion. And by the way, getting a 10% increase would put the Bills gameday revenue in the category close to Pittsburgh and Denver, that may or may not even be possible with a new stadium.

Jim Jackson. Only played 5 games with the Sabres in the late 1980s (don't remember him at all though) 2 goals though in 5 games, he was on a pace for a mid-30 goal season.

There are so many.... I'll start with the Serena Williams ads, I don't even know what they are for..but there was one with her as Wonder woman and another tied into the Matrix. First of all, what are they even for? Secondly, Serena, isn't she not winning as much anymore and kinda yesterdays news? And with most ads, I just see it over and over. 2nd is the Aaron Rodgers insurance ads...I don't mind him and the packers as a player and team, but he just comes across as not the most likeable guy in real life. How is having him in an ad making me want to buy or use your product? Finally, I'd have to say there are a lot of bad commercials. If I see a commercial 5 times or more, and I STILL don't remember what the product is you are trying to sell me when I think of it a week later, that is a bad ad. Sure, it may not be flashy or sexy, but to me a good ad is one where I KNOW your product 5 seconds into it....is basic, keeps repeating the name of your product, and tells me benefits of your product and teaches me something about it.

Florida. Thats it. That is my complaint summary, Florida. I am finishing up a trip to visit relatives in Florida. No one knows how to drive here, 90mph on I-95 seems normal, cutting across 3 lanes to hit the exit happens in front of you every 10 minutes. Its the land of strip plazas and shopping malls, no character anywhere. Food isn't good. Water is AWFUL. I could go on....just...Florida.

To be honest, I do not like making any Free Agent splashes at all. No big name FAs sign with buffalo for the next 15 years and I actually prefer it that way. Sign your own, get your 'big name' guys through the draft or trade when they are young. I really don't ever want a July 1 free agent to sign with buffalo unless it is a complimentary piece.