mjd1001

Anyone ever consider this nightmare scenario? -Sabres Trade Eichel ( Calgary, Anaheim, where-ever) and get a bit less than they would normally because he is injured. -Eichel goes to that team, plays until the end of this season and plays very well. -That team, whoever they are, then turns around and flips a proven HEALTHY Eichel to the Vegas, the Rangers, or Boston, or someone else in the offseason when THOSE teams had both the chance to see him play and had a chance to clear some cap space. -The nightmare scenario for Sabres fans would be if something like that happened, the team that 'flips' Eichel ends up getting a lot more in return than what they gave up. I don't think it is likely, but I also don't want to 100% rule out a situation like that. I guess that is the one reason I am glad Adams is holding on for a big return and not just 'giving in' to what is currently out there.

Without getting too far into advanced stats (because I am not schooled in them all that well), look at some basic stats so far, supporting what a lot of posters have said: -Shooting percentage the Sabres are pretty much median/league average. With the 'talent' that this team has, one might think over the course of a whole season they would be below average, so some basic thinking says over the whole season the offense will be slightly less effective than it has been now. -Save percentage. Both goalies in limited starts are near the top of the league. If they revert to the middle of the league (or their career save percentage) the Sabres would have allowed about 6 more goals so far this season (1 per game). Averages make one think they will allow more goals going forward. Does that mean the team will fall back to being the worst in the league? No. Does it mean that some individual players can't play BETTER than they are now as the season goes on? No. What it does likely mean is that this team will not maintain the torrid pace they are on. At this moment I still think they are going to be about an 80 point team.

For me it's not a light switch whether they are good or not, how I think of them as a process. At the start of the season before the opener I thought they would be a 65 to 70 point team. Last week I had bumped that up to 75, now I'm thinking they have a chance at being an 80 point team. As the winter lose throughout the season, evaluations change, but right now I'm hoping for an 80 point team. Is that good? I don't know. If they go on this Western road trip and lose four in a row I'll be thinking they're back to a 70 point team. I don't think that'll happen though.

Don't take the opinion of a handful of posters and paint the broad brush about the entire board. And by the way, even if the entire board had that opinion, that's what this is for, a message board to talk about things. It gets tiresome when people start complaining about other people's opinions on a message board. That's what a message board is for, discussion right? Just because someone doesn't believe with you there's no need to get exasperated about other people's opinions. With that said, anytime there is a star player that leaves your team, most of us are going to want to see how well he does on the new team. For me it's going to be tough to make a judgment until we at least get to the 20 game mark. At that point I'll check and look in on Sam a little more because it's just too small the sample size now to have anything other than a wild opinion... At least for me personally.

I think the issue where he might be coming from... Not sure but my guess, is something that I also agree with. The Sabres have not said anything publicly since the first press conference that we spoke about. However, Eichel has had his agent or agents out there doing radio interviews, and openly talking to some of these so-called hockey insiders. If the Sabres are doing the same thing, they are being much more quiet about it. Eichel and his camp are being much more public about talking about the situation.

As of now, so far so good for being down 2 goals. They seem to be getting 'out-talented' but again not outworked.

They are looking like a 65-70 point team. The thing is they do have a lot of young guys who should be getting better as the season progresses, but on the other hand I don't think they have much in the AHL that will be on its way up soon that will turn things around quickly.

Maybe it is for the hockey games if there are a lot of viewers? Like I said, we pay more for a better connection, I have a brand new (less than one year old) router that cost over $200....and everything else we stream is solid. Just once the games start, it lags, and about every 5-10 minutes it totally locks up and I have to back out of the stream and go back into it to get it to restart. Even other ESPN plus programs are fine, just the live stream hockey games. I wish I knew why or how to fix it.

I have been having a hard time with it watching NHL games. The quality is awful. And I don't mean just resolution, I mean the feed freezing, and stuttering. It seems to only happen during games too. If I watch an 'old' game it is fine. If I watch one of the other programs on it it is fine. And we have a very good connection with our TV and good internet service (all other streaming services are crystal clear in 4k when available.) For some reason when I try to watch a game on ESPN plus, the quality just goes way down.

As with most things, it depends on what you define "good" as. Playoffs? I'd need to see them in a playoff position/contention well into the second half of the season. An 90 point team that misses the playoffs? Lets see them keep up a good pace for 20-25 games to get me there. A 75-80 point team (basically a team that finishes better than the expectations of the pundits and most fans before the season started)...well get 3 points in the next 3 games and I'm just about there at that point.

He's on a much better winning team. As others have said two games is much too short of a time to make a judgment. If we get to the 40 game mark of the season and he is on the third line with only about 20-25 points on the season, then we can start to have a legitimate conversation about how good he is again in a different environment. But at this point of the season the conversation can be had but there's not much to support it. But it's way too early for that and not enough time for him to accumulate some points.

You must have a problem either reading or comprehending, I guess I can't do anything about that. READ my post and THINK, use a little CONTEXT if you are able to. Be evolving his game, I am talking about not only how he plays but how he approaches the game. "his game" doesn't mean just what he does on the ice, but rather everything he does related to it. And secondly, how is it a fact that he evolved his game? that is an opinion. Just as you say what I say is an opinion, there is no fact, no data set, nothing that can be proved by anyone, especially you, that shows his game has evolved. Has he gotten BETTER? Maybe, that doing the same thing and getting better is just getting better, that is not evolving. If you are so incapable of understanding this is a message board where we can state our opinions and draw from them and insist instead that it should be operated like a court-of-law where you determine what is fact or not...well then you just don't add much to this community, and certainly don't make it a fun and inviting place for others to post their opinions while you are waiting in the weeds to shoot them down. Live in your little world where you think you are being cute and 'educating all of us' on what you consider facts though, must be a nice place. lol And the bottom line why I am even bothering to reply to you? because you said "some of this stuff is unbelievable' I'm not going to not reply to someone who takes a shot at someone else's 'opinion' and then ends their next post with "if you got an issue with that, hell that's just my opinion" talk about needing to take a look in the mirror..geez.

Of course it is what you call 'supposition'. lol. This is a message board, we discuss ideas, opinions here. If we just want facts we would go to an analytical website. And my 'opinion' is one that others agree with, and it is based on actual observations. No "Data" is required for me to have an opinion and post it here. Oh, and other people who have opinions different than you, or want to have an independent thought that doesn't agree with your point of view is "unbelievable". What a small world you must live in. When you feel the need to post "Some of this stuff is getting unbelievable, I’m sorry " to someone elses opinion you are one step away from becoming the 'get off my lawn guy' Lighten up when it comes to others opinions, let others post ideas that are different than yours.

Today or tomorrow would be a great day for the fans if Eichel was traded. Interest in the team is rising a bit, and the die-hards seem really happy with the direction of things after 3 games (even if most realize this team will be good to even get 70-75 points this year, and losing streaks may be coming). With that said, a few days off between games would be a great time to fill that void with some news of a return for him. I can only hope and wish...

I think your comment with Jack is spot-on. I don't intend this to be a criticism of him but it will probably come out that way..... When some players are 'stars' growing up, they are always driven to learn more and to take things to the next level. It seems with Eichel, he feels/felt he was already at that next level and could just 'keep on doing' what he was doing. I'm not saying he was lazy and not willing to work, what I am saying is he is the type of player that would NOT look to 'evolve' is game or his attitude. He would just keep playing the game he always played and have the same attitude toward his workouts, his teammates, and coaches as he always had because it always worked for him.

I'm not going to be surprised if this team goes on a 3 game losing streak, I'm not 100% convinced they are even better than last year...but I'm still holding out hopes for that 80-81 point season. I want to cautiously say it is a pretty good possibility at this point.

Ok, I'm going to agree with your sentiment....a goalie his age having a bad period (after and up-and-down training camp) is no big deal. At his age and as a goalie, he can have a bad year in Rochester and still end up being a good goalie. To say he is awful at this point is ridiculous. At the same point, no matter how much anyone (including myself) disagree with something, that is what message boards are for. To discuss the team and players. to put our opinions out there, etc. If someone thinks it deserves a thread, let them post it. If it is a boring topic, no one will reply to it and it will go away by itself.

Maybe they put some money into the Arena in the last year or two then, because when I was there 2 seasons ago all that stuff you didn't see was there. Broken cup holders, worn out and disgustingly dirty seats, pitted and cracked concrete, and other stuff that was mentioned in other threads. While certainly not a 'dump', it is well behind the amenities, and just general maintenance of many of the other Arenas around the league, even the ones that were build about the same time (Phillly, Boston, and others). Again, maybe in the last 2 years they put a good amount of money into these issues, because when I was there they were very apparent. As you said though, $400 million into it...what would it do? Ultimately you need a good sheet of ice and a place for fans to sit. I'm not sure putting a lot of money into it to make the current building 'nicer' is worth it. They should be focused on the 'little' things that are cheap or free to make the fan experience better. A new Arena host that is good? Good start. Getting rid of that awful old goal song? Another plus. You mentioned a live band? If even 10% of the fans like it then it is a great idea.

I'm good with them not retaining any salary either that would stretch out 5 years. You want to dump some bad contracts on the Sabres that might last 1, 2, even 3 years, fine. But with an aging Skinner on the books already with a huge deal that stretches well into the future, I don't want the Sabres paying for Eichel 4 or 5 years into the future on top of that. Especially when some of your current young guys at that point will be getting into their bigger contract years.

There is a middle ground here. Maybe Jack wasn't an 'awful' captain or even a bad person that created division on the team. It could have been that in terms of leadership, in terms of players coming together....he simply was not the catalyst to make that happen. We hear stories now about how this team is close, they hang out together, etc and the players/coaches think it is a good thing. We also heard that the 2005-2006 teams were that way because a lot of the key pieces got that way when they played in Rochester together. The Sabres teams since Jack got here didn't seem to be that way. Again, it may not be intentionally Eichel's fault...just coming in as the 'star' and 'savior', he may have never been in a position, or WANTED to being the team together (for what that is worth)

Exactly. Treat it as an offsides in a reverse fashion. As long as teams don't keep doing it anyway leading to so many whistles.

Its hard to tell from television. Lower bowl looks SLIGHTLY more full than opening night, and I mean slightly. But on some of those shots going into and out of break where you can see other parts of the Arena, there a huge patches of empty seats. Its more than half empty, probably close to the same as opening night.

too bad that the crowd doesn't look much bigger than the other night.

Even though the over-under betting odds are in the high 60's or near 70, I was already thinking this could/should be an 80-81 point team. Then you remember it is only 'one game' and you just lost 2 of your top 5 or 6 players for a few weeks to injury. Its hard so early. Until we see more, I WANT to say 81 points but I'm probably thinking more like 75 now, pending how long the injuries are for.

I think when Jack Eichel is on this team and playing...wearing the 'C', being the public face of the franchise, and being the overall 'fan favorite', with the biggest contract on the team.....then Jack Eichel feels he has pull with ownership and management and things go through him. A player in that position is the one who wants to be the first one the team talks to when they make a trade for someone. A player like him wants to have a coaching change 'run by him'. The media wants to talk to that player first. With Jack out of the picture, there is no 'one player' who does all that...or thinks he deserves all that. So there is a perceived void in leadership now that other players can step up into. Maybe this isn't the case, but a player like Okposo might not want to do something like this letter if Jack were still here and captain/face of the franchise because that would be 'stepping on Jacks toes'.