mjd1001

if you are going short term, then give him what he wants (not fantasy-land, but don't worry about overpaying), simply because you don't need the cap space now. If you are going long term, go really long term. Since you are going to have ton of cap room this year (and probably next year), load it up front so it looks really good to him, but it might keep the total value a tad lower so it doesn't hurt the cap as much in later years.

Do these guys know what they are getting into? For that matter, did Granato know exactly what he was getting into when he took the job? With this roster, this goalie tandem, there are going to be nights there will be virtually no chance of winning. I can see games the Sabres go into, that have the potential to get out of hand really really quick, and the job of the coach is just going to try to keep things together on the most basic level.

I think in a previous thread a few days ago, I said this team wouldn't be THAT bad, and it could be in the 75-80 point range. In NO WAY did I expect the goaltender situation to be what it is, and to have nothing really of value added except for spare parts no-one else wants. Hopefully Jack will be traded and part of the return will be one, maybe 2 pieces that have some value added to this current roster, or this team might be historically bad (like full seas tank bad).

I know as fans we follow this stuff every day, hour minute, but it is getting exhausting.... Team is out, they are in, they are out, they are back in, now they are out because the price is too high, now then are going after him again. It wouldn't be so bad following every bit if info....if it didn't feel like more than half it what we hear is not just false...but created as a lie.

Part of the issue is that the 'insiders' are either under pressure from someone else, or maybe themselves, to keep their name in social media by reporting SOMETHING, even if there isn't much to report. They put stuff out there and add words to their reports like "maybe" or "possibly" or "might be" or "keep an eye out for"...stuff like that. On the other hand, Adams went out of his way MANY times to say he wants players who want to be here, and he said it over and over and over. If Eichel had any thought he might have to suck-it-up and play some more in Buffalo, his agent and handlers would do WHATEVER they had to do to make it NOT look like he wants out in any way.

Except to Rangers fans and media. To them: -Eichel isn't really that good, we'll take him off your hands, but you aren't getting anything good back from us (and by the way EVERYTHING we have up and down our entire roster is great because, well, we are from NY city and we can do no wrong here) -What, you are trading him someplace else? But we REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted him!

On a side note....I think the importance of the center position in todays NHL compared to wingers has decreased slightly. Do you want any holes at any position, including Center? Nope. Is Center less important than the wing? Probably not. But 5-10 years ago you needed dominant centers, they mattered SO much more than wingers. I don't think that is the case anymore. I'd put dominant/great wingers as an equal priority as the Center position now (or at least a lot closer than it was)

I tend to agree. Now, is it possible the team will as awful as some fear? I guess so, but I more look at this team as improving as the season goes on, and would put them near 75 points for the year. That isn't good, but its not as bad as we have seen in the past also. Of course, the 2 biggest factors impacting that are still unknown....what are you getting for Jack? and who is in net?

Possible? Yes, but I don't think likely. Teams will have less cap room (and a trade will be more complicated due to the cap) when the rosters are filled out and 'set' than they do now.

And in the weather, Mostly sunny today with some clouds, a chance of rain with variable winds.

Agreed. This will be primarily a negative place. The ones that don't get the scenario that they want will complain the loudest, no matter what that scenario is. Myself, I'm one of the ones that is upset he hasn't been traded yet. I want him moved so we can digest the return and get a better idea of what this team will be in the near future.

That is a joke you are making, right?

But the other points still apply. Meaning, it doesn't change that he is not a top 3, or top 5 player in the NHL. He is top 20. Maybe top 5 in TALENT, but we have had enough of a sample size to now see he is not a 'dominant' NHL player....dominant AT TIMES, yes, but so are about 20 other NHL players.

Who is also injured, has only topped 80 points once in his career. His career BEST finish in the scoring race was 10th, and has never been on-led his team to the playoffs. I'm not saying he is bad, but many people on this forum treat him as a top 5 player in the league. That he is not.

Ok, I'm trying to give a real answer here with something that might actually happen: -Ulmark is signed, has an above average year and no injuries. Backup goalie plays at least average. -Eichel plays and contribute 30+ goals, or if he is traded whoever takes up those minute (even if spread out among many players) gets close to that. -Dahlin take the next step up and becomes a bona-fide all star D-man, averaging 22+ minutes per game. -You get 40 goals and 100+ points from Mitts and Cozens combined. -You resign McCabe and get a full season out of him, or you sign a D-man with equal talent to him. -Skinner gives you 20+ goals, as does Olofsson.

Adams has made trades already. He made what seems to be thought of as a good trade with Risto, and a trade where most wish he got more for Reinhart. Other trades around the league have been made also, the Seth Jones trade (and contract) a pretty big one. I know the Eichel trade might/would be bigger than all of those, but maybe, just MAYBE the rest of the league sees something in him where they just don't value him as much as many of us as Sabres fans do.

If there is any development that can happen in college (gets more time working out, gets more ice time than he would in Buffalo, actually has a good time playing hockey, etc), then I'd be 100% good with him playing a full year in college...and at the end of the year getting a couple games in with Buffalo or Rochester.

The other side of that is, if you KNOW he is gone next year...and you are pretty darn sure you aren't even going to sniff the playoffs.....why keep him around as your own rental when you could get a first round pick for him...espeically in a draft that might have some pretty good prospects in the middle to late first round compared to most other drafts?

I don't want to see the Sabres lose a ton of games, BUT, I'd be OK with it if we get to see some young guys who are still learning, but are getting better as the season goes along. Personally for me, a 75 point team that is full of fast young guys that you have hope will be better in the future is MORE fun to watch than a team full of veteran 30+ year olds that struggle to get 90-92 points either miss the playoffs at the end of the season or get run out in 4 straight games in the first round.

Is it a low return? Yes. This is the only theory I have at this point. Sam told Adams he would not sign a long term deal with the Sabres, once he is unrestriced he wants to play back home (Vancouver) Sam got the word out through is agent to ALL other teams he wants to sign with Vancouver after this year when he is unrestricted. Therefore, everyone (all other teams), pretty much knew he was going to be a 1 year rental, with only a SLIGHT chance of re-signing him to a longer term deal. So, when trading Sam, you were only going to get the return of a rental.

Hopefully yes. Remember though, 13th pick is good, but odds are any player selected at 13 is years away from playing and producing...and you are looking at about a 50% chance overall of that becoming a good player down the road. Still, I'll take it in this deal for Risto.

Know very little about him, but from what I have seen.. -Good penalty killer -Bad numbers (analytics) -Good to have as the 7th defenseman, servicable as a #5-#6 guy, but don't expect anything more.

You definitely don't want to make a trade just for sake of making a trade. Besides that you could always just wait and wait and wait and see if something gets better. Of course the other side of it is, they have had days or weeks or even months to negotiate this. You might just want to pull the trigger on the best offer out there if you're going to make the trade, if you don't know what the best offer is by now, that might be the sign that you're not doing your job that well.

So I guess that neck surgery wasn't required after all.

Funny...much different for me. Many people I know who are not vaccinated use all those excuses... They say they don't trust the government... They say it's about what's in the vaccine... But push them hard enough and you'll find it something else. For a good portion it's simply that they don't want to get a shot. They don't like needles. How did I come to that conclusion? If I press them hard enough and ask them if there was a simple pill they could swallow with a glass of water would they still not get it... Many of them said in that case they would get it. Now maybe part of the issue is they don't trust the fillers and preservatives that are getting injected into their bloodstream where with the pill it wouldn't be quite the same, but still a lot of them it's just about the shot.