Thorner

The mentality that led to the rank tank was the mistaken, ill-begotten idea that you need to have a superstar to be a good team: rather than the idea that if you have a good team, you don’t *need* a superstar. It’s the difference, in short, between Buffalo and Vegas. Acting like your work in filling out a good team is inconsequential because you’ve nabbed your superstar, and the contrasting realization that if you build a proper team said superstar isn’t necessary for success, at all: merely the key missing ingredient for a *championship* team. But we didn’t want to build that, did we. We talk of building a long term cup champ right now, before ever even making the playoffs. We went ahead and tanked for the star, first. Cart before the horse, Cup before playoffs, par for the course a hair-brained scheme of one of the 3 GMs all attempting some grand design needlessly littered with pitfalls from the start

What we’ve created is a Disenfranchisement Factory for our players. We tie them in to these ridiculous long-form, long-haul, “WAAHNT to be here!1!” endeavours doomed to failure because you alienate the players before any real success is ever achieved It’s a conflict of interest: nhl PLAYER careers are short players want to win and make money. We always just give them the money.

A blinding Occam’s razor It’s really (really) that simple

Jets haven’t seemed to have any issue remaining very competitive. All it takes is competence @TageMVPhad it: 3 buffoons all in one way or another obsessed with a big tear down and rise to prominence. Some master plan just to do something half the league does every single year. It’s actually rather comical, if you think about it. Like in a truly funny way. They are hilariously out of touch Pinky and the Brain level schemes to figure out how to assemble a barbecue

Oy vey, my friend ideally you teach *before* handing out the 50 million dollar contracts, no? I know YOU don’t even believe what you are saying. the national hockey league is professional hockey. It’s not a development league. It’s a product that fans need to pay for. These guys are *paid professionals*. They aren’t “learning to play D”. Absurd. That’s what you do *to* get drafted. Hindsight need not apply. My favourite term nowadays: I told you, NS, this would happen, I told you all offseason. I’m not a wizard: it was just obvious. Simply adding defensive acumen to the forwards while retaining their stellar offence *was never an option*. There would be sacrifice. There would be suffering, I said. It’s a shell game. If we didn’t want to pay the cost to upgrade from the outside: we’d pay it from within. We have sacrificed offence for D. We cannot sit here and say “they’ll learn to do both”. Manager needs to MANAGE - - - As for your other point: if they didn’t configure the roster in such a way, in their *4th year* that playoffs would be a reasonable expectation: that’s assuredly a THEM problem

I’m saying you make the changes necessary to field a team capable of making the playoffs. The idea we don’t have enough talent in the organization, when considering prospects and picks, is absurd. We ought to wield our considerable currency in the name of converting on a playoff berth. That’s the funny thing: it’s really not that hard. 50 percent of teams making the playoffs isn’t frivolous: it’s a definitive stat. It’s not hard to make the playoffs. Again, what we continually see with the Sabres is they are an *anomaly*. This is a very important word: they are exceptions to almost every rule. You can’t be THAT bad without a ton of manual, human error. Because we are bad by choice. People don’t want to hear it because it’s scary: we need to trade away our prospects and draft capital in the name of an honest roster with a lower ceiling, sure, but one that measures results in actual wins in the now. That’s the answer. If you don’t like it, I’m sorry. Enjoy being at the top of prospect lists - I mean that in sincerity: that’s probably the extent of what you are comfortable with. It’s simply what’s necessary and they need the b*lls to do it

I’m not arguing for the status quo.

We really need to get away from this “our top 6 / top 9 / forwards look set” stuff. Nothing is set on this team when you are sitting at the bottom of the league. There is no way you can be that bad and that stench be totally absent from what amounts to a 50% chuck of the roster. We’d be better, if that were the case, and we had as much as you say “set”. A lot of our defensive woes are linked to the poor play of the top 9

Haven’t read the thread yet so I’ll edit this as necessary after I do but a big blowup is the last thing we need. Any sort of tear it down, long form build back up would be literal poison. Adams isn’t going to shift from his plan but if and when a new GM is brought in, it absolutely cannot be someone talking the long game. And it can’t be someone that only views the current results as a means to facilitating something better in the future: talking sustained, contender type success is utter hubris for this franchise at this time. The focus and goal needs to be one thing, I somehow nailed this 2 years ago and have been saying it since: just make the playoffs. That needs to be the goal: nothing else matters. We are trying to facilitate step 5 before ever firmly getting our footing on step 1. We are the receiver turning our head to look down field before the ball is caught.

I don’t think there will be a late run, Mr. Frodo

@SwampD & @Weave - you boys do such a great job parsing all the sh*t out of my arguments, a daunting task @DarthEbriate - you do a great job helping me get more Star Wars sh*t *into* my arguments @GASabresIUFAN you have no idea how much time you save this particular Hobbit through your admirable attention to detail in often laying out the facts and data “fair and square with no contradictions”. I mean it: it relaxes my ocd. (the system isn’t letting me tag/@ Randall Flagg, he must be out for more milk) @nfreemanis a good mod who responds to my posts @bob_sauve28 and @Zamboni and @Norcalforce me to reassess, evaluate, and confirm or change my biases, basically on a day to day basis @Pimlachtops our leaderboards for “likes” received in last year: and that’s SAYING something @bunomatic is AUTOmatic for good contribution on any topic Always learn something from @North Buffalowhen our paths cross on this board @PromoTheRobot defends goaltending more than I defend Eichel (and THAT’s saying something) but this fellow’s heart is so clearly in the right place given his commentary on wanting the building to be full for his precious Sabres @Wyldnwoody44 incomparable swag. Enough said. @MattPieknow more about Math than me, and *THAT’S* say-ok I’m done with this call-back joke Where’s @qwksndmonster? Miss the dude @pi2000is the best poster here because he has the best avatar. That’s really all there is to it. Oh, have you heard he played hockey? He might have mentioned it once or twice if you missed it @Derrico I find to be the Swiss-army knife of sorts of posters: I always feel like, regardless of topic, you’ll have something interesting to say @Curtreminds me of a young me tbh (sorry, just the way it goes). Though actually now I think about it, I think we’re the same age. Ok, you remind me of a young Marvin Hamlisch @LTS provides a perspective I can’t match, but aspire to @tom webster obviously needs to be mentioned for his insight @French Collection thorough attention to detail. I find you to be a particularly level headed and well reasoned poster @CallawaySabresconsidering how red-faced he always is about the team and his tickets, there’s a loyal, golden heart there that even Pony Boy would be proud of @Crusader1969 you have such a knowledgeable base when it comes to the draft and development side of the equation, i find your comments towards others facets, such as the team’s need to be more urgent, exceptionally fascinating because, being so in tune with the development side, one should pay extra attention when you start to spill on it being go-time. @#freejameWe agree a heck of a lot. You obviously see what’s up @mjd1001 we seem to disagree a heck of a lot. You obviously see what’s up. @Mustache of Godyou complimented me on my moustache, once. For that, I am appreciative @Broken Anklesand @erickompositör72 should post a wee bit more. If a little is good, more must be better! @Ducky you seem to have taken up permanent residency here in the wake of the Kane trade. I can comfortably say you are the best acquisition from that deal. We’ve gone back and forth a lot on the Jets over the years and you’ve lost a lot of arguments in the process…but I can honestly say, from the bottom of my heart, that after all this time: I still hate the Jets. And finally, @SDS ..you know what you did.

I’m just here so I don’t get fined

I’m undecided on Granato, I never know how much blame or praise to allot to a coach. Per the bold, you think so? Honestly for me I think a fair line re: axing is after next season, should we miss. This year is a fail if we miss but I think a mulligan is fair. You mentioned the organization isn’t at that point THIS season, and I’d agree, but next season is probably more of an open question. If I had to guess, Adams likely has a leash longer than even next season

Allen “laterals” the ball 2 yards forward lol

These last 2 games have been excellent

“What was the song? The sound of silence?”

I gotta say, Adams can’t really “end up right” about this, at least in so far as the central goal we’ve been talking about, which is making the playoffs. If we make it in year 5, or year 6, or year 7, it says nothing about the fact that teams, statistically, very rarely get to even 4 year playoff droughts (which makes sense mathematically given 50% make it). Only a handful of teams generally at any given time are at that level. Making it 5 years in would be a significantly below average league-relative course to take re: average timeline. I’ve mentioned this before, any sort of playoff appearance beyond this season is certainly “about time” territory. For the franchise, more than obviously, but specifically this regime. Now of course, this is just my view, and opinions aren’t (see: shouldn’t be) static. Adams CAN re-write the narrative. But at this point that would be way of willingly taking a exorbitantly long time to make the playoffs because the success we achieve once there was facilitated by it. Ie: 5 years to just make the playoffs is not “job well done” but if the payoff of that long road is deep playoff runs over the course of this team’s window, that’s a different story and of course that would reflect on the General Manager

You’d think then they’d feel they have plenty of statistical backing to go with a decision to let Levi develop in Rochester, pointing to Eric’s better AHL numbers as reason he should be up. How they are moving the goalies around just seems admittedly confusing to me. I guess it’s kind of what I was talking about, they feel Levi gives them their best chance to win, when a backup is in? But you’ve sort of talked me away from that stance to be honest and I more less agree with you at this point so..unless there really is some sort of agreement between Levi and the team to play at the NHL level. Adams should have an account here detailing this to us or at the very least be live tweeting about his thought process as much as other notable celebrities

Oh they definitely look great. Very impressive too considering almost everyone was calling for a rebuild. I just think this very easy extended stretch of games has also been a bit of a factor, too. I was also the guy clamouring for Hellebuyck if he was at all available when nearly no one else was so, I feel rather good in that as he’s been their best player I’m not sold on them as a playoff threat at all until I see it, the whole league tightens up defensively so with their advantage on that front somewhat mitigated I’m not sure their offence will get it done at that time, but it’s certainly wide open. You have to give them credit for an outstanding season thus far. Bowness needs some awards consideration

Primed for a sale A Chris Sale-type hockey equivalent, shut-down defender added to the top 4 of our rotation

Little easier to read: 5v5 goals for Winnipeg t-5th Buffalo t-5th Columbus t-5th Ottawa 8th 5v5 goals against Winnipeg 1st Buffalo 23rd Ottawa 28th Columbus 31st Points % Winnipeg (1st) Buffalo (26th) Columbus (28th) Ottawa (29th)

Columbus (28th) and Buffalo (26th) are tied for 5th (with Winnipeg (1st)) in 5 v 5 scoring. Ottawa (29th), is next. It doesn’t really seem to correlate to anything on its own, the defensive variable seems to MORE than offset it. Pretty interesting, tbh. Defensive ranks, 5 v 5 goals against? Winnipeg 1st Buffalo 23rd Ottawa 28th Columbus 31st If you had to guess the standings from a metric, take the inverse of goals against

This is the sort of thinking that’s unfortunately, almost subconsciously part of exceedingly low expectations being ingrained. There are assuredly multiple factors contributing to why the season has been a failure thus far: to try and boil it down to one factor and act like it’s “problem identified” would be a colossal mis-assessment. That’s where the low expectations come in. Our goals against is ranked 20th league wide. That’s not an issue? I guess it’s not, when if you get the perfect result you need from every position, you’ll finish 16th…which is sort of how we operate. If everything goes perfectly to plan and 6 players have career years at once, everything will be fine. It’s overall team D. It’s the power play. It’s even strength scoring (not specifically 5 V 5), it was the goaltending for the first 41 games..it’s the coaching..the record is reflective of several factors Multiple factors is how you get a 13 year streak when the odds are theoretically 50/50 every year

Will never forget my 8th grade social studies teacher who’d talk about interesting world events at start of every class (best teacher I had): ”It looks like Gore is going to win it.” It was actually that race that got me into US politics as a hobby