Thorny

You are making a lot of good arguments here but imo you should focus them on his skills of analysis rather than modus of operation. It’s not plausibly logical to suggest Adams didn’t *THINK* stillman addressed a need for now, AND later (fitting in with the idea we won’t spend assets to MERELY help now) because he’s under contract next year. There’s no other logical inference. He didn’t betray, in his mind, the “not for short term gain” thing. It’s not “exactly what he did” with the Stillman trade as, by KA’s parameters, it’s well within. I’m not smart enough to do it but you or others could probably figure out why exactly Adams’ talent analysis of Stillman doesn’t line up with yours. In an effort to understand why KA made the move its the only avenue to pursue here. What does Stillman bring

Personally I get a tick when playoffs are described that way. YES making it would be awesome, that feeling game 1, at puck drop, will make the decade worth it. The puck drop for game 3, on home ice. Put it in my veins. If Adams could trade a prospect by way of which GUARANTEED a playoff spot, I think he makes the move (which doesn’t actually exist). I think the consideration for GM’s here is more often “does this move substantially change our chances, anyways?” versus any sort of “is it even worth it?” conversation. Yes, it’s worth it. By George is it worth it for the fans ie the Sabres. Haven’t even got into the revenue we’d get for at least 2 extra home games Trading significant assets just to slightly increase the odds is something he probably just won’t do, at this stage Bad value play. This is why any move can still happen though - but it would necessarily be one that helps beyond this season as well (even Stillman is under contract) so as to square the value in the situation we miss

For me it’s more about how it hurts the fun of the chase. I didn’t need to make it. You are correct, the season wasn’t ABOUT playoffs. The run itself being marred by this is why it hurts, plus feel for Dahlin who was putting himself firmly in the Norris convo.

So Avs paid nothing, are getting healthy, and play in the weak conference while the east beats itself up. Colorado imo a great repeat bet right now not cause of this deal but just in general I think

We got him? We got him?

Lol this completely sucks - - - Does this make KA more willing to make a move, equally willing to make a move, or less willing to make a move reverting back to development year lingo? Really gonna hurt Dahlin’s Norris push too, one of the funnest aspects of this season. All around bad. Gah. Ruining the fight for 8th we’ve been waiting for for a decade. Apologies for my negativity on this, feels like kick in the nuts.

I tend to believe he’s more interested in pushing things forward / resetting expectations (playoffs) for next season than this letter would imply: my hope is we see some of that messaging come forth a little later on when talking to the larger, broader fan base. As I mentioned in my first post on the matter, season ticket holders that are still season ticket holders right now, after all this, probably are pretty swayed by / on board with the “process” lingo

If you are interested/ever get a chance, do a quick perusal of a few of the tweets the Sabres put out versus a few from say, the Jets. The engagement is not comparable - they certainly know what they are doing

Was that a thing? No Sabres have been a masterclass in social media content since KA took over. Tons of objectively excellent, engagement driving stuff. Its also all, imo, completely cringeworthy and terrible lol and I can’t stand any of it longer than I need to, to glean what’s going on with the messaging. I’m not the demo, though. Not their problem

Have to add before the deadline, or just before next season, in your view? - - - Greg Wyshynski on Marek saying he still expects plenty of deals and fireworks Friday

Opportunity cost probably. If your guys are in the NOW window, waiting around isn’t going to get it done anyways, you’ll just bleed yourself out I think teams feel compelled to join the arms race. Its like being pot-committed in poker - that’s the best comparison to give. At some point you are committed enough that the only value play is to keep playing. It’s the inverse of where we’ve been for 10 years: fold when you can to recoup assets. Its scary, but one day if we are really lucky and say our prayers, it’ll be us

That would be a horrid reason to not make a deal haha

We *do* already have a “Josh Bloom”. We can snag another Josh from the Bloomed tree any time we want as long as they keep handing out a fresh set of 7 draft picks to every team, free of charge, every season. His contributing NHL talent was *already* several years away , if at all: no sense prioritizing timeline re: that asset as timeline already is not in its favour: we can simply replace the asset for free

This is what happens when Kris Baker’s drooling tweets are posted ad nauseam in the prospects thread. I tried.

So the Wild finally get their 2C. Bravo Please just save some dealz till Friday

Appreciate that delayed reaction @inkman I honestly thought that was pretty funny in context

This was the eye-catching paragraph: I am proud of the work our group has put in, but the majority of the work still lies ahead. We’ve started to see some results but are not comfortable with where we are at and the coaches, players, and myself all know that there is room to grow. But that’s the exciting part. We have players like Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens, and Mattias Samuelsson signed to long-term extensions, and we know they have not hit their ceilings as players. They are going to continue to get better, just like the rest of our players. Knowing that pushes me to keep my focus on building this the right way for you, our most loyal fans, and the city of Buffalo. ”The majority of the work still lies ahead”. This seems to suggest caution, that we are early in the process. At first I thought it could be a suggestion they intend to raise expectations next season, but consider the context of the entire paragraph: it’s entirely about progress via development - “They are going to continue to get better, just like THE REST OF OUR PLAYERS”. Pretty confident on not only the idea Thompson hasn’t reached his ceiling, but that ALL of our players are going to. Our current players, being the rub. ”Knowing that pushes me to *KEEP MY FOCUS ON* building this the right way for you...” KEEP my focus on...lot of way to go still.....plenty of internal improvement to come... Like I said it’s clearly demographic dependent but the message here is clearly much more interested in “stay the course, long road ahead” than any inclination about when to EXPECT and of the sustained winning it mentions. I find stuff like this interesting, the messaging they send out. In the end all that matters is the results, if our improvement trajectory continues it doesn’t really matter WHAT he says. As mentioned before, i do hope the messaging for next season becomes more about playoffs

Totally. Was just a little surprised by the wording b/c it’s more in reference to NEXT season

There isnt any question, imo, who the mvp of this team is. Tbh I don’t think it’s particularly close

Morrissey the lone bright spot (4 points, to surpass Dahlin) as Jets lose yet again and are in danger of missing the playoffs after sitting 1st in the west

Like I said countless times when people were lamenting schedule difficulty: not who you play, it’s when you play em

Dahlin injury taking the wind out of my posting sails. be back tomorrow

Something something evil Ricky Bobby so, lower body

Guess he’s not healed. URGH