erickompositör72

What else is new?

This is true, but I'm going to keep saying this: 2018 was a Reinhart we've never seen before. We've never seen 2018 Reinhart at center. It is intriguing to think about.

#23

I don't think his skill-set is the issue, per se. I think it's his strength. Which, IMO, gives him more upside/higher ceiling, if he addresses the strength issue

I don't think you have to worry about being accused of being the word police- latinos take enough sh*&^ in this country, and calling someone out who contributes to it is always the right thing to do. We can all do our part, IMO...

I've always thought a healthy Bogosian would work really well in our defense corps... But that aside, I've also got the feeling that he's the type of guy we need as far as leadership/locker room presence. We've all been really frustrated with his injury history, but if he can stay healthy- I think he has a great attitude and could be the kind of leader we need to guide the younger players.

1. Rodrigues has shown some flashes. I could see him being a Pominville-esque player, only if he becomes stronger on the puck and stronger physically 2. I don't know you, but unless you are a latino, I would urge you to avoid such language. If you are, my apologies; go for it

This makes a lot of sense. I just think the decision to tank should not have been a condition in picking a GM (TM). I really do think the fanbase does have some influence on how a team operates. If the FO feels that a fanbase would tolerate tanking, they may feel they have carte blanche to do so. We should have just picked a better GM. Whether that GM wanted to tank or not, doesn't matter. One who knew how to draft and enter into smarter contracts. We may not have had Eichel, but there were plenty of great players available in the drafts who didn't go top-10. I think that would have caused less "suffering," led to more exciting hockey (without need to "change the culture"), and frankly, could have been just as effective at producing a championship team.

He was always my favorite ?

Right. Which of the current-generation of tankers (us, oilers, leafs) is poised to win the first cup?

And honestly, I think the blatancy was the most damaging, vis-a-vis "the culture" the fact that we were cheering for losses. You keep comparing to Toronto- they were throwing jerseys on the ice when we were cheering!

I just don't understand the propensity for so many fans to think this way. '99 was uniquely Buffalo. 2005-2007 was uniquely Buffalo. Why is tanking now a Buffalo thing? (maybe I misunderstood what you meant by "the tank was a uniquely Buffalo thing")

This is the old "if only [x] happened or [y] didn't happen..." All of those were always possibilities, and amplified the risk of a tank. We put all our eggs in one basket. And we whiffed. And here we are. exactly. pro-tankers did not account for all of the variables/things out of our control that could have catastrophic results.

I'm not speaking to a general concept of being risk-averse or not, but rather to the degree

I would characterize all of those moves (hire Bylsma, taking a shot at an unproven Lehner, signing Okposo, relying on [former 1st rndr] Girgs) as risky. You wanted a GM who was not risk-averse (i.e. amenable to the tank), to suddenly become risk-averse?

Yeah, I know. Who did we tank for, again?

Pro-tankers seem to still be defending the "theory" of the tank, rather than the empirical results we have lived with, post-tank. I see a lot of "the tank could have worked if only [x], or if we didn't do [y], or if we didn't hire [z]" That's exactly the problem with the concept of the tank. The risk-reward proposition is not favorable. It's pretty simple. Now we're paying for it. It will take a genius GM to get us out of this predicament. Hopefully JBot is just that.

The tank had(/has) the potential to turn off a generation of Buffalonians to hockey. I grew up watching Mogilny, LaFontaine, Hasek, etc. They made me love hockey. Even when we weren't competing for a cup, we were damn exciting. The tank was just so that us hockey-obsessed folk could hoist our cup. I think it's missing the forest for the trees. We came pretty close to hoisting it a couple of times without the collateral damage.

I'll take this as an apology to the forum from Flagg, after his ad nauseam doomsday foretelling, immediately following the ROR trade. Apology accepted ? j/k- this is really great. We all appreciate the amount of time and thought that goes into these posts

who needs progressions when you can hit your 1st target in a tight window with a laser beam? j/k ?

No. I'd elaborate, but condescension isn't very inviting

Sabres will fight for a playoff spot, Bills 7-9

all I know is this: Josh Allen has a "wow factor" that none of the other 1st rounders have. I hope it translates into wins.

We haven't seen the 2018 version of Reinhart at center, correct? His 2018 play makes me curious to have another look.

He didn't panic and stepped up in not-so-clean pockets, so I didn't come away with that concern... With that said, there is a lot that still needs to be seen. I hope he gets a chance w/ the 1st offense sooner than later.