erickompositör72

Wildcard- you've gone back and forth with me quite a bit, yet I'm not sure if you realize I never thought Jack would get an offer sheet. I was just explaining why Jack had leverage- because the possibility of an offer sheet exists. Now you admit Jack has leverage, but let's not forget, this happened:

I don't think Draisaitl's contract was/is an issue at all. I think Jack thinks he's at least 11/12.5's the player McDavid is :P , and wants 11mil

I get your point, and have cleared stated why I think it's flawed. I'm going to now go back and delete all redundant responses from this back-and-forth, and I think you should too. (including this post of yours I just quoted)

Around 20 games in, I'm betting.

I don't think that's it. I think he wants GMBot to show him he thinks he's McDavid's peer

I'm not trying to rag on him, but I think his skating deficiencies necessitate putting him in a very specific situation to utilize his best attributes.

thank you

Right. Then we become the pre-McJesus Oilers Would the Sabres be able to match the $ amount and make it an 8 year deal?

Ouch I know hockey is a business, but wouldn't that get GMBot a bad rap, league-wide? To make a seasoned, respected veteran ride the AHL bus, just because a previous regime signed a bad contract? Wouldn't the "right" thing to do be to just buy him out?

Because there are very few Jack Eichel's To clarify, all of my statements are predicated on the opinion that Jack Eichel will be among the top 2 players in the league in 2-4 years

Moreover, only 1 team in the league needs to decide it's worth it. And it doesn't even need to be a decision made from a hockey perspective. From a business perspective, a team that wants to reinvigorate the fan base could do it as a publicity stunt. People would pay to come see Eichel play. He's that kind of player.

I'm actually curious what would happen to his contract if waived and 1. clearing & sent down to Roch, or 2. claimed by another team. I don't think making him a healthy scratch every night is the right thing to do

Let him light it up in Rochester, Vanek 04-05 style Isn't it a little more complicated than that? (I actually don't know)... What happens to his contract if he is waived?

The horse singing = Eichel saying "gee, gosh-golly, I just want to be a Sabre and will do it for 8x8" A year going by, the status quo holding up, the horse not singing = offer sheet :P you beat me to it

Pouliot line 4?

That's all true. ASAP would make us all (probably including Jack) feel a little better, though. Especially if the outcome will be the same, whether it's asap or June '18. And this is now probably over-analyzing: maybe, in the back of his mind, GMBot could think that going into the year without a contract could inspire the young Jack to play even a little bit harder?

It doesn't matter if the offer sheet ultimately materializes or not. That's not the point. The point is that the mere possibility should be enough to motivate GMBot to get this done ASAP.

Of course Jack's not worried. He plays hockey for a living and is going to get a +$10mil check in the next 10 months. 100%

That's a very rainbows and unicorns way of putting it. The Sabres want him to sign for the least amount possible -- and right now -- and he wants to sign for what he believes he is: a generational talent that can take a team to the cup.

I don't think it will. I still think he could be magic at 3rd line C

What part do you think is being ignored? Some people just hear what they want to hear with these things. Quite frankly, I think he said everything he was supposed to say and was professional. One little thing that stuck out: he said he obviously wants to stay in Buffalo and bring the team to the next level. He then said that ultimately, it's not his choice, something about his agent, etc etc. Actually, it IS his choice! He could take the offer that's on the table right now. Obviously, he won't. ------ I don't think Eichel will get to the offer sheet point. I was being a little dramatic by bringing that up. BUT, I think GMBot will wise up and give him whatever he's asking for. If I had to bet, I'd say it doesn't go longer than 20 games, after Jack is at PPG pace, that GMBot gives in to what he's asking for, to avoid the doomsday scenario I kept referencing. Exactly. He's willing to wait him out.

Sam has played center in the league before, but thank you for your contribution

I don't think we can seriously even consider Reinhart being anywhere near a top center in the league unless his skating improves drastically. Either way, though, I think he could play a key role on the Sabres

Other GM's know we need Eichel, so GMBot best get this done before he gets a "predatory" offer sheet for 14mil

I think Sam needs to be a center. When we look at our teams' centers, though: Eichel makes painfully apparent Sam's lack of speed, and O'Reilly makes painfully apparent his lack of grit. I don't know how much he can improve these things, but I think that's ok, because... For one, I believe Sam's stick-handling is severely underrated. Secondly, I think we all know he can create plays and scoring chances out of nothing. I think if he was given more opportunities to showcase this (i.e. centering a line with wingers who can finish), he'd show why he went #2 overall. To quote Ted Nolan, "I'm not much of an X's and O's guy" (sorry, Ted), but I feel if Samson has wingers who have speed and grit, to compensate for his lack thereof, that line could be a very threatening force. I could imagine Sam quarterbacking zone entries by making perfect passes to a speedy winger, cycling it in the zone, and setting up plays. Another thing I love about Sam is his knack for knowing just when to get rid of the puck. He hangs on to it just long enough to draw defenders out of position, getting them to bite, and then knows exactly where to pass it to take advantage. If this was our 3rd line, with the match-ups they'd likely get, maybe we could even see 3rd line production like we haven't seen since Vanek played on the 3rd line...