Claude_Verret

Start horribly, finish great. Start great, finish horribly. Consistently putrid sub-mediocrity all year. In the end, it all used to come out in the wash with a teen-ish draft pick that provided little hope for ending the cycle. This year is different..they began the season historically bad, and nothing short of a historically great late season run by a bunch of kids and castoffs is going to ruin the tank.

every time I see your new handle I see and hear this in my head...

He said ###### this and ###### that And this guy's the diplomat stares into the blur of the tuner lights It can't be Nashville every night... But tonight it can....

Tank 2015 should do it folks. One more year!!!

As we continue to debate the pros and cons of tanking or not in multiple threads, can we all at least agree to stop with bringing up the word guarantee in regard to any of this. I think it's been well established by now that no regular poster here has ever argued that any method is guaranteed to work in getting a franchise player or building a consistent cup contender.

Yep. With MacKinnon and a top two pick this year suddenly we're not all so focused on 2015 tank. But those meaningless wins sure built some character with the kids.

Prepping some ribs to smoke on the Egg today. Got them rubbed down and about to go start the fire. Will be using pecan wood.

Exactly...tanking is NEVER about asking players and coaches to lose on purpose!!!

My kind of town, Chicago is.... embrace the tank...

At a bar close to home in Carolina. Canes losing. Awesome.

Although they are too far away to catch us, watch out for the Canes falling into the bottom 5. They did the same late season tank last year surpassing us into Lindholm/Monahan territory.

Playoff experience and we're in the middle of a tank.

How many have been NHL first line players? While a true franchise player like Crosby would be nice, just getting a legit first liner in here is still a big step forward seeing as how the Sabres currently have none. And while we're talking percentages, what would everyone guess are the chances of the Sabres bringing in a first line NHL player as a FA? I'd say we'd be lucky if that number is 10%.

It's a marathon, not a sprint.

Absolutely, and we're going to end up thanking RR and DR for the way they approached the tank early in the season.

The Sabres have 20 games left and have 46 points. If: They continue on their post Olympic pace and win 16 out of last 20. That's 78 points. Impossible as I'm sure even Robviously would agree. They win 12 out of their last 20. that's 70 points. Highly unlikely, but still a cinch for top 3- 5 pick. They go .500 or 10 out of 20. That's 66 points. Maybe, but I certainly wouldn't bet on it. I looked at the points for the bottom two teams in the NHL in each of the last five seasons. Their average points? 66. The tank is still in fine, fine shape my friends.

I'm sorry man, I've been with you before on the Sabres blowing a shot at a good draft pick, but you're wrong this time. The tank will succeed.

Sabres shot differential during this little post Olympic "tear": -16.6 It's great how well Enroth is playing, but the rate of victories is unsustainable as long as that number stays near where it is.

Yeah the bock yeast would not be appropriate for an IPA, but the racking onto the yeast cake trick is good if you can plan your brewing schedule out enough in terms of styles you want to try. 1056 is a good all around ale yeast to do this with.

With all due respect to Physics..I think we need a little change to our tank strategy to get back on track.. Hell..I'll even include one for bio and chz if that's what it takes..

I've got two beers on deck for my annual St. Patrick's day party next weekend. A dry irish stout has been racked to the keg, and an irish red ale is finishing up in the fermenter. A homebrewing convenience and money saving tip for some of the brewing newbies.... I brewed the red on the same day that I racked the stout to the keg. When I was done brewing the red I simply racked the cooled wort right onto the yeast cake left behind in the carboy from the stout. The fermentation was roaring within hours.

I'll always be a proponent of tanking on some level, even when the Sabres become competitive again if circumstances dictate... like massive injuries to key guys crucial to a Cup run. I see no difference between a 30th place finish and a playoff bubble team in terms of my fan satisfaction score. Give me cup contention or give me tank.

The Bills strive to improve and field a playoff team each and every year, but even the biggest die hard knows deep down that they are a dead cinch lock to be on the outside looking in on the playoffs each and every January. That is truly soul sucking and I know it's cost me a great deal of the passion I used to feel for the Bills. They are a hopeless franchise. The difference with the Sabres is that the tank (sucking) is being done with the purpose of coming out the other end with a stronger hockey team than they've ever had..... year in and year out. Is it guaranteed to work? Of course not, but it still allows for some hope for now.

ugggh I feel for you bio. Just how inexperienced are they? Are they able to at least prepare serial dilutions, make and pH buffers etc? I've been stuck with people before who can't even do those simple tasks, let alone begin to think about and plan a proper experiment. It sucks.. a lot.

I agree that you need some veterans sprinkled in to mentor the kids, just not enough veterans that they ruin our shot at elite talent in the 2015 draft. If we hadn't screwed up the tank last season and lost any hope of getting MacKinnon et al we'd likely be further along on the complete tank philosophy.