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It is nothing short of infuriating to see people going on about trading the assets still remaining at this years deadline in hopes that, by some miracle, we are in contention for 8th place. As if wasting valuable currency by trading from a position of massive weakness will somehow put us in a better position as an organization. Its not so hard to fathom when considering we are most likely dealing with a fair-weather frank who unlike you and the rest of the organization, hasn't been tediously planning and biding their time over the past several years. From 2012 when it became apparent the incumbent crop of clowns wasn't going to cut it, to realizing the necessity of a rebuild, to Eichel and Mcdavid invading scouts wet dreams across the country, to the "pre tank", where the most dire hard of us had committed to anti-fandom before the 2014 team even laced up their skates and finally to the tank itself, where the vigilant among us endured enough emotional stress to warrant formal psychiatric treatment . From the start of that wretched apparition which some deemed a win streak on November 19th, 2014 we all watched in terror when the porous excuses for 9th string net minders and half assed defensemen let in dump goal after mind blowing dump goal, forever etching names like anton forsberg deep into the cities collective consciousness. And who could forget the late season heroes; Jonathan Toews and his late game heroics and Cam Atkinson with the "tank" clinching beaut in the finale that had me bouncing off the walls in a hotel room in Toronto while a conference I was supposed to be attending was being held downstairs. It was one hell of a year and i guess if I hadn’t been religiously following each move for the past 4 years as if it were milestones in my childs life, i might be able to relate to the desire to ice a bond fide playoff team at all costs, despite the consequences. These are most likely the same blokes that sit down at a roulette table, put down 10,000 on 31 black, win 300,000 and then double down just to give it all back. Still, it blows my mind that given the mountain of evidence stacked against them, these gentle fellows persist. They still get hot and bothered by thoughts of massively wasteful and irrational trades that threaten to bankrupt the team, and crucify those who preach to proceed on the preordained path. Amidst all the rumblings of urgency and trade rumors tho, I have yet to read a single viable plan that explains to me how a team with less combined playoff experience than a single Blackhawks regular, will usurp true contenders rolling 4 lines laden with proven elite talent. Teams like the 2014-2015 Blackhawks: Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Brad Richards, Brandon Saad.New Look Stars:Jamie Benm, Tyler Seguin, Valeri Nichuskin, Patrick Sharp, Jasson Spezza, Ales Hemsky New Look Caps:Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, Marcus Johansson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Justin Williams, just to name a few. The Sabres do not have a SINGLE proven top 3 commodity, a SINGLE proven top 2 Defensemen or a SINGLE proven playoff performer. Their prospect pool is sorely lacking at the top of RW and with the trade of Zadorov, on D. They have talented cast offs from other teams who we hope a change of scenery will reinvigorate , Jack Eichel and a solid looking bottom 9F/ bottom (maybe) 4D. Using the aforementioned teams as a comparative tool/ hypothetical future contender shell, their lineup looks like this: Evander Kane?? Jack Eichel?? ??? Sam Reinhart?? Ryan Oreilly Tyler Ennis Jamie Mcgin Zemgus Girgensons Matt Moulson Marcus Foligno Johan Larsson Nic Deslauries ?? Rasmus Ristolainen?? Mccabe?? Bogosian Ruhwedel?? ?? Lehner?? ??? Lets Assume Sam Reinhart maxes out at his proper elite top 6 potential, Oreillly avoids getting behind the wheel and Ristolainen becomes the all purpose #1 D he currently projects to be. For the purposes of reasonably balanced probable outcomes, lets also assume there was a solid reason why Chevy-day-off dumped his former top pick(s) and physical super freak (other than trivial locker room gripes, cuz lets face it, using that as a frame of reference for letting a player go, O’reilly should be in Alcatraz 2.0), leaving Kane as a high end 2nd/3rd line winger. Lets also gamble that Mccabe fits in nicely as a bottom 2 D on a legitimate contender. That leaves a first line of This: ??? Eichel ??? And D pairings Like This ??? Risto ?? Bogosian Ruhwedel Mccabe Who are we going to trade for to fill these gaping holes that hasn’t already been shipped off to real contenders and with what assets? If we trade to fill the bottom half up first and finish near the playoff bubble, what currency will be available to acquire prospects or players equivalent to guys like Backstrom, Jamie Benn, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Drew Doughty, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, etc…. And who the hell ever parts ways with core superstars in their right mind (well except for the Bruins) anyways? Just to get a sense of what these players are worth, see the salary chart below. Every single one of the top 3 players on contending teams I mentioned would cost a minimum of two firsts, a second, and a third through restricted free agency value assignment and i doubt trade values for players who weren’t wart ridden would be any different. 2005 Averaged Salary 2015-16 Averaged Salary Draft Pick Compensation $660,000 and below $1,205,377 and below No compensation $660,001 to $1,000,000 $1,205,377 to $1,826,328 Third-round pick $1,000,001 to $2,000,000 $1,826,328 to $3,652,659 Second-round pick $2,000,001 to $3,000,000 $3,652,659 to $5,478,986 First- and third-round pick $3,000,001 to $4,000,000 $5,478,986 to $7,305,316 First-, second-, and third-round pick $4,000,001 to $5,000,000 $7,305,316 to $9,131,645 Two first-round picks and a second- and third-round pick (An acceptable first line winger if complimented by top tier counterpart) $5,000,001 and above $9,131,645 and above Four first-round picks (Kane, Towes, Ovechkin, etc.. What we really want as a first line winger) Bottom line is contending teams rarely acquire top tier first line players through trades, and when they do its the exception not the norm, and in my opinion, nothing to bank on. My mind isn’t sealed shut on the matter but I just can’t see any way mortgaging future assets to improve now doesn’t severely impede this teams progression to cup contention. Id love to read some rational propositions tho…