Official 2014 NHL Draft thread

[WildCard]

You'll draft second after my Aardvarks then.

We wouldn't be called the Asshats for nothing then :w00t:

[Derrico]

Well, at least the Raptors look pretty good right now to be the 3 seed in the East, which doesn't mean a whole lot except that they will be off that list.

 

Hahahha, ya this is true. I'm not expecting much from them come playoff time but I haven't had a team I cheer for make the playoffs in all four sports since the Sabres nearly five years ago so it will be a nice change.....

 

We are lucky as Sabres fans to even have the tank option, for the soft hockey markets an outright tank is completely out of the question. Can you imagine if the Canes decided to be brutal on purpose? They have enough problems getting 10k people into their barn as a middling team.

 

I like this point.

 

Sabres actually only have a four year drought currently. About to be five.

 

Close enough lol.

[Robviously]

The draft lottery it meant for parity and to keep bad markets from never getting great players. There are some markets (Buffalo included) that great players aren't going to willingly join. The draft lottery helps change that.

 

It doesn't "punish" anybody.

Of course it does. If the Sabres win their last game of the season (against the Islanders), their "reward" could be a worse draft pick in June. That's disgusting. Winning should never hurt your future.

 

The Flyers won their last game of the season last year. Had they lost that game in regulation, they would have drafted 3 spots higher come June. They would have drafted 8th instead of 11th. Tell me again how this isn't a punishment for winning.

[LastPommerFan]

We are lucky as Sabres fans to even have the tank option, for the soft hockey markets an outright tank is completely out of the question. Can you imagine if the Canes decided to be brutal on purpose? They have enough problems getting 10k people into their barn as a middling team.

 

This is something I hadn't thought of before. But you are absolutely right. Even pittsburghs tank nearly cost them the team.

[Hoss]

 

Of course it does. If the Sabres win their last game of the season (against the Islanders), their "reward" could be a worse draft pick in June. That's disgusting. Winning should never hurt your future.

 

The Flyers won their last game of the season last year. Had they lost that game in regulation, they would have drafted 3 spots higher come June. They would have drafted 8th instead of 11th. Tell me again how this isn't a punishment for winning.

 

Because that's to imply that teams only win and lose because of the draft lottery.

[dudacek]

A system that rewards a tanking team with just a 25% shot at the top pick seems to balance the need for parity and integrity quite nicely in my view.

[Hoss]

A system that rewards a tanking team with just a 25% shot at the top pick seems to balance the need for parity and integrity quite nicely in my view.

 

Yeap. I don't like the NFL's model of just handing it over. But the lottery is the right system in my mind.

[Robviously]

Because that's to imply that teams only win and lose because of the draft lottery.

No, it's just saying that winning (for any reason) after you're eliminated from the playoffs only hurts you in the draft. There shouldn't be a penalty for winning. If anything, a team still trying and winning after they've been eliminated should be rewarded.

 

A system that rewards a tanking team with just a 25% shot at the top pick seems to balance the need for parity and integrity quite nicely in my view.

A 25% chance at the first overall pick and a 75% chance of the no.2 overall pick. That's supposed to dissuade teams from losing on purpose?

 

I'd like to have a league where the team that does everything it can to make the playoffs and comes up just short has the same chance of drafting first as the team that didn't even try to be good. And no one is losing on purpose.

[LastPommerFan]

I think an easy way to drive it would be to score the roster on cap hit. If you're icing a cap-floor roster the entire second half, you shouldn't be eligible for the top pick. Draft Talent is not why you suck, you suck because you have an AHL roster by choice.

[Hoss]

Some tweaks I would suggest:

 

The first tiebreaker should be head-to-head record. If the Sabres and Isles are tied for the worst record then the better odds should go to whichever team did the best in head-to-head situations.

[SwampD]

This is all a load of garbage. Where were all the complaints when Pittsburgh or Chicago were deploying the tank in order to get talent?! So Buffalo does it and now it's time to change the rules? Horsesh!t.

[Hoss]

This is all a load of garbage. Where were all the complaints when Pittsburgh or Chicago were deploying the tank in order to get talent?! So Buffalo does it and now it's time to change the rules? Horsesh!t.

 

We're not allowed to have nice things.

[Weave]

This is all a load of garbage. Where were all the complaints when Pittsburgh or Chicago were deploying the tank in order to get talent?! So Buffalo does it and now it's time to change the rules? Horsesh!t.

 

We are being ridiculously obvious about it, and the league can't really have that.

[3putt]

This is all a load of garbage. Where were all the complaints when Pittsburgh or Chicago were deploying the tank in order to get talent?! So Buffalo does it and now it's time to change the rules? Horsesh!t.

+1

[SwampD]

We are being ridiculously obvious about it, and the league can't really have that.

Nobody didn't know what the Penguins were doing to get Laimux or Crosby

 

EDIT: I guess I made your point with Lemeaeueauux.

[Crusader1969]

Craig Button just did a 5 pick mock draft on tsn

1) buffalo sam bennett

2) edmonton Ekblad

3) Florida Dal Coll

4) Buffalo Draisaitl

5) Calgary Reinhart

he assumes the Islanders wont give up the chance to enter McDavid / Eichel sweepstakes how do you feel if thihe is right?

[Hoss]

I feel terrible about that. Reinhart seems to be falling for being the clear number one in a "bad draft" for too long. I would be disappointed if he weren't the pick.

[Crusader1969]

another scenario im thinking about - edmonton pass florida and sabres win the lottery. what do the oilers give up toget the #1 pick? setting up a tandem of Nurse and Ekblad

[shrader]

This is all a load of garbage. Where were all the complaints when Pittsburgh or Chicago were deploying the tank in order to get talent?! So Buffalo does it and now it's time to change the rules? Horsesh!t.

 

A generational talent is available. That's the only reason. Teams want a shot at him even if they don't deserve a shot.

[MattPie]

We are being ridiculously obvious about it, and the league can't really have that.

 

Please. Every player on the Sabres was either drafted by the team or brought in from another team (maybe not Rudy, but he's only playing when other players are hurt). They're not signing players off the beer team over at Leisure Rinks. Sure, the Sabres picked up a few on waivers, but I seem to remember the Islanders doing the same thing last year and making the playoffs. The only players they traded away (other than McNabb) were UFA at the end of the season (unless I'm forgetting someone). And watching the games (as I am), the team is not good, but they're clearly trying to win games. The only option they could use would be to bring up some of the prospects, which based on the beginning of the season, would be even worse than what we're seeing now (coaching change is clearly a factor there, though).

[bunomatic]

This really doesn't surprise me at all. Any chance this league has to screw the Sabres they'll take it. I'd rather lose the pick to an expansion franchise than to see someone like Philly or Boston or anyone non deserving as Shrader puts it get that kid. But the Sabres or another team with a general suckitude in line with the Sabres shouldn't be screwed out of that pick simply because that year happens to have a generational talent. Its bush league to change the rules for that reason.

[sabre snipe]

Craig Button just did a 5 pick mock draft on tsn

1) buffalo sam bennett

2) edmonton Ekblad

3) Florida Dal Coll

4) Buffalo Draisaitl

5) Calgary Reinhart

he assumes the Islanders wont give up the chance to enter McDavid / Eichel sweepstakes how do you feel if thihe is right?

 

Id like this a lot. I was in the reinhart camp but I'm starting to come around towards bennett. i like that he's younger and feistier. and getting drasaitl while risky could work out beautifully from the 4 spot. hopefully all these guys make the playoffs and we can see how they perform. Either way i fully trust murray knows who the guy will be. I was just thinking imagine if neuvirth becomes a great starting goaltender and we don't enter goalie purgatory. What a genius Murray will look like. theres a reason he went out and got him

 

however if reinhart was still there at #4 id take him over draisaitl regardless of if we already took bennett. And on second thought, after trying to type draisaitl and butchering it 10 times i don't want to draft him anymore just so i don't have to try and type it again.

Edited March 14, 2014 by sabre snipe

[LastPommerFan]

This really doesn't surprise me at all. Any chance this league has to screw the Sabres they'll take it. I'd rather lose the pick to an expansion franchise than to see someone like Philly or Boston or anyone non deserving as Shrader puts it get that kid. But the Sabres or another team with a general suckitude in line with the Sabres shouldn't be screwed out of that pick simply because that year happens to have a generational talent. Its bush league to change the rules for that reason.

 

They changed the rules for the Crosby pick.

[inkman]

I want nothing to do with a player nicknamed the german Gretzky

[sabre snipe]

while id love them to keep the draft as it is for sabres sake and thinking about a good big team like boston/chicago/toronto etc undeservingly getting mcdavid makes me wanna puke, why wouldn't this idea for the draft lottery work?

 

they keep the same odds for non-playoff teams and put in an equitable amount into the hat, but get rid of the 'only drop one draft spot at max' idea.

 

Pull the 1st lottery ticket out with those odds, thats the first pick. Keep all the tickets in the hat still minus the teams that got selected 1st. Pull out a second, thats second pick. third, thats the third pick and so on. This way, the sucker teams still have a better shot at a high pick but its not guaranteed 1st or 2nd - its most likely 1-5 tho.

 

I think this would make the lottery much more exciting and allow some teams to move up a few slots and others down a few