Taro T Posted June 30, 2020 Report Posted June 30, 2020 On 6/30/2020 at 2:54 AM, Thorny said: And before someone says, "well, they had that piece in ROR and where did they finish?", we've undergone a significant change since then and that's Eichel's development following closest to the "ceiling" potential trajectory. Playoffs with a 2C. Dahlin undergoes a similar relative trajectory to Eichel? We are in business. To achieve the bolded....I can't even field an opinion on that right now. So much will depend on that last bit. Cozens being good, for real, is a massive step. I like to remind myself it's, unfortunately, a strictly necessary one, if they don't go out and acquire someone he has to legitimately beat out for that role. I'm not comfortable with that type of gamble. Playing with dynamite either way, if they opt again for the long road. Expand They DID have that piece & also had PTSD Lehner in net with Johnson as his backup. THAT year, or Lehner's 1st was the worst goaltending they've ever had (when they've actually wanted good goaltending). Combine that with Housley being in over his head is why that year was doomed. It wasn't because O'Reilly didn't like Eichel or because he had pouty face. 1 Quote
Thorner Posted June 30, 2020 Report Posted June 30, 2020 (edited) On 6/30/2020 at 3:07 AM, Taro T said: They DID have that piece & also had PTSD Lehner in net with Johnson as his backup. THAT year, or Lehner's 1st was the worst goaltending they've ever had (when they've actually wanted good goaltending). Combine that with Housley being in over his head is why that year was doomed. It wasn't because O'Reilly didn't like Eichel or because he had pouty face. Expand And they were pretty close to that same level in 16-17 - and Eichel missed 21 games. Murray's vision is more discernible. Botterill's is more like a Magic Eye where you pretend to see it just cause everyone around you says they can. Edited June 30, 2020 by Thorny Quote
Taro T Posted June 30, 2020 Report Posted June 30, 2020 On 6/30/2020 at 3:11 AM, Thorny said: And they were pretty close to that same level in 16-17 - and Eichel missed 21 games. Murray's vision is more discernible. Botterill's is more like a Magic Eye where you pretend to see it just cause everyone around me said they did. Expand Murray absolutely was going for a California based team (LA, Anaheim, even to an extent SJ). He knew what he wanted & went out and got those sort of players. Never got there, but he had a destination in mind & a road map. Pretty sure Botterill had a destination in mind as well, but the map wasn't particularly clear. Quote
Thorner Posted June 30, 2020 Report Posted June 30, 2020 On 6/30/2020 at 3:16 AM, Taro T said: Murray absolutely was going for a California based team (LA, Anaheim, even to an extent SJ). He knew what he wanted & went out and got those sort of players. Never got there, but he had a destination in mind & a road map. Pretty sure Botterill had a destination in mind as well, but the map wasn't particularly clear. Expand In so far as, "win the cup", sure, i agree. 1 Quote
Taro T Posted June 30, 2020 Report Posted June 30, 2020 On 6/30/2020 at 3:19 AM, Thorny said: In so far as, "win the cup", sure, i agree. Expand Well, he seemed to believe that if he took enough swings at bottom 6 forwards "with potential" EVENTUALLY SOMEBODY would become a top 6 guy. And it did happen exactly once - Olofsson. (Yes, he didn't draft him, but he was smart enough not to trade him. Have to believe there was interest in him. And Botterill gets credit for not screwing that up IMHO.) Quote
nfreeman Posted June 30, 2020 Report Posted June 30, 2020 On 6/30/2020 at 2:38 AM, Thorny said: I thought it was settled he was NOT waiver exempt. Expand I thought so too, until about a month ago when a number of posters asserted that he was and nobody stepped up to settle it definitively. Quote
dudacek Posted June 30, 2020 Report Posted June 30, 2020 (edited) On 6/30/2020 at 1:31 AM, Andrew Amerk said: How do you hold rights to a UFA? Expand He remains a Sabre until the end of the hockey year, which usually happens July 1, a week or so after the draft. Only the Sabres have the ability to talk to him about contract (or anything else) until then. Teams frequently acquire the rights of pending free agents in order to have an exclusive window to talk to them before they become free agents.The Sabres did it unsuccessfully with Vesey when he came out of college, and successfully with Christian Ehrhoff when Pegula first bought the team. When this year’s version of July 1 arrives is an open question. Edited June 30, 2020 by dudacek Quote
Thorner Posted June 30, 2020 Report Posted June 30, 2020 On 6/30/2020 at 3:25 AM, Taro T said: Well, he seemed to believe that if he took enough swings at bottom 6 forwards "with potential" EVENTUALLY SOMEBODY would become a top 6 guy. And it did happen exactly once - Olofsson. (Yes, he didn't draft him, but he was smart enough not to trade him. Have to believe there was interest in him. And Botterill gets credit for not screwing that up IMHO.) Expand I do give him credit for the move, just not in the context of that strategy you mentioned, which was more about FA and trade acquisitions - Signing a draft pick with top 6 upside (not at time of selection, but by the time Botts was in charge) is rather separate from that, and, a good decision. On 6/30/2020 at 4:29 AM, dudacek said: He remains a Sabre until the end of the hockey year, which usually happens July 1, a week or so after the draft. Only the Sabres have the ability to talk to him about contract (or anything else) until then. Teams frequently acquire the rights of pending free agents in order to have an exclusive window to talk to them before they become free agents.The Sabres did it unsuccessfully with Vesey when he came out of college, and successfully with Christian Ehrhoff when Pegula first bought the team. When this year’s version of July 1 arrives is an open question. Expand Is someone like Brett Murray still our "property" then, or did unsigned picks rights still expire June 1? Quote
dudacek Posted June 30, 2020 Report Posted June 30, 2020 On 6/30/2020 at 4:51 AM, Thorny said: I do give him credit for the move, just not in the context of that strategy you mentioned, which was more about FA and trade acquisitions - Signing a draft pick with top 6 upside (not at time of selection, but by the time Botts was in charge) is rather separate from that, and, a good decision. Is someone like Brett Murray still our "property" then, or did unsigned picks rights still expire June 1? Expand I’ve not read anything on this. 1 Quote
jsb Posted July 2, 2020 Report Posted July 2, 2020 On 6/30/2020 at 2:10 AM, nfreeman said: I’ve been assuming Larsson would leave unless the Sabres made a much better offer than anyone else, and I still think that is basically how it will happen. However: what if part of their better offer is that Larsson plays a bigger role, like maybe 3C on a line the Sabres expect to get some scoring from — like with Kahun and TT as his linemates? And maybe the Sabres would do that if they were planning on putting Cozens on Eichel’s RW? So maybe: Skinner-Eichel-Cozens VO - new 2C that miracle man KA delivers - Reino MoJo - Larsson - Kahun TT - Asplund - KO every top line shift would be must-see viewing. As @Thorny points out, it all depends on getting a credible 2C Expand Actually I agree with a lot of this. Some gentle changes but VO--Jack--Reino Skinner--Granlund--Kahun MoJo--Larsson--Vesey TT--Cozens--Okposo Reasons, Vesey started to really come around on the defensive side so that gives the 3rd line some punch with MoJo and Larsson deserves a chance. It also allows TT and Cozens to play a role but depending on how they're holding up you can add or subtract minutes from that 4th line. Mitts gets some more time in AHL and Lazar is your 13th forward. Okposo should also be the vet that guides the 2 young guys. Keep the 8th pick and in my estimation Raymond or Holtz should be available at that pick. I'll be shocked if both of them are gone at 8. A big improvement from Dahlin taking a step up, Jokiharju taking a step up again and Jack truly becoming a MVP candidate and with any GK improvement, we should be tough to deal with. Getting Granlund to buy in or be bought in would be the key Quote
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