Sabres Acquire Center Eric Staal from Wild for Marcus Johansson

[Thorner]

7 hours ago, StuckinFL said:

Listening to it now. Staal does not sound happy to me.

 

6 hours ago, Brawndo said:

I do believe that if any other Sabres GM besides Kevyn Adams makes this deal,  Staal decides to retire 

 

3 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

Watch this video if you want to see the Sabres franchise in the eyes, face and voice of a player. "We'll see what happens." This is a guy who would rather retire but someone won't let him leave 3.25 on the table.

I'd say these are reasonably likely. 

I only care that he's,

A) Good, and

B)Decided to give it a go

To anyone worried about that: We just gotta win hockey games, man. If we are in the playoff hunt, if we make the playoffs, Eric is going to be fine. You'll hear a bit more pep in his voice, I promise. 

If we suck.... then it doesn't really matter very much, does it?

3 hours ago, Radar said:

Serious question. Are you a Sabres fan? Just asking because you seem to really hate the organization. I'm not happy but if I had a total disdain for ownership and the organization I would not continue to follow them. I'm not a lover of the Pegulas but if I felt as you do about them and the organization I'd be out of here. Please don't take this personal.

PA's comment didn't have a negative slant, it's just aware of the human. Staal is human. *WE* have a problem with the Sabres and we LOVE the Sabres. 

- - - 

Credit to Eric for referencing the 05-06 Sabres. While everyone on twitter is telling him to shut up, I'm noticing the fact he made specific mention of our injuries. That's a bone. 

Edited September 18, 2020 by Thorny

[kas23]

6 hours ago, nucci said:

not every veteran player is a mentor. That term gets tossed around all the time. Has he mentored before?

This is an excellent post and I’ll probably go off topic a little here, but a mentor is not just someone who has been in your chosen profession longer. It is the older individual guiding the younger one to success. For hockey, getting the younger player in the correct mindset to thrive in the league. This usually involves getting the younger player to ask tough questions of themselves, to see their own flaws, and to give them the courage to fix them. Perhaps most importantly, it involves some level of sacrifice from the mentor to elevate the younger person. Everyone needs a mentor, at every stage of their career. I don’t know if Staal fits this mold. Kevyn should know more than us. Of course, it’s all to quickly assumed, but I don’t even know ROR has/had mentor qualities. 

[PerreaultForever]

Honestly, why would any player be instantly happy about being traded to Buffalo? 

The only question is will he like it when he gets here.

The one thing that does come across is that all that earlier talk about Adams and him being friends is meaningless. He clearly had no idea the trade was happening and it caught him off guard. 

[Thorner]

Just now, PerreaultForever said:

Honestly, why would any player be instantly happy about being traded to Buffalo? 

The only question is will he like it when he gets here.

The one thing that does come across is that all that earlier talk about Adams and him being friends is meaningless. He clearly had no idea the trade was happening and it caught him off guard. 

It's not necessarily "meaningless", it just probably didn't play a part in trade negotiations. But I don't think that's what people meant. 

It may have played into Staal's willingness to give it the old college try, though. 

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

6 minutes ago, Thorny said:

It's not necessarily "meaningless", it just probably didn't play a part in trade negotiations. But I don't think that's what people meant. 

It may have played into Staal's willingness to give it the old college try, though. 

It also may have been KA's motive for going after Staal and knowing what he brings to the table, of course, without Staal's knowledge of it being in the works.

[Brawndo]

36 minutes ago, Thorny said:

 

 

I'd say these are reasonably likely. 

I only care that he's,

A) Good, and

B)Decided to give it a go

To anyone worried about that: We just gotta win hockey games, man. If we are in the playoff hunt, if we make the playoffs, Eric is going to be fine. You'll hear a bit more pep in his voice, I promise. 

If we suck.... then it doesn't really matter very much, does it?

PA's comment didn't have a negative slant, it's just aware of the human. Staal is human. *WE* have a problem with the Sabres and we LOVE the Sabres. 

- - - 

Credit to Eric for referencing the 05-06 Sabres. While everyone on twitter is telling him to shut up, I'm noticing the fact he made specific mention of our injuries. That's a bone. 

I can confirm that another former player from that team who may or may not be a current HC in the league feels the same way 

[Thorner]

the bod

[miles]

i thought the most interesting part of the interview was when he spoke about 2020 and covid being bad, and then said about the trade being another wrinkle. I dont think he is too happy about being in buffalo

Edited September 19, 2020 by miles

[French Collection]

I think he is more upset by the Wild trading him than about ending up in Buffalo. Minny is as close to his hometown as he can get.

I thought there was mention of him not wanting to go as a rental the previous few years. His past experience as a rental to the Rangers did not work out well.

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

It's not necessarily "meaningless", it just probably didn't play a part in trade negotiations. But I don't think that's what people meant. 

It may have played into Staal's willingness to give it the old college try, though. 

I thought the implication was he wanted to come here because they were friends. Maybe I was misreading that but I think it was implied by some people (or hoped for). So in any event it's irrelevant. I'm just hoping Adams based the trade on what he saw from Staal this season, and not his memory of way back :)

I still say it's a positive step, but not a huge one. Like or hate Mojo he was still one of our top 6 forwards so we lost one and gained one. Maybe a better fit for what we need, but still just a temporary fix. 

[Stoner]

6 hours ago, Radar said:

Serious question. Are you a Sabres fan? Just asking because you seem to really hate the organization. I'm not happy but if I had a total disdain for ownership and the organization I would not continue to follow them. I'm not a lover of the Pegulas but if I felt as you do about them and the organization I'd be out of here. Please don't take this personal.

The organization is not the franchise. A presidential administration is not the country. If you can't see the difference, I don't know what to tell you. Yes, I truly despise this organization (read: the owners and their people).

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, miles said:

i thought the most interesting part of the interview was when he spoke about 2020 and covid being bad, and then said about the trade being another wrinkle. I dont think he is too happy about being in buffalo

Give the guy a break, he has 3 kids (all under 10 I think) and I'm sure the family was settled into Minnesota and didn't dream of moving during a pandemic. Who would want that? 

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

13 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Give the guy a break, he has 3 kids (all under 10 I think) and I'm sure the family was settled into Minnesota and didn't dream of moving during a pandemic. Who would want that? 

Looking at the new modifications of the landscape in Minny, I'd move too, even "if Buffalo".

Edited September 19, 2020 by MakeSabresGrr8Again

[Eleven]

7 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

Watch this video if you want to see the Sabres franchise in the eyes, face and voice of a player. "We'll see what happens." This is a guy who would rather retire but someone won't let him leave 3.25 on the table.

It IS VERY notable that you didn't post here when everyone was cheering the trade, but waited until there was some sort of misery involved.

[thewookie1]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

The organization is not the franchise. A presidential administration is not the country. If you can't see the difference, I don't know what to tell you. Yes, I truly despise this organization (read: the owners and their people).

To be honest if you are Sabres fan you need some serious counseling; as no one should despise an ownership to the degree you do. You don't just come off as unhappy or negative but rather full of vitriol against the Pegulas. Not to mention over time it seems to have become worse on your end as it went from general issues about their specific actions to that of something akin to a person who had their child enslaved by the Pegulas and is holding them for ransom.

If you aren't a Sabres fan then we don't need your aggressively depressive thoughts on this board as a whole. 

At the end of the day the franchise is owned and ran by the Pegulas.... no matter how much you want them to take a long walk off a short pier they are likely here to stay for quite some time. So I would suggest either learning to deal with it or find a different team/hobby/or so on as we other forum goers can't do anything about it. It's honestly disappointing how you've gone from cynical with legit points to a negative Nancy who seems to almost desire only the worst outcomes to continue your self-recycled points of anger.

[PerreaultForever]

3 hours ago, MakeSabresGrr8Again said:

Looking at the new modifications of the landscape in Minny, I'd move too, even "if Buffalo".

?

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

To be honest if you are Sabres fan you need some serious counseling; as no one should despise an ownership to the degree you do. You don't just come off as unhappy or negative but rather full of vitriol against the Pegulas. Not to mention over time it seems to have become worse on your end as it went from general issues about their specific actions to that of something akin to a person who had their child enslaved by the Pegulas and is holding them for ransom.

If you aren't a Sabres fan then we don't need your aggressively depressive thoughts on this board as a whole. 

At the end of the day the franchise is owned and ran by the Pegulas.... no matter how much you want them to take a long walk off a short pier they are likely here to stay for quite some time. So I would suggest either learning to deal with it or find a different team/hobby/or so on as we other forum goers can't do anything about it. It's honestly disappointing how you've gone from cynical with legit points to a negative Nancy who seems to almost desire only the worst outcomes to continue your self-recycled points of anger.

Just speaking for myself, I find the notion that a 'fan" cannot hate certain aspects of his chosen team rather distasteful. It is the love of a team that leads to the anger, frustration and negative comments and after a decade I'm not about to fault anyone for hating any specific aspect of the organization or franchise. The notion that fans have to stand by and accept the kind of crap this organization feeds us is absurd. 

I'm a fan. If I wasn't, I wouldn't waste my time complaining about their ineptitude. Jack is apparently near the end of his tolerance level, why should we 'fans" not feel even worse?

Should we all just "learn to deal with it" or should we demand more? You're free to make your choice, others should also be free to not agree and criticize freely if that's the road they want to take. 

Bottom line, if the team could actually win, all of these silly arguments of what fans can or should do would go away instantly. 

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

23 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Just speaking for myself, I find the notion that a 'fan" cannot hate certain aspects of his chosen team rather distasteful. It is the love of a team that leads to the anger, frustration and negative comments and after a decade I'm not about to fault anyone for hating any specific aspect of the organization or franchise. The notion that fans have to stand by and accept the kind of crap this organization feeds us is absurd. 

I'm a fan. If I wasn't, I wouldn't waste my time complaining about their ineptitude. Jack is apparently near the end of his tolerance level, why should we 'fans" not feel even worse?

Should we all just "learn to deal with it" or should we demand more? You're free to make your choice, others should also be free to not agree and criticize freely if that's the road they want to take. 

Bottom line, if the team could actually win, all of these silly arguments of what fans can or should do would go away instantly. 

I don't think this is true...some people will always find something to complain about.

[thewookie1]

3 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Just speaking for myself, I find the notion that a 'fan" cannot hate certain aspects of his chosen team rather distasteful. It is the love of a team that leads to the anger, frustration and negative comments and after a decade I'm not about to fault anyone for hating any specific aspect of the organization or franchise. The notion that fans have to stand by and accept the kind of crap this organization feeds us is absurd. 

I'm a fan. If I wasn't, I wouldn't waste my time complaining about their ineptitude. Jack is apparently near the end of his tolerance level, why should we 'fans" not feel even worse?

Should we all just "learn to deal with it" or should we demand more? You're free to make your choice, others should also be free to not agree and criticize freely if that's the road they want to take. 

Bottom line, if the team could actually win, all of these silly arguments of what fans can or should do would go away instantly. 

 

I don't think you quite understand what I was trying to get to. PA quite literally rarely has anything to say that isn't some type of veiled insult or contempt for the organization. As Eleven pointed out; he never said a thing until a negative narrative was brought up. 

You can hate moves, ideas, people; I'm not saying you can't. I'm saying that not everything is evil or doomsday and without any "liked" events it drags down the credibility and usefulness of any further point you may bring up. PA seems to focus only on negative events, anger inducing events and anything surrounding the Pegulas that can be seen as negative. At this point there seems to be nothing he wouldn't twist into a negative light. PA comes across no longer as a  fan as much as someone who desires the Pegula's to fail, Sabres be damned.

Lastly you can't only criticize; without any positives you come across as either agenda-driven and/or the person is oblivious. The Sabres could win the Stanley Cup and by how PA behaves he would still want the Pegulas' effigies burned for their perceived errors. 

 

All of it has become grating. 

 

 

[dudacek]

6 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

 

I don't think you quite understand what I was trying to get to. PA quite literally rarely has anything to say that isn't some type of veiled insult or contempt for the organization. As Eleven pointed out; he never said a thing until a negative narrative was brought up. 

You can hate moves, ideas, people; I'm not saying you can't. I'm saying that not everything is evil or doomsday and without any "liked" events it drags down the credibility and usefulness of any further point you may bring up. PA seems to focus only on negative events, anger inducing events and anything surrounding the Pegulas that can be seen as negative. At this point there seems to be nothing he wouldn't twist into a negative light. PA comes across no longer as a  fan as much as someone who desires the Pegula's to fail, Sabres be damned.

Lastly you can't only criticize; without any positives you come across as either agenda-driven and/or the person is oblivious. The Sabres could win the Stanley Cup and by how PA behaves he would still want the Pegulas' effigies burned for their perceived errors. 

 

All of it has become grating. 

 

 

While I too can get frustrated at times by PAs neglected hope, I disagree completely with the bolded. He doesn't want the Pegulas to fail; he mistrusts and resents them for the way they have handled what should be a sacred trust.

In my opinion, PA views the Sabres through a rather romantic lens cracked by years of disappointment. The object of his affections has screwed him around for at least a decade and for the most part during that time his observations have proven correct. Watch the video again, there is as much truth in what he observed as what I and others have posted about Staal's professionalism in handling his disappointment.

My greatest wish for this board is the day I see PA post about the current Sabres with joy because it will be confirmation that we've finally turned this thing around.

Edited September 19, 2020 by dudacek

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

13 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

 

I don't think you quite understand what I was trying to get to. PA quite literally rarely has anything to say that isn't some type of veiled insult or contempt for the organization. As Eleven pointed out; he never said a thing until a negative narrative was brought up. 

You can hate moves, ideas, people; I'm not saying you can't. I'm saying that not everything is evil or doomsday and without any "liked" events it drags down the credibility and usefulness of any further point you may bring up. PA seems to focus only on negative events, anger inducing events and anything surrounding the Pegulas that can be seen as negative. At this point there seems to be nothing he wouldn't twist into a negative light. PA comes across no longer as a  fan as much as someone who desires the Pegula's to fail, Sabres be damned.

Lastly you can't only criticize; without any positives you come across as either agenda-driven and/or the person is oblivious. The Sabres could win the Stanley Cup and by how PA behaves he would still want the Pegulas' effigies burned for their perceived errors. 

 

All of it has become grating. 

 

 

Wow.,.this is a real positive post.

I think his attitude is some what justified, a little extreme maybe. But hey, it leads to discussion. What happened to "Hockey Heaven"? 

It's a new season coming up and I know I'll be full of hope/excitement again just like every year. We'll see if I still have it 20 games into the season.

 

[Stoner]

I'm not moving to Canada. Sorry, guys.

[Stoner]

6 hours ago, Eleven said:

It IS VERY notable that you didn't post here when everyone was cheering the trade, but waited until there was some sort of misery involved.

Maybe I didn't want to piss is in anyone's Cheerios. I try to emulate your positivity and good cheer.

The trade didn't do much for me. Kind of on the fence. I didn't post until I saw the video.

Actually I DID, to generally give Adams the benefit of the doubt. But your weird, longstanding and intensely personal vendetta against me didn't allow you to see it.

I'll wait for the apology.

[Stoner]

Finally I'm on record several times saying the Sabres had close to the perfect owner, if only he would squash his hockey ego, developed in Olean according to my sources when he was involved in youth hockey, an ego that lets him believe he can run an NHL team.

And I hold the board record for positive assertions that this franchise is destined to win a Cup.

The vast majority of my posts aren't about Terry.

Come to a GDT thread.

Go Leafs!

[Radar]

8 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

The organization is not the franchise. A presidential administration is not the country. If you can't see the difference, I don't know what to tell you. Yes, I truly despise this organization (read: the owners and their people).

You make a good point but where we may not agree is that being a citizen and a fan are not the same in my eye. One for me is chosen entertainment the other really isn't but I get the point you're trying to make.