2021 "Not a Tank" Standings

[Hoss]

Okay, okay. It seems not many around these parts are actively rooting for losses (I am not, either, for the record). But the team is here again as the games wind down. Figured I would get a little standings tracker going so we can get an idea where the team stands in the lottery.

Right now:

Vegas, Carolina, Pittsburgh, Florida, Colorado, Tampa Bay, Washington, Minnesota, Toronto, New York I, Boston, Edmonton, Winnipeg, New York R, Nashville, Dallas, Montreal, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, Arizona, San Jose, Calgary, Los Angeles, Detroit, Ottawa, Columbus and Vancouver have all been "eliminated."

The following are in order from closest to us in the standing and the "magic number" of points needed is in parentheses (any combo of the Sabres losing points and that team gaining points makes this number go down and when it reaches zero that team is eliminated).

Anaheim (2 games remain, 1 point)

I will update as games complete when I'm able.

Edited May 6, 2021 by Hoss

[WildCard]

NJ won and the Sabres lost tonight. Need Anaheim to win some here.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Aren’t the bottom 11 teams eligible for the no.1 pick (including Seattle)? So even if they are eliminated from your list they are still eligible to steal the pick.

[dudacek]

No disrespect intended, but lock this thread and burn it in napalm.

This should be not be the focus of an ongoing thread.

And apologize to this man. He was right all along. By not listening to him you helped put us where we are right now.

[WildCard]

Something something drafting vs tanking 

[Taro T]

18 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Aren’t the bottom 11 teams eligible for the no.1 pick (including Seattle)? So even if they are eliminated from your list they are still eligible to steal the pick.

The thread is only concerned with what team will finish 31st overall.  The lottery itself is a separate beast.

[LGR4GM]

19 minutes ago, WildCard said:

Something something drafting vs tanking 

It's not about versus. You have to draft well regardless. 

[WildCard]

17 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

It's not about versus. You have to draft well regardless. 

I meant where the blame lies. 

[Hoss]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Aren’t the bottom 11 teams eligible for the no.1 pick (including Seattle)? So even if they are eliminated from your list they are still eligible to steal the pick.

Certainly but this is just a ranking for going into the lottery.

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

No disrespect intended, but lock this thread and burn it in napalm.

This should be not be the focus of an ongoing thread.

And apologize to this man. He was right all along. By not listening to him you helped put us where we are right now.

Discussing the facts of the team's situation is not putting anyone in harm's way. It's important to take note of where you're going to be at as the season wraps and see what draft position you may have.

[IKnowPhysics]

46 minutes ago, dudacek said:

This should be not be the focus of an ongoing thread.

 

5 minutes ago, Hoss said:

It's important to take note of where you're going to be at as the season wraps and see what draft position you may have.

[Hoss]

For tomorrow night there are three games of note:

Vancouver (5) @ Ottawa (6), 5:30 PM

Anaheim (11) @ Los Angeles (4), 10 PM

Arizona @ San Jose (3), 10:30 PM

Edited April 28, 2021 by Hoss

[PerreaultForever]

There's no tank, because there's no guaranteed superstar. I'd even consider trading down for the right deal. 

[Scottysabres]

Go Sabres?

😕

[WildCard]

5 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

There's no tank, because there's no guaranteed superstar. I'd even consider trading down for the right deal. 

You'll get the best deal the higher pick we get

[LGR4GM]

7 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

There's no tank, because there's no guaranteed superstar. I'd even consider trading down for the right deal. 

There's no tank because the Sabres didn't deliberately sell off all valuable assets in order to TANK or finish as low as possible in the standings. They just lack talent straight up, have no goaltending, and were coached by a completely in over his head relic of the 90's. 

[Drag0nDan]

12 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

There's no tank because the Sabres didn't deliberately sell off all valuable assets in order to TANK or finish as low as possible in the standings. They just lack talent straight up, have no goaltending, and were coached by a completely in over his head relic of the 90's. 

Injuries too.  Eichel, Girgs, Okposo, Ullmark, McCabe.  Games missed by cozens, borgen.  They're winning more games and playing more competitively under the new coach.  I mean they lost 18 straight games in a shortened season and they might climb out of last?  

Finishing last guarantees you nothing anyway, so i could (couldn't) honestly care less.  There's a few young kids who fall in that top 5 where buffalo will pick - you can't control it.  What you can control is scouting the hell out of those kids to make sure you don't end up missing.  

[I-90 W]

I’ll never support a tank again, think our fan base learned it’s lesson. 

[Crusader1969]

1 minute ago, I-90 W said:

I’ll never support a tank again, think our fan base learned it’s lesson. 

Is there even one fan out there cheering from them to lose? The reality of the situation is that they can improve and even win a few games, while still finishing at the bottom.

No harm in hoping the Devils and Ducks win a few games too. 

[inkman]

12 hours ago, dudacek said:

No disrespect intended, but lock this thread and burn it in napalm.

This should be not be the focus of an ongoing thread.

And apologize to this man. He was right all along. By not listening to him you helped put us where we are right now.

Love the Mike Weber pic

11 minutes ago, I-90 W said:

I’ll never support a tank again, think our fan base learned it’s lesson. 

They aren’t tanking. 

[rakish]

12 minutes ago, inkman said:

They aren’t tanking. 

My nephews theory is that Johansson was traded because he was hated in the room. When the 2020 AHL all star goalie is traded for peanuts and Buffalo ends up playing the 2021 AHL goalie with OK numbers, my eyebrows raise a little.

Me and @Hoss talked about this yesterday, the team is playing an odd set of matchups. We talked about it in regards to whether Granato was keeping his job. Mittlestadt plays against the best opposing forwards, Dahlen is getting tougher matchups lately similar to Mittlestadt, to see if they can handle it? Maybe.

Not saying they are tanking, but not saying they're not, it's hard to guess motivation from the outside.

[LGR4GM]

7 minutes ago, rakish said:

My nephews theory is that Johansson was traded because he was hated in the room. When the 2020 AHL all star goalie is traded for peanuts and Buffalo ends up playing the 2021 AHL goalie with OK numbers, my eyebrows raise a little.

Me and @Hoss talked about this yesterday, the team is playing an odd set of matchups. We talked about it in regards to whether Granato was keeping his job. Mittlestadt plays against the best opposing forwards, Dahlen is getting tougher matchups lately similar to Mittlestadt, to see if they can handle it? Maybe.

Not saying they are tanking, but not saying they're not, it's hard to guess motivation from the outside.

Again, tanking involves trading away talent in order to finish last. That would mean Reinhart, Eichel, Risto (well maybe not Risto), Olofsson, Skinner, Miller, Sheahan, Borgen so basically most of the none youth guys in order to ensure you finish last. They were willingly playing Ullmark until he got hurt again. This isn't a tank. 

What we are seeing is a lost season and allowing the younger players to experience and react to different situations. Granato talked already about putting players in different situations to get tape on how they handled them. The motivation is obvious, "what do we actually have going forward?"

[I-90 W]

43 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

Is there even one fan out there cheering from them to lose? The reality of the situation is that they can improve and even win a few games, while still finishing at the bottom.

No harm in hoping the Devils and Ducks win a few games too. 

Yes, I’m sure there is at least one. Probably many in fact. Hopelessly looking to draft picks is now part of our fanbase’s culture. Given our drafting track history, they ought to know better, but that’s another subject. 

[LGR4GM]

8 minutes ago, I-90 W said:

Yes, I’m sure there is at least one. Probably many in fact. Hopelessly looking to draft picks is now part of our fanbase’s culture. Given our drafting track history, they ought to know better, but that’s another subject. 

Which was why the team tanked in the first place. It all comes back to drafting and the Sabres have drafting like crap. The interesting thing is that the 2017, 2019, and 2020 drafts provide us with some hope that the draft philosophy has finally started to improve. 

[dudacek]

24 minutes ago, rakish said:

My nephews theory is that Johansson was traded because he was hated in the room. When the 2020 AHL all star goalie is traded for peanuts and Buffalo ends up playing the 2021 AHL goalie with OK numbers, my eyebrows raise a little.

Me and @Hoss talked about this yesterday, the team is playing an odd set of matchups. We talked about it in regards to whether Granato was keeping his job. Mittlestadt plays against the best opposing forwards, Dahlen is getting tougher matchups lately similar to Mittlestadt, to see if they can handle it? Maybe.

Not saying they are tanking, but not saying they're not, it's hard to guess motivation from the outside.

I don't think there is any mystery to the bold.

Johansson was traded because he was poised to become a UFA and the Sabres don't see him in their future plans.

They are going with UPL in Rochester next year and Tokarski is under contract and more than capable of being his battery mate down there. And, after this year, there is no way the Sabres should be going into next season with Johansson as the back-up.

As to the rest, I think it is very evident the Sabres have been using the finish of this season to observe and develop their youngsters by using them in as many situations as possible.

[LGR4GM]

8 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I don't think there is any mystery to the bold.

Johansson was traded because he was poised to become a UFA and the Sabres don't see him in their future plans.

They are going with UPL in Rochester next year and Tokarski is under contract and more than capable of being his battery mate down there. And, after this year, there is no way the Sabres should be going into next season with Johansson as the back-up.

As to the rest, I think it is very evident the Sabres have been using the finish of this season to observe and develop their youngsters by using them in as many situations as possible.

Occam's razor