Terry Pegula wants Owen Power.

[Marvin]

46 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

 

Best player available or reach for need?

Eklund and Beniers are hardly "reaches."

[JohnC]

3 hours ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

Eklund and Beniers are hardly "reaches."

Neither is Power.

If some people believe that Eklund and Beniers are better than Power then it would be a good pick. But the consensus in this draft is that Power is the highest rated player. If the Sabres believe that he is the highest rated player they should select him. If not, then select the player at the top of their board.

If the Sabres work out a trade with Anaheim there is a good chance that the Sabres can come away with Power plus one of the two other players. Ideally, if Jack is dealt to Anaheim the best scenario would be to acquire Zegras plus another player (Comtois??) and a 3OA pick which could result in the selection of either Beniers or Eklund. 

[bunomatic]

I don’t mind the Powers pick but with our luck he’ll be Big Country Reeves. The thought of Eklunds non stop motor and Berniers intrigues me more. 

[LGR4GM]

25 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Neither is Power.

If some people believe that Eklund and Beniers are better than Power then it would be a good pick. But the consensus in this draft is that Power is the highest rated player. If the Sabres believe that he is the highest rated player they should select him. If not, then select the player at the top of their board.

If the Sabres work out a trade with Anaheim there is a good chance that the Sabres can come away with Power plus one of the two other players. Ideally, if Jack is dealt to Anaheim the best scenario would be to acquire Zegras plus another player (Comtois??) and a 3OA pick which could result in the selection of either Beniers or Eklund. 

Better yet...

Eklund, Beniers, Zegras, Comtois, re-sign Reinhart. 

[Curt]

45 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Neither is Power.

If some people believe that Eklund and Beniers are better than Power then it would be a good pick. But the consensus in this draft is that Power is the highest rated player. If the Sabres believe that he is the highest rated player they should select him. If not, then select the player at the top of their board.

If the Sabres work out a trade with Anaheim there is a good chance that the Sabres can come away with Power plus one of the two other players. Ideally, if Jack is dealt to Anaheim the best scenario would be to acquire Zegras plus another player (Comtois??) and a 3OA pick which could result in the selection of either Beniers or Eklund. 

The bolded is really groundbreaking stuff.  (Just a joke)

If I had #1 and #3, I would be trying to come away with both Beniers and Eklund.  Draft the D in round 2.

23 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Better yet...

Eklund, Beniers, Zegras, Comtois, re-sign Reinhart. 

Beat me to it

[JohnC]

9 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Better yet...

Eklund, Beniers, Zegras, Comtois, re-sign Reinhart. 

I would be ecstatic to re-sign Reinhart. Ultimately, he is the person who will determine through his contract stance what his fate will be.  My sense is that he wants out.  Zegras is a player I am intrigued with. After watching clips on him I can understand why Anaheim is reluctant to include him in a trade deal. A trade with Anaheim in which we got Zegras, Comtois and their pick would be a reasonable Jack trade return.   

I continue to maintain my stance on Power. We can't go wrong with him as our first pick. And if we get Anaheim's 3OA pick in a trade that would allow us to select either Eklund or Beniers. That would make my Power stance even firmer. 

[LabattBlue]

8 hours ago, JohnC said:

...A trade with Anaheim in which we got Zegras, Comtois and their pick would be a reasonable Jack trade return.  

IMO...there is no way you are getting this for a broken Jack.  No way.  

[JohnC]

5 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

IMO...there is no way you are getting this for a broken Jack.  No way.  

You are making the assumption that the broken Jack can't be fix. I think otherwise. 

I'm flexible on his trade value. I would accept Zegras and the 3OA and walk away satisfied if a better offer couldn't be found elsewhere. 

 

[Zamboni]

1 minute ago, JohnC said:

You are making the assumption that the broken Jack can't be fix. I think otherwise. 

I'm flexible on his trade value. I would accept Zegras and the 3OA and walk away satisfied if a better offer couldn't be found elsewhere. 

 

Yea I agree. That would be bottom line. Hopefully more than that…

[LabattBlue]

32 minutes ago, JohnC said:

You are making the assumption that the broken Jack can't be fix. I think otherwise. 

I'm flexible on his trade value. I would accept Zegras and the 3OA and walk away satisfied if a better offer couldn't be found elsewhere. 

 

I bet other GM’s aren’t as confident as you in terms of putting together a big trade offer for a guy with a NECK injury.  

[inkman]

8 hours ago, JohnC said:

I would be ecstatic to re-sign Reinhart. Ultimately, he is the person who will determine through his contract stance what his fate will be.  My sense is that he wants out.  Zegras is a player I am intrigued with. After watching clips on him I can understand why Anaheim is reluctant to include him in a trade deal. A trade with Anaheim in which we got Zegras, Comtois and their pick would be a reasonable Jack trade return.   

I continue to maintain my stance on Power. We can't go wrong with him as our first pick. And if we get Anaheim's 3OA pick in a trade that would allow us to select either Eklund or Beniers. That would make my Power stance even firmer. 

I think we can go way wrong picking Power.  I see Jack Johnson not Victor Hedman.  He just looks like a kid that is ahead of his peers physically and stands out because of it.  See Jack Johnson.  If the Sabres get him, I’m hoping for the best but the highly skilled forwards all projected to be top 5 picks look the part.  

[JohnC]

Just now, LabattBlue said:

I bet other GM’s aren’t as confident as you in terms of putting together a big trade offer for a guy with a NECK injury.  

I disagree. Jack is a top ten talent in the league. Even if he is not able to play when the season starts the prognosis for the long term should allow him to play next season. I agree with you that right now none of us know for sure. When it gets to the stage that a team is seriously interested in acquiring him they will have their medical staff examine him and make a judgment about his health status. 

[JohnC]

3 minutes ago, inkman said:

I think we can go way wrong picking Power.  I see Jack Johnson not Victor Hedman.  He just looks like a kid that is ahead of his peers physically and stands out because of it.  See Jack Johnson.  If the Sabres get him, I’m hoping for the best but the highly skilled forwards all projected to be top 5 picks look the part.  

I'm not going to make the assumption that he will develop into a Hedman caliber of player. However, when 80%-90% of the analysts rate him at the top of their board then I am comfortable with his selection. The hope is that if the Sabres can work out a deal with Anaheim or another high drafting team we should be able to come away with a very good forward prospect. In addition, if Jack is traded there is an assumption/hope that a top tier young player will come back in return.

Let's not try to outsmart the rest of the pack. Go with the highest rated player on the board. 

[Curt]

49 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I disagree. Jack is a top ten talent in the league. Even if he is not able to play when the season starts the prognosis for the long term should allow him to play next season. I agree with you that right now none of us know for sure. When it gets to the stage that a team is seriously interested in acquiring him they will have their medical staff examine him and make a judgment about his health status. 

Debating here how much the neck injury affects a trade return is pretty pointless, because we don’t know the current state or prognosis of the neck injury.

Somewhat on that note, it’s pretty interesting that there seems to be basically no information about the Eichel injury or trade situations leaking out from the Sabres side. Seems like a pretty tight ship.

[JohnC]

1 minute ago, Curt said:

Debating here how much the neck injury affects a trade return is pretty pointless, because we don’t know the current state or prognosis of the neck injury.

Somewhat on that note, it’s pretty interesting that there seems to be basically no information about the Eichel injury or trade situations leaking out from the Sabres side. Seems like a pretty tight ship.

You are right that we don't know what his actual health status is. However, what has been reported is that numerous teams have inquired. And it has been reported from a variety of sources that the Sabres are asking for a bonanza for him. 

I'm confident that as the draft approaches the rumors will start to swirl about an upcoming Jack trade. You'll then recognize that the ship isn't as tight as you think because there will be many leaks.  

[LGR4GM]

2 minutes ago, JohnC said:

You are right that we don't know what his actual health status is. However, what has been reported is that numerous teams have inquired. And it has been reported from a variety of sources that the Sabres are asking for a bonanza for him. 

I'm confident that as the draft approaches the rumors will start to swirl about an upcoming Jack trade. You'll then recognize that the ship isn't as tight as you think because there will be many leaks.  

An Eichel trade on the Sabres end literally only needs to involve 5 ppl at this point (Karmanos, Adams, Ventura, Eichel, his agent). I think that ship will be pretty water tight until close the end. 

Edited July 7, 2021 by LGR4GM

[JohnC]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

An Eichel trade on the Sabres end literally only needs to involve 5 ppl at this point (Karmanos, Adams, Ventura, Eichel, his agent). I think that ship will be pretty water tight until close the end. 

The source of the leaks don't have to come from the Sabre side of the ship. There will be a number of teams communicating with the Sabres. Those teams' whispers will be loud enough for a lot of people to hear. Also, there will be a lot of posturing through a variety of media channels in the sweepstake for the trade.  

[LGR4GM]

1 minute ago, JohnC said:

The source of the leaks don't have to come from the Sabre side of the ship. There will be a number of teams communicating with the Sabres. Those teams' whispers will be loud enough for a lot of people to hear. Also, there will be a lot of posturing through a variety of media channels in the sweepstake for the trade.  

You'll certainly found out sometime next week. I think the 15th and 16th are prime days followed by the 22nd. 

[Curt]

 

12 minutes ago, JohnC said:

You are right that we don't know what his actual health status is. However, what has been reported is that numerous teams have inquired. And it has been reported from a variety of sources that the Sabres are asking for a bonanza for him. 

I'm confident that as the draft approaches the rumors will start to swirl about an upcoming Jack trade. You'll then recognize that the ship isn't as tight as you think because there will be many leaks.  

Uh, maybe.  Honestly, I think prognosticating about how many future information leaks there will be from the Sabres organization is a bit out of our depth.  How would we know how many leaks there will be?

Edited July 7, 2021 by Curt

[JohnC]

1 minute ago, Curt said:

 

Uh, maybe.  Honestly, I think prognosticating about how many future information leaks there will be from the Sabres organization is a bit out of our depth.  How would we know how many leaks there will be?

Ask @LGR4GM. He's leading the search. 

I'm confident that if a trade proposal is materializing the air will be swirling with plenty of factual and non-factual stories. Stand by. Even if you have your ears covered you will hear them. 

[Curt]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

I'm not going to make the assumption that he will develop into a Hedman caliber of player. However, when 80%-90% of the analysts rate him at the top of their board then I am comfortable with his selection. The hope is that if the Sabres can work out a deal with Anaheim or another high drafting team we should be able to come away with a very good forward prospect. In addition, if Jack is traded there is an assumption/hope that a top tier young player will come back in return.

Let's not try to outsmart the rest of the pack. Go with the highest rated player on the board. 

I’m sure the Sabres will go with the highest rated player on THEIR board.

Lets not pretend that the “consensus“ best prospect always, or even usually, turns out to be the best choice at #1.  Seems like roughly half the time, the #1 pick does not end up the best player out of the top-10, and for years we’re there isn’t a slam dunk superstar, like this years draft, it’s much less certain than that.  It’s fine to prefer a certain player, but let’s acknowledge that there isn’t just one intelligent option out there.

4 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Ask @LGR4GM. He's leading the search. 

I'm confident that if a trade proposal is materializing the air will be swirling with plenty of factual and non-factual stories. Stand by. Even if you have your ears covered you will hear them. 

I was asking you because you are the one who assured me that there would be many information leaks from the Sabres organization.

[JohnC]

Just now, Curt said:

I’m sure the Sabres will go with the highest rated player on THEIR board.

Lets not pretend that the “consensus“ best prospect always, or even usually, turns out to be the best choice at #1.  Seems like roughly half the time, the #1 pick does not end up the best player out of the top-10, and for years we’re there isn’t a slam dunk superstar, like this years draft, it’s much less certain than that.  It’s fine to prefer a certain player, but let’s acknowledge that there isn’t just one intelligent option out there.

No one's pretending anything. Your preference is your preference. And my preference is my preference. And who is guaranteeing the the #1 pick is going to be the best player in the top-10? Where did that come from? Your straw man is your straw man. 

[Curt]

8 minutes ago, JohnC said:

No one's pretending anything. Your preference is your preference. And my preference is my preference. And who is guaranteeing the the #1 pick is going to be the best player in the top-10? Where did that come from? Your straw man is your straw man. 

My point was only that the fact that the majority rank Power 1st, in no way means that he is actually the best choice, and it’s not outsmarting yourself to have a different opinion.

EDIT:  you didn’t actually say outsmarting yourself, I was misremembering.  You said “don’t try to outsmart the pack”.  I disagree, I would like the Sabres to try to outsmart the pack.

PS:  I know I just disagreed with you like three separate times.  Don’t think I’m being cross.  We are all good.

Edited July 7, 2021 by Curt

[Marvin]

After reading all the predictions here, I am reminded of a very old joke:

Prognostication is very difficult, especially when it is about the future.  Therefore, he who lives by the crystal ball soon learns to eat ground glass.

[JohnC]

27 minutes ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

After reading all the predictions here, I am reminded of a very old joke:

Prognostication is very difficult, especially when it is about the future.  Therefore, he who lives by the crystal ball soon learns to eat ground glass.

If a hockey board isn't the place to make predictions then where is the right place for it. That's like saying swimming pools shouldn't be a place to swim. Being wrong about predictions is a more likely occurrence than being right for most participants. That's the nature of this untamed beast.