A Knights Tale: From Sabre to Knight; one man’s failure to make the playoffs AND how it benefits the Sabres draft position

[kas23]

1 hour ago, That Aud Smell said:

I'd read that he left a recent road trip to attend to a family emergency. Is there more news?

FWIW, stories of pro athletes playing lights out in the face of a family member's death are legion -- the one that comes to mind is a game where Chris Paul dropped 61 and intentionally missed a free throw at the end in order to honour his deceased loved one. 

Of course, YMMV. Everyone is different.

Or Allen throwing for 415 yards and 3TD against the Seahawks the day after his grandmother died. 

[Marvin]

1 hour ago, That Aud Smell said:

 

Peter DeBoer just found out that throwing your goalie under the bus is not necessarily a good motivator.

[nfreeman]

So the Caps can, as noted upthread, cripple Vegas' playoff hopes with a regulation win tonight in Vegas.  The Caps are safely in the playoffs at #8 in the Eastern Conference (btw, the gap between #8 and #9 is a ridiculous 16 pts), but are jockeying for seeding with Pittsburgh, Boston and TB.  So hopefully they'll bring it.

In the West, we need Dallas, Nashville, the Kings and Vancouver to keep winning.  Dallas plays in Edmonton tonight and in Calgary tomorrow night, while Vancouver plays in Minny and LA hosts Chicago tomorrow night.

[jsb]

You can add Detroit and San Jose to that list of teams. Keep Buffalo at 8 and with Vancouver now tied with VGK in points the possibility exists we get 8 and 15 in the draft.

[LGR4GM]

15 minutes ago, jsb said:

You can add Detroit and San Jose to that list of teams. Keep Buffalo at 8 and with Vancouver now tied with VGK in points the possibility exists we get 8 and 15 in the draft.

Probably the most likely scenario unless Vegas surprises. The magic number is 97pts currently. Any team that hits 97 points is going to be ahead of Vegas or tied with them. 

[SDS]

2 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

I'd read that he left a recent road trip to attend to a family emergency. Is there more news?

FWIW, stories of pro athletes playing lights out in the face of a family member's death are legion -- the one that comes to mind is a game where Chris Paul dropped 61 and intentionally missed a free throw at the end in order to honour his deceased loved one. 

Of course, YMMV. Everyone is different.

I was going to post exactly this. I have no idea how someone who has no idea what a person is thinking nor any other details of the situation, can declare what what’s supposed to be done in a situation.

Brett Favre on Monday night football comes to mind.

[Mustache of God]

1 hour ago, jsb said:

You can add Detroit and San Jose to that list of teams. Keep Buffalo at 8 and with Vancouver now tied with VGK in points the possibility exists we get 8 and 15 in the draft.

Also rooting for a panthers round 1 exit as well. 

[Taro T]

10 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

Also rooting for a panthers round 1 exit as well. 

Round 1 or round 2.  Either ends up at the same spot draftwise.

[Amaru523]

When Eichel started playing for VGK, they were in 1st place in their division. The irony in this whole situation is almost too good to be true. A guy asks for trade because he's sick of losing, goes to a team who's never missed the playoffs and is currently in 1st place, then once he starts playing they completely fall apart and are now most likely going to miss the post season. I'm sorry, but it makes me giggle every time I think about. 

Edited April 20, 2022 by Amaru523

[Crusader1969]

40 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Round 1 or round 2.  Either ends up at the same spot draftwise.

As long as they aren't playing the Leafs. In this case, draft position be damned   GO CATS!

[That Aud Smell]

48 minutes ago, Amaru523 said:

When Eichel started playing for VGK, they were in 1st place in their division. The irony in this whole situation is almost too good to be true. A guy asks for trade because he's sick of losing, goes to a team who's never missed the playoffs and is currently in 1st place, then once he starts playing they completely fall apart and are now most likely going to miss the post season. I'm sorry, but it makes me giggle every time I think about. 

Do not be sorry. Enjoy it - for it is the delicious fruit of the Haha Tree.

 

[Mustache of God]

2 hours ago, Taro T said:

Round 1 or round 2.  Either ends up at the same spot draftwise.

I'm going for round 1, don't want those ***** to get any momentum and steamroll us to a 32nd pick.

1 hour ago, Crusader1969 said:

As long as they aren't playing the Leafs. In this case, draft position be damned   GO CATS!

Unless they play the Leafs, then I'll happily settle for a second round exit.

[Brawndo]

 

[Buffalonill]

You all better hope Karma Doesn't hit  and they win the lottery 

[LGR4GM]

17 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

You all better hope Karma Doesn't hit  and they win the lottery 

Oh no, they could draft 5th or 6th this year. 

I'll take that if we get their 2023 1st.

[Buffalonill]

8 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Oh no, they could draft 5th or 6th this year. 

I'll take that if we get their 2023 1st.

So your fine giving them a top 5 pick with that jack eichel trade.

[Sabel79]

Just now, Buffalonill said:

So your fine giving them a top 5 pick with that jack eichel trade.

I appreciate your commitment to the bit.  

[Doohicksie]

Is Johan Larsson Better Than Jack Eichel?

 

[Norcal]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

You all better hope Karma Doesn't hit  and they win the lottery 

[Flashsabre]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

So your fine giving them a top 5 pick with that jack eichel trade.

How would we be giving them a top 5 pick?

The Sabres have no input into the lottery.

The chance of Vegas winning the lottery is minuscule.

Most likely we are pick #15 which is a heck of a lot better then where people thought the pick would be earlier in the year.

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

So your fine giving them a top 5 pick with that jack eichel trade.

I'm not giving them anything nor are the Sabres. Yes I'd prefer a 2023 1st and think Vegas could miss the playoffs again next year. 

5 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

How would we be giving them a top 5 pick?

The Sabres have no input into the lottery.

The chance of Vegas winning the lottery is minuscule.

Most likely we are pick #15 which is a heck of a lot better then where people thought the pick would be earlier in the year.

Yup. We're probably getting 15.

[Buffalonill]

25 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

How would we be giving them a top 5 pick?

The Sabres have no input into the lottery.

The chance of Vegas winning the lottery is minuscule.

Most likely we are pick #15 which is a heck of a lot better then where people thought the pick would be earlier in the year.

That's where  Karma comes into play 

[kas23]

I do agree, I would trade them pick 5 this year for pick 15 next year. But, that’s not how this works. So, I would go with pick 15 this year because who knows what next year will bring. 

[LGR4GM]

22 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

That's where  Karma comes into play 

[thewookie1]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

That's where  Karma comes into play 

Why would karma be on their side anyway. Vegas has been arguably the worst team in the league this year in regards to its players. They shoved their franchise goalie out the door and let him find out via Twitter. Traded a guy they couldn’t trade to begin with and then had to eat crow. They have made Tampa’s use of LTIR look sanitary by comparison. If any team has to deal with bad karma it would be them.