Around the NHL 2023-24 Season

[Porous Five Hole]

  On 11/13/2023 at 10:23 PM, Thorny said:

So putting yourself into a position where you must trade a player this good seems like a guaranteed losing position to be in, is what I’m gathering 

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I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.   Eichel held a gun to the GM’s head (I won’t debate his rationale) and the only way McD/Drai move is because they do the same thing. 
 

One note, and I realize this is supposed to be about McDavid : Could a case be made that Drai at 14MM is less useful than Mitts at 6MM, Savoie, Benson, a first round pick, and however they choose to spend the 8MM in newfound flexibility? Yes, you can make that case.  But a bird in the hand.  And Drai is quite a pretty bird. 

[Thorner]

  On 11/13/2023 at 10:31 PM, Porous Five Hole said:

I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.   Eichel held a gun to the GM’s head (I won’t debate his rationale) and the only way McD/Drai move is because they do the same thing. 
 

One note, and I realize this is supposed to be about McDavid : Could a case be made that Drai at 14MM is less useful than Mitts at 6MM, Savoie, Benson, a first round pick, and however they choose to spend the 8MM in newfound flexibility? Yes, you can make that case.  But a bird in the hand.  And Drai is quite a pretty bird. 

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Gun to head you say

[Porous Five Hole]

  On 11/13/2023 at 10:38 PM, Thorny said:

Gun to head you say

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I can see it. I can also see a team who missed the playoffs by one win who was less than two years removed from the Eichel reset.  
 

At the same time, KA iced the youngest team in the NHL for two years running. So you have a point.  

[Thorner]

  On 11/13/2023 at 10:58 PM, Porous Five Hole said:

I can see it. I can also see a team who missed the playoffs by one win who was less than two years removed from the Eichel reset.  
 

At the same time, KA iced the youngest team in the NHL for two years running. So you have a point.  

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Missed the playoffs, for the 12th time in a row, after needing to come from behind by about 10 points just to keep in it, with multiple players putting up career years all at the same time 

Verdict: guilty 

sentence: sentenced to make the playoffs the next season

[PerreaultForever]

Ted Nolan wrote a book.

I wonder how the Sabres will come off in it?

Edited November 14, 2023 by PerreaultForever

[Doohicksie]

  On 11/13/2023 at 3:57 PM, Marvin said:

Those returns would indicate is the Sabres can get away with a "futures" deal.

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I don't know if Kevyn can go for that.  It's basically saying he's all in on the current window, and if they don't win the Cup in the next couple of years the cupboard will be bare.

[Quint]

Bad Brad supercut of all suspensions. 

[Zamboni]

  On 11/14/2023 at 2:09 PM, Quint said:

Bad Brad supercut of all suspensions. 

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And that’s just a portion of what scumbag has done to players in the league. I can’t wait until that motherf***er retires.

[Stoner]

  On 11/14/2023 at 2:30 PM, Zamboni said:

And that’s just a portion of what scumbag has done to players in the league. I can’t wait until that motherf***er retires.

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And then the Bruins will really suck.

[Pimlach]

  On 11/14/2023 at 2:50 PM, PASabreFan said:

And then the Bruins will really suck.

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I thought they would suck after they traded Esposito, then it was after Cam Neely retired, then it was ... 

[#freejame]

  On 11/14/2023 at 3:11 PM, Pimlach said:

I thought they would suck after they traded Esposito, then it was after Cam Neely retired, then it was ... 

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Just take solace in the fact they had to move one of the greatest defensemen of all time because they couldn’t win ***** with him. With a cherry on top being it produced one of the most memorable photos in NHL history and erases in memory, for many, that he spent 18 odd years in Boston. 

[Pimlach]

  On 11/14/2023 at 3:47 PM, #freejame said:

Just take solace in the fact they had to move one of the greatest defensemen of all time because they couldn’t win ***** with him. With a cherry on top being it produced one of the most memorable photos in NHL history and erases in memory, for many, that he spent 18 odd years in Boston. 

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I take no solace in that.  They dominated us for much of the Bourque era which spanned almost 19 full seasons.  He played 95% of his career as a Broon.  He won about 5 Norris Trophy's too.  I was happy to see him get a Cup with the Avs in his last season.  

[Weave]

  On 11/14/2023 at 4:11 PM, Pimlach said:

I take no solace in that.  They dominated us for much of the Bourque era which spanned almost 19 full seasons.  He played 95% of his career as a Broon.  He won about 5 Norris Trophy's too.  I was happy to see him get a Cup with the Avs in his last season.  

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You lost me at the last sentence.

[Pimlach]

  On 11/14/2023 at 4:53 PM, Weave said:

You lost me at the last sentence.

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 Was he not on the Avs 2000-01 team?  

 

[shrader]

  On 11/14/2023 at 2:09 PM, Quint said:

Bad Brad supercut of all suspensions. 

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I how he turns back and whines about a flop immediately after spearing the one guy in the groin.

[Doohicksie]

  On 11/14/2023 at 6:20 PM, Pimlach said:

 Was he not on the Avs 2000-01 team? 

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I think he's saying did wasn't pulling for him to will a Cup.

[Weave]

  On 11/14/2023 at 6:20 PM, Pimlach said:

 Was he not on the Avs 2000-01 team?  

 

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Ray Bourque was not a player I was ever happy to see win a cup.  He was forever stained with Bruin ick.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

  On 11/14/2023 at 4:53 PM, Weave said:

You lost me at the last sentence.

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Best memory for Sabre fans should be that it was Ray that was turned inside out as the last Bruin skater on the May Day goal.

[mjd1001]

  On 11/14/2023 at 3:11 PM, Pimlach said:

I thought they would suck after they traded Esposito, then it was after Cam Neely retired, then it was ... 

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To be fair, I moved to Boston in the late 1990's through the early 2000s, and there were pretty bad for most of the time I lived there.  My boss from the area was a big Bruins fan so I went to my fair share of games with him and it wasn't very pretty for the home team.

From 1996 through 2007,  they missed the playoffs (5 times) as many times as they made it (5 times), 3 of those 5 times they were dead last in the division, went through 7 head coaches, and even the 5 years they did make the playoffs, they had a total of 1 series win and lost in the opening round the other 4 times. 

Now that isn't "Sabres drought" bad, but that is a period of 10 years of 'pretty bad' hockey.  They drafted, then traded, Joe Thornton.  They tried to convince themselves that Jason Allison and Glen Murray were stars/leaders.  Their backline was anchored by Hal Gil and Don Sweeney for the most part over that 10 year period...and their most successful goalie was Byron Dafoe

Edited November 14, 2023 by mjd1001

[shrader]

  On 11/14/2023 at 9:22 PM, mjd1001 said:

To be fair, I moved to Boston in the late 1990's through the early 2000s, and there were pretty bad for most of the time I lived there.  My boss from the area was a big Bruins fan so I went to my fair share of games and it wasn't very pretty.

From 1996 through 2007,  they missed the playoffs (5 times) as many times as they made it (5 times), 3 of those 5 times they were dead last in the division, went through 7 head coaches, and even the 5 years they did make the playoffs, they had a total of 1 series win and lost in the opening round the other 4 times. 

Now that isn't "Sabres drought" bad, but that is a period of 10 years of 'pretty bad' hockey.  They drafted, then traded, Joe Thornton.  They tried to convince themselves that Jason Allison and Glen Murray were stars/leaders.  Their backline was anchored by Hal Gil and Don Sweeney for the most part over that 10 year period...and their most successful goalie was Byron Dafoe

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And the fans during that timeline sure did love Jeremy Jacobs.  Old and cheap.

[#freejame]

  On 11/14/2023 at 9:22 PM, mjd1001 said:

To be fair, I moved to Boston in the late 1990's through the early 2000s, and there were pretty bad for most of the time I lived there.  My boss from the area was a big Bruins fan so I went to my fair share of games with him and it wasn't very pretty for the home team.

From 1996 through 2007,  they missed the playoffs (5 times) as many times as they made it (5 times), 3 of those 5 times they were dead last in the division, went through 7 head coaches, and even the 5 years they did make the playoffs, they had a total of 1 series win and lost in the opening round the other 4 times. 

Now that isn't "Sabres drought" bad, but that is a period of 10 years of 'pretty bad' hockey.  They drafted, then traded, Joe Thornton.  They tried to convince themselves that Jason Allison and Glen Murray were stars/leaders.  Their backline was anchored by Hal Gil and Don Sweeney for the most part over that 10 year period...and their most successful goalie was Byron Dafoe

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Didn’t Jim Carey steal a Vezina during that timeline?

[Thorner]

Reinhart with 4 straight multi-point games, currently 7th overall in NHL scoring 

[SabresBillsFan]

  On 11/14/2023 at 10:06 PM, Thorny said:

Reinhart with 4 straight multi-point games, currently 7th overall in NHL scoring 

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Always like Reinhart but we did well with the return.

[mjd1001]

  On 11/14/2023 at 9:30 PM, #freejame said:

Didn’t Jim Carey steal a Vezina during that timeline?

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I think he did it while playing for the Caps, not Boston.

[Thorner]

  On 11/14/2023 at 10:10 PM, SabresBillsFan said:

Always like Reinhart but we did well with the return.

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Well, Florida did really well

Remains to be seen how we did 

Wouldn't have minded making the playoffs last year