Darth Murray...The REAL Sith Master

[Bps21*]

Not true when you have Gionta in 3 years at 4.25 and Moulson in3-4-5 years at 5.00.

That to go along with Ennis at 4.6 for 5 and the fourth liner CH at 4.25 for 5 more (not a TM signing I know).

That doesn't even mention bringing in the great Cody McCormick at 1.5 X 3.

And I never said I liked Regier, I'm just saying everyone would be killing him if he made some of these signings but TM gets a pass because "this was his plan", right.

He didnt sign hodgson. McCormick is a perfectly good bottom 6 guy. You just want to complain and you don't know what about.

What do you think the plan was? Race to middle of the bottom? Or draft at the top? Come on man...it was never a hidden agenda. And if you looked at the Ehrhoff buyout...it couldn't have been more obvious. Then he signed guys that won't be good when no one is driving possession on the team. If moulson was playing next to a guy who could carry a puck he'd be scoring. I know this because he always has. And guess what guy...after this season is over...he will be. Through trade, development or draft...by hook or by crook...he will be.

This year has always been about one thing...not blowing where the ship is already heading. To think that then the moves made to ensure it weren't about it...that's silly.

 

[vcv]

The core disagreement here is whether or not the off-season moves were intended to keep the team bad.

I think they were. The Ehrhoff buy-out combined with the Meszaros and Benoit signings really drove that home for me.

 

[ZeroPT*]

The core disagreement here is whether or not the off-season moves were intended to keep the team bad.

I think they were. The Ehrhoff buy-out combined with the Meszaros and Benoit signings really drove that home for me.

Ehrhoff didn't want to be here and trading him could've been potentially disastrous

 

[LaP]

i'm not sure how hard it is to trick people that think josh gorges was good last year

Gorges was not bad last year. He was and still is an honest 5th or 6th overpaid stay at home d man. He was just playing too much and had no juice left against NYR.

But he was carried by Markov and Subban over the last few years. Subban might be average defensively but playing with him helps a lot. When you are in trouble you just have to send the puck approximately where Subban is and 9/10 of the time the puck will easily go out.

As for Gionta he was awful last year. He was arguably our worst top 9 player in the playoffs. When you play with Plekanec and Galchenyuk you should do better than 18 goals and 40 points.

I remember this summer someone at TSN saying Buffalo would be better with Gionta and i started laughing so hard my neighbors probably thought i was crazy.

 

[Bps21*]

Ehrhoff hated it here so much that he was their best defensemen all year. But he didn't smile so... Cutting him made the worst team in the league worse. And now everyone is surprised they're worse. Well..not everyone. Tim Murray knew.

 

[Jame]

The core disagreement here is whether or not the off-season moves were intended to keep the team bad.

I think they were. The Ehrhoff buy-out combined with the Meszaros and Benoit signings really drove that home for me.

and no pursuit of center improvements

He brought in guys who would keep a better culture in place during the tank... good move

 

[C Note]

Haha I love how you try and justify every single move, when the only signing worth while is Gorges.

If Regier had still been here and done the exact same thing you would be killing him.

Moulson : Not even close to being worth his contract.
Gionta: Not even close to being worth his contract.
Mezaros: One of TM's guys from the Senators, absolutely sucks.

It's amazing that you stick up for him. How about the one way deal for 44, who also sucks. You know he is making Nolan play 'his guys'. But right, Murray built this team to lose and we are just all too dumb to realize it.

Fact of the matter is, he made significant (some long term) signings to try to improve this team/culture and it has resulted in a sh*tshow so far.

10 games into this gong show, and there are still those who buy the company line? Damn, Murray. Some might fine mind control powers, indeed. Teach me.

 

[wunderpanda]

Maybe he used his Sith powers to convince everyone he was capable of being the GM. Might not be hard to fool Pegula, Lafontaine did.

 

[Zman5778]

He brought in guys who would keep a better culture in place during the tank... good move

Yep.

If TM didn't realize that:
1.) Moulson works best with a higher-end center
b.) Gionta is nearing the end of his usefulness as an NHL player
iii.) Meszaros was either going to revive his career or flop mightily
Quatro.) Benoit was playing WAY over his head last year

Then he's not cut-out to be a GM. There's a reason he gave Mess and Ben Wah one-year deals.

Moulson's long term deal is to help out either SR or McEichel when they're ready to go. Gionta is a bridge captain who was basically signed to overhaul the lockerroom's attitude while we lose.

I don't think he planned on the Gorges thing, but it's going to work out.



The moves were designed (I think) to see us absolutely blow in the first half of the season -- he'll then move what one-year contracts he can and that's where we're going to see the kids take over a major role I think. Gio/Gorges/Moulson/McCormick will ensure that the kids don't walk into a toxic atmosphere.

He did all this while being able to say with a straight face: "I'm trying to improve our team. I expect to be better"

 

[Jame]

Yep.

If TM didn't realize that:
1.) Moulson works best with a higher-end center
b.) Gionta is nearing the end of his usefulness as an NHL player
iii.) Meszaros was either going to revive his career or flop mightily
Quatro.) Benoit was playing WAY over his head last year

Then he's not cut-out to be a GM. There's a reason he gave Mess and Ben Wah one-year deals.

Moulson's long term deal is to help out either SR or McEichel when they're ready to go. Gionta is a bridge captain who was basically signed to overhaul the lockerroom's attitude while we lose.

I don't think he planned on the Gorges thing, but it's going to work out.



The moves were designed (I think) to see us absolutely blow in the first half of the season -- he'll then move what one-year contracts he can and that's where we're going to see the kids take over a major role I think. Gio/Gorges/Moulson/McCormick will ensure that the kids don't walk into a toxic atmosphere.

He did all this while being able to say with a straight face: "I'm trying to improve our team. I expect to be better"

But on paper...

 

[sabresandcanucks]

Lol...I love some of the comments from people in here. Did you really think this team was going to be good? Did you not see Murray's reaction last Spring when the NHL threatened to change the draft lottery? He was petrified...as we all were. The plan has been to get the 1st or 2nd overall pick all along, Murray knows what he is doing.

 

[Myllz]

Lol...I love some of the comments from people in here. Did you really think this team was going to be good? Did you not see Murray's reaction last Spring when the NHL threatened to change the draft lottery? He was petrified...as we all were. The plan has been to get the 1st or 2nd overall pick all along, Murray knows what he is doing.

I don't think many (if any) people thought the team would be good, but there were plenty of people saying they'd be improved over last season.

 

[wunderpanda]

On paper Moulson and Gionta look better than John Scott and Conacher, healthy Stewart looks better than injured Stewart, Gorges looks better than Tallinder and nearly anyone looks better than McBain.

The only reach is one of the kids replacing Ehrhoff.

 

[Dubi Doo]

The core disagreement here is whether or not the off-season moves were intended to keep the team bad.

I think they were. The Ehrhoff buy-out combined with the Meszaros and Benoit signings really drove that home for me.

The Ehrhoff buy-out had nothing to do with tanking. Murray used the buy-out because Ehrhoff didn't want to be here. His play for the last third of the year made that clear.

Murray made moves to gradually improve the team and depth while not sacrificing the future. I thought the team would look better than this. I still had them pegged for a top-3 pick, but i thought there was a possibility they finished with the second or third lowest point totals. I still think it's possible.

 

[Jim Bob]

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1732819&highlight=where+sabres+finish

64% of voters picked the Sabres to finish 30th overall.

78% of voters picked the Sabres to finish 29th or 30th overall.

Stokes didn't vote.

 

[KennyFnPowers*]

Miller + Vanek + Erhoff >>> Neuvrith + Gio + Georges

Many people pointed this out and made the claim that there is no way this team scores more, or allows fewer goals. Come on guys, just bite the bullet and cross your fingers for McDavid.

 

[TannedBum]

2015-2016 will be revenge of the **** Mas... Sith Master

 

[slip]

The Ehrhoff buy-out had nothing to do with tanking. Murray used the buy-out because Ehrhoff didn't want to be here. His play for the last third of the year made that clear.

I think the main reason Ehroff was bought out is not so much the tank, or his lackluster play (which wasn't that bad), but rather Murray seeing an opportunity to rid himself of the possibility of any future recapture penalty.

 

[Jame]

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1732819&highlight=where+sabres+finish

64% of voters picked the Sabres to finish 30th overall.

78% of voters picked the Sabres to finish 29th or 30th overall.

Stokes didn't vote.

they could surprise...

 

[sabrebuild]

I love thr strange strawman argument that because ehroff had a sadface emoticon on his visor all season that made him a bad player. It was silly during the summer and it still is. Dude didn't have to be fully engaged to still be our most consistent puck moving dman and gorges was never gonna be an improvement. This shock that they didn't improve flies in the face of all the evidence.

 

[sabrebuild]

As mentioned several times gionta and his contract are here to be a good guy in the room and to a lesser degree as an ambassador to the league. People in the league respect the hell out of gionta and when guys like gorges ask about buffalo gionta is the guy you want saying all the right things. He could never score ten goals in a year on that contract and it would be fine.

 

[1point21Gigawatts]

We are definitely worse than we were last year, talent wise. It's frustrating watching your team lose, but i don't think we are worse off system-wise as we were last year, especially when RonRol was coaching.

I won't condemn TM until I a few years out and we have the talent we actually need to be contenders. Personally, I think he has the right plan in place, "Suck now, acquire assets, become a long term contender." In the mean time, i'll watch with the lowest of low expectations.

 

[Irving Zisman]

The Ehrhoff buy-out had nothing to do with tanking. Murray used the buy-out because Ehrhoff didn't want to be here. His play for the last third of the year made that clear.

Murray made moves to gradually improve the team and depth while not sacrificing the future. I thought the team would look better than this. I still had them pegged for a top-3 pick, but i thought there was a possibility they finished with the second or third lowest point totals. I still think it's possible.

I'm sure his desire not to be here was part of it, but it think the real reason for the Ehrhoff buyout was fear of the Recapture Penalty.

Murray was smart, and knew that if it was going to come back to haunt us, it would have come at a time when the team was conceivably a contender and already close to the cap. I think he astutely made the right move in anticipating a potential cap crunch from the penalty way down the road. This is also why Ehrhoff was bought out and not traded.

 

[vcv]

The Ehrhoff buy-out had nothing to do with tanking. Murray used the buy-out because Ehrhoff didn't want to be here. His play for the last third of the year made that clear.

Murray made moves to gradually improve the team and depth while not sacrificing the future. I thought the team would look better than this. I still had them pegged for a top-3 pick, but i thought there was a possibility they finished with the second or third lowest point totals. I still think it's possible.

I don't think he bought out Ehrhoff as an active measure to tank.

But rather, by buying out Ehrhoff, he made it clear that he was not looking to improve the team for at least this year.

 

[ozpensfan]

I dont see whats so hard to get here, this isnt about being successful and making the playoffs, this is about surrounding future NHL players like Reinhart, McEichel, Zads, Grigs, JTCompher - ETC with a solid core of mentorship and how to be professional, how to be an athelete at the highest level, as someone who has always had a soft spot for Buffalo, you dont want to be like edmonton and just continue to bottom feed with clueless yet very talented youngesters.

Be like Penguins and Chicago ETC, have your blue chip prospects - give them leadsership and it'll come together for the better. chances are you'll have Reinhart, Eichel +next years top 3 before you make some serious impact on the NHL