Did Murray try to put together a 30th place team?

[haseoke39]

Genuinely curious what the prevailing opinion is. I haven't used the word tank because the semantic arguments that would ensue.

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[Myllz]

This hasn't been discussed ad nauseam yet.

 

[Sabreality]

don't care, we're almost there.

 

[Paxon]

I feel like this is a question a whole lot of us could answer either way. There's no doubt Murray knowingly went into the season with clearly one of the worst teams in the league. There's no doubt he was very comfortable with that because the team's not in a position to go anywhere yet and because there's so much talent high in the draft. He could have done more to make the team better and he could have done less. Ultimately he retooled the roster a bit without making too many sacrifices in terms of assets (2nd for Gorges) or the future cap situation (Moulson's deal certainly isn't great for that).

There's no doubt Murray, Pegula, Black, and every remotely reasonable fan wants them to finish last at this point but I'm not sure that was the feeling going into the season, otherwise knowing they'd a get high pick.

 

[haseoke39]

This hasn't been discussed ad nauseam yet.

I just want the numbers.

 

[enthusiast]

no in letter, yes in spirit

 

[Beerz]

Murray put together the team that best suited the rebuild .. fillers on short term deals to reach cap and not be a detriment for future moves (Holding up young guys, Making trades ..ect ect) ..

Standard stuff here people.

 

[Namejs]

No doubt whatsoever.

 

[Beerz]

This is tanking.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...693b20-bbb8-11e4-9dfb-03366e719af8_story.html

A pair of Tennessee girls basketball high school teams have been pulled from the postseason for trying to lose a game to avoid the top-ranked team and improve their chances of advancing to the state tournament.

The programs at Riverdale (22-8), a state champion in 2013, and Smyrna also were fined $500 Monday and placed on probation for a year by the Tennessee Secondary School athletic Association.

TSSAA executive director Bernard Childress wrote Monday in letters to the schools’ principals that the teams “made a mockery” with intentional turnovers off various violations and missed free throws. The referee also reported he stopped play ordering the coaches not to make a travesty of the game with a Smyrna player about to shoot at the wrong basket.

 

[krt88]

No doubt whatsoever.

You have a former scout as GM who realized the two studs at the top of the draft, guaranteeing one if you finished last. Why not tank? Name the last Stanley Cup champion that does have numerous top 5 picks?

 

[Cirris]

There should be a "kind of" option in the poll.

I do think the Murray did the bare minimum to field a team above the cap floor. But he picked good leadership type players that bring an honest effort approach to the game which will hopefully rub off on the kids.

 

[wunderpanda]

Either he planned to be bad or he is an idiot. 30th though, I can't say 30th was his aim at all, top 5 pick maybe, but not specifically 30th.

*voted yes because I am optimistic Murray isn't an idiot

 

[Zman5778]

no in letter, yes in spirit

This.

I think he knew that the UFAs he signed this year wouldn't really make that big of a difference in the team except to say "Hey, at least these guys are NHL-caliber talent and not honest-to-god scrubs like last year".


If he was actively TRYING to put together a 30th place team, you would have seen guys like Girgensons and Risto down to Rochester and a power move been done with Zadorov to get him somewhere else too.

I think he knew this was going to be a bad team, and the development of the youth would lead to our finish. When Girgs, Risto and Zads were all playing superbly and the team was getting somewhat lucky, we had that 10 for 13 stretch.

But now that Girgs has slowed noticeably and Risto/Zads are playing a bit more like young kids, we're struggling mightily.

Given there's no inbetween option, I side towards "yes".

 

[Push Dr Tracksuit]

There's a difference between tanking and making things other than winning a priority. I believe the organization made winning a non-priority this season and so avoided making moves that would 'only' result in winning and made it a priority to make moves that would prevent the locker from turning into Rolston's locker while they waited for prospects to develop. I voted yes because that's enough of a departure from the "competitive spirit" of sported for most to invoke the tank. Yes, McEichel was a factor in this decision but without McEichel at the finish line, this is still how the season likely plays out.

 

[EichHart]

Definitely.

 

[Kublakhan]

not voting, question is impossible to answer

 

[Beerz]

Gotta say I'm absolutely shocked at the results as they are now.


Or maybe I shouldn't be as I know how well the power of suggestion can be when it's repeated over and over and over and over..... even if wrong.

See it in many things today.

 

[Flapjack]

I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the plan was to position the team for a 30th place finish.

The term tanking gets thrown around a lot. It's a term that has negative connotations. True tanking would have to include the players and coaches being involved and purposely throwing games. Nothing could be further from the truth concerning the Sabres.

This is a classic rebuild where the team is stripped down to its core essentials and then rebuilt with picks acquired at the top of the draft. It is a strategy employed by many teams in many different sports.

People from other fan bases are getting bent because of the prizes this year. Sabres did the same thing last year but were not the object of the same criticism because Reinhart/Ekblad is not nearly as sexy as McDavid/Eichel.

 

[enthusiast]

Gotta say I'm absolutely shocked at the results as they are now.


Or maybe I shouldn't be as I know how well the power of suggestion can be when it's repeated over and over and over and over..... even if wrong.

See it in many things today.

ted black told me word for word they were intentionally trying to lose

 

[Beerz]

ted black told me word for word they were intentionally trying to lose

No he didn't.

 

[wunderpanda]

Murray put together the team that best suited the rebuild .. fillers on short term deals to reach cap and not be a detriment for future moves (Holding up young guys, Making trades ..ect ect) ..

Standard stuff here people.

Best suited for a rebuild, would that include a high draft pick?

 

[Beerz]

Best suited for a rebuild, would that include a high draft pick?

A rebuild will result in a high draft pick just using common sense.

 

[wunderpanda]

A rebuild will result in a high draft pick just using common sense.

Then you voted yes?

 

[Havok89]

I think he inherited a 30th place team and did very little to try to improve in the standings.

The only thing he really could have done was package futures for immediate help, and there's really no reason to do that for this season.

 

[Zip15]

Either he planned to be bad or he is an idiot. 30th though, I can't say 30th was his aim at all, top 5 pick maybe, but not specifically 30th.

*voted yes because I am optimistic Murray isn't an idiot

An idiot would aim for a 26th or 27th place finish. Murray did it right for this McEichel draft.