Say Hello to The Bad Guy

[SiDC1]

The only reason people will hate the Sabres is because of how much the media has driven this "tank" talk solely because of McDavid and Eichel. If it was Hanifin, Marner and Strome, nobody would give a damn. The Sabres would be "rebuilding".

The two players definitely helped fuel the fire but isn't the reason why all this "tank talk." The main reason was that Darcy Regier announced it to the world that he intended on tanking the team. I don't remember ANY TEAM that purposely held a press conference to announce that they plan to blow up their roster. Then bring in a coach that should had no right to be behind the bench of an AHL team, let along a NHL team.

 

[HiddenInLight]

The two players definitely helped fuel the fire but isn't the reason why all this "tank talk." The main reason was that Darcy Regier announced it to the world that he intended on tanking the team. I don't remember ANY TEAM that purposely held a press conference to announce that they plan to blow up their roster. Then bring in a coach that should had no right to be behind the bench of an AHL team, let along a NHL team.

Eh, the same guy who held that PC was promptly fired, and is no longer a GM in this league....just saying.

 

[DazedandConfused]

Shanny's essentially said that the Leafs are doing the same thing.

When was the last time a team went into a full rebuild in a genuine hockey market?

Noone cared in the others places, which is why it was able to stay out of the news.

 

[Jim Bob]

Shanny's essentially said that the Leafs are doing the same thing.

When was the last time a team went into a full rebuild in a genuine hockey market?

Noone cared in the others places, which is why it was able to stay out of the news.

When is the last time ANY team went into a full rebuild?

The Blackhawks were hamstrung by Dollar Bill Wirtz for decades, so that doesn't count.

The Penguins had their own ownership issues leading to the Fleury/Malkin/Crosby/JStaal drafts.

Maybe the Kings, but LA isn't a traditional hockey market....

 

[DazedandConfused]

When is the last time ANY team went into a full rebuild?

The Blackhawks were hamstrung by Dollar Bill Wirtz for decades, so that doesn't count.

The Penguins had their own ownership issues leading to the Fleury/Malkin/Crosby/JStaal drafts.

Maybe the Kings, but LA isn't a traditional hockey market....

That's true. I guess you'd have to open it up to "teams who spent a couple season in the basement, with no immediate intentions on improving?"

Nobody attacked the Kings, Pens, B-Hawks at the time of their dwelling years as far as I remember. Because they were just so far out of sight, out of mind.

 

[SackTastic]

- Buffalo is a rabid hockey market, and anytime the Sabres are discussed it generally brings loads of all those metrics that content providers love.
- The Sabres are historically bad in doing what they're doing, and were blatantly obvious about it, and that gives Sports Media Types something to fill time with. (Which feeds right into the previous point.)
- This draft has two exceptional players at the top. Doesn't happen often.


It's a confluence of events that has people fapping over how much they can talk about it, because content. The smart talk about all this has been how the NHL allowed this sort of thing to happen based on their draft system, but the largest volume has been useless garbage.

 

[Jim Bob]

That's true. I guess you'd have to open it up to "teams who spent a couple season in the basement, with no immediate intentions on improving?"

Nobody attacked the Kings, Pens, B-Hawks at the time of their dwelling years as far as I remember. Because they were just so far out of sight, out of mind.

I feel like the transparency with which the Sabres have approached this and the plan attached to it is what is new.

In the past, teams lucked into things like this.

For instance, the Colts didn't plan on tanking so that they could easily transition from Manning to Luck. Manning got hurt in the perfect season for him to get hurt and the Colts to be epicly bad.

I think that is why this is getting so much press.

But, the Sabres aren't alone. Just look at the Astros in MLB and the Sixers in the NBA.

Both of those teams are also putting together rosters not to compete today, but to accumulate a lot of high picks to compete in the future.

As a Sixers and Sabres fan, I am much more confident in the Sabres rebuild at this point. And I will feel even better in a month, I hope.

 

[B U F F A L O]

I feel like the transparency with which the Sabres have approached this and the plan attached to it is what is new.

In the past, teams lucked into things like this.

For instance, the Colts didn't plan on tanking so that they could easily transition from Manning to Luck. Manning got hurt in the perfect season for him to get hurt and the Colts to be epicly bad.

I think that is why this is getting so much press.

But, the Sabres aren't alone. Just look at the Astros in MLB and the Sixers in the NBA.

Both of those teams are also putting together rosters not to compete today, but to accumulate a lot of high picks to compete in the future.

As a Sixers and Sabres fan, I am much more confident in the Sabres rebuild at this point. And I will feel even better in a month, I hope.

Dr. J or AI?

 

[SackTastic]

That's true. I guess you'd have to open it up to "teams who spent a couple season in the basement, with no immediate intentions on improving?"

Nobody attacked the Kings, Pens, B-Hawks at the time of their dwelling years as far as I remember. Because they were just so far out of sight, out of mind.

The Blackhawks pretty much got a pass because Bill Wirtz drove that franchise so hard into the ground that they were an afterthought in Chicago for years. Sure, they were bad, but generally speaking not many really cared.

The Penguins were actually thrashed pretty hard for their tank job to get Lemieux. If my memory is right, one of Pittsburgh's GM's actually yelled at the coach during a game they were winning, and they ended up losing that one. They were more open about what they were doing than any other team I can think of. They weren't hammered when they got Crosbey because that wasn't really a tank; they were broke and just bad.

 

[Kublakhan]

Teams will still tank even after the draft gets all stupid next year. Nothing is guaranteed and ranking still gives you a better chance.


But this is about being the team everyone hates. So for this exercise we are assuming we get McEichel and it leads to a cup contender.


If that happens I am going to be so obnoxious.

Sabres are the team everyone hates and we are the fans everyone hates..Perfect for each other

 

[Karate Johnson*]

Sabres are the team everyone hates and we are the fans everyone hates..Perfect for each other

It's what I want.

Personally, I hate every other team and fanbase as well. No matter who wins what I'm not happy with it.

 

[SackTastic]

Interesting perspective here :

http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/04088/292486.stm

This is from March 2004, were Lou Angotti (the Pens coach in 84) openly admits to tanking it to get Lemieux.

And hilariously, the columnist here calls for the Penguins to tank it AGAIN to get Ovechkin! WHAT WOULD BUCKY GLEASON SAY??

 

[Matias Maccete]

Interesting perspective here :

http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/04088/292486.stm

This is from March 2004, were Lou Angotti (the Pens coach in 84) openly admits to tanking it to get Lemieux.

And hilariously, the columnist here calls for the Penguins to tank it AGAIN to get Ovechkin! WHAT WOULD BUCKY GLEASON SAY??

I just thought of ovi in a pens jersey. Now I need to clean up the vomit.

 

[KrazyCanuck19]

I'm a Canuck fan who hopes the Sabres do pretty good and get McDavid as well

 

[RoofIt5hole]

They ought to go back to the black goat jerseys got the new third. Just embrace the thing, bring back the legion of doom.

 

[Moncton man]

Sure the Sabres can be the bad guy ..... but can they be Yankees or Manchester United hated?

 

[Myllz]

Sure the Sabres can be the bad guy ..... but can they be Yankees or Manchester United hated?

Hockey isn't big enough to be hated on that kind of level.

 

[30Yonge]

Sure the Sabres can be the bad guy ..... but can they be Yankees or Manchester United hated?

Who the **** are Buffalo Sabres?

 

[PopeInTheWoods]

Who the **** are Buffalo Sabres?

The 2019 Stanley Cup Champions. Look it up, McFly.

 

[Jeremy2020]

The 2019 Stanley Cup Champions. Look it up, McFly.

I think you mean back to back 2019 and 2020 Stanley Cup Champions.

 

[Sabretip]

It seems that the Sabres are possibly the most hated team in hockey as it stands right now.

Most criticized by the ethics committee that some media members and fans think they're on? Definitely.

Most envied by fans of other teams wishing they had the best odds of landing McEichel? Probably.

Most hated? That's a little far-fetched IMO - especially since this isn't the first nor will be the last time teams gut their rosters with the intention of rebuilding through the draft.

Besides, as much talk as there's been this season about tanking, there was none of it last year when the Sabres finished last place by a big margin. All of the hype is 100% tied to the unique circumstance of the top 2 rated players being franchise-changing.

 

[OkimLom]

Most criticized by the ethics committee that some media members and fans think they're on? Definitely.

Most envied by fans of other teams wishing they had the best odds of landing McEichel? Probably.

Most hated? That's a little far-fetched IMO - especially since this isn't the first nor will be the last time teams gut their rosters with the intention of rebuilding through the draft.

Besides, as much talk as there's been this season about tanking, there was none of it last year when the Sabres finished last place by a big margin. All of the hype is 100% tied to the unique circumstance of the top 2 rated players being franchise-changing.

Honestly, I think Buffalo, in general with hockey fans, are an an afterthought. We're pretty much, in the eyes of the league and fans, supposed to be bad or at least non-contenders. We're not supposed to be competitive. I think most fans forget Buffalo has a team until their team has to play them.

Well at least this is what I tell myself to justify the feeling Ill have when we build a winner and satisfaction I'll have when we're a top team in the league.

 

[Sabretip]

Honestly, I think Buffalo, in general with hockey fans, are an an afterthought. We're pretty much, in the eyes of the league and fans, supposed to be bad or at least non-contenders. We're not supposed to be competitive. I think most fans forget Buffalo has a team until their team has to play them.

That wasn't the case the first 2 years coming out of the lockout, where a lot of teams (and fans of those teams) were envious of the Sabres speed and depth. Obviously, no one admires the cellar-dwellers in the league but it's cyclical - and I expect that the Sabres youth and way they rebuilt from the ground up will be again praised in league and media circles as they become more competitive and closer to contending.

 

[couture23]

Nothing I would cherish more than being the most hated team in hockey based on success in the coming years.

 

[FoSotC]

I think the Sabres will also forever be painted as, and reviled for being, the team that provoked the League into further messing with the draft formula and harming genuinely bad teams' chances of rebuilding through the top of the draft. Of course, those teams will be sucking "legitimately", whereas we were out to destroy the very integrity of the league itself.