The Draft Position Thread

[Dingo44]

You got that right.

I have never seen a person so bad at his job, yet gets praised like he is some genius. The guy hasn't done crap in the NHL but lose.

This team is completely flawed. The only saving grace may be Eichel, but in terms of how he built the other players, it is a joke.

ROR as a number 1 center, LOL

Expecing Kane to be anything more than a 3rd line RW and gives nothing more than Afino, LOL

Lehner has a number one, LLLOOOOOLLLL

Defense is a sick joke.

I wasn't on board with any of your points except all those "LOL"s do indeed make a compelling argument.

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

Meaning what? Didn't sign another FA when Lehener was injured? What would it matter? Would another few wins right now matter (other than silencing threads like this one)?

Are there indeed so few people who see the "long view" on this rebuild (which is admittedly a shorter view than it would have been had Murray not made the trades, etc.)? But it's still a couple seasons out. How is anything, Anything, ANYTHING negative which has transpired in the first 8 games sufficient to change view of the goal / vision 2-3 playoffs from now?

Instant gratification millenials???

He could have signed a real back up but didn't and I'm not sure why. Johnson won't even be in the NHL in two years. He's garbage.

I'm not going to apologize for wanting to see good hockey. I'm a STH so I put my money where my mouth is. I didn't like goaltending situation even before Lehner got hurt.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

So right now we are getting zero on ice contribution from Tyler Myers,Brendan Lemieux,Drew Stafford,Joel Armia and a 1st round pick with the guys we got for that huge trade package both currently injured (what else is new?) Even though 3/5ths of those pieces are/would be in the minors/juniors it's still atrocious asset management. Murray grossly overpaid for Kane and Bogo. No debate whatsoever.

 

[struckbyaparkedcar]

My goals for the season were:
1) The core, core pieces on this team looking like potential best players on a Cup winner.
2) The possession stats progressing to middle third.
3) Youth carving out NHL roles.

So far all of that is happening. What are people freaking out about? That our coach spent his first eight games seeing if his two best forwards on-paper had any chemistry? That we lost the coinflip between which of Myers and Bogosian missed their routine 15-20 games first?

 

[Afino]

Media accounts suggest his prize goalie showed up out of shape.

Because he spent several months recovering from a concussion in which he couldn't work out.

He went cheap on goaltending for whatever reason. He could have easily signed someone else and shipped who wasn't performing to the minors.

Who, exactly?

Murray owns that decisions. The injuries? They happen.

So, you're trying to blame Murray for an injury to Lehner? One that was completely unrelated to his concussion issues? And trying to blame being out of shape on that? Correlation, causation, etc.

 

[Afino]

My goals for the season were:
1) The core, core pieces on this team looking like potential best players on a Cup winner.
2) The possession stats progressing to middle third.
3) Youth carving out NHL roles.

So far all of that is happening. What are people freaking out about? That our coach spent his first eight games seeing if his two best forwards on-paper had any chemistry? That we lost the coinflip between which of Myers and Bogosian missed their routine 15-20 games first?

No kidding.


People honestly expect today's NHL athlete to play all 82 games? It's basically impossible. You should expect 70-75 per year, nothing more. In the words of Lou Brown, even tough guys get sore arms and muscle pulls. I mean, would you rather have a guy try to "tough" it out and blame them for goals against when they're clearly not 100%? Would that satisfy some on this board? Probably not.

 

[Dingo44]

No kidding.


People honestly expect today's NHL athlete to play all 82 games? It's basically impossible. You should expect 70-75 per year, nothing more. In the words of Lou Brown, even tough guys get sore arms and muscle pulls. I mean, would you rather have a guy try to "tough" it out and blame them for goals against when they're clearly not 100%? Would that satisfy some on this board? Probably not.

I think I'm going to look to see if there were guys saying "Murray SUX" the day after he was hired.

Who am I kidding? Of course there were. I'm sure there are tons after the Ryan Miller trade, and then after Patty leaving.

This is a vastly improved team that is putting more shots to their net and controlling play more than most of their opponents, and they are already doing it in the first 8 games. Good things are sure to come.

 

[tsujimoto74]

So right now we are getting zero on ice contribution from Tyler Myers,Brendan Lemieux,Drew Stafford,Joel Armia and a 1st round pick with the guys we got for that huge trade package both currently injured (what else is new?) Even though 3/5ths of those pieces are/would be in the minors/juniors it's still atrocious asset management. Murray grossly overpaid for Kane and Bogo. No debate whatsoever.

So when Bogo and Kane are healthy, and Myers breaks his wrist or ankle again and Stafford runs cold (as he inevitably will), should we expect to see you singing Murray's praises and proclaiming we won the trade? Seems so since, apparently, your opinion is entirely conditional and based only on what's happening at this exact moment

 

[N.Y. Orangeman]

So right now we are getting zero on ice contribution from Tyler Myers,Brendan Lemieux,Drew Stafford,Joel Armia and a 1st round pick with the guys we got for that huge trade package both currently injured (what else is new?) Even though 3/5ths of those pieces are/would be in the minors/juniors it's still atrocious asset management. Murray grossly overpaid for Kane and Bogo. No debate whatsoever.

...and securing Eichel....

 

[WeDislikeEich]

There will be no more tanking, regardless of the Sabres record this season. You might see a couple of UFA's get traded near the deadline, but there will not be any type of mass sell off of players to improve our draft position. And no players of any real importance will get moved, not without another real important player coming back our way.

The top 3 picks are up for grabs now anyway.
I want to see this team continue to try to improve the entire length of this season. I refuse to worry about draft position. I'm willing to take my chances in the draft lottery.
Now if we absolutely stick all year, I may change my tune. But right now I am seeing improvement with every game played. I want that to continue.

 

[hizzoner]

The bitter side of me wants to ask if TM will send more assets for Nathan Horton. The rational side says--bad luck, this too will pass and consider this year an extended training camp. Without tanking we get a high draft pick..At least I hope that is rational.....

 

[Dingo44]

This thread is amazing. So many predictions that actually came true...especially the "Tim Murray does the fastest draft announcements ever" and the "Tim likes to sign college free agents". But there are a bunch, and I love all the Ottawa fans really upset they were losing Tim.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1567463&page=9

Also, some people were lamenting that we didn't get Patty's first choice - Jim Benning - because of the small window Boston gave us to get him. Talk about dodging a bullet there.

 

[Sabres Dynasty]

You got that right.

I have never seen a person so bad at his job, yet gets praised like he is some genius. The guy hasn't done crap in the NHL but lose.

This team is completely flawed. The only saving grace may be Eichel, but in terms of how he built the other players, it is a joke.

ROR as a number 1 center, LOL

Expecing Kane to be anything more than a 3rd line RW and gives nothing more than Afino, LOL

Lehner has a number one, LLLOOOOOLLLL

Defense is a sick joke.

This post is pretty ridiculous.

 

[Clock]

The only thing that matters this year is that the core pieces are looking like they're core pieces. Everything else is gravy.

There's no point in the team going out of its way to tank. If you place a heavy amount of weight on picking up another high end prospect, you should be happy already. As JJ already pointed out, we can't really be sellers at this point. At the same time, it makes no sense to waste future assets, either.

This is almost the ideal situation if you're all about optimization. The central pieces are performing and look legit, there's clearly hope in the future, yet the team is still looking like it's going to land yet another high-end pick.

But no, no more tanking. There isn't even a point with the lottery system. I won't be rooting for losses.

 

[schpaff]

This post is pretty ridiculous.

The whiner line caller of the day on WGR....it's almost like I hear the voice.

 

[EichHart]

The only thing that makes me happy about another possible high draft pick is the draft is in Buffalo. How awesome would it have been to see Eichel taken in the arena?!

 

[PunchImlach is Alive]

You got that right.

I have never seen a person so bad at his job, yet gets praised like he is some genius. The guy hasn't done crap in the NHL but lose.

This team is completely flawed. The only saving grace may be Eichel, but in terms of how he built the other players, it is a joke.

ROR as a number 1 center, LOL

Expecing Kane to be anything more than a 3rd line RW and gives nothing more than Afino, LOL

Lehner has a number one, LLLOOOOOLLLL

Defense is a sick joke.

Are you a BloFan? 4Life?

 

[WeDislikeEich]

You got that right.

I have never seen a person so bad at his job, yet gets praised like he is some genius. The guy hasn't done crap in the NHL but lose.

This team is completely flawed. The only saving grace may be Eichel, but in terms of how he built the other players, it is a joke.

ROR as a number 1 center, LOL

Expecing Kane to be anything more than a 3rd line RW and gives nothing more than Afino, LOL

Lehner has a number one, LLLOOOOOLLLL

Defense is a sick joke.

- Why is this team completely flawed? I actually like the way Murray is building the Sabres. Lots of good 2 way players who are all very hard working (or even known for their work ethic).

- ROR is not our long term #1 center, so you are LOL at nothing. You think it is ridiculous for him to be the #1 center right now while Eichel is adjusting to the NHL?
ROR will either be our #2 center or a top 6 winger long term. And ROR could be the #2 center on most any team in the NHL and look good doing it.
Eichel is obviously our #1 center of the future, but it's very smart to use ROR to help shelter Eichel right now. It is what smart teams do when developing their players. So keep laughing...

- Kane has looked pretty darn good in our top 6 so far and he could also be a top 6 winger on most NHL teams. What, you have an issue because he hasn't scored 10 goals in 5 games, or what? He has like .5 ppg so far, and he hasn't played hockey in quite a while because of his surgery last year. Considering he's still shaking off the rust, I think he has looked darn good.

- Lehner definitely has #1 goalie potential. Basically every NHL talent evaluator agrees. He was the best available goalie this offseason and Buffalo desperately needed a goalie.

- the defense is a work in progress. Risto, Pysyk and McCabe have all looked pretty good though. Guhle also looked good, especially for a 51st overall pick.
Murray is by no means done building this team's defense.

 

[ZZamboni]

This post is pretty ridiculous.

The whiner line caller of the day on WGR....it's almost like I hear the voice.

Are you a BloFan? 4Life?

- Why is this team completely flawed?

Par for the course. Love to hate. Just avoid. We know most of the aquired players have put this team in a nice place going forward. I'm glad most fans are patient and can see the long view. It's obvious who don't or can't.

 

[ozpensfan]

Honestly - i dont think this is so much tanking, more so the fact that this team is realistically only 2 years into a rebuild and to make it even more interesting is the rapid turnaround of forwards in only 6 months which of course takes time.

When the best players on your team are new they'll take time to get their wheels going.

ROR is coming to a team where for now, he is expected to be the man where as before he could blend in with Mackinnon/Stastny/Duschene/Landerskog and i think hes doing a great job being the 1C

Ristolainen is the best Dman we have and is only what 21? He'll need time adjusting to top 2 minutes

The bottom / near bottom of the cellar times arent over yet - As long as the young core get experience this year thats the main thing. Look @ Pittsburgh, even with Fluery, Whitney, Malkin and Crosby they still picked 3rd overall and took Staal.

Chances are Sabres will be picking top 1-5 this year and top 10 next year.

 

[PunchImlach is Alive]

Honestly - i dont think this is so much tanking, more so the fact that this team is realistically only 2 years into a rebuild and to make it even more interesting is the rapid turnaround of forwards in only 6 months which of course takes time.

When the best players on your team are new they'll take time to get their wheels going.

ROR is coming to a team where for now, he is expected to be the man where as before he could blend in with Mackinnon/Stastny/Duschene/Landerskog and i think hes doing a great job being the 1C

Ristolainen is the best Dman we have and is only what 21? He'll need time adjusting to top 2 minutes

The bottom / near bottom of the cellar times arent over yet - As long as the young core get experience this year thats the main thing. Look @ Pittsburgh, even with Fluery, Whitney, Malkin and Crosby they still picked 3rd overall and took Staal.

Chances are Sabres will be picking top 1-5 this year and top 10 next year.

Totally agree.

Also, how does one in Western Australia as a "pensfan" become a Buffalo person? Doesn't really make a difference. Just curious.

 

[slip]

Chances are Sabres will be picking top 1-5 this year and top 10 next year.

That would be a disaster.

The reasoning behind getting ROR and Kane was to accelerate this process. Probably a top 10 pick this year, followed by a playoff push the next.

 

[ozpensfan]

Totally agree.

Also, how does one in Western Australia as a "pensfan" become a Buffalo person? Doesn't really make a difference. Just curious.

Thats a long story, Basically always followed Pittsburgh (as best as i could) Since 1993 - then kind of got sucked into the Buffalo underdog team of the late 90's while watching the 1/2 hour weekly hockey show NHL powerweek which is all we got in Australia. Fast forward 7 years of basically no TV show and only 2 random games a week (which was usually a Pens or a Sabres game) which was shown through foxtel.

Now we have remotley OK internet speeds and Gamecenter so I think i've missed less then 10 sabres games in 3 years so, always had a soft spot for the Sabres and really want them to do well.

 

[ZZamboni]

That would be a disaster.

The reasoning behind getting ROR and Kane was to accelerate this process. Probably a top 10 pick this year, followed by a playoff push the next.

Yea, I'm thinking the same timeframe. And to be clear ... To me ... A "playoff push" is a team that barely makes it in. Not just a team that tries to get in. Hell, almost every team every year try to make it in.

 

[ozpensfan]

slip;108605227]That wouled be a disaster.

The reasoning behind getting ROR and Kane was to accelerate this process. Probably a top 10 pick this year, followed by a playoff push the next.[/QUOTE]

They are very nice Pieces s but they aren't able to help a franchise out in all areas and there are to many holes right now. Most teams that are rebuilding get 3 years of solid can't miss prospects.

Chicago had toews and kane, Tampa had stamkos Hedman druin etc. All these teams had a good supporting cast like the sabres but It is what it is. Sabres just aren't that good yet and there's nothing wrong with that. Theyll be drafting in top 5 this year at least