The issue of openly rooting for the tank

[haseoke39]

Isn't it pretty obvious that the guys you allude to - those who won't be here when we're "relevant again" - are here to better the atmosphere for those who WILL be here when we're relevant again? And do you see that as a drawback? You really consider that poor asset management? I'd think it's the exact opposite if it works

I see the long-term benefit of a better atmosphere in the midst of a losing season as being outweighed by the difference between a generational player and a top 6er who may even be redundant with what we already have. That better atmosphere is temporary and impossible to quantify or compare to actual players. I guarantee no one on Colorado is worried now about the poor atmosphere on the team in 2012.

I understand Gionta and Gorges are here to teach guys "the right way to play," but what I'm saying is, that's the extent of the effect I want from them: good veteran leadership that doesn't put any more W's on the board due to its own skill and contributions. I want them to lead behind the scenes, help these kids develop, while still failing to change the team's record.

The games that those guys win on their own strengths mean nothing for us long term.

 

[haseoke39]

Plus Moulson, Gionta, Stewart, Gorges, Mezaros, Benoit and minus Leino, D'Agostini, Konopka, McBain, Tallinder, checked out Ehrhoff. And a fresh start.

The roster that finished the season is almost nothing the same.

I spoke about that earlier in the same post, Stokes. You and I are not of different minds on this.

 

[stokes84]

I spoke about that earlier in the same post, Stokes. You and I are not of different minds on this.

Sorry, short attention span.

 

[Djp]

Getting McDavid (Or Eichel) would be nice... however I think the Sabres are in the lucky position that they can build a contender without. Add two top-15 picks, another 15-30 plus who knows what else from future trades & IMO the team can be a powerhouse even without the so called franchise player. Reinhart is not a bad alternative.

In some ways, I'd really like to see some instant success with the current group of 'vets' i.e. Gionta/Moulson etc. along with the kids - that said, I'd hardly be upset if they did get either of the big two either.

I agree the team is pretty loaded right now and 2015 just tops it off. If they don't get McEichel they will be fine.

This deadline should be the last deadline dump for a few yeas to come. Sure there will be player for player trades or because of their depth they may trade a decent young player for future pick/prospect.

The next window is around the 2017/18 season when Ennis, hodgson, and Myers are in their 2nd to last year and buffalo has farm talent to replace them

Articles will be written on what buffalo foes between 2012-1215 in terms of gutting and rebuilding a team.

 

[ZeroPT*]

Okay, and reading this, my follow-up is:

are you disappointed if that doesn't happen exactly? are there degrees of success at which you'd be content? or is it last place or bust for you in terms of gauging the season at hand

No I wouldn't be upset at all. If the kids develop and push us onward and we become a playoff contender, I'd love that. The likelihood of that happening though, is low.

As ZZamboni said, I want this team to go 82-0. Watching the sabres lose last year was painful for me (and all of us I'm sure) but I understand it's needed and I understand the process.

5 steps back, 10 steps forward.

 

[hizzoner]

For me the ideal scenario is to win the season series with the Leafs, be exciting while losing a lot of close games at home, then just failing to get out of last place! I do not and cannot cheer for a loss while at the game. With a defensive approach and a lot of vets on our team we will do better than if we played firewagon hockey with a lot of young guys. So I expect a lot of tight checking games with more wins than tanker fans will be comfortable with.

 

[VaporTrail]

I had a hard time with it at first like a year or so ago but now I am fully rooting for us to lose as many games as possible...I'm writing the whole season off...I will probably hardly watch any games just like I hardly watched any last year....

Enough fooling around...Let's complete the tank, and start to turn things around in 2015-16 hopefully....It's only one more year of hoping we lose...In some kind of sick way I actually gain satisfaction knowing we lost....It doesn't sound right but it's the truth...I'll get pissed if we get on some kind of winning streak, lol.

 

[Prospector74]

I'm rooting for them to win the games I watch, won't be disappointed when/if they lose, and ultimately just want our team to be seen as hard working and respected with acknowledgement from others that we are on the right track. I expect us to finish last based on talent remaining/acquired but won't nash my teeth if they pull out of last. If Tim really wants last he will ship pending UFA's early on versus resigning them/holding to the deadline if we go on an early run.

Edit: also want improvement from the kids and will root/look for that.

 

[Push Dr Tracksuit]

Sitting underneath a Sabres flag, surrounded by the jerseys hanging from my walls, between the blue and gold pennants, with a cardboard Cup ripped from a Moulson Canadian display watching over my shoulder I've actively cheered for losses for 2 straight seasons. Before each game I pour a double gulp sized cup of boxed Franzia Cab Sav, funnel it down, and shout for penalties and goals against. Every night I die a little more on the inside (not just because of the ****** wine). I don't want to win anymore, I want to see them slaughter their way through regular seasons. I want body counts. I want 100 point seasons to be expected. And I want parades, and experts to question if anyone can stop us. Article written about the Sabre Method of championship building. I'm so sick and disgusted of being last and of spinning our wheels in 9th place. When other fans come in and talk about how great our prospect pool is I want to scream. Do I want us to lose? Every damn game until it's mathematically impossible for us to finish 29th, because I don't ever want to be in this position again. I don't want to be here, I don't want to be where Carolina is, I don't want to be where Toronto is or Philly or Montreal or the Rangers. I want to be walking down the stairs to the main floor at First Niagra Center surrounded by screaming and singing fans in blue and gold spilling out onto the street and watching the sun come up wrapped in a Sabres flag planning my spot on the parade route. One more draft, one more hour of darkness before the sun comes back up, and then my friends the chase begins. Until then I'll fill my cup before every game and swallow down the bitterness, McEichel or bust!

 

[MayDayMayDay]

I think there are two big cultural issues going on in the world of Sabres Hockey right now. One is a crisis of authenticity, and the other is a crisis of elusiveness.

I think the underlying inquiry we all seem to be asking ourselves is, "If the goal is to win, does rooting for the team to lose right now make me any less authentic of a fan or supporter?" But we should ask ourselves if "rooting for them to lose" is what we're actually doing. We're in a very unique position right now. On any given night, there are two possible frames. If the boys win, they learn and grow as players from success. We as fans feel joy in the moment. If the boys lose, they learn and grow as players from failure. We as fans feel disappointment, but find solace in the prospect of growth as an organization in the form of a draft pick.

It's impossible to root for losing because we're in a win-win circumstance. And let's be real here, we all want the same thing: The Cup. That desire that burns inside ALL of us and that draws us to consume and be consumed by the experience that is Buffalo Sabres Hockey should be enough to stake our claim to our fannish authenticity in and of itself.

Which leads me to my next point. We're not just building a team. We're building a culture (Sabres Hockey Culture), including the norms, values, assumptions, and ethics. The end goal (The Stanley Cup) is going to be beautiful WHEN it happens. But let us not be so short-sighted as to ignore the value that can be found in the process of getting there. It WILL be murky, it WILL be nuanced, and it WILL be contentious. But above all, it WILL be temporary. We're so worried about expediting the rebuild (which sure, the desire to get to that ultimate goal can easily be attributed to that authenticity) that we run the risk of overlooking the simple fact that our frustrations and failures now will ultimately inform our ecstasy and joy later when the Blue and Gold are finally lifting the Cup.

 

[Bps21*]

I want the team to be the best they can be and win a cup. I believe the way to get there is to be the worst team in the league for a while. Acquiring the extra picks for these years may make our window in the cellar only last year and this. I'm not abandoning the plan halfway through...middling things is why we are never that good. Especially the year where the prizes for losing are this good.

I think we all have the same end goal. For this team to be great. I happen to believe in the way that gets you the best team. Others I guess believe in...I don't know...magic? Because I promise you we don't have enough right now. Enough to go back to playoffs and sometimes a round...maybe. But I'm done with all of that.

Let's go ask Chicago and Pitt if they don't like their cups because of how they acquired them. Let's pop into colorado a forum and ask them if they are disgusted with their roster. Or let's just be honest adults about this... The best thing you can be is first. The second best is last. That's the way it is and we've spent more time than anyone in the middle where it's the worst.

 

[CatsforReinhart]

I guess in simpler terms: are you rooting for us to win games? Or are you hoping we suck and lose most of them?

I cant help but root for the sabres when it comes to individual games or even plays but in the end I hope they finish last place. Lets build this team right.

 

[Bps21*]

When they are down multiple goals I root for the ufas to score one to up their value at the deadline. That's how far down the rabbit hole I am.

 

[SatanwasaSlovak]

Of course i root for them to win. Hate the fact that you get rewarded for having a lousy team.

 

[jBuds]

Of course i root for them to win. Hate the fact that you get rewarded for having a lousy team.

Parity would be tough to maintain if the lousy didn't receive something in return for being so, no?

 

[Rowley Birkin]

Even assuming most of the significant guys in the pipeline now pan out close to what they could be, I don't think the guys in the system now (most likely) win cups without a top end #1C leading them.

In what world isn't Reinhart a 'top end 1C". He's the nearest the Sabres have had to one since ever. It's like people have been brainwashed.... 'McEichel or Bust....' It would be nice to get one of them for sure, but I see the team being potentially great with or without.

Sabres have a prospect / young player group that all 29 other teams are envious of. Before the 2015 draft. They then add three, if not more top 30 picks to that.... powerhouse. With or without McD or Eichel.

 

[start winnin]

In what world isn't Reinhart a 'top end 1C". He's the nearest the Sabres have had to one since ever. It's like people have been brainwashed.... 'McEichel or Bust....' It would be nice to get one of them for sure, but I see the team being potentially great with or without.

Sabres have a prospect / young player group that all 29 other teams are envious of. Before the 2015 draft. They then add three, if not more top 30 picks to that.... powerhouse. With or without McD or Eichel.

Powerhouse if all our picks turn out nicely.

 

[JLewyB]

Powerhouse if all our picks turn out nicely.

all of our picks? We have more 1st and 2nd round picks than roster spots.

 

[start winnin]

We need Fasching, Compher, Armia, Baptiste, Reinhart, Zadorov, Ristolainen, McCabe, Pysyk, Grigs, etc to turn into star top 6 forwards/top 4 defenseman, which some elite players sprinkled in there.

That's what a powerhouse would look like anyway.

 

[Paxon]

Openly rooting for the tank? No, sir. Keep the hatch down for security.

 

[RobertR]

You can now just root for NYI to be the last team, and McEichel will still be yours.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

all of our picks? We have more 1st and 2nd round picks than roster spots.

True, but if they pan out, you can then package some of them together to grab a top line player from a team that's rebuilding. We could be the team throwing Larsson/Hackett/picks for the Pominville's of the world.

So if you end up with a logjam, package prospects with roster guys for upgrades.

 

[Paxon]

You can now just root for NYI to be the last team, and McEichel will still be yours.

Except that's pretty unlikely. They're closer to the 8th seed than finishing last in the league.

 

[ZeroPT*]

I'm not on the McEichel or bust train. Adding say a Barzal and a Zacha and a Werenski would be HUGE next year and definitely turn us into a strong contender.

McEichel would be awesome, but adding a Barzal or Konecny or Zacha along with two other high quality prospects would be massive and vault us into contention. I'm really liking what I'm seeing from Barzal.

 

[PlamsUnlimited]

At least 3 firsts. In this draft. Hnnnngh. Really want mceichel. But if we get barzal+... Still huge