The most desolate franchise

[WingsMJN2965]

Detroit. There just isn’t much currently there, and as we’ve seen, just being terrible is no guarantee you’ll get a franchise player anymore.

Larkin/Mantha/Zadina/Bertuzzi/Fabbri/Seider/Hronek all under 25, with a strong possibility to add Lafreniere, Byfield, or Stutzle seems like a pretty good start to me.

Detroit's primary issue this year has been their depth. Once everybody figured out the team was garbage after the Larkin/Mantha/Bertuzzi line, they attacked it. By the time Fabbri came along and we had a halfway respectable second line, Mantha went down, and it's been a constant tradeoff of injuries since then.

Now take the current roster and add three top 10 picks plus a returning DeKeyser, and they're by no means a contender, but undoubtedly a much better team.

Think something along the lines of:

Mantha - Larkin - Bertuzzi
Fabbri - Byfield - Zadina
Rasmussen - Filppula - Athanasiou

And we're a hell of a lot better off than we've been entertaining Helm and Glendening on our top two lines. Or our current 2nd PP unit, which, last game, featured Nielsen, Erne, Filppula, Daley, and Green...

The big things Yzerman should be looking at during the offseason, if he wants to be more competitive, are:

1. Find a Top 4 LHD.
2. If they score on Lafreniere, find a #2C.

 

[WingsFan95]

I'm going to a lot of Sens games this year having moved into the region and it's a great atmosphere despite the losing (and yes a lot more empty seats but people who do go pay less).

This is a team that a few years ago lost in OT of a Game 7 in the Conference Final (I went to Game 5). This is a team that made the Cup Final thirteen years ago and made 11 consecutive playoffs and 13 consecutive winning seasons. Yeah I don't buy that as desolation.

It's the Coyotes or Panthers. Few playoff appearances, Panthers haven't won a series in 24 years and Coyotes have won 2 in their existence in the area all in one season.

 

[Nemesis Prime]

Arizona is a complete shit show.

Two playoff series wins in 20 something years, both in the same year. Nothing in their prospect pool says future winners. Not to mention the Hall trade, and are playing themselves out of a playoff position.

If that was any other team they'd have been long gone.

 

[Winston Wolf]

It's amazing to me that the Devils haven't been named once in this thread, yet the Sabres (and others) are mentioned numerous times. I'd trade every player on the Devils' reserve list for Eichel and Dahlin. Hell, I'd consider trading all of those players for either Eichel or Dahlin, individually. I get that the Sabres have been poorly managed and constructed, but at the end of the day, they still have two very young guys that are potential Hall of Famers and I don't exactly throw that designation around lightly.

I still have high hopes for Hughes, but Hischier might arguably be their most valuable asset and he's not even looking like a surefire first liner, let alone a franchise player at this point. I'm not sure there's too many franchises' most valuable asset you could say that about and it's not like they have depth at the pro levels or their prospect pool, either. Not to mention that most teams in this realm were expected to suck this season; meanwhile, many named the Devils as darkhorse playoff contenders with a bright future.

I'm just not sure how everyone is sleeping on them being arguably the most desolate franchise at the moment.

 

[Imnotagoodposter]

It's amazing to me that the Devils haven't been named once in this thread, yet the Sabres (and others) are mentioned numerous times. I'd trade every player on the Devils' reserve list for Eichel and Dahlin. Hell, I'd consider trading all of those players for either Eichel or Dahlin, individually. I get that the Sabres have been poorly managed and constructed, but at the end of the day, they still have two very young guys that are potential Hall of Famers and I don't exactly throw that designation around lightly.

I still have high hopes for Hughes, but Hischier might arguably be their most valuable asset and he's not even looking like a surefire first liner, let alone a franchise player at this point. I'm not sure there's too many franchises' most valuable asset you could say that about and it's not like they have depth at the pro levels or their prospect pool, either. Not to mention that most teams in this realm were expected to suck this season; meanwhile, many named the Devils as darkhorse playoff contenders with a bright future.

I'm just not sure how everyone is sleeping on them being arguably the most desolate franchise at the moment.

The Devils were a near-dynasty in most of our lives, you might be too young. The Sabres have never done anything of note.

 

[BB79]

Arizona is a complete **** show.

Two playoff series wins in 20 something years, both in the same year. Nothing in their prospect pool says future winners. Not to mention the Hall trade, and are playing themselves out of a playoff position.

If that was any other team they'd have been long gone.

They should have never moved out of downtown Phoenix and into Glendale. Big mistake.

 

[Marner]

Ottawa isn’t really in that bad shape, Thachuk, chabot, white,brannstorm, 2 high picks this year not bad. Only problem here is ownership.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

Ottawa isn’t really in that bad shape, Thachuk, chabot, white,brannstorm, 2 high picks this year not bad. Only problem here is ownership.

Yeah, Ottawa's big problem is, will Melnyk finally open his checkbook when those guys come up for negotiation.

They're lucking out and SJS is sucking, allowing them to recover that 1st they gave up last year. Winning a lottery pick with SJS's pick would be huge.

 

[Marner]

Yeah, Ottawa's big problem is, will Melnyk finally open his checkbook when those guys come up for negotiation.

They're lucking out and SJS is sucking, allowing them to recover that 1st they gave up last year. Winning a lottery pick with SJS's pick would be huge.

He will spend to some extent, see chabot for example. Ottawa has already had some really good teams with Melnyk as owner. He just needs to step back a bit. They definitely are not in the worst shape Rn.

 

[Fixxer]

Nordiques fans...

 

[tsujimoto74]

Any answer that isn't Buffalo is wrong. Don't have anyone outside of Eichel, Reinhart, and Dahlin. Don't have many good prospects and have mismanaged the ones they do have thus far. What they do have is a ton of bad contracts.

Eichel + Dahlin is an incredible foundation. There are at least a handful of franchises with teams that are currently just as bad or worse and with far, far less to build on.

 

[GoBuds14]

Montreal isn't hopeless, they have some good pieces and prospects, just nothing elite or Blue-Chip (Romanov looks good, Caufield is tiny and was a ghost in the WJC, I need to see more). I keep hearing Suzuki is the future #1 C. He's on Pace for 50 points as his Draft +3 year, this does not guarantee by any stretch to be a bonafide #1 C. That being said, Romanov, KK, Caufield and Suzuki offer a nice future, but it seems to me that they need to somehow draft an elite talent, particularly on forward , which they haven't had for years now. This time last year they appeared directionless, I actually think they have some positivity to look forward too.

 

[barbu]

I would go with the organisations that seem to have negative value when it comes to drafting and development:

Florida
Buffalo
Arizona
Montreal
Edmonton

And of course Ottawa cause Melnyk.

 

[b in vancouver]

Outside of Boston and Tampa, the whole Atlantic division looks lost at sea.

Montreal is sad.
Ottawa is in a deep dark tunnel.
Buffalo incredibly frustrating.
Detroit is bad.

even the two o.k. teams
Florida has to actually prove something before you can say there's a future as we've seen this show before
And Toronto, despite the hype and the paycheques, are going to have to make some tough decisions this summer, especially if they miss the playoffs.

 

[Gabrielor]

Outside of Boston and Tampa, the whole Atlantic division looks lost at sea.

Montreal is sad.
Ottawa is in a deep dark tunnel.
Buffalo incredibly frustrating.
Detroit is bad.

even the two o.k. teams
Florida has to actually prove something before you can say there's a future as we've seen this show before
And Toronto, despite the hype and the paycheques, are going to have to make some tough decisions this summer, especially if they miss the playoffs.

Good description.

 

[b in vancouver]

Good description.

Tough franchise on their fans. I remember how expectations were building a few years ago and you guys let yourselves get excited and you're still saddled with this. Every time The Sabres show a glimmer of hope it's like they say 'Nope, enough of that.' and do a 180. Would drive me demented.
Best Buy must make a killing in northern New York with all the t.v. screens that have been broken.

 

[Gabrielor]

Tough franchise on their fans. I remember how expectations were building a few years ago and you guys let yourselves get excited and you're still saddled with this. Every time The Sabres show a glimmer of hope it's like they say 'Nope, enough of that.' and do a 180. Would drive me demented.
Best Buy must make a killing in northern New York with all the t.v. screens that have been broken.

You’ll find anger, for sure, but given years served, the silent majority is definitely at depression and apathy. Less broken screens, more tv’s turned off. Which is definitely worse.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Outside of Boston and Tampa, the whole Atlantic division looks lost at sea.

Montreal is sad.
Ottawa is in a deep dark tunnel.
Buffalo incredibly frustrating.
Detroit is bad.

even the two o.k. teams
Florida has to actually prove something before you can say there's a future as we've seen this show before
And Toronto, despite the hype and the paycheques, are going to have to make some tough decisions this summer, especially if they miss the playoffs.

People say that every summer about Toronto and every summer and every summer, and every summer they get around it.

They should have an easier time this summer with no big contracts to sign

 

[Hockeyholic]

Arizona is a complete **** show.

Two playoff series wins in 20 something years, both in the same year. Nothing in their prospect pool says future winners. Not to mention the Hall trade, and are playing themselves out of a playoff position.

If that was any other team they'd have been long gone.

Let's not forget the arena issue.

 

[tucker3434]

Steve Y just got there, their rebuild is just being started. Holland if remember correctly really wanted to keep pushing for playoffs so there not in worst state

Larkin/Mantha/Zadina/Bertuzzi/Fabbri/Seider/Hronek all under 25, with a strong possibility to add Lafreniere, Byfield, or Stutzle seems like a pretty good start to me.

Detroit's primary issue this year has been their depth. Once everybody figured out the team was garbage after the Larkin/Mantha/Bertuzzi line, they attacked it. By the time Fabbri came along and we had a halfway respectable second line, Mantha went down, and it's been a constant tradeoff of injuries since then.

Now take the current roster and add three top 10 picks plus a returning DeKeyser, and they're by no means a contender, but undoubtedly a much better team.

Think something along the lines of:

Mantha - Larkin - Bertuzzi
Fabbri - Byfield - Zadina
Rasmussen - Filppula - Athanasiou

And we're a hell of a lot better off than we've been entertaining Helm and Glendening on our top two lines. Or our current 2nd PP unit, which, last game, featured Nielsen, Erne, Filppula, Daley, and Green...

The big things Yzerman should be looking at during the offseason, if he wants to be more competitive, are:

1. Find a Top 4 LHD.
2. If they score on Lafreniere, find a #2C.

It’s... fine. It just doesn’t really impress me, and that’s including Byfield which is statistically unlikely. The likely pick is 4th and another very good, but not amazing, prospect. If they end up with a team full of Dylan Larkin’s, they’ll cap out as a good bubble team. Until they actually have the rights to a superstar-potential guy, I’m going to have them pretty low on the list. Despite the fact that Buffalo and Edmonton seem to be spinning their wheels, I like the odds of them solving their depth problem before Detroit solves its franchise player problem.

There are also some teams like Ottawa and Minnesota in the running as well. An argument could be made for any of them.

 

[b in vancouver]

People say that every summer about Toronto and every summer and every summer, and every summer they get around it.

They should have an easier time this summer with no big contracts to sign

But it has happened. They've ripped apart their roster more than any team in the league durning The Cap era. Even this past summer you jettisoned Marleau and Kadri. Honestly, how many players have even played a half dozen years on The Leafs? Reilly, Kadri, Kessel I think had 6, - but then you're back to guys like Sundin and Kaberle. That's massive turnover.
Every summer fans and pundits talk about how great The Leafs future is but it hasn't panned out. The team has been treading water for 20 years - and for me it looks more like rinse'n'repeat. A few good players surrounded by a lot of - meh.

 

[b in vancouver]

You’ll find anger, for sure, but given years served, the silent majority is definitely at depression and apathy. Less broken screens, more tv’s turned off. Which is definitely worse.

I get that. It sucks more. I figured you guys were probably at that place but then I think about the winning streaks and Eichel and Dahlin, etc. and wouldn't blame y'all for buying in again. 'frustrating' really sums it up.

I consistently bring up that I'm a Vikings fan in these type of conversations. Most every Vike fan I know has moved to morbid curiousity - watching only to see the oncoming car crash that we all know is coming. Definitely a lot of nihilism thrown in there for good measure.

 

[LetsGoBLUES91]

I am a Sens fan and threw out the fact that I thought they were in really rough shape. One poster said Ottawa is far more than I thought. It made me think, what franchise is in the worst shape? I still think us in Ottawa because we got nothing on the roster and the pipeline is poor. But what other franchises are in the deep freeze?

Recently, no doubt. Going forward? Not even close. Tkachuk and Chabot are elite. A pretty decent prospect pool, and 2 top 10 picks (maybe even top 5) in this draft.

I mean look at San Jose. Old. Terrible prospect pool. Not good. And they gave you their first rounder. They also have some contracts that will be tough to shed.

Anaheim. Detroit. San Jose. I'm not a Canadiens believer. Winnipeg's window may be closing. Those are just a few off the top of my head. Vegas will be down there soon. New Jersey.

 

[Red Stanley]

It’s... fine. It just doesn’t really impress me, and that’s including Byfield which is statistically unlikely. The likely pick is 4th and another very good, but not amazing, prospect. If they end up with a team full of Dylan Larkin’s, they’ll cap out as a good bubble team. Until they actually have the rights to a superstar-potential guy, I’m going to have them pretty low on the list. Despite the fact that Buffalo and Edmonton seem to be spinning their wheels, I like the odds of them solving their depth problem before Detroit solves its franchise player problem.

There are also some teams like Ottawa and Minnesota in the running as well. An argument could be made for any of them.

A team full of Dylan Larkins = unprecedented quality depth that would stomp the league. Methinks you haven't watched Dylan play all that much.

 

[Guttersniped]

Prospect Report: Arthur Kaliyev

Passing on Kaliyev is going to end up being an even more catastrophic mistake than the ROR trade.

Can’t argue with this, it takes years, if not decades, to overcome missing on the 31st pick in one draft. If Shane Pinto and Bobby Brink become top line talent while future superstar Arthur Kaliyev dominates the NHL than every Sabres fan should probably just commit suicide. No point of going on really, they should just give up on life.