Buffalo Sabres and NHL 2021-2022

[4merper4mer]

Instead of all this waiting for Eichel and possibly getting multiple firsts, a decent player and a decent prospect…..how about Eichel and Skinner for one first?  Goff > Skinner.

[shrader]

Yes, attendance is going to be low this year, but why do people go to preseason games?  Even if I was forced to buy the tickets as a season ticket holder, I'd still skip those games just so I wouldn't have to pay for parking and any concessions.

[Draconator]

That shootout last night was enjoyable. Buffalo should have been done at the end of round two after falling behind 2-0. For them to take it to 9 rounds was impressive.

[BillsFan4]

On 10/6/2021 at 7:32 AM, 4merper4mer said:

Instead of all this waiting for Eichel and possibly getting multiple firsts, a decent player and a decent prospect…..how about Eichel and Skinner for one first?  Goff > Skinner.

But why tank the value of your most valuable asset even more than the injury already has?

 

The Sabres are just barely above the cap floor right now, and that’s WITH Eichel’s deal on the books. Cap space is the absolute least of their concerns.

 

If they were a competitive team near the cap ceiling it would be different. 

But it will likely be years before cap space is an issue.
 

It’s kind of an unrealistic idea anyway. Basically no team in the NHL can afford to take on both Eichel and Skinner’s cap hits. They’d probably have to send at least $10+ million in cap back in the trade. So you’d be talking about most likely taking back bad contracts from other teams (players as useless as skinner, or even more useless).

 

Why further tank the value of our most valuable asset and take other team’s bad contracts to get rid of a bad contract that’s not even creating issues for the Sabres?

 

I’d much rather get max value for Eichel, even if that means taking back a bad contract in the trade.

[BillsFan4]

12 hours ago, Draconator said:

That shootout last night was enjoyable. Buffalo should have been done at the end of round two after falling behind 2-0. For them to take it to 9 rounds was impressive.

Yeah it was fun. With the way they came back from that 2-0 shootout deficit it kind of made up for blowing a 3-1 lead in the 3rd and letting them tie the game with less than a minute left.

 

 

They’ve shown some fight this preseason. 

[4merper4mer]

9 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

But why tank the value of your most valuable asset even more than the injury already has?

 

The Sabres are just barely above the cap floor right now, and that’s WITH Eichel’s deal on the books. Cap space is the absolute least of their concerns.

 

If they were a competitive team near the cap ceiling it would be different. 

But it will likely be years before cap space is an issue.
 

It’s kind of an unrealistic idea anyway. Basically no team in the NHL can afford to take on both Eichel and Skinner’s cap hits. They’d probably have to send at least $10+ million in cap back in the trade. So you’d be talking about most likely taking back bad contracts from other teams (players as useless as skinner, or even more useless).

 

Why further tank the value of our most valuable asset and take other team’s bad contracts to get rid of a bad contract that’s not even creating issues for the Sabres?

 

I’d much rather get max value for Eichel, even if that means taking back a bad contract in the trade.

You’re probably right.  Good points.  It’s just the thought of getting rid of Skinner is soooooooo attractive.

[Nextmanup]

This coming season has a shot at being the new all-time LOW in franchise history.

 

It's been dead rock bottom several times in recent years, yet I think we might find a new low this year.

 

We should be a terrible team.

 

 

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

3 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

This coming season has a shot at being the new all-time LOW in franchise history. It's been dead rock bottom several times in recent years, yet I think we might find a new low this year.

 

[The Jokeman]

Maybe if we stop going to games the NHL will gift us a number 1 pick like they did with the Devils especially with it looking like Eichel is good as gone. 

[The Jokeman]

22 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

But why tank the value of your most valuable asset even more than the injury already has?

 

The Sabres are just barely above the cap floor right now, and that’s WITH Eichel’s deal on the books. Cap space is the absolute least of their concerns.

 

If they were a competitive team near the cap ceiling it would be different. 

But it will likely be years before cap space is an issue.
 

It’s kind of an unrealistic idea anyway. Basically no team in the NHL can afford to take on both Eichel and Skinner’s cap hits. They’d probably have to send at least $10+ million in cap back in the trade. So you’d be talking about most likely taking back bad contracts from other teams (players as useless as skinner, or even more useless).

 

Why further tank the value of our most valuable asset and take other team’s bad contracts to get rid of a bad contract that’s not even creating issues for the Sabres?

 

I’d much rather get max value for Eichel, even if that means taking back a bad contract in the trade.

As long as it's not Okposo bad. 

[Jauronimo]

8 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

This coming season has a shot at being the new all-time LOW in franchise history.

 

It's been dead rock bottom several times in recent years, yet I think we might find a new low this year.

 

We should be a terrible team.

 

 

Past years have all had expectations of competing for the playoffs.  This year is all about seeing if the young guys may pan out.  There are zero expectations this year other than being a bottom feeder which should make a last place finish a little more palatable.

[ChevyVanMiller]

Spot on...

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

Heard from Key Bank Center:

"What say we remarket 'the Sabrejak'?!  That will get the fans behind us!"

[Nextmanup]

On 10/9/2021 at 9:27 AM, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

Heard from Key Bank Center:

"What say we remarket 'the Sabrejak'?!  That will get the fans behind us!"

Thanks for posting that!  I had that exact jacket, probably some time around 1980 as far as I can recall.

 

A lot of us kids running around WNY at that time had that thing.  It was pretty junky too! 

 

LOL

 

 

[shrader]

My mom still has a Sabrejak stored away in a closet.  I'll have to check that out at some point to see what condition it is in.

[BillsFan4]

First sabres game is tomorrow night and I’m not really even excited. Chances are that I’ll watch Thursday night football. I’m sure I’ll at least check in on the Sabres game though. Maybe watch it until the football game comes on.

 

Its just so hard to get interested in this team when I look at the roster they are icing. But maybe (hopefully) they’ll be better than I think. 

 

I hate what this team has done to my love of hockey. I used to follow the Sabres so closely. I’d watch every preseason + regular season game, every coach + player interview, follow all of our prospects in other leagues, go to a bunch of games every year, etc. Now I hardly pay attention to the Sabres at all. I think I watched a period and a half of preseason and that was only because I was flipping through the channels and saw it on. I don’t even have their schedule up on my fridge this year.

[May Day 10]

18 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

First sabres game is tomorrow night and I’m not really even excited. Chances are that I’ll watch Thursday night football. I’m sure I’ll at least check in on the Sabres game though. Maybe watch it until the football game comes on.

 

Its just so hard to get interested in this team when I look at the roster they are icing. But maybe (hopefully) they’ll be better than I think. 

 

I hate what this team has done to my love of hockey. I used to follow the Sabres so closely. I’d watch every preseason + regular season game, every coach + player interview, follow all of our prospects in other leagues, go to a bunch of games every year, etc. Now I hardly pay attention to the Sabres at all. I think I watched a period and a half of preseason and that was only because I was flipping through the channels and saw it on. I don’t even have their schedule up on my fridge this year.

 

This.  They have absolutely killed this franchise.  Worse-yet, it is ongoing.  

 

I went from watching about 98% of their action over about 30 years to watching perhaps a full 60 minutes combined last year.  I have no urge/desire to watch them at all this season either. I was a 20-year STH too.  

 

It is amazing at the contrast between the Bills and Sabres with the same exact ownership. They have made every single wrong decision when it comes to the Sabres.  It is time they seek help (Kevyn Adams is a cruel joke as a General manager, especially with such a gargantuan lift).

[Nextmanup]

2 hours ago, May Day 10 said:

 

This.  They have absolutely killed this franchise.  Worse-yet, it is ongoing.  

 

I went from watching about 98% of their action over about 30 years to watching perhaps a full 60 minutes combined last year.  I have no urge/desire to watch them at all this season either. I was a 20-year STH too.  

 

It is amazing at the contrast between the Bills and Sabres with the same exact ownership. They have made every single wrong decision when it comes to the Sabres.  It is time they seek help (Kevyn Adams is a cruel joke as a General manager, especially with such a gargantuan lift).

We are likely to be the worst team in the league again this year.

 

We have enormous money under the cap to spend, but have done nothing to really improve the team.

The Eichel situation has turned into a nightmare of ineptitude.  

 

Note how this organization has managed to LOSE AN ENTIRE YEAR based on the way they have handled things.

 

We are not going to get Jack's (healed) services this year, nor are we going to enjoy the boatload of talent we supposedly should have gotten for him in a trade.

 

Instead, we just sit out a year waiting for that saga to unfold.

 

So let's review: 2 best players on team (Reinhart/Eichel) GONE.

 

Replacements:  Not much of anything

 

Young prospects: nothing to get excited about; the guys that might be special are YEARS away right now.

 

I guess you can watch Dahlin in his 4th year, though he's never going to be the generational stud he was projected to be anyway.

 

I continue to hold out hope that Pegula sells the team.

 

 

[May Day 10]

28 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

 

 

I continue to hold out hope that Pegula sells the team.

 

 

 

It is honestly the only hope at this point, other than an epiphany and they decide to bring someone in (with experience and credibility), grant them autonomy and budget to build the team from the top down, and restore credibility (which is at zero) as well as relevance (which will be at zero once they trade Eichel).

 

I really don't understand what the goal and end-game for this current path.  They are going to run Dahlin through misery right to his UFA year just like these previous guys.  Nobody worth anything is going to voluntarily sign here, as I'm sure their dealings with Eichel carries a very negative perception within the NHLPA.  They really lack any top/high-end prospects other than Dahlin, and maybe Power really.  Cozens is all well and good, but I would trade him for many teams' top prospects without thinking. 

I also have zero faith in their ability to develop anybody.  Their development staff is just their former loser players who worked in Harbor Center.

[QCity]

13 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

We are likely to be the worst team in the league again this year.

 

 

Likely? We are entering this season with the worst goaltending tandem in franchise history.