Guess everyone shuffles out of Buffalo

[VintageHky]

Knew this day would come about.Who are the core group of players to build around if management doesn "t sign anyone.What heart does a team show when it's. mostly rentals?How can we have any good goalies when no one is around to play?

 

[coxy15]

Knew this day would come about.Who are the core group of players to build around if management doesn "t sign anyone.What heart does a team show when it's. mostly rentals?How can we have any good goalies when no one is around to play?

This is why the whole "TANK" thing really and truley
pisses me off.Sure whoever winds up last definately
gets one of the top two picks if not the #1 overall.So what
if there is nobody to go around him.This is why I have
always thought it's idiotic to be rewarded for sucking on
the ice.

 

[hextall27]

It really seems like Buffalo was just giving away assets in order to tank. They didn't even really get any value back.

 

[gobuffalo2331]

What they did was great. Got rid of people who were walking away two months from now for picks. Girgensons, Ennnis, Moulson are decent players to build around. Reinhart is coming up along with a bunch of other players. Plus a few decent 15-25 goal scores maybe this offseason. Or a trade for a star? I like what they did. Next year will probably be another playoff-less season one would think but the following year should be fun. It sure is funny how other teams are trying to out tank buffalo. A month ago buffalo had the last spot locked up, now Edmonton and Arizona is right there with Toronto closing in.

 

[tiger tiger]

Whether other fans like it or not, the best way to re-build a franchise is to tank for a few years. Being mediocre or a fringe playoff team is pretty much a slow cruel death to those fans.

It's worked for some teams: Chicago (Kane, Toews), Pittsburgh (Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, Staal)

And some just botch it up like Edm (Hall, RNH, Yaks), NYI (under Milbury)

The slow death teams are like CBJ, Wild who had one 1st overall pick and had success too early, and then ended up with lower and mid 1st round picks.

Unless you're like the Wings, where you can mine superstars out of the later rounds, or if you're like jarmo kekalainen who can scout gems, then pretty much the best bet is to tank.

 

[Tripredacus]

Don't worry, they'll still manage to screw something up. Just wait, they will go on a winning streak or something and end up with the 3rd overall pick.

 

[newfiecomicguy1]

The Leafs always fight for the playoffs and usually are the best team to not make the playoffs. This sucks for the fans and team. They get a decent pick but never the superstar, they are always buyers at the deadline trying to make it which usually means ufa rentals that walk and cost the team draft picks.

I think the Buffalo tank has merit. They have some young studs and they just need to bring them along slow and add a few nice FA to add some leadership. I wish the Leafs tank 5 or even 10 years ago. Worked for the Pens and Hawkes but so far haven't for Oilers or Caps.

 

[timber09]

I actually don't understand why anyone in Buffalo is upset over what they have done in the last few weeks. Anyone who says "tank" is just blaming the Sabres for cleaning house and doing what they need to do to build a winner. Everyone will say they are trying to get the #1 pick (and I am sure that wouldn't make anyone there mad) but they were headed for a top three pick regardless and there are three bonafide studs sitting there and ready.

So they unloaded a bunch of UFAs and a guy that clearly needed a change of scenery (Myers) and picked up a chunk of picks, a damn good dman, and (potentially) a high end forward. Not bad in my mind.

They have a pretty strong core both at forward and defense with a lot of real good young players - could obviously use a goaltender but they have all kinds of cap space and if Tim Murray stays this aggressive, I would expect him to be pretty busy leading up to the draft as well. We shall see.

At the end of the day, I think they are in much better shape now than they were a couple years ago when they signed a bunch of overpriced free agents that led them to the toilet - Dallas is on that path right now.

 

[tiger tiger]

Let's not forget one of the biggest tank success stories. Pens purposefully blowing the last handful of games in that year, so that they could draft Mario Lemieux. NJ gets the consolation prize and draft Kirk Muller.

Without Mario, the team is done. Pens fold or move. The 2 cups never come and Crosby and Malkin never play together to lift up a 3rd cup.

I think fans are just sore from watching Edm get the top picks, and then just mismanage them.

 

[tiger tiger]

now back to the OP.

I like what Buffalo has done. They've done a good job of re-building and getting full value for assets.

Reinhart, Ristolainen, Zadorov, Girgensons, Kane, and Bogosian are all solid pieces to build around. Add 2 first round picks and an early 2nd this year, and the re-build could almost be done in 2 years. 3 years ago, Buffalo drafted #12 (Grigorenko) and #14 (Girgensons), and the year before they made the playoffs.

They got an awesome deal for Vanek, and Moulson, who resigned with them!

And to be realistic, Moulson, Ennis, Gionta, Foligno and even Hodgson is not the future of the team.