[News] Islanders will keep 2014 1st round pick

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by theoforever

People laugh at Oil for tanking, well, Sabres have just rewritten that book, a monumental tank job.

Not sure how this is true. It's called re-building.

Fire Coach and GM, check.

Hire competent new management, check.

Trade pending UFA's for picks and prospects, check.

It's not like we've been horri-bad for most of a decade. It's been one year. And the off-season hasn't even happened yet.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by theoforever

People laugh at Oil for tanking, well, Sabres have just rewritten that book, a monumental tank job.

We'll have to judge that if/when they hit the 7 year mark. Make that 8 years, greasers are sure to suck next year too.

[theoforever]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Not sure how this is true. It's called re-building.

Fire Coach and GM, check.

Hire competent new management, check.

Trade pending UFA's for picks and prospects, check.

It's not like we've been horri-bad for most of a decade. It's been one year. And the off-season hasn't even happened yet.

I thought I gave Sabres all the credit.
Last place next year locked. Most likely the following year as well.
52 points in the weak east, excellent job.
Even Oilers could not do that.
Flames are doing it all wrong.

Yeah, Sabres are rebuilding using the oiler model.
Just follow the blueprint to building something special.

[Hackey]

Definitely the smart choice. I expect the Islanders to be better next year and as it has been said it would send a terrible message to the fans.

[Point Blank]

Originally Posted by theoforever

People laugh at Oil for tanking, well, Sabres have just rewritten that book, a monumental tank job.

I don't think it's fair to say that just yet. It's not like the Sabres have drafted 1st overall 3 times in a row with their own pick...yet.

They've traded a lot of their pending UFAs for picks, which is fair for a rebuild.

[theoforever]

Originally Posted by Point Blank

I don't think it's fair to say that just yet. It's not like the Sabres have drafted 1st overall 3 times in a row with their own pick...yet.

They've traded a lot of their pending UFAs for picks, which is fair for a rebuild.

Don't worry they will.
Sabres have not bottomed out yet.
A 48 point season in 2014/15 is a possibility.
Following season 25% improvement would still give them last place at 60 points.
Add 2 more years and they are in the playoffs.
Well, if things go right.
I bet Oil thought so too.

[OutOfTheCube]

The weird paragraph structure and wording makes me think you're writing some kind of poetry?

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

The weird paragraph structure and wording makes me think you're writing some kind of poetry?

Remember back when
people posted in haiku?
It was annoying.

[theoforever]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

The weird paragraph structure and wording makes me think you're writing some kind of poetry?

Sort of having fun. Writing on the phone, so don't know where the lines/paragraphs start and end.

[BigTuna]

Good call. They'll be better next season.

[BigTuna]

Originally Posted by theoforever

People laugh at Oil for tanking, well, Sabres have just rewritten that book, a monumental tank job.

How is one year a monumental tank job?

[SuperMatt18]

Yeah the Sabres are closer to the Flames then the Oilers in terms of how they "tanked"

The tried to win, spent a lot of money, made poor decisions, and now they suck. That is more like the Flames.

I don't think they actually tried to be that bad this year...we will see what next year brings though.

[dino7c]

Sabres tanked big time this year, but you need years of tanking to match the Oilers

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by BigTuna

How is one year a monumental tank job?

Calgary was the fourth worst team in the NHL... they finished 25 points better then the Sabres. That's with the Sabres playing in the weaker Eastern Conference and getting vintage Ryan Miller Goaltending until the trade deadline... I'm not sure how anyone could look at that and not see a monumental tank job. Sure their tank job hasn't stretched to multiple seasons (yet) but by the epicness of their fail last year I think they've "earned" the use of the adjective 'monumental' to describe it.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Sabres tanked big time this year, but you need years of tanking to match the Oilers

I'm not sure if I would say they tanked as much as they decided to do a scorched earth rebuild not much different than the Flames with the only difference being the Flames played better. I actually believe the Sabres did a much better job maximizing return for their veteran assets than the Flames and they may end up being better than the Flames when all is said and done.

When I think of tanking I think of the Avalanche that had a lot of talent that was put in a situation to fail by management by not resigning important free agents (ROR) and keeping a head coach that had lost the team the season before. The Sabres like the Flames don't have a lot of talent.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Still lots of talk that the Islanders will trade this pick for immediate help.

Or trade it to Florida and draft Ekblad, if Florida realy wants someone other than consensual top 4 it might not take a tonne to add to the 5th pick to get number 1.

Might take a Clutterbuck or Nielsen to do it though.

[BigTuna]

Originally Posted by Parallex

Calgary was the fourth worst team in the NHL... they finished 25 points better then the Sabres. That's with the Sabres playing in the weaker Eastern Conference and getting vintage Ryan Miller Goaltending until the trade deadline... I'm not sure how anyone could look at that and not see a monumental tank job. Sure their tank job hasn't stretched to multiple seasons (yet) but by the epicness of their fail last year I think they've "earned" the use of the adjective 'monumental' to describe it.

Again, it's a terrible season for 1 year. It's not that bad. Their team was very poor. Everyone expected this.

[theoforever]

Originally Posted by BigTuna

Again, it's a terrible season for 1 year. It's not that bad. Their team was very poor. Everyone expected this.

Let's start making bets on how good year 2 will be.
I said 48pts but would not be shocked if it is 42pts.
Sabres have positioned themselves to pick #1 for 3 years straight.
How long will it take to get out of this sewer?

Sabres made a decision: we will sell everyone, we will suck, we will pick #1 for 2-3 years and we will be a superpower. Just like OIL.
Only difference is that 52 pts is an overkill, that even OIL would be proud of.

[JJ1532]

Originally Posted by theoforever

Let's start making bets on how good year 2 will be.
I said 48pts but would not be shocked if it is 42pts.
Sabres have positioned themselves to pick #1 for 3 years straight.
How long will it take to get out of this sewer?

Sabres made a decision: we will sell everyone, we will suck, we will pick #1 for 2-3 years and we will be a superpower. Just like OIL.
Only difference is that 52 pts is an overkill, that even OIL would be proud of.

Who cares? There seems to be a sad obsession with teams that tank. Say they pick Reinhart this year. Say they finish bottom with 42 points next season, but lose the lottery again and miss out on McDavid. Say Nolans second coming doesn't have the great upturn in results they expect. Say their prospects don't develop into the superstars they hope. Say they get bad injuries year after year. There are numerous different situations which happen and the result is that they meander around in the middle of the standings for the next 5-10 years.

You interestingly mention the Oilers, well say that happens to the Sabres. They draft high for a number of years in a row but continue to suck? Could happen.

And, worst case scenario and they go on to become cup challengers, does that really affect anything we at Calgary do? Think it's a waste of energy to get worked up about what other teams do. So you think the Sabres tanked, big deal. Happened before, it will happen again I'm sure. Not a pleasant side of the game, but we just have to deal with it. End of the day, it won't matter who the Sabres draft because if we draft right and continue to improve like we have been doing, we will eventually be up there challenging the Sabres hopefully. Chill out a bit.

[OzSome]

I don't think Ted Nolan will let the Sabres tank next season. They will have to fire before that happens. Nolan is a win-now mode because NHL blacklisted him before. If his team suck this coming season, I don't think any team will even hire him again.

As far the Islander keeping their first pick this draft. I think it was a good move since they think they might be better next season than this season.