Is McDavid the only difference between Buffalo and Edmonton's trajectory?

[Montag DP]

I had this mini-discussion over on the Sabres forum with someone who thinks Edmonton's management is just as bad as the Sabres' over the last ten years or so, but having McDavid compensates for it to the extent that they just made it to 1 game away from a Cup. I don't know if I buy it. The Sabres have had so many highly skilled players (granted, none in McDavid's stratosphere, obviously) that with even mildly competent management, they should have been able to turn it around by now. So many top picks and players who were bad or just okay in Buffalo and went on to succeed elsewhere. However, I'm not as familiar with the situation in Edmonton. Has McDavid really propped up an organization as inept as Buffalo's all on his own? What does the main board think?

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[M88K]

McDavid and/or Dria >>>>>> any Forward(s) on the Sabres
That's the biggest difference.

The Oilers team itself isn't that impressive they put together an impressive season following the coaching change. You remove the 2 names from the Oilers and they're a non PO team.

 

[Montag DP]

McDavid and/or Dria >>>>>> any Forward(s) on the Sabres
That's the biggest difference.

Not going to argue with you there, but that's true for the majority of teams, including playoff teams.

 

[Ace]

Saw a tweet yesterday that was so starkly accurate it hurt my soul.

Buffalo losing the lottery is why McDavid doesn’t have a cup.

Because they would have traded him to a great team by now like Eichel, RoR, Reinhart…

So true it actually hurts

 

[M88K]

Not going to argue with you there, but that's true for the majority of teams, including playoff teams.

The thing is that difference is what keeps the oilers afloat.
Look at the Oilers from Oct to the coaching change.
McDavid was struggling(Injured IIRC) and the team was literally the worst in the league. He got healthy and they took off. (some benefit from coaching too obviously)
Another way to say it, is the Sabres best forward would probably be the 4th/5th best Oiler.
But the big difference is the 2 at the very top. If the sabres had that they'd be in better shape

 

[LTIR]

BUF traded their McDavid and Draisaitl for Tuch, Krebs, picks, Devon Levi and Jiri Kulich.
Both Reinhart and EIchel are now cup winners.

 

[Montag DP]

Saw a tweet yesterday that was so starkly accurate it hurt my soul.

Buffalo losing the lottery is why McDavid doesn’t have a cup.

Because they would have traded him to a great team by now like Eichel, RoR, Reinhart…

So true it actually hurts

Ouch.

 

[Selanne00008]

I am going to say yes, that's accurate. It's more so because McDavid would be able to make THAT much of a difference on the Sabres.

Most likely Reinhart doesn't leave and now you have your 1C putting up 140 points and your 2C potting 55+ goals. Yes its some butterfly effect so, I'll stop there. Samson was drafted just before McEichel so it works.

 

[LTIR]

McDavid and/or Dria >>>>>> any Forward(s) on the Sabres
That's the biggest difference.

The Oilers team itself isn't that impressive they put together an impressive season following the coaching change. You remove the 2 names from the Oilers and they're a non PO team.

agree.. but BUF also traded away their stars. OTT is more comparable to Sabers than EDM.

 

[34]

Buffalo is the better team. McDavid is the only reason the Oilers had any success whatsoever in the playoffs. Very middle of the pack average team at best.

 

[Nicko999]

Edmonton was the biggest joke in the NHL until they won the lottery in 2015.

Had Buffalo won McDavid, Oilers would have the longest playoff drought in the league currently.
I am also curious about the player Draisaitl would have become with Eichel instead.

 

[Stephen]

In hindsight, Buffalo should have done a lot more with the pieces they possessed at one point or another:

O’Reilly, Eichel, Reinhart, Ullmark, Rodrigues, Kane, McCabe, Montour, Hagel.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Buffalo is the better team. McDavid is the only reason the Oilers had any success whatsoever in the playoffs. Very middle of the pack average team at best.

That is definitely one of the takes of all time

 

[AvatarAang]

Edmonton was the biggest joke in the NHL until they won the lottery in 2015.

Had Buffalo won McDavid, Oilers would have the longest playoff drought in the league currently.
I am also curious about the player Draisaitl would have become with Eichel instead.

Agreed, so many people forget how much of a joke the oilers were back then despite having several lottery picks on their roster

I don’t know how they still have zero cups after drafting all of those lottery picks, especially since one of them will end up as one of the best players of all time

I wonder how many cups mcdavid would have by now if he was drafted by any other team besides edmonton

 

[Coffey]

That is definitely one of the takes of all time

Par for the course when you see who posted it.

 

[AvatarAang]

Edmonton was the biggest joke in the NHL until they won the lottery in 2015.

Had Buffalo won McDavid, Oilers would have the longest playoff drought in the league currently.
I am also curious about the player Draisaitl would have become with Eichel instead.

Agreed, so many people forget how much of a joke the oilers were back then despite having several lottery picks on their roster

I don’t know how they still have zero cups after drafting all of those lottery picks, especially since one of them will end up as one of the best players of all time

I wonder how many cups mcdavid would have by now if he was drafted by any other team besides edmonton

Hopefully Edmonton doesn’t waste mcdavid’s career like Montreal wasted Carey price’s career, it would be a shame if mcdavid also retired with zero Stanley cups.

 

[34]

Edmonton was the biggest joke in the NHL until they won the lottery in 2015.

Had Buffalo won McDavid, Oilers would have the longest playoff drought in the league currently.
I am also curious about the player Draisaitl would have become with Eichel instead.

100%

The Oilers are not even a playoff team in the Atlantic. Bob had 2 bad games in the series, and that is the only reason the Oilers had any chance in that series at all. Look at the garbage teams they played in the west to get to the finals. They had a free pass with Vancouvers 3rd string goalie in net.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

100%

The Oilers are not even a playoff team in the Atlantic. Bob had 2 bad games in the series that is uncharacteristic of him, and that is the only reason the Oilers had any chance in that series at all. Look at the garbage teams they played in the west to get to the finals. They had a free pass.

Definitely true, if you put the Leafs in the Pacific the Cup would be back in Canada right now and Matthews would have broke Gretzky’s points record by like 50 points and 100 goals

 

[34]

Definitely true, if you put the Leafs in the Pacific the Cup would be back in Canada right now and Matthews would have broke Gretzky’s points record by like 50 points and 100 goals

Oilers lost.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

I find Buffalo had all the chances and tools. Just very bad management, ownership and coaching. Lindy Ruff isn't going to improve this team, Brunette is just the reason the Devils were good in his only career year there.

It's funny considering the players that leave go on to win cups or play in the finals. If Buffalo had all that together they'd be an excellent team. I do believe they're headed in the right direction, just need a solid management and coaching staff.

Edmonton is still a joke honestly. If they didn't have McDavid, they'd also not have Draisaitl and they'd be in the basement again.

 

[Artemi Panarin]

Edmonton was the biggest joke in the NHL until they won the lottery in 2015.

Was?

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Probably still a lottery team without 97

 

[Djp]

BUF traded their McDavid and Draisaitl for Tuch, Krebs, picks, Devon Levi and Jiri Kulich.
Both Reinhart and EIchel are now cup winners.

Buffalo had

Eichel
Reinhart
Ristolainen
ROR
Montour

--trades---

Tuch, krebs, Greenway, Ostlund
Levi, Kulich
Rosen, Wahlberg
Thompson, Ryan Jonhson
Sardarian

 

[Vikingstad]

Oilers lost.

Game 7 of the SCF, not the first round like some teams

 

[HaNotsri]

Edmonton was the biggest joke in the NHL until they won the lottery in 2015.

Had Buffalo won McDavid, Oilers would have the longest playoff drought in the league currently.
I am also curious about the player Draisaitl would have become with Eichel instead.

As a german he would have felt like it was an ongoing october flr the first few years.