The Penguins sucked Mario's first 5 seasons too.
You cant blow up a franchise without consequences.
But everyone here wanted that.
The tank has nothing to do with a GM incapable of filling a roster five years later.
zero.
Zilch.
Nada.
One Gm trades futures to Rush a rebuild and when that failed the next one legitimately can not identify a talented forward to save his life.
No one could have done worse with this than Pegula has.
Go look at the Sabres roster in 2012-13 and tell me where they would be right now without getting to the bottom. Their only good players came from there. They failed at everything else. Because they hire people who don’t know how to build a roster.
Do we remember where they were pre tank? Not terrible...not good enough to make the playoffs or if they did out in 1. Their assets were an aging core that they couldn’t win with. No hope of getting star players and no hope of winning meaningful games.
Today and for the entirety of this Gms tenure he has had a superstar player. And he hasn’t felt the need to fill the hole at 2C since he created it. Centers get traded...never here. And the forwards he has brought in...Jesus Christ. He has no clue what he’s looking at.
This could have been turned around years ago with someone at the helm who could evaluate a player. Not one who sits on too many defenseman and turns them into...Frolik...as another season drowns.
No. No. No. without the tank they’re just as bad everywhere else but without Eichel (or Reinhart or Dahlin). Because they are incapable of evaluating talent.
The blame here is on Murray for not understanding the value of high picks and Botterill for not being able to identify an NHL caliber player...and being unable to fill the hole he made himself.
There are many many many qualified people who could have done and can do both.
But they don’t work here.
Because Terry Pegula is a fool.
It could turn around quickly from here too.
But it won’t
Because Terry Pegula is a fool.