Sabres in good spot

[Panthaz89]

I see us knocking on the door of a wildcard seed or 8.

I want the playoffs this coming season, like everyone else. But if we don't.. the year after we hopefully should. The one team who, I wouldn't be surprised finishes ahead of us next year is Detroit I love what Stevie is doing. But honestly, take this with a big pinch of salt, but I see Boston & Toronto finishing below us .. maybe Florida with their horrendous D core.

But what do I know.

If Detroit finishes ahead of us in any way other than the Sabres getting decimated by injuries I will be disappointed their depth sucks and their core isn't that good. Most of our players should be hitting the next step this year.

 

[Dubi Doo]

"The Sabres are in a good spot" I like the optimism but we literally say the same thing every single year lol ..

Not me. I was a pessimistic bastard for a while. Last time I had a shred of optimism was when we traded for ROR. I feel good about this year. If we're around 90 pts to end the year- Ill be a happy camper.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

I haven't been this optimistic since the day of the 2015 draft, but by the end of the day that faded fast. Going back further I'd have to say 2005-2007. Ever since then it's been one version on the "pretender" scale after another.

 

[brian_griffin]

Roster set. No need to make moves. Lots of salary cap. Lots of teams need salary cap.

But if we don’t trade then it’s okay. Maybe Sabres can benefit from this. Easy to say no to proposals until more desperation from other yeams

Not to crap on the OP, because I agree with the sentiment, but having a set roster and no need to make moves doesn't necessarily equate to the Sabres being in "a good spot".

Having lots of salary cap when other teams need salary cap may be "in a good spot", but if a team with less available salary cap uses their space either before or better than BUF uses theirs, that likely puts that other team in a better spot than BUF.

I agree BUF doesn't need to make a trade, but I don't want them to be passive. They have draft pick capital they should dangle, specifically one or more of the qty (3) Rd#2 picks. Publicly or privately offering pick(s) doesn't have the potential of hurting the locker room dynamic in the same way dangling a player(s) might.

I agree it's easy to say no until more desperation from other teams. But I think that's a "tie" or a "push" when it comes to whether the Sabres are "in a good spot" or not. I don't think teams are desperate re: proposals unless they have cap constraints, and we already covered the cap stuff.

I do think the Sabres are in a good spot in that they have no pending UFAs which they'll likely need to jetison at the trade deadline to extract fair value so as not to risk zero return value. But conversely, that's in part due to those pending UFAs not holding large value.

As I say, I agree with the sentiment of the OP, and similarly hold @Der Jaeger 's views above, and don't subscribe to @Ace 's views (yet).

I don't know, however, that I'd say the Sabres are "in a good spot" because of the stated criteria. I'd say their "good spot" derives from having both the most optimism and greatest control of their destiny in many years: Eichel situation resolved, acceptable return obtained; decent young roster with upside; an actual NHL-caliber coach; a GM/AGM tandem who doesn't seem to have ego (conversely, are they not bold enough?). Goaltending, goaltending depth, and injuries will determine their success. They could still add a bona-fide NHL Forward, another NHL caliber D-man, and upgrade a goalie without ruining culture or "hurting players feelings". If they did all of those things, I'd argue they'd be in "a better spot".

 

[Djp]

How I see it…

Skinner-tage-xxx
xxx-Mitts-Tuch
xxx-Cozens-xxx
xxx-Girgs/ Asplund-xxx
xxx would be Olofsson, Okposo, Peterka, Quinn, Hinostroza, and Asplund/ Girgs

those are your 12 F

Krebs starts in Rochester to play center

they likely trade Bjork at 50% for a high salary forward
ifanother Trade doesn’t come up, then they sign a low cost UFA

they don’t have to make a trade so any trade involves getting back a sweetener.

if they don’t do anything…I’m fine too.

first F call ups would be Krebs, Weissbach, Murray, or Rousek.

 

[Jim Bob]

Not to crap on the OP, because I agree with the sentiment, but having a set roster and no need to make moves doesn't necessarily equate to the Sabres being in "a good spot".

Having lots of salary cap when other teams need salary cap may be "in a good spot", but if a team with less available salary cap uses their space either before or better than BUF uses theirs, that likely puts that other team in a better spot than BUF.

I agree BUF doesn't need to make a trade, but I don't want them to be passive. They have draft pick capital they should dangle, specifically one or more of the qty (3) Rd#2 picks. Publicly or privately offering pick(s) doesn't have the potential of hurting the locker room dynamic in the same way dangling a player(s) might.

I agree it's easy to say no until more desperation from other teams. But I think that's a "tie" or a "push" when it comes to whether the Sabres are "in a good spot" or not. I don't think teams are desperate re: proposals unless they have cap constraints, and we already covered the cap stuff.

I do think the Sabres are in a good spot in that they have no pending UFAs which they'll likely need to jetison at the trade deadline to extract fair value so as not to risk zero return value. But conversely, that's in part due to those pending UFAs not holding large value.

As I say, I agree with the sentiment of the OP, and similarly hold @Der Jaeger 's views above, and don't subscribe to @Ace 's views (yet).

I don't know, however, that I'd say the Sabres are "in a good spot" because of the stated criteria. I'd say their "good spot" derives from having both the most optimism and greatest control of their destiny in many years: Eichel situation resolved, acceptable return obtained; decent young roster with upside; an actual NHL-caliber coach; a GM/AGM tandem who doesn't seem to have ego (conversely, are they not bold enough?). Goaltending, goaltending depth, and injuries will determine their success. They could still add a bona-fide NHL Forward, another NHL caliber D-man, and upgrade a goalie without ruining culture or "hurting players feelings". If they did all of those things, I'd argue they'd be in "a better spot".

It really is a question of if the glass is half full or half empty to me.

I wouldn't say that the Sabres are in a good spot today. They missed the playoffs by 25 points last season and they made very few changes to last season's roster as they head into 2022-23 season.

They have a young, unproven team for the most part. They have a lot of potential both on the roster and in the prospect pipeline. But, having a lot of potential is never as good a spot to be in than a team with a lot of proven talent.

There are also enough questions about both the front office and ownership today that I can't go so far as to say the team is in a good spot today.

Things could be worse. But, I want to see this team take a step or two forward before saying they are in a good spot. I think they have the potential to be in a good spot in a year or two. The question is do they get there or is this yet another mirage as the team struggles to end the playoff drought...

 

[LongWayDown37]

I love the position and strategy. Doesn't mean it has to work, but I'm bought in on seeing it through and sticking with patience.

I'm extremely interested to see what happens with Cozens this year. I've been convinced since he entered the NHL that he's more of a power winger than a center at this level. I like Krebs better in the middle and I don't think there is room for both. I think I'd like to really see them let Cozens loose on the wing and allow him to be a tenacious monster in the offensive zone. But I'm open to being wrong there.

Mitts is also intriguing. I feel like we're back to square 1, unfortunately for him and his injury. I hope he comes to camp like he did last year and prove he can play a top 6 role in the middle. At some point, we may need to trade one of these guys to make room, especially with what is in the pipeline at the forward position. but no reason to at this point - and I think it might be Mitts who is the odd guy out if they're all showing promise. He's so skilled, but he doesn't play with the same pace and energy as the other guys - which I think is going to become the hallmark of this team.

 

[Der Jaeger]

It really is a question of if the glass is half full or half empty to me.

I wouldn't say that the Sabres are in a good spot today. They missed the playoffs by 25 points last season and they made very few changes to last season's roster as they head into 2022-23 season.

They have a young, unproven team for the most part. They have a lot of potential both on the roster and in the prospect pipeline. But, having a lot of potential is never as good a spot to be in than a team with a lot of proven talent.

There are also enough questions about both the front office and ownership today that I can't go so far as to say the team is in a good spot today.

Things could be worse. But, I want to see this team take a step or two forward before saying they are in a good spot. I think they have the potential to be in a good spot in a year or two. The question is do they get there or is this yet another mirage as the team struggles to end the playoff drought...

I don't think it's a perspective thing at all.

Two off-season's ago, the Sabres had a decent but not great prospect group, a flawed NHL roster with a poor core (due to Eichel's immaturity, Ristolainen's inability to play to potential), bad goaltending, and a roster with poor depth.

Adams quickly re-directed the scouting department and went with Quinn and Peterka, two picks which have turned out great. After the failed Krueger experiment (it's worth noting that Adams did not hire Krueger), Adams was the guy who sold the Pegula's on the tear down. Adams moved pretty quickly, promoted Granato, and started to work on the team culture. The team ended that last-place season on an upswing.

Adams added Power, and made good trades to move on from Eichel, Reinhart (another problem he inherited), and Ristolainen. And the team ended on the upswing with many of the young players on the roster trending upwards.

The Sabres are admittedly in a rebuild, though at the end stages. They've got a young roster loaded with potential and a lot of kids trending upwards. We saw some of them take major steps last season (Thompson, Dahlin, etc). The Sabres have the best prospect system in the league. Coaching is good.

The Sabres still need a goaltender (jury is out on Comrie), and could be better at weaponizing the cap. But realistically, if any other team in the NHL was at the end of their rebuild, and ready to take the next step, where would we think that team should be?

Of course it would be better to have proven players. But in a rebuild, where the Sabres had virtually nothing proven to build on (unlike the Kings, who were able to rebuild around Kopitar, Doughty, and Brown), where did we think they'd be? Where the Sabres are now isn't perfect but it's a really good spot to be in.

 

[TehDoak]

It's really a matter of perspective. Long term, the Sabres have a huge volume of forward prospects. They have 2x 1st overall D-men (Dahlin and Power). I think in the end, it's going to be the latter that determine their long term success rather than the former. They really lack the top end forward talent that successful teams have. Outside Quinn and likely Savoie, I don't see a ton of potential for top line Talent. I see a huge volume of middle six forwards, however, which is a good thing. And, of course, there is the possibility that a few guys simply are still developing. I think the ratio of forwards to D drafted by Adams has been a bit off by a wide margin (without revisiting it, i believe its 3 or 4-1 F to D ratio) which long term could cause issues.

For this season, Adams has made a series of gambles. The first being with goaltending. Gambling that Comrie will be able to handle a starters load and Anderson will be anything other one of the worst NHL goalies in the league. Also gambling that UPL, who has been extremely inconsistent at the AHL level, will be able to fill in the gaps at the NHL.

The second being that you are going to see Quinn, Peterka, Cozens, Krebs, Mittelstadt, and Asplund will be able to provide secondary scoring. You are also banking off repeat performances from Skinner and Thompson. Skinner is a typical risk year to year what kind of production you get while we simply don't know if Thompson will be able to repeat last years unlikely breakout.

The third being is he's gambling that PK and Faceoffs simply don't matter. Coming in ranked 23rd in PK, 32nd in faceoffs and they lost their best faceoff player (Eakin) with no replacement coming and no substantial PK help.

Finally he's betting that a Power will get the support he needs from a D-core that has 1 d-man over the age of 25. 2 if you count Pilut (26)

Some of these are decent bets (I think Cozens will have a strong year and at least 1 of the other wingers will take a step developmentally). Others (goaltending, PK/Faceoffs, young d) I think he's taking a rather large dice roll and will need to be extremely fortunate not to get burned.

Long term, the situation he has created will require some pretty savvy management as they are limited on developmental spots (in the AHL and ECHL) with a large volume of forward prospects coming. In goal, they have bet very heavily on Levi being ready to start sooner rather than later, and that he is going to sign. There's reason for optimism due to the sheer volume of picks made the last few years....but I think it should be tinged with a wait and see. There's a lot of ways this can turn south in a big hurry.

 

[elchud]

Sabres are in a good spot to get one more chance at 1st or 2nd overall. Looks like a 10th or 11th spot so maybe this is the year we finally move up in the lottery because we have never done so before.

I would like to see Olofsson score 40 goals. He has to stay healthy of course. That 2 year deal to UFA means he isn't part of the long term plan, so 40 goals could mean another 1st in the next draft. Savoie and Kulich in 23-24 means bye bye Vic I think.

Its a good spot to see if Mittelstadt can actually hold down 2C competently and healthily. And if Joker is a legit 2RHD. I think its make or break for those two this season. I think one of them gets moved next offseason, maybe both.

Its a good spot for Thompson and Cozens and Samuelsson to earn huge contracts. Those are significant RFA deals. I think all three are part of the core and signing them during the season may be the way to go.

Good spot for Comrie to show he is a #1 goalie.

Good spot for Skinner because with all the ELCs the next 5 years he is going to avoid being bought out I think.

Good spot for Granato and Adams because there is no pressure to make the playoffs this season.

 

[Jim Bob]

I don't think it's a perspective thing at all.

Two off-season's ago, the Sabres had a decent but not great prospect group, a flawed NHL roster with a poor core (due to Eichel's immaturity, Ristolainen's inability to play to potential), bad goaltending, and a roster with poor depth.

Adams quickly re-directed the scouting department and went with Quinn and Peterka, two picks which have turned out great. After the failed Krueger experiment (it's worth noting that Adams did not hire Krueger), Adams was the guy who sold the Pegula's on the tear down. Adams moved pretty quickly, promoted Granato, and started to work on the team culture. The team ended that last-place season on an upswing.

Adams added Power, and made good trades to move on from Eichel, Reinhart (another problem he inherited), and Ristolainen. And the team ended on the upswing with many of the young players on the roster trending upwards.

The Sabres are admittedly in a rebuild, though at the end stages. They've got a young roster loaded with potential and a lot of kids trending upwards. We saw some of them take major steps last season (Thompson, Dahlin, etc). The Sabres have the best prospect system in the league. Coaching is good.

The Sabres still need a goaltender (jury is out on Comrie), and could be better at weaponizing the cap. But realistically, if any other team in the NHL was at the end of their rebuild, and ready to take the next step, where would we think that team should be?

Of course it would be better to have proven players. But in a rebuild, where the Sabres had virtually nothing proven to build on (unlike the Kings, who were able to rebuild around Kopitar, Doughty, and Brown), where did we think they'd be? Where the Sabres are now isn't perfect but it's a really good spot to be in.

All I'm saying is that we don't know if we are near the end of the rebuild or not.

That will all depend on the development of a lot of young players. Not all of the prospects that we have high hopes for will work out both either as quickly as we hope, or at all.

I think the LA Kings are a good example of this. I doubt people are anywhere near as high on some key prospects like Byfield and Turcotte as they were when they were drafted.

If players like Cozens, Mitts, Krebs, Power, and others don't take steps forward this season, this team won't be as close to exiting the rebuild as we hope.

If Portillo signs elsewhere and UPL & Levi never turn out to be reliable NHL #1s, then this team will have a challenge exiting the rebuild.

There are a lot of things were people are assuming development happens. And that is not a guarantee.

That is why I think that there is still a lot of uncertainty with respect to where the team is and how close they are to being at a place where I would say that they are in a good spot.

 

[brian_griffin]

Sabres are in a good spot to get one more chance at 1st or 2nd overall. Looks like a 10th or 11th spot so maybe this is the year we finally move up in the lottery because we have never done so before.

I would like to see Olofsson score 40 goals. He has to stay healthy of course. That 2 year deal to UFA means he isn't part of the long term plan, so 40 goals could mean another 1st in the next draft. Savoie and Kulich in 23-24 means bye bye Vic I think.

Its a good spot to see if Mittelstadt can actually hold down 2C competently and healthily. And if Joker is a legit 2RHD. I think its make or break for those two this season. I think one of them gets moved next offseason, maybe both.

Its a good spot for Thompson and Cozens and Samuelsson to earn huge contracts. Those are significant RFA deals. I think all three are part of the core and signing them during the season may be the way to go.

Good spot for Comrie to show he is a #1 goalie.

Good spot for Skinner because with all the ELCs the next 5 years he is going to avoid being bought out I think.

Good spot for Granato and Adams because there is no pressure to make the playoffs this season.

To the bolded, I don't think the 2-year deal de facto signaled that he isn't part of the long-term plan. It could mean at least three more things. First, it could be the Sabres want Olofsson, and he wanted / his agent advised him to leave options open. Second, it could be the Sabres want him long-term, yet the money offered long-term wasn't sufficient for Oloffson to sign long-term. Third, Olofsson may be betting on himself for a bigger payday in two years. There are likely other options I can't think of quickly. I think your opinion / option is certainly feasible, but not feasibly a certainty.

I agree with your other points and applaud your ability to easily list so many "good places" various Sabres staff and players are in as we approach the 2022-23 season. With so many players / management in good places individually, it coalesces to a "good place" for the collective team.

I'll add another few.

I think Kyle Okposo is in a good place. Teammates clearly value him. He had a great (by prior year standards) season last year, from which to build upon. He's a pending UFA and will either lead the Sabres to the playoffs, or at least likely be offered a chance at the deadline to go elsewhere. He's playing with house money. One could say the same for Craig Anderson, perhaps to a lesser degree.

I think Quinn and Peterka and Pilut are in a good place as they will be given fair chances to make the final Sabres roster. They are not blocked out, and they won't be gifted slots.

 

[Club]

If Detroit finishes ahead of us in any way other than the Sabres getting decimated by injuries I will be disappointed their depth sucks and their core isn't that good. Most of our players should be hitting the next step this year.

Detroit finished 1 point behind us last season so + prospects graduating + little more depth this offseason

 

[Panthaz89]

Detroit finished 1 point behind us last season so + prospects graduating + little more depth this offseason

Yep still finished behind us last year even though a good portion of our roster didn't play the full season.....what exactly do they have us beat in other than maybe goalie considering Husso hasn't played behind their bad D yet unlike playing in front of a really strong Blues team.

 

[Der Jaeger]

All I'm saying is that we don't know if we are near the end of the rebuild or not.

That will all depend on the development of a lot of young players. Not all of the prospects that we have high hopes for will work out both either as quickly as we hope, or at all.

I think the LA Kings are a good example of this. I doubt people are anywhere near as high on some key prospects like Byfield and Turcotte as they were when they were drafted.

If players like Cozens, Mitts, Krebs, Power, and others don't take steps forward this season, this team won't be as close to exiting the rebuild as we hope.

If Portillo signs elsewhere and UPL & Levi never turn out to be reliable NHL #1s, then this team will have a challenge exiting the rebuild.

There are a lot of things were people are assuming development happens. And that is not a guarantee.

That is why I think that there is still a lot of uncertainty with respect to where the team is and how close they are to being at a place where I would say that they are in a good spot.

In general, I agree. We have no idea what's really going to happen with Quinn, Peterka, Power, Krebs, Savoie, Ostlund, Rosen, Kulich, etc. They could all bust, and Buffalo will be left in a continued rebuild.

However, if you asked me during the 2012-2013 time, when the tear down began, and not knowing the history between, that the Sabres would come out the other end with:

- Of the 23 players on the active roster, they'd have 7 forwards and 5 defenseman on the roster under the age of 25
- Two #1 overall picks
- 9 forwards and 3 defenseman who were 1st rounders, and 6 were drafted by the Sabres and the others acquired
- 4 first round picks in the pipeline who were 19 or younger, and a 5th who was 21 years old
- 3 NHL prospect level goaltenders in the pipeline who were 23 or younger
- 8 drafted forwards and 2 drafted defenseman in Rochester who were still developing
- 22 unsigned prospects in the pipeline, 5 of whom were 2nd or 3rd round picks

.... and if you didn't tell me the year the rebuild would end, or the Eichel-Babcock-ROR-Murray-Botterill-Krueger saga, and just told me the end of the rebuild would look like this, I'd take it.

 

[K8fool]

Detroit finished 1 point behind us last season so + prospects graduating + little more depth this offseason

It's a great metric. . Detroit Yzerman bet heavily like Murray this year as our group has ripened enough to be picked to compete on same steady path w roc being our free agents and two young goalies upl and comrie battling it out. ..

We'll see if Detroit jumped the gun early on some longshots or last year for us will pay off as we became resilient trying to win as kids without a goalie. Or will Detroit gm create chemistry w these adds and lap us w their rebuild..

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

To the bolded, I don't think the 2-year deal de facto signaled that he isn't part of the long-term plan. It could mean at least three more things. First, it could be the Sabres want Olofsson, and he wanted / his agent advised him to leave options open. Second, it could be the Sabres want him long-term, yet the money offered long-term wasn't sufficient for Oloffson to sign long-term. Third, Olofsson may be betting on himself for a bigger payday in two years. There are likely other options I can't think of quickly. I think your opinion / option is certainly feasible, but not feasibly a certainty.

I agree with your other points and applaud your ability to easily list so many "good places" various Sabres staff and players are in as we approach the 2022-23 season. With so many players / management in good places individually, it coalesces to a "good place" for the collective team.

I'll add another few.

I think Kyle Okposo is in a good place. Teammates clearly value him. He had a great (by prior year standards) season last year, from which to build upon. He's a pending UFA and will either lead the Sabres to the playoffs, or at least likely be offered a chance at the deadline to go elsewhere. He's playing with house money. One could say the same for Craig Anderson, perhaps to a lesser degree.

I think Quinn and Peterka and Pilut are in a good place as they will be given fair chances to make the final Sabres roster. They are not blocked out, and they won't be gifted slots.

1. Olofsson, I agree with your take here. They have an option play available. Also, the latin you're looking for is prima facie (or possibly a priori). De facto represents a state of existence rather than truth.

2. Okposo, kind of a x-factor for leadership. Won't play out in the box scores. If he's not ready to retire I expect him back in Buffalo after his contract. Not sure if he's spoken about that publicly yet?

3. Agree re: Quinn/Peterka/Pilut. I think they brought Pilut back in to be their 7th D at the very least.

Overall they still need things to go right; but it feels like their betting odds are greatly improved from 2015. If you had to roll the dice I'd rather pick to roll them against: Peterka/Savoie/Kulich/Ostlund/Nadeau/Bloom/Samuelsson/Jokiharju than Bailey/Baptiste/Cornel/Karabacek/Compher/Hurley/Guhle/Fasching.

The on-ice younger players are closer: Dahlin/Power/Thompson/Quinn/Tuch vs Eichel/Reinhart/RoR/Ristolinen/Kane. I might give an edge to 2015 Sabres here.

The current veterans are hands down better than in 2015: Skinner/Okposo/Olafsson vs I dunno, clearly washed Moulson & Gionta.

 

[Reddawg]

The current veterans are hands down better than in 2015: Skinner/Okposo/Olafsson vs I dunno, clearly washed Moulson & Gionta.

There was a definite attitude with the younger players vs the veteran players that does not exist in the current locker room. Every player on the team universally respects Kyle Okposo and the other veteran leaders, and to a man made a point of saying so in their exit interviews with team mgmt. That's stark contrast to the days when Eichel was 100% running the show and giving no quarter to Gionta/Gorges and the other vets whatsoever.

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

There was a definite attitude with the younger players vs the veteran players that does not exist in the current locker room. Every player on the team universally respects Kyle Okposo and the other veteran leaders, and to a man made a point of saying so in their exit interviews with team mgmt. That's stark contrast to the days when Eichel was 100% running the show and giving no quarter to Gionta/Gorges and the other vets whatsoever.

Gionta's comments about the locker room and culture were very eye opening on what the problems were in Buffalo. It sounded like they predated guys like RoR, Kane, Eichel etc also.

 

[Reddawg]

Gionta's comments about the locker room and culture were very eye opening on what the problems were in Buffalo. It sounded like they predated guys like RoR, Kane, Eichel etc also.

I just went and listened to his comments last year again, pretty damning. He made a point of saying stuff like that is very difficult to get out of the locker room once it's there but it seems like we were able to get the bad apples out in the end. I don't include Reinhart in that group but I do include Eichel, Bogo and Kane. He specifically said there were guys who would treat the cooks making them breakfast before hitting the ice badly, giving them crap if they made a mistake. Just basic lack of respect stuff.

 

[GOALOFSSON]

young d) I think he's taking a rather large dice roll and will need to be extremely fortunate not to get burned.

I think you're completely lost on this part.

 

[KiwiGriff]

It really is a question of if the glass is half full or half empty to me.

And that should be a matter of deciding if the glass is being filled or emptied. I think it’s clear our glass is getting water poured in, so it’s half full.

Optimism people!! It’s about time we had some.

 

[Jacob582]

3. Agree re: Quinn/Peterka/Pilut. I think they brought Pilut back in to be their 7th D at the very least.

At the very least, they expect Pilut to play in Rochester.

 

[Jim Bob]

And that should be a matter of deciding if the glass is being filled or emptied. I think it’s clear our glass is getting water poured in, so it’s half full.

Optimism people!! It’s about time we had some.

I think one could have an optimistic view of the current direction of the team and say that they are not in what they would call a good spot yet because there is still a lot of improvement left for the team to make.

The glass half full vs glass half empty is an opinion just as everyone will have an opinion on both what a "good spot" is and then if the Sabres are currently in a place like that.

I would describe the current Sabres situation as they are not in a good spot yet, but they appear to be traveling in that direction. I would describe a good spot as a team that is reasonable to expect the team to make the playoffs. I do not feel they are in that place. But, given their current direction, they could be in that spot in a year or two.

 

[brian_griffin]

1. Olofsson, I agree with your take here. They have an option play available. Also, the latin you're looking for is prima facie (or possibly a priori). De facto represents a state of existence rather than truth.

Thanks for the Latin primer; mea culpa.