Tank Thread and Tanking GDT XIX: Tankception (BUF @ CBJ)

[McCauleyChirps]

I really, really hope it's locked up tonight if not just because of the FAN aspect.

On the upside, I'm taking my son to his first NHL game tomorrow night against PIT. He's a huge Crosby fan. Not sure where I went wrong there.

 

[Karate Johnson*]

If we blow it I truly hope fan appreciation night is a disaster.

I want the players to hate the fans as much as they hate the players.

I hope that A on Kaletas jersey was worth being despised by your home town.

 

[Karate Johnson*]

On the upside, I'm taking my son to his first NHL game tomorrow night against PIT. He's a huge Crosby fan. Not sure where I went wrong there.

I hope we lose tonight for him so it's fun.

I took my 2.5 year old this year. Too young. Spent the whole time chasing him around, he wouldn't sit still unless he had pizza or ice cream.


He enjoyed the hell out of himself though.


I let him watch warmups against the glass and he flipped out when he couldn't go on the ice.

 

[BuzzKillington90]

If we blow it I truly hope fan appreciation night is a disaster.

I want the players to hate the fans as much as they hate the players.

I hope that A on Kaletas jersey was worth being despised by your home town.

You need to back away from the ledge. We all want 30th, but you are, and have been, taking it a destructive way....

Calm down and breath....you'll live longer

 

[Karate Johnson*]

You need to back away from the ledge. We all want 30th, but you are, and have been, taking it a destructive way....

Calm down and breath....you'll live longer

No man, YOU NEED TO!.... You need to....... ....You're the one who....



You're right. This is killing my soul. Please let it be over tonight.

 

[oldgoalie]

When i finally accepted that this is nothing more than a business; that players don't give a ***** about the team, or the fans, I was able to let go.
Don't get me wrong. It took along time, and hearing some "insider" stuff to have it finally sink in.
But it's definitely not worth the "agita"...

What will be, will be.

 

[Mit Yarrum]

If we blow it I truly hope fan appreciation night is a disaster.

I want the players to hate the fans as much as they hate the players.

I hope that A on Kaletas jersey was worth being despised by your home town.

This is going too far now. Some fans have lost sight of reality.

 

[Tapu Coco]

I've been pretty calm about this whole thing...but I am nervous as all hell and will be absolutely disgusted if we win tonight

 

[5 Minute Major]

No man, YOU NEED TO!.... You need to....... ....You're the one who....



You're right. This is killing my soul. Please let it be over tonight.

KJ, you do crack me up. You represent a little bit of each of us with those rants. Somewhere, deep down, the very nightmarish scenarios we have all thought about.

 

[MayDay]

Not as if it matters what other fans think but honestly, it's probably because we keep responding to it. There are a few usual suspects that are all about baiting Sabres fans and succeed over and over.

Doesn't matter, though. No one's going to care about that petty drama if the team is winning and fun to watch again.

It's just obnoxious.

Last season we were an even worse team. We sold off much better players at the deadline than we did this season. And we finished in last place by 14 points! And there wasn't a peep about tanking all season.

This year we actually improved, have a better record, more points, and have a team that is working hard and staying in most games even if they suck - and we've been getting crap all season long.

Meanwhile teams that are mailing it in like Toronto, or a team like Arizona that is magically conveniently 30+ points worse than last season - they don't get all the criticism, people calling them a disgrace and demanding their draft picks be forfeited, etc.

It's annoying as hell.

 

[TehDoak]

Part of me wants to see Buffalo win for the pure spectacle that would be "fan appreciation" night.

I can't even imagine the total **** show that would ensue.

The penguins are going to legit have something on the line tomorrow. They win tonight, they can avoid playing the Rangers in the 1st round by beating us.

They lose tonight, they need to beat us to make the playoffs.

So, even if by some miracle we beat Columbus tonight (which, if I had to guess, we probably won't), we are going to be facing a very motivated pittsburgh team.

So, stop spraying the lighter fluid on your jersey's and embrace the fact that we are going to at MOST split games this weekend. Save your pitchforks and team abandoning ways until you actually have something to be mad about

If you told me after the run in December that we'd go into the final weekend needing to lose two points to a team that was 9-0-1 in their last 10 and a team that was significantly invested in their playoff seed to lock up last, I'd be pretty damn happy.

 

[MayDay]

At the start of the season, did anyone honestly think that this race would come down to the last or 2nd-last night of the season?

Last season we finished in last by 14 points!

This season it's April 10th and this still isn't decided.

Amazing.

 

[Jim Bob]

At the start of the season, did anyone honestly think that this race would come down to the last or 2nd-last night of the season?

Last season we finished in last by 14 points!

This season it's April 10th and this still isn't decided.

Amazing.

It's a testament to Darcy Regier's strong work as the Asst GM in Arizona.

 

[TalkingProuder]

Die or do 29th tonight.



I get that we're all amped up as this is essentially the culmination of two years of enduring raw sewage, but that's really not necessarily what's on the line here.

Yes, it is. This was a moment when the universe was ready to give the Sabres a fighting chance and we went the way we always do.

Landing McEichel could be the difference between landing Babcock vs a Luke Richardson. It can be the pivot to finally be a destination in free agency. It can be the difference between building a champion vs a "good team" like the Senators, who will win nothing as presently constructed.

The rebuild without the top 2 pick could be rushed as Murray is ordered to drive faster towards mediocrity by Pegula who wants to win now at the cost of our future. If we screw this up so many things have to go right that I just don't see the same future without patience, and patience appears to be running out from ownership and management.

Our bright future is hanging by a thread.

 

[Clock]

Yes, it is. This was a moment when the universe was ready to give the Sabres a fighting chance and we went the way we always do.

Landing McEichel could be the difference between landing Babcock vs a Luke Richardson. It can be the pivot to finally be a destination in free agency. It can be the difference between building a champion vs a "good team" like the Senators, who will win nothing as presently constructed.

The rebuild without the top 2 pick could be rushed as Murray is ordered to drive faster towards mediocrity by Pegula who wants to win now at the cost of our future. If we screw this up so many things have to go right that I just don't see the same future without patience, and patience appears to be running out from ownership and management.

Our bright future is hanging by a thread.

I hear you, and I agree that landing McEichel is an enormous deal, but there's already a solid contingent of young talent on the team, and I don't think that the difference between McEichel and a stud defenseman like Hanifin to top it off is the difference between championship team and eternal mediocrity.

Just lose tonight, Buffalo. Let us be finished with this.

 

[Deevo]

I legitimately haven't felt this way since 2006 game 6/7 vs Carolina

 

[ZeroPT*]

One thing i dont understand is the people who think that getting the 3rd pick instead of the 2nd is going to make us mediocre instead of cup champs.

The gulf between Eichel and Marner isn't that big

 

[Der Jaeger]

If we win tonight, it's over. We will finish 29th and lose the lottery as will Arizona. Say goodbye to Cup Dreams and start figuring out to be a bubble team again.

Perspective.

Imagine it's April 2012. Buffalo's centers are Derek Roy, Tyler Ennis, Cody Hodgson, and Cody McCormick.

Let's say we had a conversation about tanking, and what the center position might look like afterwards. Suppose I asked if you'd take this center line-up:

#1 Center: Average size. Passer. Super hockey IQ. A cross between Joe Sakic and Henrik Zetterberg. Capable of making good wingers great. Strong two-way play. Strong leadership qualities. Conn Smythe winner type: does all the little things that add up over time, and excels in clutch moments. Captain material.

#2 Center: Toews-lite. Physical, emotional leader. Hard worker. Plays with uncommon intensity. Above-average skill set with size and skating. Can anchor a second line easily and make life easier for smaller, skilled wings. Easily moved to wing and can move all over the line-up and excel. 200 ft. game. Captain material.

#3 Center: Skilled playmaker in the Joe Thornton sense. Improving two-way player who is good at faceoffs. Very good size. Elite puck skill set, but needs to work on skating, defense, and overall intensity. Capable of anchoring a third line against lower QOC. If coached and developed correctly, could anchor a top scoring line. PP asset.

#3 Center: Shorter, stocky version of Jochen Hecht. Possession driver. High hockey IQ. Great 200 ft. game and is tough to play against. Can move to wing and play anywhere in the line-up. Will cover defensively for anyone he plays with and contribute offensively as well. May be best riding shotgun on the wing of a scoring line.

Would you accept this group as the outcome of the tank? I would.

I'm describing Sam Reinhart, Zemgus Girgensons, Mikhail Grigorenko, and Johan Larsson. If we don't get McEichel, they'll draft Marner, Hanifin, or Strome. And the team will still end up just like the Chicago Blackhawks.

 

[Husko]

Still legitimately stumped that we don't know who the callup. Maybe Murray's going to make us play man down

 

[TalkingProuder]

One thing i dont understand is the people who think that getting the 3rd pick instead of the 2nd is going to make us mediocre instead of cup champs.

The gulf between Eichel and Marner isn't that big

One of the next 3 players might be a star also. But which one? Do you really assume we are going to get that right? I don't.

 

[sabres4ever]

I think it ends tonight. I am in lab with my students all evening. Although I can take a break to run back to my office and check scores, I won't until 10 pm. I can't stand the thought of seeing the score until the final. I want to check it, see they won, and be done with it.

ENough.

 

[CatsforReinhart]

Pittsburgh wins tonight then they are in.

 

[BuzzKillington90]

It comes down to the fact that everyone has had their eyes on this prize since we started the tank a year ago. Before Reinhart was even a thing. When you have something you are after for that long, and to have it so close to fruition, it drives you a little batty.

It's actually entirely likely we are fine as a team if we draft 3rd, but to have something you've had your eye on ripped away is mentally taxing.

So that's why we have a Johnson doin Karate about ready to lemming off a cliff....in the long run we'll likely be fine as a team....but the mentality of the fans is going to be twisted if this is messed up.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[doaner]

Good luck tonight. Gonna be pulling that somehow you guys get 4 pts for the first time in league history. Haha.

 

[TalkingProuder]

Perspective.

Imagine it's April 2012. Buffalo's centers are Derek Roy, Tyler Ennis, Cody Hodgson, and Cody McCormick.

Let's say we had a conversation about tanking, and what the center position might look like afterwards. Suppose I asked if you'd take this center line-up:

#1 Center: Average size. Passer. Super hockey IQ. A cross between Joe Sakic and Henrik Zetterberg. Capable of making good wingers great. Strong two-way play. Strong leadership qualities. Conn Smythe winner type: does all the little things that add up over time, and excels in clutch moments. Captain material.

#2 Center: Toews-lite. Physical, emotional leader. Hard worker. Plays with uncommon intensity. Above-average skill set with size and skating. Can anchor a second line easily and make life easier for smaller, skilled wings. Easily moved to wing and can move all over the line-up and excel. 200 ft. game. Captain material.

#3 Center: Skilled playmaker in the Joe Thornton sense. Improving two-way player who is good at faceoffs. Very good size. Elite puck skill set, but needs to work on skating, defense, and overall intensity. Capable of anchoring a third line against lower QOC. If coached and developed correctly, could anchor a top scoring line. PP asset.

#3 Center: Shorter, stocky version of Jochen Hecht. Possession driver. High hockey IQ. Great 200 ft. game and is tough to play against. Can move to wing and play anywhere in the line-up. Will cover defensively for anyone he plays with and contribute offensively as well. May be best riding shotgun on the wing of a scoring line.

Would you accept this group as the outcome of the tank? I would.

I'm describing Sam Reinhart, Zemgus Girgensons, Mikhail Grigorenko, and Johan Larsson. If we don't get McEichel, they'll draft Marner, Hanifin, or Strome. And the team will still end up just like the Chicago Blackhawks.

I would take that in a heartbeat. Problem is this is just a best case scenario, not a real projection. And this is coming from someone that sees little downside in Reinhart and Girgensons.

I am hugely bullish on Sam but what you are posting is an ideal scenario. I love Girgensons but see him as an ideal power forward. Larsson is a nice prospect and I see him able to play the #3 center if he continues his play. Grigorenko has shown nothing in the NHL at this point. I would keep him around but it's a long shot he makes an impact.