And since 01-02 there has been a new loser in the Cup Final. No repeats(Devils lost in both 00-01 and 11-12)And only 5 teams that have lost have also won in that time period(2 of them before the cap era). IDK about you, but a Cup Final berth is a pretty successful year, and there's a new team almost every year for the last 16 seasons.

How much tanking did Vegas, Nashville, San Jose, Rangers, Devils, Canucks, Flyers, Red Wings, Sens, and Oilers do? Canucks maybe, but that was more wizardry by Burke to get the Sedins than a prolonged tank, other than that they didn't have any high picks. Nobody on that list is picking top 8 for 5 straight years.

When your rule has that many exceptions, maybe your rule isn't so hard and fast after all.
- Wetbandit1

Red Wings won a cup in an era when people didn’t scout in Europe. They stole Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom. That would have been like us keeping Dahlin a secret from the rest of the league and getting him in the 7th round. 3/4 of those teams you just listed never won a cup. Oilers got hot at the right time.

Hate on the tank all you want but when we finally get the ship routed it will be Eichel, Reinhart, Mitts, Dahlin, 7OA making us a perennial contender.

Pay a hockey czar to run it
- homiedclown

ding ding ding

Red Wings won a cup in an era when people didn’t scout in Europe. They stole Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom. That would have been like us keeping Dahlin a secret from the rest of the league and getting him in the 7th round. 3/4 of those teams you just listed never won a cup. Oilers got hot at the right time.

Hate on the tank all you want but when we finally get the ship routed it will be Eichel, Reinhart, Mitts, Dahlin, 7OA making us a perennial contender.
- Pegullaville

How can you be so sure 7OA and Mitts don’t turn out to be Nylander8OA’s?

My brother is a Tampa fan. He talked so much poop when I was down there in february.
- TheHank

They arent going away easy here but i think columbus might be for real

Pitt has Lehner all fired up
Here’s comes the meltdown...

Pay a hockey czar to run it
- homiedclown

I'm not opposed to that in the least. And I, or anyone else, have no problem if you want to hammer someone on their job performance though team president and co-owner have pretty nebulous responsibilities, it's not like she's the GM or the coach where it's easy to point to something and say "they (frank)ed up". But the "Black Widow" and racial bullpoop is just unnecessary and does nothing for your argument.

Some hardcore virtue signaling goin on in here right now
- feetontheair22

This

How can you be so sure 7OA and Mitts don’t turn out to be Nylander8OA’s?
- Der Kaiser

Mittelstadt showed his potential in spurts this past season. He is 2 years removed from
Highschool hockey and one year removed from being the MVP at the world juniors. I’m confident he can be a really good player in this league maybe even as early as next season. I also like the talent available in the top 10 of this draft and if you ask any scout evaluator they’d say we are sitting in a sweet spot and going to get a really good player.

Could they potentially bust ? Sure. I’m going to remain positive and optimistic.

I don’t think GMTM acted too soon
I think he totally Fd up EVERY move he made with our defense


Defense out:
McNabb, Zadorov, Myers, Pysyk

Defense he brought in:
Gorges, Bogo, Kulikov, Franson

That pretty much spells out what totally set us back

And Moulson + Okposo were terrible signings

And we gave up a 1st for a nutcase goalie who had drinking issues

Murray made so many damn mistakes,
that it overwhelmed the couple good players he was able to bring in
- jdfitz77

Yeah. That nutcase goalie with drinking issues is in the playoffs and kicking the poop of the PENGUINS!!!

Pay a hockey czar to run it
- homiedclown

This was also an issue before black widow 'officially' took over

ding ding ding
- ieetbred

I mean you have eichel and dahlin

Not time to "learn" on the job

7 more years of Jack
6 if a lockout

This was also an issue before black widow 'officially' took over
- ieetbred

Agreed

Pay a hockey czar to run it
- homiedclown

Well sure

But if we can’t get a top coach, or a top GM to come here...

How do we convince someone considered to be a “hockey czar” to come do that job?

I know $$$ talks,
But it’s not like the Pegulas have been cheap and aren’t willing to spend the $$$


Offer Yzerman 7.5mil a year to come here
But would he actually do it???

Well sure

But if we can’t get a top coach, or a top GM to come here...

How do we convince someone considered to be a “hockey czar” to come do that job?

I know $$$ talks,
But it’s not like the Pegulas have been cheap and aren’t willing to spend the $$$


Offer Yzerman 7.5mil a year to come here
But would he actually do it???
- jdfitz77

They are so hands on Dudley wouldn't even accept an interview

And he lives 30 minutes from the arena

Well sure

But if we can’t get a top coach, or a top GM to come here...

How do we convince someone considered to be a “hockey czar” to come do that job?

I know $$$ talks,
But it’s not like the Pegulas have been cheap and aren’t willing to spend the $$$


Offer Yzerman 7.5mil a year to come here
But would he actually do it???
- jdfitz77

Owners be owners and stop getting in the way. Allegedly

Yeah. That nutcase goalie with drinking issues is in the playoffs and kicking the poop of the PENGUINS!!!
- mattsox

Barry Trotz is the goalie whisper. He made Grubauer some money, got Hutton a job with the Blues and eventually us. Holtby played his best hockey with Trotz. Even Greiss had amazing numbers this year on that team. Lehner has been fantastic but he’s benefited as much playing with a team with structure as much as Skinner did playing with a top 5 playmaker in the NHL in Eichel.

Yeah. That nutcase goalie with drinking issues is in the playoffs and kicking the poop of the PENGUINS!!!
- mattsox

Yeah, he got straightened out
He wasn’t like that here... was he?

And that was only one of a long string of mistakes GMTM made
You clearly missed my point

Owners be owners and stop getting in the way. Allegedly
- ieetbred

Well i think we’d all like to see that happen
But they do own the team,
and have the right to be as involved as they like
It’s up to the GM to convince them what the right moves to make are

And Botts keeps saying that he’s the one making the decisions and not the Pegulas
So either he’s lying for some reason,
or they have actually backed off

This is from an interview last November:

"At the same time, I think it’s very universal because when you get to those big tournaments, I’m talking the Olympics with NHL players or the World Cups or even the World Championships, with NHL players coming back to the national teams. They’re used to playing in North American rinks, against North American players, in a North American environment.

And those are the type of players I’ve been coaching for the last few years, so it’d be kind of stupid of me to play the same way the Swedes did in 1995 and expect to have success that way. I think the game right now is so universal, I don’t think there’s a big difference. There is a tactical difference when it comes to a larger or smaller rink, but other than that the way you work on your players, the way you prepare your players before the game I feel is pretty universal."
https://pucksofafeather.c...s-rikard-gronborg-sweden/
- adambuffalo

Good digging Adam.

Well i think we’d all like to see that happen
But they do own the team,
and have the right to be as involved as they like
It’s up to the GM to convince them what the right moves to make are

And Botts keeps saying that he’s the one making the decisions and not the Pegulas
So either he’s lying for some reason,
or they have actually backed off
- jdfitz77

The fact that jbotts repeated that it "was his decision " to fire phail says it all.

He lied in my opinion

To cover for the pegulas, who already have a valid reputation for firing people.

They hired phail too

Well i think we’d all like to see that happen
But they do own the team,
and have the right to be as involved as they like
It’s up to the GM to convince them what the right moves to make are

And Botts keeps saying that he’s the one making the decisions and not the Pegulas
So either he’s lying for some reason,
or they have actually backed off
- jdfitz77

As owners of a team whose sole existence they proclaimed was to win the cup, they have a responsibility to do whats best for the team. Opinions will differ on whats best but it clearly isnt them fingering everything that goes on

Maybe they have backed, off maybe they are learning. Botterill has to say that in any position but having been fired

As owners of a team whose sole existence they proclaimed was to win the cup, they have a responsibility to do whats best for the team. Opinions will differ on whats best but it clearly isnt them fingering everything that goes on

Maybe they have backed, off maybe they are learning. Botterill has to say that in any position but having been fired
- ieetbred

I thought he said cups, not cup

Well i think we’d all like to see that happen
But they do own the team,

- jdfitz77

they own 5 teams?

and live in florida most of the year

being a nhl hockey president or nfl president

one of those is a hands on full time job, let alone 2 teams
and 3 other teams

and residing 1200 miles south of the stadium and arena

they own 5 teams?

and live in florida most of the year

being a nhl hockey president or nfl president

one of those is a hands on full time job, let alone 2 teams
and 3 other teams

and residing 1200 miles south of the stadium and arena
- homiedclown

They had a Hockey President and that ended badly. I’m glad they saved the teams from moving, but this learning on the job crap really is getting old.

they own 5 teams?

and live in florida most of the year

being a nhl hockey president or nfl president

one of those is a hands on full time job, let alone 2 teams
and 3 other teams

and residing 1200 miles south of the stadium and arena
- homiedclown

Seriously, do you really think they arnt going to hire some help?
The Sabres always announce things on a timeline.
Generally around season ticket renewal
Or the season about to start.

I'm sure they have:

An Above the gm hire in mind
A coach or 3 they really like
Skinner signed already