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Forums :: Blog World :: Hank Balling: Sabres Game Night Open Thread
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Buff36
Buffalo Sabres
Joined: 10.13.2019

Jan 4 @ 3:46 PM ET
got a link to the game?
- jochfr

I have it on NHL Network, Fubo TV is supposedly carrying it, could always try there 7 day free trial and cancel in a week.
Lunaion
Joined: 05.23.2016

Jan 4 @ 3:47 PM ET
got a link to the game?
- jochfr


http://onhockey.tv/
jdfitz77
Buffalo Sabres
Location: buffalo, NY
Joined: 05.21.2007

Jan 4 @ 3:49 PM ET
Tim Murry got us Jack Eichel and Tage Thompson.

Greatest GM in Sabres history?
- TheSabresTaco



Botterill got us Thompson
He was hired in 2017 & made the O’Reilly trade in the 2018 offseason

Botts is also responsible for the Skinner trade & re-signing

And he drafted Dahlin, & Samuelsson & Cozens & UPL



A LOT of the success we’re starting to have is bc of Botts

PS. Tim Murray sucked for the most part
Slump Buster
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I root for draft picks but not the team, apparently, NY
Joined: 10.24.2006

Jan 4 @ 3:51 PM ET
It’s ridiculous.

“Collusion doesn’t exist” every sports league.

Top 6 winger doesn’t get claimed because of unwritten rules.

- ImThatGuy


how could this be even a whiff of collusion?

- the guy apparently has a serious personal issue
- hasn't played well in a while
- has a price tag of 5+ mill in a league where there is no cap space
Slump Buster
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I root for draft picks but not the team, apparently, NY
Joined: 10.24.2006

Jan 4 @ 3:54 PM ET
Botterill got us Thompson
He was hired in 2017 & made the O’Reilly trade in the 2018 offseason

Botts is also responsible for the Skinner trade & re-signing

And he drafted Dahlin, & Samuelsson & Cozens & UPL



A LOT of the success we’re starting to have is bc of Botts

PS. Tim Murray sucked for the most part

- jdfitz77


Sure, there is a lot of truth here.

- TPegs put a gun to his head to make the best trade he could make before midnight on July 1. He was trying to get other prospects besides Tage. The trade was actually disastrous for a long, long time. I don't blame him for the trade but I don't give him credit either. It was an auction and that was the best bid.
- The trade for Skinner was fantastic. He bought low. The contract is another issue altogether.
- Dahlin was a no-brainer but he absolutely gets credit for guys not picked in the top 5.
sbroads24
Buffalo Sabres
Location: We are in 30th place. It's 2017 , NY
Joined: 02.12.2012

Jan 4 @ 3:57 PM ET
Sure, there is a lot of truth here.

- TPegs put a gun to his head to make the best trade he could make before midnight on July 1. He was trying to get other prospects besides Tage. The trade was actually disastrous for a long, long time. I don't blame him for the trade but I don't give him credit either. It was an auction and that was the best bid.
- The trade for Skinner was fantastic. He bought low. The contract is another issue altogether.
- Dahlin was a no-brainer but he absolutely gets credit for guys not picked in the top 5.

- Slump Buster

I don’t buy this for one second tbh. And I’ve never heard this said as fact.

Botterill was committed to drafting and developing NCAA players. Tage was an NCAA player/prospect
ImThatGuy
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I AM MY OWN DAMN SOURCE!, NY
Joined: 11.04.2010

Jan 4 @ 4:04 PM ET
how could this be even a whiff of collusion?

- the guy apparently has a serious personal issue
- hasn't played well in a while
- has a price tag of 5+ mill in a league where there is no cap space

- Slump Buster

Hasn’t played well in awhile?

2 in 2 this year.
19 in 26 last year
36 in 52 the year before.

When he’s on the ice he’s an absolute top 6 winger.
ZiggyBuff
Buffalo Sabres
Joined: 06.10.2017

Jan 4 @ 4:09 PM ET
I don’t buy this for one second tbh. And I’ve never heard this said as fact.

Botterill was committed to drafting and developing NCAA players. Tage was an NCAA player/prospect

- sbroads24



Pretty sure it was said St Louis was not willing to part with Thomas or Kyrou. Not sure if thats who Botts was going for and that why it was said or maybe Botts was another buffalo big baller and wanted SSTT the whole time 🤔
jdfitz77
Buffalo Sabres
Location: buffalo, NY
Joined: 05.21.2007

Jan 4 @ 4:11 PM ET
Sure, there is a lot of truth here.

- TPegs put a gun to his head to make the best trade he could make before midnight on July 1. He was trying to get other prospects besides Tage. The trade was actually disastrous for a long, long time. I don't blame him for the trade but I don't give him credit either. It was an auction and that was the best bid.
- The trade for Skinner was fantastic. He bought low. The contract is another issue altogether.
- Dahlin was a no-brainer but he absolutely gets credit for guys not picked in the top 5.

- Slump Buster


Botts claimed that Tage was a target of his to get
Idk if that’s true, but i also don’t have reason to think he was lying

And yeah, anyone could’ve made the Dahlin pick
But there were people on this board this past offseason saying we should’ve selected Svechnikov
Luckily, we badly needed defense & Botts went with Dahlin
There are some who don’t believe in picking defensemen high in the 1st though- lots of busts

Regardless of all that though….
Many of our current “core” pieces are here bc of Botts
sbroads24
Buffalo Sabres
Location: We are in 30th place. It's 2017 , NY
Joined: 02.12.2012

Jan 4 @ 4:16 PM ET
Pretty sure it was said St Louis was not willing to part with Thomas or Kyrou. Not sure if thats who Botts was going for and that why it was said or maybe Botts was another buffalo big baller and wanted SSTT the whole time 🤔
- ZiggyBuff

I think it’s much more likely that Tage was a target in some way than him having no idea who Tage was and this being just some random luck that it worked out.


People on here and mostly on Sabres Twitter have been doing some mental gymnastics to avoid admitting that Botterill wasn’t all that terrible.

buffalofan19
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Wonderful things can happen when you sow seeds of distrust in a garden full of (bum)holes
Joined: 07.01.2007

Jan 4 @ 4:20 PM ET
I think it’s much more likely that Tage was a target in some way than him having no idea who Tage was and this being just some random luck that it worked out.


People on here and mostly on Sabres Twitter have been doing some mental gymnastics to avoid admitting that Botterill wasn’t all that terrible.

- sbroads24


The funny part is that that Botterill is showing the same amount of "patience" that Adams is, except Botterill had the additional task of getting the salary cap in check. To your point, though, his track record with coaches was awful. Who knows how long he would have stuck with Krueger had not been let go when the Pegulas did their Covid cleanout?
Nightmare Fuel
Atlanta Thrashers
Joined: 07.26.2022

Jan 4 @ 4:25 PM ET
Sure, there is a lot of truth here.

- TPegs put a gun to his head to make the best trade he could make before midnight on July 1. He was trying to get other prospects besides Tage. The trade was actually disastrous for a long, long time. I don't blame him for the trade but I don't give him credit either. It was an auction and that was the best bid.
- The trade for Skinner was fantastic. He bought low. The contract is another issue altogether.
- Dahlin was a no-brainer but he absolutely gets credit for guys not picked in the top 5.

- Slump Buster

39 points in 33 games you mad bro?
sbroads24
Buffalo Sabres
Location: We are in 30th place. It's 2017 , NY
Joined: 02.12.2012

Jan 4 @ 4:25 PM ET
The funny part is that that Botterill is showing the same amount of "patience" that Adams is, except Botterill had the additional task of getting the salary cap in check. To your point, though, his track record with coaches was awful. Who knows how long he would have stuck with Krueger had not been let go when the Pegulas did their Covid cleanout?
- buffalofan19

Yeah, the Krueger hire is god awful and a solid reason for Botterill to be fired, however, the owners (who I blame a lot of the JB era on) then got conned by Krueger and it took a 18 game losing streak for that fraud to be fired by Adams.

I like a lot of what Adams has done organizationally. But his job has been so easy so far it’s not even funny.

Botterill was in a tough spot when he got hired

Edit- the Housley hire was completely obvious at the time and thought of as a good move
Slump Buster
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I root for draft picks but not the team, apparently, NY
Joined: 10.24.2006

Jan 4 @ 4:28 PM ET
I don’t buy this for one second tbh. And I’ve never heard this said as fact.

Botterill was committed to drafting and developing NCAA players. Tage was an NCAA player/prospect

- sbroads24



I thought that was a given at the time. Tage wasn't their best prospect and wasn't even their second best prospect. I thought it was common knowledge that JBotts was holding out trying to get the likes of Rob Thomas.
Slump Buster
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I root for draft picks but not the team, apparently, NY
Joined: 10.24.2006

Jan 4 @ 4:29 PM ET
39 points in 33 games you mad bro?
- Nightmare Fuel


The contract was an is a massive overpayment. I am tickled pink that he is playing well again. You're picking a tiny sample size to try to prove your point.
Slump Buster
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I root for draft picks but not the team, apparently, NY
Joined: 10.24.2006

Jan 4 @ 4:30 PM ET
Hasn’t played well in awhile?

2 in 2 this year.
19 in 26 last year
36 in 52 the year before.

When he’s on the ice he’s an absolute top 6 winger.

- ImThatGuy

sbroads24
Buffalo Sabres
Location: We are in 30th place. It's 2017 , NY
Joined: 02.12.2012

Jan 4 @ 4:37 PM ET
I thought that was a given at the time. Tage wasn't their best prospect and wasn't even their second best prospect. I thought it was common knowledge that JBotts was holding out trying to get the likes of Rob Thomas.
- Slump Buster

I’m not saying that it’s not possible that Botterill didn’t want Thomas. I’m saying I don’t buy for a second that an NCAA first round pick wouldn’t have been a target of Botterill’s.

I don’t think it’s as simple as “Oh no Thomas, give me Kyrou, ok fine then give me Thompson.”

The trade had 5 components to it from a St. Louis standpoint. Thompson was probably a big one for JB
SDSabre
Buffalo Sabres
Joined: 02.05.2014

Jan 4 @ 4:47 PM ET
Please read the following post.
- TheSabresTaco


One of your top shelf ones, no doubt.
Nightmare Fuel
Atlanta Thrashers
Joined: 07.26.2022

Jan 4 @ 4:50 PM ET
The contract was an is a massive overpayment. I am tickled pink that he is playing well again. You're picking a tiny sample size to try to prove your point.
- Slump Buster

What point am I trying to prove

You brought up his contract not me

I have nothing to prove

Why are you so bent out of shape?
homiedclown
Buffalo Sabres
Location: We want 1, FL
Joined: 02.24.2008

Jan 4 @ 4:53 PM ET
Buffalo Bills
@BuffaloBills
We’ve signed S Jared Mayden from the Jets practice squad and released CB Xavier Rhodes.
jochfr
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Nashville , TN
Joined: 07.11.2009

Jan 4 @ 4:55 PM ET
CZE about to lose.
Nightmare Fuel
Atlanta Thrashers
Joined: 07.26.2022

Jan 4 @ 4:56 PM ET
I will say this:

The “NFL is a barbaric sport” people are running with the Hamlin incident

Cnn:

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2...ality-pearlman/index.html


Namely, is this all OK? While what happened to Hamlin is still unclear, he suffered a cardiac arrest after what seemed to many observers to be a run-of-the-mill hit. Regardless, his story and Hughes' still make it impossible, at a deeper level, for those of us who love and watch this game to avoid its moral questions. Is a game that results in so much pain and suffering a reasonable pursuit in an enlightened society?


Is war? Is smoking cigarettes? Is drinking alcohol? Fornication? Driving fast? Waking up?

Insufferable. Guy made a choice to play a game and makes millions doing it. He chose to make the risk.

Just like I do when I take the highway and go 80 mph instead of Transit Rd. at 35 mph.

Like what are we discussing here? The dinosaurs shouldn’t have been so big because that asteroid, more at 6pm.
jochfr
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Nashville , TN
Joined: 07.11.2009

Jan 4 @ 4:58 PM ET
CZE about to lose.
- jochfr

Never mind...

1-1 going to overtime.
Slump Buster
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I root for draft picks but not the team, apparently, NY
Joined: 10.24.2006

Jan 4 @ 4:59 PM ET
What point am I trying to prove

You brought up his contract not me

I have nothing to prove

Why are you so bent out of shape?

- Nightmare Fuel


Bent out of shape? I said something, you asked me about it and I responded. Don't be that guy.
Boss34
Buffalo Sabres
Location: BUFFALO , NY
Joined: 12.03.2015

Jan 4 @ 5:02 PM ET
I’m not saying that it’s not possible that Botterill didn’t want Thomas. I’m saying I don’t buy for a second that an NCAA first round pick wouldn’t have been a target of Botterill’s.

I don’t think it’s as simple as “Oh no Thomas, give me Kyrou, ok fine then give me Thompson.”

The trade had 5 components to it from a St. Louis standpoint. Thompson was probably a big one for JB

- sbroads24


I feel the same way about the eichel trade

Tuch was #1 , then they added krebs to finish the deal.

Tage was a 1st round pick, anyone acting like he had no idea, is ridiculous

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