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Forums :: Blog World :: Hank Balling: Sabres Game Night Open Thread
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Slump Buster
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I root for draft picks but not the team, apparently, NY
Joined: 10.24.2006

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 think the return on that trade was a package of misfit parts.

- Botts (rightly) needed bodies to fill out the bottom 6. He got guys that were too old, made too much money and weren't good.
- Thompson was at best a lottery ticket at that point. As has been pointed out numerous times, guys that don't put up numbers when they are younger don't magically put them up in the pros. Not unlike Josh, his growth is ridiculous. The rumors at the time were that Botts was holding out for Thomas but St. Louis probably knew that they wouldn't pay the roster bonus. There is no way that their best prospect shouldn't have been in that trade IF TPegs would have paid the bonus.
- Even the draft pick sucked
homiedclown
Buffalo Sabres
Location: We want 1, FL
Joined: 02.24.2008

Jan 4 @ 5:08 PM ET

- Thompson was at best a lottery ticket at that point. As has been pointed out numerous times, guys that don't put up numbers when they are younger don't magically put them up in the pros.

- Slump Buster
he was 20 years old with a half of an nhl season under his belt


maybe if eichel had not refused to play with tage early on, tage would have thrived at 22 years old instead of 24 years old when eichel was shipped out of town

Slump Buster
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I root for draft picks but not the team, apparently, NY
Joined: 10.24.2006

Jan 4 @ 5:09 PM ET
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

- Boss34


Nobody said that he had no idea about Tage. But he was clearly the #3 prospect in that organization. At least Tuch was an established player in this league and generally considered to already be a top 6 winger. I'd say Krebs was on par with Thompson and was probably even considered a better prospect (his injury lowered his draft spot).
Slump Buster
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I root for draft picks but not the team, apparently, NY
Joined: 10.24.2006

Jan 4 @ 5:10 PM ET
he was 20 years old with a half of an nhl season under his belt


maybe if eichel had not refused to play with tage early on, tage would have thrived at 22 years old instead of 24 years old when eichel was shipped out of town

- homiedclown


.... and he wasn't considered much of a prospect at 20 or 22. As strange as this sounds, I think the best thing for him was not playing with Eichel or any other guys that insist on having the puck all of the time. I don't know if a lot of the growth we've seen with this guys happens if he is still here.
Nightmare Fuel
Atlanta Thrashers
Joined: 07.26.2022

Jan 4 @ 5:11 PM ET
Bent out of shape? I said something, you asked me about it and I responded. Don't be that guy.
- Slump Buster

Sounds to me like you are being that guy by bringing up his contract

We get it dude

For like 3 years now we get it
homiedclown
Buffalo Sabres
Location: We want 1, FL
Joined: 02.24.2008

Jan 4 @ 5:11 PM ET
Jesper Bratt was picked in the 2016 draft as well as tage

he broke out last season just like tage


not all players develop at the same rate
jochfr
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Nashville , TN
Joined: 07.11.2009

Jan 4 @ 5:13 PM ET
Ostlund (sp?) almost ends the game.
homiedclown
Buffalo Sabres
Location: We want 1, FL
Joined: 02.24.2008

Jan 4 @ 5:14 PM ET
.... and he wasn't considered much of a prospect at 20 or 22. As strange as this sounds, I think the best thing for him was not playing with Eichel or any other guys that insist on having the puck all of the time. I don't know if a lot of the growth we've seen with this guys happens if he is still here.
- Slump Buster

he had 14 goals in 27 games for rochester

I think the injury held him back as well as the team culture in the nh
homiedclown
Buffalo Sabres
Location: We want 1, FL
Joined: 02.24.2008

Jan 4 @ 5:15 PM ET
Ostlund (sp?) almost ends the game.
- jochfr

jochfr
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Nashville , TN
Joined: 07.11.2009

Jan 4 @ 5:16 PM ET
Kulich wins it for CZE
Wanchuk
Buffalo Sabres
Joined: 05.31.2019

Jan 4 @ 5:16 PM ET
Kulich ends it in ot
Stripes77
Referee
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Where ever Matt Ellis allows me to be, NY
Joined: 07.30.2012

Jan 4 @ 5:16 PM ET

Ryan Kennedy
@THNRyanKennedy
Jiri Kulich (BUF) ends it with less than a minute to go in OT. Czechia guaranteed their first medal since 2005
Slump Buster
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I root for draft picks but not the team, apparently, NY
Joined: 10.24.2006

Jan 4 @ 5:17 PM ET
Sounds to me like you are being that guy by bringing up his contract

We get it dude

For like 3 years now we get it

- Nightmare Fuel


You got me. A few weeks ago we were talking about how the roster was going to shake out and I commented that his contract wasn't going to look worse when the bill comes due on the kids. Dammit, I owe you one brother. I was merely trying to separate the trade (good move) from the contract (opinions vary) I should have remembered that on September 12th I made that comment. It's a good thing we have chicks like you do catalog everything that everyone says here. We're a better board with you here. Please, continue your good work. I was about to comment on the Drury / Briere fiasco but I just checked my notes and I see that I commented on it just last decade.

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

Jan 4 @ 5:20 PM ET
.... and he wasn't considered much of a prospect at 20 or 22. As strange as this sounds, I think the best thing for him was not playing with Eichel or any other guys that insist on having the puck all of the time. I don't know if a lot of the growth we've seen with this guys happens if he is still here.
- Slump Buster


Maybe I’m misunderstanding, are you saying he sucked so he wasn’t much of a prospect or he had NHL experience so he wasn’t still much of a prospect?
homiedclown
Buffalo Sabres
Location: We want 1, FL
Joined: 02.24.2008

Jan 4 @ 5:20 PM ET
You got me. A few weeks ago we were talking about how the roster was going to shake out and I commented that his contract wasn't going to look worse when the bill comes due on the kids. Dammit, I owe you one brother. I was merely trying to separate the trade (good move) from the contract (opinions vary) I should have remembered that on September 12th I made that comment. It's a good thing we have chicks like you do catalog everything that everyone says here. We're a better board with you here. Please, continue your good work. I was about to comment on the Drury / Briere fiasco but I just checked my notes and I see that I commented on it just last decade.


SUCK IT BEADY

(blank) me

- Slump Buster



fixed

Slump Buster
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I root for draft picks but not the team, apparently, NY
Joined: 10.24.2006

Jan 4 @ 5:21 PM ET
he had 14 goals in 27 games for rochester

I think the injury held him back as well as the team culture in the nh

- homiedclown


https://www.hockeydb.com/...s/pdisplay.php?pid=177831

He was drafted in the first round because of his name and freak athletic ability. Nothing in his resume screamed elite player. Again, Botts did the best that he could do in the situation. But there is no way that he could have been happy with that trade given the position that TPegs put him in.
Lunaion
Joined: 05.23.2016

Jan 4 @ 5:23 PM ET
I think the return on that trade was a package of misfit parts.

- Botts (rightly) needed bodies to fill out the bottom 6. He got guys that were too old, made too much money and weren't good.
- Thompson was at best a lottery ticket at that point. As has been pointed out numerous times, guys that don't put up numbers when they are younger don't magically put them up in the pros. Not unlike Josh, his growth is ridiculous. The rumors at the time were that Botts was holding out for Thomas but St. Louis probably knew that they wouldn't pay the roster bonus. There is no way that their best prospect shouldn't have been in that trade IF TPegs would have paid the bonus.
- Even the draft pick sucked

- Slump Buster


One similarity between the two deals is that they waited until there were huge cap implications involved.
Slump Buster
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I root for draft picks but not the team, apparently, NY
Joined: 10.24.2006

Jan 4 @ 5:23 PM ET
Maybe I’m misunderstanding, are you saying he sucked so he wasn’t much of a prospect or he had NHL experience so he wasn’t still much of a prospect?
- sbroads24


Well, both. He was a typical late-round draft pick. If he had put up numbers when he was younger he would have been at the top of his class given his freak athletic abilities. Again, I am not bagging on him. The bigger context was giving Botts credit for getting him in the trade.
homiedclown
Buffalo Sabres
Location: We want 1, FL
Joined: 02.24.2008

Jan 4 @ 5:25 PM ET
https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=177831

He was drafted in the first round because of his name and freak athletic ability. Nothing in his resume screamed elite player. Again, Botts did the best that he could do in the situation. But there is no way that he could have been happy with that trade given the position that TPegs put him in.

- Slump Buster

so you are punishing him for playing in college at 17 with 22 year olds instead of little boys?

https://www.hockeydb.com/...ons/teams/0073112016.html
Slump Buster
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I root for draft picks but not the team, apparently, NY
Joined: 10.24.2006

Jan 4 @ 5:26 PM ET
One similarity between the two deals is that they waited until there were huge cap implications involved.
- Lunaion


The cap considerations are part of what made the trade so one-sided. On top of not getting back either of their top prospects, we took on their over-paid dead weight.
Slump Buster
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I root for draft picks but not the team, apparently, NY
Joined: 10.24.2006

Jan 4 @ 5:27 PM ET
so you are punishing him for playing in college at 17 with 22 year olds instead of little boys?

https://www.hockeydb.com/...ons/teams/0073112016.html

- homiedclown


Again, I am not bagging on him at all. He was a lottery ticket. There was a reason that all of us here wanted Thomas or Kyrou. We were right in wanting one of those two at the time as they had a higher floor.
homiedclown
Buffalo Sabres
Location: We want 1, FL
Joined: 02.24.2008

Jan 4 @ 5:28 PM ET
Maybe I’m misunderstanding, are you saying he sucked so he wasn’t much of a prospect or he had NHL experience so he wasn’t still much of a prospect?
- sbroads24

https://thehockeywriters....6-draft-prospect-profile/



Bob McKenzie had him going in the first rd

Slump Buster
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I root for draft picks but not the team, apparently, NY
Joined: 10.24.2006

Jan 4 @ 5:29 PM ET
https://thehockeywriters.com/tage-thompson-the-next-ones-nhl-2016-draft-prospect-profile/



Bob McKenzie had him going in the first rd

- homiedclown


Well, sure - he did get drafted at the end of the first round. Guys in that range have questions around them and are less of a sure thing.
Nightmare Fuel
Atlanta Thrashers
Joined: 07.26.2022

Jan 4 @ 5:29 PM ET
You got me. A few weeks ago we were talking about how the roster was going to shake out and I commented that his contract wasn't going to look worse when the bill comes due on the kids. Dammit, I owe you one brother. I was merely trying to separate the trade (good move) from the contract (opinions vary) I should have remembered that on September 12th I made that comment. It's a good thing we have chicks like you do catalog everything that everyone says here. We're a better board with you here. Please, continue your good work. I was about to comment on the Drury / Briere fiasco but I just checked my notes and I see that I commented on it just last decade.

(blank) me

- Slump Buster

Real nice

Stay classy
homiedclown
Buffalo Sabres
Location: We want 1, FL
Joined: 02.24.2008

Jan 4 @ 5:29 PM ET
Again, I am not bagging on him at all. He was a lottery ticket. There was a reason that all of us here wanted Thomas or Kyrou. We were right in wanting one of those two at the time as they had a higher floor.
- Slump Buster

pretty sure Gerbe said Tage was on the top of Botts list not thomas or kyrou
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