saskhab wrote:
Fogghorn wrote:
Av-merican wrote:
The definition of a "Hot Take"...
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck- ... 42314.htmlI think everyone outside of Edmonton is universal in their opposition to the Oilers getting yet another 1st overall (or even 2nd overall) but how is Arizona or Carolina a more worthy destination than Buffalo?
I really like what Buffalo has done. They realized they could not make it and instead sold off their remaining talent for futures in other words not the Calgary way. In the short term its extremely ugly but I think the right way to rebuild. Or you can go the Chicago, Pittsburg, Edmonton route and be incompetent for years until your drafting gets lucky.
And its what Arizona for certain should be doing, off load their talent for picks and youngins......not like their finances can get much worse.
What Buffalo has done is ice an incompetent roster on purpose. They didn't acquire assets to sell in case it didn't work out, they went into training camp saying 'we're going for last'. Obviously the players will try to win every game, and they went on an unbelievable run when their pair of mediocre NHL backups decided to act like all-stars but there should be no reward for deliberately adding worse and worse players to finish last while still charging fans to see it.
I'm sorry, but when a team buys out they're only legitimately good veteran player we shouldn't praise them for bold vision. This is literally the worst team the NHL has seen since they cancelled the season. And probably goes back until those early Thrashers/Blue Jackets clubs.
Buffalo is in for a long, long, long rebuild.
I dunno, was trading for Gorges and signing Gionta really an attempt to make the team worse?
Now Mezsaros, yes, that was a tank move. Benoit might've been too even though as far as stopgaps go, he ain't half bad. The team already has some decent pieces in Ennis, Zadorov, Ristolainen, and Girgenssons, and who knows about Myers. Reinhart should be emerging soon enough, they'll have cap room to spare, and obviously whoever they get in this year's draft should make an impact fairly quickly. I think their turnaround will be a tad faster than you think.
There was clearly a disagreement over which direction to take. Clearly Lafontaine wanted a quick turnaround, and Murray wanted to burn the damn thing to the ground. Since Lafontaine wanted to keep Ryan Miller on a long-term deal, I'm not so sure that was the right way to go.
But I agree with you that the Hawks didn't just "get lucky." Tallon obviously knows what he's doing. He succeeded in building the foundation for a contender in Chicago, and appears to be doing so in Florida as well. Edmonton...well, they actually haven't really gotten all that "lucky" so far.