Taro T

That Transit Rd Store (presume you're referring to the one between Clinton and French) has been there since at least the early 80's and likely even longer.

Well, it is possible that Raccuia did sell a majority stake to the Pegulas, that he stayed the managing partner/owner and that now it is getting sold to Jones' Legends. (All part of the scratching of each other's backs by the boys (and girls) in the club. And like Carlin said "it's a big club, and you aren't in it.")

Likewise. And then slowly started to get it if it was on my skin for a few hours. Now need to get it off my skin within an hour or will break out.

Yzerman is a great example. Was going to go with Bobby Carpenter as the poster boy who turned his game from goal scoring to serious 2 way player, but youe example is better. And no, not putting Olofsson in that category, but occassionally you can teach an old dog a new trick. (And also, not saying it'll work with him, but until there's a better option that's what is hoped for.)

But are they legit or are they more Loaf fan fiction? "Well, of course he wants to stay. It's DREAMY here. And who DOESN'T like Hall and Oates?"

Hoping you're right, but not expecting it. Want Willie to have a very long career and retire as a Loaf all while never seeing any other organization.

No doubt we shouldn't. But sometimes we still do. Like mentioned above, have adjusted some of the video settings on the laptop and the quality of streaming is much better.

True. But expected a writer to be further aligned with the fans' view of the situation than the GM's. (We want the writer to be coming up with what likely might really happen, but when the gnashing of teeth has been so loud for so long; kind of expected to see a bone tossed out. And again, said that personally don't see either on the trade block nor would they be on the block (though obviously would ALWAYS listen to offers) were this kid GM for a day.

But merely contributing goals is not going to get considered to be "playing well." Unless it is on a 40 goal (or better) pace. And they AREN'T pulling him out of the lineup if he's on a 40 goal pace. He's also not getting pulled out of the lineup if he's on a 25-30 goal pace but actually respectable in his own end and coming back in transition. He had 28 goals last year in roughly 75 games and was routinely bashed around here (typically deservedly so) for NOT playing well. If he's playing like crud in his own end, he's not going to bring much of a return at all as a rental. (Unless he's on that mythical 40 goal pace, and will Adams REALLY trade away a 40 goal scorer right before the playoffs? Personally, can't see that happening.) So, is it better to have an extra 3rd round pick or to have another player in the pressbox that can fill in reasonably well in an injury crunch come playoff time? You know this kid's answer and expect Adams would agree.

Sure, a Nylander Murray combo move makes infinite sense from TO's perspective. But what does the team obtaining them get other than an offensive guy that won't go anywhere near the net and a very expensive injury prone 'meh' goalie. They SHOULD need to add a lot of sweetener to make that appealing to anybody.

Mildly surprised they didn't have Mittelstadt &/or Krebs on the list as potential trade candidates. (Personally wouldn't have either listed as trade bait, but with the angst both of them brought to this place at times last year (and even before that) would've thought the Athletic's writers would have felt some of that angst as well.) And would be surprised if either Stillman or Bryson were traded. Just don't see a value in either on the trade market and if they're going they're likely part of a much larger trade package.

At this time, barring that off-season trade we all expected to see happen prior to Quinn's injury, that seems IMHO to be the most likely scenario of how his situation plays out. And it's one more of the "good team" problems that other contenders deal with every year, but with the Sabres not contending in so long we might tend to forget that the top teams end up having middle 6 guys walk all the time. And the money that gets freed up on the cap is all they get back for it and it's usually enough to take the sting out of the loss. Especially when there's a traffic jam of young talent awaiting opportunities. If the Sabres are in the playoff picture (either in the top 8 or close enough to have a legit chance to make it) and Olofsson "is playing well" then really can't see any scenario in which he gets traded at the deadline. At that point in the year, THE goal is to make a playoff run without "mortgaging the future" (or some other such catch phrase). If VO is playing well, Adams is not going to trade him away for a pick or a prospect to bolster the future at the expense of today. And really can't see him getting traded either outright (or as a part of a package) to bring in a goalie, a D-man, or a PK specialist (which are the likely needs that might remain unfilled in late February/early March) because the teams looking to get rid of guys like that are looking for young players, picks, or prospects to restock their pipeline and 28 yo soon to be a UFA VO is none of those things.

Yeah. If they aren't going to pull the 1st line apart, those almost have to be the 2nd and 3rd lines to get something that can work from line 1 -> line 4.

Was going to say, well with a decade plus of horrible play to go along with moving several key pieces into futures more than half way though that decade plus horrible play that this team absolutely should have that sort of prospect ranking. But then look at the Eulers of the late '00's and early teens and say 'nevermind.' The front office still had to make those selections after getting the picks.

He or Jost. And likely it's Rousek that isn't in the 12 man game day lineup but he could definitely force Granato's hand with a strong camp. Expecting he'll come into camp ready to go knowing his opportunity is so close. But it'll be interesting to see how much weight Kulich has put on over the summer. He's definitely planning on stealing that roster spot from Rousek. That should be a great battle to watch.

And it's not like Thompson is chopped liver. He's a legit #1 center. And the Eulers would still have another one of those in Draisatl. Absolutely expect the Eulers would push for Dahlin because they have a spare #1C, but Thompson is on a very team favorable contract and if the Eulers are in a spot where they are even entertaining offers on McDavid they know that path was chosen by McDavid. The other pieces would all be in line to be upgrades throughout the rest of their lineup. And let's face it, outside the top 5 slots (and even sometimes within the top 5 slots (Yakapov anyone?)) the Eulers are HORRIBLE at drafting. The former 1st rounders all step into their line up. The 2 future 1st rounders probably wash out, but they can still hope they work out. Were the Eulers smart, they'd push for even 1 more high end prospect and leave the 1st round picks to teams that might know how to use them.

Agree that the depth they're looking for isn't really what the Sabres need. But pretty sure they're looking at Okposo, Jost, and Olofsson at the fringes of the roster with only AHLers (and CHLers) behind them and are stating they have no faith in all those 3 being adequate this year and no faith in any of the Ra-cha-cha guys being ready to step up. And, after most all the rosters have shaken out and fringe NHLers start looking at less than ideal options (moving to Europe, signing 2 way deals that will likely have them starting in the press box at best and AHL in a greater likelihood) do expect Adams to sign one or 2 Hinostrozas for Ra-cha-cha as injury insurance and also insurance that they'll have somebody to step in in a limited role should Rousek, Kulich, & etc. not quite be ready for prime time.

FTFY. And, as a matter of fact, why yes, yes we did. 😉

NYS, yes. NYC, no. See no reason why he should necessarily be there playing for one of the proximal teams to that nexus because the best player in the world doesn't need Slander, Evil, nor Anger at the core of who/what he is. 😉

Pretty sure the great Buffalo diaspora has a lot to do with that. There are Bills and Sabres fans all over the continental US and they are fairly rabid football and hockey fans. So, when their team is doing well, they go out of their way to watch them. You started discussing the storyline, but left out some. The story line of the Sabres having ruined a decade + of hockey in WNY to land McDavid only to end up with the "consolation prize" of Eichel landing in Buffalo and then him wanting out and getting his wish and going then winning the SC 1-1/2 years after leaving Buffalo to have the chance nearly a decade later for both Connor and the 'Bres to try to win their 1st SC when that match that "should've been but wasn't" finally gets made. Shoot, the friggin' Hallmark Channel doesn't run stories that seem THAT scripted.

Can't get a guarantee making the deal with 2 years left on his existing contract. Until his John Hancock is on the paper there is no guarantee and he's not allowed to ink that until July 1 2025. This proposed deal with 2 years left on his existing deal would happen presumably in July 2024.

Shoot. Atlanta's market was robust back in the 70's. The Flames never averaged less than 12k per game until the final year when they were on their way out the door and they still stayed above 10k per game. The thing that killed them was the fact that even though they made the playoffs in only their 2nd year, and were consistently good (but not great by any stretch) they never managed to win a playoff series. Which was the real kick in the pants to Atlanta fans when the team immediately made it to the semi-finals in its 1st year in Calgary. And @GASabresIUFAN is on the right track blaming a large part of the Threshers departure on ownership being disjointed and then not particularly interested in hockey. Having no success in the playoffs was the rest of what killed them off. (IIRC they made the playoffs only once and then got swept in the 1st round that year. Or did they actually win a series only to be swept in the 2nd round. Know they got swept in their "best" performance in team history.)

Am really hoping that McDermott goes back to his more attacking defensive roots than returning to the bend but don't break defense that Frazier favored. If he does, expect them to give up more points overall but also to flat out see the Bills run more teams out of the building as getting the ball back to Allen more quickly (either by a 3 and out or a big play drive) will result in the offense scoring even more than they currently do. And if the offense is clicking, well that D is very good against the pass. And attacking the QB should make it even better (typically). Also like that DaQuan Jones will now have Poona Ford to spell him keeping 1 run stuffer in the middle of the line at all times allowing Ed Oliver to concentrate even more on penetrating through. (And he was looking very good until messing up his ankle last year.) And yes, losing Edmonds wingspan in the middle of the D will hurt on passing downs some, but not having him hit the wrong gap or react to the gap too slowly will help on running downs. Bills games will flow differently this year, but really looking forward to seeing what they can do.

That, or with him being from Atlanta he figures that by bringing Houston into the league around the same time, it'll buy his Atlanta Shermans 😉 an extra year or 2 before folding as the Houston team will fold long before the Hotlanta team proves that 3rd time isn't always the charm. 😉 The 4th largest city in America (at the time) couldn't sell out a 65k seat stadium in a state where HS football is the national pastime and the local team was in the midst of a 7 year playoff run without having a local grocery store regularly buy up the last 5-10k seats for all opponents except the Stillers, the Pokes, and the Browns. Know there are a couple of huge advocates here for putting a team in Houston, but simply don't see it lasting. Maybe if by then the NHL has become a TV dependent league (like the NFL is now) rather than a gate dependent league it might work. But just don't see that transition happening in time for an expansion team to there getting helped enough to stay viable. (And still believe that expansion beyond 32 teams is darn near the worst idea a league which regularly tries to top its previous worse idea could come up with.)

Could definitely envision women coaching, scouting, & GMing at the NHL level. Some even at elite levels. Don't expect it to ever be close to parity head count-wise between women and men. Not because of sexism or anything nefarious but because so many more boys play hockey than girls do. (And regardless of how hard Nike, ESPN, and others work at increasing female participation in sports, don't ever see girls wanting to play sports like hockey at the same sort of participation rates as boys do.)