Taro T

One reason to want him is he's really good near the net on the PP. Something Skinner wasn't overly adept at and really nobody else (except possibly Benson or Tuch) on this roster has come close to it.

Reports like this are why there probably is a pretty strong likelihood that the Sabres do end up trading a bit of their precious future capital for Zegras or someone similar. One more 2nd liner and the team suddenly seems to have some depth when injuries inevitably hit.

Yup. Pretty consistently one of the best 30 goalies in the league, but rarely in the top 15-20. He was an awesome backup and a poor man's starter.

The Fantasy Sports / Betting Line segments might not be an absolute winner ratings wise, but if those segments are sponsored (like beyond the normal advertising levels) then it still likely makes sense to run them.

Soooo frustrating, because they really could've horded some extra assets if ownership were willing to take on some salary while they were at the cap floor these past few years. And now that opportunity is pretty much gone.

There are several that agree with it. Most of us just don't seem to feel the need to shout it every hour on the hour. 😉

Haven't been in the dressing room since they upgraded it back in '12(?). Didn't know they were letting people in there, but probably wouldn't have mattered because ... We had our hands full and needed to go stop by the 'rents, so we just left after grabbing our loot.

You figured wrong.

The line of people to get into the sale area was long when we showed up 20 minutes before the sale was supposed to start and well after they'd already started letting people in. By the time we left, just before the sale was supposed to start there were at least 100 people in line waiting to get in. That's why we didn't look at skates, helmets, bags, nor a few other pieces of equipment and we didn't look at any of the water bottles nor stuff like that. We had our shopping list, filled it, and got out of Dodge.

Umm, as mentioned, DIDN'T LOOK AT SKATES. 😉 Sticks were $100. Which is a really good price for 1 piece composities.

So, @PromoTheRobot did you come in for the sale? There was some pretty cool stuff there. They actually opened up the doors by 10:30AM. We were there just a few minutes after that and people were already walking out with merch. With Adidas losing the NHL contract, there were a lot of blank pro pro weight sweaters. Unfortunately by the time we got into the sale almost all the Benson sized ones were gone. But did manage to snag one. (Will probably have to get Benson put on it, as he's probably the only one on the team that wears that size. 😉 ) Didn't look at skates, as just bought a new pair a year ago and at this kid's age, pretty sure that's the last pair that will ever be buying. There were a lot of gloves and a fair # of sticks. (Sucks that so much of the team are lefty shots. 😉 There were about 4 racks of lefty sticks and only 2 righties and most all those were EJ's. 😢 He uses a seriously stiff stick.) They had practice jerseys too with about half of them having a player name and # on them. A girl that was in the store earlier found a couple of Samuelssons but 'bout all that was left when we got in there were Amerks, Clague, Jost, and Bryson (apologies for the repetition). Son got some nice goalie sticks (they're crazy light) and a pair of pants. There was a lot of Amerks gear too. But we stuck w/ the Sabres stuff as there didn't seem to be a price break for going w/ Amerks gear. We just looked at the stuff we were really interested in because the line was stupid long by the time we left about 5 minutes before the sale was supposed to start.

Durn it. Was hoping they'd give him $60/yr fully guaranteed. Eh, he almost got 90% of that.

Don't forget Mittelstadt WANTED to sign here. He simply didn't get an offer. So, they've signed 6 of 7 and it was their choice to not go for 7 of 7. Only Olofsson didn't want to be back, of the recent younger guys. And that was a function of not fitting in for a nightly slot in the lineup; not because he didn't like it here. He didn't like the press box and couldn't earn his way out of it.

None of the anwers, the way they're written, is quite accurate. Yes, the Sabres will be OK in net. The big question is "will they be GOOD in net, this season." The answer to that is something like either probably or hopefully. Personally, expect that the goaltending will be good this year. But wouldn't have a whole lot down on that bet.

There are exactly 64 NHL goalie jobs. (Well maybe 66 to cover for a team or 2 having a "3 headed monster.") He's a starter. Will he be for all 5 years? No data. But being top 25 (and believe someone said he's actually 17th highest paid) only puts him ahead of 7 starters (and if he's 17th, he's only ahead of 15 starters). The cap keeps going up and by the time they have to be making a serious decision on Levi's pay (a couple of years from now as he's ~4 years away from UFA status) UPL quite likely won't even be in the top 32 of goalie's pay. The man's an amplifier and this is his Sally Fields moment - you like me, you really like me. There's a very good chance this deal works out, and even if it doesn't, there will be methods available to get out from under the deal.

Not in Buffalo, it don't. 😉

Wifey still on occassion will sing their UPL song. What a great bunch of characters they seem to be.

The clause in the CBA that says comparable players' contracts are used to help determine what the player's salary will be was in the post you quoted. Whether you choose to believe it or not is your choice.

One other reason to like this contract is that, for whatever reason, it seems that UPL plays significantly better when he truly believes his team is behind him and trusts him. This contract directly tells his that the team believes in him as a #1. (He has stated that in interviews that it's important for him to know the team believes in him. Maybe that was just a function of his youth and he'll grow out of needing that validation. But considering he seems to have an "amplifier" personality; that 1 extra year might've bought a better goalie than we'd've gotten even with a 3 or 4 year deal.) Personally expect that he'll play a lot better with this deal than he would've on a "prove it" 1 year deal with Levi breathing down his neck. Ruff has spoken highly of him. This proves Adams thinks highly of him too. And if they're wrong, well, TO & other teams seem to be able to get out of even worse bad contracts every single year. No reason the Sabres shouldn't be able to do so as well. AND they've still got Levi in the wings. Kind of feels like they are setting up their own little Ullmark Swayman situation here. Here's to hoping they did. (We're due for getting to actually have nice things again.)

If they DON'T use salaries, how exactly do you EVER get to saying how much a particular skill is worth? Would seriously like to know how else you get to a contract value. How would THAT arbitration go? They team and player's agent both use COMPARABLE players and compare their particular skills in an effort to determine how much the player is worth. You don't look at other player salaries on your own team (or on other teams for that matter) when the player isn't a comparable to him. Aka, you can't say well, Dahlin's the best D-man on the team and UPL is the best goalie on the team so he should get $11MM too. You also don't get to say, well the team has $13MM in cap space so my guy should get $6MM to get the team in line with other teams around the league. You don't get to look at a guy that signed a UFA contract to justify a certain $ amount for an RFA. But you ABSOLUTELY look at comparables and what they get paid. That's the whole point of going to arbitration. Btw, am getting that directly from the CBA. The CBA SPECIFICALLY lists that the following is admissible in an arbitration hearing: "(G) The compensation of any Player(s) who is alleged to be comparable to the party Player, provided, however, that in applying this or any of the above subparagraphs, the Salary Arbitrator shall not consider a Player(s) to be comparable to the party Player unless a party to the salary arbitration has contended that the Player(s) is comparable; nor shall the Salary Arbitrator consider the compensation or performance of a Player(s) unless a party to the salary arbitration has contended that the Player(s) is comparable." That seems suspiciously similar to other players' salaries, no? 😉

Pretty sure that was his point.

And Pominville signed for 5 years the previous year ('08).

Miller signed for 5 years back in '09.

Personally, want whichever of the 2 that reaches closer to his ceiling to be the LT #1. For Levi thats Saros. For UPL, wouldn't have believed it before watching him last season, but it's Vasilevskiy. Either would be awesome should it work out. And if somehow they ended up w/ both, well, seriously sweet. Edit: And btw, am not saying either will necessarily get to their ceiling. But those are what they look like.

Pretty sure a 5 team NTC doesn't do much at all to tie the GM's hands. And it's a sign of good faith that if the time to part ways arrives that they won't be sending him off to the NHLs (figurative) version of Siberia (so, no, @Thorny not expecting he'd end up in your neck of the woods without a NMC; was referring to the next Arizona whomever that may become 😉 ). Looks like a deal that works for player and team. Again, SWEET. Danke for the update.