shrader

Unless we get another future #1 draft pick from them, I think most of us will wash our hands of the Isles. I know I won't want to pay attention to that team once we have no future return from them.

We're all aware of how the knee could limit Tavares this year. On top of that, they've taken one hell of a hit on his left wing with the loss of Moulson/Vanek. Who is going to fill that slot? Kulemin/Graboski are essentially a lock to be paired up together on their 2nd line.

Also, as a guy is starting to get into his 30s, he's going to realize that each contract could be his last. Getting that one extra year on his contract right now is guaranteed money that may very well not be available to him when the contract expires.

I really wish Kelly and his family weren't so public with it. These are great stories, hearing about how many people are visiting, but the only thing I ever see in any of those pictures is how bad he looks. That just serves to remind me of everything that happened with my father-in-law in the past year and I wind up expecting the worst for Kelly.

I don't think most are too impressed with what they have done so far. They've also got the added stink of being the Islanders and still having Garth Snow running the show. They have such a prolonged period of suck that we really should expect them to be bad once again. They're in that same neighborhood of the Bills where I'll believe they are turning the corner only when I actually see it.

If anyone has seen/heard Bobby the Brain Heenan in recent years, they know what this could wind up leading to. There's another guys who built his career on his voice and now is a completely different person.

Why would it be? It's not like we have to free up cap space. If they were worried about having too many bodies, that shouldn't be an issue that would stop you from signing someone today.

Hey, if you want to bring in a guy who may have more of a money focus, a one year deal really isn't a bad way to go.

Right, I'm just focusing on the logic that a guy willing to sign here must be a good team guy. That portion of the statement really doesn't belong at all the more I think about it now. The portion before your highlighted and really tells the whole story when it comes to what we should be looking for.

At this point, I don't think we can really talk about Pysyk as an inexperienced guy. He's moving into his third year as a pro and is quickly approaching that point where he is going to define his role. Does he step up and become a more dependable guy or does he stick to that borderline NHL player status. He's going to have to take that next big step relatively soon.

I'm not saying Gionta or Moulson is that guy, but someone who is willing to sign on to a tank situation could very easily be someone who is just looking for the biggest paycheck. It doesn't automatically make them a good team guy and someone you want around.

Inkman's calves are actually implants which were manufactured in Europe

Why can't we have nice things?

I like it simply for the fact that we finally played the old St Louis-Tkachuk game buy bringing back a guy we traded at the deadline.... and then we did it a second time. He's mostly filler, but when he does play, he'll be an effort guy who sends the right message to the younger guys. I'd love to see him reclaim his form from his first full season here, but those days are more than likely gone.

It's worth repeating, so here it is: ###### cancer!

Except I read that bolded sentence and I wonder how much of it was Moulson and how much was Tavares. His time without Moulson was limited, but you basically just told us that nothing changed after he left. I don't know how that equates to proven mentorship.

In a way, the Montreal situation kind of reminds me of 2007. They're not at the same level as our losses then, but they just let a huge part of their team leadership walk away after making it to the conference finals. The only difference is that they also let Vanek walk.

They still won't score much and the goaltending will be weaker than last year. We are still on track.

The beer bottle and the weaponry are one and the same, right?

And it won't hurt if we have to swallow a percentage of that $0 contract in order to make a trade work.

Ehrhoff is in a nice place where he can sign a one year deal like that because he's already getting that nice check from Buffalo each year until around 2085.

Duke doesn't start their benefits until the month after starting, so that is kind of annoying. I can pay their full premium for that first month though if I want, so it's really going to come down to which is cheaper, that or cobra.

Do they have the AHL-ECHL version of the two-way contract? I'm sure that would be an option as long as other AHL teams aren't that interested in these guys.

So the move is happening. Now I just have to find the cheapest way for health coverage for a month. Those 4.5 weeks of built up vacation hours which I get to cash in will come in handy.

With some of the great photoshops we've had done around here, I bet we could make a contest out of this.