tom webster

Rumor is Hoffbrau Haus will be on ground floor of building they hope to put up between One Canalside and Harbor Center

For those interested, on line reservations now available for parties of 6 or less.

This is exactly it right now. We are into the easy phase of the final 30 games. What's the point of arguing which road they should have taken? I hated the last three or so years but at least there is hope for an exciting new beginning.

Why? People continue to over value goaltenders, especially young ones. Look at what Bernier and Bishop have been dealt for recently. Throwing in a first, even if its a high first just isn't good value and another reason why drafting a goalie in the first just isn't smart.

He has to sit out one full season before coming back and if he comes back before 18/19 it can only be with a Devils and only with unanimous consent of rest of NHL. After he 18/19 he is removed from reserved list and can sign with anyone. That is as of last year but for some reason I can't post link.

Nobody beats Jimmy Roberts, though.

I know Hank asked for it but no one responded. I think it is kind of a neat idea. http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/12221212/nhl-nhlpa-toying-ryder-cup-type-tournament

Exactly. As we have both said in the past, there has yet to be a good team that has had to sell off stars that it wanted to keep because of salary cap issues. With the way the Sabres are going to be built, any veteran player coming in will be given a front loaded contract within the parameters of the CBA. Then in three years, while the players cap hit will be high, his tradeability(F?) will be higher.

As Rakish pointed out, Kane was by no means the clear cut favorite. May considered him too small. Chicago was even't sure and apparently where ready to deal the pick for the right offer.

I think Turgeon/ Shanahan and Lafleur/Dionne were a lot like that as well.

No matter how many times you and Tank say it, he wasn't lasting till the 4th round. He has all the tools, is exceptionally smart, a nice guy and a hard worker. He would have been gone by the end of the second at the latest. While an overwhelming majority of execs and "experts" panned the pick, there were many that liked the pick for the potential upside. Given the Bills' situation, it wasn't the enormous reach some kid you would like everyone to believe.

If there was a way to know for sure, it would have been developed years ago. Bill Walsh thought Trent Edwards would be a star and was one of 32 guys who passed on Tom Brady 5 times and one of 9 guys who drafted another QB that year before Brady was drafted. Drew Brees was a 2nd round pick, Russel Wilson a third round pick. The list goes on and on. If there was a QB whisperer, he would be pulling down millions per year as a consultant.

It appears he has the ability to be Jody Gage or Mal Davis. Question is can he at least rise to Adam Creighton status and become a useful NHL center? I know you are still hoping for more and he is still young but I still can't envision it.

They are not even close to cap jail. Ennis' contract is designed to be an easy move as the actual salary declines to $3.65 in the last two years. Gionta's and Moulson's deals are similar in that their actual salary declines in the final two years. You will have several first and second year players on entry level deals for at least the next two years and even with the cap not going up as much as expected, there will be a significant jump in the next couple of years. The only bad contract on the books is Cody's and that may be bought out in the summer.

I agree with this. I wasn't really saying that the tank started then. I was just saying that I don't care what you call it, the last few years have been brutal and hopefully it is over in 36 games.

Am I the only one who feels like its been going on since DB and CD left? It seems like a blur and I can't even differentiate the seasons, let alone games. No matter how good they played, it never recaptured the magic of those two seasons. Like LGRM said, no matter when you start it, it has 36 games left and hopefully the excitement of going to a game returns.

That is part of the beauty of the rebuild. Your top two centers and your top 2 defenseman will be years away from top end salary so you can afford to pay guys like ROR. It doesn't mean you want to waste money but you can afford better depth players until your top guys are ready to command top salaries.

ROR is the perfect young vet to acquire. His limited offensive skills aren't going to help this year's team. He is young and together with Z will be the perfect 5,6 or 7 forwards.

Well there was Richard Gere but I think that was a movie. My first thought was Ivan Boesky

Like Wildcard said, he has a great rep as an O-line coach but no doubt there has to be concern about his character.

If Fox going to the Bears didn't end the speculation, Kromer coming here should end the Cutler to the Bills thought process.

Couldn't agree more about the Islanders but I would say year one was the Girgensons year even though I don't think it was intentional. I think he is going to be a huge piece of the puzzle either being the best third line center in the league or one of the best second line left wingers, probably a little of both. I don't think they will be a Cup contender next year but I expect them to challenge for 8th place and excite us with flashes of the future,

I understand that they didn't have to sign him. However, there were serious questions whether they planned on signing him at all. I previously stated a few posts ago that Zad and Risto along with Gus would be on the list if they weren't already with Buffalo

More like 10 points

Bailey is still considered a huge long shot to even make the roster. They weren't even sure they were going to sign him till he started the season on fire. Lemieux, too early to tell although this season is encouraging.