tom webster

Russ has always been among the best "insiders." He openly admitted a few years ago that the team needed the media to help them sell the product and now he is reaping the benefits of that closer relationship with the front office. It isn't much different then the relationship Chris Berman built with the Bills' front office that allowed him to know who Buffalo was drafting before anyone else.

The Cap going down is being overblown. First its being set artificially low for one year and after a market correction, I believe it will be as high if not higher the following year. If you check out capgeek, there are a habd full of teams that will have to do some maneuvering next year but I predict it will not have the impact some predict.

A) You didn't really say that, but B) While I don't usually agree with you, I can see your opinion is based on a fair amount of fact and well thought opinion, so I assumed you mis-spoke. Didn't mean that I wasn't going to take a shot at you, though. C) I know that Lindy had input but I also know that they didn't always agree and sometimes disagreed by a wide margin when it came to some pretty big decisions. It is why now Lindy will hold out for at least some personnel authority in his new gig, and finally D) To use your analogy, Darcy bought the groceries and made some terrific buys on the prime meats and dairy products but failed miserably when it came to supplementing his diet with iron and fiber. Lindy did the best he could but there was no way to make it work with what he had to work with down the middle.

I only credited him for "finishing" the job in Anaheim as opposed to Darcy doing his thing. getting close but falling short. It is the story of his reign. You are the one spinning it when throwing out stats skewed by his first years here and neglecting the failure that has been the last few seasons. For the record, I told Darcy in person in 1997 that I didn't think he valued "grit" enough in constructing his team. I have been consistent but I think fair in my criticism of him through the years and even now don't believe things are not as bleak as is being portrayed. I even think that Reiger could serve a useful function in the organization if he would cede ultimate control to a different type of hockey guy. In the end, I hope I am wrong about him or at least that the odds of him getting it right make up for his shortcomings. By the way, I'm not really sure why I am wasting my time with you, didn't you say its not the GM's job to build a team?

Ill put Burke and Duds record up against Darcy's any day. 8 out of 14 certainly sounds better then 4 out of 6, doesn't it. Of course after two more years and its 8 out of 16 and 6 out of 8 you probably will point the "rosey" future and stop dwelling on the past when he led Muckler's team to the Conference finals twice and the Cup once.

The play of the Leafs this year is testament to what he did there. They hired him to rebuild the organization but they then decided they wanted him to take short cuts. Burke was fired because he is just like Bill Polian and he doesn't play nice and suck up to the bosses so the minute they had something on him, they let him go. Before the Leafs he built the foundation for Vancouver and finished the job in Anaheim, Dudley and Luce have substantial track records and if you need, I can send you a three page narrative recounting those.

Reading this whole thread, I come to the conclusion that the new Sabre plan is to lower expectations to take the heat off. The old business adage, Promise less, deliver more. I am starting to believe that they believe that their only problem is that they built unrealistic expectations. Their is really no reason to tear this completely down and start from scratch if they just fire the GM. Burke, Dudley, Nill, they could have it heading in the right direction in a year.

I hope you don't think that Couterier and a #1 is enough for Vanek.

Nice

58% on face-offs and over 52% the last three years. Not that they matter. Given their woes in he shoot out, Leafs may pick him up.

Jussi Jokinen released. Interesting player for a third liner with an ability to win draws.

It's not about being wrong, it's about making something up just to be part of the conversation. Two very different things. This board was always different because it allowed intelligent discourse from people with a wide range of opinions but always held true to the truth and civility.

How can you post this after your previous post? It's crap like this that ruins it for anyone with an ounce of integrity and a desire to use this site for some informed discussion.

Grigorenko cannot play in Rochester next year.

Regier didn't make Satan trade. That would be Muckler.

You can book it unless he resigns with a hometown discount.

No way he signs for less then $5 million and Clarkson will be pushing $6 million.

No way you can fit that third line under cap unless you have one of top two lines entirely on entry level contracts

I could guess. Hodgson line and Porter line remain intact. Vanek for Stafford Gerbe for Scott

Boyle and Clowe for Leopold and Stafford. Oh wait, I don't do this

My question would be how do fans that hate Stafford but idolize the Red Wing franchise reconcile this?

Plus Buffalo gives him a chance to do something he couldn't do in Colorado, beat the hell out of Montreal 6 to 8 times per year.

So if Leino amd Ennis return, will they not have to move someone? They will have 24 players counting Kaletta who I believe has to be counted whiel suspended.

While I agree that you need your role players to contribute, it is my belief that the very good teams thrive because their top 6 forwards and their top 2 defenseman carry them and in turn make the role players better.

And Lindy knew this.