tom webster

The funny thing is it probably helped Ottawa secure Debrindicat.

Murray was about Bales and also about not wanting to do Ottawa any favors. He isn’t happy about how he’s been treated there and him and Bales never saw eye to eye during his rookie season.

Let’s not give them too much credit. Everything loved them signing last year’s one year wonder and now they are taking a shot at another.

I still think he does something but it is an analytical axiom that you don’t need a great goalie you just need your goalie to play great. Obviously, if you can get one of the elites, that is better. I don’t necessarily agree with this, but if you want go the data driven approach, I appreciate going all in. Murray wasn’t about Buffalo.

The only people that talk about the cap are people who don’t want to spend money or people that screw it up. That’s why I hate when people keep talking about saving cap space for future signings. Good teams know how to navigate it.

I forgot about him. Yea, I thought he was going to be good. Him, too.(Mikael Anderson)

The Sabres don’t seem to worry about what hand the defenseman are but he is left handed so whichever way you look at it, left handed defenseman aren’t close to a glaring weakness.

I’m not sure I would call LHD a glaring weakness.

I did a thread a while back that showed that as of two or three years ago, the Sabres had more of their draft choices still playing in the NHL. They’ve missed on finding the high end talent and in their ability to put a team together but they’ve actually done better than most when it’s come to the draft. There are different reasons for some of the numbers but they haven’t been as inept as some believe. As far as this thread goes, I thought Paul Cyr was going to be a star.

With the schedule out, those interested should start looking for preferences regarding the game.

I’m meeting some people at the Bisons game or I would have joined you.

Yeah, I don’t think they touch that and frankly I don’t blame them.

They have become so good at using media to cover their *****. This way, if their efforts are unsuccessful, they’ve tempered expectations. Maybe they think their old friend Mike Grier will help them out.

They are trying to trade both his and Strome’s rights. If they can’t, it’s possible they don’t. They really want to blow it up.

Regarding Kane and Toews. Chicago wants to move on but they go not want to be the ones to ask. They also are not looking for immediate help. They want to be bad. They aren’t planning on qualifying Strone or Kubalik. They would trade Jones if they could move that contract. They want a full reset. Some believe that if/when Debrindicat(sic?) is dealt, the Blackhawks hope Kane and Toews ask to be dealt. It’s still likely they are not, but this is considered a pretty open secret in the league. This is not hockeybuzz stuff. It’s been talked about by Lebrun, Friedman, TSN, etc.

I’m not worried about what you are counting on, unless of course you are KA. And I previously stated, I’m not counting on anything from UPL.

You know, we agree more than we don’t but if the team is counting on Mitts it would greatly lower my opinion of the front office. He could be a wildcard. If he stays healthy and produces like some thought he would, it greatly speeds up the process. However, he should be thought of as the icing on the cake and should not, based on his history, be counted on as a key ingredient of that cake. As successful teams across all sports have repeatedly stated, the best athletic attribute is availability.

If Casey leads the team in scoring, the Sabres will be either very good and exceed everyone’s expectations or be very bad and challenge for the worst record in the league.

Tampa is just a step ahead of everyone.

Kuemper is not Ullmark level.

I think Campbell is only number 1 because he would cost no assets. Plus they are putting a premium on character and he gets high marks on that front.

Marchment is the kinda guy they will target. An “analytics find” who had a great year on a team with limited cap space. Question you always have to ask with guys like him and Bunting et al, where their numbers inflated by whom they got to play with and where they played in the lineup.

There are options. There are also 8 or 9 teams looking to upgrade their goaltending.

I agree with the Washington goalies but I think that is option C or D. I believe the pecking order is Campbell Quinn Varlamov Washington. It is important to note that they could have had Vanacek last year for a 2nd and passed. Also, I know some hate it, but the “really interesting “ is Patrick Kane. I believe, that there are people in the organization that believe acquiring him would not alter the patient approach and would put people in the arena. Others are pushing back but I’m inching closer to 50/50 than I was when I first started that thread.

I agree 100%