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I would agree except there ain't be no goals in the second so far. They need more than a three goal lead.

The Blues are not hitting. They need to lay some hits.

Boston is going with plan B: violence in the second.

We need just one Cup for now. ONE. One Cup win and all of these sins are forgiven. After we figure out how to win one Cup, then let's worry about the moves that herald a dynasty period.

Some team was going to be the first to overpay a prized UFA. I guess I'm glad we did it this year, and kept the guy we know works with our main dude.

Agreed. Eichel and Skinner both have achieved everything in hockey already: recognition as top players, various awards, and, of course, super big contracts. What's left for competitive people to achieve? The Stanley Cup is the only achievement left for these guys. Skinner is older and a little more wise than Eichel, so that's the reason I take what he has to say about the team's potential seriously. Skinner, to me, seems pretty authentic, and my reading of his demeanor combined with the way he plays game tells me the guy wants to win. Both of these guys have the desire, and I bet Skinner would say the desire is as equal in Eichel as it is in himself.

He wanted to go West. If memory serves, the were rumors he wanted to go West and wasn't going to re-sign. Los Angeles, San Jose, Vegas, Anaheim, and even the Florida teams were with the same circumstances quality-of-life wise.

I think there's something to this. A coach and GM should be tight. I think the Pegula's probably agree with that, if the McDermott/Beane relationship is any indication. The Pegulas seem to have bought fully into the "team" concept of top-end hockey ops leadership. Does it reflect on Botterill? Of course it does, but not necessarily negatively. Let's remember Krueger is supposed to be Botterill's hire, although now that I think about it, Botterill wasn't there for the press conference, while the Pegulas were as far as I recall. Anyway, maybe Botterill was tired of working with coaches who didn't want to collaborate and perhaps this is what put Krueger ahead of all of the other candidates. This would compliment the out-of-the-box reasoning that justifies Krueger as an NHL coach. #JustSayNoToRakruItsSimplyKruegerOrKruegs

A metro population nearly twice the size as here, the ocean, the middle-California weather, the area's relative wealth, the selective anonymity. Not to mention the owners didn't want him. No way Kane was going to sign here. He was living in a hotel room here and couldn't be "Kane" without being scrutinized. Skinner signed here for about nearly the opposite reasoning, and many of those probably were a turn-off to Kane, the team's future notwithstanding.

It's not optics, it's reason. The guy scored 40 during a miserable season. He's a tool, a partner, for our franchise center. He would have received similar on the open market. This is reality. There has to be some psychological term for fan bases that have catch-22 expectations for the object of their fandom where they get satisfaction pointing out failure despite the circumstances.

I object to this thread's title.

Hmm. That was nice of Skinner. Seems like he was somewhat undecided right up until Friday (or so). The family and Buffalo stuff are warm and happy, but I think it was most important that he pointed out he believes the team can be competitive. He could have received the big bucks on nearly any team, I wager, so it's not insignificant that he thinks the team has some untapped potential. Okay.

Good points. The only thing with a full NTC is that Skinner is in total control of his career in the NHL. He can waive it if he wants. And if he gets to a point where he wants to waive it, we're all likely at the point where he should waive it, otherwise it doesn't really matter that it's there. You do have to pay a guy who can score 40 goals. What I like about the sandpaper point is that he's committed now. I think we might see even a little more sandpaper.

So what building does Skinner drive into this weekend? I say it's a therapist's office.

Really? That's only 25 a year. He's here the entire time Eichel is. I can see 200 over 8.

Well, that's that.

People are writing him in as the 2C NOW FFS.

Fine. I see nothing in Mitts that makes me think he should be considered the second most important center on an NHL team.

I didn't see anything from Mitts that makes me think he's a future 2C. Better to pencil him in as a 3C and go from there.

Agreed on both. I don't know basketball, but I do know soccer and tennis. In both latter sports you know the fundamentals, you know where you're supposed to be and when (positioning), you know universal (to the sport) strategies (not unlike chess). The challenge is executing all of those well and using your knowledge of those elements to synthesize them in the moment into something that works. It's very simple: the better players execute and process the game better than the majority (who, at the pro level, execute and process better than amateurs). So the goal is: how to get these guys to elevate their execution and processing? To do that you must figure out what it is that prevents them from executing and processing better once you remove talent as a parameter. In most, if not all, cases, the thing preventing players from being better is themselves - whatever junk is in their minds and their emotional...capacities. This all is predicated on the assumption that these players are competent students of the game, already having learned (most of) the fundamentals. Xs and Os can get weighed down by the fundamentals. A game like football is always about either well-executed or cleverly re-worked fundamentals. A game like hockey (or soccer, or tennis) relies on this being muscle memory for the player and they execute and process at a higher level. The Xs and Os for a head coach ought to be player match-ups, player usage, and the occasional clever alterations to the fundamentals in-game, relying on the talent, ability to execute and process, and chemistry of the players.

Maybe Wawrow was in the car with this guy (from the above post, yes)...

The implication was to call up Olofssssson and stick him with Jack sooner. Let's remember, Jack was constantly talking with Olofssson during games, so, Jack may have been trying to prevent PH's corruption. Total speculation, of course.

RK isn't going to be experimenting like that. The only thing that would make RK make this decision is if Samson himself requests it. Otherwise, there will be too many other experiments in play to mess with something that works. If JBot tells RK Samson was signed here as a winger, Samson is a winger.

It was a mistake to call up Olofsson so late. We got a taste of what he might look like with Jack, but not enough to base a decision on for next season.

We talked about this all of this past season, and if memory serves the conclusion seemed to be (although I don't think there was consensus on the matter) that Samson was better off being a winger on his own line. There is no reason to start an experiment with him as a C because he elevates the second line being a winger. I'm with those who say the Sabres ought to find a serviceable center to pair with Samson on the second line. The data and eye test both support this path forward.