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He said that on draft day. He said, now that it's official, this was the place he wanted to go. Between the Twitter vids, the interaction with Murray on stage, lots of things, to me it was evident. Not to mention, his girlfriend is from here. I think it's great.

Jack is so savvy in handling the media. Either he's that smart, or they're not that smart.

Frankly, I won't be surprised at anything, unless it comes in way low. We knew all along this guy will cost a premium. No one seemed to care in the ROR thread, so, no one should be shocked at whatever the terms are.

Don't we need another goalie as well?

Yay!

I always thought leadership begets culture.

This is a leadership signing for Rochester. A good move in terms of teaching the kids the way to prepare for the game.

I don't disagree, but I think of the UFAs, even before today's signings, he is the best fit for the next two years. I wouldn't want him signed for more than two, maybe three if he gives a discount for three.

Unless they get Oduya. Sekera got exactly what he was after, long-term contract for stability. I wonder if there is a NTC or something like it included. I would have bet he offered a discount for a NTC.

Penguins making an obvious attempt at salvaging the Crosby/Malkin core before they blow it up. Wait...FAKE? Well, still, this is what they're trying to do. That team has been spinning its wheels for ages. That would be frustrating.

Agreed. There is no need for Murray to panic.

I appreciate the reposts here. I don't have time to scan Twitter so it's nice to have everything relevant collected and dumped here.

It's July 1...where are the new players? WTF?

FWIW, if I played in a beer league, that would be me.

Most likely offset or completely nullified by cap increases by then.

I really wanted to post this: https://vine.co/v/h1PUTDd1MeD But you can't post a Vine thingy here it seems.

There are always outliers. Ennis would be nervous if DR were still GM. All that sandpaper in his game, can't have that. Meanwhile, Murray likes sandpaper in his shorts.

I always said that this team won't be serious about winning until they get rid of Hodgson. I guess they're getting serious now.

Something Murray said while talking about the Lehner deal helped me to soften up on my reaction to it; he said that every player in the league has had that kind of injury at some point. I figure that's probably more true than hyperbole. I'm guilty of looking at some of these moves in a vacuum at first, but I'd like to think I can be reasonable enough to look at the big picture. After I took some time to absorb the Lehner trade, and after hearing Murray talk about it, I'm good with it and believe it makes a lot of sense. I decided not to react to the O'Reilly deal until I had some time to absorb it. Upon further reading, taking into account the details of the trade, and taking into account the opinions and viewpoints of those (here) whose hockey-think I respect, I like the move. And then, again, stepping back and surveying the big picture, Murray's vision is becoming crystal clear and I really, really dig it. Each move, on its own, is a potential head-scratcher or cause for consternation on the surface, but after digging into the details, and looking at the moves together in context, I agree that there is absolutely nothing here to complain about. Indeed, I am in awe, for the most part. Add a good UFA D man and this team looks poised to way surpass the projections saying a 20 point increase would be an improvement. I feel they could contend for a wildcard slot, if not better. And I believe that the vision is large enough and bold enough to make them Stanely Cup contenders. How can anyone complain about that?

The obvious choices, to me, are Sekera and Oduya. Sekera will provide an offensive threat and can play the PP. Oduya will cream anyone just looking at Lehner and knows what it takes to be a winner. Just sign them both and be done with it. I should add that in Sekera's favour is his age, as well. There's still many good years left in him. But I like the scary a pairing of Bogo and Oduya brings.

Lehner is simple: Murray determined Lehner is more valuable to him than any player he could pick at 21. And while I question the concussion as well, Murray does have a medical staff, NHL research, personal and professional experience, and sport history to help evaluate the potential outcome of this injury. I would guess that, while a gamble, the degree of the gamble falls well in favor of Murray and the Sabres. Murray is like an abstract artist, you have to step back and take in the totality of his work. There have been individual moves that I would question, or wonder about, but when I look at what the Murray "big picture", it makes complete sense.

If the Sabres become Stanley Cup contenders in the next three or so years, does it matter? Not to me. Given the talent available, and the assets we had/have to build a competitive roster, highly competitive roster, anyone have suggestions where Murray could have done better? We have seen the draft-and-wait approach. We have experienced the cautious, conservative approach to building a team and we all collectively thought it sucked. Buffalo needed shock and awe, we got shock and awe. We needed excitement and a zero-f*&ks-given attitude. We have it and it's awesome to be part of it. You want to wait 5-6 years to see if we can contend? Okay, draft your prospects, play the game the old fashioned way. You want to vie for a Cup in 3-4 years or less? I give you Tim Murray.

So, how many centres do the Sabres have now? I am hoping this means Murray has something else going that gets us back into the first round.

I would be much more ready to accept and rationalize this trade if it weren't for the concussion. Lehner's numbers look good, and I can accept the argument that pick 21's are usually gambles. But, we have seen Miller get concussed. We have, or had, other goalies in the system who were concussed. I know people (a goalie, in particular) who was concussed. This is like paying top dollar for a used vehicle, knowing the CARFAX has a "airbags deployed" entry on it.

This is a horrible, horrible move. I don't care if Murray is a savant hockey scout, we have seen our share of dumb-ass, fool moves and this is one of them. Pick 21 in a deep draft for a goalie, a goalie who is JUST coming off a severe concussion? With all of the other assets, you mean to say there was no way to get this done otherwise? You couldn't exercise patience, and instead act like a child holding a $100 bill in a toy store? Bad, bad, I mean, beyond bad judgment here, and a lack of self-control, on Murray's part. The goalie market is as much of a buyer's market as it has been; there was no reason to waste such a valuable asset like pick 21 on this. Murray can dig himself out of this hole, but he's going to have to do some impressive conjuring to do so.