...

So I want to add Stastny to that list. He uses a wood stick. Get 'em.

I think he's a physicist.

My neighbor, God love him, even he sees precisely what Murray is doing, and loves it. He's pushing 70, though, so, he's a bit olde skoole.

Geez, I hate being first in these polls. I never really know what I'm doing, I just go for the shiny silverware. I expect Buffalo to be in on pretty much any worthwhile UFA, but, whether any are landed, who knows. I suspect Moulson might be more apt to return than Ott. Orpik will be offered crazy money only a fool would turn down.

I think we're in the same camp, fundamentally.

You have no sense of humor. I meant it lovingly.

I like the tweets. I like the information folks like 26cb and tank provide, even if it sometimes is redundant, and tank can be a big jerk. Frankly, I come here for my aggregate Sabres and important/interesting NHL news and believe that how ever that is occurring, is satisfying. What's nice about this forum is the combined threads, where you get a whole bunch of discussion surrounding a topic, sometimes tangents, sometimes new topics emerge, but the conversational nature and semi-unpredictability is appealing. I understand this makes it more difficult for a noob to "get into" the forum, but, IMHO, that is what helps keep the poster/post-quality very high. And, all of you, you're all high-quality internet posters fer shure. If the forum were forced to accommodate new people in a manner that breaks up the conversational threads, then I would wager we'd start getting a lot more nuisance people here. During the season, especially an interesting season, you're going to have your first page full of relatively fresh topics. So I think discussing this now, when the season is over and the hockey scene is pretty one-dimensional, doesn't lend itself to fully appreciating what kind of community it is we have here. Let's re-visit this in November. The only suggestion I would make, other than those implied above, are to encourage new threads when a topic starts to steer into one. That way, the original topic stays intact, and the tangent can take a life onto its own.

You just wait...this will be you come October 1:

Are you submitting your curriculum vitae for a moderator-ship?

The fun; you missed it.

Yes.

Me! Me! Uh, what do I have to do? Do I get a prize?

I think Miller will be happy, or should be happy, just to be a starter somewhere.

The Sabres announced a while ago they are changing the culture within the team. Murray has said, many times, if a player doesn't want to be here, then that player will not be on the team. Ehrhoff didn't want to be here, and we have to assume Murray has much more concrete evidence of that than we ever will. Ehrhoff couldn't be traded due to the situation around his tenure here. Ehrhoff was thusly bought out. Buh-bye Ehrhoff. Welcome the culture change we have desperately wanted, and the team has desperately needed, for a very long time. I'm all in. And, any one of you who are for the tank and are bitching about this move? You're a hypocrite. With all due respect and all of that, but, seriously, you can't want the tank and not be giggling yourself to death over this move. If you aren't, your opinions and judgments are fundamentally compromised.

I think the "least favorite" should have a N/A option. After Reinhart and Lemieux they're all equal.

That's me, pretty much as well. I liked Reinhart and had Lemieux in my top 30. These two plus Johansson make it an A-rating draft for me. Absolutely, which pushes this draft into A+ territory as far as I'm concerned. Instead of going for the safe picks; players who stand a good chance of becoming third/fourth liners, Murray took the gamble at higher-ceiling/higher-risk prospects and I think that's a great strategy. If I'm not mistaken, that's one way Detroit built up their dynasty.

Over a year in the making...is everyone happy? I think I am pretty pleased overall.

I'm restraining myself, it's true. The don't-be-a-dick line had me forcibly removing myself from my iPod. Like I tell my kids: just try and be nice. You, or we, all need each other in some bizarre way.

Internet King...funny kettle, funny.

I dunno, but I think there's a certain level of craftiness at work here. Perhaps I'm idealizing what I see from Murray; but the persona he projects isn't for us, it's for the other GMs. He creates this perception of being shockingly direct and upfront, and uses that as a way to manipulate his transactions. I make no judgment, now, as to whether its a successful approach in hockey, but it can be effective in business.

Well, damn, if they boo the NFL commish, this country isn't going to give a whit if the NHL commish is being booed. It's normal.

26CornerBlitz, thanks for posting those summaries. I'm happy to see there's some agreement among them that Reinhart can influence the game tempo. The Sabres haven't had a player who can do that, on their own, in I don't know how long.

Poor kid, I bet during all of that he wants to run away and jump and yell. They take the monkey by the leash and show him off.

Holy crap. I know he's our shiny, new toy, but, if this is how he presents himself to the media now, his post-game interviews in three years will be brilliant (for an athlete interview).