North Buffalo

The interview with Teddy sounds like he has matured a bit. Milstick said he wasn't an x and o guy and that is what is needed in the current league. LOL what a tool, this coming from a goon who wouldn't know an x if it bit him in the O. That being said Nolan may well have picked up a few things and with the assistants he currently has inherited Xs and Os should be okay with more effort. Will see and at least it should be more entertaining er punishing hockey.

Fair points. I wonder if that is why Zadarov sat to that Nolan could evaluate him for 2 more games before sending him back.

Kinda nice that LaFontaine is connected to Bettman and NHL operations. Maybe the Sabres can have better relations with NHL decision making. Can't hurt.

Love the avatar... the minecraft hockey version. Can you kill Zombies with the goal stick?

I just heard, unfortunately from a Rangers fan on my way home from work. Mostly football Giants and Jets fans where I am and I left my cell at home today. My first reaction 10 minutes ago was f#$% yes. About time, now time to can Stafford. That being said, I like the idea of Nolan. He always was good with young developing teams as long as he stays away from the goaltenders wife. Guess that nixes honor Hasek any time soon... Love the fact that La Fontaine is involved. From a P.R. standpoint this is a good move, practically I am not sure, but if Devine is running the scouting department, this is probably ok. Didn't take time to read the previous pages, just had express my reaction. Now to do my reading.

I think at this point I would rather watch the Amerks on broadcast than the Sabres. What or where if any is there a good link to Amerks broadcasts? Never mind, whew this is pricy but probably better than the Sabres product: http://ahl.neulion.com/ahl/?gclid=COvkibOr37oCFQ8OOgodVG0AOA

Probably true, and the Sabres sure haven't had any luck lately with Darcy at the helm when it comes to drafting. Pending outcome of some of the recent drafts.

Eric Moulds... And agree about mid to late round studs needed. Just can't get out of my my Zetterberg in DT. If only.

Oof, but the draft at center has been lacking even when they have been. Kassian was sent away and really is not a center. Ennis too small not really at his best at center. Foligno so far is the best of the bunch and he was what a 5th rounder. Catanacci, still waiting to see what he can do. Grigs and Gergs the jury is still out on, though both have shown some promise. Grigs maybe a better as a winger and Gergs is not a number 1 center, more a checking center. What is glaring about this list is the good D drafted and the lack of centers capable of playing at the NHL level yet were a need since 2005. So, I don't think you can call Darcy's drafting ability a success, only again that he has an eye for D and is clueless when it comes to centers. His centers seem to have mixed success playing wing, but not center. P.S. I have been yelling about this since 2005 as many others have. The proof to me is NHL ready within 2-3 years and on offense especially at the Center position the draft has been a black hole. Some promise occasionally, but a lot of fizzles.

It is interesting that we are all trying to educate ourselves early on draft potential players out there. I think this will really help us evaluate Darcy's decision making. Not so much in the first round though I have no doubt it will help, but the fact that so few players from the later rounds have made the big club. My other criticism of Darcy is that in what are considered depth years, so few players have made it up the ranks, especially second rounders. I know the percentage is lower, but it is not 0. How many second round front line players are playing on the big club. Later round guys there are a few... but not many and certainly not guys that have second or first line talent. The Sabres need to find some diamonds in the rough and Darcy has done another poor job at iding those guys. Hard to say if any of the guys recently taken with all the 2nd round picks will develop, but you would think some of the previous years would have by now. Ironically, the second rounders on the team right now are Larsson, Enroth, Tallinder and Weber. Larsson was gotten in a trade. The others are D guys, one who is ancient and Weber who is struggling. McCormmick was a 5th and Tropp was a 4th round. Flynn was an undrafted free agent. Interesting, and almost more telling, the Sabres are loaded with middle to late first round picks including Ott. With all the picks coming and the one's taken the last two years. If the Sabres can't find some talented guys, its gonna be a mess in two years, worse than it already is.

And that is the juxtaposition we are in trying to understand Darcy's motives and strategy. My only contrary point is if so why didn't the Sabres tank at the end of last year? Because of Darcy's incompetence? He didn't get rid of Vanek or Miller soon enough. Pommer was a good start. I guess keeping Stafford on the team helps with your theory.

Despite what is considered a shallow draft, and maybe because of it, there does not appear to be a lot of top end D prospects. Is that the reason for the low ranking or do D get considered later in the year because they often take so long to develop and harder to get a fix on unless they are considered elite?

Where are they going to get 20 points. After watching last nights debacle, who do they play 9 times let alone 14 times that they can beat in order to get to 30 points let alone 20. Just not seeing it. Rolston is horrible as a coach and this teams is playing down to his level. Oof, I wondering if they can even get to 10 points at this rate. Maybe through ties?

2014 USA prospect tournament coming up, Nov 4-10 might be worth keeping an eye on. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=687276

Anyway the mods could add Amerk news reports from Rochester to the headlines. I see they do it occasionally, but actual news links would be nice. Especially since some of these guys will be in Sabres uniforms next or even this year.

My advice, because I did this in my early thirties and still play. I am almost 50. We skated a little as kids, but not well enough to play on an adult team. So I took lessons. My first pair were CCMs good for a middle width foot and a little flat footed. Now I have a pair of Bauer, tilted a little forward and the blade isn't quite as long. I think I like the balance of the CCMs but can move my feet faster... a relative term, in the Bauers. Bauers are a little narrower. For wide feet Grafs are the best. Most are heat moldable and a good hockey store can do that for you. I was told if you want buy online. CCMs are a size and a half bigger than your shoe size to go down that much when ordering and Bauer are 1 size smaller. Hockeymonkey.com and hockeygiant.com have good sales and you often get last year's models at a discount. But do get the heat moldable "bakeable". They fit like a glove and once you get used to it, I skate without socks for more control. I put on my thinnest pair of socks, stick the skates in the oven on its lowest settings for 10 minutes, put them on my feet in the living room tied as tight as possible for a half an hour while I watch TV. Has done the trick both times. Just my two cents. P.S. You won't regret it and it is a great way to stay in shape.

Also known as Shinaniganitis. I also have Staphylcoccus infection. The Tin Man used to be on this team and then I was missing a heart.

Interesting trade, I think the Sabres did well generally and if Molson wants to go elsewhere, the Sabres can pick up another draft choice. Though I am sad to see Vanek go. Wow, we all knew it would happen but now that it has happened, all I can say is I am shocked. My next statement is don't let Darcy draft a center, give that authority to someone else because he clearly has no clue.

Any bets on how soon Miller is moved?

Except again, Darcy is late to the party. Why wasn't that implemented last spring when the Sabres were in 2nd to last place and everyone then was advocating a tank drive, especially on a shortened meaningless season. That I think is what pisses fans off the most. Always Darcy is late to the party and can't pull the trigger soon enough. Same applies to the statuses of Vanek and Miller... late again. They should be gone by now with some young players taking their place and high draft picks anticipated over the next 2 years as part of their deal. P.S. Might as well keep Stafford, at least he knows how to make tanking happen. Seriously, why couldn't Miller and Vanek follow Stafford's lead at the end of last year???

I might give the above some creedance, but this case your statement is a non-sequitor, given the fact there is so much to carp about on this team. Lets start with Darcy, go to Stafford, then Myers and consider Hodgson and Rolston... Miller ironically has been playing much better and while some of the young-un needs some work, I wouldn't cry about them. The reason so much of us are loudly whining is because of effort of the above mentioned people... maybe not Rolston. I actually like him. But you keep saying this non-sensical irrelevant statement if it makes you feel better. Me, I am going to wait til I see Stafford traded and the Sabres actually find a number 1 center.

Update on 2014 Draft: TSN profiling Bennet: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=433634

Awesome and yup... Exactly what I was trying to say. Head in the sand doesn't work. It will cost all of us more.... Add in the elderely who are more likely to use healthcare and the aging population and bingo skyrocketing costs and budget impact unless something is done on the cost side of things. This is where because of inelasticity of the market causes the problem and where the free market breaks down... Interesting analysis.

I am coming a little late to this discussion, sorry only read the last page of rhetorical discussion. I saw nothing based on the constitution specifically. Was the original point, what authority of the Constitution does the SCOTUS have to implement the ACA? On the Bias of the news agencies... Duh that has been going on for years. I suppose I should reveal my bias, I am a Blue Dog Dem.... Look it up. Though nowadays it can stand for a few things.. I am pretty cynical about many things going on now. The ACA as an idea, I think is a good thing, given Insurance companies manipulation of the market. Even then the government only has so much power because Insurance is regulated by the States. The government is using its purse strings as a hammer to get people to buy insurance. I think denying people access to other government benefits if they don't participate in basic health insurance is a good thing. The government does it all the time in other programs including Crop Insurance for farmers. Getting the IRS involved is bad... They have no tact and create more problems then they solve. As far as authority, hey Congress passed the law, the Admin can inforce it. I still think everyone should read Article 1,Section 8 of the Constitution, especially the clause..."common welfare" which has been is language that you can drive a truck through to cover the Constitutionality of a lot of this stuff. Not saying I like it, but Constituionally it appears to pass muster. I do think Obama has mismanaged the implementation of this whole and difficult idea and not shown enough specific leadership to the bureaucracies involved.... The goal could have been accomplished a lot simpler by using a reinsurance model of risk pools while still requiring everyone to participate. Medical Costs are the fastest growing expense in the U.S. Budget and it is going to get worse. There will be over 70 million people being added to medicare roles in the next 20 years according to U.S. Census. Current age population 60-65 will add an additional 30 million and 55-59 another 20 million to medicare and retirement roles and the last of the baby boomers ending in those born in 1964 won't hit age 65 adding another 20 million to the retirement age and it will need to be paid for. Folks, its gonna cost, and old folks vote and they don't like their medicare touched. This ACA is an attempt to figure out how to pay or the healthcare needs of an aging population and spread the costs out. So the right wing answer of sticking your head in the sand doing nothing is not the answer, it will bankrupt the U.S. The problem is that insurance companies still have much of the pricing power and Drs especially within the AMA are so disorganized they can't come up alternative. Not saying the current ACA is workable as it stands. Also the Hospitals are gaining a lot of power as well and creating headaches for the Drs. Not sure this is all bad, but it is creating a lot of blame on the ACA which would be happening anyway imo. Sorry if any of this has been stated already. So instead of questioning the consitutionality of all this and causing the government to default. If the Republican could come up with some alternatives that could be workable, I am all for it. Going back to the previous system causes a greater budget impact and won't work. I am all for a workable solutions. The Republicans imo are kicking a gift horse in the mouth with their anti-government rhetoric instead of coming up with a workable solution or model that meets some of their ideological concerns. The Dems need to get the bureaucracy in order and better get control of the implementation clearly explain how the law as it stands works and what doesn't work and needs to be modified and get everyone on board. This process is nuts, more than normal.

Addition info from TSN: http://www.tsn.ca/draftcentre/feature/?id=31165