Patty16

I wonder what, if anything, they do to get the fans back. The psychos on this board will be back, but what about the casual fan not living in WNY?

Word is he spent a portion of the offseason in dallas, in a ferrari, with Derek Roy.... read into that what you may

and he's married now so.....

The real question is ........ why hasnt Darcy done something yet?????

these are the little wrinkles that arent fun now but will have an impact later. It's why a deal isnt as simple as locking them in a room. These things have big ramifications later. Wonder what else will emerge.

every team has cliques, including the Sabres right meow.

Like I said before, it seemed odd to just assume a much shortened season would still have the 9 game rule apply automatically. Some teams may be pushing really hard to have it not apply this year. Players wont like it though.

are you Jochen me? sorry, had to. Myers might not be ready to go, not sure he was 100% ... he had an ankle in Ruff lingo

Not necessarily, TSN said it wasnt clear that they would count this year. I would imagine some of the clubs would be annoyed that a shortened season would count, but not sure the players would give in on this so easily either. 9/50 games is a big diff from 9/82. 10% of games vs 20% of games to get a look. In any event, I'm in your boat. We have no C depth and we need help. This season is gonna be Fast and Fuhrious

are we sure the new CBA would have that count this year?

I blame the media in part for the current state of affairs, they are big enablers. Every issue is now a he said she said issue with both sides being equally represented in the discussion. While many political issues can be fairly discussed in this manner, many can not. I'll refrain from specific examples for the sake of the thread but there have been certain issues that one side just needs to be called out on in a professional matter. More news and less opinion commentators would be great. But this is America and people don't want that, the ratings back this up.

I'm told the players have essentially been told the season is on. The slow pace of the negotiations the past few days has been to allow them time to return/oversees and detox.

"such other and further relief" Which asks for any relief the Court is willing to grant. Like you said, this is just amove to get the parties back to the table.

I would think this is the case. I have been through many mediations, some are quick some are long but I haven't necessarily seen a pattern. I would also guess that unlike myself and Eleven, these mediations are more complex and the parties don't necessarily have the authority to strike a deal on the spot and have to go back to talk the right people and/or get approval. If recent press reports have any truth there is a fractured ownership group which in now way speeds up mediation.

It did work because the PA's in both cases would get discovery in Federal court. Decertifying allows them to proceed on that front and the owners know this. It's not necessarily about the validity of the legal argument as much as it is to prevent the owners from potentially being embarrassed about the internal workings. I think people are also underestimating the players need to play for money. Yes they are hurting but these guys arent like the majority of us on the board. They had strategy meetings on how to financially prepare for the lockout, and many players have investments etc. So they are not shopping at the dollar store trying to survive the lockout. That being said, yes money-wise it hurts everyone associated with the league.

I think we did that with Ott, lets not overstate the impact these guys have in the locker room. Drury is everything Doan is and more, considering the attributes you listed. Drury's locker room tone has not translated into changing the culture of this org, as soon as he left it was gone. Vets have their place but you dont bring a guy like Doan in at the rumored cap number for mentoring alone. The move has to make some sense. I agree that shipping out some stale faces is a great move, and one I think will be far more beneficial than bringing in an aging vet. The Sabres need some dynamic players or they will never get the Cup.

I thought that was Ott? The franchise has been missing a marquee Center or years. IMO thats for more important, and it is, because they make a lot more money and are a prized commodity around the league. Not that Doan isnt, but I wouldnt pay a 35 yr old forward huge money to play on this team.

Indeed, but I think most of us would agree that pending a blockbuster trade, this team isnt there. Locking up a 35 yr old winger whose contract cant be shed doesnt seem in the cards right meow.

but youre stuck with Doan's cap hit, even if we bury him in the minors. The guy is pretty old and we shouldnt be considering him as the next big piece, unless there's some grand scheme to fill the other holes on this team.

signing a two way 800k contract means you prob didnt have much choice, you took whatever contract was offered. NHL dont get much worse than this.

of course bc once theyre off the ice they wont be turning their backs. you need a balance of grit and scoring, i think theyve addressed one aspect but are missing the other. I dont think adding one player is going to have other teams shaking in their skates. We should hope there are more moves to be made.

I dont see how, its not like they've had a recent and precipitous drop off in production. It might help a little but I think the value is more in holding leads not creating them.

I love that the team is adding grit and toughness but who is going to score goals?

If hodgson was such a whiny B, why did Gillis have a list of only six players he would accept in return. He couldnt have been that much of a problem. Roberts, who has made a nice business for himself, is putting his credibility out there.

steve ott for #1 center? with a career high 41 pts? The sabres need massive help scoring, they had one of thier worst offensive seasons in a long time. And it's not because they were a bunch of sissies. They can add some grit to be sure, but they dont need goons, they need scoring even if it comes by way of a power forward.