Peter

I do not know what was in your original post (before any deletions), but I do agree with your general estimation re Harrington. It is my impression that, as time has gone by, more and more people are on to Harrington, Bucky, and Sully.

Haven't we known for at least a year?!? There is no way TN did not know we are in rebuilding mode when he was hired.

The Koharski.

It certainly will be interesting to see whether and how Dom and TN interact. Didn't Dom say something along the lines that it would best that he never play for TN again (or words to that effect)? Indeed, he never did play for him again. We all have heard rumors, but I wish I knew what really happened re Dom, TN, and Muckler (as well as what happened after just two years with the Islanders).

So far, I am impressed. I also think that he seems to have "lightened up" as you say. It does seem to correspond with some other interesting events down at the FNC. Time will tell whether today was a good day. Based on what I have seen so far (notwithstanding my hope that he could have gotten more in some of these deals), I really like Tim Murray thus far. The guy seems to be a straight shooter. He is a hockey guy through and through. It seems as though he was groomed for this day and the GM position his whole life.

Very true -- especially the part about Brian Burke.

Darcy's trade of Vanek to the Islanders was a great trade. You have to give credit where credit is due. Same thing with his trade of Pominville.

Exactly. My thoughts as well. He does seem like a good guy. I really hope we make him an offer and are able to sign him on July 1.

That is my hope. There is no secret that the Wild want Vanek and Vanek wants the Wild. That leaves us in no worse position than any other team in trying to sign Moulson. As I mentioned earlier, he grew up on the other side of the border, his parents can watch him play, he seemed to genuinely enjoy playing in Buffalo. He also grew up a Bills fan. I hope we try to sign him on July 1.

I agree with that. He gets bashed a lot, but way more often than not, he did well in trades that he made.

I think I read a second and a prospect on twitter. Wow.

I hope that, before we traded him, we told him to wait for an offer from us on July 1. Same thing with Ott. Ott likes Buffalo. Moulson grew up on the other side of the border as a Bills fan. I would hope that we would have a chance to sign both. Who knows, maybe even Miller depending on how things work out.

At least . . . .

Now that I have had a chance to look up Torrey Mitchell, I absolutely have to agree with you. Those picks better be good ones.

I always wanted Torrey Mitchell. Actually, I am going to have to look him up now, because I do not know who he is.

This makes it better than our two picks likely to be at the top of the second around. We gave up a lot, but I have to defer to Murray in the end. I presume that he has a conviction about Fasching. On paper (and based on what I have read about him), he sounds like he has a lot of upside and could end up being great for the kind of team we are building. As an aside, especially because of what we gave up, I really hope that we do not trade Myers.

Black is on the business side of things. He has said time and time again that he reports to Pegula and PLF reported to Pegula - PLF did not report to Black. If what you, others, and guys at the news have suggested were true, I seriously doubt that either Tim Murray or Craig Patrick would still be with the team. Regarding Battista, as I posted in response to another, he essentially ran an errand for Tim Murray by running down to tell Ted Nolan to take Miller/Ott off the ice because of the trade. There is no reason to elevate that into something else as others have done. The fact that Battista was running an errand for Tim Murray demonstrates the opposite.

I think that the guy just got a job in which he supports and reports to the hockey people. Nothing more than that. The fact that he was the guy to run down to tell Ted Nolan to get Miller and Ott off the ice was just a function of who was around to do it because Murray was busy doing his job. It could have been you or me if we had been standing around. The fact that guys at the News elevated what was something an errand boy does into something else is humorous and sadly typical.

Mole hill meet mountain. It is funny how he cannot resist the snark. He took what I presume was intended as an attempt at humor (and interpreted as such by everyone in the world -- outside of the Buffalo News building). I have little understanding as to what Battista does. In the end, it does not make any difference. Tim Murray is the GM and is in charge -- not Battista.

One thing is for sure. Tim Murray knows the player well. He must think that he is worth bringing in.

Bucky has had a vendetta against the Sabres for so long (Harrington also has had an ax to grind). Neither one of these guys comes anywhere close to the standard that Jim Kelley set. It is clear that Bucky has "taken sides" - he did so a long time ago. Regarding PLF, one thing that sticks out to me is that the Islanders have erased all mention of one of their greatest players. Whether PLF was an unpaid assistant and only in that role for 40 days, one wonders what a guy could have done to cause an organization to go out of their way to to act as though the guy never existed. On the other hand, the Pegulas have a reputation for being wonderful people to work for. Ask people such as Lindy Ruff or Steve Ott (people no longer with the team) what they think of the Pegulas. The Pegulas were the ones that went out of their way and had the idea to hire PLF. You do not go and hire someone to be an executive with the team (someone who was not on anyone's radar other than the Pegulas) with the desire to screw the guy over. Nevertheless, the guys from the News always have the knee jerk reaction to "choose sides" against the Sabres and its ownership -- because it fits the narrative that they have been pushing for so long. The Pegulas even kept Darcy around when guys like Sully (and the rest) were clamoring for them to fire Darcy on day one. Given their track record of showing loyalty to people such as Darcy (when they could have fired him as their first move to garner PR points with the News and others), one wonders what could have happened to cause this to end so quickly (as with the Islanders). Perhaps, Paul Hamilton's comments about the public and private personas are correct. Given the above, I am going to give the benefit of any doubt to the people who have put their money where their mouths are both in terms of the hockey team and the community. On the other hand, we know that guys like Bucky and Harrington and Sully are not going to give them the benefit of the doubt because it simply does not fit their narrative. Just my two cents.

FWIW - I was impressed with the fact that Drew Stafford stood in front of a puck to prevent an empty net goal in the dying moments of the game last night. I realize a lot of people do not like him on this board, but what he did at the end of the game shows that the guy cares.

Especially when you turn 50 . . . .

Funny, wasn't Darcy criticized for that approach way back when.

Still interesting.