nfreeman

I agree and am not expecting a #1 for Hall. I don't think any NHL GM could have seen the Sabres play this year and decide to give up a #1 for him. I'm guessing it will be a #2 and a #3, or perhaps a #2 and a prospect.

I think it's more accurate to say that "reporters have said they've heard rumors that TP and BB have an agreement that TP won't meddle." I don't think any credible reporter has reported that such an agreement exists.

I think that’s true if Carolina will pay in the same ballpark as what Rod can get by leaving, but he’s not going to take, say $2MM x 3 years just to stay there when he can probably get a guaranteed $18MM or so elsewhere.

I don't think that is the case though. I think I heard that Karmanos was fired over Rutherford's objection and that might've been the reason for Rutherford's sudden resignation.

Just for poops and giggles -- if it is Karmanos plus Rutherford... Kevyn Adams was with the Hurricanes from 2002 to 2007. Karmanos was with the Hurricanes from 1998 to 2013. Rutherford was with the Hurricanes from 1994 to 2014. Rod Brind'amour, probably the most highly regarded young coach in the NHL, and maybe the Chuck Norris of NHL coaches, which is EXACTLY what the Sabres are dying for, whose contract is up after this season, and who is one of the lowest-paid coaches in the NHL, and who works for one of the biggest cheapskates in the NHL, has been with Hurricanes since 1999. Oh, and by the way? Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane, who have delivered unto TP an elite NFL franchise, are both alumni of Carolina's NFL team. The Sabres might not get him, but if CDD is right, and 2 real guys are joining the Sabres, and if those 2 guys are Karmanos and Rutherford -- don't even try to tell me that Rod isn't #1 with a bullet on their list, and that they don't have carte blanche from TP to pay whatever it costs to get him. It might happen.

FWIW, this AM there were vaccine appointments available tomorrow around 50 minutes from me (at one of the upstate SUNYs). They went pretty quickly -- by the time I made my appointment an hour later, first available was a week from tomorrow, and it's now up to 3 weeks from tomorrow. Still pretty encouraging, and I think a new batch of near-term appointments gets uploaded every day.

It seems like at least 50/50 that Torts and Skinner would go about as well as RK and Skinner.

What about Torts, Quenneville, Lindy, Trotz, Laviolette...

Interesting. I have not held this opinion of CDD, but I'm certainly open to being swayed that way if today's tweets prove out. I've posted previously about how I was in the arena on '70s night when they brought a ton of guys back, and I was pretty close to Dudley, and he absolutely still looks like he could clean out a bar full of ruffians at 3:00 AM. Now this is a positive worldview that quickened my pulse. I can see all of it, just over the rainbow...

I'm predicting a 2nd and a 3rd for Hall.

Now those are some very sloppy seconds.

I don't think there is a contract extension dat Hall realistically would accept dat I would want the Sabres to give him.

A mere thumbs up wouldn't have conveyed how much I enjoyed dis. BTW, for those bemoaning the Staal trade upthread, Johansson hasn't done anything for the Wild dis year (although he's missed much of it with injury, to be fair). As for dis trade -- I don't think anyone reasonably could've expected more in return given how ineffective Staal was for the Sabres dis year.

So far, it's making me smile with every affected post, which is a happy turn of events in yet another misbegotten season. And dat's the truth.

Some of those women's UFC matches are fantastic.

I would support it, especially if it includes additional buildout of the FO, e.g. scouts, analytics guys, etc.

Well, at least they'll be able to get a long look at Linus as they decide whether to try to keep him.

Absolutely. My point was that Drury, Brind'Amour and McKee were exactly that kind of player.

Well, I'd be pretty happy with a Drury, Brind or McKee -- those are all difference-makers, and the kind of guys this team is dying for (although NOT in exchange for Eichel, whom the Sabres should not trade). Adams? Not so much.

@PASabreFan — I’m sorry no one got the joke. Maybe one more layer of meta is needed.

OK, so I've got 2 pretty good HBO shows to recommend: 1. "Gomorrah" -- Italian-language mafia show set in Naples. Not as good or as funny as the Sopranos, but still a good crime show. Solid B-plus. 2. "The Knick" -- Hospital show set in 1900 in NYC. 20 episodes, all directed by Stephen Soderbergh. I'm about halfway through season 1. Very good so far -- borderline B-plus/A-minus.

OK -- I stand corrected. Still, depending on how many starts he would need for them to keep his rights, it would seem like bad asset management not to give him that # of starts in order to keep his rights, given that this season is lost.

Well, he's an RFA after this season and wasn't making much $$, so I agree with @pi2000 that it's far from clear as to why they unloaded him.

I haven't listened to the podcast, as I find Friedman too long-winded, but was it "there may be a written agreement?" or "I've heard that there is a written agreement?" A lot of things "may" exist.

I just listened to the Weekes segment and was not impressed. He did not provide a single specific piece of information about the organization -- it was just a bunch of broad criticisms about culture, failure of ownership to include more people in decisions (as if the Sabres had a Tom Brady that should've been consulted), etc. There were no facts -- just "the proof is in the pudding." Well, no kidding that the results have been poor. I'd like an NHL insider to tell me something I don't already know. It sounded pretty mailed-in IMHO.