nfreeman

You might like the movie "Rush", which is a pretty good movie, stars Chris Hemsworth and is based on a true story about 2 rival F1 drivers in the 1970s.

Snark notwithstanding, my point was that RK's affinity for him makes it less likely that they trade him unless there are real assets coming back. Having said that, your point about cap space being a meaningful asset is valid. I just don't think they will make that kind of deal with Montour.

I want Risto to be on the Sabres when they break the drought this season. I want this franchise to give him that experience, and I want his nasty in the playoffs.

Yes, but most likely at the cost of precluding them from being able to afford to keep Hall. That would've been ill-advised, since they would've been making that decision before they needed to.

Montour was 2nd among the D in ice time last year, which means RK likes him. I don't think they are just going to dump him, including for cap space, without getting a reasonably solid asset in return -- either a goalie or an LHD.

Regardless of whether they beat the Pats, they aren't going anywhere unless the offense cranks it up to the level of the 1st 4 games or thereabouts.

I will be very surprised if Arttu isn't in Rochester to start the season, or if Cozens isn't in Buffalo for the entire season.

In addition to @Taro T’s point about Johansson, I think they can sign a cheap vet for this if needed. @dudacek I think is 100% correct that KA is working this out intentionally and skillfully to have enough cap space to eat a few million in order to bring in a goalie upgrade now, as well as huge flexibility next offseason. KA has IMHO already made more savvy moves in a few months as GM than JB did in 3 years.

I generally agree with the exception of the Zemgus contract, which continues to be nuts. Separately, I agree that this is a good deal for the Sabres. Not that good for Reino, although not really bad either, and I can understand why Sam would prefer to avoid the arbitration process. I think the door is very much open for a long-term contract next summer, but there are a lot of different scenarios in which that would not happen. This certainly gives the Sabres flexibility to choose a Hall extension over a Reino extension.

It’s not just the royalty checks either. The company car is great and I love the luxury box tickets.

Am I supposed to click every link in every post and run a check on the credibility of every site that is linked? How soon would you like the report run sir? Again: if anyone objects to anything, just point it out. And yes, in fact I just checked in a couple of minutes ago, hoping for some convivial hockey talk as I wind down my day.

Yes indeed, although I think Lazar is also in the mix to be the healthy scratch.

I think most teams generally break even or make money, although some lose quite a bit of money. However, I think most teams will lose money this year and possibly the following year as well. I think right now there are plenty of teams that, if put on sale in the next year or two, would either not sell at all or would sell only at a big loss. Yes indeedly. It will be the difference between profit and loss for most teams this year.

I don't think the Sabres would walk away from any of those, and I wouldn't do so either, except that I might walk away from the Ullmark award if I had a deal put together for a different goalie. I am issuing an official SabreSpace guarantee that Hall-Eichel-XXX will be fun every shift, and that the team generally will be much more entertaining this year than last year or for that matter quite a few years.

But the arbitrator chooses one figure or the other, right? i.e. he/she can't produce his/her own number?

Well, each of the 3 Sabres going to arbitration is a pretty important player, and it would only be a 1-year commitment. I would be very surprised if the Sabres walked away from any of them.

I was thinking the same thing. Especially since it like like the NBA is going to start its season before Xmas.

Does anyone know if there has been any official or semi-official word as to whether economic contraction will be factored into arbitration awards? If there has been no such indication, I guess the Sabres will be the guinea pigs unless they reach deals with Ullmark and/or Reino.

How nice. As always, all you have to do is ask.

This seems like it would be good for the city and the franchise.

It got a little dusty in here when I clicked the link and thought about 2005 to 2007. The first Sabres game I ever took my son to was in 2005 vs the Islanders in Nassau Coliseum. Connolly tied it up late on a gorgeous play and then Kotalik used what would become his signature shootout move (quick forehand-to-backhand pass and then burying it with the high backhand) to close it out. That first season post lockout was unforgettable.

This is fair. I suppose I'm kinda assuming that we're getting the pre-injury Hall, since he's now had more time to rehab (and is back with RK, and is in a contract year, and will be playing with Eichel), but of course we'll need to see how it plays out.

Do we know whether it's a 1-way vs 2-way contract? i.e. does the $700K decrease by 90% if he's in Rochester? If it's a 1-way contract, it's further evidence that the "TP is going to be a cheapskate from now on" notion from a couple of months ago is dead and buried.

As @Zamboni points out, I don't think Lehner was elite or close to elite. I think he was solid to good and held up his end on 2 very good teams -- which is much better than he was here, and I'm happy for him that he's established himself as a legit, quality NHL starting goalie. The Sabres were tied for 6th-worst last year. Other than the top line they were terrible at generating offense. ROR probably would've ignited Skinner and given them a credible 2nd line, but I still think the jump from where they were to a top 10 team is a bridge too far. You are right that Hecht was a better defensive center. Connolly was a far superior offensive player and still a very credible defensive player, so I'd go with him as a better "2-way" player, but certainly YMMV. Roy was the classic "empty calories" numbers guy who was not a meaningful contributor once he was needed in the top 6. I do not agree that Mitts has shown he can beat NHL D. He had 9 ES goals in 77 games in the season you mentioned, and has 12 ES goals and 8 ES assists in 114 NHL games. As for the Rochester coaches' quotes -- I think you are inferring affirmation of Casey's work habits out of general coachspeak, but of course YMMV. Now this is 100% correct. This is fair and as I've said previously I am in no hurry to unload Casey. They should keep him until they are required to make a roster or contract decision on him. I am simply objecting in general to the general assertions about his talent level, which I do not believe are borne out by his play, and I firmly believe that the organization should not count on him to becoming a contributing NHL player. Anything they get from him will be a bonus. 1st bolded -- do you think most NHL GMs would rather have Hall or ROR? I think most would prefer Hall. 2nd bolded -- yes indeed. This too.

Chicago is only trading Kane for a rich return -- it would have to be something like Reino, Mitts, Samuelsson and a #1. Kane turns 32 next month, but is still a very productive player. He has a $10.5MM cap hit for 3 more seasons, although the actual cash is $7MM per year. If Reino and Mitts would cost $7.5MM per year in cap hit between them (although I'm not sure what Mitts' cap hit is if he's in Rochester), then it's another $3MM per year in cap hit, and zero in additional cash, to convert Reino to Kane. Kane, a RW, will almost certainly be substantially better than Reino for at least the 1st 2 of those 3 years. A top line of Hall-Eichel-Kane would be freaking amazing. I'm interested.