nfreeman

I agree that Trotz was a huge addition for the Isles, but the most important move they made IMHO — and also the biggest difference between them and the Sabres — was bringing in Sweet Lou as GM. The new owner saw an experienced, successful GM become available, grabbed him up and everything flowed from there. Meanwhile, TP, good intentions notwithstanding, hired 2 inexperienced guys who crapped the bed.

Yes, but this ignores the key point, which is what I said earlier: the NHL doesn't care about a market of 100 people, even if 94 of them are watching hockey. They care about a market in which 500,000 people are watching, even if there are 5MM people in that market.

This is an oft-repeated canard. Buffalo gets a high percentage of hockey viewers but not a high absolute number of viewers, which is what matters.

It was a Sunday. A day that will live in infamy.

Season saved!

How?

Things really are dire. They've gotten to inkman. How did they flip you? Was it the money? The invites to Jeffrey Epstein's parties? Or do they have hostages?

Boy, that tank sure was successful, innit?

That was my first 3-thread merge ever! Not sure how to feel about finally getting to participate in a threesome, but having @PASabreFan be responsible for it.

Awesome.

Now that's hot.

The Sabres will probably come out much better than they did vs Ottawa, but Hutton could pull the rug out at any moment. Exciting!

If the question is whether I'd rather have Pommer on the team or a lovely frolic in the snow with my kids and the dog (or, if you prefer, in the mud pit with Scarlett Johanssen), I'll take the latter.

I agree that things aren't as bad as they feel (understandably) following that debacle last night. They need a good goalie, a good #2 C and 2 good bottom-6 forwards with upside (and it's not impossible that one or both of those 2 slots could be filled by Mitts and/or TT next year). That's not a quick trip to the convenience store, but it's not an insurmountable obstacle either.

I don't have a good one either, but I will note that both of the nicknames put forth by Dunleavy ("Captain Jack" and "Eichel Tower") both stink.

I think both of the examples you listed support the position that your offer for Henrique is too low. Both guys' production are roughly equivalent to Henriques', and both garnered higher returns than your proposal for Henrique. Winnipeg gave up a higher price for Hayes, who was a 30-game rental and is less than 2 years younger than Henrique. Carolina gave up a better prospect in Duclair than Asplund is, plus 2 2nds. And you're asking Anaheim to take Bogo. I like the Henrique idea, and I don't think the Sabres would need to give up a #1, but it would need to be a better prospect than Asplund, we couldn't make them wait a year for the #2 and I don't think they would accept a cap dump, especially since Anaheim is a cash-budget team.

Anaheim says no -- they will get better offers than this for Henrique. JB (and me) says no -- Risto and a likely lottery pick is too much for a 34-year-old center (who will turn 35 this season) in decline. And I don't think Anaheim would get nearly this much for Getzlaf. I'd give them Borgen, Pilut or Colin Miller plus a #2 plus Asplund for Getzlaf. Now this is interesting, but I can't see JB giving up 2 first-rounders when the Sabres are still (probably) a lottery team.

Well, how can they be certain what they really want?

From the Athletic's piece on the Sabres' prospects (which, btw, was written by a different guy than the guy who loved Mittlestadt):

From the Athletic — NHL front office people respond anonymously to fans’ proposed trades: Buffalo trades Casey Mittelstadt to San Jose for Tomas Hertl – @Vitali17 No from San Jose. Doug Wilson is ready to deal but I don’t think he’s looking to trade young players who are going to be a big part of the next phase of success for San Jose. Exec: “San Jose would say no to that. I don’t think our guys love Mittelstadt. Not quite sure what he’s going to become. That’s an easy one.”

Right on, @Taro T. They are 5 under DeLuca .500 with 33 games left. If they go 6-4 in the three 10-game segments, and then 2-1 in their last 3 games, they will finish the season 2 games over DeLuca .500. That would most likely get them in, and it would absolutely make for an exciting 2nd half. They (and we) don't need to worry about points, or standings, or who's ahead of them, or anything other than getting Ws. The rest will take care of itself. It's doable. Ugh. True. But hopefully this time it's different. They have better coaching and goaltending than they've had in a while, and they have Eichel starting to reach his potential.

And Colin Farrell.

My wife and I saw “The Gentlemen” last night. Pretty entertaining. If you liked Guy Ritchie’s previous crime thrillers (“*****” and “Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels”), you’ll like this one. EDIT: his first one got blocked by the filter! It rhymes with “hatch.”

FWIW: NetsDaily Retweeted Alexis Wainwright @AWainwrightTV Sources have confirmed that neither #Bryant’s wife or children were on board of the helicopter that crashed. 3:14 PM · Jan 26, 2020 from Little Rock, AR·Twitter for iPhone

Awful. God bless that family.