nfreeman

I've seen quite a bit of Lamar. He is terrific. He is also sturdier of build than Vick was and a better passer. But when running with it, pre-imprisonment Vick was a supernova. He was the fastest guy on the field, when the field was filled with world-class athletes.

I don't think this question can be answered in a vacuum -- i.e. I think everyone would like to keep Reino at the right price, but everyone would also trade him for the right return. So, I would suggest assuming: - To keep Reino, the Sabres will have to give him an 8-year deal at a minimum of $7.5MM per year (and that may be low). - If they trade Reino, they won't be getting back a guy Reino's age who has produced as much as Reino has -- i.e. you're talking younger players/prospects/picks -- not an established star. IMHO, Reino is a good player, but not good enough to justify the contract that it will take to keep him -- but the Sabres can't let him go either, as they need all of the talent at forward they can get, and trading him would almost certainly result in a downgrade in their forward talent at scoring. This unfortunate situation -- having to overpay to keep your own guys, who aren't great and who haven't produced anything for you, but who are the best you've got -- is where mismanaged teams often find themselves. In this case, the Sabres will probably find themselves being forced to get married to Reino in part due to the ROR and KO debacles and Mitts' failure to develop, and of course the idiotic tank.

Negative. Vick was a better runner.

It has to be said: the Sabres were 1-5 without Scandy (maybe 1-6; I'm not sure). He returns and they win immediately. Discuss.

I agree that they need a goalie but I think there is close to zero chance that they trade for one this year.

Yes indeedly. And, it also has to be said, that while Eichel has shown flashes of greatness, one could easily conclude that in his 5th year he isn't a top-10 NHL player (and maybe not top-20), and thus nowhere near worth the blood and treasure that the franchise paid to get him.

My guess is that ERod or Vesey gets benched.

I didn't think any of the goals was awful, but I thought all of them other than the 2nd one, which was a deflection in close, were savable -- and a good goaltending performance would've saved a couple of them.

I agree with @dudacek that the Sabres did not get good goaltending last night. I will also note that the concerns most commonly cited at the end of last summer regarding unaddressed roster flaws were scoring depth and goaltending, and both continue to be concerns (although to be fair, the goaltending has been pretty solid for the most part). So it’s more than fair to criticize JB for not taking steps in these areas.

I loved the show -- it's in my top 3 all-time shows (with "Mad Men" and "The Sopranos"). The movie wasn't great but I still enjoyed it -- it was just nice to see everyone again.

This is reasonable and quite possibly true as regards Kovy, but the value, as mentioned above, is unloading KO, who IMHO contributes zero and is a significant net negative due to his contract. Both of these are fair, but I'd rather ditch KO and hope that RK can get something out of Kovy.

I think the value from the Sabres' perspective is unloading KO's contract. I think Scandy's value has improved, but he's still a lower-pairing defenseman on an expiring contract. It's hard to see the Sabres getting more than a 3rd-rounder for him under any circumstance (which would probably be a low 3rd-rounder if it's coming from a playoff team looking to bolster its D group for the stretch drive) -- and I'd rather be rid of KO's contract than pick up a low 3rd-rounder.

Am I missing something, or did you just take both sides of this?

Scandella and KO for Kovalchuk. Who says no?

Bumpity bump.

My wife and I binged season 2 of "Jack Ryan." I thought it was OK, but not great, and about as good as season 1. About a B. We are currently binging "Succession" and are most of the way through season 1. It's good, but not as good as the hype IMHO. B-plus.

This seems like a likely move to give JB a bit more time. Separately: for those demanding a trade ASAP -- I think it's pretty likely that the right trade hasn't presented itself. i.e. no one is offering a good forward for Risto -- more like their version of Erod or TT or KO, or maybe a draft pick. I doubt anyone here would be satisfied with that kind of return, or with a 5th-rounder for Scandy or similar move that wouldn't bring in a clear upgrade at forward.

I know Sobotka is a whipping boy around here, but I'm glad his injury -- which looked potentially quite bad -- isn't a season-ender.

Or maybe it's about whether certain expectations of certain groups of people are reasonable, and about whether and how those expectations may be voiced, and whether those with whom one disagrees can fairly be dismissed as bigots or hate/fear-mongerers. All of these are political issues. And didn't you argue, during the not-so-glorious days of the debate over whether we should have a politics thread, that everything is political?

OK boys. Let's take this to the politics club please.

Well done gents.

I thought overall they played two pretty solid games against Tampa, a very good team and almost certainly a cup contender despite its lousy start. I thought the effort was there and the goaltending was as well, and that Tampa, which is loaded with offensive playmakers, was able to convert its chances better than the Sabres were. IMHO, and as others have noted, the main problem is that secondary scoring has again dried up. The third and fourth lines, both of which contributed offense during the winning streak, have not been able to do so in the last couple of weeks. Same goes for Dahlin and the rest of the D, although the group is much better defensively than it was last year.

Awesome.

I watch on DVR probably 90% of the time -- work and family obligations generally prevent me from being on my couch at 7:00 pm. I definitely enjoy skipping the commercials and intermissions, and if the Sabres fall behind by 3, I'll fast forward to see if they get back in the game. I probably "catch up" to live time by the end of the game for about 1/3 of the games. (I will say that both football and basketball are better uses than hockey for the DVR due to the higher number of play stoppages that can be fast-forwarded through.) Having said that, when I have the chance to watch a game live, I enjoy doing so and hanging out here for real-time game commentary.

Well, @Eleven's hands are far from clean in this area, but he's right that this kind of little dig doesn't belong here. Keep it in the club, please.