nfreeman

No. In his 2nd stint he had 18 pts in 30 games. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=177831

It would be great if Olofsson can step up and contribute this year, but there is zero evidence that he'll be able to. I don't see how anyone can look at the Sabres' roster and conclude that no upgrade at LW is needed. After Skinner it's a vast wasteland. But if the LWs below Skinner were Vesey, Olofsson (having proven capable) and Sheary, all fighting it out for ice time, then it starts looking like a real group of NHL forwards. What is the point of this? Just to be argumentative? A more realistic proposal would be GA's idea of Scandella.

Pommer's career will most likely end up being better than Vesey's, but at this point I would absolutely have Vesey. Pommer is out of gas.

Well, you're right that the price shouldn't be too high. I certainly wouldn't want them to spend much to get him. However, as noted previously I disagree about him being an upgrade. The Sabres' middle 6 was freaking terrible last year, and Vesey is a young player with size and speed who can score goals. You are certainly free to prefer guys like Sheary (who was terrible for over half of the season), ERod (who had 9 goals in 74 games), KO, Sobotka, etc. -- but I'd rather give Vesey a try.

UPL turning into Tom freaking Barrasso would be a miraculous gift from the hockey gods and would be exactly what this team needs.

There is a huge spread between "My first choice is the Rangers" and "I don't want to play in Buffalo." Vesey has never to my knowledge indicated anything except the former. Having said that, JB certainly needs to do his homework as to Vesey's mindset so as to avoid repeating the Berglund debacle. I think there is only a small minority of fans who dislike Vesey. Most do not have a strong opinion one way or the other. Separately, I completely agree that Vesey can't be the main offseason acquisition at forward. But I doubt that is JB's plan.

One of my favorite Sabres of the post-Dom era.

You're not getting Malkin without giving up Reino.

I love Kreider but he's 1 year away from UFA and will be 29 before the end of next season. I wouldn't want to give up what the Rangers will require for him without an extension in hand -- and I don't want to give a 29-year-old winger a contract that is longer than 4 years.

PK is interesting, to be sure. $9MM per year for this coming season and the following 2. He just turned 30. He missed 19 games last season and his average ice time was down to 22:40 from 24:07 the prior year. We shouldn't pretend there is no risk of locker room issues as these were the rumors in Montreal and now Nashville apparently is interested in trading him after 3 seasons. Still -- if the moves suggested upthread come true -- i.e. parlaying Risto, 31, Nylander and, say, Borgen into PK and a creditable #2 center -- that would be great.

Well, presumably Marner's deal will be less than $11MM per year if it's only 5 years. As for whether Matthews made a mistake -- certainly it's a first-world kinda mistake, but yes. I would've advised him to take the 8-year deal (assuming the AAV would''ve been in the neighborhood of $1.5MM to $2MM per year more for the 8-year deal).

Whoa. DR turned down Seguin for Vanek? I don't remember seeing this reported.

Sure. However, if push comes to shove and he doesn't sign an 8-year deal this summer for $11MM or slightly more per year (assuming Toronto will move a little), IMHO it's a mistake.

Right, but taking a shorter-term deal won't necessarily result in greater earnings. It might, if things go correctly, but there are plenty of risk factors that could result in a worse outcome. (Unless your meaning was that by turning this deal down, he'll get a better 8-year offer this summer from Toronto -- that is quite possible.)

I don't disagree with either of these, but I think JB's mandate from TP is to build a sustainably strong organization and pipeline. I don't think JB is under pressure to, say, bring in Duchene at $11MM per year, trade for Stastny just because he's a big name that could be available or trade Risto for a TB prospect who may or may not be good enough to become a difference-maker as a Sabre. Speaking of Risto, while I agree that there are factors indicating that he could fetch a handsome return in trade, there is also the Sabres stink factor to consider, which I think depressed the returns for Kane and ROR. I would do this in a heartbeat, but I think there is NFW that Toronto trades Marner.

IMHO, unless he is deeply unhappy being a Leaf, it's nuts to turn down the 4th-highest salary in the NHL and a guaranteed $88MM. He'll be 30 when the contract expires and probably still eligible for another good contract. Yes, salaries will rise over the 8 years, and he could conceivably game it so that he gets, say, $10MM per year x 5 years, and then another contract at, say, $14MM per year x 8 years, but a lot of things have to go right in order for that to happen. E.g. it's quite possible that the next CBA doesn't allow for 8-year contracts, or that he gets hurt, or a bunch of other contingencies. If I were his agent or father I would advise him to take the deal.

Marner is nuts to turn down that contract.

I agree that I would've greatly preferred TB's season to the Sabres', but I think the Sabres gave us about 25-30 games of legit enjoyment before the roof caved in. Separately, here are my predictions: - No major FA signings or trades to bring in a big name unless there is a Risto trade - Sabres do not trade Risto unless someone makes a really rich offer - Sabres keep #7 and draft (to the extent available, in order of their preference) Byram, Dach, Zegras or Caufield - Sabres trade #31 for a 2nd and either a prospect or a lower 2nd/high 3rd - Sabres make a Sheary-type trade in which they absorb Callahan or a similar cap dump and get a decent forward in exchange for a mid-round draft pick or lower-level prospect - Nylander is not traded as JB decides to see whether RK can coach him up

Porsche Panamera.

I had to sit through a 3.5-hour meeting yesterday that should've taken 45 minutes at the most. 90% of the talking was performed by a stinking rich, entitled, ill-mannered, self-important, temperamental, yelling DB. This is the kind of person who leaves a trail of destruction in his wake and whose relationships, personal and professional, all end in lawsuits. Now today I need to tell his potential new partner, with whom I've worked for a number of years, that we can't work with them on this project and possibly also tell him that he should get away from this guy.

Risto is a much better skater than Dion. A better defenseman? Jury’s still out.

Well, if they trade McCabe, they will probably keep Risto. And while I don't think Chicago would give up #3 for #7 and McCabe, I would make that trade if I were JB -- but I might take Byram, not Turcotte, and I think JB might too.

Isn’t Sammy supposed to stay in college for another season? And Laaxy in europe for another season?

Good question. I’m open for suggestions. In a dream world either TT or KO.

Fully endorsed.