nfreeman

Possibly, but I think this will depend on the kind of year he has next season. If it's another good-half-lousy-half situation, and he disappears again in crunch time, they may decide to move on from him rather than making a big commitment.

I don't think offer sheets are a realistic fallback since they essentially never happen. ...he said bravely. I think it's pretty GD close, myself, and I certainly can't fault anyone who prefers Marner. Now this is nuts. Reino isn't half the player that Marner is. This is fair, but this year was the first time he was paired with someone like Eichel, and he was on pace to get 50+ until he hurt his ankle. You may be right about Reino's inclination to sign a deal this year, but IMHO he hasn't earned a fat contract yet. He had another season with one good half and one crappy half, and was again out to lunch when the season was lost. That's not a guy you make a huge commitment to.

This is all reasonable...but Eichel is now going into his FIFTH season. If the Sabres are ever going to build a good team around Eichel, he absolutely needs a high-end winger to play his prime years with. Skinner was fantastic in that role this year until he hurt his ankle. He just turned 27 a couple of weeks ago. He's tough, he's fast and he can score in a bunch of different ways -- including playoff-type goals from the dirty areas. I think he's pretty much a lock to score 35+ per year for at least the next 5 years. Will he continue to deliver at the same level until he's 34? Probably not, but that's part of the price here. The Sabres need to keep him. They can't screw around with this and hope that Olofsson or TT or Nylander magically grows into that role. And they can't afford the psychological blow that losing him would deliver.

Once more, with feeling: if you're saying "I don't want the Sabres to give Skinner an 8-year deal," what you're really saying is "I don't want the Sabres to re-sign Skinner." He's not signing here unless he gets the 8th year.

I keep saying this but I am going to try again this year. And thanks Tom.

Well, Mahomes was the 10th pick, so it was McD and 9 other GMs. And I'm not inclined to give a coach credit for a 6-10 season, especially following a 9-7 season and especially a season in which he chose to start Peterman twice despite overwhelming evidence that Peterman cannot play in the NFL.

I generally agree with all of this, although I will point out, regarding Mahomes, that passing on him was McD's call, not Whaley's, and that McD is pretty much running the show at OBD -- so I think he owns that decision, which looks like a bad one. My real point though was that there is quite a bit of triumphalism going on regarding the Bills and their management -- much more than a 6-10 record and a bunch of questionable decisions would seem to justify.

Regarding the Bills and BB/McD: while I am optimistic about the Bills, it's awfully early to proclaim that BB and McD have succeeded in putting together a good team, or that BB is a good GM. If they were that good, why were they drafting 8th this year? Why didn't they get anything out of any of the FAs they signed last year? Why were their OL and receiver groups so freaking terrible last year? Why didn't they draft Mahomes, who looks like he's going to be in the running for MVP for the next decade? Speaking of QBs, the Bills put a ton of eggs in Allen's basket, and if he doesn't improve significantly this year, they are going to stink again.

I’ll believe it when I see it.

OK, so I just watched the Dreger interview. I'm officially psyched about RK. He has presence and exudes confidence and leadership -- exactly what this team has been dying for. I still want an upgrade at goalie, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's able to get more consistent play out of Hutton and Ullmark. Let's go.

The Clippers have a very good organization too, and if they get Kawhi they could easily land another big star FA, so if he wants to go home it would be a logical landing spot for him.

I would love to see Kawhi stay in Toronto. He is awesome and they have a very good organization.

Got my son home for the summer after his 1st year of college. Family dinner last night and then hung out with him and watched the NBA playoffs.

Not that it really matters, but I don't think Nicole and Ronald were addicts. I think Nicole was a recreational user and there is plenty of doubt as to whether Ronald was a user at all. Nicole was a long-time battered spouse and Ronald was 25 years old. Pretty sympathetic victims IMHO.

So -- is there *anything* OJ could've done post-Bills career that would make you feel differently? What if he were a child rapist? What if he killed 10 people? How about 100? The point, of course, is that at some point it doesn't matter how great a player he was -- and he was a great freaking player -- if he's a bad enough guy, he shouldn't be honored by the team. As others have noted, retiring/not using his # is unquestionably an honor bestowed on him by the team. What? If they hadn't been cocaine users, would you feel differently about retiring his #? Pure crapola here.

I think the proposed contracts also need to include # of years -- e.g. I think most of those who are leery of giving Skinner $8MM x 8 years would gladly do so for 4 years.

I liked it. It doesn’t make up for the shortcomings of the past couple of seasons but I thought it was a very solid ending.

Well it’s pretty likely that he leaves if the Sabres don’t give him 8 years. I certainly don’t love it but I’d give him the 8th year in order to keep him.

I think Tippett and MacLellan were both strong candidates. I guess we'll see how they do with their new teams (assuming Tippett gets hired somewhere).

Good thread. I agree that assembling a strong staff will be important and likely a good indicator of whether he succeeds.

@steveoath — I don’t think leaving was his decision — I think the team decided not to renew his contract.

I would guess that Lindy's agent contacted the Sabres and JB interviewed him out of respect/courtesy but that it wasn't a real possibility.

We shouldn’t kid ourselves— this could easily crash and burn. But for now @French Collection is dead on about the fresh infusion of optimism.

So I just listened to his interview with Schopp and Bulldog from this afternoon. I really liked him. And I freaking love the fact that before he took the job, he went to a few bars incognito, watched the playoffs and talked hockey with whoever was around. Go Sabres.

RK is the prince who was promised.