nfreeman

I wouldn't be opposed to giving Reino another whirl at C, but I agree that he's found a home and has played well to very well (not sure I'm all the way to "outstanding" though) at RW. I also agree with your point about several coaches having taken his measure and determined that his best spot is RW. Among other things, I don't see him being able to come all the way back and support the D like a center needs to do, while he does very well in getting the puck out of the zone from the half-wall in the RW spot. Having said that, I also think Reino is a very good playmaker from the wing, and thus fulfilling a lot of what the team needs from the C position. I think if Sheary could play as well as he did last night, then Reino, Sheary and Erod or other good-but-not-great #2C could form a good 2nd line. (Unfortunately, I have a hard time seeing Sheary suddenly flipping the switch and becoming a 22-26-48 guy -- he doesn't seem to have enough game for that -- but I hope I'm wrong.)

Men’s ski trip with one of my best friends in the world and some other good guys as well. Here’s the view from the lunch place. F’n fantastic.

@Taro T-- I hope you're right, and I'm OK with Jack and Skinner on the top line and Reino and ERod on the 2nd line, but I don't see anything for the other 2 slots in the top 6 or any of the 3 slots on the 3rd line that gives me any optimism. Mitts and TT both have a ton of upside, but I'm not confident they will be consistent contributors next year, even in 3rd line roles. Perhaps more disturbingly, the heart and mental toughness they showed in the first half of the season has completely evaporated. They've lost I think 16 out of 19 on the road, they give up "loser goals" by being completely unprepared to start games and periods and they just seem like the fragile little children of days gone by. It doesn't seem like the kind of malaise that can be remedied by one solid #2 center.

It is indeed hard to see how this team is going to make significant upgrades this summer. They need both talent and leadership. Big test for JB.

How so?

The bold text is a straw man. As you know, it's not a font issue. There is a general problem with your tone. The nuggets below are all from the last few hours in just this thread. All of them are obnoxious and not OK. I'm glad you are proofreading posts and trying to improve. Hopefully that will address the situation. We are not going to have valued members of the community get fed up and leave because you are incapable of friendly and respectful communication.

No thank you. @Doohickie is out to lunch on this.

First, I appreciate your feedback. If you see a situation where someone is consistently targeting someone else, please let the mods know. Second, it's important that everyone here have a generally respectful and polite manner of communication. If someone can't live up to that standard -- that's his problem to improve on, not everyone else's to have to live with. This is a straw man. As I'm sure you understand, the different POV is not the issue.

Myers will probably get at least $6MM x 6 years and will probably get the biggest UFA deal for a defenseman (unless Karlsson leaves SJ). Not sure what the rest of this post means. It's a question of degrees.

Couple more like this and you're gone again.

Historical validation is arguable, especially since Myers is going to get a huge contract this summer while Bogo may or may not get another NHL contract that is more than a "prove it" deal. More to the point though, historical validation isn't relevant to what the discussion was, which was value given up in trade by TM vs value given up by JB at the time of the trade. There is no question that Myers was a much more valuable asset than Bogo was, or that Lemieux was a valuable chip at that time.

I agree that they can pay other teams to take some of those contracts, and I kinda expect it to happen with at least one of them. But I think @jame is right that Anaheim is a budget team that cares about playoff revenue and probably isn't planning on bottoming out.

I'd say Armia was comparable to Guhle -- prospects seen to have had a high ceiling when drafted but who had lost some shine -- although you are right that Guhle probably has an edge due to position. But when you consider Lemieux -- who was seen as a valuable prospect and still quite early in his career -- Armia plus Lemieux is materially more valuable. As to the first bolded -- absolutely not. Myers was seen as a very valuable asset -- probably the most precious trade chip the Sabres had -- while Bogo was seen as an albatross -- https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/report-evander-kane-traded-to-buffalo-in-seven-player-deal/article22909464/. Myers was the key part of the price they paid to get Kane. As for the 2nd bolded -- you are probably right here, but the spread isn't high -- Kane was coming off of season-ending shoulder surgery and had accumulated a decidedly negative reputation. There were quite a few GMs who had zero interest in trading for him. And your point above about D being more valuable than W is applicable here as well.

But none of those guys have been traded (or is likely to be).

Well, I think Armia and, more importantly, the perceived (by WPG) spread of Myers over Bogo have to be considered part of the consideration for Kane -- which in turn supports those who disagree that this is a TM-style move. I think whoever posted upthread that this is more of a measured JB move than a max-out-the-credit-card TM move -- i.e. a LOT of picks and prospects for a good player who is somewhat proven in the NHL but still young -- is right.

Welcome @New Guy! I've been thinking we needed some numerology on the board.

My 2 cents: - I like it. Neither Guhle nor the pick is likely to turn into a better player than Montour is right now, and Monty has upside and is cost controlled. - I do not want this to be a precursor to a trade of Risto, unless the return is very compelling — ie much better than Guhle and a #1. Risto is a good to very good player who is young, tough, plays hard and is cost controlled. There is no reason to give him up just to move on. - I would be very psyched if they added a forward in the next 12 hours with a profile similar to Montour’s.

No -- Rochester was high up on his list but he ended up getting in early decision elsewhere. As for shopping around -- I haven't done this myself, but my understanding is that the process has devolved into one similar to buying a car -- i.e. if you don't have your heart set on one particular car that is only found at one dealership you can shop around and negotiate for the best deal. (The college industry -- and an industry is what it is now -- has also become much more like the car dealer industry in terms of sleaze and corruption, but that's another discussion.) As GA was saying, I think you can contact the admissions departments at your son's top 5 choices, tell them you are weighing alternatives and ask whether there are any grants or other reductions in tuition that are available. Some will probably say no, but some may say yes, and the results may be material enough to affect your decision -- especially since it sounds like your son doesn't have a strong preference. Good luck.

I kinda like letting Reino have his own line. He's had some invisible games lately but also a number of games in which his line is at least as effective as Eichel's line. When they're both on it gives the Sabres 2 dangerous lines, whereas when Reino was on Eichel's line, most nights there was only 1 dangerous line. I agree with the artist formerly known as sizzle that Sheary's slot on that line needs an upgrade. Separately: all 3 of Reino's goals today evinced real high-end skill. Great stuff.

Congrats SDS. He's been accepted to some very good schools. We went through it last year with my older one. Rochester and VT were also on his list. I visited Rochester with my son and my wife visited VT with him. My wife and I were very impressed with VT and Rochester, and my son liked both as well, although he liked Rochester more. I have also heard very good things about Florida. FWIW, if those end up being his options, and if he doesn't have a preference, you can shop around among those schools for the best deal and maybe save a ton of money. In any case, he'll end up at a very good school.

I said something similar in the GDT, but I think if we’re not past the point of no return, we are really getting close. The team looks completely lost. This can’t be how it is every night for the rest of the season.

I hate to say it, but I think they need to make a major change ASAP, and it’s probably canning Howie. They are mailing it in.

I like Howie, and I think the team's problems run much deeper than just the HC position, but I can't say I'd be unhappy if they dumped Howie and brought in Quenneville this summer. I also wouldn't mind if they brought in a senior czar-type person like when Toronto brought in Lamoriello. What a freaking debacle.

Is Scandy a healthy scratch?

Well, the lack of examples of a team actually paying a fat bonus and then trading the player makes it much less unknown. And communicating like a normal human being who isn't a DB isn't "showing restraint." It's just what normal people do.