nfreeman

Me too and congrats Eich!

Y’know, Kotalik had his limitations but I kinda liked his game. Lindy really got just about all there was to get out of him.

https://nypost.com/2018/06/06/after-kate-spades-death-think-of-the-survivors/

This is pretty awesome: https://screengrabber.deadspin.com/the-2018-hockey-night-in-canada-season-ending-montage-i-1826658208

First of all, Reino does not belong in the same sarcastic sentence as Eichel. Reino's career to date has been a disappointment, and no one should be surprised if he is traded this summer instead of (or frankly in addition to) ROR. Second, and more importantly, evaluating players requires more than just looking at the numbers. JBott and Howie are much better positioned than we are to see how these guys respond to coaching, how seriously they take their jobs, how they interact with their teammates, how well they execute the less-noticeable plays that contribute to winning (or, the Sabres' case, losing) and a bunch of other important factors that don't show up in the stats. If they analyze all of these factors and decide that ROR, Reino, Risto or pretty much anyone on the team other than Eichel and Dahlin aren't good enough -- I'm fine with letting them go. It's not like they are pillars of a strong team. Third, no one is advocating a fire sale. The prevailing wisdom appears to be that ROR is a valuable asset, so presumably the Sabres would get good value in return.

Very funny, especially the hockey meatheads. I'm giving my seal of approval to "The Terror," which just concluded on FX. It's a 10-part drama (very) loosely based on the true story of 2 British ships that disappeared in the 1850s on an expedition to find the NW Passage.

He was making a joking reference to how critical it is to get a goalie you hoser.

Despite the wailing on this board that would certainly ensue, I'd be totally fine with this. We need to remember how freaking disappointing they were last year, and how many times they just didn't show up. Something is very wrong. Or, better put:

Both of these, although I would also get a goalie.

Well, they have been freaking abysmal for the past few years. JBott is going to bring in a good goalie and hopefully at least 2 good vets who will show Jack and Reino how to behave like pros, Casey and Dahlin are going to be impact players, ROR is going to stop moping and the Sabres are going to be much improved. (...he said bravely.)

I predict 3rd-line C, with wingers consisting of a fading and overpaid vet (Pommer or KO) and a youngster (DOR, Smith, Baptiste, other), plus 2nd PP mainstay. He'll end up with around 38 points in 15ish sheltered minutes per game, he'll elevate his wingers and he'll be in the ROY mix. Because that is how TF he rolls.

Re-opened.

Is this "commenting and having a laugh" about a WH visit? Or is it simply using the WH visit as a pretext to vent one's political views? These are strident political opinions that are off-putting to half the country and are far removed from "having a laugh over a weird tweetstorm."

“If you keep putting candy on display and making people pay for it, shoplifting is going to happen,” said the serial shoplifter.

Enough already.

But what does Marcia think? How about Alice?

Every big public works project in NYS costs much more than it needs to cost. It shouldn't, but it does, primarily due to outrageous levels of corruption in the state government and the unions, and it's not going to change for a new WNY football stadium. If Wawrow said an overhaul of RWS will cost $540MM, that # came from somewhere. An overhaul will almost certainly cost at least 25% more than whatever # is floated publicly, and, as sure as the sun will rise in the East and the tank was a terrible idea, will not cost less. And if an overhaul will cost at least $540MM, a new stadium will cost over $1B for open air and over $1.5B for a dome. We can kid ourselves all we want, but them's the facts.

What if Dahlin is so GD good that every time you see him in person it's like seeing a new Picasso masterpiece (or Springsteen or Tarantino or Kanye, as you prefer)? It could happen.

Serious question: what is this based on? His numbers are not impressive at any level: http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=187435 He had one respectable year in juniors -- but even that year he was 31st in the OHL in goals and 19th in points (a solid 41 points behind Marner that year, btw). Otherwise, he's had 2 awful-to-lousy AHL seasons and, in the best chance he's had to shine in his career, was completely ineffective in the AHL playoffs and got dropped to the 4th line. If they can get a good prospect or a low 1st or high 2nd-round pick this year for him, they should do so IMHO.

Me too.

I wouldn't be a-tall surprised if ROR is pushing for a trade. Playing for the Sabres these past 3 years has likely been a chore, with no improvement, no sign of the playoffs, let alone contender status, no excitement in the arena, no goaltending and no stability (and perhaps no faith in his coach). Meanwhile, his prime years are being squandered. I also wouldn't be surprised if JBott pulls the trigger on a trade. He wants more speed, more leadership and a general shakeup. An ROR trade could deliver all 3 of those elements. And JBott might have an old-school-GM attitude about players who make trade requests -- i.e. once a player does so, the GM needs to get rid of him. I agree with WC though that winning heals most wounds -- although it would be nice if ROR were one of the drivers on the winning train, not one of the passengers. So if Dahlin, a new goalie and a lot of bottom-6 turnover give rise to a lot more winning -- which could happen -- the idea of trading ROR could easily disappear.

Excellent breakdown from Duda as always. On the leadership/accountability point, which I agree is critical: I know it’s not fair or realistic for this year, but this is another area where I would love to see Dahlin, who it sounds like takes the game very seriously, set a new tone.

There is something highly dysfunctional in the Senators’ organization. I’m sure glad the Sabres hired a GM from there.

My son graduated from HS today. It was a very happy occasion but when we got home he became pretty sad about leaving his friends. It’s sweet and sad and beautiful. I remember at that age, when this kind of thing felt like the end of the world.

So the theory is that TBN canned Bucky and Sully to facilitate a future real estate deal? Uh-uh.