nfreeman

No one is taking Moulson!!

Gretzky was better than Foppa, and Mario probably was too, but after those 2 it's either Foppa or Messier IMHO.

Dude.

My double negative wasn't not clumsy. (heh.) You answered my question, although I'll admit to some skepticism notwithstanding my lack of knowledge on the issue. Perhaps I'll do a bit more research when I have time. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this question: if, say, Taylor Swift held a press conference at which she accused Bobby Hull of being a Nazi sympathizer, wouldn't every newspaper in the world report her accusations? i.e. they would report not that Hull was a Nazi, but that Tay-Tay was accusing him thereof? And would those newspapers not be shielded from libel/slander/defamation claims?

Well, I don’t know much about libel/slander/defamation, but is it not the case that none of those claims is made out by a newspaper reporting that “the Moscow Times has reported XYZ?”

Graham also implied that there was more going on than just an affair — ie harassment as well.

I was about to post something scathing about GA’s stance on not trading Dahlin for McD. Then I read MODO’s post. GA is still out to lunch on this, but thank you MODO.

Welcome niku. From my amateur perspective, the Sabres’ D system looked like it had potential last year in terms of moving the puck up ice while retaining possession, but too often fell short due to lack of passing ability, lack of overall team intensity and lack of confidence (primarily although not entirely due to lousy goaltending). I want to see the system with Dahlin, another good defenseman, a good goalie backing them up, and some leadership and professionalism from guys like Eichel, Reino and ROR.

Yes, but truth is a defense. "The Moscow Times reported that Hull said XYZ" -- which is what the Tribune reported -- is a true statement. It's far from certain that there was video evidence. It was never made public -- and if there had been a video showing Kane hitting a woman, it would've come out. As for whether the reports about Kane were rumors -- there is zero evidence that there was anything other than false accusations. Kane might've been a dirtbag, or he might not. But there is no more to establish that he was guilty in those incidents than there was to establish that Hull said those things to the Moscow Times.

But didn’t they just quote the Russian paper?

Vanek's Olympic team coach threw him -- by far his best player -- completely and publicly under the bus for poor attitude and work ethic! I'd rather have Moulson back. (OK not really but still.)

Or Nylander.

He played a long time ago. I doubt he's wealthy. Moreover, there is probably no way, regardless of how much cash one is prepared to spend, to force a Russian newspaper to issue a retraction. Great post and good to see ya, Neo! Of course, the wife-beating allegations -- which seem much more credible (although I haven't researched those either) -- certainly support the "despicable" verdict. Well, the Canadian media (and Canada generally for that matter) is pretty PC. I don't see them covering up this kind of thing for the benefit of a white athlete.

Serious question, and one posed without the benefit of doing any research on the facts: if the only time he ever allegedly said these things was in Russia, to a Russian publication, and he immediately denied it -- is it fair to give him the benefit of the doubt as opposed to the publication?

Boom! Also worth noting in this regard: Sabres STs cost quite a bit more than Bills STs.

FWIW, Graham stated pretty directly (although without providing any details) that in addition to the sexual misconduct occurrences, there were financial improprieties as well.

No — not the episode that Bucky hosted — the one I was referring to was the following one.

I voted for all 3 in the AHL to start the season.

Tim Graham and Jerry Sullivan had a pretty good discussion of the RB situation on TG's podcast a few days ago (although you'll need to skip a solid 30 minutes of them discussing the NBA playoffs to get to it). I've criticized the local media a fair amount over the years, but I thought TG's analysis was quite good (Sully less so but still somewhat interesting).

Well, speaking only for myself, I didn't give the "fails his physical" option for Bogo serious consideration as I (like everyone else here) have no idea what his physical condition is or how likely he is to pass/fail his physical. As for the other options, no one is going to trade for him and he's not going to take a buyout. Why in the world would he do so? No one is going to give him close to the amount of cash he'd be giving up.

Well, it doesn't sound likely, but if PK is indeed traded again, after only 1 year in Nashville, then we can start to believe that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way he plays and/or conducts himself, and to walk back the criticism of the Habs for unloading him before his NMC kicked in.

It's an interesting idea, but once you get to $4MM per year on the offer sheet, the RFA comp is a #1 and a #3. That's more than I would want to pay for him, and likely (possibly?) more than the Caps would get if they auctioned him off.

Max turns 30 in November, will be a UFA after next season and is coming off his career-low scoring season. I don't think he'll cost nearly that much. Maybe the Sabres' #2 pick this year? That would be pretty close to dudacek's low #1. I'm not sure whether anyone would give more than that given Max's contract situation -- and I don't think anyone would trade for him and give him a big contract right away either. I'm endorsing both goalie as top priority and Max on Eichel's wing IF they can get him without giving up more than their #2 pick this year plus someone like Bailey or Baptiste. Although I agree that the Caps won't be able to keep both, I think a trade will be necessary because there will be multiple teams interested in getting whichever one the Caps decide to trade.

Good stuff. Thanks. It sounds like everyone needs to chill out a bit on the Bobby Orr comparisons.

Sorry NS. We're thinking of you and your awesome wife.