nfreeman

Is this not true for a gay POC hanging out with another gay POC? More importantly -- no one (I think) is disputing that if 2 people randomly hang out with each other, they might not discover all of the skeletons in their respective closets. But if 2 people spend a lot of time together over a period of years, they probably will. I don't agree, and, to revert to my original point on this, I think society is better off if we lean to the side of assuming that someone is NOT acting based on prejudice, as opposed to the assuming that he/she is doing so.

Dude. How are we supposed to sleep for the next 5 months? (OTOH, maybe he is The One. Those videos sure make it seem like a distinct possibility.)

Again -- this is not what he said. "He's been nice to me" was NOT the predicate for "I don't think he's a sexist." The predicate was "I've known Mike a long time." The two are materially different.

This isn't what you said initially. "He's been nice to me, so he isn't sexist" is qualitatively different from "Based on my experience with him, I don't think he's a sexist." More importantly, "based on my experience with him, I don't think he's a sexist" can be a 100% legitimate perspective depending on how well they know each other. The alternative -- no one can evaluate someone else's prejudices (or lack thereof) because he/she isn't a member of the allegedly victimized class -- is nonsense. Beat me to it. What in the world does race have to do with it? Would the first sentence be OK if a different color were substituted for "white?" The question answers itself.

Again: no. Here's what he said: Friedman said: - He's known MH a long time. - He doesn't think MH is sexist. - He's seen MH be a DB to people at times but also be nice at other times, and MH has always been nice to Friedman. - He knew MH's comments about KP would be perceived by some as sexist but he doesn't think MH meant them that way. There is ZERO causation between "he's nice to me" and "he's not a sexist" anywhere in EF's statement. While I appreciate the irony of PAFan being hoisted on his own petard here, I will defend him. His questioning of how and why KP is qualified to be president of the Sabres/Bills does not make him a sexist. It just doesn't. I think he would ask the same questions -- and they would be fair questions -- if TP had appointed his brother or nephew to the job. As someone who is lucky enough to have a wife and a daughter, I am grateful for your sensitivities about sexism. But I also think one of the regrettable qualities of the dialogue in our society generally at this point is the ease and willingness with which people accuse each other of prejudice -- even those (like PA) who are guilty of doing so themselves.

Great thread. As a kid: 1. Rico 2. Schoeny 3. Bert 4. Housley 5. Edwards 6. Gare 7. Barrasso 8. Playfair 9. Guilty pleasure honorable mention -- Mal Davis -- he was a a one-trick pony, but still the best wrist shot I have seen from a Sabre As an adult: 1. Lindy 2. Drury 3. Briere 4. Miller 5. McKee 6. Connolly -- just the 2005-'06 season, which was the best Sabre redemption story of all time and in which his play was a thing of beauty 7. Guilty pleasure -- Max

That's not what he said.

I like your lineup and your rationale here.

JFC. I’m trying to relax here, which is why I haven’t been posting much. But for some reason this thread — which should be a celebration about the jettisoning of an undeniable incompetent who quite likely is also a dirtbag — has turned into a poop show that looks to have chased away 2 good posters. It’s important to converse in a respectful fashion.

What if he’s really awesome? Like a no-BS top-5 NHL player? And maybe JBott finds a good goalie, and Eichel stays healthy, and Mittelstadt flourishes, and Risto improves with less pressure on him, and McCabe and Bogo rebound, and Guhle develops, and Reino and ROR show up when it matters? It could happen.

Every dog has its day. Allen is going to be great and the Sabres are going to rise again. Halle-freakin-lujah. JBott — get us a goalie and a couple of forwards with heart and speed and let us live. Go Sabres.

I watched Atomic Blonde on HBO yesterday. Excellent spy action thriller. Recommended.

I'd like Miller-Ullmark too, but Miller isn't leaving his wife and kid in Southern California to return to WNY.

Serious question: is there any reason to think that JBott won't follow the unwritten rules about not signing RFAs? Separately -- Flagg -- another excellent post. I will say (again) though that I think KO is a better possession player than you think he is. OTOH, I don't think JBott would've brought him in, and I think JBott would prefer not to have him on the roster. However, no one is going to take him, so JBott and Howie need to figure out how to get the most out of him. I don't think they will feel obligated to keep KO with Eichel or in the top 6 at all though if he's not adding value in that slot. More broadly, I think JBott and Howie want to play the kind of game you are advocating. They took Pommer as part of the price for getting Scandella -- who is the type of player who plays that type of game -- not because they wanted Pommer to play a big role. I expect the forward ranks to improve next year and for Pommer's role to diminish.

Good stuff here boys. My bottom line is that: - As I mentioned above, Pommer will definitely be back -- although that might just mean back on the Sabres' payroll -- not necessarily on their NHL roster. I can certainly see him getting healthy-scratched regularly or sent down. - He's much diminished, and I hate the idea of him on Eichel's line, but he's nowhere near as much of a basket case as Moulson was, and nowhere near the 12th forward on this roster. Now, if the Sabres had a respectable roster? Probably a different story, but not on this year's team. - I don't see any urgent need to buy him out and take a future cap hit. As duda pointed out he's a pro and he's not yet completely useless.

Very nice.

There is no "Pommer might return." Pommer is 100% certain to return. He's not walking away from $5.6MM, and no one is going to take him off the Sabres' hands.

As a birthday gift, I'm taking my son tonight to UFC 223 at the Barclays Center here. I've never been to a live MMA event, although I did attend a Riddick Bowe title fight in MSG about 20 years ago. There are 9 fights on the card, and the main event won't start until after midnight. There's also been quite a bit of drama around this event, with Conor McGregor crashing the press conference, smashing bus windows and getting arrested. Kinda looking forward to it!

Absolutely. Karlsson will turn 28 on May 31; Risto will turn 24 on October 27. Karlsson put up 62 points in 71 games this year on a terrible team while working his way back from a very tough injury. Risto's cap hit is $5.4MM for 4 more seasons (after this one). So he'll get a big UFA contract that starts in his age 28 season. That contract will probably cost at least $6.5MM per year. Karlsson will probably cost $10MM x 8 years. So for the 1st 4 years, he'll cost $4.6MM more than Risto, and for the 2nd 4 years he'll cost $3.5MM more than Risto. Of course, Karlsson's play could decline precipitously, especially during the back half of that contract. Karlsson is still unquestionably a top-10 player in the NHL, and probably top-5. Risto may or may not be a top-pairing defenseman. I think if Karlsson is traded he will probably return more than Risto plus the #4 pick in the draft.

What if the Sabres drop to #4 in the draft -- would you trade Risto plus that pick for Karlsson?

Hogan isn't a star, but he's a nice #3 or #4 WR who was far better than anyone the Bills had in those slots since they let him leave out of Whaley incompetence.

Very reasonable. I too am pretty concerned about going into next season with Linus as the #1. I generally agree that Ullmark surpasses Lehner in these qualities (or, perhaps more accurately, that Lehner is worse than Ullmark in them) -- but FWIW I think Lehner is quicker and more athletic than Ullmark. In particular, I've noticed that once Ullmark goes down, it takes him a long time to get back up. I'm just not that confident that Ullmark is the guy, and I think goalie needs to be JBott's top priority.

Nice!

How awesome would it be if Olofsson turned into the Sabres' long-awaited overseas late-draft diamond find? From eliteprospects.com: He turns 23 this summer. He's 5'11", 172 lbs. Maybe...

I can't speak for erick, but my interpretation of the "identity" concept as put forth in the OP is "an important part of the game that the team is really good at -- to the point where it makes the team a threat to win every night and the opponent needs to gameplan for it." Clearly, such an element doesn't exist with this team, since they stink at pretty much everything. Maybe the first such element could be the PP -- but having a really good PP alone isn't enough. Now, really good PP and really good PK PLUS really good goaltending (which of course is a critical element in the PK) -- that might be achievable next year and might be enough to vault this team up a few levels to bubble team status. That might give the team another season or 2 to develop Howie's attacking defense/high speed 5-on-5 style, which is what I think the identity goal really is, and what will be needed to get to contender status. The first and most immediately critical step is to step way up at goalie.