nfreeman

Very nice.

2 strong moves by JBott. Kinda restores some hope for the franchise that he’ll be able to right the ship eventually. Now we of course need to hope that Casey and Borgen are actually good NHL players. And that we can bring in a good goalie and about 10 more good players this summer.

Sir: either communicate in a less obnoxious way, or keep quiet.

I am fine with a major trade and I may even be hoping for one that includes one or 2 of Reino, ROR and Risto, but I don’t want to trade Eichel. FWIW, I kinda think JBott will be discussing deals involving Reino and/or Risto this summer.

Well, if he hasn’t signed by, say, Monday, I think we need to assume that it’s not happening this year. Wonderful.

Thanks for this. I didn't realize that Cal Peterson was having a big season -- losing him was indeed a bummer for the Sabres.

So is KO now officially a 4th-liner?

Perreault was unquestionably a top-5 player for most of his career, and there were a number of years when he was in the conversation for #1. Eichel is simply nowhere near that level at this point. He might get there but he might not.

No one is going to give them anything for Shaq.

Welcome to the board, but this is a zero-value-added post. Please try to participate in the conversation without throwing insults around.

Well, I have posted my feelings about the tank many times. It was a terrible decision that has worked out as expected, and Eichel was in no way worth it -- but very few players in NHL history would have been worth it. Having said that, we are where we are and we need to make decisions based on what is best for this team given our current status. In that context, IMHO Eichel is an excellent young player who at times looks like a dominant, top-5 NHL player and is locked up though his prime. You don't trade a guy like that unless you know there's a Forsberg coming back -- and it seems incredibly unlikely that a trade like that will materialize. So yes, the door isn't closed, but a trade possibility is pretty much an abstraction. And what you definitely don't do is decide that he's not as good as you were hoping, so you're going to trade him for a bunch of decent players and start over. That would be insane.

All of the top 4 are going to be gone by pick #5 at the latest.

Southern Spain -- I took that photo today in Ronda, a great little town that spans an incredible gorge. We're going to travel around to a couple of other towns this week and end up in Madrid. So far, so bueno.

Vacation in Spain.

Awesome Josie.

I don’t think there can be any conclusion other than it being a major disappointment if they aren’t able to get one of the big 4 QBs.

Not a-tall. My point is simply that no one should assume the Giants are going to take a RB and not a QB, esp since the Eli era appears to be over.

This is pretty much my view as well.

FWIW, I have a good friend who is a lifelong Giants fan and he is certain the Giants are going to stay at #2 and draft a QB.

For those blaming ownership: does the state of the Bills, who appear to be finally improving and a real NFL franchise, affect your thinking?

They didn’t make the playoffs in 2013. They made the playoffs in 2010 and 2011. They were beating Philly 3-2 in 2011, with the chance to close out the series in game 6 at home, and were leading in the 3rd period, but lost that game in OT on a goal by Ville Freaking Leino and then went to pieces in game 7 and the entire next season. That reaction in crunch time was emblematic of that team post Black Sunday and is why there is some truth to Robvy’s assertions about that team and how most fans felt about them — ie no heart. But that team didn’t need a tear down IMHO. It needed more guts in the top 6. But they hid under the bed in 2012 and missed the playoffs, then started poorly in 2013, Darcy and/or TP panicked and fired Lindy, and then they decided to tank.

I think the claim is that they not only take it into account but weigh it as a critical factor in their decisions — ie he asserted that the Bills would take whichever QB was the most religious.

What about McCarron? Or any of the FAs they just brought in?

Is any of the top QBs in this draft religious?

I didn't say that you were being anti-religious. I said that you incessantly claim that McD and BB make their personnel decisions based on the religiousness of the players, and that the frequency with which you make that claim is tiresome. I also said that the theory itself is belied by them jettisoning TT. You have also put forward zero evidence to support your theory, which is another reason it is tiresome.