nfreeman

I think Kane and Pouliot will be traded, and don't expect anyone else to be (although there's always hope). I also think no one would offer the proposed values in #2, 4, 5, 6 or 7 above.

Love the optimism, but these are many miles away from being settled points.

Totally agree. Other than Miller, they weren't capable of running things, but they were high-quality supporting parts.

Not quite the unequivocal concession I was hoping for. If he doesn't win a starting job somewhere next year, I'll be back for an I-told-you-so. (Although I'll admit there's a good chance he is starting somewhere and performs better than he has this year.)

That is a generous depiction of my "lawn." Stony Brook is actually a bit of a hike from Brooklyn -- close to a 2-hour drive, depending on traffic. OTOH, if you like the beach, you're not too far from some great beaches.

That's been my impression as well. I just asked because GA seemed to indicate that he expects otherwise.

It rhymes with "spank." Yes indeedly. Outstanding. Am I crazy or did you just concede that Lehner stinks?

Now this is a great question that drives home an unavoidable point: although IMHO there's no way to know yet, it's certainly possible that Howie will wash out.

Who? The ECHL goalie? Were you perhaps referring to Davidsson? Also, is there any news regarding Borgen or Fitzgerald indicating that he is likely to sign with the Sabres?

I don't think we'll know this until mid-July-ish.

I find the speakerphone conversation on a cell phone while walking around in public deeply annoying and also very strange. What in the world is the purpose of doing this?

Good question, and no I wouldn't. I guess it just feels like they've assessed matters and with Eichel gone and a few awful losses recently, they've decided to protect the asset they have in McCabe and don't mind at all if it solidifies their lottery position.

I think the most likely outcome is that JBott dumps him at the draft for a 4th-rounder or thereabouts, with the 2nd-most-likely outcome that JBott is unable to do so and lets him walk without qualifying him (I'm not sure when QOs are due -- I think it's after the draft but could be wrong). Here is my reasoning: - Given Lehner's recent extreme suckitude (pulled in 3 of his last 8 home games, among other sins) and injury, no playoff team will want him to be their guy for a playoff run, so no one is going to trade for him this week. - I don't think JBott wants him back at any price, let alone $4MM+ -- so I think JBott will try to trade him at or before the QO deadline -- probably at the draft. And, I think/hope JBott is pretty good at his job and will be able to work out a deal so he gets more than zero for him. - I think JBott's efforts will be complicated by the fact that most other GMs will know that (i) JBott doesn't want Lehner back and (ii) Lehner will cost much less in salary if JBott can't trade him and just walks away from him (which I again think is the case but am not certain). So the other GMs will both have leverage on JBott and be incentivized to wait for JBott to walk away from him. This makes it reasonably likely that JBott won't be able to get anyone to trade for Lehner. - My bottom line is that if JBott can't get anything for Lehner in trade and is left with the choice of paying him $4MM for next year or walking away from him -- I think JBott will walk away.

And, it must be said, his injury history has turned him from being an asset obtained in the Kane trade to being part of the price GMTM had to pay to get Kane.

Kinda feels like a tanking move.

Really, IMHO this comes down to whether JBott wants to commit to Ullmark as the #1 for next year. If he does, then a CJ type as the #2 would make sense and allow $2MM - $3MM in savings on the G spot (heh) to be spent elsewhere. If not, then he'll need to bring in either an established starter or a young #2 (like Lehner was, and Bernier, Gibson, Andersen, etc.) to either run with the #1 slot or at least compete with Ullmark for it. I would guess that it will be the latter.

With Lehner generally sucking lately AND now injured, I'd guess we're looking at a 4th-rounder for him at best, but more likely that he won't be traded before the deadline.

Holy jumping to conclusions batman!

I thought the GTG and the GWG were good, bang-bang offensive plays that would've been very tough saves (more so the GWG), so I don't blame Lehner for those. They both seemed more the product of breakdowns in the team D. On the GTG in particular, all 5 Sabre skaters were on the left side of the ice, leaving Risto alone to scramble back to his right to cover 3 Senators when the pass went that way. The first Ottawa goal, though, to tie it with less than 15 min to go in the 3rd, was another Lehner 3rd period choke. Yes it was a deflection, but Gaborik was well outside the top of the circle and the puck went straight in from there. If Lehner had been in the right position, it would've been a routine save.

For the millenials: I recommend "Search Party" on TBS.

Nailed it!

Love the optimism but...

Well, you might think Sam is a 38-42 pt guy who disappears for long stretches, puts up numbers in garbage time, is a net negative in the defensive zone and in the locker room and will be useless in the playoffs and has hit his ceiling, or some combination of those negatives. Or you just might like the guy coming back more than you like Sam.

I'm basing it on the fact that Olofsson can become a UFA in a few months and would then be able to choose from a large number of interested teams, most of which seem objectively like a more attractive situation than the Sabres. Hopefully Mick is correct about his comments and contacts with the Sabres over the years being good indicators that he won't leave.

Well, I've called Reino the slowest player on the team because he is in fact the slowest player on the team, both in tight and in longer runs. I agree that he uses his vision, anticipation, hockey IQ and passing skills to make plays -- but those factors don't make him not slow -- they allow him to play at the NHL level, which he would otherwise be unable to do. To be clear, I agree that he looks reborn over the past month or so, and I am glad to see it (and I will note that GAFan noted Reino's proclivity for slow starts and strong 2nd halves several times -- so good on him for that one). However, no one should forget that he AGAIN didn't show up this season until the horse had left the barn and gone to the glue factory. All the pressure is off, both on Reino and on the team as a whole. They aren't getting the opponents' A games, or even their B games. I'm pretty far away from assuming that either the Sabres or Reino will start off next season looking like they do right now. And I sure as heck don't want to give Reino a fat contract this summer.