nfreeman

Don't eff around with individual stocks. Put it in an S&P 500 index fund until you get close to needing it (e.g. if you are buying a house), then start moving it into cash as you approach D-day.

For the record, those are not bikinis in the OP. My prediction about Zemgus being the next to get shipped out is looking good.

I think JBott wants to keep a presumably unhappy Moulson far away from the Sabres' prospects. From Moulson's perspective, he gets to winter in Southern California and presumably make his wife happy. Pretty good arrangement all around.

Your question doesn't work, because it lumps a bunch of players together in the "didn't perform" description. No one with functioning eyes would say that ROR or Lehner have been as bad as Moulson and KO. KO may be slightly less corpse-like than he was at the beginning of the season, but he has 1 goal in his last 9 games and 15 shots in his last 7 games. He's nowhere close to the player they thought they were getting. The statement that Bogo's contract -- with 2 more years at $5.1MM -- is more of an albatross than KO's -- with 5 more years at $6MM -- is insane. You are right that in retrospect the Sabres would've been better off not trading for Lehner and finding a goalie elsewhere. Not all trades work out. If Lehner had lived up to his potential (which he still might, btw, although it almost certainly won't be with the Sabres), it would've been well worth the 21st pick in the 1st round, which usually doesn't yield an impact player. Moreover, the Sabres would've been substantially better off only if they had found a much better goalie elsewhere or if the 1st-round pick had turned into a good player -- both of which are something like 20% probabilities.

Do you think Reino and Eichel look like mature, consistent, motivated leaders?

Well, if I were going to list them in order, it would be: - the tank - poor drafting - failure to bring in good leaders - mediocre goaltending - giving big contracts to underperforming vets (primarily Moulson, KO and Gorges) And as Drunkard points out, they didn't give Gorges his deal -- although they kinda did, since GMTM actively pursued Gorges pretty early on in his deal. Moulson has been an albatross pretty much since they signed him. He has another year on his deal (as you yourself posted a few minutes ago). More importantly, "paying nothing but money" for KO overlooks the key issue: your top-paid guys can't be completely ineffective. That sets a terrible tone to the team. Of the guys they traded for, none has played as poorly as Moulson and KO have (I recognize that some might disagree as to Bogo, but he was a 2ndary piece in that deal -- more of part of the price GMTM had to pay to get Kane -- and injuries aren't the same as poor play). Kane has played well, ROR has mostly played well but provided zero leadership and Lehner has been mediocre but not terrible like Moulson (every day) and KO (this year). I agree that the guys they traded for were supposed to be part of the core, and that they have failed to deliver. But that's not the same as "mortgaging the future" or "blowing up in their face." The Sabres still had a ton of picks and prospects after making the trades, and those guys -- Baptiste, Bailey, Fasching, plus Cornel, Karabacek, Hurley, Johanssen, Martin, Kea, Catenacci, Girgensons, Leduc, Sundher, MacKenzie -- who are all 2nd- or 3rd-round picks (plus Zemgus in the 1st round) since 2010 -- have done zero. IMHO, they committed suicide with the tank, shoveled dirt on the grave with poor drafting, then cemented it over by not bringing in good leadership or good goaltending. As always, YMMV.

I think some AHL time would be good for learning some humility and some appreciation for their opportunity to play in the NHL and for the need to play the game the right way in all areas. There is zero possibility of him walking away from $3MM, let alone $8MM.

Your first paragraph is classic #Hammymath. We were discussing the trades that brought in Lehner, Kane, Bogo and ROR. You omitted the salaries the Sabres parted with in bringing in those guys (in particular, Myers and Stafford, who come close to netting out Kane and Bogo). You also included a bunch of other guys in your $37.5MM, including a few whom I included in my "giving big contracts to underperforming vets" point. You make some good points in your 2nd paragraph -- but it's important to remember that those issues were the reasons those players were available to begin with. Bottom line, IMHO, is that as I said above, while you are right that those trades haven't delivered what GMTM was hoping for, none of them has really crashed and burned, and those trades are not the reason the Sabres are where they are.

Well, I agree that it would be nice to have a bunch of potentially good prospects in the system right now. I just think that those trades were and remain defensible -- even the Lehner trade, which I think has busted -- and that those trades are not where the franchise went astray. The team's problems, IMHO, stem from: - the tank - poor drafting - giving big contracts to underperforming vets (primarily Moulson, KO and Gorges) - mediocre goaltending - failure to bring in good leaders

Leaving aside where they were drafted, who among the guys GMTM gave up is a quality NHL player? It looks like Myers, who seems to have settled into a "solid 2nd pairing defenseman" role, is the only one.

It's too bad -- I think they both would benefit from some AHL time.

I'm pretty sure the answer is no, but I'll ask the question anyway: Can Reino or Eichel be sent down to Rochester without clearing waivers?

You're probably right about ROR and Risto, but I can't say I'd be surprised if either of them gets moved out. I have a deep, dark fear that Risto is more Bogo 2.0 than he is a #1 defenseman.

Zemgus might also have some "I can fix him" cachet.

I agree with most of this, except that I don't think they'll be able to unload Bogo due to his contract, and that a Lehner trade will be more because JBott thinks he just isn't good enough than due to attitude. I also think that if any or all of ROR/KO/Risto are moved, it will be at least as much due to loser mentality (especially ROR, who is supposed to be a leader) as due to cap space.

I changed it to "who do you MOST want them to unload?".

OK, who's next? And who will be the biggest name to go, even if he's not next? And who would you ship out? I voted Zemgus, Kane and Reino. Note: edited to add Lehner.

No one is giving the Sabres anything good for Lehner. 3rd or 4th round pick at best.

There is NFW that Moulson retires and walks away from the last $4MM he'll ever earn as a pro hockey player. While I agree that this is a step in the right direction, it's the babiest of baby steps IMHO. Everyone knows that Moulson stinks, is overpaid and no one wants him. If they really want to get the attention of the group of losers they've collected, and to start excising the rotten core, they'll need to trade someone like Reino or ROR.

Of course he's taking calls on those 2. He's probably open to dealing Moulson as well.

No one is going to take Moulson, Pommer or KO. I think 2 or 3 of Reino, ROR, Kane and Risto are going to be traded.

It is kinda obvious where this is going.

I'm totally on board with the "rotten core" theory. Not quite there that Kane is in the middle of it, but he certainly could be, and more importantly it seems pretty likely that he doesn't want to stay. I think some core pieces need to be moved, and I'd be surprised if JBott and Howie don't think so as well. Approved, except that if Tavares is willing to come to the worst team in the NHL for his prime, that means he's all about the Benjamins, so I don't want him. Very, very plausible. Uh-oh.

Sakman — excellent post.

Very good article. Thanks for posting.