nfreeman

Interesting. Let's say Lehner's agent told JBott that Lehner wants $5MM x 5 years, and JBott thinks he can probably get a deal done for $4.5MM x 4 years, but not much less. Would JBott rather pay that price for Lehner, or expose him in the expansion draft?

I loved Lindy, but I'm calling NFW on him returning at this point (as a prediction, not a preference).

Very happy to see this, Swamp. And for the other similarly situated fathers: good man.

Great post Flagg. Thanks.

OK, so it's Monday night. What's the ETA for the announcement of a hiring? Friday?

Well, boys, you're not exactly overwhelming us with detailed arguments in support of your positions here.

Pinning this bad boy until we have a HC.

Here's a thread for non-Sabres expansion draft action. Fire at will.

I agree that this season of Fargo hasn't been quite as good as the first 2 seasons, and that GoT also wasn't quite as good as prior seasons. But both are still very good to excellent -- and if I have BCS and either of those 2 in the DVR, I'm watching Fargo or GoT. Of course, YMMV. Wasn't there a hockey game on TV in the bar in one of the last episodes of BB that nailed down the date?

I don't have strong feelings about the "morality" of either side of this issue. There are reasonable points to be made on both sides. I do find it interesting though that the PA apparently cares enough about it to have negotiated for it. It seems like a pretty rare occurrence and it benefits only those who are not yet PA members.

No. The author of the article, who is not McK, is the one saying in the article that Housely is the leading candidate. McK does not say that in the article. The point of the thread is that if McK says Housley is the leading contender, then there is a pretty good likelihood that Housley is indeed the leading contender. But McK didn't say that. He said some other stuff, from which the writer of the article inferred that Housley is the leading contender.

McK does not say that Housely is the leading contender. The thread title implies that he did say that.

I appreciate the enthusiasm, but the link provided by the OP does not say what the thread title says it says.

This. I'm not interested in committing to him for more than 2 years. He's solid but at this point certainly replaceable. If he crushes it this year then give him an extension.

An OHL team or a strong D-I team would be a great addition for Buffalo. Getting both would be fantastic.

A suitable universe might be the one in which the Sabres make him the best contract offer. You're probably right -- I'm not sure what Dreger previously reported. Still, I would think that following the other guys' reports, Dreger would check with his sources, who must have said they didn't know of anything that was close. Since Friedman (IMHO) was backpedaling yesterday, I'm guessing that nothing is going to happen anytime soon. I would also guess that there were brief talks between JBott and the Kings, and the Kings weren't willing to pony up a good enough defenseman. Separately but relatedly, I think one underappreciated (including by me) aspect of the Kane situation is the impact of the new coach's opinions on the Sabres' decision about Kane. If JBott thinks he wants Housley or Tocchet (or either), and they both sit in his office and tell him they badly want Kane, that has to affect his thinking on how much $$ to offer Kane. And I'd say it's probably 66.67% likely that Kane has not told the Sabres that he wants to go to FA. He may feel that way, but it seems like it would not be in his interests to tell the team that at this point.

Well, a lot of pro athletes have gotten into legal scrapes and not left town because of them, especially when the charges were dropped. Also, a lot of free agents have signed extensions with losing teams when the Benjamins and the respect and appreciation were sufficient. Yes indeedly. This is pretty optimistic. It's not unlikely though that Kane will be traded and these candidates will get their shots at his slot.

While I certainly see nothing wrong in him chasing the big payday, I'm curious as to what it is about his time here that makes you think he's inclined that way. Separately, Darren Dreger was on the Instigators this morning and is now well away from saying he knows of anything specific or imminent regarding a Kane trade.

That doesn't sound like a big deal.

Good work. Do we know what year the BB timeline started?

Good post. Totally agree with the bolded, and I'll add that the same is true for trading Kane IMHO -- unless he's told them he's leaving in FA. This is what I expect too. There aren't going to be a bunch of high-quality defensemen falling from the trees. One or 2 may shake loose, but they will be few in number and expensive. I don't agree with keeping someone because the price to acquire him was high, but I completely agree with the bolded. This is also true -- one or 2 will probably become available. I'll be interested to see whether JBott gets into the bidding. We know that Darcy would've looked up nervously from his coupon-clipping and quickly shaken his head no, while GMTM would've hastily spilled his pint while sorting through a pile of credit cards to find a couple that weren't maxed out. I expect JBott will plot a middle course. Great stuff as always RF. With Tocchet and Housely looking like strong contenders for the Sabres' job, I'm curious as to your views on Pittsburgh's and Nashville's D group in terms of possession, passing, system, etc. Do you think Kane took shortcuts on the ice? I thought he played hard pretty consistently.

Well, we all knew that nothing was going to happen until after the finals, innit? Patience, grasshopper. The fireworks will begin in another 7-10 days.

Exactly. Ennis has zero to negative value in trade right now. If you want Eberle, you're giving up a #1 and/or a top prospect.

What is this based on? The article says: That sounds more like Asplund didn't hear from JBott at all, got antsy and signed with his SHL team.

Absolutely.