nfreeman

Never say never, but I agree that it won't happen anytime soon. Taro is right though that he could end up with a pretty highly-placed position with another team (maybe back with the Steelers?). And it's reasonably likely that he's seen the writing on the wall and started conversations to line something up. Either way, though, it would be a foolish long-term move for him to sabotage this draft for the Bills. I agree that he'll be able to get a job -- I meant that he'll have a hard time finding a senior "GM in waiting" job like the one Taro mentioned.

Butler was a really good GM who had options available. DW is going to have a much harder time finding a job.

Antipin has to know that nothing is guaranteed. I expect they promised his agent that he'd start the year in the NHL, and he'll probably get a one-way contract (ie same salary whether it's NHL or AHL), but I doubt they promised, or he expects, guaranteed NHL ice time. He and his agent probably looked at the Sabres, saw plenty of available ice time on D, good facilities, a free-spending owner, a good goalie and good forwards and figured it was a promising situation for him.

Well, I don't think DW will get the final call on any of the picks -- I think McD will. Also, I'm sure DW wants to keep working in the NFL, and intentionally making bad picks for the Bills on his way out the door would hurt his future prospects. OTOH, if the Bills have a great draft this year, he can include it in his resume.

It sure looks like Whaley is going to get canned after the draft: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/04/26/bills-scouts-bracing-for-a-post-draft-house-cleaning/

I think only PTR would cite the Bills losing Hogan as support for the Bills FO.

Link? I do not recall an apology -- I recall him saying it wasn't working and they were going to reevaluate the series. Crediting RB for keeping the Bills in Buffalo is like crediting a doorman with opening the door. As I've said previously, there is NFW that he did anything other than execute RWS' wishes. And if TP hadn't materialized like a gift from heaven, the Bills would be in Toronto right now. As for presenting numbers -- again, you are giving him credit for doing what anyone in that position would've done. More importantly, TP certainly had his own financial people run their own numbers, and they relied on their numbers, not RB's, in making the decision. Finally, when TP finally cuts RB loose, no one else is going to give him a comparable job.

I think the poll question needs a bit more instruction -- i.e. my preferred GM likely changes if I know there is/isn't going to be a PHO in addition to the GM.

This is it in a nutshell. The value he adds with his insights that he gains from being around the team is completely obliterated by dishonest writing. OK. Do you or do you not think he was bein intentionally misleading by presenting the stats the way he did? "An 82-game span." The imprecision, IMHO, is completely intentional, and dishonest. Yes, except that it's almost impossible to believe it wasn't intentional. Which is it? Did he think no one read his stuff anyway, or was he trying to create a stir? It's pretty clear to me that Hammy, like most other journos, is well aware that hot takes = more clicks = career advancement for sports journalists. He just hasn't figured out how to issue hot takes that aren't transparently false and easily disproved.

Welcome jlevnhv!

Doohickie, you know we love ya, but this is like when Liger predicted that Robyn Regehr was going to become a force on the power play.

Support from Friedman for skepticism about Lombardi becoming senior adviser instead of GM:

No thank you, unless it's whether Ennis has more pts than Carrier.

GA beat me to it. Ennis has been under water due to injury for a long time, but he showed quite a bit of life over the last month of the season. With a full offseason of training, plus a full training camp under a new coach, he could regain 20-25-45 production. It would also be nice to add his speed to the ROR-KO combo. Carrier, OTOH, has never scored much at any level (not even the Q!). I agree that Foligno is his ceiling.

How 'bout: Ennis-ROR-Okposo Kane-Eichel-Rodrigues Nylander-Reinhart-Baptiste/Fasching Foligno-Larsson-Gionta extra: Carrier, Baptiste/Fasching Fowler/other-Risto McCabe-Bogo Guhle-Falk/Austin/Fedun extra: Falk/Austin/Fedun Lehner Ullmark Assumptions (some of which are longshots): - Sabres pull off dudacek's proposed trade for Fowler or other premium defenseman - Ennis continues his late-season improvement and makes it all the way back - Sabres bribe Vegas into taking Moulson - Gorges in Rochester/bought out - New coach revives Bogo - New coach realizes that Reino is a center - Nylander makes the leap - Guhle makes the leap - KO's health is OK

Welcome Toro!

Rico was my favorite player as a kid, and I'm pleased to say that when my wife and I finally caved in to the kids and got a dog, everyone agreed on "Rico" as his name. And yes -- he was the best goal scorer they've ever had.

So he definitely used the other players' stats from their entire careers? I.e. not just their first 2 seasons? Unbelievable. If that's the case, how can we take anything he says seriously ever again?

Has anyone figured out what Hammy meant by "over an 82-game span?" If it means anything other than "points per 82 games over the player's first 2 seasons," then 75% of the article is essentially dishonest. Having said that: Reino didn't have a particularly good year. He went 25-odd games without a 5-on-5 goal. That is a low-impact player. We're entitled to expect more from him.

I think I get your meaning here, but I'll also point out that I think Matthews is a better finisher (while Jack is probably a better playmaker) -- so in that sense Matthews is pretty GD strong with the puck on his stick too. The goal that Matthews scored in Game 6 vs the Caps, despite arising from a lucky bounce, was an amazing finish. He pounced on the lucky bounce, reeled in a bouncing puck, drew it back to create a shooting angle and flicked it into the very top corner. Freaking Bossy-esque. I think what you're both saying here is that CF and CA are more team stats than individual stats. There certainly seems to be a reasonable basis for this -- but isn't CF and CA what we are referring to when we say that player X "drives possession?" Also -- qwk -- I assume you are referring to assists when you reference playmaking -- is that right? Also, what is "build up play?" I think they are both potentially generational, but in different ways. Eichel is a playmaker who can and will score a lot, while Matthews is a scorer who can and will set up others.

Very nice.

So why did you shout me down when I noted that Matthews' CF and CA were significantly better than Eichel's? Hmmmmmmmmm???

I too would not jettison Kane to make room for Kovy. Obviously, the dream answer is "both" -- but that will require somehow unloading a couple of their existing lousy contracts.

For a 3rd-rounder to NJ and a 2-year contract @ $6MM per year -- yes please. But NFW would I give up a higher pick or give him a longer term.

Now I remember -- you're right. Thanks.