nfreeman

What about a tailgate before the game in the Citi field parking lot? We'd need to start early as I assume it will be an early game.

I too think GoDD is a good guy and I too miss having him here. He just crossed the line too many times, and not only on the PSU matter. I hope I can make it to the next meetup (and it would be great to have a NYC edition for the WC) and that he (and many others here) attend.

Whoa. As if the meetup wasn't a huge enough event -- that is a major freaking SabreSpace development. Is he in any of the photos? Or does his image simply not show up in photos, like Damien's? There are plenty of us envying that rock star mane. (WC -- sorry -- I have to withdraw my prior compliment on that.)

Awesome. Great job lady and gents. Holy mackerel WC has great hair.

Have a great time, everyone! Wish I could attend. No prisoners!

An offensive coach that is coaching...EJ at QB? Are you really a DW defender, or are you just making conversation here? (BTW I agree that he didn't pick Rex and shouldn't be accountable for that decision -- but I also think he's made many, many poor decisions that no one forced on him.)

Maybe he just needs to make good GM-type decisions, instead of the myriad of poor decisions he's made.

I am most likely deluding myself, but I kinda like McD, I definitely prefer keeping TT over the other QB options they had, I think they did a great job in reducing TT's cost/cap hit, and, most importantly, I love the idea of marginalizing DW, whom I consider a bozo. So, although they certainly aren't executing in a smooth and professional manner, I overall am pleased with the significant steps taken this offseason so far. Let's see what happens at the draft. They need a good CB and a good #2 WR who presents a big target for TT.

What is the point of this? Just to be obnoxious? Do you really think he meant "worst" = "not enough of a fanboy?" Do you really think that he and others who criticize media members don't have other, reasonable criticisms in mind? If not, why say it this way? This essentially added zero value -- much like most of Harrington's and Bucky's output. And acting like a d-bag in a presser isn't "speaking truth to power." It's just acting like a d-bag. There are plenty of ways to assert journalistic independence and ask tough questions without throwing a temper tantrum (Harrington) or posing questions in an insulting way (Bucky). Beat me to it. I think Schopp and the Bulldog are pretty good, Howard Simon is pretty mediocre and Jeremy White is pretty knowledgeable but also pretty grating.

Gus!!

There are a million ill-advised panic moves they could make. The prudent thing for TP/KP to do is to understand that they hired someone to do a total rebuild, that a total rebuild takes time, and that there are going to be a few hiccups along the way. They need to let GMTM build it his way and to hold him accountable for the results -- but not until enough time has passed. Two NHL seasons following the intentional icing of one of the worst teams in NHL history for a 2-year period is not remotely close enough to being enough time.

I've seen about half of season 1 and although I wouldn't go quite as far as you have, I've enjoyed it and think it's pretty funny. Separately: I watched "the Accountant" on the plane today. Pretty good thriller.

I watched "Hell or High Water" on the plane yesterday. Not greqt but pretty good IMHO.

At the airport getting ready to depart for bachelor party weekend in Vegas with a bunch of old friends. Holy mackerel I'm psyched.

This is fair, but I think you'd need to identify a few of these prospects and provide some specifics as to why they'd be superior assets to Lehner if you want to really make this point.

I don't see Nylander in the NHL next year.

yse -- good post with good detail. Although TW beat me to it, here are a few additional items: - Chychrun is a 3rd-pairing defenseman for a terrible team, and Sergachev has played 3 NHL games. It's way too soon to know whether either will be a better pro than Nylander -- and it's certainly the case that neither would've been a difference-maker for the Sabres this year (and probably not next year either). - As TW noted, the Sabres took a shot at Oduya -- and he's been pretty much a disappointment in Dallas anyway. - Certainly others (including TW) agree with you on Pysyk, but I am not one of them. I think he adds very little value -- and if we want to compare apples to apples, Kulikov had a much better year for Fla last year than Pysyk had this year. It's too bad Kuli was hurt all year because I think he has much more game than Pysyk, but we aren't going to get to see it. - I agree with TW that the proposed Fowler trade is neither here nor there, as it's highly unlikely (and in any case impossible to know) that Anaheim would've accepted that offer. Similarly, I would guess that Boston didn't want to trade Hamilton within the division. - I think you make good points though on Quincey and Seidenberg.

Maybe. Montour has played 17 NHL games and was drafted a year before Guhle, who is 19 years old. It's way too early to tell about either of them -- and therefore it seems pretty odd to criticize GMTM for not drafting Montour, because saying that Montour would be a significant difference-maker on this year's Sabres team seems pretty unrealistic.

yse -- the point about the D needing an upgrade is valid, and you've made it repeatedly. I think it's incumbent upon you at this point to identify the defensemen that have changed teams in the past couple of years that you think GMTM should've brought in for the Sabres, as well as the realistic price you think he should've paid for them.

Now say it in a British female accent, with a hint of naughtiness...

Your perspective is certainly reasonable, although the opposing view is also reasonable IMHO. I was more reacting to Robvy's assertions as to what #21 in 2015 would've yielded. In any case I think your ongoing discussion with dudacek is good hockey talk, as are Robvy's posts.

What is the percentage likelihood that the goalie prospects you mentioned will have better NHL careers than Lehner? I would guess that for each of them -- it's less than 30% that he will turn into a full-time NHL starter. Whoa. The #21 pick overall almost never makes the NHL before serving another 2 years in juniors, plus at least a year or 2 in the A. And the #21 pick overall very often becomes a marginal NHL player/washout. In particular: 2008 -- Anton Gustafsson © -- played 1 game in AHL and returned to Sweden 2009 -- John Moore (D) -- became a full-time NHLer in 2013-14; now low-scoring #4 defenseman on NJ 2010 -- Riley Sheahan © -- last year -- 25 pts in 81 games 2011 -- Stefan Noesen (RW) -- 33 NHL games since being drafted 2012 -- Mark Jankowski © -- 1 NHL game since being drafted 2013 -- Frederik Gauthier © -- 28 NHL games since being drafted 2014 -- Robby Fabbri © -- 66 pts in 123 NHL games -- so far he's the only solid player 2015 -- Sabres traded pick for Lehner -- Ottawa drafted Colin White © -- still in college -- too early to tell.

Congrats Josie!

Works for me!

This sounds right -- at least I sure hope so.