nfreeman

Well, Reino and Eichel each contributed a true star-quality play. How could anyone want to trade Kane or not re-sign him? Pretty spotty outing by Nilsson.

I'm giving Homeland a C-minus so far this season. If my wife didn't like it so much, I would bail completely. Also -- 2 of my work colleagues recommended "Ray Donovan." I watched the first episode over the weekend and thought it was utter crapola. If episode 2 isn't any better, I'm out -- but then I have to figure out how to gently inform my work colleagues that I completely disagree with their recommendation.

Dude. It would be kinda TPish to get fed up and send DDB packing, innit? Well, to be fair, this has happened -- and in the SCF, no less. My 2 cents: I would sign up for dumping DDB and bringing in CJ in a heartbeat -- but I think it's highly unlikely that it will happen before the end of this season at the earliest. If, however, the Sabres limp to the finish line and end up DFL in the EC and bottom 4ish in the NHL, I think it's at least 50/50.

I generally think a bad PK is a direct result of bad coaching.

Great breakdown yse. I am just about sure they will be sellers. I think most of the UFAs will be sold for picks, which I think is the right decision. I don't think any of the RFAs or next year's UFAs will be traded.

Well, I think the replays were pretty inconclusive on that -- the stick was certainly near his arm, but there was no way to be sure whether it actually touched him. And as someone posted in the GDT, if the stick actually had touched his arm, he most likely would've protested, instead of just sinking to the ice in despair (perhaps at his own tendency to deposit fat rebounds on the doorstep).

These are all fair points about Lehner. It's certainly reasonable to say that he stops most of the pucks coming at him, and with a lousy team supporting him to boot. My point was simply that his rebound control seems like a glaring, ongoing flaw in his game, and we saw it again last night on the GWG. I'm not saying the Sabres need to move on from Lehner because of it -- just that it's something he needs to improve if he wants to ascend to high-end starter status.

I think Lehner is a legit NHL #1, but rebound control just continues to be a major issue. The GWG goal tonight was a prime example. He effectively batted the puck -- with his catcher! -- right into the near slot, where a NJD happily jumped on it and popped it in. Just a terrible piece of goaltending.

I agree, and would just add (although perhaps it's redundant with your post) that I'd rather have, say, the Sabres' 2nd-rounder (probably around pick #38) plus a 2nd-rounder from a contender (pick #55), than the contender's #1 (pick #25).

This is a pretty good theory. It's certainly at least possible that GMTM gave Falk this contract in order to preserve this option -- more specifically, to preserve the option of exposing Bogo in the expansion draft. I am by no means a resident of the Bogo bunker, but it's undeniable that (i) Bogo is under contract for 3 more seasons after this season at a $5.1MM per year cap hit, plus a no-trade clause and (ii) he's missed 17 games or more with injury for SIX seasons in a row (15 in the 48-game lockout season). It wouldn't be a huge surprise if GMTM were to decide that he'd rather have the cap space for the next 3 seasons than have Bogo.

I'd be pretty happy with a 2nd for Gio. I'll also say NFW anyone ponies up a 1st, even if the Sabres throw in a lower pick.

That was a really sweet goal Reino put in vs. Ottawa.

Great thread. I voted trade him but tell him we're interested in re-signing him.

Good point and this is fair. Still, as I've said before, my concern is that while Kane needed to get his timing back and let his ribs heal a bit, which we could reasonably expect to happen and which did happen, Ennis' elite speed may be gone and not coming back -- and if that is the case, he's not an effective NHL player.

Well, I think we need to compare apples to apples here. Of the players in these posts that I'd rather have than Kaner (Kreider, Barkov and Leddy), none have hit UFA status. I agree that $6MM per year is a bit rich, but if he stays healthy and out of trouble between now and the time he signs his next contract, I would be very surprised if he gets less than $5.5MM per year.

Or, as I like to call it, "desperate juggling of GMTM's 2 poop sandwiches."

Let's see if the Sabres can improve on that abomination the other night. The Rangers have had a bit of a schizophrenic 2017 so far. They started by losing to the Sabres in NYC, then won 2, lost 3, won 3, and have lost their last 2. They are 2nd in the NHL in scoring, 13th in defense, 14th in PP, 15th in PK. It's an NBCSN game, so no RJ. Also -- if someone wants to post the line combos from dailiyfaceoff.com, please do so -- I can't seem to figure out how to do so. http://www2.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/lines/32/new-york-rangers Game on!

Great breakdown yse. It's too early to tell about the prospects really but this is good stuff.

Outstanding.

Also -- good thread, but WHAT'S WITH THE ALL CAPS?

Interesting. The flesh and spirit both recoil, but interesting nevertheless.

Who said anyone expected no spillover or pushback? Has there not been a mountain of it? When will it be enough? As for timing/optics -- this is exactly what I objected to earlier. We have described the reasons for the closure of the politics thread numerous times. When you (and others -- you are hardly the only one) say the closure has "bad optics" after seeing the repeated explanation for the closure, you are essentially saying "I know you said you closed the politics thread because it created bad vibes on the board, but I think you're lying -- I think the real reason is that you were sick of reading posts that disagreed with your political views." It's an inherently obnoxious and insulting statement. As for taking pleasure in the closure -- I have been happy with the results of the closure, because I think the board is much better without political discussions -- and I think most of January was pretty pleasant around here. OTOH, on days like today, when people I generally respect and think should know better act like it's perfectly fine to lob in serious accusations, the aftermath of the closure delivers only agita. (And BTW I agree that it's no coincidence that the crap re-emerges after a solid week without a good Sabres game.)

As it happens, the bachelor in question likes nice things and has always spent at least 125% of his annual income.

Thanks gents.

I have no idea what you mean by "it's my fault that posts don't get deleted." I stated that only 4 political posts have been deleted in the past month. Are you saying that you want every single political post to be deleted? Do you think that level of board policiing is the right outcome? Do you think others here want that? Regarding the post that was deleted yesterday -- yes -- that was one of the posts made by a pro-Trump poster. As for my tone -- what sort of tone do you expect when you repeatedly accuse someone of dishonesty and bad faith?