nfreeman

Good post. I agree in particular with the bolded. Rebound control has been his Achilles heel, IMHO. There was one bullet from PK in particular that Lehner was able to smother instead of kicking it out into the doorstep, which he's done too often in the past. I thought Lehner was playing very well last night until that first softie when he came off the post to his left. The 2nd one was infuriating. Let's see how he responds.

$6MM per year might be a bit high, but I think he'll get more than he currently makes ($5.25MM). I'd be very happy if this summer we see (i) him work out, get married and stay out of trouble all summer and (ii) the Sabres sign him to a $5.75MM x 5 years extension.

Oh,yeah. http://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/eichel-dekes-buries-game-winner/t-277443696/c-48732503

Eggs-actly. I think the sky's the limit with Jack, but I think Reino-Kane-Gionta will bring out the best in both Reino and Kane and will be pretty formidable. And I've been convinced by dudacek (whom I hope returns soon!) that Reino at C is better for both Reino and the Sabres than Reino on Jack's wing. What the Sabres really need IMHO is for Moulson to come back from the dead or for Fasching, Baptiste or Bailey (or someone else) to step up and be able to hold his own on Jack's wing. I'm fine with Foligno playing on Jack's other wing. As for our blue line -- before we throw in the towel on the current top 4 (Risto, McCabe, Kuli and Bogo), I'd like to see them healthy for 20 games or so. I think that foursome can be a solid group, and I hate the idea of trading Kane to strengthen it -- especially since we all know that the Sabres aren't going to get a true stud on D for Kane.

Unless he's a ... washout? It's always possible. My point is that the Sabres shouldn't (and probably aren't) making plans for Kane based on the assumption that Nylander will fill the void.

I'd like to see: Ennis-ROR-Okposo Foligno-Eichel-Moulson Kane-Reino-Gionta Carrier-Zemgus-COR

OK -- I thought it would make sense to consolidate the various posts on this topic into one thread. I've said a number of times that the "NHL .500" concept is silly, as it characterizes teams who have lost many more games than they've won, and are well out of the playoff race, as ".500" teams. As for the playoff race -- here's how I look at it: the concept that the Sabres are "5 points out of the wild card spot with 2 games in hand" is about as meaningless as the "NHL .500." This is because there are a bunch of teams striving for that last playoff spot, and a number of them aren't going to stand still while the Sabres reel off a winning streak (hah!) and catch them. I think the right way to think about it is that the Sabres are chasing a playoff spot, not a particular team, and the spot is like a car ahead of the Sabres' car on the highway. The spot is advancing down the highway at a rate of about 1.5 points per game. So, if the Sabres win 2 in a row, they've "advanced" 4 points while the spot has advanced 3 points -- so the Sabres have gotten 1 point closer to a playoff spot. That means, of course, that if the Sabres are currently 5 points out of the playoffs, they'd need to rip off 10 wins in a row to get into playoff position. It's rough justice, I know (and the playoff car is probably advancing at a rate closer to 1.3 points per game, not 1.5), but I am pretty confident that if the Sabres were to win, say, 5 out of 6, they'd still be 2-3 points out of the playoffs. Let's see how it goes.

When you lose more games than you win, and you end up with 82 points, you miss the playoffs by a mile. So we can pretend the Sabres are at ".500 points percentage" -- or we can want them to win at least as many games as they lose and at least come close to making the playoffs.

It's gotta be Lenny in net after Sat night.

Your points about the D are reasonable, but Kane is not a 3rd line LW. He's 4th on the team among forwards in ice time. He's also 2nd in goals -- just 2 fewer than KO but in 10 fewer games. Kane is also playing exactly the kind of game that GMTM wanted when he traded for him. Unless something is going on behind the scenes with Kane (which, as I've mentioned previously, I think is possible), I don't think he's going to be traded.

But Goodwin was #3 on the depth chart when everyone was healthy, which was never. My point is that the Hogan is better than the #4-#7 guys the Bills were forced to rotate through. And Hogan is cheap. There was no reason to dump him. (I also think Hogan is better than Goodwin, but that's another story.) It's not that Hogan is a difference-maker or that the Bills would've made the playoffs if they'd kept him. Obviously that's not the case. The point is that DW is a bozo GM, and the Hogan decision is just another piece of evidence.

None of Carrier, Bailey or Baptiste has shown any sign whatsoever of being able to score 25+ at the NHL level. There is certainly reason for hope with Nylander, but he has 17 pts in 35 AHL games this year. That does not indicate the ability to be a good NHL player next year.

Yes indeed.

Well, I think Hogan is substantially better than the parade of losers the Bills worked in at depth WR this year.

FIFY.

Awesome.

Ottawa and CBJ are tied 6-6 and heading to OT.

How much is that? He currently makes $5.25MM, and he'll get more than that as a FA.

If there is good pizza in front of me, I will keep eating until I am in physical discomfort.

I really like Reino-Kane-Gionta as the 3rd line. The problem is the skill void on Jack's wing left by moving Reino. If Moulson or Ennis could just step up...

Fair point. I guess I think though that as long as the missed games aren't playoff games (if such a mystical thing does in fact exist), it's a price I'm willing to pay. He also plays a playoff-kinda game, FWIW.

Couple more items on Kane: - In evaluating his production this year, the 3 broken ribs have to be considered. He broke them on opening night (Oct 13), came back less than 4 weeks later (Nov. 9) and was clearly not himself for the following 3 weeks -- he had zero goals in the 10 games he played in in November. In the 23 games starting Dec. 3 -- about 7.5 weeks after breakin the ribs -- he has 12 goals -- which is a 40+ goal pace. So while I appreciate that that is a selective look at his numbers, I also think it's fair to say that when healthy he's been better than a 20-25 goal scorer this year. - As for Hamilton's report that Kane "isn't the most well liked" guy on the team -- while this could certainly be true, it's also quite possible that Hamilton has an axe to grind with Kane. When Kane missed practice last year after the NBA all-star game, Hamilton wildly exaggerated the negativity of Gionta's reaction (the exaggeration was exposed by the video of Hamilton interviewing Gionta about it). That episode seriously damaged Hamilton's credibility, IMHO, at least as regards Hamilton's descriptions of the team's attitude towards Kane. I agree that he isn't much of a passer, but he does create offense for his teammates by (i) winning faceoffs and (ii) forechecking and crashing the net, which creates rebound opportunities for his linemates (I think Gionta has cashed a few of these).

i think they will expose Ennis and pray that Vegas takes that contract off their hands.

I will add that at this point Kaner is by far the best player in the Sabres-Jets trade (probably a bit unfair though due to Myers' injury).

Well, I generally agree that it isn't necessary to be well liked, but I was responding to the assertion that he is likely to re-sign because he gets along well with his teammates. If Hamilton is correct, and he isn't particularly well liked, then that's a factor to consider in how likely it is that he re-signs with the Sabres. You mean from one of the Sabres, or did I hear Hamilton say it on WGR? (The answer is the latter.)