nfreeman

Sorry Swamp. This is a great idea Hank.

Yes -- thanks Brawndo. Very glad to see Ennis is 100%. I think he's going to have a good year.

Interesting. How's his speed?

Why does this matter? Would you feel the same way if a Japanese actor voiced a white character? Also, it's "recommend."

I agree that these generally reflect the consensus around here, although I might add a few tweaks: Kulikov -- expected to be Risto's partner (and thus top-pairing); this feels like it's above his natural station. Regret in some quarters about giving up on Pysyk. Lehner -- yes, a question mark, but most love the fire and are looking forward to seeing him play a full season without starting off hampered by injury. That's all I've got.

An excellent, and underrated, action movie IMHO.

Correct.

Okposo. He's a very good player at a position the Sabres needed to improve, and he was the top free agent forward on the market (depending on whether you think Stamkos was on the market). It was a strong move by the Sabres. Runner-up: Kulikov for Pysyk. I was not a fan of Pysyk's, and Kulikov played a huge role for a playoff team -- and played quite a bit on the same pairing as Florida's #1 young franchise defenseman.

Kane. While I'm still very much on board with the presumption of innocence, it is undeniable that the likelihood of him having a great career as a Sabre has dropped substantially. Runner-up: not getting Vesey -- although more for what it would've meant in terms of the Sabres being major players in the NHL than for what it would've meant on the ice.

I agree on Ennis and Eichel not being a good match, and I'd be quite interested in seeing that top 6. I'd also like to see the following, though, and I think it may align more with DDB's thinking: Ennis-ROR-Okposo Kaner-Eichel-Reino I'd guess that DDB is still inclined to want to protect Eichel with 2nd-line minutes/opposition.

He's not Perreault, but how many 4th line centers are? For the 8-9 min per game the #4 center will play, probably not a big deal IMHO b

Good question -- maybe Foligno -- I think he's played some center as a Sabre, innit?

I might say Stamkos was interested in seeing what was out there, with the idea that if something blew him away then he would consider it, but that his default was to stay. Again, splitting hairs but I don't think that's quite the same as actively seeking options.

I think if Ennis is healthy he'll end up on the top 2 lines, simply because when healthy he's a really good offensive player. I think Moulson will be given a shot at earning top-9 minutes, but it's about 80% likely that he doesn't get there and ends up where TBPhD predicts. I think Foligno and Zemgus will be fighting it out for that LW spot with Larsson and Gionta and that Zemgus will end up ahead, putting Foligno on the 4th line with the understanding that he'll flex up to the 3rd when there's an injury. I'd guess either Bailey or Fasching ends up on the 4th line, but Nylander spends the year in Rochester. I wouldn't be surprised if GMTM brings in a Nash or a Hudler but won't be surprised if it doesn't happen either.

We're kinda splitting hairs here, but in the context of whether the Sabres were able to land a big FA, I guess I think that guys who decide to stay where they are are in a different category from guys who decide to leave -- because the Sabres didn't really have a shot at the guys who decided to stay.

Well, there are always good goalies floating around. More importantly, the Rangers have good coaching and a lot more than just Lundy. Henrik had a down year last year and they still made the playoffs. The Sabres still have a long way to go to get to the Rangers' level. Gotta disagree with this. He took less money to stay with his team. That's pretty different from losing out on a UFA.

As to the first -- did Coller do anything to earn that treatment from Graham? As to the 2nd -- very nice.

Well, my wife and I finished "Stranger Things" on Netflix. We both thought it was excellent. I'm giving it a solid A.

It's coming this year if he stays healthy, which is unfortunately a huge if.

Does anyone here doubt that Karlos is going to get picked up and have a huge season while McCoy pulls his hamstring in week 2 and sprains his ankle in week 8, missing 6 games?

IMHO, some cities will always have an advantage in FA, but the list isn't much longer than NYC and LA. I also think there's quite a bit of irrational confidence around here about the Sabres' future relative to the Rangers' (who have made the playoffs 6 years in a row and 10 out of the last 11, including 3 trips to the ECF and one to the SCF in the 4 years before last season).

Very nice.

Well, the Sabres (and every other team) can only give him a 2-year contract at a pretty low salary, so not much of a bullet there. I agree that there will be a number of players looking to line him up for a big hit on the ice -- but I think the same is true of any hotshot rookie.

Good post.

Still defending Whaley, eh? How many non-playoff seasons is it going to take for you to change your tune on this? 10? 20? 100?