nfreeman

Good.

Oh @Sabres Fan in NS. They've all got the knives out for you on this one. I don't want OEL, but I'm on your side!

FWIW, on the Maintenance Day podcast a couple of weeks ago, both Yerdon and Lysowski were pretty definitive that Kulich would be in Buffalo next season. While I don't recall the exact words they used, my impression was that it would be as a regular in the lineup. Regarding Rousek, I don't recall KA saying much about him, although I think what he has said has been positive. I'd guess that KA would prefer to promote Rousek if he's ready rather than paying a FA vet forward to take Zemgus' spot.

Well done sir!

I'm very interested but he has a full NMC and from what I've read, both he and the team intend for him to be back next year.

I think, and I believe I have seen from credible sources (don't remember for sure though), that Quinn was heavily involved in the decisions of whom to re-sign and at what price in the debacle offseasons of 2006, 2007 and a couple of years thereafter.

Excellent post. I think Dawkins was more affected by double bacon cheeseburgers and jumbo fries for every meal though.

I get where you're coming from, but I think they've accomplished quite a bit -- more than enough to deserve a real grade, and a good grade. They have been more hit-and-miss than I'd like on the O-line and at the offensive skill positions, but they've brought in a ton of good players and are a perennial title contender. They've gone from being a bottom-3 franchise that sold off home games for a few extra bucks to being an elite franchise -- one that gets raided for coaches and GMs and one that is viewed as a destination by elite players from around the league. Having said that, I sure hope they were right about Kincaid and the O-line upgrades they made this summer.

It just fills me with joy to see you coming around on the Fast and the Furious. All of them are available in 4K on Peacock, btw.

Evidently everyone in Vancouver is forced to take it by marauding gangs of thugs. Who knew?

And Mularkey! And Gailey!

I love the confidence about Power, and I'm on board with an 8-year deal. But a 4-year deal takes him, as stated upthread, to one year away from UFA and, critically, he'll have arbitration rights. The Sabres would have very little leverage out of their RFA rights -- certainly not enough to coerce him into signing a long-term deal if he wants to test UFA at that point. A 6-year deal, if he's the guy you think he is, gives the Sabres six freaking shots at a deep playoff run, and they have a long time to sell him on the organization and make him never want to leave. I think reasonable minds can disagree on this one in any case.

#1OA picks since 2010 have included: 2010 - Taylor Hall 2011 - Ryan Nugent Hopkins 2012 - Nail Yakupov 2020 - Alex Lafreniere 2022 - Juraj Slafkovsky Obviously it's too soon to tell about Juraj, but if we disregard him, that's 4 guys out of 12 that I probably wouldn't want to have given the type of contract we're talking about for Power (or, to be fair, one out of the last 10 -- but if Juraj is a disappointment, it's 2 out of the last 3). I think Power will be at least as good as Ekblad, but that's just a guess and the risk is real IMHO. I assume so based on what others have said upthread. I agree that it's a relevant fact.

I'm not advocating to walk him to UFA. I'm simply saying that if the choices are a 4-year deal or a 6-year deal, I'd prefer the 6-year deal.

I think it will cost about this too, and I agree that they should do it. However, I think we all need to remember there is a real risk in giving him this type of contract. I think the worst outcome is giving him $8.5MM x 8 years and, like Tyler Myers, he never improves and in fact gets a bit worse each year as the league figures him out and he doesn't figure anything out. But I agree with taking the risk and giving him 6-8 years. Brawndo is right -- it's not optimal to get zero of his UFA years, but you would still be locking up, for six freaking seasons in which you think you have a team on the rise, a guy you think is a great young player at a contract you can live with. A six-year deal is a no-brainer IMHO if he won't go any longer. More good stuff in here, Brawndo.

Don't forget Doug "6-10" Jauron! And Sexy Rexy Toe-nibbling Ryan!

I'll be very interested to see whether KA is willing to give big dollars and term to a FA defenseman. That would be a significant departure from his m.o. to date.

If an extension is part of the deal I can probably, albeit reluctantly, live with giving up #13 for Pesce, although I'd much prefer #39 and next year's first-rounder. I totally agree that securing a strong top 4 for the foreseeable future is a very attractive proposition.

Yes please. This is the kind of guy the Sabres need.

Moulds was a fantastic player in his prime but as a matter of personal preference I can’t have a wife-beater as one of my favorites.

Thurman is my all-time favorite.

I am so sorry for your loss. God bless you and your family.

From the Athletic today: Girard just turned 25. He's 5'10, 170 lbs, LHD and has played over 21 min per game for Colorado for the last 4 years. He's under contract for 4 more seasons at $5MM per year.

Well, I don't think anyone would dispute that JA is more important than Diggs, but they aren't doing anything in the playoffs without Diggs.

Eichel was, by many accounts, an immature jerk when he was here, and validated that impression with his behavior at the first Vegas game in Buffalo, but IMHO he was also set up to fail here. The tank was a stupid, low-percentage strategy that produced the expected result, and it was compounded by a series of bad GM and coach hires. It wasn't realistic for a kid to muscle the franchise out of that quicksand. I don't blame Jack for not wanting to waste more of his prime years on another rebuild, or for not believing that KA was finally the right guy to build a good team around him -- especially when KA only got the job when JB got fired after refusing to gut the organization and implement an austerity budget in response to the pandemic. Certainly that was a crossroads at which he could've made himself an icon here if he'd chosen to stick it out and lead the resurrection, but his choice was reasonable. He landed in the perfect spot for him -- a successful, top-shelf organization with established veteran stars and leaders. He didn't need to be the focal point or the leader. He just needed to play hard and play the coach's system, and he did it extremely well. I don't see how anyone can think Vegas would've won the Cup without him.