nfreeman

Welcome, but don't come rolling in here and calling people's takes idiotic. "Tone-deaf" is putting it mildly. Harrington, not always but too often, gives off a bitter, unkind edge. WTF is his problem here? Criticizing a child on one of the biggest days of that kid's life? I'll say it: it's time to give Comrie a chance at the top slot. He's gotten 5 starts since returning from injury and won his last 4. I agree with darthebriate that he should start on Monday vs Edmonton, and if they win, he should take Tuesday off and then get the following game. Without even checking, I'm quite confident that's not the reason you got suspended.

KA said, in his presser yesterday, that DG said "I know there is more to this player" and "I believe this is a really important player for us."

My grade is a B. I like both of the guys they brought in. They both address team needs, both add edge and toughness, which were deficiencies, and both fit the Sabres' timeline and are presumably good fits in the room. I think it's reasonably likely that Stillman displaces Bryson in the top 6 and very likely that Greenway displaces Vinnie in the top 9. An A would've required getting a top-4 D or top-6 F, in either case at a reasonable price. As I've mentioned previously, I wouldn't have wanted the Sabres to give up Kulich, Savoie or their #1 this year for any of the D who were traded this year (or any of the Fs, for that matter, other than Meier, and I don't think I would've wanted Meier either because of the contract he'll require). A #1 G would've been exciting, to be sure, but probably better on paper than on the ice -- I can't think of a #1 G who was acquired at the deadline in any season and who made a big difference for the acquiring team. I remember when the Sabres traded Miller to STL, his effect was much less than expected and there was a fair amount of talk from STL about the difficulties in adjusting on the fly to a new goalie. Also, getting a #3 back for Portillo was a good move.

This is obnoxious.

I generally agree with Taro’s lines above and would just add that the more immediate question is what the lines look like until Tuch returns, which could be a while. I’d guess: Skinner - Thompson - Quinn Mittelstadt - Cozens - VO Greenway - Krebs - JJP Girgensons - Jost - Okposo I think JJP has started to play stronger on the puck and more confidently in the past few games, so I think he’ll stay in. I could see Vinny playing instead of VO if VO doesn’t pick it up though.

From the Athletic: What the Sabres need is defensive might and plenty of it. That’s Greenway’s bread and butter and that’s continued this season even as his offensive game completely falls apart. Greenway was third fiddle on the GREEF line, Minnesota’s vaunted shutdown trio that terrorized opponents defensively over the past several seasons. Over the last two seasons, the Wild have allowed 0.12 fewer expected goals against per 60 with Greenway on the ice and just two expected goals against. ... Greenway is one of the league’s best forecheckers and this year leads all forwards with 6.9 recovered dump-ins per 60 according to data tracked by Corey Sznajder. ... Greenway is a solid middle-six player and one who should start producing more than he has this season. In the past, he’s been closer to a 35-point player and that’s not an unfair expectation for him in Buffalo’s high-octane system. That, plus his strong defensive game and forechecking ability is a nice addition for Buffalo. ... Prior to this year he showed a lot of NHL promise as a huge wing who skated quite well for a big man, had secondary skill and played hard. ... While I didn’t think another forward was Buffalo’s biggest need as one of the league’s best offenses, getting a forward with size and snarl is something they lack, both on their big club and in their farm system. Greenway has term and a reasonable cap hit. This is a gamble by the Sabres that Greenway will at least somewhat find his prior form and become a good complimentary player in their lineup.

So, Greenway is 6'6", 231 lbs and turned 26 a couple of weeks ago. Minny drafted him in the 2nd round in 2015, the same year that Eichel went #2 overall, and then replaced Jack at BU, where he played 3 seasons, starting in 2015-16 (all of which were better than Eichel's year there, even if it doesn't show in the stats). He was a pretty good scorer at BU, with 31 pts in 37 games as a sophomore, and 35 pts in 36 games as a junior. During his sophomore season, he played for the gold-winning US team at the World Juniors. The following year, as a junior, he led BU in scoring -- and BU won the Hockey East tournament (and Greenie made the all-tournament team) and made it to the NCAA regional final -- and he played for the US Olympic team in Korea. He turned pro at the end of his junior year, played 6 games at the end of that season with Minny, and then became a full-time NHLer the following year, playing 81 NHL games (and, interestingly, an additional 5 AHL games, which were the only AHL games of his career). This is his 5th season in Minny. He put up respectable scoring #s for a young third-liner in his 2nd, 3rd and 4th seasons, with 28 pts in 67 games, 32 in 56 and 27 in 62. If Donnie likes him and he plays with Krebsie and someone like JJP or Mitts, he could easily be a 15-minute-per-night, 35-pt guy who hits, defends, kills penalties and stands up for his teammates.

Whoa. Frankly I'm a bit concerned about these mood swings. Just found Canton on google maps. Looks very nice. Is it full-blown mountains where you are? BTW, you probably already know this, but the border crossing at Thousand Islands is quite pretty and there is a great duty free store there with a very good scotch selection. Putting it mildly! I'm really looking forward to seeing what Greenway can do, but we all need to acknowledge an important side benefit of this trade: now we know that if @gasabresiufan demands a certain trade persistently enough, KA will cave. We all have our breaking points. I really like this. Separately: this seems like a good trade, for the kind of player we need in the top 9, with plenty of potential, whom DG already knows, and at a reasonable price. I had no interest in trading Kulich, Savoie or our #1 this year for anyone who changed teams this week, including Chycrun.

Interesting. I've been a VO supporter, but really haven't liked his game since the lines changed and he was put with Krebs and JJP. But you're right that he might garner a decent return. I'd be pretty surprised if they traded Mitts though.

I think we're well past that stage already. Outstanding. 4 hours to go! I'll be pretty surprised if KA brings in anyone better than Stillman today.

I'm not aware of anything -- I was just assuming that the Kings had gotten some indication from Portillo that he would sign there.

Exactly. This doesn't mean he's afraid of Levi, or knows Levi is better, or doesn't want to compete with Levi (or that he's spoiled, or ungrateful, or a bad guy). It means that the Kings situation -- up and coming, already in the playoffs, lots of young prospects, Southern California, weaker conference, Quick gone, Peterson washing out, etc. -- is more attractive to him than the Sabres situation. He's earned the right, entirely under the rules, to choose his preferred situation, and he prefers the Kings. That's all it is.

Sweet.

And a UFA after 2 more seasons with no roots here. Indeed. He's got the next 2 seasons to earn that huge contract, either from his new team or from someone else, with his new team able to pay him after 1 more season, and he's not going to build up his stats with power play points in Buffalo. I would've been happy to have added him, but there are plenty of reasons not to pay what Ottawa paid.

Good.

Dammit. Please let it just be the next 2. Dahlin is so freaking good.

The betrayal is life a knife in my heart.

This is obnoxious and not how we communicate here.

Well, the Isles traded for Horvat a few weeks ago.

This a minor item, but I've used toggle bolts recently to fix a loose towel bar and TP holder in a bathroom, and in both spots they have worked fantastically well.

I've pretty much bailed on the Star Wars universe since "The Last Jedi," which I enjoyed but overall thought was pretty thin, but "Andor" got so much critical praise that I gave it a shot. I finished it last night and really enjoyed it. I'll probably give the Mandalorian a shot as well.

This is an interesting development. Frazier's D was elite during the regular season and lousy in the playoffs. It's hard not to think that this wasn't an organizational decision that is aimed at improving in the playoffs.

So Anderson played Friday night on the road and is now playing Tuesday night at home. That's clearly a change from the once-a-week approach. Let's see how it goes. And who plays on Thursday in Boston. (I'm guessing UPL.)

I generally agree, but I also think devoting a large AAV, with term, to a goalie is poor roster construction. I do not expect KA to give that kind of contract to a goalie.

Pretty psyched to see Stillman on the top pairing with Muel.