nfreeman

I agree with this. although Florida got younger and tougher, they also got slower and worse on D and they changed the chemistry of a very successful team. And I could easily see Calgary going into a nose dive. Florida is still going to be a very tough opponent for the Sabres though.

It just seems pretty likely that at least 1 of Hubie and Weegar isn't going to re-sign with Calgary, especially since they both came from Florida, which most Canadian NHL players seem to love, and given the twitter reports about Hubie already saying he's not re-signing. So, unless Calgary signs them this summer, their impending departures are going to hang over the team all year, and they will most likely be traded at the deadline. I think it would've been wiser for Calgary to trade Tkachuk for younger players that they could keep control of for several year. This seems like an ill-advised, desperate move by a franchise reeling and under pressure from the departures of their 2 best players.

Well, you certainly could be right that it was CBJ‘s decision to keep it a short term deal. I suspect though that it was more Laine’s decision, because CBJ has had a very difficult time keeping its high end talent. I’d be interested to hear the answer on that question if anybody comes across it.

I find it interesting that Laine’s contract is only 4 years. I’m assuming that CBJ would’ve preferred a longer deal, but Laine wanted another big contract in 4 years when the cap will likely be higher and he’ll be 28 with 4 years of big numbers from playing with Gaudreau under his belt. Still, it’s a risky move by him.

There is some truth in this, but I think your post isn't quite accurate when it comes to the Bills. The contracts they gave Diggs, JA, and Tre were all among the top 3 or so in the NFL for their respective positions at the time they were signed. While I agree that those players weren't looking to gouge every last possible dollar out of the team, they also weren't taking substantial discounts to stay. I think that type of "discount" is the most that can be reasonably hoped for in the Sabres' extensions with their key players over the next few years. In that scenario, if TT has another season in the 35-35-70 range, he won't demand to be paid $10MM-$11MM at the top end of the #1C market with Matthews, Barkov etc. (and Eichel!), but it's not realistic to expect him to be in the same $7MM tier as Barzal or Keller, either. $8MM-$8.5MM would put him in the Zibenijad, Hertl, Duchene and Norris tier, which seems about right. This will be expensive, but still a better deal for the Sabres than, say, what Ullmark seems to have required, which was to pay more than anyone else was willing to pay for him.

What a great movie.

My impression of TG over the years is that he can get pretty worked up about things. I would guess that for someone who is inclined that way to begin with, family drama can really take things to the boiling point. He'll probably delete the tweet once he cools off. And hopefully reconcile with his brother at some point too.

Nailed it. Eichel to Calgary for MT? Who says no?

I agree -- I kinda expect him to be in Rochester.

So the open container law is still cramping your style? Very nice.

On the pressure on Canadian teams -- I think it's analogous to the pressure on NFL teams here, which is much higher than the pressure on US NHL teams. As for heaven on earth -- I was referring to Banff, Lake Louise and that surrounding area, which spills over into BC (as I'm sure you know). I haven't been to Vancouver or the BC coast, but I hear great things about it. My understanding is that Calgary has grown quite a bit over the last dozen years or so. We stayed in a downtown area that had a pretty nice pedestrian area with a bunch of outdoor restaurants and cafes -- so not NYC, LA, Miami or Toronto, and I understand that young, wealthy athletes often want that kind of scene, but it was still pretty nice IMHO.

Resurrecting this thread in case anyone's interested. As I mentioned in the TV/movies thread, the last 2 episodes of BCS have been outstanding.

I guess I’m not that concerned about the Russian prospects being permanently barred from coming here. I can see it not happening this season, but beyond that it doesn’t seem likely.

Yes — these last 2 episodes have been outstanding.

Yes, unless they get a good return in trade for Tkachuk. But with only a year left on his contract, odds are it won't cushion the blow much.

Interesting. I have a theory that the Canadian NHL teams are more prone to make boneheaded and rash management decisions because they are under much more pressure -- both from fans and from the fear of losing players to US markets -- than the US NHL teams are. This would kinda fit that theory. I was there recently for a couple of days and it seemed like a pretty decent city -- and it's close to the Canadian Rockies, which are pretty close to heaven on earth.

He must've told them he was going to UFA, and they've learned their lesson from the Gaudreau debacle. That stinks for Calgary fans.

Comrie and Olofsson.

This is obnoxious.

Well, you might not like the NBA, but it is an enormously successful league -- much more popular and profitable than the NHL -- where everyone involved is making huge amounts of money. And calling the owners "fools" is simply denying reality, as revenues and franchise values have skyrocketed. The NBA's demise isn't coming anytime soon, and if it does arrive, it's highly likely to be well after the NHL's. The bolded is obnoxious. As for your views on morality, the NBA is no more or less morally corrupt than any other sports league. Has the NHL done anything about the molestation scandal in Chicago or the concussion issue? Has the NFL done anything about its concussion issue or reduced life expectancy among its players?

But Krebs scored a lot in juniors — 60 pts in 38 games in his last junior season, and 68 pts in 64 games the prior season.

I think Cozens will get the 2nd most ES minutes out of the centers, will put up about 46 pts and will usually play with KO, assuming KO still has gas in the tank (as he did last year). LW on that line could be a revolving door and could be situational — Krebs, VO, JJP, Zemgus and Asplund are all candidates.

Now you’ve done it @PerreaultForever — he’s mad at you! I do recall looking overmatched against TB though — but they were the 2-time defending champs! They should’ve been much better and they were. But we’ll be better next year and they’ll be a bit worse.

I thought Krebs was also excellent at carrying it up the ice and driving it to the net. It might not happen this year, but the finish will come.

I would be pretty surprised if this were to happen. I haven't been a fan of Mitts', but trading him now would be selling him when his value is quite low. It just seems much more prudent, and likely, to get him in the lineup and producing regularly so DG and KA can see what they have in him when he's healthy and in a non-dysfunctional situation. I suppose they could've decided that they've seen enough from Mitts and they are pretty confident that he's going to wash out, but this just doesn't seem likely.