nfreeman

Now that would be an all-time top-5 Sabrespace schizophrenia situation.

Again -- this is simply not accurate. There is a HUGE difference between TP saying to JB, "it's up to you whether to trade ROR, but if you do so, it needs to be before the bonus deadline" and "I am instructing you to trade ROR, and to do it before the bonus deadline." I'm glad you're enjoying a good laugh, but it is important not to make stuff up when we discuss things here. I also disagree that there are lots of false representations here. There are plenty of mistakes, to be sure, but most people here are honest. As for GMs getting credit/criticism for their #1 or #2 OA picks -- I agree that they can be criticized for screwing them up, but I don't think they deserve credit when they turn out well. You may view this as unfair, but I think if you GM a team into the basement, getting the resultant pick right is the bare minimum, and you don't get credit for achieving the bare minimum. YMMV, of course.

On SabreSpace, we do not blithely make false factual assertions just because they support our arguments. As to the bolded, we'll never know for sure, but what we do know indicates that JB decided to trade ROR in order to improve the room, and TP told him to get it done before the deadline for paying the $7.5MM bonus. That is NOT him being "forced to trade ROR." JB absolutely does not get credit for drafting Dahlin, who was a runaway "generational" defenseman and the unanimous top prospect in the draft -- especially because JB was trying to ice a competitive team that year but nevertheless finished DFL. For that matter, GMTM does not get credit for Reino or Eichel, and KA does not get credit for Power. No one gets credit for icing a terrible team and then having the resultant #1 or #2 OA pick be a good player.

He liked himself a Russian cutie, IIRC. That was a great show that ran out of gas in the last 2 seasons IMHO.

Wasn’t that because Zemgus “accidentally” ran into him in training camp one year?

Has there been a year with 3? I’m not sure there’s been a year with 2 for that matter.

Briere was so great. Two French-Canadian centers, s'il vous plait.

Interesting. That’s another non-trivial injury.

Having listened to the interview with KA on WGR from yesterday, I think he thinks he’s getting Levi to sign next summer, thinks he has a good shot at Ryan Johnson (but not a lock) and is not optimistic about Portillo.

I was curious so I checked google maps. Wow. That has to be one of the most remote hockey teams in Canada, innit? I'll bet those February bus rides to Chicoutimi can get pretty hairy.

I have a hard time seeing KA leading the charge on something like this, which would be a fairly radical change in the way the NHL operates.

Reino's goal was huge -- Fla was 2 minutes away from being down 3-1 in the series. Now it's tied and going back home for game 5.

Reinhart ties it for Fla with 2 min to go! EDIT: his 1st playoff goal.

This Florida-Caps game is great.

For context, their odds are: - 64.4% chance of staying at #9 - 23.5% chance of dropping to #10 - 5.4% chance of moving to #2 - 5% chance of moving to #1 - 1.7% chance of dropping to #11 So, a 10.4% chance of moving up to #1 or #2 -- that's actually better than I was expecting and worth tuning in for.

I can appreciate this, but depending on the size of the lot, I can see someone wanting a cleared area for a backyard if there is still a wooded area surrounding the cleared area. As for spraying, do you get ticks in your neck of the woods? They are actually pretty dangerous as they carry Lyme disease.

I noticed this yesterday as well. I've also noticed that the number of writers at the Athletic covering the Buffalo teams has decreased over the years -- i.e. they used to have 2 guys regularly covering the Bills, then one of them left to cover the Patriots and he wasn't replaced. The same thing happened with the Sabres a couple of years ago. In any case, I thought Vogl was OK but not great. I think Joe Buscaglia, who covers the Bills, is better. I hope Vogl's replacement represents a step up.

I'm reminded of a great line in "Curb Your Enthusiasm" -- Jerry Seinfeld was talking about his wife with Larry, in particular about how he had to do something or other to keep her happy, and he said "you don't want to ruffle the exotic bird."

Well, Ullmark was here for a long time, left at the same time Reino did, also in departure not overflowing with good vibes, and, like Reino, played poorly in his first playoff game -- and there was no tweet from Harrington, positive or negative, detailing Ullmark's performance. I am pretty confident it was a shot by Harrington at Reino.

Paul Byron and Zack Kassian.

The only Journey song I like is “Any way you want it”.

Do you really not think Harrington was taking a shot at Reinhart? In any case, as I've posted previously, I expect Reino to struggle initially in his first playoff action, as most NHL players do, but to figure it out at some point (which may or may not be this season) and become an effective playoff player.

Shea Weber has 4 years left on a contract with a $7.9MM annual cap hit. There is zero possibility that KA takes that on. Which is too bad, because I have this fantasy of Weber, having missed this entire season, continuing to heal his broken body this summer and fall, staying in shape by chopping wood and wrestling grizzly bears outside his cabin in the woods in British Columbia, watching the Sabres, who got a couple of picks from the Habs to take on his contract, take the league by storm next fall, and getting more and more antsy until he can't take it any more. It snows like crazy over Christmas. He skates a couple of days on the frozen pond in the back yard and now he can't sleep at night. He throws his skates and his toothbrush into a hockey bag, gets his cousin Doug to drive him to the airport and shows up on a Tuesday in January in KA's office. BTW, he's a RHD. And one of the best and toughest NHL players in the last 20 years.

John -- you're of course free to post here or avoid us like the plague as you prefer. But if you're at all interested in the (good IMHO) hockey talk that we have here, I would urge you to simply ignore those few posters who annoy you and just engage with those who want to have legit hockey conversations. For example: do you see the Sabres bringing in a real goalie this summer? I have a hard time seeing them giving a contract that is longer than 2-3 years to a goalie in light of KA's repeated statements about not boxing out the youngsters.

And here’s a bit of goaltending Linus must’ve brought with him from Buffalo: