EZBills7

Ah... if he cleared waivers, then the Leafs would still be on the hook for his current contract but could send him to the minors?

Sure. It struck me as odd that he would be surprised by that waivers claim. Not that Finley would have cracked the Sabres' lineup much this year if at all, but if you have a deep defense corps, the 12th player on your list might become the 8th player on another team's list. Good point, I guess I should have said what if he clears waivers and then is signed to a new contract.

Not saying that it should or even may happen... but what would the reaction be to a Sabres' claim on Tim Connolly now that he's been waived by the Leafs? Pitchforks and torches outside of Darcy's house? Mild amusement? Or would he be a potential upgrade over someone like Hecht (only given the point Hecht is in his career)? Seems like he wouldn't really fit in - we have better players on the top two lines already, and he's not exactly checking line material. It's not going to happen (I think) but stranger things have happened.

http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/sabres-disappointed-to-lose-finley-on-waivers/ “Actually, it was disappointing, but I understand it,” Sabres general manager Darcy Regier said Monday inside the First Niagara Center following an intrasquad scrimmage. “(Isles general manager) Garth Snow called me just before waiver time to give me a courtesy call to let me know they were going to take him. “While I was surprised, there’s an element to Joe’s game that I understand that a team might have an interest in him.”

That makes sense. Given the current roster I'd rather they get their grit from the forwards (Scott, Kaleta, McCormick, etc.) than play Pardy over someone like Weber or Sulzer. I guess I read too much into Darcy's apparent surprise at Finley getting claimed off waivers.

I have this sick feeling that come Friday afternoon they will be down to eight defensemen but with little to nothing to show for it. Either someone gets claimed off waivers or Darcy gets like a 6th round pick or mediocre AHL vet for one of them. I hope I'm wrong.

I like the idea, but my guess is Darcy feels like it could be playoff spot this season or bust for his continued stay as GM and may make, or not make, some moves trying to maximize current performance rather than looking ahead to the future.

Is it too early to start thinking of stupid and/or clever line nicknames? Like referring to Ott as the mayor of Grigottville?

Good times, so much uncertainty this season that there could be some surprises in our league too.

9 pm works for me.

Fair points, a lot of the teams have big question marks as well as room for optimism. In terms of who the Isles could realistically pass, I could see the Leafs, Habs, and Jets, but getting to 11th or higher would be tough for them. On the other hand, I do think that mid and lower-level teams have a better shot at playoff spots and even division titles in a shortened season than they would in a full season, just as a lower caliber team has a better shot to pull an upset in one game or short series than in a longer one. You have to pick one Southeast team as the 3 seed so that kind of skews the Caps upwards, I'm just not sold on Florida repeating and think the Caps have a better mix of O and D than the Bolts. In hindsight, I might move Buffalo up to the 6 spot given the relative roster stability compared to the Canes.

Just read a ton of Eastern Conference team previews... here's my guess at how the regular season will shape up: 1 Rangers - Adding Nash to that team is just nasty 2 Bruins - Still stacked (unfortunately) and smarting from first round exit 3 Caps - Improved goaltending makes them dangerous 4 Pens - Assuming Fleury gets over his playoff flop 5 Flyers - Some star power but also D/goalie issues 6 Canes - Additions of J. Staal and Semin are big 7 Sabres - Healthy and deep D corps should make a difference 8 Bolts - Lots of scoring and NHL-ready prospects (top AHL team) ------------------ Panthers - Relied on OT loss points a ton to make playoffs, WAS/CAR/TB improved Devils - Loss of Parise will hurt a lot, goalies getting really old Sens - A bit of regression from last year but should hang in the race Habs - Not enough firepower, and center position is questionable (yes, more than Buffalo's) Jets - Goaltending and D issues as well as road woes Leafs - No explanation needed Isles - See Leafs

Cool, a heartbreaker but a great game experience. The Canes' fan legends about Sabre fan behavior at that series have grown over the years, but it wasn't that bad. Loud, lots of beer, chanting, cursing, etc. - in other words, not much different than behavior at your typical Sabres-Leafs regular season game - but incidents of actual fighting, ejections, etc. were few and far between. From talking to a couple of Canes' season ticket holders the last time I was there, Buffalo is still number one on the "pain in the ### fans/sell your tickets for that game" list, but apparently Pittsburgh fans aren't that far behind based on their turnout and actions at regular season games, and I've heard some dislike for Toronto fans based on that one playoff series about a decade ago . . . so it sounds like they just don't like loud and overly passionate opposing fans.

Went to Game 5 in Raleigh - Series was tied 2-2 and the Canes won in OT. No exaggeration to say 5,000 plus Sabres fans in attendance. Staggered back to the hotel in disbelief afterwards, turned on the local news to catch some highlights.... and most of the news was about the NASCAR RACE IN CHARLOTTE. Are you freaking kidding me? Up by a goal in Game 7 after 40 minutes, all with a mostly AHL defense corps due to injuries. Canes squeak by to face, not the Red Wings or some juggernaut Western team... but the freaking Oilers. Quite possibly the closest to a Buffalo championship aside from SB XXV (factoring in relative strength of finals opponent). Been to several games in Raleigh since, and the home fans just can't resist making numerous references to that series and winning the Cup. More than once the Jumbotron has featured slogans like "Buffalo has wings, we have rings." So yeah, I hate the Canes and will never get over that series. Made sure to honk "Let's go Buffalo" on the horn at least 200 times in the parking lot after the Sabres won in OT in April 2011 to basically eliminate the Canes from the playoff race, and hoping to catch at least one Sabres game there this year.

I'd love to join if there are still any spots. In my league last year I was about to put the title game on ice until Luongo blanked the Oilers in the last game of the playoff week (there's not many things worse in fantasy sports than spending a few hours trying to will the Edmonton Oilers to score one stupid goal, only to watch them barely get any shots off). There's a possibility I'd need to auto-draft at least part of the draft time though, hope that doesn't take me out of the running.