apuszczalowski

Guys better then Callahan get traded to contenders all the time without disturbing chemistry, and if giving him an extension immediately is going to disrupt chemistry, you have some bigger problems with your team. They could always have a hand shake agreement on a deal that will be announced when the season is done. If the team is willing to give him a big deal in the summer, then they would be willing to right now since it won't affect the cap til the extension starts

Lets not get ridiculous here.........

yeah, but on the bad side, except for a few years, it was also a cheaper team

lets not think this is just something new thats going on cause its Russia, remember the last winter games and the luger that died on that track before the games and they blamed it on the track being designed too fast so they had to make last minute changes to it?

And they can even take it an extra step further and award goals for "Intent to Score"

I can't see the Ducks making a move to bring in another starter, they have a logjam in net and are most likely looking to move guys out, not bring them in. Although if they view Miller as being an upgrade over Hiller (and knowing they can probably re-sign Miller cheaper with a California/be closer to your wife Discount) they could make a deal, send someone like Fasth back in the deal (or Gibson), and then use Hiller in another trade to someone like Edmonton or Washington for other assetts and recoup some of what they might lose obtaining Miller. I don't think making a move like that will rock the boat/disrupt chemistry too much in Anaheim, they probably wouldnt miss a beat swaping out Hiller for Miller

Wow, I would have figured a straight swap of Vanek for Seguin would have been an overpayment by Buffalo, but now everyone is throwing in additional players from the Sabres to make the deal? Vanek could have expressed that he wanted out and was not going to re-sign in Buffalo, but he still had a year left on his deal, and it was no secret the Bruins weren't happy with Seguin, so that would cancel out one team being desperate to move their guy.

Both of those situations, Lemieux and Daigle happened before the Lottery system, when it was easier to tank for the #1 pick, and it only worked out well for one of those teams....... My argument/issue was just with using Crosby as an example of a team manipulating its roster to get someone, it just wasn't the case for Crosby because there was no season played the year before he was drafted.

I think that a team will make a deal and meet his demands just to make sure they don't have to worry about a bidding war for his services.He is asking for 7 now, but if he becomes a UFA, will someone offer him 7.5, or 8? I think there will be teams contending looking at him and may give him what he wants, plus want him for the playoffs this year Vanek has not really given any figures yet on what he is looking for, all we know is that he turned down a significant offer from the isles (rumored to be around what he makes now) and has said he will most likely test the market. Leino has looked very good having played with less prior to becoming a Sabre, I would imagine we would be talking very differently about leino and stafford if Crosby was here playing with them

Theres bugs or fine details that would need to be worked out, but I don't think the issues are as bad as you think. They can wire the nets in too so that if they come off, the sensor doesn't go off. Also it doesn't have to be wired in to set off the light and horn, it could send a signal to the goal judge who then turns on the lights and horn. Its really not that hard. The biggest complaint I could see would be from the "sport purists" who want a human element to the games and feel there should be human errors to calls. Its why MLB has an umpire to call balls and strikes instead of cameras making the call. People alway complain about calls being wrong, then complain when you talk about using technology to make the calls and remove the human judges from the sport Its the leagues excuse to make calls in their favour and get the results they want ;)

I took the rarer route and became a Sabres fan, and consider them the local team for Niagara(Most leaves fans will ask why I wouldn't support the local team and I would tell them that it takes less then 30 minutes to get to FNC, compared to just over an hour to ACC, therefore the Sabres are the areas local team, who cares if theres a bridge and invisible line to cross to get there)

But would the Rangers even consider that for their captain? Sure everyone knows he is 95% likely not to re-sign in NY, but with them giving the chance to talk to him and work out a deal with a new team, the Rangers will probably want more for him because they gave teams that chance

If we want to use technology to do it better then 2 fat guys, can they not install a chip inside the game pucks and at the goal line that can trigger the light if the puck crosses and the clocks running? They could even install cameras inside the post of the net that are angled to view the goal line closely that the goal judges can sit and watch from a booth instead of in a seat.

I don't think he gets traded unless the team he is going to signs him long termThats why the Rangers are letting teams speak to his agent to work out a deal now

Where you not watching the Sabres broadcast? Rob Ray was going on about how bad of a call it was and how the puck was at the back of the net before the Refs whistle blew, then how bad it was when he came out after "reviewing" the replay and saying the whistle blew before the puck was in the net. He kept having the replay of the goal shown. As for the call and getting it right, the refs have an advantage/get out of jail free card in these situations, all the have to do is say they intended to blow the whistle and its just as good as them blowing the whistle whenever they chose to. Bryz wa reaching behind him to scoop the puck out of the net when you hear the whistle blow on the replay, yet the refs replay apparently shows the whistle blown before the puck goes into the net

Do you really think that most of these guys on the sabres roster would be able to earn a spot on one of the WJC teams?

Whats your point?As I said in what you quoted right at the end, Malkin was picked #2 the year before Crosby when Ovi went #1. Fleury was prior to that also taken at #1 I was responding to the comment about Pittsburgh manipulating their roster to be in a position to get a once in a generational talent (Crosby) which is false, manipulating their roster had nothing to do with getting Crosby, and it could have slightly hurt their chances because Crosby was drafted in the draft right after the lockout, where all teams had a chance at the #1 pick, and it was weighted based on previous years playoff appearances and if you have picked #1 overall before (IIRC, you were given less of a chance at #1 if you drafted 1st overall within the previous few seasons) In other words, the Pens couldn't 'Tank' to get the #1 pick, that year, and had to get lucky and win a lottery to get Crosby. It sounds like the agents for some of the Rangers players are upset because the Rangers have shown willingness to grossly overpay to bring in other teams FAs, but don't want to give out big deals to keep their own 'Family' (I think this was said by Girardis agent when discussing the possibility of him getting a deal done)

You would be surprised how many there are Usually, if you didn't want to follow the crowd and be a fan of the Leaves, you became an Ontario Habs fan. My wifes family is divided between Habs and Leafs fans, but they are originally from teh east Coast of Canada and didn't grow up in ontario

heard something similar, basically almost the same as his current deal He has said before that he would stay in NY with the islanders, but its very doubtful he is going to take a discount, or not want a raise, and if thats the offer they would make to him, why wouldn't you want to test Free Agency and see what else is available, he is going to be one of the top FAs available

The Pens didn't do any manipulating of their roster to "Tank" in order to get Crosby. Crosby was drafted the year of the Lockout, when the league created a draft lottery that included all of the teams and weighted the lottery slightly to the struggling teams IIRC (Depending on their picks in previous seasons). The draft before the Lockout was where they picked second (behind Washington in the Ovy sweepstakes) and took Malkin at #2.

Usually it takes some tough times and some consistently good teams to build the fan base. Its why its worked in Dallas, and in California, even Carolina. Bad ownership not willing to spend money on its team, and the team being bottom feeders for a while don't help build fan bases and why teams like the Panthers and Coyotes have struggled. It never helps a fan base to constantly hear how your ownership is struggling and your team could be moved. Why would anyone be interested in getting into being a fan of the Coyotes after the last 5+ years of the ownership struggles and hearing that the team will be moved all the time? A solid ownership group willing to spend and build a stable winning franchise will help build a fan base that will grow and support the team. The league needs teams all over the continental US having success if they ever want to move up the ranks and make money like the other leagues.

Biggest mistake in that deal for Snow was including Moulson in it It made no sense for him to do that, he basically gave up picks to slightly upgrade Moulson on the team. Picking up Vanek was a good idea, but they should not have done it at the expense of getting rid of Moulson, unless Snow forgot to have the Sabres to include Miller in the deal...

Ah yes, the same Shane Doan who was everyones golden boy around here that TP had to run out and try to sign cause he was the answer to providing grit and leadershipBasically he was the 2012 version of this years Callahan.....

yeah, but thats not as much fun as speculating its something even deeper, didn't look hard enough to notice the 5 o'clock part, good catch I like checking out the different masks too. Its funny, for someone who likes painted goalie masks, I have been searching around for a Hasek style mask to use for when I play in it

Its a contract dump, they need the cap space (after they move a couple of guys back to the Marlies) in order to bring back Bolland from IR. When they picked up Gleason for Liles, they also took on some additional salary that is keeping them from being able to bring Bolland back up Most MLFers just think that Fraser hasn't been the same since his knee and head injuries. I haven't seen anyone refer to him as a nightmare though