Drunkard

I've seen them a dozen of so times in my life but I skipped their "final tour" last year because it happened during the summer at an outdoor venue and after doing that in 2017 I had no interest in baking in the heat again. I'm happy as hell that this year they'll be in Raleigh (2 hour drive for me) during the fall, even though I guess it doesn't matter as much given the indoor venue. You're right about the mosh pits though. There's actually a modicum of respect given to each other in their pits. The worst pit I've ever seen was oddly enough at a Pennywise concert. Nothing but punches and swinging elbows and I'm just too damn old for that. I'd have to snort some angel dust first before I had any interest in that type of violence.

Planning to catch Slayer for the last time at the PNC arena in Raleigh on November 3rd. Tickets go on sale in 2 days.

Well done. However, I would say since it's written that Pegula has become increasingly hands off that does seem to imply that, at a minimum, he used to meddle and he's starting to do that less and less. I find it highly unlikely that he's completely hands off though unless it was Botterill who insisted on St. Louis paying Eeyore's bonus and I don't see how a competent GM would want to insist on something like that without it coming from the top. Hell, I hate the guy and his quantity over quality approach and even I don't think he's that stupid. I never bothered to read the trial thread but I imagine Smell had to mark into evidence a few examples of meddling to include the signing of Christian Ehrhoff (including his daughter tweeting about how much her Dad liked him while he was still playing for Vancouver) and the fact that Darcy stated in his infamous suffering press conference that the extent of the rebuild (and tank) would be determined by ownership.

But this time they are SERIOUS. I mean look at all the mediocre talent they're beginning to stockpile. I bet 1 of the new people will even contribute to a victory here and there.

Hopefully they move some actual bodies back in the trade as well. At this rate they're going to need another team in the pipeline to put all the players that can't fit in Buffalo, Rochester, or Cincinnati.

I'm sure they can re-sign him next year again for cheap as well. If not, at least one of Botterill's darts should be capable of holding down a spot on the 4th line in 2020-2021. If not, we have bigger problems.

Murrica, F Yeah!

The one he uses for reach arounds. That's why it has aids. Duh.

I guess paying $9 million to a guy who will be on the 2rd or 3rd line is no big deal. I certainly enjoy watching Okposo skate on the 4th line for $6 million per year now, so watching Skinner do that in a few years should be even more satisfying. However, if this team is still picking in the top 10 for the next 3 years, I'm pretty sure I'll just stop watching. I honestly can't decide if the idea of them sucking that much longer makes me want to laugh, cry, or just feel apathetic at this point, but it will definitely be apathy by that point.

That's the promo for the 2021-2022 season when Skinner will turn 29 and still have half a decade on his deal.

Sounds like the dreaded hand aids has now been confirmed. Bummer.

I can see the promos now. Sabres 21-22: This year the real accountability begins!* *Unfortunately for us, Dahlin is now expensive and Skinner is almost 30 and already in decline but still eating tons of cap space. Sorry we wasted the ELC's of all those top picks but thank you to the fans for still paying full price for a substandard product. We couldn't have done it without you suckers ..... er, fans.

And I bet Aho isn't complaining in the least. He got his money on a 5 year deal. The process works as intended.

I'm with Taro on this. The fact that they have revenue sharing and a hard salary cap is a win for the small market clubs. The big market teams will always find a way to throw their weight around. If they restrict bonuses in the next CBA, the big money clubs will just find some other avenue to exploit. It was reported that Carolina had originally offered him $7.5 million AAV for 8 years and Aho asked for $9.5 million AAV for 5 years. If the Canes had given Aho what he asked they could have gotten him signed and probably gotten the contract structured normally. They shot themselves in the foot trying to nickel and dime their best player though. Those sister fisters got exactly what they deserved.

That's the price of playing in the big leagues. They could have avoided the threat by signing him sooner. I'm pretty sure he's been eligible for an extension since July 1st of last year. We did that with Eichel, Edmonton did that with McDavid, etc.

It's a good thing he doesn't have kids. I think it was Mike Mularkey who said part of the reason he left was because they were bullying his kid in school or something like that. Must have been Junior Bills Mafia.

He's probably afraid of his new place getting egg'd or his brake lines getting cut or something. Hell hath no fury like a Buffalo fan scorned.

Aho definitely could have gotten more but it seems like he really wanted to reach UFA status as early as possible. Teams probably didn't want to risk giving up 4 first round picks for a guy only guaranteed to be with the team for 5 years.

If they match he must remain with Carolina for at least one full season. If they let him walk, he must remain with Montreal for at least one full season.

Throw enough darts and some of them will eventually pan out. The volume shooter approach to team building. For the record, I'm fine with the approach when it comes to filling out depth positions, I'm just not too keen on this volume approach when selling off important roster players.

It's too late for that. Now that Aho has signed with Montreal, Carolina has 7 days to match the deal exactly as written or take the compensation. If they keep him, he can't be traded for 1 year or a year and a day or something like that. It's been a while since I read up on it, but I'm pretty sure that's how it goes.

If they are announcing it then Aho has already signed the offer sheet. That means it's either Carolina or Montreal at this point.

Yeah, that's kind of disappointing to see the AAV. I realize they were probably trying to avoid going to the top of the compensation chart, but I doubt even the Canes' cheap owner will be unwilling to match that offer.

Yes, but it will never happen. He'll likely retire before the 2022-2023 season when his actual salary drops to $3 million and certainly before the last 3 years when he'd only earn $1 million per year. Either that or he'll contract that fake Hossa skin condition where he's allergic to only playing for $1 million and he ends up getting traded to Ottawa, Carolina, or Phoenix. https://www.spotrac.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/shea-weber-1859/

Like it or not, phrasing matters, especially for the leaders of organizations. The time to start winning isn't now. The time to start winning was 4 goddamn years ago. If he wants to make stupid comments, his is well within his rights to do so, but I'm well within my rights to mock him for it. Maybe if I took a trip into the bongcloud it wouldn't bother me, but any way you slice it, the cheap years for Eichel are already gone and the clock is already ticking on Reinhart's and Dahlin's cheap years. As for his integrity, that ended for me when he went back on his promise to the fans in his introductory press conference. Again, that's his prerogative. It's his money and his team, and he can do whatever the hell he wants with it, but I have the right to mock him for crummy decisions and his bumbling communication skills.