LTS

He's not going for anything other than picks... if there's a player involved it will be for Rochester I would think.

Brian Burke (yeah yeah) was just commenting that his feeling was that Montour just didn't fit into the Ducks lineup as well as they would want. He thinks that he'll shine in Buffalo. The good news is that we'll get to see if advanced stats hold true or if things change.

You hanging out with Panarin again?

This is certainly the kind of trade that makes you wonder "what's next?" You can see where Botterill was looking ahead with bringing Montour in. I'm pretty excited about the whole thing. But, the Sabres do have to move someone.

He's got until 2020-2021 at $3.3M or so... then RFA.

There goes one of the first rounders. Clearly someone else has to move. There's a logjam of NHL D on the team now. My guess is Beaulieu is moved. I'll take Montour I suppose. He's immediately going to be on the top on the team in PIM.

Oh man.. I'd go, if I didn't have to then go home and then go back there for my 10pm game tonight.

Beat me to it. I know because I was sitting next to @Eleven. ? What a fun game and meetup.. I was not able to respond to anything until now. Watching Dahlin skate in person is a real treat.

LIkewise.

Tell them to take the throttle up to 11. No.. not Eleven.

Perhaps he was just sh**ing himself?

@Wyldnwoody44 - okay, let's do it. I decided I really wanted a Pod. Sorry @Taro T. ?

I hold them accountable for the whole season. The team overachieved early on. It was not sustainable, for whatever reason. I'm not ready to fire guys who've barely been given a chance to prove themselves and have a less than talented roster to work with unless the Sabres were a complete mess on the ice. The "voice of reason" looks at the timelines and who has been involved and makes judgments that are applicable. Botterill can't turn over the whole roster in a single season. He dealt with the biggest issues last season and gets to fine tune for next season. He's not responsible for the lack of talent in the prospect pool that was drafted before he arrived. That's just the way it is. If they don't make the playoffs next year and there's reasonable support for what it didn't happen then yes, it will be okay with me. I look at the moves that are made in the league. What other teams are doing and if they are in a better position than Buffalo such that Buffalo isn't able to achieve, then what can you do about it? When a trade is made, it requires the teams to have something that is valued by another team. If the Sabres, because of poor management in the past and poor drafting, don't have those resources or they do and they simply are not as coveted as resources from another team, there's nothing to do. Now, if Botterill makes some very questionable moves and the team continues to play terrible, then it's going to be lights out. I don't worry about the 2020-21 season. There are far too many things that can happen between now and then.

Mind an extra wheel? Maybe I should just take you up on your offer... Cool.

If you have Stone, Duchene, Panarin hitting the UFA market... does this hinder Skinner getting a top contract in UFA (if it were to get there?) I'm wondering if he might sign with Buffalo just because he can lock in a good enough contract. I don't know that the market, and if Skinner is picky, is good enough to pay all of them.. Perhaps?

Then let's do that! No harm. Labatt House? I wouldn't mind checking it out. but if i can only get Citra imma bounce. ? How is Union Pub? Never been there.

Not on blind side hits, which is why they are called blind side. It's like suggesting that a player who turns his back to the ice should expect to get blasted into the boards face first. Like above, these are the things that have changed. Lots of things used to be legal. They aren't now. It seemed to me on the play that McDavid comes from behind the lateral axis of the player and hits him in the head.

It's a fair question. I do think there's something to be said for these players who have signed deals (even if they were RFAs). There's certainly an aspect of wanting to be part of making the team successful. I do believe that some players form a relationship with the city and they genuinely want to succeed there.

A little crazy.. So, CBJ is going to roll with three unsigned UFAs.. and when they fall they will be left with very little. Insane.

Seems like it qualifies as a blind side hit.. perhaps I need to watch again?

It's good to have opinions of those who are not in the United States. It's an interesting assertion you've made. I don't know much about him, but given what you are saying and knowing how many people I've seen in my circles fawn over the guy as some kind of miracle worker, it's kind of laughable. I have no doubt that some of it is the compare and contrast with Trump. There's little doubt that Trudeau wins in the looks and ability to speak department. I guess that further proves that it's not the stuff inside the wrapper that matters, just the wrapper.

I'm pretty much the same. For some stupid reason, in college, I majored in Political Science. It's not that the study is what enlightened me, it's that I paid far too much attention to politics during that time and recognized what was going on and just kinda got burned out. Nothing has restored my faith, in fact I am sure it's gotten worse. I keep hoping for change.

I agree with you. I am hoping he has the support to stick to his style. I have faith.

Yes. I think that there's a reservation to assert an agenda into the mix. If I had to vote, I would vote Cole's. I love that place. The thing is, you have to drive a bit to get there and parking can be obnoxious. Also, I still want to hit up Pizza Plant prior to the game.. probably get there around 11:30... anyone interested? If not, I could be persuaded to join others elsewhere prior to the game.

I think Ottawa is really somewhat restricted in what they can get in return. They're going to take the fair deal whether it comes in division or out of division. I wouldn't be surprised if Ottawa isn't letting teams also talk to Duchene. Curious just how much Botterill would feel pressured to over pay just to try and get a player of that level in the mix to try and speed up the timeline so more people feel good about the progress he spoke about.