LTS

Another forum I am on had recently switched to this new software so I had some pre-exposure to it. That said, it was not as busy as this place. I've already altered my workflow on the site based on the updates. I'm really loving the changes. Great job SDS... thanks for the time spent on this.

I tried to edit mine to make it the right choice. You know, with the picture and the icon. ? Did it because I said I would.. I will actually create another one soon (not politics.. derrrr)

Honestly.. that's almost all I care about. If his shot can routinely put the puck in the back of the net I will be happy. There are players who will get the puck to him.

Is this how you picture him? It's not how I pictured him.. until your post made me want to search google images and find something. But now I think it will be how I picture him.

Man.. that would be really cool. Really cool. Would you implement it as a form to take the input or just have people pass the numbers in? I would then pull the numbers from some kind of database that had the name, picture, etc. It could be awesome.

Being drunk will increase your chances of falling down.

I'm not sure how you determined anything about my opinions with regards to a drug problem in NHL. I was merely trying to understand the difference between one player being singled out for alcohol issues versus the other 19 (or some subset) for drug use. I think you clarified it. You don't like people singling out O'Reilly based on their references to liquor distributors and bar owners, but you are okay with making a more indirect accusation against a locker room for drug use. Personally I don't find a huge difference in what is being said. In your scenario we get to guess at who might be the drug users. In the O'Reilly scenario we get to guess if it's true or not. I see your scenario as more of a witch hunt and the O'Reilly scenario as more of a fact finding mission. And ultimately, I don't care about either. What people choose to do in their own world is of no consequence to me. Granted, O'Reilly driving into a TIm Horton's window while under the influence is of concern to me (and was at the time). If you want to impair your ability to operate a motor vehicle (regardless of how you do it) then don't get in the motor vehicle.

I'm not trying to insinuate that you said O'Reilly was too slow. I don't recall who said it and who didn't. I know it was a topic of conversation. I'm not arguing against his most productive season and Duchene. It is interesting that both of those players forced their way out of Colorado though. Truthfully, I am more using your analogy of O'Reilly to say that speed isn't critical to play with Eichel. Thompson may fill that role even better because you don't need him to be the defensive side that you wanted from O'Reilly. Eichel did also improve his defensive play throughout the season. Sorry to pull you back in. :)

No video... the boos will depend on how the Sabres are doing and how he is going in St. Louis. At least I think that... If the Sabres are better then he will get booed. If they are not better then he won't get booed.

So, if I have this correct. You say that drug use is rampant in the NHL and there are people in the Sabres locker room that have the same issues (in reference to the discussion on Kane). Then when someone says ROR is abusing alcohol you tell people he's being thrown under the bus and you demand sources. Would you say that I am accurately reflecting your conversation here?

Is there a reason that the real journalists cannot do the same thing that the apparently non-real sports journalists are doing? Couldn't The Atlantic hire local reporters to provide a focus on Buffalo politics and corporate activities? Newspapers are a dying medium. The ability to be a reporter is still a useful and desired skill. It just has to be delivered differently.

Hooray...

Money over everything... Unless you are OEL http://arizonasports.com/story/1579834/coyotes-oliver-ekman-larsson-8-year-extension-heart-in-arizona/ "It's just money."

It also makes you think about what the rest of the summer has in store once the teams are done signing UFAs, RFAs are settled out and the need to lock a roster down more begins around September. There are more moves that could be made.

If O'Reilly was seen as too slow, and everyone wanted a player that could keep up with Jack on his wing, why would you think O'Reilly would flourish there? If Thompson is every bit the skater O'Reilly is but has a much better shot, do you not think that would translate better? I mean, Eichel turned 21 last October. He did have a whole season to begin hanging out at bars... but it takes awhile to be a seasoned veteran at drinking. For most anyway. :) I am interested in one thing... can Thompson bury the damn puck in the net when either Reinhart or Eichel puts it on his stick. If he can, then this has all the makings of being a very good thing. Brett Hull couldn't skate for crap, but he knew where to go on the ice and he knew where to put the puck when it was on his stick. Bottom line.. I'm good with waiting to see what happens (because I have no other options also plays into the mix here).

He can't. The Internet moves too fast. Everyone literally sucks before they can do anything.

Didn't Dorion say he doesn't want to trade in division? So, Botterill will need someone else to give up something to Ottawa before he can trade with the 3rd party. I do think one of those picks, if not 2 of them, are moved.

I appreciate view points of all. I appreciate the just go for it attitude. Sometimes in life I get to that point, but not nearly as quickly as I used to. Like you, I recognize that I have changed from when I was 23. There's nothing Randall can do about that because he won't understand his life at 45 until he gets there. The path has to be walked to be understood. It's true for all of us. That said, it's certainly possible to be walking a path from 23 to 45 over the same years as I have and still end up at 45 as irritated about this situation as a 23 year old.

I have an abundance of patience.. I keep trying to share but no one wants any.

Hey, you know. You could be right. But yesterday was the first day of the NHL open season on roster changes. I have no doubt a lot of general managers wanted to see what UFAs they could get before they worry about certain level of trades. The O'Reilly situation had a timeline associated with it when you consider the bonus. You can throw money to the wind all you want, but it's still impacting the trade timelines. The situation was addressed. Now there are plenty of days before the beginning of next season. The only thing that matters is what this team does NEXT SEASON on the ice. Why not save a little energy for the regular season? The bottom 6 by the way are much better than they were last year. Unless you don't think Sobotka and Berglund are better than Josefson and Nolan. Even if one of those two ends up in the top 6 to start the season, they are intended to be 3rd line players at some point.

I was 23 once. I thought that it was possible to have the perspective of a 45 year old at that age as well. I was reasonably intelligent and figured I could read things that 45 year old people say and that would allow me to have the perspective I needed. Now I am 45 and I know that was arrogance. I could understand what 45 year-olds were saying, what I did not know, and what you cannot know, are the experiences that drive those statements. It's not a slight at you, it's just what it is. If you've never lost a parent you can't know what someone else who has is feeling. You can understand what they say, you can sympathize with them, but you cannot empathize with them. This is very much the same thing. There are many things in my life that I still perceive the same way as I did at age 23. There are also many things I perceive quite differently now at age 45. It has everything to do with experience and very little to do with reading and understanding what I read. I know there are some people on here who are older than I am who feel the same as you. We're not all the same and we don't all react to shared experiences in the same way. Just like some people who lose a parent may not be as upset as someone else.

Do you lose all credibility for referring to his first sentence when it was his second that mentioned the cap hit? Just curious if these things apply equally here.

In 2006 we watched the team dominate the league. They were stacked. They never made it to the Cup. You don't remember that. Or rather I should say.. you were too young to fully comprehend it all. In 1999 we watched the team make it to the Cup and get screwed by a rule. You don't remember that. I get that you don't have the same perspective that some of us have. There are people who have experienced that and don't take the same stance I do. If you had an opportunity to insure that the Sabres made it to the Cup Finals next year but also had to agree that for the next 10 years they're average finishing position would be 27th and they wouldn't make the playoffs, would you do it? Mind you, the Sabres aren't winning the Cup. That has to be played out. It also doesn't mean in year 11 they make the playoffs. I would never make that deal. Because I know that sometimes it's a staph infection that kills your chances. I know that sometimes, despite how the rules are written, the call doesn't fo your way. There's no talent involved in that outcome. You might be tempted to make that deal. The team might even win. But by year 8 you'd be sick of losing again. Sick of last place finishes. I need to sleep.

Fair enough. I wasn't sold on Babcock being the savior either. He had to go meet with Matthews. Just because the team is higher in the standings doesn't mean they won't come falling down. 1 good year? So, if I told you that the Sabres would make the playoffs next year but then having over-reached they would miss the playoffs for the next 6 years after that you would take that? Yep.. we'll see. There's always a young player that Toronto will be able to give away to partner with a cap dump. But it doesn't mean it leads to winning. In other thinking... I wonder which GMs have the Seattle expansion draft on their minds. Some teams are going to be up against it to protect their players.

I feel like some people on here would blast the reigning world Grand Champion Chess Master for moving his pawn to start the game. There's a truly sick and twisted side of me that wants all the overexaggerated takes on here to be true. It's a small part of me, but I can't help but wonder just how far it could go. Tomorrow I am going to practice yelling at paint for not drying fast enough. I feel it's the only way I can build my skills.