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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.

And credit certainly goes to you for having the connections....

Yes. Me. 100% without a doubt.

Like I said elsewhere.... If you think it's underwhelming then expect that ROR was a bigger problem than thought. I don't hate the trade. It just fattened up the offense and made others potentially expendable. It might not be top overall talent, but that's 3 forwards and 2 picks for the price of 1 forward. Oh, and... this is just day 1...

Don't forget Dahlin. Had to do it. :)

Meh... Frankly I think it will handcuff them in the future. They might have 2 good years and then they'll have to deal with salaries. Perhaps Lou went to the Island to assure that Tavares signed with the Leafs? Ooooooo sneaky. Lou resigns tomorrow...

As always... if you want to critique the performance of a GM you should present some evidence of what deal was out there that would have been available for the GM to make. Just because a player signed somewhere for reasonable money doesn't mean that player wanted to come to Buffalo. I'm meh about all of it. It's UFA day.. the day when many GMs make huge mistakes.

In many states.. that's jail time.

I think you need to eat a Snickers...

This kind of marketing might indicate the way the management is thinking.. and could be relevant to the ROR situation as well. Ending with "A lot more happy" @BuffaloSabres FollowingFollowing @BuffaloSabres More There's new energy around here.

Whew... didn't want to see you on Channel 7 news being charged with arson.

It's okay.. I feel good when people talk to me. And i like talking to you. :w00t:

Yep.. saw that. That's just business. If there was a trade for ROR prior to the bonus being signed it would have happened already. Teams want to know about JT and they wanted to know about Stastny because those are known situations. Once those settle out (Stastny to VGK) then I think the ROR sweepstakes run. There might be a delay with Bozak as well, but I would imagine that ROR is a heavily preferred option over Bozak.

TSN.ca has coverage.. if you can find a way to get it. It's all I know of right now. I see NHL Network will be carrying the SportsNet feed. I don't either of those... sooooo I'm out!