X. Benedict

Local example, maturity notwithstanding....Jay McKee's best chance to win a cup was signing for a discount in Buffalo 2006-07 - he went to a losing team in St. Louis for money and term. I don't think he ever mailed it in. And he probably thought in that time, they could win even though St. Louis was in rough shape. McKee is not atypical. Money, Term, Playing time, Family - - and even the rationalization - "Hey I could help turn this around"

Chicago has 2 million to spend in the off-season and two roster spots left. I wasn't making that up. 1 million is about right. Which player is going to take a haircut when he can get 3M a year at term on the market.Is he going to move the wife and kids to Chicago to play 1 year at a 66% discount? You may think so. You may even scratch your head over it. But that's the pro athelete.

There is something relentlessly silly about this statement. Really, really silly. Players that go to market want to get paid. And they all believe they can win wherever they go - yes, even if that is Buffalo -that is the pro ego. They all want ice time - they all want the chance to play. Pride often has more to do with going where they will play the most. 18 minutes a game in Buffalo at 3M is an more attractive proposition than 1M a year with 7 minutes a game in Chicago. Pride says I'm worth more, pride says I deserve to play more. They all have pride - many also have wives that control the finances and extended families they are taking care of. Hockey is a little different that way.

Tired of hearing this one. Why would a free agent come to Buffalo? There are plenty of good reasons, starting with Buffalo's money is as good as anyone else's and half the teams in the league are already looking at cap problems for next season at 64 million. Half the teams in the league already have less than 10 million to spend in the off-season and less than 2M per roster opening. While Buffalo might not be a desirable location when compared to say Montreal, Vancouver, Pitt or San Jose.....a free agent might not want to work for the league minimum, and half the teams in the league are already against the cap looking at next year, and the other half are not going to spend to the cap. Another factor is ice time. Winning is important - but for many players money and ice time come next, and Buffalo can provide that. Buffalo might not land the #1 free agent of the year like the Rangers grabbed Richards....but low travel time, proximity to Ontario, cost of living, ice time, and ownership all have their own appeals, and length of contract can weigh in too.

Pens couldn't bury any of their chances. - not sure what to make of the sweep - but there was no doubt - Pens didn't lead for a second in that series, did they?

Is there a link? Ah never-mind.....they'll probably change it with another lockout before I figure it out.

By hiring someone overqualified?

Man I'd love to have Bjudstad.

Legs are bigger than feet.

I think that's it. And he gets to be part of the Sabres organization. Sounds like a fun gig. I hope he goes easy on Kilgore. "Ed, send out a press release today how I just bought out Cobblestone, and get ready for Lloyd's Food truck next week. We'll own Pearl by next Wednesday."

Good stuff.

Very true. Chara is a beast. He must have had over 40 minutes last night. Either way, Boston is a well composed team with depth at forward that gets very good 2 way play from their centers. People look at Lucic, Horton, and their wings, but those centers are always in position. What an advantage when the centers backcheck well, and if you beat them, then you have to beat Chara.

Given new information I'm revising my prediction to Pens in 7. :ph34r:

In some forgettable movie that I can't remember the name of, she plays an elderly character that had bought Apple stock at $10. I love that she took that role. It is the only thing I remember about the movie.

Shoot the damn Canada Geese I say. Shoot them. They poop bigger than 3 year old humans and wake my slumber. Shoot them. Cardinals are nice.

I'm pretty sure in Minnesota it is a Pop. Minnesota Pops --- that works.

I always thought Minnesota Freaky would be better.

Or Sean Bergenheim. These post-season heroes are usually caused by teams having match-up problems. Teams may be matching the top two lines shift for shift, but in a 7 game series, a better third line often makes the difference.

D is right. I give those a D minus.

Was it a move or a shift?

Canes new unis? I don't have the eye to notice the difference. http://ow.ly/i/2hfGh

I called Pitt in 5 (starting with game 3 :D )

Rx: Find new friends.

It would be irresponsible not to.

Larry Brooks a week back on Richards: http://www.nypost.co...iDeRrV2GCHu1uCO "The final three seasons of Richards’ nine-year, $60 million front-loaded deal are worth $1 millior per. Under the cap-recapture formula that was among Brian Burke’s pet projects, if Richards were to retire with three seasons remaining on his deal, the Rangers would be hit with a dead-space charge of $5.667 million per. If he were retire with two seasons remaining on the contract, the charge would be $8.5 million per. And, counterintuitively, if he were to play all but the final season of his deal, the Rangers would be hit with an untenable charge of $17 million for 2019-20."