LaFontaineToMogilny

Well well, I guess Parros wasn't though enough for the 'new look Sabres'? They went and got a straight enforcer. Perhaps there murmurs of Miller not being overly impressed with his protection are true? I'm not sure how useful John Scott will be for an NHL team, but in my minds eye I take great pleasure in seeing Scott fists pounding into the face of Chara.

There is no way the Sabres are looking at Ryan for his two way game. He's big and fast with great hands and creative flair one on one, but his defense could use some work to put it that way. I don't think Ryan will ever be a great two way player in the NHL, he's upside is on offense.

Do you think we can get Ryan for Tropp money? If so, I guess it starts making sense. After reading what Brad Boyes had to say today, I am more certain than ever that Bobby Ryan will just be a complete disaster under Lindy Ruff. We're just now finally getting rid of Boyes and his 4 million dollar contract. I think getting Ryan is just replicating that same mistake for an additional million a year.

I find it hilarious that people who get on Stafford's case for being inconsistent and lacking in competitive drive are looking to Bobby Ryan as some kind of upgrade for the Sabres. It seems that looking up Ryan's stat sheet on yahoo sports is enough to determine that he is a stud in this league, but then I have to wonder, why all this venom against Roy. His career stats look pretty solid as well. Bobby Ryan is a talented goal scorer, but he does not have the mental make up to play in the NHL. He has the unfortunate tendency for a professional athlete to take everything that is said about him as a personal slight. He goes into an emotional shell as soon as he perceives any form of criticism towards himself. He admittedly finds it hard to even show up at the rink if he feels people are unhappy with his performance. His hyper sensitive nature would by all reasonable accounts be a terrible fit in Buffalo. I see Bobby Ryan as a Mikael Renberg with emotional problems, a big guy who's riding the coattails of two players who can be utterly dominant.

Did you also stop watching Bobby Ryan play after he got drafted?

That would be because Bobby Ryan is not nearly the best player out there, and also a player who can not win the way the game is currently being played. I can't understand why people are even giving a passing thought to getting Bobby Ryan. The guy is the most fragile spoiled brat in all of professional sports. He pouts like the world is out to get him at the slightest hint of criticism, takes everything as a direct personal insult and can never put in a consistent effort. He has above average skills for sure, but Bobby Ryan coached by Lindy Ruff? Hell, even having to face the levelheaded commentary from the Sabres fan base would probably send Ryan to emotional therapy sessions before the trade deadline. It's not for nothing that the Ducks are less than committed to their former #2 pick.

So that is a 'no' to Bobby Ryan then?

For what it's worth from someone who probably sees more Ducks hockey than most on this board, I'd be happier about picking up Parros than Ryan from the Ducks.

And he won the Ducks' skill contest for most accurate shot this year! 4 - 4

As a side note; how do people feel about Jiri Hudler?

I specifically said : "perform at the level Stafford performed once he was teamed with Ennis and Foligno" so no, not all year. And yes, I do realize it's a minute sample, that line was ridiculously hot, Stafford is a notoriously streaky player, Foligno is unproved, Ennis at center is unproven and it's disillusion to think they will continue to perform at that elevated level for the rest of eternity. However, with the exception of Vanek - Pommers early last year, that line was the only thing that caught fire for the Sabres last year. It makes no sense for me to break that up. In fact, I'd be working on fixing all other parts of the Sabres before moving on to tweaking that line. Ah! I see now where I made the error! It seems I might have given the impression I thought Ennis et. co. looked like an elite scoring line all year long. I meant that all year long, they were the only line that looked like an elite scoring line. (the short time they were together) I apologize for the confusion and blame that fact that English is not my first language.

Be wowed all you want. I see what I see. When Foligno, Ennis and Stafford was put on the same line, the became one of the hottest lines in all of hockey. You can say it's the chemistry Ennis had with Foligno all you want, but what I saw happening was that the hands and speed of Ennis allowed that line to enter the zone with speed and set up a cycle much deeper in the zone than Stafford was able to do with any other line combinations he was on. To keep the focus on Stafford. In the first part of the season he spent a lot of time along the boards and often high in the zone close to the blue line trying to battle the puck free. He was not successful at all playing that type of game. With Ennis as his center, defenders were backing up much closer to their own net, allowing Ennis and Stafford to work the puck down low, from behind the goal line and up into the low slot very effectively. At their best, Stafford and Ennis cycling the puck was at the absolute elite level. A great deal of these dynamics I attribute directly to great chemistry between Ennis and Stafford. Sure, there are better 215 pound wingers in the league than Stafford, but until the Stafford, Ennis, Foligno line is proven to be a fluke that is not where I would focus on improving the team.

I disagree, if the rest of the team would perform at the level Stafford did once teamed with Ennis and Foligno this would be the best Sabres team of all time. There are plenty of things to fix on the Sabres before you start breaking up the one line that looked like an elite scoring line all year long.

My thoughts as well. As much as the boards hates on Stafford, that line is the last one I want to see broken up on the Sabres

FWIW Boudreau called Getzlaf the best captain he has ever had at locker clean out day. That might of course have been as much a final parting shot at Alex Ovechkin as anything, but it probably isn't a complete fabrication either. Boudreau is usually a very straight shooter. So, if the Ducks are as committed to Boudreau as they should be and say that they are, I doubt they will be looking to trade Getzlaf unless they are presented an 'offer they can't refuse'. There is plenty of rumblings in Duck nations about a failed season, a core group that failed to show up in November and December, a team that is too skilled to miss the playoffs, a team that is not mentally or physically strong enough to compete at the highest levels of the NHL etc. But it also seems like management are ready to write the year off and go into next year looking for a full year of Boudreau and build upon this years response to adversity. Also, the fan base are on Getzlaf as not being a strong leader, not vocal or emotional enough, too detached when games are lost and not able to lead the team out of slumps. The keen observer might see certain similarities between the Ducks post season reactions and the talk in Buffalo these days.

It's puzzling to say the least. It should not be difficult to see that Ennis and Stafford really play well together in the offensive zone. They just 'get' each other it seems like and have put together some pretty impressive displays. If anyone wants to single out a coattail rider on that line, I think the best case can be made for Foligno, but it's a stupid exercise to do anyway. The line works great together, they all contribute and looked like a true NHL first line. In fact, they looked so good that I would put Stafford in the untouchable category right now, one of the things I look most forward to next season is to see that line together for a full year. Will they be able to keep up their play when they start drawing heavy checking attention? How good can Ennis get going into training camp knowing he owns a center spot? What if Ennis and Foligno are the catalysts that keeps Stafford producing at an even pace the whole season? That line is possibly the last thing I'd touch on the current Sabres roster.

Pickled herring is indeed awesome! In my native land we eat it in many ways. Plain with pickled onion, with tomato sauce and onions, in mustard sauce, with beets, ... It is heavenly!

Advantage Shanahan since he can play as himself

I saw Henrik Sedin's post game interview where he said Keith had been letting everyone know payback was coming. Not sure if there are other sources out there for that one. As for the initial hit, it's a little late and a 2 minute penalty is probably in order, but it was a clean hit that just happened to catch Keith admiring his own pass. I think Keith just couldn't deal with getting his clock cleaned by a Sedin twin and lost his mind. I wouldn't be upset to see the league hand out double digit suspensions for that kind of crap.

I just went to espn.com and clicked 'NBA' instead of 'NHL' by accident. :(

Steven Hawking is the most cerebral center in the game! Of course Pominville would thrive playing with him.

By that thinking, Ennis should never ever be in a shoot out line up again either, his 'attempt' against Colorado was a great deal more horrible than Hodgson's miss. Turns out putting Ennis back in the next shoot out turned out just fine, even if he almost made the exact same mistake again.

I am currently reading The picture of Dorian Grey (never read it before) Power vs. Force (utter nonsense) Way of Power (a Chi Kung book) The Happiness Project (sounded interesting but looks to be a waste of time )

Yes, that is where I am and it ran down to a bone chilling 35 degrees last night!!! But yeah, I am originally from Norway so I know what winter is really supposed to be like :)

It's so cold here that I had to run the windshield wipers to remove the film of crystallized dew on my windshield this morning. Luckily it starts heating up at 7 am so it didn't last long.