TrueBlueGED

No, they tell us that Nelson was a lot better in his role than Risto was in his. To what extent that translates (for either of them) to a different role is open to interpretation.

I think they do. One via UFA and one via trade where we're moving salary similar out to what we bring in. Whether Botterill is good enough to pull it off is another matter entirely, of course.

I missed it until somebody brought it up 'round these parts. Something about Williams and a clique making him the butt of jokes because of his figure skating background?

No, it's not calling people stupid. I'm going after the mentality, not the intelligence. People *really* have got to get over their "nothing good can possibly happen to Buffalo woe is us" mentality. How much good hockey talk gets derailed by it? It's annoying to see all the time and I'll continue to call it out for the nonsense it is. I believe it had something to do with "the room."

^^If there's a guy I can say I want at 7 above the field, it's Cozens. But if it's not him, I won't do more than shrug my shoulders.

I agree that's the general rule, but I disagree that it's inevitable. Tampa has every one of their stars on a team-friendly contract. I don't think it's unreasonable to want to aim for that. I guess my issue is with completely dismissing contract concerns as if they simply don't matter when there are more than a handful of instances where teams suffer as a result. You're free to not weigh the downside risks the same as other, but I don't think we should pretend those downside risks are fabrications, as Tom seems to do regularly.

Toronto and Patrick Marleau's 3rd year say hi. As does Chicago and them needing to move Teravainen to dump a bad contract. And so on. There's a price to pay for bad contracts.

Isn't that true of all but the absolute best players in the league? The number of players who can be successful independent of what surrounds them is an awfully short list.

Oh, it's not a good idea in the sense that it's particularly savvy. But I basically came around to Freeman's position that it's hard to see the team get better without him. 100% agree that Botterill needs to have a home run of an offseason. This wasn't it, it's holding the status quo...but that was a necessary thing to do, I think. *when No, he hasn't.

Correct. And a top-4 RHD, ideally.

As long as he's part of a playoff team for the previous 6 years, I won't care. Eichel is in his prime. Dahlin is about to be. The time is now. My feelings on the longed term consequences would be considerably different if our best players were still Vanek and Pominville. But that's not the case anymore. Let's win some freaking games. Edit: Also, to be clear, my reference to "because Buffalo" was concerning those who were fatalistic about Skinner leaving, not those making arguments that this contract may be ill-advised.

I don't think you can consider a market value deal to be a great deal. It's appropriate, expected, and necessary. But great? No.

For some, "Because Buffalo" has the power of the infinity gauntlet with all six stones.

Why? I think time has proven you can't win with a guy like that in the locker room.

Who wants to help me wheel in the crow for the people who *just knew* he'd be going to UFA since he was this close. Lots of it to go around.

If true, that's bad news for him.

Well, that's a dagger to the "because Buffalo" crew.

Indeed. There certainly has yet to be any evidence he's good at it.

Alternative: he wants to win and thinks we're probably going to suck for awhile.

When was the last time this happened?

Was this back in the days when players like Daigle were "can't miss?" The value isn't the same anymore. And your second scenario kind of proves my point. Assuming Chicago likes Risto, Risto + 8 for 3 would be fair value under that scenario, and you saw fit to toss Saad our way as well. So yes, fleecing. Not that Bowman is unfleecable...

Not if they need significant sheltering at even strength to not be a complete sieve. Was Dennis Wideman ever traded for something significantly more valuable than Saad? Because that's who Risto is comparable to. Or, if you want a more recent reference, Phaneuf.

The 3rd overall has incredibly more value than 7th overall. A 2nd pair D does not have tremendously more value than a top-6 forward.

Eakin and Miller for a pu pu platter. Risto for JT Miller. Now we're talkin!

While playing top notch defense and posting very good possession numbers. He's obviously not in Panarin's class, but he's also obviously not in the Berglund/Sobotka/Thompson triumvirate of smoldering trash if we're making trade comparisons.