Trettioåtta

McGuire says Jeff Skinner is going West, says a deal is close to done. He adds Canes expect to have three 1st RD picks tonight, one would come from a Skinner deal and one would come from a Hanifin deal.

In my mind he is either Erik Johnsson, solid but disappointing, or Nick Lidstrom, one of the greatest of all time. There is no middle ground.

I like how humble Dahlin seems in interviews. Seems like a guy who focuses on hockey over fame

Two of the four were drafted in the late 20s. That's my point, you have to get impact players outside the top 5 if you want remain outside the bottom 5

Other teams seem to hit on impact players outside of the top 5. With the exception of maybe Casey, do you think anyone in that list will be a 60 point guy? or a 30 point D man. Role players are good and needed, but we dont have that spark.

So your preference for LW is 2 centres and a RW. I like those players, but I also think they'll cost a tidy penny to get In fairness, we have drafted awfully in the last few years. That's why its always for the futures. There is nothing in the pipe line despite being bottom of the league for half a decade.

I could see that being one of the few ways we do trade ROR. Question is, is the player we take at 3 OA going to be good enough? ROR is a top flight two way centre, do our scouts think Chuky or Zadina can provide a similar level of help to the team (offense and defense) going forward. That said, I would keep ROR as I think what the Pens did with Crosby was surround him by capable vets while he found his feet. We can't always trade players because they are 'passed their peak'.

Liger - what alternatives do you suggest? ATM we need to upgrade our wings, especially LW. How do we do that? Either trade or free agency. It is a real desert of talent in the UFA pool, so if you don't like the idea of a 40 point winger from there, whoa re you trading? Also, the last time the Sabres were great Vanek played 3rd line LW... hashtag full circle

Bingo. Honestly this UFA offers almost nothing. It almost makes me think Risto, Reino or ROR is gone for multiple ok parts to fill in holes.

UFA and RFA looks pretty thin on the ground for LWs. Maybe Vanek would like to return for a couple years and the retire a Sabre. Could give us a pretty potent powerplay. Plus he was always lazy as and good at taking a beating in front of the net, so age might not be too bad on him. ROR - Reino - Okposo Eichel - Risto Vanek - Mittelstadt - Pominville Scandella - Dahlin

Anyone want the shirt for free? I am not allowed it, so happy to ship it to someone else

How hyped was Erik Johnson? :ph34r:

Honestly, they are similar enough I would imagine Allen's contract is used as the bench mark by one side. Lehner has to get a 10% pay rise for the qualifying offer I believe, which would put it at $4,400,000. Allen's cap hit is $4,325,000. Lehner won't command more than that given the season he had.

Always the promise of the potential future There is no argument that Reinhart is better than ROR that doesnt begin with the word if Even if Reinhart is a 70 point player, ROR is a 60 point player and much better defensively, takes the tougher minutes and lead the league in faceoffs. Those three things make up that 10 point difference

Lehner and Allen have both started 205 games and played 219. Lehner has faced nearly 1000 more shots and has better stats than Allen. Allen is also a year older.

I believe the weird thing is that those clauses are only binding with the club that signed the contract. I.e. when we trade for them we are under no obligation to allow the NMC to be enacted.

I agree. I also think expecting/wanting all the players to be best friends off the ice is wrong. I would rather have a group of professionals who showed up to games and practices and never spoke off the ice, than a group of best friends using hockey to fund a bar crawl (not that I am saying the Sabres players do that.. before it gets misinterpreted). That said, I think it is interesting if a player/players actively don't get along - as I think that is pretty rare for an adult in a work environment. Further, it is interesting (if true) that the players on the block are the ones that Eichel most dislikes - as it does imply this really is his and his team alone. E.g. what happens if Dahlin doesn't get on with him etc. etc. Basically I think players actively not getting on leads to trade rumours. But it does seem like the news out there is mostly wild speculation sadly. I wouldn't mind Palat, but what does he cost to get? Can we flog them Nylander? As a Drouin replacement...

Apuszczalowski said he couldn't remember where he read it. I don't think anyone is saying it is true, but we comment on rumours all the time here, so I don't see whats different about this one (bar it being about Eichel and somewhat negative). I generally trust posters to not out right lie, and as I am not connected into US/Buffalo news I trust them on their reporting of news.

I'm not saying there is, but it has been reported he didn't like Blysma, ROR and now Risto. Not to mention if it were any other player proof would not be needed. Many a whipping boy has been created from a single rumour. I do think Eichel is too often held a though he is beyond criticism Whereas most star players are held responsible for the state of a franchise, it feels like Eichel is all too frequently absolved of any responsibility.

There are over 20 guys in the locker room. Think of when you were at school, or the team you are in at work. Do you like all of them? Probably not, can you work with them / respect them? Yes. Penn and Teller aren't even friends off stage. Just because ROR and Eichel don't ride a tandem bike to work doesnt mean there is an issue. If ROR is being traded, we are trading a top line centre (not top line in the sense of Crosby, McDavid etc.) top line as in starting centre on most teams. We absolutely need a kings ransom. Eichel was bad defensively and he wasnt even being asked to play the hard defensive minutes. We would require a good young defensive 2nd line 40 point + player, a proper blue chip prospect and a 1st/2nd at an absolute minimum. I think ROR is almost not worth trading - i.e. his value is worth more than most teams will pay. Eichel doesn't seem to like a lot of people...

Woo to Pu puts the Sabres up by two.

This is a good montage https://streamable.com/y9g4g It would be nice if the Sabres produced stuff like it

Funny that the team that is a shadow of its glory days was the one to win the cup

Another assist for Kuzy... if Washington win how many more points than Ovi does he need to get the Conn Smyth?

Eller annoys me to no end. So many blind spin turns to Vegas... but then occasionally it works and creates something