DarthEbriate

If we played every game at 10 AM, I'd have too much beer too early. And we'd be much better record-wise. No one expects the Sabre Inquisition at 10 AM.

Assemble, Reino Squad!

That Blueger guy is quick.

Wooooohooo! All too easy.

No team this low in the standings has a cloaking device! It can't have disappeared.

I'd be fine getting outworked on a nightly basis if it was because our team was vastly superior and crushed the opposition anyway. But it is galling to see lost races for loose pucks and weak passes or clears, and not playing smart against teams who by all accounts have nothing left to play for on the season except for lottery seeding.

Hockey players are like a Star War. There are good ones (pick yours) and bad ones (I'll pick for you: The Holiday Special, Battle for Endor), but they're all our Stars and we'll watch 'em.

10 am on a Saturday. Gotta go get some coffee and whip up some eggs and bacon and tuck into to some Sabres. Should be approaching in oh...200 hours.

Gotta pay him. But not so much that he becomes Leisure Larry. Gotta keep him Angry. If we always won, what would there be to talk about?

The bigger the Uf, the bigger the Da. I really hope there's some trade movement because I'm really fearful of the "plan" being to buy a 2C and fill in the rest with Amerks. We need some more veteran grizzle, as well as different styles of players. Someone in our top 6 needs to be something tougher than Reinhart, especially if we ever make it to the playoffs. Yes, Reinhart, as he's the only top-6 F on this team who has come to a teammates' aid this season in something akin to a fight. Vesey was the other. And Eichel sort of double-minored for himself. The rest get pushed around or licked, if there's a playoff series. I like the protected kids line (Vanek-Roy-Pominville) in the event you've got 2 lines above and a GLO line below. But we have to buy those lines. I don't like it for next season unless we've already got the 2C in the bag by Monday and the GLO is retained. (I don't see that happening, so I'm really wary of a kid line.)

Per capfriendly next season Anaheim pays 3.4M; and Boston retains 1.5M. Still better than full price. It would have been nice to move on from Moulson or Bogo a year early and acquire an extra piece these last couple seasons in this manner. Or even Okposo after the end of next season.

Now we're going to see if that AHL depth is worth the price we paid. (It'll work. It'll work.)

This is what happens when everything is a one-year contract. It's a hazard or an opportunity. But all those FAs mean a lot more cost. You can also throw in the caveat that Olofsson and Reinhart could be offered RFA tenders and we don't have anyone capable of replacing them if we take the picks. If I'm Larsson I test agency for sure. He can get more on the market than here. So if I'm JBot I move him to at least recoup something. (Otherwise, extend the guy during this season when it was seen he was on the mend from that gruesome wrist/arm.)

He's got tenacity and would neatly step in for McCabe in terms of skills I think. The issue of course is Borgen is yet another RHD. So unless he can (or is allowed to) switch sides he's blocked until Risto/Montour/Miller moves. And probably until 2 of them move.

Production-wise in the past few years: Better than Moulson (the really bad season), Foligno, Ennis (at the end), Nylander, Deslauriers, Wilson, and Asplund. Worse than Kane, Skinner, Olofsson, and Girgensons. That's... better than average... in Buffalo?

Interesting side note just appeared on TSN's trade trackre. Boston retained 25% of Backes' salary. So, not quite as strong of a cap refresh for Boston as originally thought.

I like the deal a lot from Boston's perspective. The cap savings are big; the Kase contract is tiny. If he's a piece for the future, great. If not, it's easy to move or flip next year. On the ANH side, it means their timeline to compete is greater than 2 years. So target the Ducks!

Therein lies the difference. They're in win-now mode; we're rebuilding and we won't toss a 1st for a 3rd line winger/with 2W potential. Boston's top-of-the-standings 1st is their equivalent of 2nd-for-a-rental. Plus, they get cap space for next season to make one more run before a) Chara retires and b) the expansion and c) CBA redo. They're going for it and then will rebuild on the fly in the new world of 21-22 (and probably stay pretty darn good).

Exactly. If somehow we could have swung Bogo, our 2nd, and a sweetener for it -- great. But ANH wants picks. The key is at the end of next year: is Kase re-signed to 4.5M? or 7M? Or is he left as UFA? Or is he extended this year and then left unprotected to SEA? Boston gave up a 1st for cap relief and some potential. The injuries are the concerning thing.

He misses a lot of games. For Boston it's a good move to clear salary a year early and to get a person for the playoffs. Long-term I'm not sure it's anything spectacular from Boston's side unless Kase is a playoff beast or gets/stays healthy.

The Backes contract was bad, but not super long term.

We can expose Dahlin in the draft, then trade picks to Seattle not to take him.

This is my memory as well. Draisaitl was viewed as the next tier down -- 4-6 range. Edit: Provided this is undoctored --- Draisaitl didn't get too much love by the draft pundits: http://www.mynhldraft.com/2014-nhl-draft-prospect-rankings/ As to overall theme of the cap management -- we'll see soon enough. We're up against the cap this season but no longer in hell. Okposo's is the sole remaining overpayment for position on the books. (My definition being: Skinner is having a bad year and playing 2LW, but was paid as a 1LW). Okposo was paid as a 1-2W, but is a 4W and his production is as such.) The fully armed and operational JBot roster starts this summer after he gets to rebuild via UFA with plenty of cash. How much does Reino get? Olofsson? The 2C we've been needing for 2 years? And -- less importantly, but critical to the cap, who fills the side roles currently held by Sobotka and Vesey? Is Angry Larry gone? And are we right back into cap mismanagement when Dahlin comes due next offseason? Sadly, only time will tell whether we look back at this offseason as the reason we're contenders or the reason JBot is gone and the whole thing needs to be reset with the next GM's vision of a roster.

Additionally, at the AHL/organizational level, too. JBot has rebuilt the D pipeline. That is something good he's accomplished. Will they all work out? No, but there are options that can be played or moved for years out. Edit: Although, with the exception of Dahlin -- it could come down to personal preference of playing style. GMTM wanted heavy (and slow); JBot wants puck-moving and some wheels.

Except we play really well on Saturday mornings and Pitt could be caught looking ahead to their Sunday showdown with the Caps (backup goalie for us, etc.). We win and we're in! Wait... we win and JBot sees progress rather than necessary adjustments.