DarthEbriate

That Sanderson goal. Still as pretty today.

That 98-99 team (emphasis on team, not roster) was a fantastic sum of its parts. Edit: I'm a few days behind because I have to watch these through NHL, so I'm wrapping the Boston series today. But these games were all pretty wild and fun. Very engaging.

Acrostic cheatery! Analytics are only Numbers if that's what you believe. Analytics are true Love if you wish them investigated. Your mileage may vary. Those numbers scream out "Improvement!" if only the team Could find some Secondary scoring. I thought of that one. But if I always took the easy path, I would become an agent of evil.

But just think if that chimp with a nail gun was also a skilled roofer! ?

Always two there are. A master and a denominator. And a numerator.

Excellent film. Bure and that 93-94 Canucks team first got me into hockey when I got cable. So he’s my guy and I wish he’d never caught that skate under the boards that shredded his knee. He could have been more than amazing. The best though... no. For that I have to go with Ovie on all around game and attitude. Fedorov is a close second because he was whatever Scotty needed him to be.

If the Sabres are added to a playoff field I'd laugh. I'd also root for them to win the Cup and if they did I'd gladly say "asterisk" any time. But the key would be that their names would be engraved and they'd have won it. The best team doesn't always win. The bounces (and injuries) need to go your way, and that one other team that matched up badly for you needed to get upset, and on and on. But! This team does not deserve to even be "considered" for the playoffs based on this season's performance. They have not earned that ticket. What would irk me most if they make the playoffs is that then the team's leadership and ownership could say "we made the playoffs in 2020" and "we snapped that drought!". And they do not deserve to be able to say that or to rest their laurels on that. They deserve credit for the playoff drought continuing yet another season. They deserve to watch other teams play for the Cup and to be pleased that they're probably going to draft 8th once again.

One of the positives of no current sports is watching these old games (twitter Buffalo Archives, NHL.com Sabres Classics if you can drill down far enough to find them). There are fewer graphics, less information on the screen... and it's glorious. I mean, the numbers on the 98-99 Sabres had to be gross. They could barely complete a pass, zone entries and breakout passes? pshaw. People are being mugged and tackled all over the place. But watching them is pure joy. Out of nowhere they have a perfect breakout, perfect tic-tac-toe, and everyone is in the right place. It's the beautiful chaos of hockey. What I'm also seeing (boo -- eye-test!) is that the '99 team would obliterate our current roster with 99 rules, and would still win if they had to adapt to modern rules. And... the 05-06 team would crush that '99 team. I also watched the 1991 World Series and it's beautiful, wild, baseball. And there's nothing on the screen, and the game moves with pace, and it takes thought and paying attention to watch the game. I wouldn't want to go back and do a GDT during that, I'd want to just live it solely for the sport. Is that nostalgia or how much culture and myself have changed?

A communications disruption can mean only one thing...

Yikes, these are some high-side estimates on the contracts. The statement is accurate, there won't be as much money left for that handy 2C (free agent or trade acquisition) because we've got to spend a bunch just to keep our RFAs. The odd/concerning thing is see so much of the roster on expired contracts at the same time.

I guess Pilut and Bryson get most of Rochester's PP point work going forward -- if Pilut can't make the jump to hyperspace Buffalo. Can Laaksonen hit the AHL this coming season and start bulking up on whatever that local cuisine is called? Trash compactor plate? Or does he need to stay in the Liiga another full year (20-21)?

Not being a local, I really hope they have this available on NHL.com or Sabres youtube. I'm itching for some 1999. Good days, spring of 1999. Never his mind on where he was... hm, what he was doing. Hm!

I still like acquiring Fasching and Deslauriers. But then reading the trade. It's like --- oh, Fasching and D-Lo. Cool, middle six and a 4th grinder. Who'd we give up? McNabb? Oh. Well, I guess they like some of the vets more. It seems early to move a young defenseman. But we've got McCabe and Ristolainen and Zadorov. We've got young D in the top rounds. We've got this. I like this trade! We got a steal. Suck it, LA! Oh? We gave up another player? Parker? Jonathan Parker? Of ECHL/AHL --- yeah, sure. Sweet. And we moved a contract we had no interest in. ZFGMTM BEST GM EVER! Oh -- there's more? We also sent a 2nd. Ok -- yeah, that balances it out. I guess we had to give a little more because McNabb was expendable from all those D picks. Hey, you know, maybe he won't pan out at all. Sure seems like a 2nd would get an established rental or a NHL starter though. Maybe we overpaid just a touch. What? Another pick? Another 2nd? What the hell? Bad GMTM! Two 2nds, a D ready to make the NHL jump, (and, no ZF Parker!), and we got a 4th-round pick prospect and a 3rd-round pick 4W agitator? What in the ... All this and I still liked Fasching. He drove to the net, he wasn't super fast but he skated hard and fast enough, he was good along the boards. I was hoping he'd pan out into that tough to play against 3/4 winger who maybe moves up to 2 for injuries but otherwise was really reliable and maybe would have one of those really good playoffs that someone totally overpays for the following offseason. But man... what a trade.

With apologies to our Canadian 'Spacers, I confirmed via map: Lethbridge is in Alberta.

Except of course every time you build it, some Rebels come along and blow it up.

Hehehe. Nahh, it's just that the BAP is always in the NCAA or US NTDP. Only a JBot deals in absolutes!

What's really going to blow your mind is that this also makes him the Player of the Year of the Central Division (not the East Division, mind you) of the Eastern Conference of the Western Hockey League. ?

They did save money by trading him before the bonus deadline. But that's what is so fishy about it. They took back a ton of salary. ROR's deal lasted another couple seasons and you could say they'd save 20-30 million over the duration (I'm not doing the exact math on that, but 7.5 bonus + 15 for two solo seasons + 2 Sobotka-less seasons). But they took back three contracts whose cap hit was greater than ROR's 7.5/year. A trade partner could have been found that focused more on picks, or on say... just Berglund or just Bozak and picks so it'd be obvious there was cash savings. And now, they're still up near the cap, so it wasn't about generally paying less for the roster. And when you consider moving Scandella's 4M only to bring in Frolik's 4M, or retaining Bogo as long as they did... and then trading to take on Kahun's additional bonuses for next year... the penny-pinching angle doesn't add up enough. Whoever decided it or ordered it panicked or grew disenchanted or <insert reasons> and moved the then-best player on the team for next-to-nothing then, and nothing at all on the roster now. The wealthier you are the more mistakes you can afford.

Continuing the rhyming scheme... Tin Din Din?

This board has kept me coming back, too. Because we all know the hockey product has been... less of a pull... than we'd wish. Oh my Threepio-to-Ewoks: Eichel's been in the league 5 years already! Silver linings -- you kept some cash? And Eichel occasionally produces a hearty cheer?

Was the Sabrepede over 5 years ago now? ?

Impressive. Most impressive. The Pegulas have kept the team in Buffalo and renovated the hockey setup and city to host tourneys and combines and overall it appears they've had good intentions. But being rich and having good intentions doesn't qualify you for every role. PLF, ROR, no hockey president, electing to tank, cycling GMs with vastly different approaches so they can't build off each other, every single new hire and new player and every hockey talking head saying they have to change the culture.... The culture is a downward spiral for 13 years. Wealth doesn't stop you from making mistakes in judgment or trusting people who aren't the best for a gig. And sometimes demand dries up and you run out of wells to dig. I hope the Sabres and Bills and the many people who work within the franchises and and live in the Buffalo community can get through this intact and improved so that the Pegulas can someday celebrate championships with them. That'd be nice. (And sure, ROI and personal lifestyle, too... hmmm... good they called those out.) But the first decade hasn't exactly built confidence in that potential. I have brought peace, freedom, Stanley Cups, and security to my new empire! (Your new empire?)

I think you're thinking the OYO brand figures which certainly look Legoish. And there are customizations for any Lego you want. But Lego proper had a licensing contract with the NHL back in the day and came up with this garbage in '03-'04. https://brickset.com/sets/10127-1/NHL-All-Teams-Set Big surprise, the NHL went into a lockout and Lego was saved by Star Wars sales. Though they did also have a second set that was an Eastern conference/Western conference All Star Game look with the NHL shield. It also didn't sell well.

Scandella/Joker was our best pairing defensively the first half of the season. The obvious move (once Jokiharju wasn't going to Rochester) was the same obvious move in the pre-season: move Risto or Montour. It's still the obvious move this offseason. And to top it off, you can always ship Scandella at the deadline for an extra 2nd of our own. That'd be nice. Every GM wins some, every GM loses some. But to take all the assets that had been gathered by the time Vanek had been traded... and just flounder for another 6 years... that takes concerted losses.

Like a support group for Lego Star Wars hockey? General, count me in. Although I do recall that Lego and the NHL once had a licensing agreement ala Lego and the NBA. But whereas the NBA got player minifigs and likenesses, the NHL got some team logo stickers. The video guy is just a guy who talks hockey with his cats, so your mileage may vary. But if he's quoting Forbes accurately, then the whiteboard has gate revenue as 35.6 or 36.6% of the total. The league needs much bigger TV contracts to stay afloat. Now, all this could totally be fudged by the teams to Forbes to show as woe-is-me, because only one team in the big four professional sports leagues discloses its finances (Green Bay).