#freejame

Drove to Erie to see him in person tonight. I've gotta say, he really makes playing hockey look effortless. I'm not saying anything everyone here doesn't know already, but the way he cycles through the zone when he doesn't have the puck is mesmerizing. The other big thing that really stood out was how incredibly patient he was when he had the puck and aware of his surroundings. His forecheck was good all game, but his backcheck really seemed like the stronger of the two. It was a great game to see, especially considering how well Baptise did. Though he should have had another goal and McDavid should have had another assist, but what can you do?

I would really like to get Mike Green. Though he's not the strongest defensively anymore and he's on a decline, he's still a force to be reckoned with on the powerplay. With how awful our special teams are, I think he would be worth the six million he'll command. He'll also be a good tutor for our youngsters when it comes to being an offensive-defenseman. I agree with whoever said earlier that this year's RW options are pretty lame, and I don't think St. Louis is the answer for our problems. As far as Kaleta goes, I'd love him on the fourth line next year, but I really hope he isn't. The dude has had way too many injuries and is really risking some serious damage each time he gets out there. A goalie is obviously going to be a high concern as well and if Murray thinks he has the answer in the system, we may see a stopgap for a few years. If he doesn't think we have what we need, Niemi is obviously the best backstop available and considering his age (32 to start next season), he's probably going to be looking for something to retire off of. On a semi-unrelated note, I see a lot of posters putting Zemgus in 1C/2C slots and I don't really understand it. If you're putting him there as a placeholder, it makes some sense, but he seems like an ideal shutdown line kind of guy.

If you need any advice, I'm your man. I'm an expert when it comes to the long game.

Happened to Tampa Bay in '98/'99. That looks to be the only occurrence. http://www2.tsn.ca/draftcentre/feature/?id=18342

Not to ruin your dream, but considering this years draft, there would be no way that the conditions weren't "2015 first if Boston makes playoffs; 2016 if Boston misses." As you have it now, it seems like if Boston misses the playoffs this season, we would have their 2015 lottery pick. Maybe that's what makes it a dream though.

Is that not the usual, prescribed amount of time? Maybe I'm doing my dating life all wrong too...

Well, I was on the "Stop Winning For McKinnon" bandwagon during the lockout year, so as disheartening as the tank is, I'm pulling for it. As for Tank, he's always been a favorite of mine.

Thank you! I'm on here most of the day it seems and have been lurking since probably around '09 or so. The Vanek trade poll finally got me to sign up for an account and for whatever the reason, today I've decided to do a little posting. We'll see if it lasts!

LINE ONE: KANE/REINHART/STEWART LINE TWO: MOULSON/EICHEL/HODGSON LINE THREE: GIRGENSONS/O'REILLY/GIONTA LINE FOUR: DESLAURIES/FLYNN/FOLIGNO DEFENSE BOGOSIAN/ RISTOLAINEN GORGES/ GREEN ZADOROV/ PYSYK Here's my thoughts on it. In this situation, I thought something along the lines of trading Ennis, Grigorenko, and a 2nd to the Avalanche for ROR. As for Mike Green, right now he's definitely on a slight decline, but he's a RHD and can anchor our powerplay. He makes six million right now and I would guess would want something in that price range over 4-5 years, which we can afford. Lastly, a trade and sign with Stewart in the offseason. Aside from those two, the rest of the roster consists of current/hopeful Sabres. The top two lines, in my opinion, can go either way. I'd like to keep CoHo and see how he does playing more minutes with smarter linemates who play his style of game. He had some success last season on the MEH line, hopefully it'll carry over to an updated one. Having Stewart and Kane play with Reinhart should give him room to play his game and gives him two players who can finish. The third line is a true third that can match up with the oppositions number one. ROR is 52% in face-offs right now, which is 7% higher than Girgs, so he gets the middle. Because I think GMTM likes Foligno's game, I wouldn't be surprised to see him and Gionta switch lines as well. Obviously, all of this would depend on the firing of Ted Nolan, which is hopefully inevitable as soon as the season is over.

IKnowPhysics, how exactly does the point equivalency work? I've never quite understood it.