mjd1001

If all else is equal, I think the lefty-righty thing might be a tie-breaker, but sometimes I think fans put too much into it. It was either Adams or Granato, or both, that said that at least one time this year, that to them its 'nice' but certainly not the top thing they look for. Especially with Dahlin, he is all over the ice. Especially without the puck he roams all over that you can pair him with either a lefy or righty and I don't think it matters much. Maybe Power will get to be the same way eventually. To me, how good the player is overall and how they may/may not work with a paing partner is way, way more imporant than if you have an equal number of lefies and righties. Vegas has probably gotten the most consisent play out of their backend this playoff series, and 3 of their top 4 are lefties (Theodore, Martinez, and Mcnabb) and 4 of the 6 guys they carry game in and game out are lefties. Dallas was also a top defensive team and while they had 3 L and 3 R in their top 6, a lot of games they had 2 L paired together and 2 R paired together. Boston was the best Defensive team in the league, and when Grzelyck was in the lineup they went with 4 of 6 lefties also. So yes, if you can get that even mix that is great, but the exact player, the 'fit' might be more important.

Saw Rick Springfield a few years ago (think it was in Artpark in Lewiston) where Tommy Tutone opened. At one point Springfield was doing a mix of songs and threw in a line from '8679309' and then said in the song "everyone thinks that one is mine but it isn't, it's Tommy"

Draft needs to me really isn't about needs but strategy: -First round pick, best player available. Probably applies to 2nd round pick also. -If there is ANY goalie you think has ANY kind of potential, take one in the later rounds. Prospects of all positions wash out, but goalies drafted in the later rounds have a much better chance of becoming quality NHL players than other positions players do in the later rounds. -If you go heavy with Forwards in the early rounds, take some D in the late rounds. Heavy with D early, take some forwards. Keep it balanced. The NHL draft is always such a gamble, the above is all I really like to see each year. Management/scouting of the Sabres (or any team for that matter) knows hundreds and hundreds of times more than I do so you have to trust them, just stay within the above boundries and I'm happy.

No. I don't really have much of an opinion of Hellybuyck...I mean is he good yes. But as a player/fan, I don't have anything for him. Levi? I like him as a fan, I like his attitude, I like how the fanbase has already connected with him. So just as a 'fan', I'd rather have Levi.

No express lines at many local stores. Tops sometimes, Walmart its a big problem lately. Walmart has the do-it-yourself self scanning checkouts, maybe 6-8 per store and they can open up more. But I've been there more than once now where I hit a time of the day where the store is busy, and the line for those self-checkouts can have 5-6 people waiting. The problem? What if you (me, anyone else) has only 2 or 3 or 5 items? There is NO express line. So all of those people in front of you that have carts full of groceries and aren't all that good and using the self checkouts...you have to wait behind them to buy your couple items. Personally I never had a problem at Wegmans with this (yet). Tops on a rare occasion. Walmart it happens pretty frequently. If you are going to have all those self checkouts, can you make at least ONE an express line?

This it the key. Anytime really, but come playoff time, if you have a dominant D-man, he can control the game as much as, often times more than a great forward. If Dahlin gets any better, you have a guy what can retrieve the puck from his own zone and get it out without many turnovers all by himself if need be. Control the game from the back end. If you can get the puck, control it and get it out effecitvely from your own end and transition through the neutral zone it will be very hard for the opposing team to mount much offense. Picture both Dahlin and Power getting a bit better than they are now. Basically in the playoffs or any key game, ONE of them is on the ice at virtually all times even strength. Hard to play against that.

Could be a whole thread on its own: Hard to see Boston not falling. There is really no way with they getting older they can repeat this season? I don't see Detroit ascending THAT far. When I look at their roster and prospects, sure they can get better but I see a lower ceiling on that team than others. Florida it depends on where you think they are Ascending from. Presidents trophy last year, cup finals this year...hard not to overall put them at a very high level already. Montreal should be ascending for sure. Just they are a year or two behind Buf/Det/Ottawa. Toronto has to really be an incompete. It looks like the D-unit and goalie situation might/could be almost the same as this year, and the 'core' is mostly jut entering their prime. BUT, do they make any major moves and shoot themselves in the foot? And the rest of the forward..you need to fill out 2/3s of the entire forward group this offseason. I don't think they are falling yet unless they self-inflict a wound this offseason. Eastern Conference offseason this summer should be one of the more interesting in recent memory.

I don't know, Maybe? From this forum and some friends/relatives/coworkers that I talk to that is not the Vibe I get. I find many/most interaction I have where the possibility of Kane in Buffalo is brought up leads to at best an eye roll and at worst a 'no way in hell do I want to see him on this team.'

Zero interest in that trade for Hellebuyck. None. I wouldn't give up half that much.

It depends on where you live, where you are coming from..etc. I kinda like(d) indoor soccer where there is a lot of scoring. Other than that, the world cup, MLS, premier league, I have given many, many attempts over the years to watch and I just can't get into it. It does zero for me, I can think of at least 7 or 8 other sports I would watch many times over compared to soccer....HOWEVER.... I agree with you it is becoming more popular. On a recent trip to NY city, we spent time in Queens where my wife used to live and took cabs all over. Local cab companies, sometimes the drivers didn't even speak english. But the one thing that stood out to me, they listened on the radio to Soccer all the time. The NY MLS team I guess. But on a lot of the immigrant community, the non-english speaking citizens of this country...they love soccer. Same thing in Florida. In-laws live in FL (treasure coast area) and my father in law is always bored so he'll talk to anyone. Strangers. The guys that cut the lawn in the comminity. He told us (and then we saw it for oursevles) that he will walk outside and say hello to them and they say 'hi' back but aren't interested in talking. Bing up soccer though...the Brazilian or the Argentine national team...and those guys faces light up and they get excited and can talk for minutes at a time to you about it.

I also remember this: Boston Bruins’ Ullmark Can’t Resist Taking Dig At Buffalo The Boston Bruins just finished a five-game road trip last week that took them through Detroit, Chicago, Winnipeg, Minnesota and Buffalo, and Ullmark didn’t sound like he did any sightseeing tours at one of those wintry destinations after stopping 40 shots in a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden on Tuesday night. “It’s the same thing. We had a long road trip and we didn’t go through the best places on Earth,” said a smirking Ullmark to NESN during some postgame comments. https://bostonhockeynow.com/2023/03/21/boston-bruins-ullmark-cant-help-taking-dig-at-buffalo/ He just might not have enjoyed his time in Buffalo and was looking to go to a somewhat larger/what-he-considered-nicer city to play/live in. Whether you agree with him or not (some will say Chicago and certainly Minneapolis are nice cities), it doesn't matter our opinion, HIS opinion matters and it sure sounds like he likes the living conditions/lifestyle in Boston vs those other cities listed, of course including Buffalo where he spent a few years. Ullmark isn't a guy who only came to Buffalo with another team and saw the airport, the 33 and the Arena, he lived here, and if this area isn't his favorite, getting him back here and happy to be here is just not likely to happen.

Agree. 80 abdsolute max but 70-76 is ideal to me.

No, not really. Many of the people who are happy about this were not saying much about it a week ago. Many that were complaining a week ago are just now saying much now. Sure there is some overlap, but don't confuse individuals with their own agenda for 'group think' of the board.

Truly allows now for the draft to focus on the 'best player available' instead of reaching for a position to 'fill the pipeline.'

I lived in NH about 15 years ago, although only for 6 months. I never knew that. If that is the case, then that might be the best example of their motto "Live free or Die".

Agree about the playing time. Just throwing this out there ,maybe he was playing though a nagging injury and just wanted some time off? I'm not too concerned about thowing him in the lineup to play. I think just being there for practices, getting to know 'some of the guys' and the coaches is going to be the short term benefit. If, IF, Rochester advances AND they are hit with a couple injuries on the back end, that is where I see him playing.

I'm agreeing about Roku. Since the beginning of 'smart' tv's, we have had a few brands across our house. Sony. A couple Samsung TV's. An LG. Our currnet TCL Roku tv is the favorite brand now due to the app system. The pictures is good enough (I can't tell much of a difference between a $500 and $1000 tv), but Roku is my favorite smart system by far.

I agree on the Stanley cup being the most sought after 'trophy'. Its a 'lesser event' than a major, but in golf you have to consider the Ryder Cup. In auto racing, among fans the "Harley Earl" trophy is pretty well known as what is given to the Daytona Winner, and with the Indy 500 this weekend, the Borg-Warner Trophy has to be near the top. But again to the points above, as famous as those trophies are in their sports, you are known as the 'Dayona 500 winner', not the Harley Earl Trophy winner. So this still goes to the Stanley cup. The Ryder cup though? The tournament is named after the trophy.

If you have multiple credit cards, dig down deep into their websites for 'deals' on streaming services. I know our Amex card had some, and one of our other cards did also...they have stuff like "buy a full year of Peackock and get a credit on your statement for 50% back", and there was a deal for Paramount like that too, and one for HBO max late last year (it was for a statement credit each month for 3 straight months.) It shouldn't have to be that complicated, but oh well. If you subrscibe to many of them for a full year you can get a discount on some, and then a further discount on top of that with discount codes or credit card deals on top of that if you catch it at the right time.

Ok, I get that we want to talk about the prospects. That is what we do, that is what message boards are for. And a lot of our 'talking' is making predictions/projections. But to me, it'll come down to camp and preseason. If they are ready, the coaches will see that in practice and camp and games. If they aren't, they'll see that too. We will all know a lot more about them in a few months.

The way playoff games are officiated, specifically when people say "don't let the officials decide the games" If a penalty is comitted at a key time, in overtime, of a playoff game. so be it, call it. If something is a penalty in the 1st period, it should be in the 3rd period. If something was called earlier in the game and it ISN'T called later in the game, THAT is actually the refs 'deciding the game' because they are letting players get away with things against the rules. The best way to not 'let the refs' decide the game is for them to call penalties. When I see a penalty not called late in the game, the first thing that comes to my mind is THAT is when they are having an impact on the game by not doing the same job they did from the start.

It seems like a very narrow survey. I like this topic and keep bringing it up because it is a big one to me. KBC just isn't a good arena (especially when compared to other ones I have been to). A new Arena/EXTENSIVE rennovations are really needed. However, if the money isn't there for that, they have to focus on some 'easier' things. Getting everything broken fixed (restrooms/sinks/toilets, lighting issues, etc). Replace many of the seats, if not most of them. Make the Atrium more fan friendtly/active before games, and is there no way to slightly move the 'special events' metro station a couple dozen feet and cover it/ make an enclosed bridge so you get off of the train and walk directly into the building without going through snow/wind or rain? I know this topic is brought up quite a bit, but my bottom line is..while the bills may have 'needed' a new stadium due to the structure of it.....I think the "Arena experience" is less important to football/a NFL game than it is to an NHL/hockey game and I think the work at the Arena can add to a better experience.

I agree about Murray. But then again, he can then be the type of guy that if you NEED to call him up because of a large number of injuries, he won't hurt you TOO much for short periods. Girgs having no finish is something I partially, but don't entirely agree with. His shooting percentage, while not GOOD, is 10% over the past 5 seasons (Better than Okposo and Peterka, about the same as Mitts, and only 1 percent behind Cozens.) And he doesn't get PP time and has limited ice time, so as far as overall scoring, his goals per 60 minutes is 0.56 over that time. About the Same as Krebs and Mitts, and better than Okposo and Jost (his 4th line linemates). Statistically, he is right in the middle (average) scoring for where most 4th liners are, maybe SLIGHTLY above. Add to that he is avery good forechecker (He MIGHT be the 2nd best on the team behind Tuch, that 4th line pins the opponents in their zone a lot)....and he is a very good Penalty killer (Fancy stats over his career show statistically he is on the ice for less goals allowed per minute short handed than many other teamates, and the 'eye test' watching replays of goals against shows he is rarely out of position leading to a sh goal against.) Put all that together, and I'm not sure whey some people want him gone so badly, saying he produces 'nothing' or is worthless. That just isn't true. He isn't more than a 4th liner, but I would say he is a very good 4th liner.

The only issue I have with that is Murray seems to be a much slower skater than Girgs (which can matter on penalty killing forechecks) and he doesn't have the experience that Girgs does there either. On a 3rd line role Murray may be better, but on a 4th line/PK role that would be a step down.

I totally disagree. Well, not with all of it, his skating is subpar at the NHL level, but he's not washed up. He plays a responsible Defensive game for a forward and I think the 'fancy stats' someone posted back that up. Add that to 10-15 goals and you have a good 4th liner. Worth 2.5m good? This team has cap room this year no matter what so its not an issue. Is he on the downside of his career? for sure. Does he have serious limitations where you don't want him on your top 2 or 3 lines? Yep. Washed up? I don't think yet.