mjd1001

I'm not saying to be excited for it, but I can't see complaining about it. Again, a 7th round pick isn't much, but you basically got it for free. For taking on a contract that will have no impact on you, someone gave you a lotter ticket...that is all I'm saying. Doing this does not have much of an impact on any moves they may or may not make in the next few months.

I worked at a vendor for a few major retailers. First guess...Home Depot. 2nd guess Walmart. But I'd have to go with Home Depot.

The games are good. The series is/was close. This is a very good matchup and I have it on the TV and am watching a lot of it. But, it just isn't holding my interest for some reason. I think I am further sliding into that 'Sabres fan' and not an 'NHL fan' thing.

If they are not going to spend to the cap (and it is hard to see them doing it) then why does this move upset anyone? You are helping out another team that you aren't competing with, that is in a different conference than you are, and you are giving nothing for a free 7th round pick. Is a 7th round pick worth much? Nope, but if it is basically free, why would you NOT want to do this?

Looks like they are about to re-sign Reilly Smith. I'm guessing he won't come that cheap. Looks like they can keep most of the old team together, but even with a 'healed' Eichel, is that enough?

The great thing about Okposo is you do NOT have to give him the 'C' for him to be effective at leading this current team. -Give him the C and I think you have a good captain for a year. -Give him the C and tell him if he resigns a new deal next year he may or may not have the C and I think he'll be fine. -Give the C to someone else and give him a "A" and I think he'll be fine. -Give the letters to younger guys and ask him to keep being a leader without a letter and I think he'll be fine. With Okposo, I think, is that you can make decisions on who is or isn't ready to be leaders in the rest of the room and then based on that ask him to take the role you want, and he'll be good no matter what.

I posted a few pages ago to this thread but after thinking more about it, I have slightly changed my mind... Looking at his stats and trends with his age, and after putting more thought to the handful of BH games I have watched him in over the last few years...I really don't want him at all. As a free agent giving up zero assets on a mid-level, short term deal MAYBE. But to be honest, I don't see him being a 30+ goal scorer for the next couple of years anymore (at least not with this sabres team). I don't want him taking up ANY spot that could be used for one of the younger guys. I don't want ANYONE over 30 taking up ANY spot up front unless they are on a short-term, low dollar deal, comes free (no draft pick or prospect assets given up) and are great in the locker room and a stellar 2-way player that can kill penalties. That is not Kane. So if they take a run at him, fine, but not at the expense of any assets at all for me.

People talking about politics when not asked about it, in forums/places not about it. We all have our point of view, and sure, we all want others to feel the same way that we do, I get it. My complaint is hearing about others political point of view when I didn't ask to hear it. Being TOLD someone else's point of view when I want to avoid it. I don't care if you think one side is 100% correct or the other side. I don't care if your view is the same as mine or not. When I WANT to hear about politics, I will go to places where that is featured or ask an opinion. This has been getting worse over the last 4 or 5 years and it doesn't seem to be slowing down. The person who just CAN'T RESIST responding to a twitter post that has NOTHING to do with politics with something political....the person who just can't stop putting that slight subtle jab relating to politics in a forum about sports (like this one), the person in the supermarket how insists on talking about his/her political opinion loud enough so anyone within 50 feet can hear them (and they want it that way). That is my complaint for today/this week/this year.

I'm not sure if I want him for 'free' (assets) next year, it depends on the length of the contract he would want next year. With that in mind, ZERO interest in giving up anything of real value for him this year. A later draft pick, MAYBE (and then I'd need convincing he is worth it/fits in with the team), but I honestly have zero desire for this team to get anyone over the age of 30. For me, a lot of the fun of this team is seeing it develop from a bunch of young guys to see them mature.

I never thought of posting this, but I can't agree more. When I am walking anywhere, if someone is walking toward me (honestly usually 2 females) who are walking side by side, they just WON'T move when you walk by them. I usually get over to the right side of my sidewalk, and when I walk with my wife we get to the right and one of us goes in front of the other, but usually when 2 women are walking at me, they usually refuse to stop walking side-by-side. To the point that when you pass them, you usually bump shoulders or arms.

I'm not too worried about Krejci coming back. I think its less than 50-50 he does. And if he does, I don't think hes really a threating player anymore. His last 5 years in a row with the Bruins his goal scoring went down (goals per game), he has a LOT of miles on him, and if he does play with the Bruins he will be 2 years older than his last season starting with the team at what, 36 or 37 years old? He was good (not great, but good) 2-way forward in his peak years when he was 29-32 years old, I'm not worried about him at 36 or 37. BUT, he may be better playing 3rd line minutes than anything else they will have in the system, I just don't think he moves the needle to them doing anything else other than competing for one of the last playoff spots in the east.

I've thought more about this, I think it comes down to the lack of scoring why I have trouble with soccer. I honestly like an indoor lacrosse game more than an NHL game....more scoring. I used to find college football better than the NFL until the last few years, when scoring went up in the NFL. I can't sit through a 2-0 pitchers battle in baseball, and while I don't want a 15-12 game, give me something in the 5-7 runs per team and I'm happy. Over the last decade or so, I have given sports outside of the 'big 4' usa sports a try and I have liked some. F1 racing for example (1.5-2 hours max usually, no commercials) But soccer I have given a few tries, and every time I watch a game I just can't get into it. Sure, I'm sure there is a lot of talent and strategy that happens 'off camera', but every single time I have watched a game it is a task to keep my attention and get to the end of it. The diving and fake injuries don't help. The lack of scoring does the game in for me, but the fake injuries where a guy writhes in pain on the field and is carried off on a stretcher, only to return to the game a few minutes later....If I see that in a game I try to watch (once every couple years) that gets me to give up on it right there and not even ride it out until the end. I have some very faint memories of the Buffalo Stallions as a little kid and I did see a few Blizzard games. I enjoyed the indoor soccer games much, much more. Again, that just re-affirms that I like the greater scoring and less drawn-out game of the indoor soccer vs the outdoor traditional game.

I expect a small to moderate drop-off from Boston based on this. I don't have much of a connection to the Bruins anymore after not living in Boston for over a decade, but I did talk to a couple of co-workers form our Boston office who are huge Bruin fans a little while ago (while waiting for a Conf Call) and what they said is what I expected. The Bruins have started a small turnover of the older guys on their roster, while keeping some of them, and the organization wants to thread-the-needle of doing a soft rebuild/retool while still remaining competitive and playoff bound while it occurs. Kreiji and Bergeron are done, Foligno (while not a major part) might be, and Marchand is still a great player under contract but he won't be carrying this team for years. They want McAvoy and Pastrnak to be this teams without-question leaders, and want to bring along Lohrei, Lysell, Studnicka, and Zboril. Cassidy was viewed as the best coach for the team the last few years, maybe the coach which would give them the MOST points next year, but not a guy who could bring along and nurture a new young leadership group and bring young guys into the lineup as well as who they are likely to pick. Personally, I think this is a mistake. I would have kept Cassidy around for one more year and went 100% toward a cup run next year. Are/were they good enough to do that in 2022? probably not, but the future isn't looking bright for that franchise. The farm system/prospects are bare. In the past 5 drafts, they have a total of 3 guys picked in the top 50 picks of their draft (Lysell, Beecher, and Vaakanainen.) Of those 3, Beecher has had injuries and is just out of college, and hasn't impressed in any of his training camps. Lysell is a 19 year old who was still in Juniors, and Vaakanainen is gone. Studnicka last year was hoped to be a find in the 2nd round, but he has been a pretty big disapointment for them in the last 12 months, not developing much as a prospect. The Bruins should be pushing to be good for one more year with Cassidy, if that fails you go into full blow rebuild mode, needing to rebuild a lot of your young core (rebuild mode, not quite 'tank' mode though.)

At this moment, the Sabres rebuild looks good, but it is hard to compare it to the Rangers. The Sabres rebuild is more focused on the top talent at the Blue Line, the Rangers top talent is up front and in goal. Also, the Rangers are at the midway point of their rebuild 'race', where the Sabres current/newest attempt at a rebuild is much closer to the starting line.

I think most people are comfortable with Hinostroza simply because as a bottom 6 guys he has produced. 13 goals last year for the Sabres in 62 games (16 goal pace). 17 goals in his last 79 games over 2 years. A few years ago with Arizona another 16 goal season in less than a full year. 3rd on the Sabres last year in even strength goals per 60 (only behind Thompson and Skinner). The Sabres haven't exactly had a wealth of players in the past decade that you think you could count on to get in double digits in goals on your bottom 2 lines. Vinny fits that description.

The Flames didn't win, but I think it comes down to 2 (maybe 3) players. Markstrong, Hanifan, and McDavid. McDavid did what he always does. When you beat Edmonton in a series you don't have to STOP McDavid (which is very hard to do), but you have to limit him in key areas/times (which is hard to do BUT possible). The Flames did not do the 2nd one well. Markstrom didn't look great in the Edmonton series, He needs to be better in big moments. The one player I thought was Awful when I was watching was Noah Hannifan. He single handedly was out of position or made bad plays that caused goals against Calgary. Not just the Edmonton series but the whole playoffs. I don't know how injured he was playing (if at all) but from what I saw if he would have played better that might have changed the outlook of the entire series for Calgary. Plus I know he is a D-man, but 3 assists in 12 playoff games for someone who is your $5 millon per year D-man on your first pair is not going to cut it.

They probably would, but the question is how much? They will get their shot in training camp next year with the Sabres. If they are good enough there should be no doubt they will show it and will make the Sabres. If they flame out in camp though, that will be their own fault or a sign they are not ready. After this year in Roch, I expect them on the Sabres, but their performance in camp will decide that.

Or even worse....you start backing out of a spot...when you are already part-way out that other person just turns the corner to come down your lane. Even though you were part of the way out already before they even got to your lane, they refuse to stop and if you DARE finish backing out...they hit the horn, give you the finger, etc. They are so important that how DARE you do anything to slow them down or prevent them from doing exactly what you want. A few years ago I was in a parking just outside of Syracuse. I was driving down one lane and came to a stop at the end of my row. A car with 3 middle age women was turning left from the lane they were in to go into the lane I was in. They cut the corner REALLY short as I got to the end of the lane, almost hitting me head on. Not only did the woman driving hit her horn and yelled at me, but after she backed up and drove by me on the other side, she continued to yell at me and the 35-40 year old woman with her in the back seat gave me the finger. I don't get people. Especially in cars or in parking lots...most people, even when they make a mistake, their first reaction is to yell, scream, confront the other person rather than admit they did something wrong.

I just find Monaco so boring, I wish they would do something. F1 is not without gimicks anymore (Tighter rules than in the past, DRS, etc), so why not do something to try to make Monaco better? Require teams to run at least 10 laps on a super hard time...DRS open all the time for cars behind another one. Someone has to have some unique idea. Here is just how bad Monaco can be....The last time there was a single pass on track for the lead (not while in the pits) was 26 years ago, and that was when the leader was stuck out on Wet tires when the track had dried out after rain and the 2nd place car had on drys. 26 years, and that was the only time. Last years race had 1 pass on track..for the entire race among all the competitors. 78 laps. 22 cars. 1 single pass on track and it was on the very first lap. I guess if the race is awful and they keep it because some people like the setting and the party atmosphere, fine, those of us who like racing have the other 20+ events to watch the rest of the year. But can you imagine an Indy race or a Nascar race with only 1 pass on track for the entire race? the Fans would go crazy and demand changes the next day.

Anyone here big Fans of Formula 1? The Monaco Grand Prix is this weekend, which is the headline event of the entire F1 season. The "Indy 500" or "Daytona" of F1. Yet, the race seems to be incredibly boring. There have only been a handfull of passes on the track in the last decade or so. Its pretty much you are where you are after the first lap...don't mess up your pit stop, and finish the race. It seems like 50% of the fans I talk to say the race should be replaced with a different track someplace else because the on-track action at Monaco might be the worse in all top-tier professional racing around the world. Others say it is such a traditional even with heritage in the sport it can't be touched no matter what? I'm not sure if anyone even reads this thread anymore, but if so I was wondering what some of us around here think.

Stores that have self-service checkouts but no 'express' ones for people with 8 or 10 items or less. This hasn't been a problem for me much in the past, but it is becoming in issue it seems just in the past year or so. This is for all stores but the most recent example was when I drove by a Walmart and stopped in to get a handful of items. They had self service checkouts on both ends of the store. I'd guess 6 or so on each end, so maybe 12 self checkouts (or more) open. I got my few things and the line not only was long for the checkouts, but it moved incredibly slowly. The other day every single checkout had a customer with a nearly full shopping cart of products, and then some were scanning items at a snails pace. How about maybe just 2 self checkouts reserved for people with not many items? It doesn't happen often but when it does it is really annoying.

I usually park in the middle of the lot or the back of the lot and walk. My wife also complains, she doesn't mind the walk but says I waste too much time by not parking toward the front. On the occasion she drives and I'm the passenger and we go to a store, she looks for the spot closer to the front and we end up driving up and down aisle after aisle taking 2 to 3 times as much time (or more) as it would have been had we just parked in that first spot we saw near the back and walked in.

In this case its McDavid First...and after him a mix of players that can go anwhere from 2 to about 7.... Eichel, Rantenen, Marner, Aho, Connor, even Werenski. I think the rest depends on what your team needs and how their personality meshes with your team. Eichel still might be the best pick for someone else at #2, while for the Sabres one of the other guys might have worked.

All of that is true in my opinion. If management thinks a player is part of their 'core' going forward, look for someone with a 3+ year deal at 6% of the cap at the time of signing.

I don't think there is a team in the league that doesn't want a 'Tuch type' player. Sure, some teams will go out and try to build a roster with pure talent, but no one will turn away a guy because he has too good of an attitude. The thing is those guys are pretty rare, and its hard to get a team who has one to give them up. Which is why I think you hear Adams talking about things taking time, patience, etc. He is probably thinking it is going to be a LOT easier to draft and develop guys like that in your system than to try to get plug-and-play guys form other teams. You can have a developmental system that nurtures those characteristics at every stage, and you will have years to see if the guys you drafted are like that. The downside is it takes that much more time to get them to your roster.