mjd1001

I have never been to the harborcenter for any kind of game even practice. I'm considering buying a ticket to one of the non-sabres games (hopefully can sit right up front) just to see what the experience is like.

Not quite sure why, but I'm just not into music anymore. As a kid/teenage, I was just as much as anyone else. Didn't drive a single mile in a car without something playing, anytime hanging out where I could I played something. Now, I just don't do it anymore. Background music is OK, but half the time in a vehicle I have nothing on at all, and I don't care for basically anything new (other than background music sometime) and the old stuff I used to like I'm not into either. I know, different than most people here, but thats the way it has become for me.

I have defended the Tage deal saying you need to look at the percentage of the cap hit at the mid-way point of the contract, so I guess that applies here to but I think this is an over-pay. Is he good? Yes. Very good, Yes. But I don't think he is an 8-10% of your cap guy. He has some highlights were he looks skilled beyond belief, but his production, while very good last year, isn't off the charts. I think his playoff performance is what got him this deal . I don't think it will be an awful deal, I just don't think he is a consistent 30-40 goal per season year after year, top line guy.

I agree with just about everything you said. No one really outside Buffalo has any reason to think they will be better and say so. Eventually, one of these years, they will. But there is no huge reason for anyone to make that prediction now. Personally I think this team will be better this coming season, but I have no expectations that most people outside of WNY will think so/predict so, and I hold nothing against them for that.

I have no inside knowledge at all, and we all hate to 'guess' but based on the info available I agree. It appears it might be something like a clot or a stroke, and maybe the reason there are few statements about her condition are her 'road back' might include some speech issues (which happen in a lot of those cases.)

I agree on the first part, never really understood the attention the royal family gets and what they stand for. Technically I DO 'understand' it, but I guess I don't agree with it. With that said, there are a lot of people that this means a lot to, so this is an important/sad day to so many.

Never said it cant wait...as a matter of fact in my post I said I understand the need for a new stadium first. The only point I was making is that newer amenities mean more to me in an arena than a stadium.

I guess the reason I think the amenities/Arena is more important for a hockey game/NBA game rather than an NFL game or baseball game might have to do with the fact many Football games are outside, NHL games are inside. If I'm at an event outdoors, I'm simply less concerned with the things around me other than the game. The 'building' means more for an indoor event.

Yankees roster is just so not balanced. I don't follow the team as much as I used to, but I have this impression that they sign a lot of 'older' guys coming off of career years that are unlikely to reproduce them, and don't use all their assets to really, REALLY fill out and develop a full 9 person lineup. A lot of 'quick fixes' and hoping guys aren't going to fall off of a cliff after just 1-2 good years. Judge isn't resigned obviously, and if he is signed to a long term deal, he is a big guy that isn't young anymore. That team may have a lot of tough rebuilding to do over the next 4-6 years if they want to be a WS contender year after year. I don't see it.

Agreed. That 'one' guy who is the designated fighter is rarely needed, and when he is on the ice he's usually not a good player. I am not a fan of fighting much anymore, at least as much as I used to be. But if you really, REALLY think you need that in your lineup, you better draft/develop a guy that has that as PART of his game that includes enough talent to be an everyday player.

The Sabres ARE getting a discount because he has only shown it for one year. If Tage was a 35-40 goal scorer for 2-3 years in a row and in his mid 20's, you would be seeing him get paid a lot more than he is now. Its about balancing risk. I know there is a chance he regresses, but what if he goes the other way? What if he has a similar year BUT puts in 1-2 more goals per month? If that were to happen and he gets to the 45-50 year range this year, this deal would be thought of as one of the best decisions of any team in the offseason. Likely? Maybe not, but its a possibility.

To me the Arena being renovated/replaced is more important than a football stadium. I know, there are issues with the Stadium in Orchard Park not lasting much longer. However, when I go to an outdoor event/football game, the 'bells and whistles' of the stadium aren't that big of a deal to me. For some reason, an indoor game (hockey or NBA), I notice how much nicer/better the new places are than the older ones.

IMO, the best way to judge a contract is what percentage of the cap will that player be taking up at the mid-point of the deal. We don't know what the cap will be going forward, but a few estimates are out there, and it looks like (based on those estimates, some by Servalli), that the mid point of this deal he will be taking up 7.8%-8.2% of the cap. That not really all that much (Eichel is a different pedigree of course but he is taking up a bit over 12% of the cap at the mid-point of his deal). If he is a consistent 25 goal scorer, not going under 20 for any season, it is worth it. Anything more than that and it is a bargain for the Sabres. Its only a bad deal if he regresses and becomes a 15-20 goal per year max guy.

Not sure if this is posted yet, but a negative point of view from the Maple leafs on this signing. Sabres Continue to Make Toronto Maple Leafs Look Smart https://editorinleaf.com/2022/09/01/sabres-continue-toronto-maple-leafs/

Working for a company that is hiring people at a higher rate of pay than those who have been in the same job with them for 5 or 6 years. Bringing it up to the supervisor and have the response be "there isn't any room in the budget for wage increases for existing employees". (But there IS room in the budget to hire people at a higher rate?) Taking that to Human resources and having a woman who seems to be no more than 25 years old as a 'senior human resources' manager talk to you over the phone, have a major attitude, interrupt you when you are talking, and basically tell you 'too bad', because it is up to the managers. For me, this is only a second job "part time", but none-the-less I'll be looking for something else. Not because it is a bad job or I can find a better job, I just don't want to work for a company anymore that has management and HR people who act like this.

By the midpoint of his contact, the NHL cap should be/probably will be about $90+ million per team. (Seravalli had an article about this a little while ago). If we assume that will be true, the 'midpoint' of his contract he would be making about 7.9%-8% of the cap. Unless he totally flames out and last year was a total mirage, that is actually a pretty good number for him. If he continues to perform as a consistent 30+ goal scorer, this will be a great deal for the Sabres. If he regresses in terms of production slightly and becomes a consistent 20-25 goal scorer, it will be an "ok" or "fair' contract going forward with regard to percentage of the cap. If he regresses so badly that he is consistently under 20 goals, that is where Adams job may be on the line for a deal like this (providing he makes a few other mistakes going forward also).

Close to 50% of people in the United States are likely to think the same thing of the USA.

When you do most of the shopping, and ask your wife if she needs anything from the supermarket, and she says no. So you go and you buy yourself some snacks for the weekend of the upcoming games. 2 days later you go to get your snacks and they are ALL gone. So you bring this up to her and remind her she ate all your snacks and ask her what snacks SHE wants because you are going to the store again. She says nothing...so you go out the following week and buy your snacks and a couple days later when you want them, they are ALL gone again.

I don't think they will. As others have said I can't rule it out though. To me making the playoffs this year does not make-or-break the season. I know others have said they are tired of the losing, they want the playoffs at all cost, anyone who doesn't has a 'losers' mentality, etc, etc. But to me I just want to see progress. Seeing a few more players 'break out' and take big steps with this team missing the playoffs by 5-10 points would be a more enjoyable season for me than to see the team 'squeak in' to the playoffs because of other teams around them dealing with injuries, and get swept out in the first round. Accepting what the plan by management is (which I am doing now), I'm going to try to enjoy a developmental year where this team is fun to watch when then win, and even in losses can be entertaining. Playoffs are expected from me in 2023-2024, and REQUIRED for the few seasons after.

I'm confident in them for now. Not a fan of the title of the thread. "Drinking the kool-aid" implies to me that anyone who is happy with Adams and the front office is blindly following or believing anything they do, and that isn't the case with many of us. That expression is used too much in ways its not originally intended to.

Id probably have done it, but I'm not upset he did it. 2 years left on his deal, should be no problem as far as the cap. Sabres won't be close to needing that room until his deal is done. But then the other side of it is, does he fit in with this team? and whos spot does he take away. I don't think he improves the team on the ice and maybe takes a spot away from someone else. Right now, he is a 10-15 goal, 35-40 point guy. I'm not quite sure how he has fallen from what he was, but I wouldn't count on him getting back to his old level.

I beg to differ, not with texas though. I lived about half my life in WNY, spending quite a few years in the Roch, and I lived 2 times in Florida (for a total of 6 years). My experience is that it is bad in both places, but much, MUCH worse in Florida. As I stated in a previous thread, just a few weeks ago when visiting my relatives in Florida a racism related incident happened in the grocery aisles in Walmart right next to me. Of course, it depends on what part of Florida you are talking about. Jacksonville is much Different than Miami. Daytona is much different than the Keys, Tampa is much different than Tallahassee. Rural areas are much different than the more 'integrated' cities...etc.

I'm not intentionally going against the spirit of this thread, but my answer is really 'nothing'. Sure, the Cup for the Sabres is the ultimate goal, but it is the journey that is the best part for me. Living in Boston in the late 1990's and early 2000's, I saw the angst Red Sox fans went through every year, saying they would do ANYTHING for the World Series, then when they finally won for the first time in nearly a Century, it was one week of partying, a month of jubilation, and then after that, not much else. Meaning acting the same way ANY fan base acts after they win a championship, whether it was the Royals, Rays, anyone. So I don't mean to say it doesn't mean much as a fan, sure I would love it, just not enough where I would 'give up' much else to guarantee it.

Yep, its still a lot bigger deal than most realize. This month I was in a Walmart in Florida when visiting relatives, and an African American woman and a white woman were going at it in an aisle (I think about the African American woman taking too long to look at something and blocking the Aisle), and within 5 seconds the racial slur came out. Kinda startling to me people would so easily go to that. I probably witness a couple examples each month, but sometimes I don't remember them because I don't really take notice of them because some of us are almost numb to it. I'm sure many of us have similar stories.

Lehner I think is under-rated as a goalie when he is on the ice. I think the bigger issues with him is he can be a pain for Coaches/GMs, and he seems to be prone to injuries. But when he is on the ice, I think he is a top 10 goalie. His loss will hurt Vegas. If they can recover his salary and replace him with someone making what he was, I doubt they will get someone short term as good as he was/is.