French Collection

Hutton in the butterfly leaves tons of space up high.

Nice D play by Dahlin in front of the net.

Blow Leafs blow!

Next one would be au natural.

Monty times two!

Mojo, go get your tires re torqued.

I am thinking from a Sabres point of view, I don’t want him at the price he will probably command.

Leafs losing 2-0 to the Pens.

I think he can be a 2C but I am wary of a career year as a UFA. He’ll ask for way more than he is worth.

Quiet sounding rink, I guess it’s what you get with two bottom feeding teams. Monty!

Let’s stop making Pageau look like a superstar. He’s not that good. Play like you want to make a run boys!

Same as always, show me 100% effort for the entire game. Also, must win. Let’s go Buffalo.

I haven’t looked at their cap implications but I thought they were tight up against the limit. You would think taking on Coleman would be a financial burden. I guess all of the teams are calculating the injury totals and using that for some wiggle room. Leafs broadcast was talking about all of their cap space, I thought they were maxed out. If this is the case, the Sabres should have lots of space with their injuries.

Yeah, I like his game and where he is heading. I think his offensive numbers will put him in the Norris conversation in a couple of years. I haven’t bought a jersey in years but it will be 26 on the next one. I love what Eichel is doing but I have a soft spot for Dmen.

I watched the whole game without posting, I wanted the full Sportsnet experience. Just kidding. I hate Greg Millen, the Leafblower. The Sabres shut him up and all he talked about in the last 10 minutes was about potential Leaf trades and all of their cap space. Buffalo kicked butt, they responded to that brief pushback perfectly, thank you Jack. I will have a lovely day tomorrow, when I cannot take a step without tripping over a Leafs fan. They are already pointing to them being in third place but they are nervous. Even if no one passes them they do not look like a team that can win playoff hockey. I also chirp them with enjoying Matthews while you can because they will have to trade him in 3-4 years or he will Tavares them. Drives them nuts, why someone doesn’t want to be a Leaf.

That is the Kotalik move. The Sabres could use those skills occasionally, once he has earned a permanent call-up.

Still in this mathematically, a win against these guys is important. Let’s go Buffalo! Dahlin with 2 points, 4-3 Sabres.

Can he not terminate his current deal and become an UFA?

On the one hand it is sad they could not get anything for him, that cap hit is way too much for what he brings and most teams are near the upper limit. On the other hand if he clears waivers and signs a cheap deal elsewhere to bet on himself the Sabres gain cap space that can be another angle at the deadline.

That’s how it was in the 50’s and 60’s. You signed a card at a young age and belonged to that organization for life. They would assign you to one of their junior teams.

Hasn’t been discussed but Leafs lost. If they miss the playoffs, I’m gonna attempt a cartwheel. Their fans would lose their minds. Now let’s go on a run and put some heat on them!

Yeah, I know what you mean. This team needs to win a lot more games for someone to come in and say that.

They showed a lot of passion in a 4-1 loss?

Each feeder league has its own deal with the NHL. These things get renegotiated every so often. Does the CHL get favourable treatment? Maybe, but keep in mind it has fed the most players to the NHL over the years. Many of those players have become coaches, executives, league employees and even an owner (Mario). Of course they will have some pull. The NHL has most of the leverage and could turn the CHL into a league of 16 and 17 year olds if it wanted to. I don’t believe big changes will happen but they could introduce an exceptional player clause to move elite 19 year olds to the AHL. The player and the parent club can benefit from this in some cases. As I said in a previous post, a guy needs to have nothing left to gain from the CHL in order to move up. The CHL would squawk but they would not push back too hard as they know they are a feeder league, and it’s not just the players who want to make the NHL. Managers and coaches may have ambition as well.

I find that most of the junior players are skinny and not physically ready for the man’s game AKA professional hockey. Most of them would be better served to remain amongst their peers at 18-20 years old. If a guy dominates the junior league at 19 his confidence is high and he should have added some muscle that will aid in moving up a level. As a CHL STH I would love to see the best U20 players but this will never happen. It is still neat to have seen many NHL stars playing in small city rinks as teenagers. I think the AHL should be a developmental league for men and not loaded with teenagers. Elite talent that has nothing to prove at a lower level should be an option. This has nothing to do with the CHL but I watch Jack Hughes play and think he would have been better served to play in the NCAA this year. Loads of talent but he is puny and pushed off of the puck by a strong gust of wind. 1st overall picks usually play right away but this kid could have dominated the NCAA, WJHC and put up some solid numbers next season. A lot of kids can benefit from one more year of “amateur” hockey.