woods-racer

The West Coast teams as of the last 10 years where back to size and physicality after the lockout years that saw speed and skill. Ebb and flow. It has more to do with how the game is called, than what the fans want. You tell me how the refs/league are going to call games in 10 years I bet we can all predict the hockey being played.

If we don't sign him we lose a big piece of the puzzle that will be hard to replace, and I agree.

You need to go fishing then.

I know where I get told to go all the time. The good news is, I hate the cold and it's yet to freeze over there.

I don't think there was ever a time it was a *gentlemen's game*. Which is the point I believe you are trying to make (?). The game just seems to ebb and flow in and out of fast and skilled to large and forceful and back again. I've yet to see or read an interview with a hockey player from any era that has said they had it so much easier than the current generation playing at the time the interview was given.

That's my take. The day after the trade dead line the Sabres can offer JS an 8 year deal. No one else can even if they trade him. So it's assumed by me that there is a hand shake deal between the parties right know that includes price and term. If I have assumed wrong and they have talked and JBot is pretty sure he won't sign JS, then he has a very good chance to go as a rental before the dead line.

I believe this to be true. BUT. I believe that era has come to an end and we are starting to see (Rochester) the fruits of better drafting. The likes of which we haven't seen since the early years of Darcy.

Losing. And mostly because they are young and have fun lives? Not that old people don't have fun... you know what I mean.

Jeff goes to the scrum areas and in front of the net, where ever it takes to get a shot. He may skate well doing it, but I'd take a team full of his type of ballerinas!

We can even have a thread on goon vs. fighter. There are those that when asked will drop the gloves that are good hockey players. E Kane comes to mind. Would I consider him a goon? Heck no.

Imagine John Scott with Dion Phaneuf doing that or Rob Ray with Ty Domi.

I'm with you on this one. The rational me processes what Dudacek and Liger post and know it to be true The emotional fan me wanted him to be Super Sabre and hoist this team on his back and be the generational talent from the first game of the season. I wouldn't even give this a thought right now if they where in a playoff spot at this point in the season. But, I (we?) need a scape goat I guess to ease the loss of another season.

I don't want *Slap Shot*. But grit and nastiness are part of the game. It's totally out side the realm of a goon game. Lumping them in a tweet is a strawman starter conversation.

Who wants to watch hockey ballet?

He has it back now after he got traded, would he have kept it had he stayed in Buffalo? My assumption to this.... JBott had a heart to heart with ROR and they both felt a change of scenery would be best.

Let's trade away one of the few team mates with any grit in their game because we a filled to the brim with a team of gritty players. ?

Not going to happen. It was DeAngelo's job to uphold a player code of enforcing player safety when a teammate is taken advantage of. He did his job and will be respected in the locker room for it. If the Sabres and Kyle don't like it, don't cheap shot with a glass player. There is absolutely ZFG by the Rangers, or any other team if the Sabres put them in this situation.

The moral of the story to me. If Kyle is that fragile he couldn't handle his own he needed to retire before the incident. The responsibility to keep a fragile player from a career ending injury is not up to team mates or the opposing team.

You're assuming ROR would have stayed and played well. I'm not. He lost his love for the game. He could be with Bergland right now.

I believe in personal responsibility in this particular instant. He could have skated away. Never dropped his gloves and talked smack (this seems very popular now a days). It was all him, one stupid move after another. If the roles where reversed and Girgensons or Larry stepped in to the fight after Kyle was pushed into the boards would you believe the rest of the Rangers needed to *get* either of them? It's professional sports. If you are made of glass get out, there are no nice guys that get paid to make sure you have an easy go of it and keep getting contracts. It's quite the opposite, use your opponents weakness to your advance to help insure wins.

To the front, same as hitting your skull. I agree. But to the side and with your head turning to lessen the blow? I'd take that punch over one to the forehead any day.

Okposo started the shenanigans. He threw a questionable hit from behind. He chose to drop his gloves and be a tough guy when a NY player offered. He caught a lucky bomb to the jaw. No John Scotts involved. It was just hockey. I don't think the team needed to do anything different.

JBot inherited that fiasco. How he choose to solve it we can grade him on if we know what other offers he had. Tell me his other offers so we I can grade it fairly.

That was a hit to the side of his jaw, if he has bad concussion results because of that he needs to get a call from Pat LaFontaine and listen well.

Have you been fishing again?