Winston

Pascal Dupuis, and he actually retired because of it. But it sounds like his situation began differently and the symptoms/locations were also different from Stamkos'. Just answering your question though, not trying to say anything about Stamkos' situation, as that would be some faulty inductive reasoning. I know very little about the nature of blood clots and their varying severity, so I'll just wish Stamkos the best in his recovery! A tweet I saw yesterday said to expect a full recovery, although it seems early to already announce that. Here's a Dupuis article: http://penguins.nhl.com/club/m_news.htm?id=791588

Stamkos out 1-3 months with blood clot in arm. Expected to make full recovery after surgery. Think he's played his last game as a Bolt? And will missing the playoffs impact his FA value at all?

Bruins was my first thought when I heard he was hitting FA. Then I read about the Toronto stuff that I shared upthread, but Boston still made the most sense to me.. He grew up like 20min north of Boston, then went to Harvard and obviously liked the school and area enough to stay 4 years. I'd imagine all of his family is still around there, his dad played a few games for the Bruins back in the day, and he grew up a Bruins fan.. It all adds up, unfortunately.

Toronto is ahead of us there.. Reportedly signed his dad as an amateur scout (with little to no scouting experience from what I've read a couple of places, though I cannot vouch for their reliability because these sources were fan-generated) and also drafted his brother in the 6th round last year. He'll be highly sought after this offseason, but I'd obviously love to see him come to Buffalo like others have already stated. Maybe he'd like to come and play with Jack, who he finished behind in the Hobey Baker award last year.

This is a good point.. It's not really possible to shoot both a "curve puck" and a "screw puck," to continue my baseball analogies. The right to left movement we appear to see in the Calgary shot would need to be induced by counter-clockwise spin. The low pressure would need to be on the left side of the puck. When you take a wrist shot (as a righty), you're putting clockwise spin on the puck. If anything, it would curve left to right.

Yeah, I agree a frisbee is a tough comparison because the air radically impacts them by design. That's why I brought up a baseball, despite the difference in shape. It's true that a ball does most of its movement in the last 20-30 feet. However, Jack's shot from the blue line against Calgary was just about 60 feet out. IF puck curving is possible, he was far enough out to do it. That's certainly not to say I'm convinced. The fanatic in me wants to believe that he's got super powers. However, the realist in me thinks it's unlikely that anyone can spin a puck enough to create that insane, side-to-side inducing RPM. As a pitcher, you've got a higher amount of control with your finger positioning, release point/technique, tight grip, etc. You're set up to induce high RPM. You just don't have that control when you're using a stick, regardless of the curve on your blade. On that note, does anyone know if Jack has a unique blade pattern? That seems like it would impact the amount of spin you put on a wrister. As a result, that could be pertinent to this conversation.

From a baseball background, the reason that pitchers are able to curve pitches from only 60 feet is because of the immense spin they create. When a curveball is thrown at 2500+ revolutions per minute, that spin creates high pressure on top of the ball, low pressure on the bottom, so the ball drops. Now that's a vertical drop, but pitchers are also able to produce lateral movement like we're talking about here when they throw sliders. Similar concept, except now the ball is spinning on an axis that is rotated in comparison to the curve. The high RPM creates pressure that goes against the air resistance on one side of the ball, with the air resistance on the other side. Again, high/low pressure helps the ball dive. Could a hockey player produce sufficient RPM with a wrister to curve a puck like a pitcher does with a ball? I honestly have no idea. It would be a fascinating thing for some sports science lab to investigate. That video from Calgary sure looks like the puck bends. I wish the camera was still the entire time, although it seems to stop panning before Jack releases. Maybe Jack has mastered the puck-curve, maybe it was tipped by that defender's stick, maybe it was just an optical illusion, or maybe Samson used the force to bend it in. We may never know.

Here's a GIF of Buff trying to lay an open ice hit on Zemgus. Z just stand him up! https://gfycat.com/EllipticalIndolentChinchilla

First world problems man, not being able to read tone on the internet haha.. Glad we're on the same page!

Just looking to share the video directly by embedding it, as well as highlight the exact timing of Bailey's slick handles since he's highly relevant around here. Especially for those on mobile, it's nice to just click play and see, and these highlights were worth seeing! Wasn't trying to ruffle any feathers, thanks for sharing that original link

Here are the highlights of the comeback: (Bailey's great carry-in and the resulting GWG starts at 2:34 mark)

Jonathan "What are you doin'?" Drouin is what I refer to him as.. NBCSN guys said that he's the third or fourth Crunch player to miss a meeting/practice this year due to oversleeping/alarm clock issues. It happens, but when you're already skating on thin ice like Drouin is, you've gotta be smarter than this. Isolated, this certainly is not a big issue in my eyes, but it sure as hell won't help his relationship with teammates or his trade value...

Would the 25%/18.5MM be AAV or the player's salary for the specific expansion year? AAV would make sense since we're talking 25% of the cap and AAV=cap hit. However, it wouldn't be the most accurate representation of what the expansion team would really be paying the exposed player, right? But it would still be the accurate representation of the cap hit they'll take on if those contracts transfer 1:1. Take Moulson for example: his 2017-18 salary will be $3MM, but his cap hit is $5MM. Hopefully he'd count $5MM towards our minimum exposure.

They let him wear 24 in development camp this year.. I really hope that's what he gets! http://sabres.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=774073 (Group 2, top line RW)

Agreed that a Vanek comparion is pushing the hype train a bit much, but Fasching was touted as a first rounder at one point in HS if I recall correctly. This article discusses a little bit about why he went in the 4th round. Basically, he really struggled in his first year at Minnesota and reportedly didn't fare well in pre-draft interviews because he wouldn't commit to a role. When he dropped, he set out to solidify his power forward game and his college career took off. http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/sabres-prospect-hudson-fasching-rapidly-developing-into-top-power-forward/ Don't want to sound like a stout defender of him, because I don't know enough about him and I'll let his play do the real speaking. Just something to keep in mind when talking about his previous draft status! Just going off some tweets, including: John Vogl of Buff News: "Sabres confirm Fasching will come to Buffalo on Tuesday and will not play in Carolina. He can debut Saturday at home against Winnipeg." Michael Russo, Minn beat writer: "Hudson Fasching will join the #sabres immediately, burns first year of the deal. He should debut soon" Haven't heard official Sabres confirmation.

Awesome news that he'll be up in Buffalo right away! I wonder what number he'll wear. He wore 24 with Minnesota. Will they give him that right off the bat, or will he get a generic 50-something a la Bailey? As far as projections go, I have only been able to watch a couple full games. However, from highlights and scouting reports, I would say his floor is a Marcus Foligno (who I see was just mentioned above as I write) type of player. Solid power forward that'll work the walls and be a threat in front of the net. Might not pan out as top 6, but a valuable NHL piece. His ceiling is definitely a top 6 RW though, one that'll play gritty on the boards and sit in front of the net as he flanks one of our young centermen. Best case scenario, he might be worthy of a second line RW spot, or maybe first line based on chemistry (if he really clicks with Eichel, say). I'm impressed with his hands for a big guy. He seems very skilled at tracking rebounds and putting them home.

I really like Fasching the player, and I really love what I've heard about Fasching the person.. This is great news, and I hope he gets some action at both levels before the seasons end. If he's in Buffalo in the near future, do we send a forward down like COR? Or maybe we make a goalie move.. Either Lehner is shut down and goes to IR, opening up a spot. Or Lehner is good and Kasdorf can go down or on IR if he's still got a groin issue.

I don't think Gaudreau could grow a beard to save his life, so you're safe there! I'm absolutely with you on that one, he's one of my favorites for many reasons. He's a unique blend of looking like a jubilant kid out there playing but actually dazzling like an elite talent. Also, he's American and went through college where he steadily progressed. I think that's pretty cool. My second favorite team is the Rangers (distant, distant, distant second before anyone jumps me...) so I like plenty of their players. Some of my favorites are JT Miller, McDonagh, Brassard, and of course Hank. I'm really looking forward to seeing both Johnny and JT on Team North America with Eichel this fall. I'm also with WC about Kane. He's mesmerizing on the ice and I try to catch as many games of his as I can. It's awesome that the first American to win the Art Ross will be from our hometown. Well, he hasn't won it yet, but he's up 12 on Benn who only has 9 games left. Barring injury and a great run by Benn without his running mate Seguin, I think it's safe to say Kane has it wrapped up.

7 more players are going to be named in June (I think June is what I heard, but don't hold me to it!). I have read in a couple places that Matthews has an "uphill battle" to claim one of those 7, but I would be pretty surprised/disappointed if he's left off. I want to see him, Jack, and McDavid on the same team. Some other names I think will be in contention: Gostisbehere, Nugent-Hopkins, Huberdeau, Galchenyuk, our very own Samson Reinhart, "The Other Sam" Bennet, Jenner, Domi, Dougie Hamilton, Trouba, maybe DuClair... Just some names off the top of my head and from what I remember some of the experts predicting.

Speaking of cake, PSA: Free cake tomorrow at all Wegmans locations, 11:00am. They're celebrating their 19th year on Fortune's Top 100 list (#4). What are the chances that a cake thread pops up the day before and I actually have a place to share this? :) I do not know what type of cake it will be, but smart money would probably be vanilla with buttercreme.

300s center ice are always where I shoot for. They're the best bang for your buck- good view without breaking the bank. I've sat in the back row a couple times and it's actually fun. You can stand all you want if that's your thing, and you can bang on the wall to make noise if you wish. The affordable version of banging on the glass! I was in the back row for Kane's fight hat trick, and I damn near broke through the wall :) You'll feel like you're really high up at first probably, but your eyes will adjust before puck drop. I would definitely stop in 716 for a beer. It's worth seeing the cool atmosphere (giant TV, ice rink bar counters, TVs in the bathroom mirrors). Personally I like Pearl Street better for the food and house brews, but if you're already getting food at Duffs then I'd go to 716 because it's right there. If you've got time to go upstairs in Harborcenter to check out the Academy of Hockey, that's cool too. You can get right to the elevator to get there from the second floor at 716. It's cool to see where the Sabres practice sometimes, and you might catch a practice or game of some sort going on. Also, if you're not inside the arena before it gets dark, check out the light show across the river. You can see it from pretty much anywhere outside FNC/Harborcenter, but you can get close to the canal and see better.

Agree, it's a silly rule. I haven't heard this officially reported regarding Bailey, but I heard it about a couple other teams' players in his same position. Assuming same applies to him since, as WildCard suggested, we should see even more Bailey with Ginner's spot opened up.

He has to be on the Amerks roster today to qualify for the AHL playoffs. Maybe just a formality for that?

Thanks for clarification! They are live streamed through YouTube, but I do not know the legality of their source. I'll play it safe and leave it be.

LTS, I PMed you with some streams. Everyone else: is it cool to post links to streams here? Some forums don't allow it, but if it's cool then there are a few good YouTube streams available.