erickompositör72

But that's exactly my point. I'm addressing those who think the trade is conclusive evidence that JBott is incompetent. As you pointed out, we simply do not know the situation, therefore the conclusion of incompetence is tenuous.

Ask people in any front office around the league about ROR’s life off the ice. Everyone knows. You can’t say “oh, we don’t know that for sure, but we know for sure JBott is a moron for trading him.” Can’t have your cake & eat it, too

I think Dahlin is most obvious, and I think Mittelstadt is most critical. I think we've seen ERod's ceiling.

Where exactly did you set up the clinic & orphanage?

I assumed (perhaps incorrectly), with the current advancements in things like rehab and training in general, that there is a way he can be working out (even upper body) without engaging his thumb. Does anybody know more about that?

Any chance we trade Jokiharju(+?) for a 2C? I’m so curious to see Risto under Krueger, and I’m not curious to see Risto turn into a serious force with a different sweater on...

I'm hoping the things that were "off" for him were primarily the treatment from Cal O'R and housley's preference for Tage. I.e., I hope we're moving away from being a clown organization

Not saying it’s likely, but what makes you say “zero chance”?

Not saying an issue of “want.” Possibly JBott offered him the max he thought he was worth. And maybe he’s had conversations with other GM’s, who aren’t interested in him at more than what JBott just offered him. All speculation, of course.

Could JBott be preparing to let McCabe walk?

I'm not so worried about our PP1's zone entries, even though there were some bad attempts based on what you alluded to... Perhaps he could help our PP2 unit with that. I don't know if our PP1 vs PP2 success ratio was any different than the league average, but I felt our PP was over when the first unit left the ice...

First bolded- Sabres were shopping Reinhart two year ago, confirmed by someone I know working for another team. Reinhart is still on the Sabres. So I don't see the relevance. Any competent GM will listen to offers from other teams. Second bolded- sending Sobotka to Rochester would be contingent on Housley not wanting him in the starting lineup. Housley clearly valued his play. How can you conflate that as being a solo JBott decision? Third bolded- how does savings that won't even count against the cap enhance what he can do from a management perspective? Regardless of the fact that I disagree with all of your speculation, I don't think your other cases are strong, relative to other cases that have been presented.

I don’t know if this is relevant to the train of thought in your response, but I interpreted the bold to imply “had to be done in the eyes of TP” I know most of us can’t imagine what it’s like to be a billionaire. But imagine, you’re about to write a $5mil+ check to a guy who is supposed to be a leader, who says he lost his passion for the game. Regardless of any circumstantial explanation, you may take that personally. That $5mil coming out of your bank account isn’t theoretical. It’s real $.

And I distinctly remember an interview about a year ago with Sobotka, where the topic came up of where he may slot in the lineup. After the suggestion, he said something like “I am not 4th line center!”

No collusion!

Is there any benefit to buying someone out at this point, if we need the cap space?

In another thread. If someone else remembers which one, feel free to link/cite

and I want a million dollars It's already been pointed out how the Z-Larry line compared to other playoff teams' 4th lines, and they compare quite well.

The NHL seems, to me, so unique in how teams can rebound from one season to the next (or vise versa), and especially, how top-seeded teams can get eliminated in early rounds of the playoffs. Is part of the RFA structure responsible for this? If so, don't change it...

The better question is: does having Marner prevent us from getting top 10 draft picks the next 4 years?

I actually agree with the bolded part above. That's not cool to mislead a team that has invested resources in you, and it speaks poorly to character. Let's hope it was a "youthful indiscretion." I was looking at it purely from the Buffalo perspective, in which I think he bears no blame. He was very candid at that point about his intentions, and Buffalonians holding a grudge about that are being a little precious.

The first thing I thought of when I heard the name was that it should be changed. Of course, it's harder to understand if you don't live your life with superficial expectations of beauty placed on your sex, even if that is not the attribute you take the most pride in. But it's your right to not care!

1. You're assuming he won't want to sign with us if we're a contender. Implicit in my response was the team isn't doing well. 2. I still think he made the right choice, $ aside. Have fun when you're young Edit: he's not on an ELC, is he?

If he's worth keeping, but doesn't want to sign, we deal him at the deadline He made the right decision. Get that $

If they gave Ryan Miller advice on how to hold his stick at Wegmans, I can only imagine what people around town are going to say to him....