irregularly irregular

Thank you SF. You summed it up perfectly. Yes Eichel left the Sabres carrying with him an unquantifiable stench. I freely admit he was not ever a favorite of mine. I had hoped that he had turned the corner for the better 3 seasons ago, but that season was not confirmed in the following years. I was happy to see him go and with a decent return to make it all the easier to say goodbye. So he is gone and no longer someone we should be putting so much energy and angst into. He's gone. Forget about him. Is John a coach killer? Again, he's gone, so who cares, since it will never be a Sabres coach that he will be or won't be accused of getting fired. Only time will tell what John's legacy as an NHL player shall be. I hope he stays healthy, has as long a career as possible and whatever team he happens to be playing for at the time looses every game they play against the Sabres. or possibly the vapor?

Here are my $0.02 on this subject. Does it really matter? Do you have any control over the outcome? So sit back, enjoy the ride and hope for the best possible outcome while expecting the most likely outcome. And yes, Tom Webster nailed it.

Lehner's gone, or even better... he stays. More contracts are moved to get under the cap. Another year of injuries. John doesn't become Jack again and only puts up 50 points. It could get ugly and the Sabres could be sitting in a good spot.

Great 3rd period by DU. Changed the tilt of the ice and took advantage of their opportunities.

Formerly known as Minnesota State-Mankato. Historically a good program from a weaker league and the team has been particularly strong the past few seasons.

My thoughts exactly. Maximize every opportunity to make the team better. I hope is that KA not having a history in NHL management will help him to not have the problems that sunk the boats of TM and JB.

If I were the new owner, my first move would be to hire PA as Hockey Czar. That way he could explain to me every day why the team he is in charge of and totally responsible for in every aspect, isn't meeting my expectations as an owner.

Too many unknowns at this point in time. The additions and subtractions that we see the Sabres make later this season will certainly make a difference. Maybe a huge difference if the pieces fall into place. Ask this question again in 45-60 days and the answers may be significantly different.

Of the 100 things DG has had to work on, fix, break, improve or eliminate this may very well be number 95. Quite possible he simply hasn't gotten there yet.

Understood. See highlighted area for clarification.

Interesting stuff. Shed a brighter light on what really happened over the past year or so. What jumped out at me the second I saw the thread title was that Friedman got paid by being the first to interview Jack after the trade was announced. Those of you questioning were all those rumors were coming from should ask Pat Brisson how many times in the past couple months he happened to have a nonchalant chat with his old buddy. Friedman has been carrying lots of water as of late.

Anchorage. Grew up on Chautauqua Lake.

Weave is spot on with his advice. Those bears are more scared of you than you are of them. I live in AK and we deal with them every year. Bear spray is the backup plan. Make noise and let the bears know you are there. A surprised bear is a problem. A bear that knows you are there will be gone before you ever see it. Regarding firearms, using a 9mm pistol will only make you the target of a pissed off, wounded, surprised bear and that is not what you want. If you feel that you need a firearm, a shotgun loaded with slugs Is the better option. Not easy to carry but it will be the best option if you have a real bear problem. #1- Make noise and let the bears know you are there. Make sure you are not leaving food out and attracting the bears into camp. #2- bear spray . . . . . #3- shotgun . . . . . . . . #4- pistol, especially if you are not extremely comfortable with them.

There is a middle ground here somewhere. Eichel, the Sabres, the NHL and NHLPA will all have to moderate their positions. Everyone accepts some level of risk and some level of responsibility if this is going to move forward.

Yes, you are correct. Usually the team just has to swallow the costs and move on. I think we can all agree the situation with Eichel is different than the usual LTIR or cast-off player getting his contract fulfilled. I believe it is extremely unlikely that Eichel is traded before he is proven to be healthy and the Sabres receive acceptable trade value in return. I believe it is even less likely that Eichel will have ADR surgery while still a Sabre, unless steps are taken to significantly reduce the teams financial risk. In order for Jack to get what he wants, he has to give something up. How bad does Jack want that surgery? It's got to be badly enough to be willing to take the Sabres off the hook for the bill(s) that will result.

Negotiating 101: In order to get something, you will have to give something up. For Jack to get his desired surgery and protection from the potential fallout, he is going to have to give up something very precious. I'm now seeing a contract renegotiation as an avenue of discussion.

I'm on the opposite side. I don't like to use the word hate, but I really do not like that some games are worth 2 points when others are worth 3. My preference would be 5 x 5 for a sudden death overtime period of 10 minutes. If there is no winner after that, it's 1 point each. The whole hockey game turning into a skills test is not appealing to me.

Sorry Bun, can't do that. John Boy is a valuable commodity and maximizing return is vitally important for the Sabres going forward.

The short answer is yes, you are wrong. There are 2 reasons why. First, unless you are holding out on us, there is no way you know all of the pieces and parts that part of this mess. Secondly, many of those moving pieces and parts are way beyond KA's control.

Metacarpal. Overuse syndrome.

This ^^^. Be a fan, not a fanatic. Your life will be better for it.

I'd adjust your idea a bit to say that solid team defense combined with solid - hot goaltending will win you a championship. Winning games 2-1 or 3-2 will get you a parade in your hometown. Having a couple of HOF level Dmen is nice, but that's not enough to win the Stanley Cup.

I'm on the opposite end of that discussion. I'm not lowering the ask by even one cent until there are more answers to a bunch of unanswered questions. The unknowns here are where exactly our boy Johnny is at with regards to 1) the injury 2) the recovery and rehabilitation of said injury as of today 3) the need for more rehab 4) the NEED for surgical intervention 5) if surgery is needed (unavoidable for him to play hockey this upcoming season), then which surgery serves ALL PARTIES best. There are probably more questions beyond those, and I want to hear that any and all of those items have been addressed before any trade is made. KA needs that information, as does Johnny and his agents, as do any of the GMs that have an interest in acquiring his services. All of this could be cleared up by this time next week if Eichel presents himself at the doctors office in Buffalo at 8am Monday morning and is ready for a day of testing and evaluation to determine what his CURRENT status is. Until those answers and the pathway(s) going forward are determined, KA needs to sit tight, wait for answers and not have another ROR trade shoved down his throat.

Glad you are back. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Not from me. I say the bar gets moved higher and Jackie Boy might get lonely sitting at home watching hockey games this winter.