PerreaultForever

lol, but I imagine I am the only member of this board who watched every single Sabres game this past season AND every single Bruins game. Steen I'm not 100% on but if they ever waive Lauko we should snap him up in a heartbeat. Guy gives his all and gives it all the time. I suspect however that he bumps Greer from their starting line up.

Oh no man, that's wishful thinking. Even their mediocre prospects are better than those guys. They lack high end offensive players but they have a ton of 3rd and 4th line types. Guys like Lauko and Steen can deliver solid 2 way games and they're not slow either. Lucic is Lucic and we know why he's there but Geekie will be interesting to see imo. Not sure where he ends up on their roster. Yes, he's not fast, but can he be more when surrounded by higher end talent? Many think so. I know that team fairly well and I really have no idea how they will sort it out for the season but they will fall, it's just a question of how much and how far.

That's a tough question and you're primarily looking at offensive numbers. So if Geekie prevents the Sabres from scoring a goal and doesn't score any and Mitts scores a goal but also misses a check that results in a goal against which is the better player? Mitts will have better scoring stats but Geekie's stat maybe wins a game. That's just a hypothetical example to the point of comparison as to "better". Philadelphia is definitely worse. Washington is done and not better. Pittsburgh might not be better anymore either. Montreal has some young possibles but they're not better. Until we start keeping the puck out of the net as well as putting it in the net we're not really better either. Neither is Detroit. It's not an easy question to answer and if you just want to look at goal scorers, you're right, they're not very good. But if you want to consider 2 way or complete players, then they move up quite a bit.

"worst" might be a bit much but it's not great. A lot will depend on whether or not they can get more out of Geekie and how much Marchand has left. He looked a lot slower on those bionic hips and without his partner Bergeron his production might plummet. Unless some miracles happen like JVR turning into a scoring threat again or some prospect suddenly blossoms unexpectedly I don't see much offense at all.

Florida barely made the playoffs and despite their run they could easily be a few points out if they do not get the goaltending. They are really a who knows team that could finish high up or right out imo. Boston and Tampa could both easily slide out if their seasons go bad in terms of luck and injury. We obviously have to get the goaltending, as do the other two, but most of all from those teams it's going to be about injuries and depth. None of those three really have great depth and if any of them have a rash of injuries it'll basically end their chances imo. There's also the other wildcard because after Carolina, New Jersey and probably the Rangers, there's nothing overly impressive and several other fading rosters, but it's going to be close.

This is confusing though. Is there a salary limit for LTIR?

Leafs win the President's trophy this year - and go out in the playoffs first round. Overall I expect things to be even tighter this coming season than last so regular season games will mean more as it'll be a dog fight for getting in the playoffs.

Mitts for Swayman straight up. I'd do it, would you? (doubt the Bruins would)

Well I don't doubt it because on the internet there's a spot for everybody to get mad at something. It's not on the Bruins site I go to though. That one is all good for "the captain" and they are just currently obsessed with how much Trent Frederic will get if he goes to arbitration.

Bergeron was all class. Great captain. Bruins will start their fall now and it'll be fast and hard. They have 1 good prospect. That's it. One. Lohrei. They have 7 UFAs after this year. They have no cap money this year to replace Bergeron with. Their centers are now likely Zacha, Coyle, Geekie, Frederik/possibly a sub par prospect if they use Frederik as a winger or trade him if his arbitration goes badly. There's a moment here for non playoff teams like the Sabres to rise up and take their place. Maybe they hang on to a spot if they shift to a more grinding shutdown style (as they have very little offense left aside from Pasternak) but they will end up in full rebuild mold in a year or two tops. Bergeron was aging/slowing but he was still 1C and it'll all fall like dominos now as they really have no true 1C or 2C. Coyle is a decent player, but he's no 1C. Neither is Zacha. I'm going to guess Lucic isn't as excited to be a Bruin as he was the day he signed.

That's not true. I was just over at the Bruins site and there's pages and pages of "Merci Patrice" and you know typing out a French word is really difficult for chowder heads. There's a sadness there but mostly a lot of thank yous. Didn't read a single "mad at him for not deciding earlier" post. I know a lot of you hate the Bruins, but Patrice was a class act and an incredible team captain. Sabres could have used a captain like him. Class to the end. https://www.nhl.com/bruins/news/a-statement-from-patrice-bergeron/c-345429764 I think it really does end an era for the Bruins though. Their prospect pool is garbage aside from Lohrei (left D) and their fall will be fast and hard. 7-9 free agents after this year, Marchand old and broken down, it's likely the end. So with that alternate team slipping away I REALLY NEED the Sabres to finally get it right. One more reason here the time is right. KA needs to make the final moves and seize the moment!!!!

Let's see, in chronological order: I met Danny Gare when I was young. He had a van parked outside the Aud where he used to take puck bunnies after games. He'd also hang around and sign autographs when that wasn't happening. Nice guy, but he was clearly more interested in flirting with the girls than the teenage fan boys. I went to high school with Ron Roscoe (technically a Sabre).Big mean high school bully and his kid brother was a total a-hole who acted tough and then threatened you with his brother. Couldn't stand either one of them. Met Ric Seiling in a Hamilton mall one summer. It was kind of a "hey, you're Ric Seiling" kind of thing. Nice and friendly guy. I got no real story to go with this. Played a game of hockey with Dave Andreychuk. I worked with his Dad and he joined our Stelco charity game as a result. Man he was big. I did manage to knock him off the puck once, but he zipped around me several other times. maybe not fast by NHL standards, but far above mine. Really couldn't move him much around the net either. Felt like cross checking him but decided against it at the last moment, it being a friendly charity game and all. Great guy though. Had a lot of fun. Lastly, met Craig Simpson at the Children's hospital in Hamilton. Got to say hello and shake hands. Brief chat. Seemed like a nice guy. There for the kids obviously. My wife worked there so I got to help out and hang around. Martin Short was there same day. That was weird as the media handlers had him touring around in a whirlwind with "Marty over here" or "Marty face camera left" etc etc. so much so that at one point (there was catering all over the place) my wife as a joke goes "Marty hand me a cookie" and he does robotically and then pauses and says "hey, you made me do that, you're fun" smiled and moved on to "Marty over here". Craig Simpson, was somewhat ignored and soldiered on. Most kids not even knowing who he was. I think that's it. Unless I've forgotten somebody.

Where'd you get that from? Nothing on the Bruins site, just a lot of Happy Birthday wishes.

Nosek went to NJ for 1 million. That was that guy. At this point I don't expect they will do anything more. It is what it is now. If I was KA I would give Briere the 2 firsts he apparently wants for Hart so that Levi has time to develop AND so the Leafs can't have him. (and before you say that's too much, yes, it's maybe an overpay, but on the other hand, with a deep prospect pool what is better, even more top prospects or making the playoffs?) and then I would see if Boston would part with DeBrusk for a top pick or prospect so that they have cap space for Bergeron and we have our 2nd line winger to take Quinn's spot. We make those 2 (or similar) moves and we are in the playoffs. We do nothing further, and it's a long shot at best.

One rumor has them talking with Montreal about taking Murray's salary off their hands for a 1st + as Montreal is willing to use their cap space to improve. Can only see them getting Karlsson if they give up Nylander. So trade away Nylander, San Jose eats salary on Karlsson, trade away Murray to Montreal, buy out Brodie, roughly in my head I think that would make them cap compliant or very close. End result wouldn't be any better though as a whole. Probably worse than they were with ROR.

He was smart to being him in 2 years ago. I don't consider it smart for last season. If we had had a legit #1 goalie last year we would have made the playoffs imo. It was a mistake (or cynically they never planned to make the playoffs last year).

Just curious, but would you have wanted him on the Sabres at that money and term?

He did but I just don't think he's that good. I'd say 6.5 like Lindholm or 6.25 like Weegar was where I'd see him ending up as he's about equal to them at best.

I don't know if I'm being flattered or insulted here but I will tell you straight out I am not an optimist when it comes to the Sabres. For years I was an optimistic "fan" despite all the bad moves BUT after I jumped on the bandwagon with the 10 game season start win streak and the Skinner Eichel Reinhart line ripping it up I fell off that thing so hard I hit my head and the resulting brain injury turned me into a complete pessimist. I've been in the prove it and show me stage for a couple years now, and my patience is wearing thin. Seattle and New Jersey rising up haven't helped things. Still, I want it to finally happen this year and I want it really bad. If it doesn't, well, then,

This seems pricey to me. https://www.nhl.com/news/vince-dunn-signs-four-year-contract-with-seattle-kraken/c-344900042?tid=281072352

This is why when we picked first overall I wanted Dahlin and then I wanted Power. How many years has it been since the Sabres had a top ranked D? A LOT, and our lack of success goes hand in hand with that. Power won't peak for several years though, which is why I'd still prefer if we added a real top 4 guy now (like Pesce as an example only as I know the talk about no move clauses and all that). Eichel helped Vegas win the cup, but really they won because of their D.

I personally think a team is better off with 3 or 4 really good stars than 1 superstar. A McDavid to Buffalo trade would never happen, but if it was a reality I would not include either of those in the deal (unless Dahlin is asking for way too much right now, cause if he is I'm trading him tomorrow).

I agree with the assessment except I don't think they have a realistic shot at the cup unless the universe really lines up perfectly for them and they get massive puck luck all the way (favourable match ups, opponents injuries, etc etc). They just don't have a good enough D and their bottom 6 isn't very good either. They added this year and still failed. Matthews just isn't a playoff guy. I just can't see it happening as they are a regular season team and not a playoff team. There's a lesson in that in terms of how you build.

I don't "worry" about it, but I do tend to think ahead and big picture. Some of my comments actually become contentious because of that as I'm already considering the make up of the roster to be successful in the playoffs, not just make the playoffs and so forth.

Nosek signs with New Jersey 1million 1 year. I personally would have preferred him between Girgs and Okposo than Jost. Excellent face off man and penalty killer and he wouldn't block the youth coming up either. New Jersey is making smart moves. https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/tomas-nosek-joins-devils-on-one-year-one-way-contract/