PerreaultForever

I can't vote on this yet because I don't know what the "third line" will be. There's an assumption that Ruff will leave Granato lines as is and build from there but I don't believe that's true. Lindy will make his own determinations and who plays with who is really unknown. Probably a fairly safe bet to say McLeod is the center but otherwise no idea. Could be anybody.

Well we did trade Schoenfeld, Gare and Smith for McCourt, Foligno and Peterson. So no, it doesn't happen often, but it's not impossible. We are actually one of the few teams that has the assets and prospect capital to make a huge deal for 3 players at once. We COULD do it. Will we? Of course not.

That's good to hear. I was starting to wonder why I had all these stories about Bruins on the ice but nothing from the Sabres. I suppose then it just means they have more media coverage.

Calgary wants to tear it down and start over. Get them all.

Crazy. You're suggesting that the team would be trying to win now. Unheard of.

I really cannot believe that would get it done. There is no risk. Would instantly make us competitive. Kadri would become 2C imo and Cozens could move to his wing or play 3C depending on what Ruff wants. Kadri ages down to 3C as we (hopefully) improve each year. Truculence, nastiness and 2 way play. No brainer imo.

I wanted him before so of course I'd do this. I doubt it's real though.

Bruins Captain's practice started today. There were 25 players on the ice. What are the Sabres doing?

Situational play is the key for them and the team as a whole. Can they shut the door under pressure if we are up a goal late or even down a goal and you can't have another for a chance. Will the team build off a confidence that that will happen. Otherwise, GA is fine where it is if we get back to scoring more and more goals at key moments. Fix that PP.

@Rasmus_ follows everybody named RASMUS.

Yamamoto would be worth looking at. Of course he might not want to sign a PTO with Buffalo but we like little fast guys. He could be a utility guy.

Skinner has always been a "look at me" and an "I'm open, pass me the puck" kind of guy rather than a "what can I do better to help us win kind of guy". If they truly want to change the culture he had to go because the youth in the room do not have the gravitas to keep him in line with the (presumed) work ethic. A team with strong veteran leaders might be able to do it, but this culture will be fragile at best. I think they recognized this and Ruff wanted him gone. Zucker is really just an aging mercenary who will fill that spot for a year to let Kulich or whoever mature a little more but he has a better work ethic and team first attitude and shouldn't be a problem. I have my doubts on how much he will contribute, but he won't be a problem and might end up being a retention flip at the deadline if we suck. A year from now it should be Kulich or Rosen or somebody we have drafted.

I'm not going to argue that. I was just pointing out what the law is, not what I think it should be.

Thinking about it I guess the difference there is they were "performance bonuses" not "signing bonuses" so they can't be calculated until after the performance takes place (even though everybody knew it was just a way to defer money as the performance was just games played or Bruins making the playoffs or some bs that was almost certain)

I think it still counts to the cap but since some of it is designated as SB in the final years they can elect to defer part of that payment to what would be year 9. I know that is what Boston did paying out bonus money to Krejci and Bergeron in the year after they retired and that money counted against the cap of that year.

@Thorny you gonna red x it cause you don't like it or you want to explain why you think it's wrong?

If you get drunk and get into a bar fight and you "accidentally" kill the other guy when his head hits the ground or something you don't get charged with "murder" either. It's manslaughter, and the intoxication will be considered a mitigating factor in sentencing/guilt. That's the law too. I would not argue against the fact that drunk driving laws are too lax, they are, but as they stand it would only be murder if you could prove he saw two cyclists and went, "I hate cyclists, I'm going to run those guys over".

I'm not a capologist but I thought they already got rid of shenanigans in this way and all cap hits were based on the total contract value divided by the term. Is that not right?

Honestly I really think all bets are off and I have no idea what Ruff is going to do or how he will (try to) have them play. Hence, who will play with who and where and in what role is unknown. I think he is going to go in with a blank slate attitude and not a take Granato's line up and tweak it attitude. So is Cozens 2C? Is he a 2 way player? Would he be better on the wing? idk. Does Cozens know? I hope Ruff does. I have faith in Lindy and if we come out of the gate looking the same as last year (or similar) I will be horribly disappointed.

I can guess perhaps that this is a new distinction police make for traffic incidents to distinguish them from EBikes or other motorized cycles. It might change some of the legalities around where you are on the road etc.

Sad tragedy which just shows you that things can happen to anyone any time no matter how rich or famous or great your life is, things can change in a second. Very sad for his family. Arguing about calling it "murder" is a little internet distastefulness for me though. The law is the law, if you want it changed call your representatives or go to a M.A.D.D. protest or something. It doesn't matter what it's called, the thread title is now inflammatory but whatever, it's the internet. It's a sad thing and if you are a Columbus fan you're gutted. Just horrible. But let's not get caught up on "murder" labels. Craig MacTavish has his name on the Stanley Cup after all.

He is and that's why I just don't know about the timeline. Ultimately I think he ends up somewhere between Tyler Myers and Alex Pietrangelo but where he is this year and whether or not he can be good enough to make this D core decent now is hard to say. The Ruff factor is an interesting one but with him and all the young guys any one or more of them might take a step back adjusting to what Ruff wants before leaping forward. No, I don't think he will ever be a heavy hitter either, but he does need to get strong enough to box out in front and win puck battles. Right now, the health of Samuelsson is more important to this D's success than Power's timeline. At least for this season.

This will not surprise anyone but until Power shows me something different I am quite skeptical about this D as a whole.

That's how I became a Sabres fan. Good old channel 2.