Getpucksdeep

Plenty of options here given Tim Connolly, Clarke MacAurthur, Nathan Paetsch, Francois Methot and Stephen Gionta are coaching in Rochester for the Jr. Amerks. But looks Mendola is actually it - https://www.lecomharborcenter.com/academy-of-hockey/staff

That entire exchange was weird. I heard the question as specific to sports but he answered it from the Oil side. So, I heard it as only the oil side has no debt. I assume he paid cash for Bills and Sabres. @darksabre Agreed but for big stuff like capital improvements ie new stadium. Or re: oil maybe to buy a new drill? Don't know that biz well. But sports wise I can't see any good reason to carry debt except to build stadium or purchase the team. If borrowing to operate day to day es no bueno.

Yes. And it will be interesting to see if Ottawa, Detroit, etc follow suit in the coming days. If all these crappy teams, or maybe all the teams (except Toronto and Rangers?), have this huge hit to revenue March - Dec it's possible the Pegula's just set the bar. Obviously Jbot is a special case of not performing, so not suggesting big cut of GMs, but the supporting staff perhaps. Creates some interesting dynamics - should big $ players pitch in to help bridge the gap (Eichel give back $1M per year?)? Owners? Or pecking order is what it is, off you go assistants. Apply same to MLB, NBA, NCAA? Really all pro sports dependent on butts in seats. Interesting times.

Napkin math is 2020 they are losing about 50% of their home games (march/april/oct/nov) which I assume makes up well more than half the revenue. If 20 home games lost at 17K butts * $80(?) per (avg ticket and beer) = ~$1.4M Add in whatever you want for merch sales maybe $100k per game? So let's ballpark $30 million in lost revenue for 2020. Relative to estimate of total loss I can see it. Salary cap is $80M, add in Amerks, total payroll for ops is $90M? 41 home games * $1.4M = $57.4M. Not sure what TV brings, advertising etc but let's say $5M? Spitball here but aligns w/ "we don't make money unless playoffs". And if Pegulas are on year 7 or whatever of subsidy and total subsidy of close $400M or something, f yeah I can feel it. Not suggesting they are victims, just trying to understand the EJECT button.

I was onboard with this line of thinking when they went south this past season, but then he turned it up again and carried them like an absolute beast (including a blind goalie apparently) so.... On the whole I think it's definitely fair to question his leadership abilities. I can't remember hearing any of his teammates speaking of him they way we hear him/others speak of Kruger, Drury, Brindamour etc. That said, this team without him is not something I'm interested in at this point. And even if he is a "me" guy or not good at bringing people together, it's on the GM and HC and other the players to identify that, figure out how to make it work / surround him with the complimentary parts.

Are Duff, Ray, and Biron safe? Man this is a mess.

Good question, why not furlough or something? Maybe not an option given contracts. TP said "staying positive" during presser but he also said "maybe the fans don't come back next year / fans in seats", he sounds panicked to me.

Best people: 1. Person with one arm.

Sounds like he called an audible and punted to the locals.

Ha the bubble soccer was the highlight of the game, they really got after it. Nice work boys!

Right. Group was taking a leak post game in arena and everyone in the men's room just lol'd. No Dan, it was not. Terrible place this franchise.

I'm going too, free tickets in Chet & Muffyville. The group I'm with are casual types, "eh Big Ditch first, get there when we get there". Like roll in at end of 1st period? Ugh. I'm looking for Simmonds to at least attempt to find a fight. First game in front of home crowd. I think he needs to show here if he's got any shot at offer for next year.

Also they play each other 2x, we only have FL 1x. I guess we hope for a split there and no OT. Either way I'm optimistic, minus the OTT game Sabres look strong. Leafs are opposite, one good game, a lot of ugly, and the pressure on them is going to increase even more if they don't start winning 3 of 4.

Not sure if this was posted earlier: Simmonds call into Sportsnet post trade. Summarized- waived his no trade, wants to play a the role and help push to playoffs, Eichel is great, dogs and baby = being close to home is nice.

So we are buying?

The ceremony was over at 730. Says "delayed" now, must have went long then warm ups.

JR smh. He does talk about vacation in Mykonos w/ Hanifin (and I believe their girlfriends) but wisely no details.

Yeah liked the RK bit, seems sincere as opposed to rehearsed/standard. Lots of good stuff in here and builds hope, but we may need to prepare ourselves for future Drury-ing for Boston. Tom Brady's chef, Pats #1, woof.

https://www.barstoolsports.com/podcast/1866566/spittin-chiclets-episode-244-featuring-jack-eichel-jaybo-weber-news-and-more Starts at 56:34, ends 1:38. Good listen if you can tolerate the RA guy and his accent. Interview is from just prior to all-star game.

Last 3 games for Detroit: W @ Buffalo 4-3 L @ Columbus 2-0 (en) Howard on fire 42 saves (977) W vs Bruins 3-1 Bernier on fire 39 saves (975)

Two positives: 1. No Pierre tonight. 2. Looks like Geogiev in net. Is he their 3rd best? Watched some of the new kid vs Leafs on Weds - Shesterkin - TSN was hyping him up big. Looked athletic but smaller than average. What do Rangers need for their run? Maybe we can get a goalie back.

Why? Lindy "run 'em" you don't like? It's in the fabric of the game. It's entertainment. Shoot weekly high school/midget games this is the norm. Things get lopsided, game plans change. True, we should probably know better than to expect our collections of millionaires to care that much. But then we watch a Calgary vs Edmonton game ,or any random Bruins game, and it happens. Good nasty hard hockey. But not in Buffalo, not these guys. I'm not questioning you and your insights and contributions to this board / discussion. You rock. You are questioning my level of frustration with what I saw as one of countless displays of crap by this team this season. Not having the skill to compete is one thing. Not having heart and desire is another. We could hear the smack talk in this example so sure it's likely getting more scrutiny than warranted, but ffs how/why did we not respond when the wheels came off? Give us something! Fans are begging for it. Nope, soft team, easy to play against, just laugh and skate away.

Ok, thank you. Carry on with the suckage as you wish. And I'll keep an eye out for some moxy from our top players, and push back and actual anger against an antagonizing opponent as opposed to stick vs goal post.

What's being fabricated please. That they suck? Or that Montour's response was half-hearted?

For all the "this is normal trash talk" rebuttals - sure, but my problem is the surrounding context. - Montour has done ***** for this team / fans since putting on the jersey. Kadri gives him a great opportunity to publicly be a leader and he opts out. - We are in a tailspin over the last couple of weeks. - Duane - The game is out of hand at this point (6-1?). Who cares about penalty. - Your rookie goalie, in like his first 10 minutes of NHL action in his life, just got poked after (or at) the whistle by a known instigator when the game is effectively over already. What a dick thing to do by Kadri. And what a soft response from the Sabres. Also Reinhart was right there too. It's a ***** team Sam. He's right. Embarrassing.