Marvin

You may just have a more generous outlook than @Taro T and I have. I rolled my eyes and then thought next season, for the 50th anniversary of The Summit Series, they would resurrect *that* jersey as an alternate.

I suspect that the Sabres will have a much better record at home than on the road. The inability to line-match some on the road was obvious in both games. The Sabres lost a lot of face-offs last night and chased all night. The overall lack of talent showed itself in the inability to exit the zone with possession. Also, now that there is film on us, teams will adjust their game plans to counter our system. This is the next test for the players and the coaches: adjusting to greater and more specific preparation.

My idea of a "now" piece would be like the James Patrick signing: they help the youth grow up and can be around for several years. That is a "now" piece which helps the future too. One of those in an Eichel trade will help Dahlin, Power, and Samuelsson.

That is an interesting thought to ponder. If, unfortunately, Eichel is still here after Christmas and the team is playing consistently well and entrenched in 3rd place or higher, maybe they take, say, a pricier RHD in a deal. I personally would consider it -- it would tell the team that I believe in them.

Wow. That puts them in their 20's when they got The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.

I'm almost 57. I will have this on the radio when I go to sleep. Kind of like I used to do as a child -- except that Ted and Rick were so far out of Dunleavy's league as announcers that he might put me to sleep. Heck, when Nixon had the wage and price freeze due to OPEC's oil embargo (speed limits cut to 50 nationwide before being upped to 55; year-around daylight savings time, etc.), there was a game in Vancouver which started at midnight. I was up for even that one. (OK, I set my alarm clock to go off at 12. I fell back asleep about 3am.) My parents were not amused at how sleepy I was the next morning.

Good man. Preserve your sanity.

This could be good from the perspective of asset-handling perspective and a resolution, but it has one glaring issue: If the worst fears of those who opposed ADR are realised and he gets permanently injured, would the Sabres still be on the hook? I don't think it matters if the arbitrator forced their hand. Lawyers of SabreSpace, what say you? Caveat: ADR for a hockey player scares the daylights out of me.

True. I will take, "not stink out the joint" as a tolerable low-end. I expect that they will fall back towards average as the year goes on. But if they play at least passably and the team in front of them keeps playing hard, I will feel good about them anyway.

The difference between Kreuger and Granato to me comes down to one word: mindset. XHCRK was passive and risk-averse and his team let things happen to them (XHCDB writ large). HCDG has an active team that takes high-percentage risks to create things. He also finds ways to put guys into novel situations to see how they do (Tage Thompson is a centre?). He also has an actual NHL roster, even if it is in the bottom quarter in terms of proven talent.

I am waiting for the midpoint of the season. If this team keeps playing consistently and hangs in the top 3 for the division, then I will start moving towards conceding.

Early returns are good.

When I saw Fox Sports report that Eichel is "pleading with team to allow proper procedure on herniated disk", I find it difficult to take the hockey pundits seriously. This is why I stopped paying attention to them.

Thank you! You put into words what my brain has been trying to tell me.

Don't the Eichel rumours from "insiders" smack of, "are we there yet? are we there yet?"

Oh, man, those sketches were great.

Most worthy.

Leaf fans want 1st round picks as offsets if Eichel does not play in a given season. They think Marner now is worth more than Jack at 100% The Sabres can not afford that. Besides, I don't see how this helps the Leafs unless Jack is ready to play -- which he apparently is not. They need help now. Unless, of course, they are doing this to clear cap space for a splashy acquisition. Even so, this is a rather ciruitous way to go about it.

Now THAT is special.

Based on what I saw, it's just the ESPN+ announcers and feed.

Aside: I just want to say that I am glad I keep checking this thread. 8 have learnt a lot about how to think about negotiations in general. I am formulating an idea of what a compromise trade would look like from the standpoint of mutual risk-mitigation for both sides if the NHL brokers it. My pages-long proofs on homework problems in graduate school were about this complicated.

This could just be the temperament of the teams' doctors. More conservative doctors means lower chances of experimental surgeries.

MACHOs WIMPs Massive Astrophysical Compact Halo Objects Weakly Interacting Massive Particles

My position has absolutely nothing to do with me being a Sabres fan and I categorically reject your insinuation. Your position is that the Sabres should take all the risk in a trade or in a surgery to just end the situation. My actuarial training screams bloody murder at me for that statistically reckless position. Moreover, every insurer for Pegula's companies had better have told him that his insurance costs would skyrocket if he OK-ed the surgery. That does not even count that he would legally be on the hook for every neck issue Eichel has for the rest of his life. I empathise with Eichel. My health insurance forces me to pay the entirety of a drug my doctor and I find superior to their recommended one because they don't get a kickback to have it in their formulary. That's $10 a pill. And I assumed the risk. That's life. Even with the empathy, as a practical matter, I think that the Sabres must stay the course and live with the consequences.

It is theoretically possible. The LOG line was an ideal 4th line, so start with their stats and work from them... Doohickie had a neat set of charts which showed how bad Sobotka was. I would want the reverse: a guy who attracts others' stats in a positive direction. It is not always possible to find many 4th liners like that, so guys who don't drag down others much is a start (these are the bottom 1/4 of the league, after all). They should have positive possession stats against the bottom half of the league. Regularly having a team-adjusted plus-minus close to zero would be good. They should have a defencively responsible mindset. I would like someone who checks tenaciously. I would like them to be decent checkers against top players league-wide. More will come to me in time.