pi2000

Moulson with Cal O'Reilly? They must not like what they see of Moulson thus far.

It's too bad the NHL is not ready to implement the new goalie equipment standards.... or are they? IMO, this will help bigger, heftier goalies like Lehner who will use the large size gear anyway (chest protector/pants) vs skinnier goalies like Miller, Bishop who will need to drop a few sizes. I was really looking forward to watching goalies make more athletic reactionary saves vs passive positional saves, but I suppose we'll have to wait a bit longer. That said, I like BUF's goalie situation, Lehner looks good so far, and I'm pleasantly surprised by Nilsson's performance.

That was a terrible draft in general for all teams... Rasmussen (picked 7th overall) ended up playing over 500 games in the NHL, which is more games than the 2nd, 4th and 5th picks that year.

4k will be even better.

dress shoes on a basketball court, what could possibly go wrong?

Finally get to watch a game!

this says otherwise

^^^ need to bring back those thirds (just realized this is also a countdown to when I change my avatar :))

understood. frankly, i just want this to be over with so we can move on.

Really? Interesting.... < 200 games played for a 21 year-old defenseman is all you need to see? While I like his chances to develop into a top pairing guy, I still think his career could go in any direction

That second line of Ennis-Girgensons-Foligno... wasn't that the #1 line just a few years ago?

Wouldn't you consider it a bargain if a guy puts up 60-80 points on an ELC? I certainly would.

So is Risto a Josi, or a Myers/Bogosian? I don't think anybody truly knows the answer to that... but I do know this. If you give him 8-years, you're pushing all your chips into the middle of the table... pre-flop. If you give him a shorter deal, even a bridge, you're simply calling the big blind to see the flop... and there's no reason you can't still go all-in on the river. I'd say Risto is comparable to suited connectors or a small pocket pair... yes, those are nice starting hands, but you don't go all-in pre-flop unless you're heads up and down to a few big blinds. The Sabres are not at that point yet, they're just warming up their seat at the table... with (hopefully) many hands to play, let them see a few flops and build a nice chip stack before pushing all-in.

I'm prepared to pay him whatever he is worth in 2020. If you sign him to a 5 year deal and he improves by leaps and bounds the next 2-3 years, you can begin negotiations on an extension that fits within the teams cap situation. The money to pay a top-2 defenseman will be there, and from all we've seen and heard, he wants to be in Buffalo. If I'm Risto, and I believe strongly in my ability, I don't accept anything less than $6.5-7mil for a long term deal at this point in time. There is no way GMTM is offering that much money, nor should he. Why would Risto accept anything less than $6mil/yr for an 8-year deal when he could be earning $8mil/yr as soon as 3 years from now? A 5-year deal is a compromise between 8 and a bridge, which works nicely for both parties involved... stop getting your panties in a bunch about him gaining UFA status after the deal... it won't ever get to that point unless he regresses.

Let me put it this way. Which contract would he be more likely to continue his upward trend.... - 8 yrs / $56mil - 3 yrs / $15mil ...I don't see any circumstance where an 8-year deal could help his development vs a shorter deal.

Not entirely, but to pretend it will have no impact whatsoever is simply being naive.

For the record, with the right deal in place, I expect him to continue to develop into a legit top 4 guy... I'd give him a 33% chance of becoming a true top pairing guy within 4-5 years.

Good point, a 5-6 year deal carries with it a risk of him becoming complacent, but much less so than an 8 year deal would IMO... a 5-6 year deal becomes tradeable in years 3-4 if the guy doesn't live up to it. In 3-4 years I expect the Sabres to be contenders... I don't want them saddled by Risto's overpriced 8-year contract which you wouldn't be able to move for another 3-4 years at that point if he doesn't develop. I don't get why everyone is so concerned that he would leave as a UFA after a 5 year deal expired. The premise there is that he develops into a top defenseman in the NHL. Well... if that's the case, I'd expect BUF to be Cup contenders at that point... so if that's the case, why would he leave? Even if he could get a little more money elsewhere, I would expect him to stay That said, if Risto doesn't develop into the player we expect, then I don't think BUF is a contender, and then who cares if he walks away? ..and you really think GMTM would allow that to happen without getting any return?

Risto's defensive play contributed to them being one of the worst NHL teams of all time. He was 19,20 years old, most young defenseman will struggle in that situation. That doesn't mean he's a good player or a bad player, it just makes it more difficult to evaluate him, which is why I would look elsewhere if building a team. ...or agree to a reasonable extension before the deal expires... which is likely to happen if the team is winning and he's having success. Hell, he's skating in camp without a contract! Doesn't sound like the guy will bolt first chance he gets. ..or overpay him now and overpay him later by giving him a lucrative contract he never lives up to.. he feels the pressure to the #1 guy and never gets there, sticking the Sabres with an 8 year untradeable contract for a minus player who struggles in his own end. I'd rather hedge my bets by signing him to a reasonable 5-6 year deal, or a 3 year bridge. Let's find out what type of player he develops into before committing a large % of the salary cap to him for the next decade.

GMTM likely hasn't gotten to the point of offering a bridge deal yet. That's a last resort type of deal that would get done quickly a day before game 1. I'm not tge least bit worried about it. In the meantime he's hoping he'll agree to a 5 or 6 year deal at $4.5mil.

He scored +30g 3 years in a row on the Island. You want that kind of production out of him, don't put him in the bottom 6. I think he'll do better with O'Reilly and Okposo than Ennis or Kane would. Him and Okposo have chemistry, maybe even Eichel in the middle would work too. We'll find ou shortly.

No. But I'd look closely at that number when picking a #1 defenseman.

They're paying Moulson too much to let him rot away in the bottom six. He'll get every opportunity on the top 6, I think he'll produce with O'Reilly and Okposo. Put Ennis on the 3rd line with Foligno and Girgensons.