That Aud Smell

Yeah - that definitely doesn't work. I'm at a point where, while I believe massive stadium subsidies are an inappropriate and wasteful use of public money, they happen routinely and it's probably going to happen here with the Bills. I mean, $1B or more in public money for this stadium is ridiculous ... but, then again, NYS gave $750M to Elon Musk for a high tech factory that has proven to be a complete and total boondoggle. Wasteful though it will be, at least the new stadium will provide the community with something it loves.

I caught a few moments of Ron Raccuia on WGR this morning - talking stadium. Raccuia is a Buffalo guy who parlayed his sports apparel business into becoming a part of PSE, and apparently a bit of a face and voice for the Pegulas as well. I'll try to relisten to the interview and post a summary here. Of course, if anyone did listen and wants to post the highlights, that'd be great.

I had a sad today when it struck me -- belatedly (which is pretty typical) -- that Eichel's decision to have surgery could just as well be an indication of "well, fuggit, a deal's not getting done anytime soon, and I don't want to report to camp for the Sabres, so I'm just having the fusion surgery that the Sabres will consent to, and then we'll see what's what."

I'm glad to see this thread back on track ... perhaps just in time?

Lot of truth to that. OTOH, I heard that he asked for his release. He probably thinks he can slot into a bigger role elsewhere. LV has significant young talent at WR.

Yeah - this latest report talks about a price tag of $1.4B for the football stadium. And 60,000 would be the smallest in the league, but that is, as others have noted, the trend. I am sure they've worked up the economics of it. These modern stadiums don't throw cash by piling in 80,000 unwashed commoners -- they make money by having high-end price points for luxury suites, club seats, PSL's.

@john wawrow with a solid scoop here. https://apnews.com/article/kathy-hochul-sports-nfl-business-buffalo-bills-77b347e94170316c76a9c9bd380b80ae

Lol - when did this become a thing?

With regard to surgery, there have been discussions of a traditional fusion or the experimental replacement.

Make sense. OTOH, which surgery is it?

I have at times grown weary of what seemed like an agenda on Hamilton's part. That said, the team has stunk for a long while now -- is it wrong for a beat reporter to have strong views regarding a sh1t team/franchise? One thing I can relate based on a single degree of separation: Hamilton is good people. A super solid dude.

That is also possible, of course. It just feels like ... changed agent, an apparent surgery ... things are moving.

I reckon that, if the change of agents warranted its own thread, so does the surgery.

The rumour of a surgery taking place - if true - seems like a strong indicator that a deal has been made

This is definitely threadworthy. This could also be folded into the trade rumour thread.

And yet the surgery bears directly on trade prospects.

I realize it's a Hockey Buzz sourced rumour. Whatever.

Nice to get a late round pick for a guy the team was going to cut anyway.

Me neither. That one was purely based on the name. Same with Medicine Hat.

Lol - my “location” here is virtual and aspirational. I’ve done Moose Jaw in the past. Baddeck as well.

We had a fun, *hot* 3 quarters at the stadium. Please don’t feed the trolls.

Brisson also represents Zegras. If you're a buyer (or a seller for that matter), it makes an absolutely huge difference to have a broker involved whom you trust. The prior agents were, IIRC, very sort of NCAA-focused -- somewhat outside the NHL loop. Brisson is a true insider. It is logical to believe that this will help get things moving.

Deeper? It's Eichel we are talking about. That'd be a puddle dive.

Wow. Who were his agents previously? That statement they put out was a bad play, imo.