That Aud Smell

He’s sounding better now. There was a stretch where he sounded ... like he was struggling a bit.

82 ... Yeeesh. Lucky not to give up another.

Mittlestadt’s line in its own end ... no bueno.

Rick didn’t sound altogether well during that last segment that ended in the Bruins goal. His voice sounded ... occluded.

I’ll happily defer to the docs here, but I wonder if RJ is on a med or a few meds for cardiac type issues. I know my dad, from time to time, gets his meds out of wack and it causes dizziness, occasional heart racing, and consequent anxiety/panic. God bless RJ! The old Playfair line — it was my signature forever before the upgrades.

God bless Rick.

@pi2000 sheesh. Couldn’t it just be a sensitive family matter?

Yep.

Good work.

Apparently, there's an Eichel scrum interview where he lit up a bit and said he *really* wanted to notch a few points for his mom. The moms are in Washington tonight and again at home ... whenever the team plays next. Hamilton related this on WGR. C'mon. Eichel with 6 points over the next 2 games. WHO SAYS NO?!

But this is the mom road trip!

Great post. Do not lock!! I am still so stinkin' curious to know what happened with Berglund. And what may still happen.

Good Christ. *That’s* what this is about? C’mon.

Make mom proud, fellas. Let’s go, Buffalo!

I’ll admit to being leas than clear on the view that Hasek stopped trying, or engaged in some sort of sabotage (?), toward the end of his Sabres career. It’s not for this thread, anyway.

I hear Simple and think the late, great Jason Molina.

I’ll say plenty about Dom that’s unflattering (no, @PASabreFan, I won’t retell THAT story again). But put him on a most loathed list? Again: Greatest hockey player that the team ever had.

I’m not calling them stupid. Truly. I think they are generally simple men doing physically phenomenal, incredibly demanding things. Simple. I actually have forgotten what the original line of conversation here was — my point, yours. I really don’t mean it as an insult. Simple guys. Simple things going on out there. LET’S GO, BOYS!! And so on. This seems about right. Who’s Ronnie? I read this and recalled My thought too. Yeah - my sense is that comebacks are down because teams have become so good, so specialized at locking it down. It’d be a Herculean effort to gather truly comparative data on this subject.

Really nice job with a touching story. That kid is amazing. The speech he gives, and how he does it? Blew me away. I really, truly hope Josh Allen settles in as a legit QB1. He just seems genuine and kind. I will tip my hat to the Pegulas for making a determination of his character (which they clearly did). Finally, I remain ambivalent about how a billion dollar for-profit entity can use this sort of very worthy story to polish its brand. Not too long ago, I was involved in a meet and greet that a for-profit entity (a well l-known band) arranged for someone with a worthy story and some special needs and challenges. And I know that band does similar visits fairly on the regular. No media is ever there, internal or otherwise. There are no press releases. No posts to social media. For them, it is just a ministry. The motivations with this story are more mixed on the part of PSE. It doesn’t really diminish my enjoyment of the story. It does give me pause. Hat tip to @PASabreFan (sorry) for getting me woke on this front.

The “why” remains an interesting point of inquiry. I’m keen to know. And why Gilmour? The guy was brought in to help a playoff team when he was long in the tooth. 55 points in 82 games and a mess of playoff games? Not too shabby. I can’t recall much specific about his time here. How much did he even play after he left Buffalo? The loathing that encompasses the greatest hockey player your team ever had is a special kind of loathing.

It does seem likely -- and Friedman seems to indicate as well -- that this was a move that the team made after conferring with the player; that this is something the team probably would not have done if the player had signaled an intention to fight the move or otherwise gum up the works.

Good stuff there. (In Friedman's overview of the Berglund situation.)

Well now, wait a second. I tend to agree with this. I don't believe for a minute that fighting helps, or once upon a time helped, police the game. I do think that a well-timed fight can be good (or even great) for esprit de corps. Well now, wait a second. As do I. YMMV, but, for the most part, NHL players are exceedingly simple people. Not simplistic, mind you. Simple.

Good stuff! It's been kicked around a fair amount - in various spots. Good to have a dedicated thread, though -- or just a heads up that the stick stuff is a real thing.