That Aud Smell

Something changed for and/or with Hamilton — right around the time that Pegula bought the team.

Perish the thought.

In his replies on Twitter, he confirmed that O’Reilly said “very likely” in response to the possibility of his being traded.

I’ve really come to doubt whether he’s a top-6 dman on a playoff team.

Amen!

If the team could slot in Nylander and Middlestadt in the next 2 years, that'd probably solve the speed problem. As for Nylander, I saw an encouraging Tweet last night from Kris Baker. Not encouraging like: He's almost NHL-ready! More like: He is showing signs of improvement and is still just 19 (until tomorrow, anyway).

Oh, man. That was bad. I think my strong distaste for Graham started then. I don't recall it quite that way. He was engaging with a fella who gives as good as he gets.

It was a guy named Mike Straw. He has a Twitter handle of @MikeStrawMedia

I did see that. That is quite different from saying it was "very likely" he'd be traded.

Did he really? That really is a shame. Disappointing, to say the least. Good on him for attending that and being a good guy when he does. I had thought he was above or beyond that sort of activity, but the Cheektowaga blogger really seemed to touch a nerve with the local MSM sportswriters. The MSM writers did NOT cover themselves in glory by pillorying the blogger. My visceral reaction to what they were going was the same sort of feeling I've had when I felt prompted to stop bullying behaviour.

The guy will have no shortage of suitors, I'd imagine. And hey - not for nothing and I know the thread was locked - but I'd heard that Hamilton doubled down on his statement that O'Reilly said it was "very likely" he'd be traded.

I know he's had bad stretches, but I have really liked the look of his game and how he's projecting. He's arguably the picture of a modern d-man.

Sorry to hear this.

Well, now, wait. I concluded a while ago that Infowars is a "work," to borrow some wrestling parlance. It's a corrosive and dangerous work -- but it's a work. I think "all" is probably strong, but I think there's plenty that he just does purely for clicks and traffic.

Same. It has not been an order of magnitude, of course. But they have improved.

I'm not saying that, no.

Through 41 games, the team was 30th in the league in points. They had 6 more than Phoenix, and 8 fewer than the next worst team (Ottawa). From the 42nd game onward, they are 21st in points. And they're bunched up with several teams that have anywhere from 20-24 points during that span -- that'd be the Blues, Panthers, Coyotes (!), Devils, Kings, Islanders, Red Wings, and Blue Jackets. I know they got the Lightning's backup goalie (?) twice and probably Boston's too -- but they've repeatedly beat the best teams in the East. I was at that Lightning game at home, and they looked very good. Consistency is the thing. They are getting better (?).

Beane responded to questions about people (Polian) dogging Lamar Jackson -- said similar things were said about Cam. Also: J-Stew cut by Panthers.

His “Hmmm’s” on Twitter, though. Brandon is pretty clearly someone who will speak through Wawrow, at times, right? I guess that’s different than a source, come to think of it.

I'd bet dollars to donuts that's the truth. But what of it? He's no great shakes. I'd also bet dollars to donuts that the blogger has more sources in the organization than Harrington. (If he has 1 -- that's more than zero.)

It's so lazy, so self-serving, and so self-promoting for Harrington to have done this. There's a blogger out there who claims he has sources within the organization that have heard that Lehner asked to be traded. MSM reporters -- not just Harrington, Wawrow piled on too -- chirp the guy repeatedly on Twitter. Call him a fraud and a pretender ("this isn't a Halloween party" said Harrington). Then the MSM reporters go to Lehner and ask him it it's true what the blogger said. "Of course not!" says Lehner. BAH HAHAHAHA. LOSER BLOGGER. YOU *SUCK*. YOU'RE NOT *HERE*. IN THE *ROOM*. YOU DON'T WORK ON DEADLINES. FOR A NEWSPAPER. .... Of course, anyone with a few brain cells popping can observe that Harrington's lil' faux Alpha dog flexing did nothing to eliminate the possibility that Lehner *did* request a trade and that the blogger *did* have sources in the organization, who, UNLIKE LEHNER, would have no reason to hide or obscure the truth of what Lehner may have said. *JUST* when I thought I could not despise that chinless derp any more.

It's too bad that the new Explore and More museum is just a plan at this point. I think the naval park museum is a fine idea. If the weather's decent (a fairly big if, I realize), you could take a trip down onto Fuhrmann Boulevard and kick around one or all of Wilkeson Park, Tifft Nature Preserve, and/or Buffalo Harbor State Park. The State Park has a very modern and fun playground. I'd encourage you to take a look at them online -- there's plenty of information there.

^ Hear, hear. Also: 2 of the last 3 mocks I've read have mocked Josh Allen to the Bills. In other news: I need to stop reading mock drafts.

He always struck me as a pretty emotional guy and one whose game is strongly influenced by where his head and heart are at, so I think that he will get that "fresh start" bounce that gets talked about. And he's streaky too. For several weeks before the trade deadline, he had been having little or no luck getting on the score sheet. I'd lay better than even odds that he fairly tears it up this spring.

Hamilton with a writing fail.