That Aud Smell

The fact that Belichick wanted him is significant.

^ That sets us up for some very Billsy outcomes.

^ The Sam Adams rumble was delirium. No shame in that being your moment.

WR would be good too. I don't understand going that high for a TE. Is there a prospect out there that teams covet? And didn't the team try to solve the TE issue by signing Charles Clay to big money?

If he's offered a max deal at a market rate (and that's what should happen), he should be all good with staying here through until his late 20s. I can't contemplate losing him to another team. So I won't.

I'm okay with a DB with the first pick. I think it'd be overpaying to take any of the QBs this year at 10. Maybe they trade back and take one of them a la EJ?

That's got Brandon's fingerprints all over it. Those guys are some slippery mofo's. Why even say that? It's not necessary. Ouch.

Ha. And I *DO* readily get misty, and regularly quite more than that. CJ is about the age of my youngest, and I very much enjoy seeing his fandom. As others have said, The Eichel Tower is easily top-3 among things that was ever connected to the board. Fwiw, my little guy is a natural stats nerd. Whatever he's into, it's a deep dive. As a toddler/pre-schooler, he knew the specs and details of dozens of (100+?) engines and such in the Thomas the Tank Engine world. He's moved on from there (Pokemon for a while, then onto pro sports figures). He hasn't found #fancystats yet, but it is only a matter of time. He's going to love them.

I pumped the (my) brakes on the talk of Eichel being reminiscent of Mario Lemieux. While I continue to proceed with caution, and KNOW that he will almost certainly never equal the dominance of 66, it's starting to seem like a more plausible comparison to make.

Mario Lite, I suppose? Which would be AWESOME. Eichel's coach at BU, I think, was the one who talked about the similarity to Mario. And you can see it - Jack gets in the zone, assumes what looks like a wide stance (thanks, perverted Congressman!), sticks his ass out, gets his elbows wide, and no one can touch the puck. It's mesmerizing. Yessir. Reinhart is a good hockey player, who is going to get better. He is not the winger that Jack needs. Reinhart is a centre. Good. But sub-optimal.

I'm not sure how much of that was GM TM. PLF seemed to pave his own path out of town. Patrick always seemed like he was just here for a cup of coffee - doing a favour to (and getting checks from) owners who were learning the ropes. Same-wise for Sawyer, and he's not really a hockey person. Battista? Pssshh. It's PLF whom I miss. I wanted that to work so much. Then again, look at the bumbling going on in Colorado. The former franchise player as president model seems to have worked in Boston, but there are surely no guarantees. I won't be satisfied, I think, until the Pegulas have presidents of football and hockey operations, respectively. Thing is - I think Brandon has Terry convinced that he doesn't need them. My pet theory: Brandon has a peculiar talent for understanding what motivates and appeals to owners, and then pitches them on just that. In corporate MBA speak this is called something - mirroring, maybe? Ed Helms' character in NBC's Office did a bit on it in one episode. It's basically a really effective way of ingratiating yourself to your superiors -- you just give them back who and what they are; this is especially effective when your superiors understand poorly who and what they are (that's where the skill comes in). Per PA, I think the idea is that owners are supposed to hire the people who hire the people. Maybe they also should think about hiring people to hire the people who hire the people?

Seems reasonable. :death: It can't come too soon, really. Good job. Good hustle. I know it. He said it. JFC. Just hit the bricks already. Also, for those who've said it, I agree that if GM TM doesn't separate Dreary Dan than he can take a flying leap as well. Of course, that would leave the Sabres hockey department completely rudderless. Which would also suck.

Yes, yes, yes. This also explains why he is so horrendous in shootouts.

Hahaha - YES! I hear you. It's a limited number of spins around the sun. I'm gonna take each day as it comes, and enjoy the sh1t out of 15 sometimes looking like Mario Jr. Brw, my favourite NHL factoid: Jaromir was an anagram for Mario Jr.

:w00t:

Just learned that my youngest is going to sit in a box with a friend from his soccer team. It's a little insane to send a kid his age to a 7:30 game on a school night - but fuggit. I will admonish him not to be a Chet. He's fired up - he's got his Eichel jersey-shirt ready to go. Last game we went to was St. Louis, and Eichel made at least two plays that had us standing up to see how it'd finish. The kid joked on the way home from that game that it was like Eichel's super power (the power to raise butts from seats). He told me just now that he's looking forward to seeing #15 use his super power.

Are you in? Or are you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhkE8O2e5RE

Um, no. That makes you a very normal Sabres fan. :w00t:

Seeing the Flyers jersey always gets my blood boiling. I would love to see Eichel get his first hat trick before the season's over. Why not tonight? Let's Go Buffalo!

Good stuff, Flagg. I lack the context you have on other players, but I'm all in on enjoying the Sabres even if it's only because of the chance to watch Eichel do stuff.

I understand what you're saying, but, boy - you sure do hear that said (that the winning started at the top) with regard to just about every winning franchise don't you? OTOH, consider the run of success the Bruins had with one of the most miserly, cheap owners in the history of pro sports. (At least, Jacobs was reputed to be as much for many decades before the Bruins all of a sudden got good.)

Can confirm. Is true.

Well put. What a mess. I read twice over the weekend that it's expected that Mike Glennon will get ~$15M annually. MIKE GLENNON. The more I think about it, the more I'm unclear on why the team would pass on paying Taylor middle of the road starting QB money. He's flawed, for sure. But he's shown he can do stuff in the league. He'd probably slot in as a mid-pack quality starter if he were retained. I -- I just don't get it. The only thing I can think of: The team as otherwise constructed can't support/abide paying a decent QB the going rate for a decent veteran QB.

For a couple of hockey fans, you could do a lot worse than giving a boy that as a middle name. Lord Stanley's Cup, and all.

I'm hearing this chatter on WGR and on Twitter -- that retaining Taylor is penny-wise and pound-foolish; that Taylor can probably get you into the playoffs, but don't you want to set your sights higher than that. Effin' A, man. This team hasn't been to the playoffs in whatever-however-many years. Baby steps. I'd be more than happy with a plan to make the playoffs, and then reconfigure once (if) it's established that Taylor can't get you over the hump of a first-round exit, etc.