IKnowPhysics

We got the objectively better jersey, and already had the better logo and name, though. And that counts for a lot.

Meh on non-plural names. Double meh on using a lettermark as a primary logo. Triple meh on doubling down on teal in the color combination, as it looks real roller hockey. But at least it's an original mix. Eh, ***** it. Let 'em run with it and have fun with it. If it sucks, their marketing department will pivot, it's fine. See, I think an octopus logo in this color scheme could be cool as hell, instead of just the 'S.' Jerseys could also use a tweak, but that's easy.

https://theahl.com/ahl-return-to-play-task-force-established Last I saw was: AHL cancelled remainder of 2019-20 season back in May. AHL formed task force to determine how to commence play in 2020-21 season. Recent indications are that beginning of 2020-21 season will be delayed (just as the NHL start has been delayed).

Agree. That lineup would be hot trash after line one and secondary scoring would be awful. We would fail to make the playoffs based on that alone, and it wouldn't matter what happens on D or in net. Cozens must be developed and not thrown to the wolves.

Freezer burn!

Die wrote some potential ideas. Repairing The Sabres In Three Easy Steps (Trades): https://www.diebytheblade.com/2020/7/18/21330018/repairing-the-sabres-in-three-easy-steps-trades Short version to wet your whistle, go read the article: BUFFALO Sam Reinhart, Casey Mittelstadt -> CALGARY Elias Lindholm, 2021 4th BUFFALO Rasmus Ristolainen -> NEW JERSEY Miles Wood, Janne Kuokkanen BUFFALO Carter Hutton (50% retained), 2021 4th, 2022 5th -> St. LOUIS Jake Allen, Oskar Sundqvist, and Nikita Alexandrov CAP: $77.9M ($81.5M CAP CEILING) Skinner (9) – Eichel (10) – Wood (2.75) Olofsson (4.1)– Lindholm (4.85) – Kahun (2.4) MoJo (4.5) – Sundqvist (2.75) – Cozens (.925) Asplund (.85) – Lazar (.895) – Okposo (6) Simmonds (1.5) – ? Dahlin (.925) – Joker (.925) ? – Monty (4.5) McCabe (2.8) – Miller (3.9) Nelson (1) Ullmark (2.8) – Allen (4.35)

Makes sense. As the world starts to spin again, these will be fast growing and lucrative industries again. It's a good time to buy.

If JR sexually harsses anyone else, and that emplyee sues, the case is stronger based on this incident. It's not just a threat of litigation from Tappen, it's the liability NBC carries by remaining involved with JR with incident on record. The excuse that it's "locker room" talk is toxic and gross and can ***** right off. Don't make sexual comments about your coworkers and don't excuse those who do. That *****'s for ***** and losers.

From TBN: "The Blue Jays are still trying to determine if major systems work needed for Sahlen Field such as lighting and control rooms for instant replay could be taken care of in the short window remaining before the schedule begins. Sources say the Bisons' parent club also has concerns about areas that include social distancing in the clubhouses, workout rooms and batting cages, repairs needed to bullpen phones and the fact the pens are in foul territory down the lines and not behind the outfield fence." Because I believe a great stadium for a great day at the park has absolutely nothing to do with any of the Jays' functional concerns.

***** him. He publicly stated he wanted to ***** his coworkers. That's a firing. And if he's not fired, Tappen and Sharp could hold NBC liable for allowing sexual harassment and fostering a hostile work environment. If the comments Weir made were inappropriate, NBC should address them and act accordingly. If (and it's a big if) Roenick's assertion is truthful that "his supervisor responded that Weir 'is gay and can say whatever,'" then that is also inappropriate and NBC should adress that person and act accordingly. This lawsuit is a fine example of a Trumpist snowflake crying oppression when they're held accountable for saying horrible *****.

Which teams will benefit most from a flat salary cap in 2020-21. https://thehockeynews.com/news/article/which-teams-will-benefit-most-from-a-flat-salary-cap-in-2020-21 "6. BUFFALO SABRES – 10 players signed for 2020-21 – Projected cap space: $34.48 million – Projected LTIR players: none It should be an interesting off-season for Kevyn Adams, handed his first chance at being a GM after the Pegulas fired Jason Botterill. Buffalo has just four forwards signed for next season. Adams has a few important RFAs to sort out: Sam Reinhart has earned a long-term extension, Victor Olofsson has played his way into a bridge-deal raise, and 1A starting goalie Linus Ullmark needs a new contract. But if that trio combines to take up, say, $12 million in cap space, Adams will have plenty of cash left over. What to do with it? The Sabres, like so many of the rebuilding teams, could use their cap space to bail teams out and score picks. But captain Jack Eichel’s public exasperation after opening his career with five straight playoff misses likely puts the heat on Adams to make this team a winner ASAP. That means Buffalo might be sneaky-aggressive in trades and free agency this summer. Then again, with so few bodies signed, it could be risky to break the bank on one or two impact players. And with the bad PR surrounding the team in recent months (years?), the Sabres also might have to overpay to lure any top-end UFAs."

He hit a sophomore slump and never took the next steps to meet the high production expectations of 4th overall. And that could be due to tons of different factors: expectations were too high, coaching staff didn't give the right on-ice usage/linemates/quality of competition/total ice time, he didn't develop his own mental/physical/maturation game, coaches didn't develop him. By 2018/19, Bennett did mature and he modified his game from trying to be that 4th overall skilled offense generator to being better in the role he was put in- 3rd liner. He plays angrier with more edge, works harder in tough areas, and has been trying to a better two-way player and a PP/PK specialist. But even this past year hints at more decline for him, as others in Calgary eat up that big ice time (Gaudreau, Monhan, Lindholm, Tkachuk, Backlund) and other younger players start to develop and compete for bottom six roles (like Dube). Nonetheless, he still retains some offensive skill. I think if Calgary really looks at his performance this year objectively (8G, 4A, 52GP) and looks at who's coming up in the pipeline, they'll realize he's expendable, especially if they want to keep Jankowski, and they may try to use Bennett to secure a defenseman. (Side note: The Flames are an interesting trade partner for Buffalo, actually.) The question is... is Bennett still any good? He has some interesting rate stats from this past season... 0.8 EV G/60 (even strength goals per 60mins) - More than any Sabre except Skinner, Eichel, and Reinhart. 0.77 EV ixG/60 (expected even strength goals per 60) - More than any Sabre except Skinner. 13.26 EV iCF/60 (even strength Corsi For per 60mins) - More than any Sabres except Eichel and Skinner. More EV iHF/60 (hits for per 60mins) than any Sabre. But -0.7 EV iPEN+/-/60 (minor penalty taken/drawn differential per 60mins), also more than any Sabre - takes more penalties than he draws I think he could produce goals given ice time and linemates, but I don't think he's the proven talent who you'd want at 2C.

Agreed. Buffalo corporate dollars are already scraping by to support two of the big four. The economics of baseball with a soft salary cap would kick the hell out of the profitability of a MLB team in WNY. It'd likely force even a rich owner to downgrade payrolls and strap competitiveness. Dodgers, Cubs, Yankees, and Red Sox all spent north of $200M last year. These teams are major corporations supported by major corporations. The Bills only spent $158M AAV in 2019. It's highly unlikely that we could field a competitive MLB team that at least breaks even in profit. The silver lining - not to be overlooked - is that we have the best and biggest stadium in MiLB located in the heart of our downtown, field a competitive team (when our affiliate isn't hot trash, cough, Mets, cough), have dirt cheap tickets that make going to games extremely family friendly (as opposed to MLB-mandated ticket prices), good local food at concession stands, make a sustainable profit, and still have money left over for fireworks*. Minor league dirt piles are old-timey romantic fun, but Pilot Downtown North AmeriCare Dunn Tire Coca-Cola Sahlen Field is a true gem for sports spectatorship. Its architecture started the now continent-wide trend of modern retro-classic stadiums. *Story time: I will never, ever forget seeing a walk-off grand slam whose celebration went straight to fireworks (because Friday Night Bash). Simply awesome.

Tangent time: We were real close to drafting Bennett. Unanimous consensus in 2014 was that Florida was going to take Ekblad, leaving us our choice of Sams. Rankings were split between the two; and Bennett was the higher ranked skater according to several sources, including Central Scouting. Several mock drafts had us at Bennett, likely moreso than Reinhart. Draisaitl/Sabres conversations were late to the party, and while he was an interesting pick pre-draft, consensus was that Draisaitl was a top-five pick, not a top-two pick. The Sams' first seasons after the draft were pretty similar. Reinhart put up 0.53P/GP, Bennett 0.48P/GP. But the next three seasons would tell the tale, as Bennett put up 26P, 26P, and 27P, while Reinhart put up 47P, 50P, and 65P (more than double!) . Bennett was surpassed by his CGY peers, and it shows in his TOI, whereas Reinhart is playing top line minutes with EIchel: Bennett played 12:38 per game this past season; Reinhart played 20:32 per game. I, and most others, didn't expect Buffalo to take the risky chance on Draisaitl. I think the majority of people who second guess that decision use hindsight. Our decision at the time was between the two Sams, and we chose correctly. Anyone who thinks things couldn't be any worse for our franchise right now, isn't taking the time to imagine if we had tanked that entire miserable 2013-14 season, and then came away with Bennett instead of Reinhart.

Based on [math], I think he could pull 40.

Seems possible. I remember watching Kyle Turris dominate for a season at Wisconsin and then stall by making the jump too early. He was given up on and traded, then he refocused in the right role with the right development.

The fan base is reallll angsty right now. All of it stems from losing, but it's pointed in different directions. Many, but not all, fans were calling for Botterill's job, but those folks don't seem to be expressing pleasure regarding what has occurred. I can't remember of a time when fans called for a firing, got it, and then still weren't happy. I don't know if that's because we hired Kevyn Adams, or because we hired a GM without a publicized search, or people wanted a different/better-known name (who would that have been??), or what. Maybe it's because we have major holes in the roster that aren't yet addressed. Maybe fans will be more excited if we make start making good roster moves. But the post-Cup finals offseason doesn't start until potentially October 4th, the Draft is October 10th, and the next season start is December 1st, so we could be in for three to five more months of mopey dregs. I wasn't screaming for Botterill's head, but I recognize the newly present opportunity to gain traction and move forward. I still have some singed notion of hope. I'm hoping some of the glaring roster issues get attention so we can ice a remotely competitive team come December. I'm excited about some elements: Eichel, Dahlin, Cozens, and much more, but they need some help.

I, for one, am really glad Terry Pegula isn't Dan Snyder.

Saw that last night when it aired. The whole episode was hilarious, and when Bruce said "penis," everyone watching did a double take, Harvey then F-bombed, and everyone lost their *****. Good TV. I want to get a Bruce Smith jersey just for that moment.

Benning says no on Boeser.

Sens rebranding for this season, will go back to something close to the 1997-2007 logo, and unveil a new third. https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/1985413 Old logo:

If I had to guess, it's the TV rights. There could be fine print in the TV contract in the event a season is shortened or playoffs are cancelled that describes very specifically how and when NBC/Sports can back out of counting a season as a season under contract or can somehow prorate their payment of the contract. Current TV contract was $2B for years, so it could be up to $200M in play. Especially important if the TV contract terms are distinctly from CBA terms (ie, this year counts as a contract year for players and they get paid, but the league doesn't get all of the TV money). And if it's not explicitly a contract language problem, it's the NHL posturing for the negotiations for the next TV contract, demonstrating that even in a disaster, the rights to the league broadcasts will still be profitable. The league has already begun contract negotiations, but put them on pause until the end of the year. Every single thing the league is doing is to boost that potential TV contract. The current contract was enormous when it was signed, and the next TV contract, as TV networks increasingly rely on live sports to fight revenue loss to streaming content providers, will be even bigger. The previous contract was $75M, current one is $200M. Throw in Seatlle (13th largest US TV market) and Vegas expansions, watch other leagues' rights skyrocket, and I wouldn't be surprised if the TV contract doubles to $400M/year.

"Money over everything." - Gary Bettman

I think the nature of the game and the nature of COVID transmission could mean that several teams have experience breakouts. As of July 6, 35 players tested positive. As of today, the Penguins isolated nine players because they were exposed to someone (not another player) who tested positive. Auston Mathews (TOR) tested positive, and confirmed today that he had the virus and is now healthy. Once games get started, it could get real weird, as the NHL has prohibited teams from announcing COVID-related test results or any other injury information. You might just see players disappear from benches and rosters for weeks at a time with little to no explanation, even if it's not COVID-related.

Agreed. Life extends beyond the game. The health of the players, coaches, staff, workers in supporting industries, families, and fans is above sport. No one should be shaming those who exercise that right. In separate thoughts, it's going to be really interesting to see game rosters not at their fullest/best and it's going to be really interesting to see if they can keep COVID away from the games.