IKnowPhysics

Mike Harrington ‏@BNHarrington 3m3 minutes ago Can confirm @NHLbyMatty report that #Sabres have been kicking tires on Nail Yakupov. #Oilers

@todd_vic http://i.imgur.com/V87MQd0.png

So I let this one loose on r/hockey, and they're shitting themselves. Do we have any more info on this? Twitter handle of that guy?

Penis McGuire thinks that Stamkos is either signed or traded today. 2:30ish. http://www.tsn.ca/radio/ottawa-1200/mcguire-expect-breaking-news-on-stamkos-today-1.514565

IT'S HAPPENING

Concussion only clouds his value, but doesn't yet diminish it for me before he's fully evaluated in games. Before the concussion, Ennis finished top five in Sabres scoring every year he played (mostly top three), including an injury-shortened season. At full strength, he's a guaranteed top-six guy on any team, and that straight up pick-for-veteran-player value is a first-half-of-first-round pick, 9-14. The obvious question is: does the concussion cloud diminish actual trade value, and if so, how much. It's a question of risk vs reward for the GM who's trading the pick for Ennis. It'd be easier for a GM to manage risk in a two-for-two package trade instead of a straight up one-for-one. But unless Ennis has become somehow secretly devalued by Bylsma, the medical staff, or the presence of upcoming young forwards on the roster, I don't think it makes sense to trade one-for-one. Nobody knows his value and risking what he's worth healthy -an earlier first round pick- would be a large gamble by an opposing GM.

He could be fooling himself or saying what he thinks he needs to say to get back on the ice.

I'm not quick to join the -on-Ennis wagon. I think we should retain his potential skill... for now... unless something huge is on the table. But Pysyk plus Zemgus for Fowler I would do in a heartbeat, and I like both those guys. Fowler is a much better and much more seasoned Dman at the same age as Pysyk. The upgrade cost is Zemgus, who plays a great style of game, but lost his way a little, either under Bylsma or with the influx of young centers. Zemgus has become less valuable to us, but maybe not to other teams, and in this scenario could end up a win-win for ANA and BUF. A low round pick (4-6) to Buffalo would lube this trade up to be a no brainer.

Well, Vincent was done in circumstantially by his own doing. Vincent was on the can when he got shot. Why? Heroin makes you constipated. Otherwise, he's likely locked and loaded when Butch gets home.

All other non-cap things aside: VAN has $10.4M, DET has $14.6M (but only 13 players signed) cap space free. They'd likely both have to jimmy things around to make everything work out. Meanwhile, we have >$24M free with 14 players signed.

I wrote that into my post, then backed off, because there wasn't an easy way to prove that I wouldn't be at the draft and starting it myself. I won't be at the draft. I wholly expect one.

I enjoyed this. Thank you.

As mentioned, Pegula does a preamble, either before the start of the draft or before our pick. GMTM names that tune in four notes, "Buffalo selects ______ ______." I also predict record high decibels during the traditional booing of Bettman.

Why not Zoidberg? Why not Zoidberg.

Hooray for life experiences. I usually pass on the cruises. I never pass on the scotch. Welcome to the addiction. You've had some of the better, easy-to-find entry-level scotches. Glad you liked them. Next up, try the Macallan 12. It's a great Speyside. Smooth. Slightly sweet. It's a couple bucks more than what you've had so far, but it's not expensive (in terms of $cotch) and it's not that hard to find. If you like that, try anything from Oban (a highland). If you're looking to put hair on your peaches, namely by Scotching with peat and/or smoke, try an islay, namely Lagavulin or Laphroaig or Ardbeg. Early on, don't feel compelled to dump $ into a bottle of something that's super aged (18+ years). Find out what traits/styles you like first, then head up the age/money scale later. I go neat all the time, but to each their own; neat let's me figure out what I like and don't like without pulling any punches. And I wasn't considering having a dram tonight, but after jotting this down, I definitely will. For anyone interested: Oban 14 Carribbean Cask.

I'm down with Keller. Corey Pronman has him ranked at four: If he's there, we take him at 8.

This happened a few times, yes. But don't undervalue the work of the player agent to determine the client's value among prospective teams during the season then advise him to turn down the offer. This is what happened with McKee. Ancient history: http://www.semissourian.com/story/1158825.html IIRC, few teams were signing players to contract extensions a year before the contracts were up. And it was Regier that declined to negotiate during the season because he thought it was a distraction for players.

I like Jay. It was no secret that McKee was a key part of, maybe the key part of, a very good Sabres defense during an era when shutdown defense pairs ruled the ice. But at the time of his departure, the Sabres were willing to sign McKee to about $2M per season. The St Louis Blues, desperate for defensemen after parting ways with Chris Pronger which caused them to win only 21 games that year, doubled that offer to $4M and stretched it to four years. The same $4M salary that Ottawa gave Jason Spezza after his put up 90 points in 68 games. Just about everyone in Buffalo was sad to see Jay go, but happy that the Sabres hadn't signed him to a bloated $16M contract. And what happened? The Blues bought him out after his third year because, even after player salaries inflated after the lockout, he wasn't worth it. The new NHL needed mobile, puck handling defensemen. So curse Larry and Tom for lots of things, but don't feel bad because they passed up on a contract that the rest of the league laughed at.

Won't be a charge for Saturday (but still ticketed). Likely won't be a charge for the viewing party at Canalside Friday.

NEXT CHAPTER ALL THE THINGS. /s Can we call it the Key Hole?

This is a way to inject planned obsolescence into licensed apparel. Not only will you have to put up with teams changing logos/colors, wearing throwbacks/thirds/anniversary/holiday jerseys, now your two year old jersey won't have the correct advertiser on the chest. That's a nice jersey you got there, it looks just like my new one, except my new one has the Labatt and Tim Hortons logos all over it, not the First Niagara and Univera logos. Teams will eat up the sponsorship money. Teams will eat up the apparel money. This won't be soccer. NHL and NHL team sponsors aren't going to sign long term contracts. It will be deplorable, and we will be telling our kids about the days before the uniforms were ruined.

Is the full video anywhere? Sabres.com only has the 1-on-1 post interviews and the stream link to nhl.com no longer works.

You were all thinking Hody Codgson, but don't forget this happened with ROR too. ROR apologized.

One could argue that O'Reilly's perseverance was stumbling in the early offseason, then embracing his new role on a new team that had substantially invested in him, and him quickly and diligently maturing to properly exceed expectations in that role. Assuming he's not still a up and that was a one-time ordeal he has/had to overcome, it's not far from a decent redemption story. I don't know if I buy this romance, but O'Reilly's been playing well and stories are that he's become a leader, which is an indication that he's not planning on going to the drive thru at Ted's Hotdogs.