Doohickie

I think the offer was a 4OA for 8OA swap, not just giving away 4OA (which, I agree, would be a mortal sin). At least from the rumors I've seen. Add one player, and some other pick (not first round) and that wouldn't have been so bad. The Sabres offer was reportedly the 4OA for 8OA swap, the WPG offer did not include the 8OA coming over with Hellebuyck. I think the Sabres offer may turn out to be more than WPG gets. Sure lots of teams could offer higher, but just like the Sabres, they don't want to take too much of a hit in other areas to get Helly.

Assuming that Kulich, Östlund and Helenius become full time NHLers this year, that could easily pick up the slack. As three kids in a trench coat last year they produced 15 goals, 30 assists and were a collective +8 in +/- over 81 total games played. Multiply that by three and you get another 30 goals, 60 assists. And they are still well short of their eventual ceiling.

How is that different from Hellebuyck's situation?

Float.

On the one hand I totally get your point, but on the other, my mom is 90, her boyfriend is 95. They are having their health issues for sure, but are still living together independently (with some help from family) and going strong. They're both doing so well it's hard to imagine losing either one of them anytime soon. My mom's boyfriend recently qualified for the Guinness Book of World Records, setting three over-65 records for solving Rubiks cubes. This is them at my mom's 90th birthday party in March.

The Tempo ended production in 1994. So you're familiar with the Curse of the Buffalo Goalies...?

Norris + UPL + Kleber? Just do it.

What I'm seeing though is articles about how people simply aren't drinking as much, and when they do they're not doing craft beer, they're drinking Modelo.

1. Kulich - picks up where he left off in 2024-25. I rated him #1 because I think he will fix the power play from the bumper spot/the crease/ the low slot. If you forget where he left off, here you go. 2. Helenius - We got just a glimmer of his impact last year and it was impressive. I think there will some learning curve and he may start out in Rochester simply because he's waiver exempt. By the end of the season he may very well be competing for the 1C. 3. Östlund - I think we know what we've got here; he played 60 games last year. I think his contributions will be significant, but I still expect Kulich and Helenius to outshine him.

I don't think it will. In many areas the micro-brew trend has peaked and a lot of the breweries are closing.

Has it? Are we confident that the loss of Tuch will be overcome by improvement in the younger players?

Why, I oughta...!

Good to hear.

For some reason the Three Stooges subreddit is coming up in my feed. Interesting people. From what I've learned they were all pretty normal people outside of the studio. When he retired from show business Larry Fine volunteered many hours reading to kids in public school libraries right up to just before he passed. Curly (who was Moe and Shemp's little brother) had a tough life. He suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his leg as a teenager while cleaning a gun. It led to several health problems including obesity and high blood pressure. He suffered several strokes beginning in his early 40s (which led to brother Shemp taking over as the third stooge temporarily until Curly could return... although he never would be able to). As pictured in the stooges shorts, Moe was the "ringleader" of the group, although in real life that meant he was the brother who took responsibility for the team such as arranging Curly's care as his health declined.

He will be eclipsed by the young talent. I think when the Sabres in the Cup, Tage will be on the second line.

That's why I posted. Made ya look!

The weather was pleasant in Albany and Buffalo... perfect summer weather really. Then we drove back to Texas.

It's been 11 days. 11 days since the last post.

I didn't go inside, no. The buffalo herd looks better in person than I thought it would.

I was up visiting family last week and made a pilgrimage over to the new stadium

No, but we have the Hell Moose ready to eclipse Tage.

I feel the same about Foo Fighters. I like what I've heard but never dug deeper. I think I would enjoy seeing them live.