Robviously

Wow.

He already has tens of millions of dollars. He can definitely take less to go play where he wants to play. I'm amazed more guys don't do this. But then again money makes people weird and there's a big ego/emotional component to these negotiations.

If the Amerks are red hot, he should stay down there to keep it going. I want our young players to get used to winning. McNabb is a full-time Sabre next year anyway.

I would think if the other team's offense has more room to work with, your job is tougher. Also worth noting: MoDo is bad this year. So theoretically Ullmark's numbers aren't inflated by having a great team in front of him.

I really don't count the last two drafts as "tanking." We sucked, but we didn't tank. It was part of Regier's on-again, off-again rebuilding notions. We're barely tanking this year. If we really wanted to bottom out (again, supposedly the #Blueprint), we would have moved Miller last summer. Instead we're hanging onto him and Vanek/Moulson as long as possible.

Yes, I am referring to the possibility that Moulson isn't traded AND we lose him via free agency. I don't think he has any reason to re-sign with us, even if we offer him the most money. He's older than Vanek. And much like Vanek and Miller, it should be about winning for him at this stage of his career. Why should he want to spend the next few years playing to get high draft picks? We also have not received a "high" 1st round pick for Vanek yet. It's a 1st round pick but we don't know if it will be "high." The Isles can defer to next year and there's no guarantee they'll be terrible again next year. Things change quickly in sports and the Islanders are a big market team that probably wants to put a competitive team out on the ice for their move to Brooklyn. They'll probably defer to next year on the draft pick and then do everything in their power to make sure they don't hit rock bottom.

1. Can you trade a hurt player? 2. What can you get for a hurt player as a rental? They need him to come back and play before the deadline. Right now we don't even know what's wrong.

You would think the larger rink size would make it easier for forwards (like Armia) and tougher for goalies and defense (Risto and Ullmark). So hopefully the latter come here better prepared. But it's obviously not an exact science.

If we can't flip Moulson by the deadline, it's not a great deal for us either unfortunately. If the Isles get something good for Vanek, they can basically come out even.

Supposedly the top Swedish and Finnish leagues are comparable or slightly above the AHL. But then we're seeing with Armia that success in one doesn't mean success in North America.

The Breaking Madden piece was a more competitive game....

It should be like the ending to The Godfather but with trades instead of murders. Settle all the family business. Especially Stafford.

I'm not. I'm saying the Sabres will win easily tonight.

I just assume we're finishing ahead of the Oilers so I can't get to must lose for this one. Too bad we can't bring Rolston back for tonight.

Super Bowl commercials have been bad for a while now. There are a few gems, but the vast majority are terrible now. Agreed.

I really like Foligno and Pysyk but, yes, I'm definitely hoping we do something more than just the obvious stuff (ie. trading the UFAs).

I've been following Bailey all year. His numbers aren't impressive but he's basically on the worst OHL team. Kitchener sucks. I hope he gets traded to a good team next season. He's a long term project anyway.

Love everything I read about Virtanen too, but he'll be tricky to get if NYI defers to next year. We'd basically have to trade for pick no.6-9 during the draft and who knows what those teams will want. It'd be the type of aggressive move that I like though.

I'm watching the Caps-Red Wings right now. 5-5 midway through the 3rd. They'd be crazy not to be interested in Miller.

Great, so what? That doesn't change the fact that the odds are stacked against us in the lottery regardless of where we finish, or the fact that *at best* it's a 25% chance we draft first overall. That's not "Buffalo negativity", it's just reality.

Isn't this some of what we saw with Kassian? He seemed like the Terminator at 18 because he was 6'3" and 220 pounds already and playing against teenagers. But when you're suddenly in a league with lots of badasses that big or bigger, you tread a little lighter (at least to start). Opposite of what we're seeing with Catenacci. Being small and fast doesn't get you as far in the AHL or NHL as it did in the OHL. Maybe the sweet spot is to draft someone who is productive already but is still getting bigger and stronger.

Here's a glob of absolutely nothing.... I was watching Braveheart the other night and I noticed the guy who played Robert the Bruce in that looks almost exactly like Jhonas Enroth. And I guess Miller sorta looks like William Wallace because he has long hair and is clean-shaven (somehow the only clean-shaven guy in Scotland in 1306, I noticed). So maybe the resolution to this thing is Miller suffers a horrible, gruesome end but Enroth finally gets it together and becomes the no.1. And defeats the English. "You've bled with Miller. Now bleed with me!!"

What the Sabres should do -- and, really, what all people should do -- is never assume you're going to be lucky. Always assume that if there's any luck involved, it will be bad luck. This means you have to work twice as hard and be twice as smart if you want to ensure success. If the Sabres finish last (God willing), they should be ready to draft 2nd. If they finish 3rd from last, be ready to draft 4th (or be ready to trade up if they feel the need to). If the draft lottery doesn't affect them or (LOL) if they actually win it, that's just a bonus to me. But it's not even worth talking/thinking about until then.

It's both.

To be fair, the part in bold is just a simple probability. Finishing last is still only a 25% chance of drafting first.