Robviously

The Kings don't have a ton that I'd want. I hope it's Phoenix.

If they think Demko is a future star, that would be a reason.

A poster on the HF boards who has broken Sabres news before and is apparently in the know says that there has been a trade but that they didn't want to announce anything during the Stadium Series today. Supposedly a Tuesday press conference is happening.

If we start Enroth tomorrow, we'll have to change our Trade Alert Level.

Just delete and re-post. And let us know if you hear anything else. You're not a BSer, so you've definitely got my hopes up. PM me too if you've got something. I'm skeptical about waiting until Tuesday to announce anything since we have a game tomorrow with Pittsburgh.

Very interesting, but not sure why it's in this thread. "Unsubstantiated rumor" thread?

Can I just mention again how much I HATE this? Like really, really hate this? This is the fourth year in a row where I'm hoping the *don't* grind out some wins late in the season. That's basically a lifetime in pro sports. Is is too much to ask that we have an entire season where I'm not conflicted about the outcome of every game? And you just know we're going to start off crappy next year so that the McDavid and Eichel talk can really ramp up before we draft 10th.

Sure. If a company came along and offered to double my pay but specified that I couldn't see/contact anyone back home (ie. my parents and family) during my time there. Doubling my pay would change my life more than Ryan Miller getting an extra $10M would change his life. But ultimately I'd pass because there's more at stake than just money. Miller's window to win the Cup is closing. Extra money will be little comfort when he's old and wishes he could have had just one more chance.

What an amazing feeling that will be. I guess it could still happen this year too. Probably at least a few playoff teams that would take a chance on Stafford.

Great post, especially the last part. If Murray turns us around very quickly we'll have to give Regier some credit for stocking up some assets for him. Totally agree with your take on the standings too. There's no way in hell we don't catch Edmonton. I think we catch Calgary too. Then we have to worry about Florida and NYI, and a bad lottery outcome. A lot can happen in 32 games.

What are they going to say? "Don't worry, Ryan. I promise you that we'll be a good team again by the time you're 36." Even the best case scenario -- where the Sabres trade him in March and then re-sign him in the Summer by throwing a massive amount of money at him -- seems super far fetched. Even if we offer Miller $2-3M more per season than the next highest bidder this Summer (which I could live with), how much is that really worth to Miller? If he has six seasons left, is he really going to want to write 1-2 of them off as rebuilding ones? I feel like he'd want to go somewhere to contend immediately and hope he's always on a contender until he retires. The guy broke into the NHL with the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 Sabres. That was a long time ago and how desperate must he be to play on a loaded team again?

I'm starting to focus more on guys ranked 16+. The Sabres already have 3 2nd round picks in June and they'll probably pick up a late first this year at the trade deadline. As much as I hope the Sabres pick in the top 3 this year, they need some direct hits afterwards too. I also wonder if they're looking at goalies. Thatcher Demko might be on the list late in the first round or with our first pick in the second.

I think Miller fits the Sabres, but maybe the Sabres don't fit Miller anymore. At least, that's my guess. And if he's not willing to re-sign by the trade deadline, he has to go.

The Devils' Stadium Series uniforms are making my heart soar. The Rangers did a great job too. I actually love what the NHL is doing this weekend and this week to fill in the space until the Super Bowl. Nice to see the league get something right.

So our only two choices are either (1) keep Ryan Miller forever or (2) never have a good goaltender ever again? Also, I'm not sure when I've seen anyone arguing that Enroth is better than Miller or that we should adopt the Flyers' plan of never having any goaltending. Maybe I'm not reading these goalie threads closely enough. If one of the arguments for keeping Miller is that we don't know who is going to step up and be our goalie with him gone, we're basically never going to be able to solve that. How many teams move on from a franchise goalie and immediately have another franchise goalie right there? The Sabres didn't when Hasek left and they wouldn't if Miller is gone after this year. Even if they re-sign Miller for 5 more years, a lot of fans won't be comfortable watching him leave at the end of that. (Unless his play completely falls off from ages 34-38, and we're just happy to see him ride off in the sunset by then.) At some point we'll have to take that leap. The point is moot anyway since this is all up to Ryan Miller: 1. Does he want to finish this season in Buffalo? Probably not. 2. Would he want to re-sign in Buffalo as a free agent? Maybe. Who knows?

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: "Team Rail Gun"

I think we're all assuming he's going to wear the uniform. The hope is that he excels in it.

Is Tim Thomas available after this year? He's a million years old and still very good.

Co-signed. This would be hilarious.

Stafford STILL needs to go.

I think last year's Blackhawks still win if they have Enroth instead of Crawford. After his last two starts, I knew we were going to get a thread like this. The guy had been pretty great for 8-10 starts before that but had the worst goal support I've ever seen for a Sabres goalie. Meanwhile the big push to re-sign Miller has also died down recently because he's been mortal in his last few starts. I'm still comfortable giving him next year to be our no.1 if it comes to that. It's more likely he's a bridge goalie (like Biron) than a long term solution, but I'm OK with that. We're not desperate to win next year. It would also be good to build a team that can win without spectacular goaltending. Miller has been hiding/minimizing a lot of our flaws for years now and if we're ever going to contend, we need an honest look at what our forwards and defense can do. All that said, if we trade Miller and then re-sign him in the offseason, that's fine by me too. (And, really, that'll just come down to what he wants. The Sabres can afford to blow him away with a $10M/year offer that no one else would ever consider. But does he want to finish up in Buffalo?)

I'm not really a fan of this idea. If we win the lottery, let's just take the player we have rated no.1 overall and be done with it. What's the point of trading down for an extra 2nd round pick (we already have 3 this year) so that we can settle for a player we have rated lower (or even risk getting not getting the guy we want)?

Surely this will be the goal that finally ends this debate.

The 2nd half of every Sabres season for four years now.

84 is a cool number.