Ghost of Dwight Drane

So Rolston was 6-4 in shootouts, and 1-1 in OT. His record was 1 point out of the playoffs in an 82 game season. With this roster....I will take a coinflip of getting into the playoffs and a coinflip of winning the game once in OT in the playoffs. Considering the previous crew missed 7 of the past 11......Rolston deserves tons of credit. You need to read up......Rope-a-dope....Tampa 2 defense.....the 1992 Atlanta Braves....Giacomo.....NJ Devils circa 2000....Butler vs. Duke.....etc..etc..etc.. You identify you weaknesses and protect them. You identify your strengths and lean on them. You exploit the weakness in your opponent and the rules. That's what Rolston did.

He crushed the points system. He was only 1 game under DeLuca .500, and just get me there......you get me to overtime in the post season, and it isn't going to a shootout. How many shootout losses did he have versus OT w/L? I need to look that up. But given the roster and results.....anyone trying to discredit the job Rolston did is giving him the shaft. We will see if longterm his style holds up. And I agree...I would have rather tanked, gotten a top 5 pick, and had Torts or AV come in and coach. Given our lot in life however, I like Rolston and give him tons of credit.

Someone tell me I'm not the only sicko trying to decipher the reflection in the glass.....

Wow! That's fine to say you'd prefer the Sabres to have tanked for long term draft prospects, but to fluff off such a huge difference in results is pretty goofy. If you can get a game to a shootout in the regular season....you can get it to overtime in the post season. And good luck winning the puck possession battle with the roster you have. I think Rolston did a fine job and has given the kids the best chance at success. The guys with attitude were allowed to flow more and given more opportunity, and he wasn't afraid to make bold statements like benching vets and franchise favorites. Your argument is pretty much saying the Bills under Coach Ruff were just as good at 6-10 as the Bills under Coach Rolston at 9-7 because coach Rolston played a bend but don't break zone defense and won games 17-14 instead of losing them 31-24. And this after losing 4 quality vets from the first 40% of the season Ruff coached. Sometimes you just have to give a guy credit for exploiting a system. The Rangers were one of the top 4 teams last year and top 8 this year, standing in the playoffs. I want wins. Not pretty boys.

I'm ashamed I didn't know what it was. That had to be an answer for an orange pie piece at one time or another.

Lent isn't until March....and I can't believe she got you to convert.... I'm going to go google what you are actually talking about now.....

That's the way the NHL is set up unfortunately....and the Sabres played better under Rolston while being partially gutted and having to field 30% of an AHL team. That's why I liked the Rangers. They actually have the talent to pull it off. Unfortunately for Torts, they got sick of sacrificing for 2 years. I can't blame Rolston for playing boring. He did a good job in maximizing results. And I know you are WAAAAYYYYY too sharp to say "His record was not significantly better than Ruff's" Rolston put up 35 points in 31 games Lindy put up 13 points in 17 games. That's 47% more points!!!!!!! That's 93 points over a full season vs. 63 for Ruff. Rolston is just smart enough to exploit the NHL system.

Considering the way the Sabres played under Rolston, get ready for boring hockey here. Some of the same players were a lot tougher to play against in my opinion, and there was an attitude shift. I don't find it boring though. If the guys buy into it, it gives you a shot to get to the playoffs, and that type of battle is what can get you along once there. I still say the simplest little goof is what doomed the Rangers last year. Mike Rupp. When you don't have that guy on the bomb squad capable of diffusing a lockerroom in any situation, it's tough. And I'm not saying the Rangers D are all-world....I'm saying from 1-4, off the top of my head, Chicago is the only team that I would jump at over them.

We shall see....I have an open wager with TrueBlue on the Rangers winning the cup the next 2 years. I got a bit nervous when Torts left, but AV may actually be better for their D-men. Offense....not so sure. And on the hit front....discount the totals 15% if that is the case. Del Zotto is the least physical of the 4 and I would have traded Myers for him 2 years ago. We COULD have a lot of stuff over the years. My advice would be to try and find common currency. What would it have taken in the draft to land each of the Ranger defensemen? What could you have gotten for Myers or McCabe? My guess is that NY is at least 2 1st round draft picks better when you put it together. Pretty much what Vanek and Miller are worth at this point.....

That's the point X...you have 4 defenders who are #2-#3....they can move the puck, play d, hang in there on the physical side, work the power play....and each of them is a +1 at one of those attributes. And if the Sabres D is doo-doo....they are bringing back the same 4 at $15 million, swapping Tallinder for Sekera. What is the Rangers cap hit on their D?

What 4 guys? Myers, McNabb, McCabe, Ruhweedle, Pysyk? Last year salary $15 million for a dozen NHL points? How about the Sabres top 4 last year? Ehrhoff, Myers, Sekera, Weber..... 165 Games....49 Pts.....248 hits.....122 of which were Weber's McDonaugh, Del Zotto, Girardi, Staal.......160 Games....65 Pts....335 Hits... The Rangers top 4 are pretty evenly distributed as well. They all come in between .4-.5 pts per game and 2 hits per game give or take. With those 4 you can take up close to 80% of the ice time and not skip a beat. Plus they have Stralman who is an ok defender. Suffering vs. Playoff runs. That's what we've seen, and that's what I expect to see in the near future.

I've broken it down in the compliance buyout thread. You still could go forward with your rebuilding plan, and in fact you would have had extra 1st round draft picks this year to add to the talent pool. It still will take most of them 3-4 years to get to an impact ready phase in the NHL. In the meantime you could have targeted vets that would be on 2-4 year contracts. I would have made a play on Clarkson. I would have made a play on MacArthur. Those 2 guys are young enough to still have impact in 3 years. Even if you had to pay them 6.5 and 4 per year....you still have 18 million to look at the Iginlas, and Jagrs, and a Ference, etc. It doesn't matter. If you like the young guy, he will be an impact in 3 years....the old vets...their contracts will be gone by the time your young kids are ready to make an impact. In the meantime the fans actually get entertained by honest to goodness NHL talent who would give you a much better shot at the playoffs. The issue with people not wanting to come to Buffalo isn't going to go away by sitting on the sideline and fielding a poor team.

Ok, were you doing the filming yesterday? :) Oh well....crazy rains either way.

Here's the problem with your theory. The cap artificially went down this year due to the CBA, which also caused a chain reaction of buyouts of fairly capable NHL players, leaving the UFA market saturated. Next year the cap is projected to go up 7-10 million for ALL teams. That is an extra $210 to $300 million available per year to pay players. This year, the Sabres are $11 million under the cap, but had the potential to get much lower if they were proactive in trading away Miller, Vanek and Stafford. Those 3 moves alone for draft picks would have the Sabres just under $30 million under the cap. At this point in time according to CapGeek, the playoff teams from this year are a TOTAL of $108 million under the Cap, and that includes the Islanders 22. The Sabres very well could have had 30% of the UFA buying power of the entire 16 playoff teams this year. The rest of the league has a total of $108 million under the cap. So if the Sabres had traded away Vanek, Miller and Stafford heading into FA, they would have had 15% of the purchasing power compared to THE ENTIRE LEAGUE! Even if the Sabres do eventually trade away these players, next season the buyout process will have been complete for many teams, and the total free cap space for the league will go from $215 to somewhere between $400 and $500 million. This was the year to act. The competitive advantage was outstanding. Next year, assuming all constants, with the added cap increase,

The person is standing 8 feet away from a live cannon that is about to fire in who knows what direction. I'm guessing it wasn't IKnowPhysics doing the filming.

3 of the 4 can shake 'n bake. I'm excited to see the coach swap next year. I would be willing to wager both teams do at least as well as last. AV fits NY a little better than Torts in VAN, but I would put NY's D in the top 5 of who I would want. A little bit of everything...D..movement...physicality.

What F'n a-hole filmed that? Woodbine racetrack is under water.....cars floating, horses stuck in stalls, disaster area.

Right, because they live in a city where fans don't accept 3 playoff series in 12 months. We live in one that accepts 0 in 6 years with seasons worth of suffering on tap. Del Zotto had 41 points and was a +20 in '12 and was on pace for 38 points and a + 11 last year with 14 PP points in both. Myers last year was on pace for 16 points, a - 16, and 5 PP points. Del Zotto also makes $2.5 million last year and this. I find the 2 in the same sentence funny as well......

McDonaugh, Del Zotto, Staal, Girardi......24, 23, 26, 29. Scary possibilities.....

This is where Pegula and some posters probably get confused. By calling Darcy a Weasel, I don't think anyone feels he is lurking in the back of the Cheektowaga garage, waiting for everyone to go play Kan-Jam outside so he can abscond with the first communion envelopes for little Stachu. By calling him a weasel, it is in the sense he protects his job at all costs. How do you do that? By making decisions which are ultra safe, so your body of work is never bold enough to be judged harshly. By stretching out time, and avoiding aggressive moves which could possibly set your team back, you never let a decision backfire on you to the point it ruins the team. At the same time however, you never gice your team a true chance to win a Cup, and need to rely on luck. But that's ok for a "job" weasel. The goal is to prolong your employment. I'm sure we all know plenty of "nice" people when it comes to the office cafeteria, or that ask how your kids are doing.....but at the same time they can be a "job" weasel, always deflecting responsibility so they never have to take blame, but at the same time they are more than willing to jump in and be counted when credit is being passed around. This is what I consider Darcy. His lone BOLD move was letting everyone walk for nothing between '06-'07.....and he was able to say..."Wasn't me...my painting hand was being held." But what he did do was fail to take a run at a Cup those years, knowing full well what Golisano's plan was regarding the team going forward. If you are trapped in a snowstorm overnight at the Marriott in JFK, and Sofia Vegara is stranded with you, drinking margharitas at the hotel bar with only the bartender in sight, you don't twiddle your thumbs by yourself then lament for years later you didn't make a move. You know this is your only shot, and the conditions are perfect. You either give it your best shot, knowing you can fail to live the dream very easily, or you man-up and take advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity. Darcy not only was scared to talk to her, but he asked the bartender to put on Star Trek on the TV. ................Now we are told to suffer, and all we can do is think of "what could have been". And what better way for a job weasel to keep his tenure going another 5 years than to convince the owner the team is horrible, but it isn't your fault, so you need to do a complete rebuild and suffer going further, then you can win a cup. And in 4 years when the Sabres maybe squeak out a playoff round victory, I'm sure Darcy will convince Pegula that if only Girgensons didn't separate his shoulder in the first round, and Tyler Myers didn't have his aorta burst in 2015, that the Cup would be his.....and he will weasel his way into employment for another two years after that. ............I hope this clarifies for some people who feel I am too harsh on Darcy. We ALL know work weasels, and some may even be your friends outside the office. That's what Darcy is....to his soft, skill-loving core.

Thank you for some sanity.....everyone is chirping about how teams are overpaying? They are underpaying for the most part on the open market in my opinion. By the end of those 7 year contracts, Clarkson especially will be like having him at 3 million or so today. There have been 3 dozen quality hockey players move for between 3 and 5 million. What happens the next 3 years? Like you said, Stan Bowman and Boston have already said they see a cap pushing 74 million in 2014. Good, proactive teams will wiggle to make it a year, and end up with an extra 7-10 million next year.....just in time to pay the FA class of 2014 who almost certainly won't want to come to Buffalo...and Buffalo will have lost a competitive advantage of being in the market this year with both the cap space and an owner willing to spend. If they were really going to do a rebuild, there was nothing wrong with jettisoning Miller, Vanek and Stafford, and taking a shot at the guys in their mid 20's like Clarkson, McArthur, etc. Or, like a bunch of us were begging when Pegula took over this team.....clean house and start the rebuild 3 years ago. Imagine the catbird seat we'd be in today if that were the case. The Sabres are always a day late and a dollar short.

I go on streaks of exercise for a month or two, then slack off. I'm just a big boy, so I hate running because of the pounding, but I like PA's balance between walking and free weights, then spicing the walking up with some extra stuff. I think people all too often want to lose weight as goal #1, so they do heavy cardio. I've found the best thing to do in my opinion is to take advantage of your extra bulk and start weight work first and concentrate on that. Instead of a 3 mile walk, maybe do a 30 minute walk and then 20 minutes of weights for the first few months. At least in my case, I bulk up and tone much faster, then can move to more cardio over time with the increased muscle support. I'm built like a left tackle though, so I am not sure that will work for everyone. I use dumbbells as you are constantly moving weight, picking them up and putting them down, moving into position, and it forces you to use all your stabilizers. I don't even have a weight bench but will use the bed for bench and flys. Once you get technique down and build your stabilizers, you can add weight. And don't expect to push the same with dumbbells as a bar and bench....maybe only 70-80%. These also make it easy to push to your limit because if you start failing, just dump the weight to your side. I'm far from a pro at it, but this works best for me. Then as you increase your big things like bench and shrugs, your original weights can be used for some of the lighter stuff like shoulders and curls. It's impossible to max out, but if you just want health and tone, nothing stopping you from doing 3 sets of 30 at 150 instead of 10 at 225, or whatever level works for you. Get creative. On that note, I'm headed to the casino to drink some beer......

Great fit. Will they? No clue....but he could thrive on a 4th line on a team like Boston.

I hope a spoonbill dumps on his head.......