Ghost of Dwight Drane

Drane being Drane for the past 8 years.....like saying the team let all it's grit go in 2006.....like saying Golisano and Quinn only cared about your money.....like saying no matter how much money you have, keeping Regier and Ruff will always end in failure....like saying Hogson was just another pretty boy they would overpay......like saying they should hire LaFontaine, but if he leaves in a few months, you have certified cukoo running the show.....like saying they should draft Horvat, Lazar, and Bennett......then being told I am not a real fan by dozens who no longer post, to kill myself by a handful, that I am a horrible person from people who make money off the Sabres organization, and get banned for merely mentioning a name of someone who I would rather shake the hand of Putin than. Have I said Eichel is not going to be a good player? Have I not said that there is a small chance he will leave because he may want to stay in his hometown with his family and friends for a year to redeem his school after what he called the best year in his life? I had to watch a bunch of scumbags the past few months, openly cheer against the team AT THE GAME, and against guys like Mike Weber who was the ONLY player that has been through the past 8 years of hell and would always answer the bell no matter what. He may not be an all-star, but he always steps up in weight class to fight when a teammate is wronged, blocks shots, clears the net, plays the body....there is not 1 other that has done so much for this team. For the same cheeseballs to bitch about him when he says he was hurt that when the supposed Sabres fans openly cheered against him......disgusting. It's one thing to be sarcastic about someone, or have honest analysis on a forum created for that. It's another thing for a bunch of White Collar Trash to show up at the arena and cheer for failure so they can justify to their soccer wives and themselves why they constantly burn thousands of dollars a year on this franchise. "It's the smart thing to do." "It will all be worth it soon." Good luck. Some of the same clowns throwing honest players and coaches under the bus are the same clowns who will tell me I am not a fan. I'm glad you felt so good about openly cheering against your team this year as your Pommers, and Roysie, Millsie, and Soupy jersey hang in the closet collecting dust. But I'm the A$$HOLE................ I'll eat Rosie O'Donnell's sweatbreads if the Sabres win a playoff game next year.....

Amen

You had a home crowd of Buffalo Sabres season ticket holders CHEERING THE OPPOSING TEAM FOR THE SABRES TO LOSE!!!!!! What do you call that? The Calgary Flames will have as many playoff wins in 3 weeks as the Buffalo Sabres have had in the past 2,850 days........ What do you call that?

I just like being able to whisper in their ear as it happens. There's something very poetic about someone laughing and crying at the same time.... Plus, the southern cooking and humidity increases the peristalsis of the lower GI tract.

So a 19 year old #2 overall drafted center plays a whopping 9 games of heavily protected minutes and only managed 1 assist, WILL BE ready...or, I'm sorry, "fine", next year....in a man's league? Now we get the shiny 2015 version to trounce out and make 16,000 season ticket holders giddy their $100,000,000 in revenue contribution the past 2 years was worth it!!!!!

I'll hold him and you tickle him.......

Zadorov....this entire board was changing avatars and "Nikita Pleases" last year. Almost to a person, Girgensons and Zadorov were the only untouchables. Funny thing happened.....a 2nd year of "culture of failure" took place, and a 19 year old with a mind of his own figured "who gives a whoop if I stay on the beach another day with my juicy peach, or sleep in on an off day? We're going to lose anyway." Now nobody mentions him as an untouchable and plenty want to use him as trade bait.....12 months later..... Eichel looks like he will eventually be a really good player. It's a big change from being the crab legs in a chineese buffet to being the crablegs in a pot of doodoo stew.

We shall see. Odds are he still goes pro. Remember, Zadorov was considered an untouchable a year ago by many. A culture of failure tends to have consequences.

What are the odds the CBA is the same 8 years from now? How will his contract be driven up if he averages 50 points his first 4 years? I'd say waiting an extra year, forcing Buffalo's hand to get serious about winning and not "Hoping to improve while still being in the lottery", and being surrounded by an actual team in a year or 2 will actually enhance Eichel's net worth. "Hi.....I'm Jack Eichel for the 29th place 2015-16 Buffalo Sabres. If you buy these skates, you too can score 16 goals, and lead your team to a 75 point finish." Wouldn't you enjoy all the benefits of staying in your hometown and school, where your heart really is, force these yahoos to get you some real support, develop your body and skills another year, then come in and say.... "Hi, I'm Jack Eichel for the 20th place Buffalo Sabres. If you buy these skates, you too can score 24 goals and lead your team to a 90 point finish."

First of all...just imagine, against all odds and a longer shot than a virgin miracle birth, that UB was a year-in year-out Division 1 Hockey power. You grew up in Buffalo and your parents were a blue collar plumber and nurse. You know you have a long career in the NHL ahead of you, and lots of money, but you just had the year of your life as a hero in your hometown, at 18...with all the back pats and tail you want. You also have the ability to get a catastrophic $10 million insurance policy next year to cover your future NHL life for $70K, and finance it so you are out of pocket 4 grand next year. You also didn't bring a championship to your hometown when you were considered the best in the sport by a mile. Sure....the NHL is there for you and will be for the next 15 years. Next year is the last time all your family, lifelong friends, and city will be there for you, as well as your chance to cement yourself as a legend. The Sabres would actually probably LOVE Eichel to go back to BU. Everyone will have renewed their tickets by then, and Murray gets another year with a top 3 pick and built in excuse. Even if Eichel comes, these guys are picking top 8. The Sabres still have everyone's money, get another "elite" draft pick, then next year can make a big splash in free agency to make sure those Season Ticket Dollars keep pumping through the pipes. What happens when he shows up, has 3 goals in the first 20 games, and the Sabres are 5-13-2 with Murray's handpicked coach? I'd say there is a 20% Eichel stays.

How does that guy take a phone call while he has been watching this develop next to a tanker and a double? I agree with Ink....after 10 seconds of seeing that crap, I drop back 50 yards behind the tanker and lose a precious 15 seconds until it gets sorted out.

I like your system. I do they same, but subconciosly, and it probably runs the same amount of time. I love one place for their food, but they usually f-up my take out order or treat you like a leper one in four visits. My intestines also get a vote in the matter.....

I know a guy who always would get 100's on homework.....but 80 on the exams......

So you're saying Torts got a raw deal?

It sort of explains why you usually are bullish on the economy. I'm love/hate with Cramer. He ALWAYS slips in the truth at some point between the BS. It's like when a fatwa is issued to take out the infidel. Deep down he knows he owes you a warning of truth. If you look in the garbage cans before you leave at night, I'm sure you'll see empty bottles of Red Bull, Pepto, and Lithium.......

Well, at least there's a 90%+ chance the Sabres have another pick in the top 22.

It's all good. This may actually be a good thing. We need a code.........if I post "Double Kangaroo"......that means give me a 90 second closeup of a certain blonde.

I received a formal education. It helped me to never pick up the phone when a 645 exchange shows up on the caller ID........

Oh Sweet Jesus.......... This is like finding out your hot Vietnamese girlfriend eats dog.......

Be well. Nice to see you posting so far west these days.

Didn't Crosby and Malkin miss large parts of seasons the past few years?

How did Pitt do this year without him? Didn't they have like 10 more losses and sneak in the last day to the playoffs....playing......I dunno.....THE SABRES?!!!!! This guy has enough experience and success, and is only 44 so he can relate to the younger guys easier. I think he is the perfect balance between feel and discipline. He runs a light touch if you are trying and listening but will flip the switch if he has to. He yielded to his players deserving of respect. Every critic says, "Crosby! Malkin!", yeah.....but what about guys like Guerin, Orpik, Talbot, Rupp, Gill, Neal, Cook......he has the pulse of the room and lets it go organic. Much like I figured Myers was traded once McKenzie started talking about him as Bobby Orr.....my guess is that sure, the Sabres would try to talk to Babcock, but he ain't coming. Put it out there well ahead of time that "we're trying". The good news is that they can still land a solid coach as there are a half dozen available. Babcock is a no-go for me. All I needed to hear was Lindy talk about what a treat it was to learn from him. To borrow from the Montador thread.....that's like Max Weinberg saying he was honored to learn from Ringo Starr. Give me a Max Roach .....

Yeah....well, it's also Al Pacino's 75th birthday. I think d4rk deserves to shout, "Say hello to my lil' friend."

I chose those drummers for a reasons. The best musicians usually don't make that type of money. Bottom line, Montador was an awesome teammate who always gave of himself on and off the ice. I just think it is folly to pin this on concussions. It's a mental health issue, which concussions could have been a synergistic issue, but not the direct cause. In the stock market among other data driven areas, there is an idea of Beta. I think you have to look at the mental makeup and personality of people in the same terms. If the average reaction to a stimulus is 1.0 , some people may be highly emotional or divergent, or prone to make quick decisions. They may have a Beta of 3. Then you may have a very conservative person who is calculated and doesn't want to make a mistake or rock the boat, and their Beta may be a 0.5. When the same event happens that impacts both of these people, the mental impact and reactions of both can be expected to greatly different. A concussion and retiring may lead a guy like Montador to critical mass after taking his baseline into account to a point where his sense of self-worth is shattered. If the same thing happens to Ville Lieno, maybe he sits at home drinking espresso, petting his cats, and collecting a 200K pension every year. Montador seemed like he was very self aware, and the downtime probably made him obsess even moreso about his situation, which made it an exponential sitiuation that fed off itself.

Tim Murray, Mall Cop. You know that he at least lurks here from time to time.