Eleven

I think I have to take Krupp as my "big body." Ristolainen just seems to have a maturity / lack of seriousness / something issue that I can't quite put my finger on. I like him, and I would be loath to see him go without an appropriate return, but Krupp's going to be my guy who takes up space and can't be moved. Now I have to think about the other two, both of whom were among my favorites of their era.

Yes, I am keeping that in mind. A "settle-down" guy is not the same as a shutdown guy to me. For example, Mike Peca would shut someone down. Jochen Hecht would settle down the game. It's that "seventh defenseman" slot that will be determined by the result of Numminen/Tallinder and Krupp/Ristolainen, so I'm not going to obsess over it. On the other hand, we have nothing else to do right now.

So I know I want a giant back there. Someone who's just huge and tough to move around. That's going to be either Krupp or Ristolainen. Krupp has a little bit of an edge for me here, but this selection will also affect choice #3. I also know I want a calm defenseman. Someone who, no matter what, just doesn't lose focus and sticks with the play. Can settle down the tempo of a game when needed. That's going to be either Tallinder or Numminen, and this is an even tougher choice. What happens with decisions 1 and 2 will affect my third choice. If I go with Krupp and Numminen, I might need a better puck-carrier like Ehrhoff for the third slot. If I go with Ristolainen and Tallinder, I might have the flexibility to add more brawn and nastiness (Korab). Please discuss, limiting your responses to 1000 words or fewer.

If I'm building the best Sabres team ever, Schoenfeld is on it and Hajt probably makes it too. But if we're looking at specific roles, well, something more to think about. Zhitnik's specialty, eliminating opposing fans, was nullified when they put the nets up around the boards, so he's probably out for me.

New poll isn't up...maybe you're still working on it though?

Mmmmmm, Kobe Bryant on a nice Italian loaf.

Whatever; enjoy the murder hornets.

The team is improved, but the schedule is tougher.

The team that trashed them would have finished third, not first, in any of the other three divisions, too. There really is no perfectly fair way.

Even better example: 1987-88. Toronto, 52 points, in. Rangers AND Penguins, 82 and 81, out. So I'm not going to feel particularly sorry for the Rags if the NHL sticks to top 6 in each division.

Yeah, that's why I want them to trade the pick.

I actually meant the system in place in the 80s-90s. Check out 1990-91 for an example. Vancouver, 65 points, in. Philadelphia, 76, out. Why? Should the Kings get the opportunity to play the Ducks as well? If so, where does this stop, short of a 31-team tournament?

Who is this going to benefit?! More like abused husbands.

Ok. What's going on here?

What they did to Erik Karlsson is just mean.

Ok let's move this along. Tim and Kerry aren't getting any younger.

Yet that's the way it was done for years and years. The idea behind the division thing is that they could preserve rivalries for the 2020 playoffs while sending each division to a neutral site. The idea behind the expansion to 24 teams is to get more eyeballs on more screens. Frankly, I'd rather the league stick to 16 teams. But the idea of a Toronto-Buffalo play-in series is exciting, I must admit.

I'm all for the NBA making a decision already so that the NHL can just follow it.

What do you think they're going to do in November? Brandish more rifles? Wave larger confederate flags?

These people are nuts.

Calvinism is a mistake. And what it bore is even worse.

New England WAS beatable last year, except for those pesky referees.

The 11-5 friend predicted that calls would still go NE's way. So maybe not.

So a zoom conversation with two friends resulted in the following predictions: 8-8, 11-5, 10-6. I'm the 10-6. This is not an easy schedule.

The day ends in a Y. I have no idea of the month.