nfreeman

Yes, Eichel will probably get fed up at some point if things don't improve, and yes, he might ask to be traded. That doesn't mean the Sabres will grant his request -- especially in light of the debacle that ensued when it happened with ROR -- and it sure doesn't mean the team will relocate.

So you hope he catches a disease and dies? How nice.

First bolded -- I agree that these items aren't a huge ask. The problem is that this is far from a complete list. Schools are not reopening in many parts of the country. This imposes an enormous cost, both on the quality of the education and on the parents' ability to go to work. Similarly, restaurants, hotels, theaters and similar establishments are closed or operating at fractional capacity, which results in millions of jobs staying vaporized. Not to mention the thousands of companies that went bankrupt and won't be coming back. 2nd bolded -- again, the assumption assumes away the discussion. Those numbers aren't even close to established. Continental Europe has more than double the US population, and they have largely re-opened to a greater degree than we have. Do you think they expect to incur millions of deaths in a 2nd wave?

Oh FFS. They aren't trading Eichel and they aren't moving. Some people don't know how to be anything other than vituperative.

... but probably not until the end of the Finals, innit?

C'mon. This isn't about not being able to attend hockey games or dine out. Let's not pretend that millions of people out of work, the related increases in depression, addiction, family breakups, etc., millions more unable to obtain non-Covid-related medical care for months, the loss of close to a year of school for millions of kids, a huge reduction in GDP, huge reductions in tax revenues -- and thus much less money available for social programs, schools, government services, parks, trash removal, pensions, etc. -- isn't an enormous cost.

Both of the bolded items embody major assumptions that essentially assume away the discussion. Who are these "most people?" Much of this country, and most of Europe, has gone back to school, in person, full time, and in many cases without masks. And what behavior is "dangerous?" And is it really "dangerous?" I read a stat a few days ago to the effect that something like 26,000 college students have tested positive for the virus just this fall, with zero hospitalizations. It seems increasingly clear that the virus poses essentially zero risk to those under age 40 who do not have major co-morbidity factors, and a very low risk to those under age 65 without major co-morbidity factors. Maybe the right answer is, and has always been, to be very careful around the vulnerable segments of the population, but otherwise to go back to normal -- because the cost of doing what we've been doing is and has been enormous.

He's really something, innit? Brown is really good and Diggs is a clear step up from Brown.

@thorny raises a good question: for those turning their noses up at Bjuggy (heh), how confident are you that the Sabres will bring in 2 centers better than he is?

God bless you and them @SwampD. I bet they like Stefon Diggs.

Out of the employees that have left PSE, how many do you think have been fired vs left voluntarily? Separately: for those unhappy about the possibility of an internal cap: how much money do you think the team will lose next year at a $72MM payroll? And how much do you think it's reasonable to expect TP to lose? $10MM? $20MM? More?

I sure hope you're right, and I agree that the signs of immaturity are there, and that this often improves over time. My bigger concern though is that Casey's alleged talent simply doesn't exist. I do not see any signs whatsoever of Mitts being able to process the game at NHL speed. When he has the puck in the o-zone -- which is pretty rare, as his line spends most of its time chasing the puck in the d-zone -- the opposing defender is able to simply take it away like Mitts isn't even there. And it didn't sound like it was much better when Mitts was in Rochester either. Time will tell. Max was also able to produce in the AHL substantially better than Casey did (18 pts in 15 games vs 25 pts in 36 games for Casey). Max was also essentially a 40-pt guy in his 1st 3 NHL seasons, other than the 11-pt season, which he missed more than half of with a concussion, and the following season, in which he had 31 pts. Apples and crabapples. Overall, I will reiterate that, as with Nylander last year, I'm in no hurry to cut Casey loose. The Sabres should not do so until he needs to clear waivers or they have to make a significant contractual commitment to keep him. Until then, he should stay in Rochester. In the meantime, I'm happy to include him in a package for a good player if the other team wants him, and I'm definitely not counting on him.

Yes please, although I doubt Vegas will include Glass, as he is their top prospect. Someone will probably take MAF off their hands for Vegas' first-rounder this year.

Well, I think this is fair for the early part of Max's career, but over time he developed into a major, and not occasional, contributor -- not on par with Drury or Briere (and I agree with your point on leadership), but right there IMHO with Vanek, Roy, Pommer, etc. His speed put a ton of pressure on the opposing D. He was also an underrated playmaker who could pass it as well, if not better, than he shot it. Also, the Sabres sending him out with a couple of talented linemates on their 3rd line created major matchup problems for the opponent. If Mitts ends up contributing as much as Max did, it will be a major win for the Sabres and a big surprise to me. I never saw Max looking anywhere near as lost and hopeless as Casey looked this past season.

I generally agree that the Sabres aren't as far away as some might think -- but I also think Mitts has many miles to go before he can play in the NHL, and that there is a good likelihood that he won't get there.

That would be amazing, but I'll eat my hat if it happens. Max had 3 seasons of 61 or more pts (one of which was 61 in 56 games, and another of which was 73 pts). I have a hard time seeing Casey putting up 40 pts at any point in his career, and I think it's close to 50/50 that he washes out entirely.

Well, the Bruins are indeed a good organization, but it should be noted that Edmonton tried hiring their GM and he crashed and burned there, leaving McD's teams to this point in his career only marginally more successful than the Sabres have been.

On the Reaves hit, I thought he was going for a big hit, but Motte kinda ducked and stuck his head in there at the last second, which turned it into a kill shot to the head. I would prefer that the NHL adopt a stricter policy -- ie that the hitter needs to make it his business to avoid the head at all costs -- but they aren't there yet. Under the current rules, I think Reaves' punishment was about right, and I don't think a skill player would've been suspended at all.

TP continues to spend lots of dough on the Bills. Good for Tre and good for the franchise.

Come on. We know you are more generous of spirit than this. Robin was young and he made some poor choices that were fed and exacerbated by mental health issues. Then he had the guts and selflessness to come clean about it publicly because he wanted to help others. He is certainly responsible for his choices, and the consequences of those choices. But he’s suffered and been embarrassed publicly, and he’s lost millions of dollars in the process. I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life. I sure hope there aren’t that many people out there rooting for me to fail in the future because of those mistakes. FWIW, I also think rooting for someone to fail has a corrosive affect on the person doing the rooting. It’s not good for you. Kindness, forgiveness and supportiveness is.

Well, I think if he had crashed and burned in the playoffs, he’d have been looking at another short-term deal from someone, especially in an offseason with plenty of available goalies.

Lehner had 3 shutouts in this series. If he plays well in the next round, someone will give him a nice contract in the offseason. Good for him.

This game kinda feels like Vegas will continue to dominate but Vancouver will jump on a loose puck at some point and beat Lehner. I think they just said that Demko has saved the last 96 shots he's faced.

An undrafted rookie with a hat trick and the OT GWG in game 7! Awesome. And the GWG was set up on a very nifty play by none other than Reggie Sekera, working from Wayne Gretzky's office.

I need to throw up and then cry for a while. I'll be back in a few hours.