nfreeman

Fair question, and one that must be answered without pretending that he'd accept a deal from the Sabres that he's refused to accept from Winnipeg. I would give him a bridge deal that ends with him still an RFA. I assume that it would need to be at least $8MM per year. I also wouldn't make the trade without discussing and agreeing on a deal with Laine beforehand.

There is NFW that Winnipeg gives up Laine for Risto without major sweeteners (e.g. Reino, Cozens, 2020 #1, etc). If JB could get Laine for Risto plus [anything other Eichel, Dahlin, Skinner, Reino or Cozens] -- I say yes immediately.

'Twas a beautiful WNY summer day until winter storm Cozens roared in from the North. Dismounting his direwolf amidst the howling winds, the mystical warrior looked around at his teammates and said, simply, "follow me." There would be no going back.

Evander Kane's nude photos sure seem to have made @Thorny frisky today, innit?

I like this, although I think Sheary, Olofsson and Vesey (and maybe Jojo) will all be competing for that #1RW spot, and I don’t think Sheary will win that competition.

Can someone explain what "Tage-ing the Thompson" means?

Hopes: - RK has the right stuff to muscle the Sabres out of their tank-induced loser mental quicksand and into a focused, confident mindset, resulting in a group that believes in itself. - The new goalie coach makes chicken salad out of Hutton and Ullmark. - Eichel stays healthy, and Reino stays locked in, for the entire season. - A few of Olofsson, Vesey, TT, Sheary, Mittsie and CJ step up and provide scoring depth. - Dahlin makes a statement to the rest of the NHL. Fears: - None of my hopes pans out, especially as regards RK and the goaltending. - Mitts continues to be unable to make plays against NHL defensemen. - The Sabres continue to stink and Eichel's interview on locker clearout day sounds like ROR's and Risto's most recent ones. Expectations: - More than half, but less than 80%, of the contingencies that the Sabres need to return to respectability are borne out. - RK makes a big difference in their attitude. - Risto is traded for a pretty good forward before opening night. - The Sabres are in the mix into March before fading and finishing with 90 pts. - Goaltending isn't top-10 but doesn't fall off the table in the 2nd half either.

Here are some snippets from the Athletic preview that I found particularly trenchant:

The reservations expressed upthread regarding the roster being unsettled at this date are valid, but I think that Athletic article is one of the best pieces they've done on the Sabres.

Do we know what the cap impact is? I assume they save his $6MM base salary but is there an offsetting cap hit of some kind?

I wonder if anyone would like to start a prediction poll as to which of the high-end RFAs are signed in time to start the season... It seems like at least one will hold out, and it's quite possible that one will be traded. If so, I hope JB is in the mix.

I've never been a huge Pommer fan, but he indisputably was a good NHL player for a long time. That time ended 3-4 years ago and he's declined each year since then. The most likely outcome is that no NHL team offers him another contract. At this point, the fact that certain analytics can be used to justify signing him demonstrates the limitations of analytics.

An (IMHO) interesting fact: the salad dressing is from this area in NY/Ontario (which is a much more pleasant drive from NYC/eastern NYS to Toronto than via Buffalo, FWIW). And they have a great duty free store at the border there.

Still, there are some big names, including Boomhower, from “King of the Hill” and Stephen Harper, from the office of the Prime Minister of Canada.

Very sorry to hear this gents. You gave them good lives, I'm sure, and they enriched your lives quite a bit. God bless.

We had my son home for the summer after his freshman year of college for a great, and long, summer break, and now he's gone again. I am proud of him and I know he can't stay home forever, but I really miss him. Also -- a truck owned by the college hit my car in the parking lot there yesterday! They will pay, but it will be a PITA to deal with.

Adding a guy like Clowney for his contract year sure seems like it'd be worth a 3rd-rounder. And giving up on Zay Jones would well demonstrate why BB/McD are being too clever by half in their habit of giving up mid-round picks to move up for the 2nd/3rd round diamond in the rough they've supposedly identified.

The bolded is fair -- I was thinking more of the 2nd half.

I agree 100% with the bolded but there is NFW that Bogo is re-signed. He can't stay healthy and his D zone play nose-dived last year IMHO. OTOH, if he plays 65+ games this year, I agree that someone will sign him. But it won't be the Sabres.

So the immediate cap concerns are resolved. Buffalo Sabres @BuffaloSabres GM Jason Botterill has issued the following statement today in regards to defenseman Matt Hunwick:

You're certainly right about KD's and Kawhi's teams not being crappy organizations. My point as to those 2 was more on the trade-off between the huge long-term contract $$ on the one hand and freedom/flexibility/leverage on the other that the players have to evaluate.

McD finds himself in exactly the type of situation -- being married to a crappy organization with zero prospects of winning anytime soon -- that has driven LeBron, Durant, Kawhi and many other NBA stars to sign a series of short-term contracts instead of long-term deals. This gives the player the ability to walk away if the team doesn't hold up its end. OTOH, the price the player pays for this freedom and flexibility is the risk of foregoing the huge guaranteed $$ that is available in a long-term deal. It isn't exactly apples to apples, as NBA contracts are shorter anyway, and NBA teams have a shorter period in which they can hold onto their young players, but I think the core concepts are still applicable. McD could've signed a deal that took him to UFA and no further. If he had done so, he would've held the Oilers' feet to the fire to build a good organization around him. He took the money instead (which is what I would've advised him to do) -- but that security comes at a price.

Coincidentally , I was thinking today that there is at least a 25% chance, and maybe 40%, that lousy goaltending materially hurts the Sabres this year. If that happens, it’s another huge strike against JB. For some reason, I am less concerned about 2C. I think I’m sorta counting on improved D play and better finishers in Vesey, Olofsson and Jojo to generate offense. Also, Skinner is their 2nd best forward, and I’d be fine with Reino seizing the 2C spot, but I think his game is better suited for RW.

Interesting. So the expectation in Winny is either a short-term bridge deal or a trade?

So are Risto's, but if you were on a different team, wouldn't you rather take a shot on Risto -- a young guy, like Vesey, with a lot of tools and potential who has shown flashes on a relentlessly lousy team but has bad #fancystats (and, in Vesey's case, is in a contract year) -- than the D equivalent of a thoroughly washed-up Pommer who is probably going to retire this year because no one gives him a contract?