nfreeman

I sure hope this does the trick, because I was deeply disappointed at how frequently and easily the opposing D took the puck from him last year. He was nowhere near ready for the speed and skill of NHL defenders.

I'm terrified about the 2000-word @Randall Flagg post that is going to drop any second now.

Why is that good news? A higher national profile is better for the team’s efforts to emerge from Micky Mouse territory.

I don't agree with your conclusions but reading this post made me happy to be part of this hockey community. Serious question: if the 29 GMs not involved in this trade were polled, how many would take Laine over Reino? I'd guess at least 20.

The 2 guys the Sabres would be giving up haven't exactly contributed to "sustainable, winning hockey" during their careers here. Laine was, in a down year, 4th in ice time among forwards on a 99-pt team last year. He had 15 ES goals last year and 24 the year before. He's maybe the 2nd-best goal-scorer in the NHL at age 21 (won't be 22 until next April), is 6'4", 206 lbs and is materially faster than Reino. I don't want to trade Reino, but IMHO it would unquestionably be a major upgrade.

I don't really see them trading any of their top-6-potential LWs though (Skinner, Vesey, Olofsson or Jojo). I just think some guys are going to play on their off-wing -- and it's a price they'll be happy to pay to get onto Eichel's line. I agree that the composition of the D group indicates that more moves are coming.

Suggested to me off-line by another Sabrespace poster: Risto and Reino for Laine. Who says no? I think Winnipeg says no. I know it subtracts the Sabres' best RW and best trade chip for an upgrade at #1 RW -- but holy mackerel that top line the Sabres would have.

I, too, expect Vesey to be in the mix for Jack's RW slot. For that matter, I think Vesey, Olofsson and Jojo (and maybe TT and CJ Smith) are going to be told in camp that that slot is open for competition and a path to Skinner-esque fame and fortune awaits whoever wins it. I think the competition for that spot is going to be spirited.

This is fair.

This is certainly possible, but I don't think it's generally expected that Marner will hold out to start the season. If he does, though, there are enough high-end RFAs that one of them will sign and set the market for the others, because very few (if any) will hold out. It may take a solid month before it happens. (That list of great RFAs though -- Marner, Point, Connor, Laine, Rantanen, Tkachuk, Boeser, McAvoy -- the contrast between what happens every summer in the NBA with RFAs vs what didn't happen this summer or any other summer in the NHL -- freaking infuriating.)

Yes and I think sending Hunwick down will alleviate both the roster and cap crunches.

Excellent OP and I would just add that quite a few good NHL writers expect a number of dominoes to fall once Marner signs. So let’s hope there is some action and JB is in the middle of it making good decisions (and the same for Josh Allen this year too).

I just saw it and liked it quite a bit. Kind of a departure for QT but very interesting and with great performances and as always some incredible scenes.

Now this is an opportunity to make Sabrespace history.

@GASabresIUFAN-- IMHO, it's important to remember that 3 of the 11 Dmen are pretty marginal guys for one reason or another -- we probably wouldn't be confident with either Hunwick or Nelson in the top 6 and Bogo simply can't be relied on to be healthy enough to play, is pretty streaky when he does play and has only 1 year left on his deal. It would be nuts to factor those 3 guys into any decisions on other guys. So that leaves 8 guys including Pilut and Joker. Joker looked good but Chicago decided that he also looked like an overmatched rookie from time to time last year -- which is what Pilut also looked like last year, and Pilut is coming off of major surgery. I'd be OK with either of those 2 in the top 6 on opening night, but at the same time I wouldn't be surprised if either of them turns out to need another year in the AHL. And McCabe gets hurt a lot. And Scandy's smoking hot GF dumped him for his infidelity last year and evidently it messed with his head. My point is that we're not talking about the 1970s Canadiens here with this D group. I agree that it's likely some roster/salary moves are coming, but JB has a lot of flexibility and it's not urgent.

Does anyone know whether he is RFA vs UFA at the end of this deal?

My wife and I just finished season 3 of Money Heist on Netflix. Pretty good.

The Sopranos was great and IMHO clearly better than Breaking Bad.

I always kinda liked Fedun and definitely prefer him to Nelson.

If you were offering academic and scientific papers, then I did indeed misunderstand and do apologize. I thought you were offering the product that is (presumably) the subject of those papers.

@#freejame -- the supportive post is great, but please refrain from offering items like this on the board. Thanks.

I completely disagree. Nelson is very much a borderline NHL player, while McCabe IMHO is a legit #4 and one of the only guys in the D group who will lay someone out -- especially if/when Risto is traded.

^^^^^Smoking hot!

How long until JB signs Shattenkirk?

Maybe they have something in place for that too, e.g. someone they know will give them a 4th round pick for Scandella.