nfreeman

IIRC, Pippen's trade demand was over his contract, not over dissatisfaction with being MJ's teammate. I also think he's gone both ways on the MJ/Lebron issue.

Someone reported it over the weekend and I didn’t read the report or the thread until last night. Good decision. Those 3-4 pages were not the board’s finest hour.

So my wife and I watched "Game Night," which is in the rotation on HBO. Pretty enjoyable comedy/thriller with a really good cast (Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler, Jesse Plemons). Solid B-plus for a home watch.

Jordan was the better scorer, the better shooter and the better defender. He was also more clutch, more determined and more competitive. The idea of him losing in the finals to an inferior team, like Lebron and the Heat lost to Dallas, was simply inconceivable. The idea of his team being a bottom-echelon defensive team, like Cleveland was last year and the Lakers appear to be this year, was also inconceivable. I also don't agree that Lebron is the better athlete. He's bigger and stronger, but Jordan was quicker and a better leaper. Finally, although I admire Lebron, and think he's probably a better guy to hang out with than Jordan was, there is something about him that other great players seem to find off-putting. No one ever left Jordan the way Kyrie left Lebron, and it looks like Butler and Leonard aren't interested in playing with Lebron either.

For the record: JJ50's hands were not clean in that recent bit of psychodrama (and I'm not referring to the OP about Eichel and Trocheck, but rather to a couple of obnoxious posts by him that followed), but Sabel's posts, plus a few others, were much worse and were way out of line.

OK, but to keep it logical, we should only revisit after back-to-back good wins that bring the Sabres above DeLuca .500 in which Skinner scores 4 goals.

When I saw this thread, for a minute my hopes jumped that XB had returned. If anyone knows him and can lure him back, please do so. *This post has been brought to you by the Matt Ellis of the mod team.

Negative.

Aren't those the same lines that we saw in the last 2 games? Also: I think the "Practice Report" threads are great.

It really is remarkable. He's fast, he's quick in tight spaces and his balance is amazing. He can go backward, sideways and other directions in a smooth and quick manner.

There is probably some truth in this, but no one should kid himself that the Sabres will be able to get him on a 5-year deal. It will take at least 7, as that is what everyone else can offer him. However, if he and Eichel are lighting it up and the Sabres offer him Kane's 7x7 deal in January, I can see him taking it rather than waiting to shop around in FA. Interesting. So that means he'd need to forego the 8th year in order to sign an extension here before the deadline.

Good analysis. You are correct that Skinner scores more ES goals, but Vanek's total scoring numbers are higher. Of course, the numbers don't capture the "get him TF out of here" reaction that Vanek's coaches and GMs have all had since Vanek left Buffalo, or Skinner's speed, or my exuberance after those 2 wins this weekend. So there's that.

The trade deadline is Feb. 25. The ASG is Jan. 25. If Skinner and Eichel keep tearing it up and the Sabres continue to look greatly improved, I think JBott starts negotiating an extension with Skinner around New Year's and hopefully gets it done in early January. The later it gets in the season, the more likely it is that he goes to UFA. I appreciate the Prince sighting, but do you not think Skinner is better than Vanek?

Then you're not getting him. Is that the outcome you want?

I am encouraged by the absence of posts so far declaring that "the Sabres should sign him for 4 years x $5MM [or other nonsensical way-below-market number]." Skinner is going to cost at least as much as Kane got -- 7 years x $7MM. Skinner is better than Kane. He is better than Vanek. He is better than Reinhart. He is both really quick and really fast, he has great hands and he can score in a variety of ways. And he plays with passion. He just turned 26. If they give him a 7-year deal, he will probably be their 2nd-best forward for at least 5 years. This is their opportunity to lock in a top-end winger for the bulk of Eichel's prime -- and thus a legit, high-end top line that is freaking dangerous on every shift. I don't think JBott is going to let him go.

So does TT get sent down on Monday so he can get some ice time? And if so, do they call anyone up?

My game notes: - That was literally the best Sabres win in years. - Reino is very dangerous on the PP from his office behind the goal line just to the goalie's right. That pass to KO was beautiful. - KO's finish on that PPG was excellent too. His legs look lively -- it's his hands and timing that have been a little off. He's been good enough in his career that there's reason to think those could come back too. - Howie deserves credit for the line, D pairing and PP shakeups. The PP in particular is much improved in both the #1 and #2 units. - I've criticized these 3 guys as much as anyone has, but Zemgus-Larsson-Berglund could be a pretty solid checking/shutdown line. I've noticed them matched up against the opponent's top 2 lines pretty often in the last couple of games and they've done pretty well defensively. They got 10 min of ES time tonight, plus about 4 min of SH time for Zemgus and Larsson. - It's great to see Bogo the enforcer, but we all know that if he keeps fighting, he's going to break his hand or thumb and be out for 3 months. - As others have said: excellent speed and passing tonight. - I'm not ready to say yet that this team has heart -- but that was the kind of win that a team with heart comes up with. Go Sabres.

I’d like to see: - some freaking offense out of their other allegedly good forwards - them not getting dominated by an upper-echelon team - Bogo stay healthy

I don't think Lehner's record should drive any decisions about Ullmark, or about anything else for that matter. He was a basket case as a starter here. Separately: - The Sabres appear to be competitive with middle- and lower-tier teams, which is a huge improvement over the past couple of years. The better teams -- Boston, Vegas, SJ and Colorado -- have been appreciably better than them. - The Sabres are continuing to get very good goaltending, which is also a huge improvement over last year. - No one seems to be able to score when not playing with Eichel. - 10% of the season is gone, and Reino, KO, Mitts, ERod and TT all have zero goals. - Bogo probably won't stay healthy, but you can see why coaches are tantalized by him. He's fast, very large, powerful, has pretty good hands and makes quite a few good decisions (along with some bad ones, to be sure).

Good. Berglund is front-runner for the role of my new whipping boy.

So, SJ is 2-3-1, having played 5 out of 6 on the road. They seem to be struggling on the PP and in goal: http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/25016380/nhl-five-reasons-why-san-jose-sharks-struggling-season Let's get 'em.

Couple other points: - Although I criticized upthread the Sabres' failure to match VGK's intensity early on, it was frankly pretty reasonable for VGK to come out harder than the Sabres. The Sabres weathered the storm OK -- not great, but OK -- and by the middle of the 2nd period, they were taking it to Vegas pretty well and generating pretty good offense. My disappointment was in how one-sided the game was until that point and in how little the Sabres got from Eichel and Reino. They needed at least their top line to create some offense and break VGK's momentum a little, and those 2 guys failed to deliver -- even on the PP, which was terrible. - Hutton was terrific again and kept them in it during the 1st 2 periods.

I think this is the most likely outcome, but I can see him getting canned in the 2nd half of the season if the bottom falls out.

I'm fine with a bigger shakeup, but I don't think I'd start with Mitts and TT. Mitts doesn't seem to me to be lacking confidence -- I just think his timing isn't quite there, and that plus KO's struggles means there isn't enough finish on that line. As for TT, he's been stuck on Berglund's line, and Berglund has been terrible in the offensive zone IMHO. I'd bench Berglund and/or Pommer in favor of some Rochester kids before I sent down Mitts and/or TT.

Flagg -- keep bringing it please.