nfreeman

Chris Taylor (Rochester HC) was on with the Instigators yesterday -- worth a listen if you're so inclined. The 2 guys in particular they spoke about the most were Nylander and Guhle. Nylander -- Taylor said some positive things, but reading between the lines, IMHO Taylor thinks Nylander still has quite a ways to go in terms of on-ice focus and determination. He mentioned the need to go get the puck instead of waiting for it to come back to him. Guhle -- Taylor spoke quite highly of him. He said Guhle improved his body quite a bit over the summer, has a great attitude and he expects big things from him. So maybe we'll see Guhle as a regular in Buffalo at some point this season, but I'm still pretty skeptical on Nylander.

NS -- that looks awesome. Please make sure there's a high-quality bed in the guest room!

I may have already posted this, but a month or so ago, Rob Ray was on with, I think, Schopp and the Bulldog. He was telling stories about his playing days. There wasn't a long story about Dom, but Razor did say that he and a few other guys had to take turns babysitting Dom on road trips -- i.e. Dom would get so sauced at night that someone had to look after him and get him into bed at the end of the night.

Good stuff here boys.

Straight As from me! Good intentions, honorable behavior, spending on the teams and learning from mistakes go a loooooooooonnnng way in my book. Good results are coming as well.

I had zero fun watching the Bills until last season. They were effectively not part of the NFL for well over a decade until TP bought the team. They weren't trying. The Sabres were trying until they fired Lindy. Since then, they've been even more awful, and IMHO less fun, than the Bills. The good news is that I think there is a good chance that both franchises finally have the right guys running things -- and I completely agree with Neo that once that is in place, everything flows from there. I think both teams will have moments of stink this season, both will have plenty of fun moments too.

Sorry Weave. That stinks.

OPENED.

Well, my wonderful wife has agreed to get up at 6:00 AM on Sunday, drive to Baltimore with me, tailgate with 3 of my best friends in the world and their wives, attend the game and then drive home afterwards. Pretty psyched!

You gents might be interested in a movie from a few years ago called "Rush." It's based on a true story about the rivalry between 2 F1 drivers in the 1970s -- a party animal Australian (played by Chris Hemsworth, a/k/a Thor) and an uptight Austrian. It was directed by Ron Howard. I thought it was excellent.

This is pretty obnoxious. Improve your tone.

If the bell curve is limited to top-6 forwards and top-4 defensemen, Reino is well into the slow end of the curve. That’s why JBott only wants to give him the league minimum.

Me too.

Good thread and I like the predictions, but no one is trading for Larsson.

Questioning one of your assertions by pointing out a previous incorrect assertion isn’t whataboutism. Whataboutism is when I say “Reino is really slow and often ineffective, and taking him over Draisaitl was yet another GMTM blunder” and you say “Well, what about Pominville? He’s well over the hill, is expensive and was another JBott mistake.” Perhaps we can start your education with the little things.

Well, the first google hit I opened for his draft year scouting report listed him at C. https://thehockeywriters.com/leon-draisaitl-the-next-ones-2014-nhl-draft-prospect-profile/ Well, I appreciate the fandom, but both of these are simply denials of reality. I believe you also took the position that Eichel was better than McD, innit?

Completely disagree. He's slow in tight and slow in longer races. Reino would definitely be drafted behind Draisaitl if there were a do-over on the 2014 draft.

Top 10 in the Atlantic -- so top 40 in the NHL? Whoop-de-damn-do.

Dude yourself. I love that one. How dare you sir.

For "Any way you want it," it's gotta be genuine.

Sid Luckman Otto Graham Bart Starr Terry Bradshaw Bob Griese Eli Manning

WTF? 2 accusations of racism in 1 day? Knock it TF off.

Although the move for Coleman didn't pan out, IMHO it was worth the cost of the dice roll. Someone with waiver rights before the Bills probably would've claimed him if the Bills hadn't traded for him (as Cleveland was probably going to cut him). The 7th-rounder was the price of jumping those claims. Many of these moves don't work out. That doesn't mean they aren't worth trying.

Endorsed. These are near-locks, IMHO. This is going to be like when Jimbo disembarked from that plane from Houston, with those Vic Ferrari shades and "I'm da man" attitude.

Eichel hasn’t been worth anywhere near what the Sabres went through to get him, but he’s still been far more consistent than Reino IMHO. Reino has long stretches of Staffordesque complete invisibility. Eichel has short stretches (albeit lots of them) of non-dominance. Apples and oranges IMHO. As for whether there is something in particular about Reino that makes me think the fire won’t burn within him if he gets too much too soon — first, I think that is true for most people, not just Reino. Second, I can’t past the fact that he didn’t show up for the first half of last season, when the Sabres had a new coach and new GM and were clearly at a crossroads with that roster. That just can’t be rewarded. And as Blue notes I opposed it in Risto’s case too (and one could argue that my view there has been vindicated).