nfreeman

Freaking terrible. This one is on JA.

Come on! FFS.

Need to score on this drive.

But wasn't the 1st one on 3rd down?

JFC. Both of those picks on totally unnecessary forced deep throws into double coverage in the middle of the field!

Holy mackerel I am psyched for this game.

Hey-ey-ey-ey!

Totally agree with this -- suggesting a Carbonneau-level ceiling for Krebs would be unfair (same goes for Toews). But there are potential similarities in the role, the physical build, the speed, the toolbox, the potential value to the team, etc.

Carbonneau was a great player and a very interesting comparable. I've been thinking Mike Peca or a poor man's Jonathan Toews, FWIW.

It seems like that last starting forward spot is going to come down to Rousek vs VO, and it just seems more likely that VO will get it. He's in a contract year and he can score. It's possible that VO will be traded before the season starts, but at this point cap space is pretty tight league-wide so I'm skeptical.

@dudacek I freaking love your preseason work but holy jinx potential Batman. Shouldn't we be keeping our heads down and not tempting the hockey gods, a few of whom are probably still PO'd at us for Black Sunday and the tank? 2005-06 was an incredible gift. Now we're going to have a bunch of message board yobs proclaiming that they're expecting it to happen again? We're asking for trouble.

What? Bryson has plenty of issues but is a very good skater.

I think they have him penciled in as the #4C, but everyone knows the kids are coming for lineup spots, so he'll need to show more than he showed last year to keep his spot, especially after this season.

I agree with all of this. Interesting quotes from JP — thanks. I also agree that the team wants him to be the #3C and a 200-foot mainstay, and that he’s got it in him to excel in that role. And I love the fire he plays with.

OK. You've made this joke about 50 times this summer. We get it.

Also worth noting that the Chiefs were missing their 2nd best player last night in Kelce and their best defensive player in Jones.

I think he'll have some good days and some bad days and gracefully retire after the season.

Regrettably I voted write-off due to the seriousness of this injury. Best case IMHO is that by the end of the season he gets back to where he was at the end of last season. But I'm not expecting that.

My car, which has been a loyal, trusted friend since 2011, is on the operating table and it might be all over.

I'm by no means an analytics savant, and I think most of those charts are poorly presented, but I like moneypuck's customizable tables: https://moneypuck.com/stats.htm Anyway, out of the Sabres' top 7 D last year in terms of total ice time, Mule ranked, in 5-on-5 situations: - DFL in CF% - 2nd-last in FF% - 2nd in on-ice goals% - 2nd in XGF% - 2nd in score-adjusted XGF% - 3rd in on-ice XGA per 60 min - DFL in on-ice shot attempts against per 60 min - 2nd in on-ice high danger shot attempts against per 60 min So in most of these categories, he did well relative to the rest of the D group.

BTW, it's of course a matter of personal taste, but I think the black-and-white photo of the younger RJ with the rock star hair was a better avatar.

Evidently, the After the Whistle podcast (Petey and Rivet) is reporting that the deal is done at $10.5MM x 8 years.

All 3 outcomes are eminently possible but I chose the best case. Great intro for this one and series of threads generally, @dudacek. I really like the info about him doubling his production in his prior 2nd seasons. Power stepping up a level could, low-key, be a major factor for the team this year.

These cost overruns aren't due to hedge-able causes.

I think he’s gonna be great and the team will believe in him and play better in front of him, as they did for Miller and Dominik. Even so, I wish they had brought in a credible 1A.