nfreeman

I think a key point in trading him now vs at the deadline is that if you trade him now, you're much more likely to get an NHL-ready defenseman who will play this year, whereas if you trade him at the deadline, you're only going to get picks and/or prospects. Even that point, though, is dwarfed by 2 much more important factors: 1. Is Kane interested in signing an extension with the Sabres? 2. Are the Sabres interested in signing Kane to an extension? We have zero information about either of these questions, and until we do, it's all just highly uninformed speculation.

I caught up last night. Really good last couple of episodes, although I would've preferred more Mike and less Chuck losing his marbles in the finale. I also think they should've provided some numbers in the whole Jimmy/Irene/settlement plotline -- i.e. the amount to be gained by waiting another year or 2 wasn't fleshed out at all, other than Jimmy claiming it was negligible. Do we think Gus knows about Nacho and the meds?

Great thread. Some of my favorites: - Family trip to California (LA, then driving up coast to SF with overnight stops along the way in Morro Bay and Monterrey). - Family trip to Spain (Barcelona and Valencia) - Family trip to Edinboro, London and Paris - Honeymoon in Hong Kong and Thailand - Men's ski trip in Colorado - Weekend trip to San Diego with wife for a wedding with a bunch of old friends

That doesn't bode well for them taking Moulson.

I too liked what we saw out of Fedun last year and would like to see the Sabres re-sign him. I kinda expect someone else to overpay for him (relatively speaking) though.

This trade would be great but it seems pretty optimistic to think that we'd get a defenseman AND dump Moulson for exposing Carrier plus a #2.

The only problem with this theory is that both Harrington and Hammy are advocating it.

well, we'll sho 'nuff notice it if they take Moulson. and you're right that it's somewhat redundant, but I think there is something to the "wisdom of the masses " theory, so I think the poll adds a reasonably interesting element.

Y'know, if you've got a prediction, there's a neat little thread going on right around the corner...

This isn't Sophie's Choice here, my friend. Just take a guess and predict something.

As always, this is not what you want to have happen -- this is what you think is going to happen. I'm torn on this one. On the one hand, Moulson's contract ($3MM total actual cash for the next 2 years; $10MM in cap hit) would be very Vegas-friendly if they in fact expect to struggle to get to the floor, and I'd expect JBott to work hard to try to get Vegas to take Moulson, and McPhee allegedly owed GMTM a favor, and Moulson has family ties to McPhee...and on the other hand, Moulson stinks and I have to believe Vegas will get better offers to take albatross contracts from other teams. I also think Carrier is pretty close to JAG, while Ullmark and Bogo have more upside, and Bogo and Gorges would play right away and probably fill bigger roles than Carrier. Also, Vegas could probably unload Gorges at the deadline for a draft pick. I think Bogo's contract makes him an NFW. I'm gonna say Moulson because of his contract and out of faith in JBott. But I'm not confident.

Well, that's what happens when you leave SabreSpace for several months. Your juices run dry.

I agree that $3.5MM per year is not reasonable. I was thinking $4MM to $4.5MM per year x 2 years. I can see it being pushed to 3 years. I think longer than that would be a real mistake (and I will note that 2 of the 3 contracts you mentioned were 3-year deals).

Well, I suppose the pitch would be "new GM, new coach, you'll get a good annual salary guaranteed for 2 years and if we like what we see during the 1st year, we'll give you a fat extension on July 1 before the 2nd season," or something like that, ...with of course the tactfully delivered but unmistakable underlying message including "you're an RFA, your only option is the KHL, so the only real option you have is to prove yourself to JBott and make him feel like he needs you there to backstop his young team on the rise." I too think he has it in him, but the "expose/dump Ennis" faction here isn't being unreasonable. It's at least 50/50 that he doesn't get back to 45+ points. I really think 4 years is too long. I'd be very surprised if it ends up at 5.

And the Talented Mr. Ripley, and Boogie Nights, and pretty much everything else he was in (including one of the Mission Impossibles). He lives in my neighborhood. I've seen him around a number of times, including in a restaurant a couple of months ago.

Thanks gents. I agree -- a 2-year "prove it" deal is called for here. I read that it was "Bowl-you", with emphasis on 1st syllable.

I think it's about 40% likely that he turns out to be an average starter, about 30% likely that he's well above average, and about 15% each that he's either a washout or a star. And for that, there is NFW I want to commit to $4MM x 4 years or even 3. The team was historically bad when Ennis was coming into his own in the NHL. He's missed the better part of 2 years with injuries but before that he had elite speed, good to very good hands and a nice edge. Carrier IMHO is a nice crash-bang forechecker who has a decent hockey IQ and zero hands. I would much rather lose most of the Sabres' other unprotected guys, but at the same time if Carrier is taken and isn't easily replaced by Baptiste/Bailey/Fasching, then the Sabres whiffed on all 3 of those guys. I agree with most of this, although I think you oversimplified about Ennis' significant cap hit not counting. The Sabres can't just drop him on LTIR whenever they like. It has to be for a significant, long-term injury.

Interesting question. Does anyone know when he becomes a UFA? If it's next summer, then I'd think he'll get a 3-year deal.

Well, I think the price that Vegas will charge to take Moulson or Bogo off our hands will be too high, so I think they'll most likely take Carrier, and if not him then Ullmark.

No real surprises.

It's fairly likely that they'd rather have Vegas take Moulson or Ennis than Bogo -- but that Vegas would prefer to take Bogo.

My prediction: 4-4-1 ROR, KO, Kane, Zemgus Risto, McCabe, Beaulieu, Bogo Lehner

I don't find Harrington's uninformed musings in any way indicative of what the Sabres might do.

I'm going to say there is NFW they leave Beaulieu unprotected.

What was it about JBott that gave you this vibe? I think it's probably reasonable to assume that people don't need to be instructed to "think about it." Also, 0.38 is not 0.8 more than 0.30.