nfreeman

Support from Friedman for skepticism about Lombardi becoming senior adviser instead of GM:

No thank you, unless it's whether Ennis has more pts than Carrier.

GA beat me to it. Ennis has been under water due to injury for a long time, but he showed quite a bit of life over the last month of the season. With a full offseason of training, plus a full training camp under a new coach, he could regain 20-25-45 production. It would also be nice to add his speed to the ROR-KO combo. Carrier, OTOH, has never scored much at any level (not even the Q!). I agree that Foligno is his ceiling.

How 'bout: Ennis-ROR-Okposo Kane-Eichel-Rodrigues Nylander-Reinhart-Baptiste/Fasching Foligno-Larsson-Gionta extra: Carrier, Baptiste/Fasching Fowler/other-Risto McCabe-Bogo Guhle-Falk/Austin/Fedun extra: Falk/Austin/Fedun Lehner Ullmark Assumptions (some of which are longshots): - Sabres pull off dudacek's proposed trade for Fowler or other premium defenseman - Ennis continues his late-season improvement and makes it all the way back - Sabres bribe Vegas into taking Moulson - Gorges in Rochester/bought out - New coach revives Bogo - New coach realizes that Reino is a center - Nylander makes the leap - Guhle makes the leap - KO's health is OK

Welcome Toro!

Rico was my favorite player as a kid, and I'm pleased to say that when my wife and I finally caved in to the kids and got a dog, everyone agreed on "Rico" as his name. And yes -- he was the best goal scorer they've ever had.

So he definitely used the other players' stats from their entire careers? I.e. not just their first 2 seasons? Unbelievable. If that's the case, how can we take anything he says seriously ever again?

Has anyone figured out what Hammy meant by "over an 82-game span?" If it means anything other than "points per 82 games over the player's first 2 seasons," then 75% of the article is essentially dishonest. Having said that: Reino didn't have a particularly good year. He went 25-odd games without a 5-on-5 goal. That is a low-impact player. We're entitled to expect more from him.

I think I get your meaning here, but I'll also point out that I think Matthews is a better finisher (while Jack is probably a better playmaker) -- so in that sense Matthews is pretty GD strong with the puck on his stick too. The goal that Matthews scored in Game 6 vs the Caps, despite arising from a lucky bounce, was an amazing finish. He pounced on the lucky bounce, reeled in a bouncing puck, drew it back to create a shooting angle and flicked it into the very top corner. Freaking Bossy-esque. I think what you're both saying here is that CF and CA are more team stats than individual stats. There certainly seems to be a reasonable basis for this -- but isn't CF and CA what we are referring to when we say that player X "drives possession?" Also -- qwk -- I assume you are referring to assists when you reference playmaking -- is that right? Also, what is "build up play?" I think they are both potentially generational, but in different ways. Eichel is a playmaker who can and will score a lot, while Matthews is a scorer who can and will set up others.

Very nice.

So why did you shout me down when I noted that Matthews' CF and CA were significantly better than Eichel's? Hmmmmmmmmm???

I too would not jettison Kane to make room for Kovy. Obviously, the dream answer is "both" -- but that will require somehow unloading a couple of their existing lousy contracts.

For a 3rd-rounder to NJ and a 2-year contract @ $6MM per year -- yes please. But NFW would I give up a higher pick or give him a longer term.

Now I remember -- you're right. Thanks.

I guess I don't remember -- didn't Jimmy deny to Kim that he doctored the papers? I.e. didn't Kim just think Chuck had just lost his marbles and was making whacked-out accusations? Or maybe she compartmentalized, adopted an "I don't want to know" approach, coupled with not being partners with Jimmy, and made her peace with it.

I watched episode 2 last night. Very good one IMHO. I agree with sabills' post above about how the show makes really good TV out of those extended wordless scenes of Mike doing cool PI stuff. My question on Jimmy's latest spot of trouble is: is Kim going to get PO'd at him for doctoring the papers? Is she going to feel obligated to resign her representation of her big client -- since it's an ill-gotten gain?

Lombardi is 58. He's not going to take a senior czar role, and he's not going to take the GM job with an understanding that he'll move aside for a younger guy in 2 years. If he's hired, he's the GM, period.

Really? To communicate with aliens? I'm not denigrating-- just interested. Would like to hear more if you feel like sharing it with us. No problem either way, of course.

I find it astonishing that some people need to be told not to make posts as idiotic and offensive as the ones you graced us with. And yet, you clearly do, so here it is, loud and clear: Don't do it again.

JFC. You do realize that MacArthur missed essentially two full seasons with a very serious concussion, yes? And yet you feel it's funny or clever to make yet another terrible joke about a player suffering a really freaking serious injury? WTF is wrong with you?

I'll say NFW on either of them interviewing for and getting the top job in a new organization in the next 2 years. I could see either of them working his way back to it over time, and perhaps more quickly as an internal promotion from the #2 job after the top guy gets canned.

Outstanding.

Yes indeed, and he also mentioned winning & competing for the cup a few times.

Again: let's see the specific quote from TP on this point before we start making assumptions about TP's hiring criteria. Was it a reason that TP "favored" him -- i.e. preferred him to other candidates? Or perhaps just a reason that TP admired him? There's a big difference between those 2 concepts. Again again: what about Rex, and what about firing DDB?

For those claiming that TP has some kind of faith-based criteria for his FO/coaching candidates: pls post the specific quote, with a link. I think there's far too much in here along the lines of "TP is religious, he said he admires McDermott's faith, he said it's important to hire people with character, and he's a simpleton, so he must think religious faith is the same as character, so he's only going to hire religious people." It's a pretty slipshod syllogism built heavily on distrust of either or both of religion and TP. It's also completely belied by the hiring of Rex (and I think by the firing of DDB -- IIRC, he's religious).