nfreeman

Very happy to see you 11. Great post too.

Here's an idea that occurred to me last night: Reino's assist on Larsson's goal was a thing of beauty. Dudacek's point on Reino all along has been that Reino should be playing center (or centre, as you prefer), and that his talents are being squandered at wing. Why not try Reino at #3 center, with Kane and Gionta on the wings? Yes, that would result in bumping Larsson to #4C, which might be a bit unfair to him, but they need to try something -- both for the offense generally and for Reino in particular.

Wow. Excellent post by Flagg to get this going. I'm not sure how qualified we are (most of us, anyway) to evaluate Xs and Os, but I do think that it's reasonably likely that DDB was at least as much of a TP hire as he was a GMTM hire. TP has shown a proclivity for the splashy, big-name coach hire, and it's at least plausible that he's taken this decision out of the GM's hands. I also think it's reasonably likely that GMTM expected much more out of this team than what we're seeing now (although TBPhD's point about GMTM possibly preferring Kings East as a style of play shouldn't be overlooked here). If so, and if this continues for another dozen games, he's gotta start thinking about making a change. I can't say I'd be unhappy if that's how it plays out.

I wonder if they'll show up for the 1st period tonight?

Good stuff here. Keep it coming. I really think Kulikov is a big step up from Pysyk.

Pls send my regards and also check on Chz if you have a minute.

While I agree that Coughlin seems like a quintessential TP move, and my initial reaction is a high level of confidence that it wouldn't work, when I force myself to be honest with myself, I have to admit that I would probably tune in next year to see the results. I'm so weak.

Good stuff. I might add that it's also probably a factor of how often the Sabres start in their D-zone -- i.e. since they are still a lower-rung NHL team, they probably start an above-average number of possessions in the D-zone, which affects all of their defensemen. The Karlsson point is interesting too. When I was at the NYI-Ott game a few days ago, I didn't see Karlsson for a while and was wondering whether he was out with an injury -- but they were just saving him for an O-zone faceoff.

Cellino and Barnes also has a pretty big presence in NYC, FWIW.

But there are plenty of topics available to fill the space. We're just trying to stay away from one of them in order to keep things reasonably friendly.

Well, I completely agree that years of bad hockey have contributed to the negative tone. But I don't think the other OT threads have been problematic -- no one is getting PO'd about music, TV, science, etc. conversations. (A big exception was the Kane/sexual assault thread discussion -- this could be included in the "politics" category, or excluded depending on one's perspective.) The politics thread was unique in that regard IMHO. I do think that the combination of improved hockey plus the absence of the politics threads (and absence of threads arguing about the politics thread) will result in a better vibe, and would love to put that theory to the test.

Couching your language? Are you kidding? You predicted that someone would get suspended for something that no one has ever gotten suspended for. Don't engage in trolling if you don't want to get called on it. As for the posters who have left -- those were the long-time posters that immediately came to mind. The total is of course much greater than 3 or 4, and saying so is just throwing up a straw man. There have been many others who have remarked about the negative tone created by the politics thread. People come to a message board because they enjoy the conversation. When the place is suffused in bad vibes due to hysterical political discussion, then the place isn't enjoyable and they stop coming. If you aren't agitating for a political thread, why do you keep dropping in clever little digs like "our new president is a POS" in multiple threads? SDS isn't the one who needs to engage in self-introspection here.

This is exactly what I mean when I say that you like to indulge in trolling from time to time. You are well aware that this is complete BS, and fairly obnoxious, and yet you throw it out there anyway, just for a little internet frisson. Well, Weave beat me to it. Didn't you have a couple of posters in mind that you thought left because of the politics thread? Or were they Neo (whom I had in mind) and Weave? In any case, I think Hoss left because of it as well, and that it played a part in Shrader's departure. Also, Chz may have quit the board today. Do you need more than that, plus the many other posts remarking on the increase in board acrimony and general bad vibes? Why is it such a big freaking deal anyway? How long would it take you to set up a reddit thread for SabreSpace political talk and invite D4rk, Qwk, PastaJoe and whoever else is pining away for it?

Straw man. There are currently active OT threads on religion, science, movies/TV, and the Bills. You are far from the only one who has made this accusation (whether explicitly or implicitly). I will ask you, and everyone else inclined to make this accusation, to consider: - You can choose to disbelieve the mods' explanation for the thread closure if you like. That is up to you -- but you should understand that this type of accusation of bad faith and bias (i.e. "you say you closed the thread because of the bad vibes -- but I think you're lying -- I think you closed it because you don't want to read political statements that differ from your views") is, again, exactly the kind of discourse that results in people getting fed up and leaving the board, thus leading to the mods taking these steps. - In this regard, you might consider how you would feel if I were to accuse you of disliking the 2BD board simply because most there disagree with you politically -- i.e. "you say you don't like the 2BD board because people are ill-mannered there and you prefer to chat with the SabreSpace posters -- but I think you're lying -- I think you just don't like it because most there disagree with you." It's an inherently obnoxious, aggressive statement. - As for the substance of your accusation: I have no idea whether any of the mods voted for Trump (I did not). Each of us is 100% in agreement with the thread closure. In addition, plenty of posters from both political sides support the closure. - Also, the ratio of leftist posters to rightist hasn't changed -- it's always been, and remains, at least 75% leftist. The only thing that has changed is that one side won the election. Since you apparently believe the closure was politically motivated -- wouldn't the "winning" side want to keep it open and savor in the enactment of their agenda? As for the reasons for closing the thread now, as opposed to several years ago -- I think LTS' point about reaching a tipping point is spot on. Generally, my perspective (and that of the other mods may differ) is that the discourse got worse and worse this year, and the mods got together at some point and decided that it wasn't working. I will also note that there was a lengthy period of time, before the politics thread was started, in which political discussion wasn't permitted here (there was a British poster who kept starting it who was pretty uniformly shunned).

SabreSpace will indeed be fine. We're going to keep the political threads closed for the time being (i.e. probably until a few weeks after the holidays) and then re-evaluate. To reiterate, the point of this action was to improve the overall vibe around the board. It was a contentious year, both in the real world and on this board. There was a lot of hostility, name-calling, accusations of bad faith, stupidity, bigotry, etc. Posters left the board as a direct result of the politics thread. I think I can speak for the other mods in saying that none of us has any desire to warn or suspend anyone. I will ask that posters respect the decision, even if they disagree with it, and not force our hands, which is what Qwk did. I will suggest that anyone hankering for political discussion should visit 2BD, or pm each other, or start a reddit thread for SabreSpace political talk, or any other similar measure. There are plenty of other available outlets for this type of conversation.

I would include the "the."

I would not favor sending Reino down. And I agree that the book on that draft is far from written. And that Reino could prove to be a better player than the other forwards taken after him, by affecting the game in a different way than a guy like Pastrnak or Draisaitl does. But he's definitely in his head right now. He coughs it up and squanders possessions in the offensive zone with distressing frequency. And he's playing with good linemates, not plumbers. I want to see more from him. Much more.

The Lobster was freaking terrible.

Thanks boys. It was pretty fun. It was the 2nd hockey game I've attended at the Barclays Center (the 1st was vs the Sabres last year -- the Sabres are going to be here this coming Friday but I'll be out of town for Xmas and thus unable to attend). It's a great arena, and pretty close to where I live -- for a 7:00 pm game, we left our house at 6:40, hopped on a city bus and the arena was about a 5-minute walk from where the bus dropped us off. We were in our seats before the end of the anthems. However: 2 sandwiches, 1 beer, 1 water and 1 bag of chips set me back $51!! The setup for hockey is obviously a bit strange, but you don't notice it if you're not sitting in the obstructed-view seats. We had a great view of the game and it was pretty much like sitting in the lower level in any other hockey arena. As for the game: Karlsson didn't dominate, and made a few lousy passes, but he didn't need to dominate and his speed and puck skills were very strong and in evidence. It kinda seemed like Ottawa was saving him for when they needed him. Leddy doesn't have Karlsson's puck skills, but he does have the speed -- he's gotta be one of the fastest players in the NHL. Tavares has less speed than one might expect from a star player, but he has great skills, timing and determination. So, Ottawa jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st. The Isles tied it at 2-2 in the 2nd, and the crowd got good and loud -- but, in a classic "loser team" move, they committed a penalty about 20 seconds after the GTG, and Ottawa scored on the ensuing PP, so it was 3-2 at the end of 2. Then Ottawa made it 4-2 about 5 min into the 3rd, and the Isles didn't really threaten. So the game was only in play, and the crowd was only really into it, for about 1 period. My general view on the Isles in Brooklyn is that they will attract good crowds and fan support once they have a respectable team -- i.e. make the playoffs for a few years in a row, win a round here and there, and generally seem like a well-run organization. This has not historically been the case and isn't this year either -- they look like losers. Fortunately, there is now professional ownership in place, and I kinda expect them to bring in a new GM by next summer. In the meantime, it was a nice evening out with my boy, and it certainly is nice to have an NHL team (and NBA, and concerts, etc.) pretty close to home -- and plenty of cheap tickets available for impulse purchases.

Very nice breakdown yse. However, I am a bit skeptical that the Sabres would devote $3MM + $3.5MM + $3MM for Foligno-Larsson-Gionta. Exceeding $10MM for a 3rd line that will probably contribute a total of 28-30 goals seems a bit rich. The Sabres need to keep their powder dry, and none of the 2 RFAs or the old guy who wants 1 more year in the NHL has any leverage. I think if all 3 of them are back, the total cost will come in closer to $7.5MM.

Evidently there was another Sunday AM report today (this one on ESPN) that Rex is gone after the season. To me, this says that Brandon and Whaley are working the situation via the media -- and is another reason to dump al of them.

Meanwhile, Mike Mularkey has the Titans at 8-6.

So my son and I made the game-day decision today to attend Islanders-Senators. I was able to procure lower level, row 15, close to the blue line seats for $59 per ticket on seatgeek including fees. Not a high-profile matchup, to be sure, but it will be my first live NHL game this season and I'm kinda psyched to go with my son. Plus I don't think I've seen Karlsson live, so that should be interesting. (Actually, between him and 2018 UFA Tavares, that's 2 top-10 NHL players.) I'll report back if anything remarkable happens.

i thought the Sabres couldn't get anything going on offense at all until they switched up the lines in the 3rd, with Foligno moving up with ROR and Reino, and Kaner moving up with Larsson and Gionta. I thought they created a lot of chances in the 3rd and it was a pretty exciting period. i thought Kane was the Sabres' best forward last night. It looks like he is out of DDB's doghouse as he had over 18 min last night -- 4th-most among forwards. Nilsson played another very strong game. Bogo brain-locked on Carolina's goal but otherwise skated well and looked pretty good. That hit he put on the Carolina forward on the left boards was amazing. Has anyone seen Sam Reinhart?

Other than the absence of Ennis and the demotion of Kane, these combos seem pretty similar to what many would've predicted before the season. It's kind of interesting to have Moulson and Kane fighting it out for that second line winger slot.