nfreeman

Well, the fact that it didn't happen at the draft doesn't mean that GMTM isn't now willing to do so -- i.e. Anaheim at that point might've wanted a player who could help them right away, but now might be willing to take a high-end prospect like Nylander. Having said that, I am kinda skeptical that GMTM would trade Nylander for Fowler, but I wouldn't be shocked if it happens -- remember that GMTM has mentioned a number of times that he thinks it's strange that NHL #1 picks don't get traded after being drafted like they do in the NBA.

We can give them Nylander. Again: I'm not saying I want to do so, but we shouldn't pretend that this isn't an option -- I assume Anaheim isn't either.

Just so we're clear: everyone saying "let's trade Bailey/Foligno/Zemgus/Fasching/picks for Fowler" is really saying "let's not trade for Fowler."

Wow. Great thread. I wish I'd checked in earlier. My top 10, with break points: Perreault -- IMHO a #1 center who is a top-3 player in the NHL is more vital than an elite GT Dominik -- certainly can't fault anyone for picking him #1 Rico -- He could skate, pass and score in bunches and he had a ton of charisma. He was my favorite player as a kid; as an adult, my dog is named Rico and sports a Sabres name tag. Gare -- Excellent skater and scorer with a huge heart. If he'd been on the ice when Lucic hit Miller, everything would've been different, including the number of teeth Lucic has. Housley -- Yes, he wasn't a hitter. But he pressed the play on offense like a force of nature and was the 2nd-most exciting Sabre with the puck of all time. PLF -- I have a hard time ranking him higher because after netting out the injuries he played less than 3 seasons as a Sabre, and because I had very little access to Sabres games at that point in my life. I can't disagree if anyone wants to rank him higher. Drury -- He only played 3 seasons as a Sabre, but they were transformative, and I feel like if I include PLF, then I should include Drury as well. He was a fantastic 2-way player and leader, he lifted his teammates up and he was freaking clutch. The hockey gods are still making us pay for butchering his contract extension and losing him. Briere -- He also wasn't here long enough (4 seasons), but he was a great scorer -- maybe the 2nd-best the Sabres have ever had -- and also freaking clutch. He's still something like top-2 or top-3 in the NHL in playoff scoring since 2005. Schoenfeld -- I'll give him a very narrow edge over Ramsey because of the fire and guts. Ramsey -- a consistently excellent defenseman for an extended period.

I took delivery yesterday of a bitchen new 65" TV for my man-cave. Its predecessor died about 6 months ago and i was getting by with an older TV that usually lives in the basement and serves as the overflow TV. Now I'm really ready for TV sports season.

This is pretty much where I am on Lehner. Tkachuk's goal was terrible. And the goal that was initially waived off was the result of Lehner giving up a fat rebound a few seconds earlier instead of smothering the puck. The Sabres were unable to clear the zone and Calgary ended up scoring. I've noticed his rebound control as an issue so far this season -- it cost them that goal. Overall, Lehner has been JAG -- and to this point, it's fair to say they'd have been better off with Ocho and the #1. Still, it's way too early to draw any conclusions. Speaking of Tkachuk's goal, I thought Risto gave him way too much room -- he let him cruise down to the faceoff dot, take a long look and fire off a full-power wrister. That was poor defense. Otherwise, I had the following game notes: - While I can see the point of those espousing patience and appreciation for getting 3 out of 4 points on a WC road trip, I still think that the point they let slip away last night is the kind of point that playoff teams lock up. Calgary is a crappy team, and the Sabres blew 2 3rd-period leads. That's a non-playoff-team kinda move. - I really like Okposo. He has a lot of game. - I wasn't unhappy with any of the defensemen last night, notwithstanding Risto's poor play on Tkachuk's goal. - For those unhappy with Grant getting 15 min last night -- I assume you'd like to see Moulson (12 min), Ennis (10 min) or Zemgus (10 min) to get some of Grant's ice time? IMHO Grant was more effective than any of those 3 last night. - I liked what I saw of Baptiste. - Foligno is off to a very good start to the season. - Overall I thought the Sabres played with a fair amount of jump and heart. They made a few mistakes that cost them, and their execution on the 5-on-3 was terrible. But it was a creditable outing. Oh well. If they can get a W against Millsie it will have certainly been a good road trip.

I think you're right. I just thought it was an interesting possibility -- i.e. it's not far-fetched to think that Kulikov will play very well with Risto -- and in that case I agree with Hoss that the right move is to sign him before the expansion draft. And the other possibilities aren't really far-fetched either -- i.e. a trade for Fowler, plus Bogo either playing well enough to protect or the Sabres being required to protect him due to his NMC. The other point about Kulikov that occurs to me is that if he plays well, the Sabres' real risk is losing him in FA, not losing him to Vegas. Why would Vegas draft him if he becomes a UFA 2 weeks later? So, GMTM might think he could expose Kulikov in the expansion draft, but then sign him in the interim period after the draft and before FA starts -- but that would be pretty risky, as Kulikov at that point would probably want to examine his FA options.

Good thread and good post. The decisions on D are particularly interesting IMHO, and depend on a number of unknowns: - How good is Kulikov? If Kulikov has a really good year and he and Risto emerge as a very strong top pair, it's hard to see GMTM letting him get to UFA. That decision most likely will wait until we get close to the trade deadline. - Are the Sabres in fact required to protect Bogo? Based on Ducky's and dudacek's posts, it appears that they do not -- but Bogo could still play well enough to make the Sabres protect him. - What if the Sabres trade for Fowler (or Lindholm!)? If they do, they would protect him. So, it's possible that the Sabres could find themselves wanting to protect Risto, McCabe, Kulikov, Bogo and Fowler -- before we even get to the forwards. As for the forwards, I think there is NFW that they expose Kane unless he gets arrested again or does something terrible. I also think they will probably protect Foligno, and that if they had to decide today they would expose Ennis and Girgensons before exposing Foligno or Larsson.

Pi -- I respect the fact that you've dug yourself into a hole, but you're determined to keep digging. When you get to China, enjoy the dim sum! They eat it for breakfast there (although once you have 25 or 30 pork dumplings for breakfast, you start to get nauseated).

Me too. He's a good 4th liner. I'm not sure why anyone would have a problem with him. He hits, he fights, he plays a creditable 4th-line shift, he can kill penalties and he doesn't take up cap space.

Whoa. The odds are greater that Moulson will sprout wings and fly to Vegas than they are that GMTM will protect him.

Hormonals gonna hormone!

FWIW, Kaepernick has been a fairly prominent topic of conversation at my kids' school. I can't agree with this. The Bills earned that loss.

Not the first nuance I've missed and I'm sure it won't be the last.

Lesser of 2 evils. Nelson looked like a deer in the headlights in game 1.

Well, I think it's pretty well settled that bringing in TT was Rex's move, not Whaley's.

TT may be just OK as a passer -- although he's made several very good NFL throws today -- but the plays he makes with his feet elevate him to well above average. And maybe, just maybe, a future star.

Those lines look like Moulson and Zemgus have been demoted.

It's a beautiful day at the stadium! That was a great drive, with a number of great plays by TT. I really think his ceiling is very high.

To be clear, I have no desire to trade Nylander. I just think it is classic Sabrespace trade self-delusion to think we are getting him for anything less than that. I also think it's a real and interesting discussion -- the shiny new forward toy with nifty Euro skills (who didn't earn any serious consideration of making the roster out of camp, btw) who might be a good NHL forward in a couple of years, vs a good, young, fast defenseman who would move into the top pair immediately.

McDavid is freaking amazing.

I have no doubt that everyone in Winnipeg wants this to be the case, and plenty of doubts that it will prove out.

Are the odds better that Nylander becomes another Gaborik, or another Armia?

I think Ennis will make it back. It will take longer than we want, but he has the right attitude and he has the physical tools.

Thank you sir. So far so good.