nfreeman

Yes -- I almost bailed after the first episode, but starting with episode 2 I was all in.

A few shows I've watched recently: - Stranger Things -- pretty enjoyable -- I think if you like the show generally, you'll like Season 4. It's not great, or as good as Season 1 was, but still pretty good IMHO. - Terminal List -- similarly, not great but pretty enjoyable and it gets much better after the 1st episode, which was just OK IMHO. I recently took a long trip and was glad to have it downloaded and ready in my ipad. - Hustle -- very good if you like the NBA. If you don't like the NBA, I would skip it. - The Old Man -- pretty good spy thriller, although the last couple of episodes have been a bit slow. - Slow Horses -- also a pretty good spy thriller.

I feel like I've been hearing about the clever cap-driven moves the Sabres are going to make since the Larry Quinn days. I'll believe another team's cap woes will deliver a good player unto the Sabres when I see it.

So I just watched these 2 videos. My takeaway is that Johnson likes and is comfortable with the Sabres organization (as he is with his college team) and is less inclined than Portillo is to step into the great unknown of free agency and a new team, and thus that Johnson is more likely than not to return to college and then sign with the Sabres. OTOH, Portillo, who is a year older and more well traveled than Johnson, and perhaps more serious and considered about maximizing his future than Johnson is, is definitely returning to college and will then be 50/50 to sign with the Sabres. So, I continue to think the most likely outcome is that the Sabres get one of them and lose one of them, and the one they get is more likely to be Johnson.

I don't think that would've been a better question. Copp wasn't available on a 2-year deal. If you wanted him, you were giving up term and AAV. You have to take the whole package -- so if you're unhappy about the Sabres not getting Copp, you have to decide whether you would've given him the same contract Detroit gave him (or, realistically, a richer deal, since he was inclined towards Detroit anyway). Preferring Talbot and/or Husso to Comrie is fair, but again, far from a sure thing. As for Debrincat -- I'm not sure I'd rather have him, with that contract, than Savoie and the other picks it would've taken to get him.

Serious question: what moves did those teams make that you would've wanted the Sabres to make? I think you were lobbying for Copp -- he's a solid player, but is he a difference-maker? In 7 NHL seasons he's put up more than 28 points just twice. The Rangers didn't try to keep him. Would you have wanted the Sabres to give him that contract (I think $5.75MM x 5 years)? Would you have wanted them to spend $10MM per year on Gaudreau? Or give a 3-year contract to Giroux? I like the Cam Talbot move for Ottawa, but how confident are you that he'll be a better #1 than Comrie? I think the Sabres are a very young team that KA has been running for one full season with his management team in place. When they got healthy last year, and when the season was already lost, they finally came to life in the last 28 games or so. It's still a pretty small sample size to conclude that they have the internal pieces they need in place and now is the time to bring in high-priced talent from outside to complete the picture.

I think VO could develop into a core player, and could earn that status as early as this coming season. As others noted upthread, I think this contract gives KA a couple of seasons to make that determination, and gives VO a couple of seasons and a pretty good opportunity to earn a big contract, either from the Sabres or from someone else. IMHO, VO has shown plenty of signs that he's capable of being a core piece here. In the next couple of years, the pressure will increase, as the team should be more competitive and thus should be playing opponents who bring their A games more often, and there will also be greater internal competition, with a bunch of good young forwards vying for playing time. It will be interesting to see. I won't be surprised if VO is gone after 2 years, but I also won't be surprised if he beats out someone like Mitts or JJP for a spot.

I'm interested in how the internal competition shakes out in a number of areas: - Goalie -- obviously! The hope is that either Comrie or UPL seizes the top job and Anderson fills in well as the #2 -- but really any of the 3 of them could end up getting a plurality of the starts. - Forward -- I think we can assume that Skinner, TT, Tuch, VO, Cozens and KO will get plenty of ice time. But after that, it will be a free-for-all among Mitts, Krebs, Quinn, Asplund, Zemgus, Vinnie and JJP for minutes, with a lot of different possible outcomes and line combos. - 12th/13th forward -- this seems like it will come down to Vinnie, JJP and Krebs battling to avoid healthy-scratch status -- but maybe Quinn or Mitts starts slowly, or maybe Bjork or R2 has a stronger-than-expected camp. - 6th/7th Dman -- I can see Fitzie and Bryson battling each other all season to stay in the lineup. Also, we'll need to find spots for Patrick Kane, PK Subban and of course Jiri Kulich, who has no plans other than to play in the NHL this year. Go Sabres. I can't help it! I'm psyched! If Comrie or UPL delivers the goods, they are going to make the playoffs this year.

I’m thinking “Loobie.”

He was the Michael Houser of defensemen.

What? if this guy isn’t at least 3x better than Pratt I’ll be deeply disappointed and deeply concerned that KA has poop for brains.

Who did you want them to get?

That's another savvy move by Carolina and another painted-themselves-into-a-corner move by Vegas. Pacioretty turns 34 in November, but he was still pretty productive last year (19-18-37 in 39 games) and the year before that, and he's only got 1 year left at $5.25MM. Carolina got him, plus Coghlan, a 24-year-old 3rd pairing Dman who played 59 games for VGK last year, for nothing.

This seems like a pretty credible move for a goalie IMHO. I don't see any of the other goalies who moved being unquestionably more attractive than Comrie when cost, age, contract, etc. are factored into the analysis. It's not like Hasek or Roy was on the market. I would've preferred MAF, but he stayed in Minny. I had zero interest in a fat long-term contract for Kuemper or Campbell. Husso, Talbot and Murray were all interesting, and I would've preferred the Murray move since it would've included the draft upgrade, but that was out of our hands and again it's not like any of those 3 represents a clear and certain upgrade over Comrie. OTOH, KA is 100% accountable for his choice here. Comrie needs to be good, Anderson needs to stay healthy and not fall off a cliff and UPL needs to look like he belongs (or at least 2 of those need to happen) and the Sabres need to have credible goaltending next year. Otherwise the Sabres are going to miss the playoffs by 30 points again and I'm quickly going to lose interest in the new good vibes in the locker room.

So at 24, is he still exempt from waivers if they want to send him down?

Interesting. I think he was 1 year away from UFA, right? He turns 27 next week, so this keeps him here for his age-27 and 28 seasons. If he continues to improve, he'll get a fat contract from the Sabres or someone else. And if the Sabres don't keep him, he won't be locked in a position where he'd be blocking, say, JJP or Kulich. I too would've preferred a longer term, but I can see the appeal from KA's perspective.

I kinda hope Lindy gets a chance with a decent NHL roster, so I won't be disappointed if NJ gets Gaudreau.

I appreciate you perfectly refuting the 1st bolded part with the 2nd bolded part! I am reasonably confident that KA will bring in a credible goalie, and will be as PO'd as anyone if he doesn't do so.

TT had 38-30-68 last year and turns 25 in October. If he has, say, 36-36-72 this year, he'll get more next summer than Thomas just got from STL -- and he'll be worth it, since he'll be a no-BS #1 or #2 NHL center who can score it and pass it and who will be just entering his prime. And at that point we'll likely be glad we didn't give a huge contract to Jack Campbell or Darcy Kuemper.

They've been married for a while now. Good for them and I hope they are happy. You're allowed to like what you like.

Sorry to hear that friend. It will be alright.

Giving Kane more than a 1-year deal is a terrible idea. No good will come of this.

Could be. Or maybe he's just in one of his moods. I'll bring him that lime jello that he likes in a little while.

In this case it’s quite possible that Giroux is out of gas and Ottawa is the only team willing to give him a big contract.

^^^^ especially when @PASabreFan ‘s well-documented fear and loathing of the wealthy manifested so early and often during the OSP era.