nfreeman

Good. As it should be.

And are you…solo these days?

So this makes a PK signing a bit more likely, innit?

FWIW, Scott Wheeler of the Athletic was on WGR with Bulldog yesterday and said he though Savoie would be in juniors next year and then would be ready for the NHL. He also said Savoie has elite speed and skill and has the potential to be a "top of lineup" forward.

No one is saying OSP ignored the Drury deal or fell asleep at the switch. I, and I think others, believe that OSP felt like he had a free option sitting on his desk that he could exercise whenever he wanted -- and it was in his interest to wait to exercise it. He waited too long, and Drury, who was ambivalent about staying but willing to do so, got PO'd and bolted.

Good to see ya sir! This is a good way to describe it -- thanks. The bell would seem to be tolling for at least 2 of Bjork, a hypothetical FA acquisition and JJP's chances of starting the year in Buffalo.

Well, no one said unscrupulous or psycho or that OSP didn't know anything about leadership or management. What did happen is that a number of posters -- all of whom almost certainly have not built a company the size of Paychex -- criticized the management technique that OSP was bragging about in that episode and compared it with their own professional experiences. If you disagree with those comparisons, you might characterize them as "inappropriate" or even "ill-considered" -- but not obnoxious, which is how your last couple of posts in this thread read. Welcome to the board, and you are free to defend OSP all you like (as I have done on many occasions), but this is not how we communicate here. What does his race have to do with it? Are members of other races immune from this type of poor behavior? You are probably correct that the loan was already in the default, but OSP was the one who got the benefit of the loan forgiveness, which was borne by the state.

OSP saying this isn't the same as it being true -- and in fact it's of a piece with his description of the Drury debacle. The state forgave $25MM in debt as part of the deal: https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/tom-saved-hockey-in-buffalo-how-the-golisano-years-rescued-the-sabres/article_6ae709fc-fac8-5e61-bb8d-ea60ff8e35cb.html https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/en/Daily/Issues/2003/04/02/Franchises/NY-May-Pave-Way-For-Golisano-Purchase-With-$25M-Writeoff

I asked you about the insult because it seemed unwarranted and strange. I agree that Black Sunday isn't top of mind for OSP at present, but since he took the time to write about it in his memoirs, he clearly cares enough about it to present his version of events. As for why he wouldn't be telling the truth -- this has been asked and answered. I'll just add that someone tone-deaf enough to brag about making a huge profit on flipping the Sabres in a deal involving substantial public money from a state with a crippled economy is also likely to think that the public will eventually start to believe him if he keeps insisting on a version of events that whitewashes his culpability. Nosirree, unless you define success as making a ton of cash on the purchase and sale of the team. He was in the right place and right time to buy the team with almost zero financial risk, and for the magical 05-06 run, which he followed up on by providing terrible stewardship and running the team into the ground before cashing out. This is obnoxious.

Exactly. This is not even close to an exploitative check-cashing business. This is IMHO too kind to OSP, whose description was elected-politician-level BS. WTF is this? Do you seriously not think OSP is spinning here, or that people spin when they write books like this? And why the insult?

If he's good enough to play for Sweden at the World Juniors, he's good enough so that we shouldn't just assume he's not going to amount to anything. In fact, I can see him surpassing the other Sabres Swedish Linuses: Ullmark Omark Cronholm any others?

I agree with all of this, but the bolded is the tricky part. What is the highest price you would pay for him, assuming he signs an extension as part of the deal?

Good call. It's just enough to make a cap-strapped or cheapskate team stay away. And it secures a young depth defenseman with good offensive skills for a couple of years -- long enough to let the Ryan Johnson situation develop and to see whether Bryson himself can turn the corner and become respectable in his own end -- like Soupy finally did at age 26. I like the player and the deal, and I don't think it means that there are no other moves coming on D (although that certainly might end up being the case).

From the Athletic regarding Copp: That’s pretty pricey.

Now that is some excellent internet sleuthing. And what a story. It sounds like his life was part slap shot, part pulp fiction.

I’m pretty sure the Sabres have never had a guy named Vsevolod.

Before the draft, I was ready to give them #28 for Kane, but now I'm not trading Kulich (or Savoie or Östlund) for him. I think we're only getting him if we're the only team on his list, and I doubt that's the case. But maybe at the deadline or over the summer.

Was he fun though? Do you remember any fun? Savoie is going to deliver the joie with savoire faire! Mais oui! (Most of the joie will be because the Sabres will be a good team loaded with scoring, but still. I think this kid will be much more likeable than Eichel was.)

More on Forton's interview and emotions from the Athletic:

I liked Myers (and in fact own his jersey), but he was nowhere near Mad Max on the electricity voltage meter. As for Jack -- yes, there were a number of thrilling moments, but other than a few brief sections of a few seasons, the Sabres' overwhelming suckitude made it hard for me to get really excited. How awesome can a nice goal really be when you're 30 points out of the playoffs again? Max, OTOH, was a threat to do something wild anytime he got the puck, and the team was worth watching for most of his tenure. I'm kinda optimistic that the same will be true of Savoie. YMMV, of course.

Well, the Debrincat trade makes it clear that the Blackhawks are in full teardown-and-tank mode, so a Kane trade this summer seems highly likely. That means the question is which teams will he agree to be traded to. If it's a short list and the Sabres are on it, then the questions are whether KA is interested, and how much KA is willing to pay in assets to get him. I would guess that the Sabres will be on the list, and that KA will be interested at the right price, but the Sabres will not be the only team on the list -- and if that is the case, I would guess that the presence of other teams on the list will result in a price that is too rich for KA's liking. Still, it's possible.

I think this guy is going to be more fun to watch than any Sabre since Afinogenov.

Forton gets emotional at the end of the interview (about the 18-minute mark) when asked about KA. It's a pretty interesting and poignant moment, likely driven in part by Kim Pegula's recent health issues as well. In any case, it's clear that Forton thinks very highly of KA, and at least in Forton's view, that the franchise was a fairly dysfunctional organization before KA took over. Here's Mike Harrington's description:

Do we know whether/how many of this year's picks, including the overseas guys (I'm thinking of Kulich and Neuchev in particular) are coming?

I wonder if Modo will return now?