SHAAAUGHT!!!

There was a good article today in the Athletic about Rosen's development and how COVID really impacted his ability to get time and reps in, but this junior tourney has highlighted his capabilities. His father also spoke how he expects Isak to eventually fill out, as he played professionally at 6 foot and 200lbs.

I went into this summer only planning on buying Porno for Pyros tickets if they came within 4 hours of Buffalo, but ended up with tickets for Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets at Sheas, Billy Strings in Rochester, and Bill Burr. Going to pick up Culture Club tickets this weekend at the Art Park box office. Still waiting for a Pyros tour to be announced...

I put him down as 3C because Mitts came out of camp as the #1 center last season before going down with an injury in game 1. Right now I expect Mitts to come back and win the 1C or 2C role, with Tage in the other spot, pushing Cozens to 3C. One of many reasons camp will be interesting to watch this year...

Where did we need upgrades from last year: defense and in net. Where did we get better from last year: defense and in net How did this happen: UFA signings So we overpaid? No Who do I thank for this?

Dynamics vary from company to company and industry to industry, but the intent of that tactic is to create a situation where someone finally caves and provides the information you want them to provide. Secondary benefits/results from this tactic are below: 1) typically if the person responsible doesn’t eventually speak up or take responsibly they are either fired, put on notice, or lose a considerable amount of respect/clout which eventually leads to them finding a job elsewhere 2) it’s a message to everyone else in that room that if you make an avoidable mistake you better be ready to answer for it, or see #1 above

This is actually a highly effective negotiation tactic. People will become uncomfortable in silence and will just start talking to fill the space. I’ve hit the 6 minute mark in negotiations before, but 45 minutes is next level. Say what you will about Tommy Boy and his effectiveness, but there is no denying he is an expert negotiator.

Picked up 2 tickets to see Billy Strings in Rochester in August. Had tickets to see him May 2020 at Babeville but that ended up getting cancelled. This guy inspired me to pick my guitar back up and try something different with it a few years ago.

That is a major reason I wouldn't hesitate to go 7years/$50M with Tage. He was given the opportunity, seized it, outperformed everyone's expectations, and still hasn't reached his max potential. There just aren't a lot of giant centers in the league that can play 1st line minutes, have those silky smooth hands, can score 40, and also appear to be a good guy in the locker room. I think he only gets more expensive as the season goes on, assuming he stays healthy.

Hopefully both. I was really concerned about his health for a while (as I think many of us were), but I'm very happy that he seems to be past the worst of it. I don't think he would be expensive either because I can't imagine many teams would give him more than $2M AAV x 3 years as a UFA.

FYI for Athletic subscribers - I was going to cancel my Athletic subscription last year because the renewal rate was around $60, so I set it up to cancel once expired. Around a week later they sent me an email to continue by subscription for only $15-20. Use this info however you want. 🙂

Since when is coming to Buffalo a reward??? 😁 Kane coming to Buffalo to finish his career at a cap friendly deal, while showing maturity on and off the ice, helping the team to the Cup Final for the first time since ‘99 would be the perfect capstone for his career. He would be immortalized in West Herr ads for the next 40 years once he retires, which will make up for any discount he provided the team. I’ve done my part, balls in Patty’s court now.

This is my concern too, but I think KA has a vision and Kane seems like someone that we could get an actual hometown discount on. He's made over $110M in just salary so far in his career. I can see him coming to the Sabres this season and then signing a 3 year deal for $1M AAV after the season if the team sniffs the playoffs. The Sabres are going to be contenders in 2-4 years, no? Kane will want to take another shot at a cup so the Sabres might be his best bet to make it happen, and with him on our 2nd/3rd line and 2nd PP unit we should be a playoff team.

It's good to want things. I can think of 6.9M things the Hawks want more than Kane on a losing team next year. Chicago would be thrilled to take a 2nd rounder and a prospect all day long for this contract and the baggage (real or perceived) that comes along with him. This is what weaponized cap space looks like in my book 🙂

This seems like a huge overpay when there are only a handful of teams that could take on this contract and he has a full NMC.

I welcome the move because he doesn't need to be "the guy" and he can help the extremely young crop of forwards develop. All great teams have a depth guy like this on their roster. I also think we don't have to give up much more than a middling prospect or second round pick, and a late round pick to get him because he is owed $6.9M in cash for next season (including a $4M signing bonus). My guess is that if he will be traded, he will get traded before he received his signing bonus for this season.

Not what I had in mind when I hear weaponizing cap space…

No and not true. If you can't do a pullup at the combine it literally means you don't workout enough, or you have an injury. Both of these things are very high on my list of things I would want/need to know when taking a flyer on a critical investment.

Usually not, but for playoff games sometimes there will be events in front of the arena. Depends on the team, the city, and the time of year.

A lot of people are slotting Cozens as 2C vs 3C, but I think you have it correct here with Mitts in the 2C role. I would love to have Cozens make a huge step in the offseason, but I think Mitts is/was ready and just ran into injury problems this season that prevented him from having a larger impact. And I completely agree we need to bring in at least 1 forward, preferably a veteran center that is starting to slow, but still can significantly contribute and work with our forward group (Patty Kane, Toes, Giroux, etc). If we can land Hall for $8M/1 year, I think we can land any of these guys for $9-11M for 2 years without giving up too much, if anything.

This was definitely a nice touch they added this year, but they need to do better with the band selection (albeit I've only seen 3 of the bands). Hiring a bar band that roles through a 97 Rock-ish playlist is kind of embarrassing for an NHL team in my opinion. The Strictly Hip would be the closest I'd get to that locally. Really anyone that would leave an impression so people are talking about who's playing before, during, and after the game. Could you imagine a comedian that does 12 minutes of jokes about the other team? I'd love that and there's a good chance a couple clips a year go viral.

Additional ideas to improve pre-game, in-game, post game experience: 1) Built in aquarium - having tanks built into the wall around the arena provides both ambiance and education benefits for all age groups 2) Live music between periods is a nice addition, but we actually need some interesting musical acts, not your 50 somethings playing Blues and Classic Rock covers - book some B level national bands and unique genres/performances 3) It was in another thread but having a small stage adjacent stage for pre and post game concerts for music or comedy (could have the band play 1-2 songs in between periods as a teaser/bonus); it would also provide the arena an option for non-game day bookings 4) Guest restaurants - weeklong rentals to area restaurants or national chains promoting a new product (thinking shamrock shakes during March, or Dinosaur BBQ selling pulled pork sandwiches and brisket, etc) I'm sure I could think of more but I do have to get to work at some point today...

Somewhat related, I will never understand the people that move to the country from the city/suburb and then proceed to cut down trees and/or spray for bugs. The frog population around my house still hasn't recovered even though it's been around 4 years since the "new" neighbors sprayed for mosquitoes the first three years they were here. On the plus side, it's really easy to identify the suckers in the neighborhood because all you have to do is look for the Mosquito Joe sign in someone's yard.

There is a Today's Cap Hit column on Positional Breakdown tab on https://www.capfriendly.com/. I'm guessing this reflects the current active roster cap hit but I make no claim to it's accuracy.

Right testis or no right testis... we will be talking about the Jack Eichel trade tree for decades

1 Alex Tuch + 1 Peyton Krebs > 1 Jack Eichel