SHAAAUGHT!!!

If Reino signs long-term for under $6.5MM AAV I will be extremely impressed with KA. And deals are great if other teams are willing to make them and you're based in a destination city. More than half of the top 60 centers in the league have some sort of NTC/NMC. Players get trade clauses put in their contracts because they are good (or had leverage at one point), so we can assume 50% of players that don't have trade clauses in their contracts aren't the type of players that are guaranteed to come in and crush the 2C role. Which means the pool to select from will be limited by players without trade restrictions so getting an above average 2C will likely require a significant over-payment by the Sabres if it happens at all. Not saying it can't/won't be done, but it's not easy either. Add in a rookie GM and a losing team and it gets even tougher. It's more likely we get natural 3C center that we hope will overachieve in a 2C role...

The article talks about a potential $8.8MM/8 year contract. The Sabres FO may feel they have to move him if that is his price, if they can get a favorable return. Vogl mentioned a contract in the $6.5MM range a few weeks ago and that seems more inline with a flat cap. I would think anything up to $7.25MM would be manageable.

The 2001-2002 Sabres needed offensive, not defense. We had puck movement and ruggedness from the back-end already and a good crop of young dmen in Soupy, Kalinin, McKee, and Tallinder. The Sabres needed a scoring forward (Vanek) and ended up getting their own two-way scoring center and captain when they traded for Chris Drury in 2003.

Take one ref and one linesman off the ice and allow them to make their calls from a box seat with video support

Don't sleep on Dalmatia Hotel either. More of a local spot but they have 70+ flavors, crispy wings, and inexpensive beers.

Yeah, I can see this come across an exec's desk and him going full Mutombo

I agree we would get fired and that JR chose to say stupid *****. 100%. But I don't think he is whining. He believes he was fired for behavior that would be acceptable if one of his peers did the same thing, and he has cited specific examples to back up his claim. JR thinks he is the victim here (I'm not saying he's the only one) and he has made a reasonable argument up to this point (which is almost as shocking as going on vaca....nevermind). Interestingly enough this topic reminded me I was overdue to take my companies NYS mandated harassment and discrimination training. I kept this example in mind and it 100% could be sexual harassment on his part if she felt harassed, even if that wasn't his intent. To me this is the grey area. I think its safe to assume if they are friends and vacationing together they most likely have a certain level of rapport and have had conversations about what's appropriate to discuss at work. He may have crossed that line, and if so the firing is justifiable and his lawsuit will be dismissed. But if he didn't cross that line, and she didn't feel harassed, NBC may have over-reacted and the termination may not have been just. It's like Law and Order: NHL Unit

I listened to the podcast when it happened and I'm surprised NBC took the action they did. I'm not sure if more came to light recently, but here is what I'm working with: 1) JR was warned beforehand by NBC to keep it appropriate - so he knew they were listening and this was his version of appropriate 2) He made some comments/told a story about a female colleague that would be inappropriate for the workplace around her appearance and about a potential threesome 3) The comments/story centered around a personal trip JR, his wife, and the female colleague took together 4) He made similar appearance comments about a male colleague, although they were not positive in nature 5) During the podcast JR spoke at length on the professionalism and intelligence he felt his female colleague brought to the table I think a lot of this case is dependent on the conversation NBC had with JR before the podcast. My assumption is they reviewed the nature of the podcast, JR's personality and candidness, and applicable NBC rules around appropriateness. JR may be able to point to deficiencies in training or around expectations based on the feedback he received, or previously received. The discussion had to do with a personal trip which makes the HR implications a bit dicey. What role was JR representing on the podcast, is he always a representative of NBC sports, or is he also afforded some leeway since he has multiple roles and a public personality. Curious what NBC's policy is here and how liability is contractually quantified or assigned (if at all). I'm very interested in watching how/if this will be litigated because not only does it have the the potential to set precedent when it comes to protected classes, it also exposes some of the fundamental flaws we see in today's "cancel culture" where preponderance of evidence is not met before a verdict is rendered.

I'm sick of riding my bike around and not being able to go inside and cool off in a bar I've never been to before, or even one I've been to a thousand times...

When and how did you become a fan? It think it was pre-1985 and I was around 5-6 years old at my grandparents house for a family dinner. Everyone was glued to the TV watching a hockey game (I think it was the Sabres, but may have been two other teams in a playoff game) and it was nuts. There was fight after fight, there was hardly anyone left on the bench to finish the game even though they were skating 4-3 or 3-3 due to so many penalties, and the excitement was palpable. Everyone went to the other room to eat but I couldn't stop watching. In the dying minutes of the game someone took a puck to the face and went down hard, making the benches even shorter. The skill, the violence, and the characters - who looked like they were out of a Sergio Leone Western, ready for war, with pure exhaustion but no quit in there eyes. From that moment on I was a hockey fan for life. Who is your all-time favourite Sabre and why? It's hard to pick one so I'll pick 2. I loved watching Geoff Sanderson play even though a lot of people hated it. He was the epitome of the 80's scoring hockey player - fast as lightning and had a HUGE one-timer. Didn't matter if he was on a clean break away - he was going to wind up and let it rip from the hashmarks if you let him. The second was Dom. The guy was a legend and it was like watching poetry in motion. Most exciting moments as a fan? I think it was the first game of the 2005-2006 season when Briere scored a huge goal to either tie it or put them in the lead. It was apparent the Sabres were a totally different team and I was able to get a lot of my friends back into hockey, or interested in it for the first time. I'll also never forget how crazy the building was after winning Game 6 against Carolina. Most frustrating? Patrick Lalime's inability to win a game costing us a playoff berth. Tie Domi not getting suspending for pulling on Miro Satans ankle in the playoffs when they got tangled up and fell near the boards at center ice. Satan had just gotten back from missing a few games due to the ankle. I lost all respect for that man at that exact moment. How would you improve the current team? A legit 2C and some accountability among ALL the players to show up every game.

This. We need to add a top 4 forward without subtracting a top 6 forward. That's why I really like Risto for Boeser - its a good hockey trade and the Sabres instantly get better. There would still be a hole at 2C though... I'm not sure what the complimentary pieces of the trade would be since the contracts are similar in value and both run through 21-22. It wouldn't surprise me if we swapped a 3rd for Vancouver's 4th round pick, or there was a prospects swap, for optics sake

I thought it was appropriate since we are talking about using that 8th round pick to get a 2C and help shape the line-up

Kahun could make it on the top line if he is with Skinner and Eichel (and maybe even Reino and Eichel), but I don't know if he fits with Eichel and Olof yet. Kahuna and Olof and both undersized wingers and I would worry about their effectiveness - on the same line - down low. A "True 2C" would immediately give Kyvyn some credibility, and I think it's doable with the cap crunch a lot of teams are facing and the number of serviceable players and prospects the Sabre's have. More importantly it places less pressure on the 3rd line to do anything more than chip in every other game and get better, properly allowing the younger players develop. I'd be happy if we saw the following and only had to part with Risto, 1 or 2 prospects, and #8 overall: Olof - Eichel - Sam Skinner - True 2C - Johansson/Kahun Tage/Casey - Cozens - Johansson/Kahun Girgs - Larry - Okposo Extra: Lazar & tbd

Great post. The biggest job for GMKPAP (General Manager Kim Pegula-Adams-Pegula) is to get a proper return on any trades for the players you mentioned in paragraph 2 (Reinhart, Montour, Risto, Casey, Tage) so the team is stronger, not just different. With regards to which forwards from the AHL may make sense to bring up, I think that depends on how the first 2 lines look after trades and RFA signings happen. I would be ok with Cozens playing with Kahun and Tage/Casey if we are only looking to fill a third line out. But if any of those players are expected to see time on the 2nd line, I don't know if I bring Cozens, Tage, or Casey up without a crazy good camp. I think the guys that win spots out of camp are guys that will fill a need in Krueger's system, and it's hard to consider who that may be with so many question marks on the roster right now...

I guess but that's semantics to me. If they weren't willing to offer him $ over league minimum they basically opened the door, and shoved him. But technically yes, he walked.

This could be one of the reasons the Sabres let Pilut walked. He is fast and skilled, but not big enough to be "gritty" on the back line.

It's standard to fire your NHL GM and scouting staff 6 hours before firing your AHL HC and front office, have a press conference in between the two events, and then not even have a prepared tweet ready to go to address the future of the organization? This seems lazy and haphazard, not standard. After 9 years of owning and running a team, they should know how to do better.

Why did they have this presser before they fired the entire front office of the Amerks later in the day? Have they announced another PC yet to discuss the CT firing? Wouldn't a cohesive message about the future of the organization be appropriate at a time like this??? Who made (or didn't make) these decisions? It's not a good day to still be associated with the Buffalo Sabres organization (unless you're RaKru)...

I guess my point (and ironically I likely could've done a better job conveying it) is that a good leader would recognize this as an opportunity to address a major issue with this franchise - the lack of a clear message and/or strategy about their future plans. It hurts ticket sales, it hurt TV ratings, and it hurts attracting talent on and off the ice.

What does what mean? The Pegulas just fired their GM after having his back 3 weeks ago, did not perform a GM search to see what other GMs strategies would be for their organization that has missed the playoffs for 9 years, had a press conference and didn't address the direction they wanted to take the team, confirmed they are not in a rebuild - so things must be better than before (so again why was he fired?), etc etc etc. Edit: And the fact they seem tone deaf to this has me thinking they aren't "surrounding themselves with the best people"

My guess is that no one in the organization has the guts to stand up and tell the Pegulas that "press conference" was garbage. If Adams is a man of the people and really out there listening to fans, he would know that is not what anyone wanted to hear. I hope someone in that organization with some brains (hopefully with the initials R.K.) is driving the bus or I have major concerns about the direction of this franchise...

It almost sounded like Terry was going to say what the disconnect between JBotts and him were but then realized it and stopped...

100% agree with this. He may be inexperienced in the GM role, but the key attributes needed for that job are can be broken into 2 segments: critical thinker and effective manager. He should be ok if he's smart enough to properly evaluate personnel (his staff and players), if the Pegulas actually support him as they stated, and if he's not afraid to ask for resources or make bold but thoughtful moves. I'm not sure how smart he is at this point because I haven't listened to him enough, but he most likely has enough contacts throughout the league from his playing, coaching, and FO days to put together a team that knows how to win. Fingers crossed that today is the beginning of the end of having to watch an incomplete product try to win hockey games.

I'm pretty sure narrowly missing (or making) the playoffs is literally the definition of a bubble team. I used the strike-through feature to help with comprehension. ?

Too soon: there are a lot of RFAs and a handful of key UFAs to sign for this upcoming season; Botts finally was out from under the years of crap contracts signed by previous GMs; why wait all this time to fire a GM that had just gotten to the point he was finally able to operate without the fully burdened weight of previous managers Too late: what changed from the beginning of this season until the end? The '19-20 Sabres were always a playoff bubble team, and that's exactly where they finished. Why keep your GM all season when you have several key negotiations coming up? I can be satisfied. It just requires competence, a high level of performance, and critical thinking from team ownership all the way down to equipment managers. Unfortunately that has been in short supply lately...