JJFIVEOH

No, I don't.

If it means the termination of Goober, this game was a win.

Wash, rinse, repeat. Glad I didn't waste my time.

I know the feeling.

I'm sure you get the gist.

Let him go. He'll be 26 next year, past his prime, so he won't get any better.

Sigh..............

Nice, that's gotta be a real bitch to rehab from. Good luck with that, hopefully you're close to 100% as spring is near. I know I should wear it on the street. But I've drawn a line between comfort and safety. If I'm actually on the street, it's usually one with a bike lane, or it's low (traffic) speed. It's ways possible that something bad could happen, but chances are much greater on the trail. Personal preference I guess, I never go out on a motorcycle without a helmet.

I understand that's a problem. But, it's the risk you take when you have physical players, and you can't have an entire team made up of soft players. It's why depth is key.

I think many fans have an overinflated view of what a 3/4 D-man should be. I agree with you, he's a legit 3/4 D-man. It's what most 3/4 D-men are around the league.

I don't wear a helmet when riding on the street. But, they sure do come in handy on the trails.

I seriously have no idea, and it is irrelevant. My point is, he will more than likely sign for less than most veteran 3/4 D-men are going for because an injury messed up his contract year. Meaning he could be a low risk signing leaving room to sign another 3/4 D-man. That way he can heal up and see if he can regain his form. If he can, GREAT. More than likely Kuli will want a short term contract if he thinks he can regain his form. Of course, if he wants out of BFLO, the point is moot. But that should be implied by now.

I agree with this. Bogo is not going anywhere so we're going to have to deal with it. I think he is better than he is given credit for. IF Kuli wants to come back, I think he can be had for cheap making him a low risk signing. I still think Murray needs to work on depth, sign another 3/4 D-man and let whoever is not names McCabe and Risto fight over the 3/4 spots. By signing one more 3/4 D-man it'll help the depth because at any one time, chances are one of the top 4 will be injured.

A Pro Bowl FB with 1 carry in 5 years................... I guess that means he can block.

His points per game for the last four seasons before coming here: .294 .234 .301 .230 That is a tight grouping, very little fluctuation either way. Now, if you know anything about Kulikov, he wasn't brought in to be an offensive D-man. It helps that he can be at times, but that isn't his main role. It never was. Sure age can play a part. But.............. he's 26 years old!!! He's not 35. Do you honestly think his production just happened to drop off, and it's just a coincidence that he suffered a fluke, lingering injury that has affected him so badly that he still doesn't practice? Sure lost of things change a player's status, but the fact remains that he was an important part of the Panthers for years, consistently, so if things aren't working out it's probably not him. I'm not even going to take into consideration advanced stats because I still think they're bogus. As has been noted, some advanced stats show Franson as being a key player, and Risto as being worthless. You can analyze advanced stats until you're blue in the face but the fact remains there are many factors that have a direct bearing on those numbers that aren't added into the equation. I have been watching Kuli for years, I'm going to assume you haven't. I don't know what he'll be worth next year. I'm going to guess he will be cheap, and I'm going to guess he will want a short term contract so he can have a chance to make up for this season. I get it, you don't like our D-men. Today's D-men have so much more responsibility than they did even five years ago that even the best aren't going to look good some nights. I've got news for you, any bottom 4 D-men brought in aren't going to look any different. That's just the way the league is. If you're expecting to have four McCabes or four Ristos.......... you're sadly mistaken. The league is getting faster, the league is putting more pressure/responsibility on D-men than ever before. Kuli and Bogo are top 4 D-men on pretty much any team in the league. The few teams where that might not be the case, are the teams that have absolutely no cap space left to have an offense.

And to answer your question, his play over his career will garner him top 4 minutes, just like they are now. Any coach with some common sense knows he's been hindered by some freak back injury all year. And even with that, he's still getting top 4 minutes. Just imagine when he gets to form like he has most of his career. You don't have to take my word for it.

I'm not going to search for links that also said he was moved for cap reasons. Yardley was signed this year. Do your own research as far as which contracts kick in next year. There are multiple extensions to the tune of eight figures a year increase over this year.

Yes, it is relevant because they weren't going to hold on to a D-man who might not come back next year when trying to figure out their D core moving forward. He was the odd man out for this reason. They needed to make space on this year's roster. Do yourself a favor and look at the contracts that kick in next year. I'm on my phone so I'm not going to do the dirty work. Yes, you did. In fact it was your exact words. Go back and watch Kuli before this year. It's obvious you're confused as to what a top 4 D-man is.

Kuli's been playing top 4 minutes for the last seven years. His TOI never dropped. Of course he was the odd man out, most guys would be if Yardley comes in. Advanced stats played a role but if salaries were reversed between Kuli and Pysyk, that deal is never made. Of course they have cap room, those contracts don't kick in until next year. Tell me how much room they have next year, the year I was referring to. To say that Kuli wouldn't get top 4 minutes on any team is ludicrous. You're view of what a 3/4 D-men is in today's NHL is highly unrealistic.

For what it's worth, for goaltenders with 50+ shootout attempts faced.......... Enroth has the highest percentage in NHL history. :angel:

I agree, I'm a 5-3 fan too. I prefer to see wide open hockey. But if he's not doing well this year, what are the rest of the goaltenders around the league doing? Statistically the Sabres have a poor defensive game and statistically they have one of the top goaltending combos. I fail to see how they can be much better at this point. You know as well as I do that missing eight straight shootout attempts is an outlying stat. The save percentage stats aren't outlying because they've maintained that overall average pretty much all year. Lehner's career shootout numbers aren't all that impressive, he's around .53 when the league average is .68. But if we're nitpicking over .15 because it might have a significant outcome on a season moving forward, then this team has more pressing issues. Be careful what you wish for, the majority of teams in the NHL would love to have a Lehner/Nilsson combo right now.

There's more to assessing a player than just numbers. If you've watched him play extensively over the last several years, you would know. The reason Kuli was shipped out was because of his contract. The Panthers were in the process of working out several long term deals with their core and needed room, Kuli was the best option to move because he is a free agent after this year. They weren't going to hold on to a player when they weren't sure if he'd return, when they needed the space. He is a legitimate top 4, any team that gets him will be playing him top 4 minutes. Perhaps 2/3 minutes when he gets healthy and is comfortable with his linemates. Murray would be stupid to not try to sign him because he could be had for cheap because of his injury, and he's better than Goober lets him be. You mention that Kuli and Franson's contract kept Murray from doing anything more with the roster. What fantasy world do you live in where a team can have two legitimate top 4 D-men (in place of Franson and Bogo) and not have to pay for them? I understand your view and your frustration, but your points are misguided and beyond realistic.

He's not thriving, and he's not playing top 4 minutes. In fact, he's barely cracking 5/6 minutes and has been a healthy scratch at times when their roster is healthy. The other three players involved in that trade on the LA side of things have yet to play an NHL game.

Funny, Miller was rarely in the top 15 and everybody thought he was a god. Is the Lehner hate really about 4 shootout games? The ones in which the team was 1 for 9 scoring? Focusing on Lehner is problem #173 on the list of problems with this organization. Stop taking it out on him because Murray used a 1st rounder to get him. That's not his problem. Can you imagine where this team would be if they had a combined save percentage as low as Philly's? These goaltenders made it so we thought we had a chance at the playoffs through 60+ games, rather than 30. Not much more either one of them can do with the incompetence in front of them. Team save percentage is SIXTH in the league right now, and when you take into account how inept everybody thinks this defense is, that stat is quite impressive. I have no idea how anybody can complain about being SIXTH in the league.