Weave

I think Eleven mentioned Biron as Linus’ comparable first. Seems about right. Puppa works for this as well. Or Sauve for the older set.

2 top 6 players is a pretty big acquisition. You don’t seem many teams adding two top 6 guys in one season. If that were to happen it would push a couple of players off the roster. Erod, Sheary, Okoso, Vesey, Girgensons, Larsson, take your pick. That would def make the team look very different. Would that and a respectable goalie make this a playoff team? I think so. But adding 2 top 6 players is a pretty big deal. Especially considering you most likely would have to give up real players to get them unless you are buying rentals. And that’s where the calculus gets interesting. Give up a real player to get another real player and now you are talking marginal improvement with bottom guys maybe still on the roster. Does that get us playoffs? I’m not as certain.

I'm pretty sure the pining for Sobotka is relative to what's been on that line up until Frolik. If you are reading more into it than Sobotka was the best of a bad lot then I think you are reading too much into it. The bolded was my attempt to say even after the falloff Sobotka was better than what followed him.

I'd really like to see Hainsey challenged after that hit, goal or no.

Noone is suggesting there isn't room for improvement. I'm pretty sure Frolik is going to be improvement. And noone is suggesting he was some magical line chemistry elixir. that we'll be pining for next season. It's nothing more than, he was able to play a role that the line was put together to play better than the accumulated ***** that was put on that line afterwards. Even after the fall off that was apparent.

If that is what I can get this season, I'll take another Johansson. It moves the actual Johansson to wing where he belongs and drops Erod off the roster. Incremental improvement.

That was quite the novel. But I enjoyed reading it. It said some things I couldn't quite put words to. Not to further derail the subject but, I think your points fit well with what I think Ralph's primary motivation was for putting Sobotka on the 2nd line, having a vet on the line that knows where he should be, has been under pressure situations, and most importantly had predictability to the details of his game. In Ralph's words, a grown man. That 2nd line was not a second scoring line as much as it was a line capable of playing under pressure. And the results of that line with and without Sobotka appear to bear that out right now. Of course Sobotka is not a 2nd line player. That he's been the best choice so far speaks to the roster makeup far more than it speaks whether the coach uses metrics to make his decisions. I expect Frolik to be an improvement while providing the same sort of game Ralph was looking for out of Sobotka.

I think you are reincarnating as a suburban raccoon.

In principal I'm for the idea. Would definitely discourage losing on purpose, which I think is a scourge on sports in general. but I have no idea what systems of relegation I'd prefer. I don't watch any of the sports that have relegation so I am rather ignorant of the details. To be fair, it's really just combating tanking that makes it interesting to me. It'll never happen. No American sports league is going to adopt rules that could devalue a team.

Not at the same time in the NHL, from the same slice of time In our prospect pool. And yes, your numbers are attainable if you are counting cups of coffee in the show. That makes Luke Adam a successful pick. I wouldn’t want to try to limbo under that bar.

As long as you can write from home you can probably leave your slippers on.

Mid to late 1st round picks are 50% to see NHL careers. 2nd rounders are 25%. 3rd rounders and later are under 15%. Unless you are referring to a cup of coffee in the bigs as Shrader suggested, it is irrational to expect 8 players in an organization at one slice in time to see the show.

Had a customer contact me this AM. They went to China for their product development instead of doing it here. They are asking what it would take, time and dollars, to do it here now. They are concerned about being locked out of China during a critical part of their timeline. The corona virus could undo some of the damage Trump did with his stupid trade war.

Yeah you can’t take those lists seriously. And you wonder why you were accused of irrational exuberance. Lol

Day drinking and the following afternoon nap.

Another step towards The Man knowing everything about us. First the pucks. Then the players. Then the fans. Pretty soon they'll track fan reactions and change the pace of the game to maximize the fan reaction they want. Doomsday cometh.

Noone said you needed the exercise.....

This is what the unfiltered me would have posted.

Maybe mu point was poorly worded. IF their star player ever says I want out, regardless of whether its the same coach and GM or a different duo, the effect on the room of a disgruntled star will be sufficient enough motivation to accommodate the star to save whatever locker room there is. No team is going anywhere with a pissed off star so they’ll have to move him. This of course assumes that the situation becomes irreconcilable at that point. Again, just a what if, not a judgement of where we are headed. I was responding only to the idea that there is no way Jack could force his way out. He def could. We’ve seen a franchise player do it before.

I never said he has indicated that he wants out. I said “IF” that ever happens....

At least you'll feel like you watched a Sabres game this weekend....

Yup. We've already heard RK state that they will dress and play players that want to be here. If Jack ever decides he's done with the losing and states he wants out they'll move him to keep the room, and the coach. And they'll try to find another team that will give up a good return. Think ROR for reference, both Colorado and Buffalo (or Hasek). And like ROR, the chances we get good value in return will not be good most likely. Turgeon for LaFontaine does not happen often enough in the league to lend confidence to what may happen when Jack is ready for a fresh start.

GA, I honestly don't understand at all where your optimism comes from. Those prospects that you seem to lean on for comfort are all B or C rate prospects, the kind that hit in the NHL at a 10-15% clip. They aren't long shots, but they aren't anything this team should be banking on either. They are the kind of prospects we always were flush with. At some point you have to wake up, look at the alarm clock, and realize this is groundhog's day.

It was an evolution over about 10 years or so, so yeah have become.

\m/