TheAud

At this point I'd keep ROR's fixed salary (which as Flagg points out becomes relatively more reasonable vs. the salary cap each year) and near elite performance with a game not predicated on speed, assuming a normal decline over time of his skills as he heads toward 30 and past it, vs. Reinhart's untapped potential and pending RFA status. If Reinhart can be signed to a very team friendly deal (like 4.5M for 4 years or something like that) it would start to swing my preference more his way. But I expect he'll get more like 5.5M for 2 years bridge deal which is less appealing. ROR's beard is impressive but Samson has superior flow, so from a hirsute perspective it's a draw.

Took you up on that and listened to his one full album I had access to on Amazon. It's interesting enough I will give it another try for sure, but didn't quite grab me like that Metamodern Sounds in Country Music album by Sturgill did. Thanks for the reco.

A recent revelation for me: Sturgill Simpson. Shades of prime Outlaw-era Waylon for sure, but 21st Century production, lyrics, and sound. Still getting into it but I am intrigued.

My wife is Taiwanese and English is also her 3rd language (I'm hoping she's not who you are dating btw) and she had a very hard time with the accents and language in Darkest Hour. We use sub-titles for most shows we watch together. The only show I consistently had to use sub-titles on was The Wire.

I concur...it was discouraging.

I like how a discussion of season ticket renewals for 2018-2019 ends up back at a discussion of Briere and Drury leaving in 2007. Let's talk about letting Scotty Bowman go and the impact of Punch Imlach's poor health causing him to retire while we are at it.

Antipin will be in Russia, so you'll have to watch KHL games to see him.

I would add something but this take is exactly how I feel.

International travel is a great part of an education, at any age.

Thomas Chabot, D with Ottawa - total stud. Will have 50 points this year. (They're not going to trade him.)

Damn straight

My 14 year old is in NYC on a 3 day school trip. Next week the 18 year old comes with me to Taiwan on a combination work/play trip (I do the working, she does the playing), whilst we're gone the soon to be 21 year old (this weekend) goes to Zimbabwe for 2 weeks volunteering at a nature preserve (Rhinos!). Good stuff for all three daughters, albeit on three different continents in the same month.

Scandella is 5 months older than Bogosian. He has played in 8 full seasons as a professional with little more than a season's worth of those were in the AHL. We don't need Zdeno Chara experience level here to help out an 18 year old.

This thread has been therapeutic today. My Aunt has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Devastating. I'm feeling more compliant now.

John Carlson! More realistically, Jake McCabe or perhaps Calvin de Haan

Perhaps. But if so, he is such a snowflake that it was bound to happen anyway.

Reviving this thread as the summer season is almost upon us. Just saw the outstanding Bria Skonberg and her Trio at the Corning Museum of Glass on Saturday. Just outstanding. Next up is The Lowest of the Low in Ithaca on Saturday. Robert Cray, Tedeschi Trucks Band Wheels of Soul Tour, and Bonnie Raitt/James Taylor are on the docket for summer time.

I'm not really in favor of trading ROR but from an asset perspective this would be a good deal. But I don't like trading away one of the team's best players for futures, even if they are decent picks. So I'd say it depends on other moves that take place at approximately the same time. For example if ROR for the two picks came with Guhle and Nylander being dealt for, say, Max Pacioretty, I'm in.

I wasn't aware of the shootout capability. Yeah, a smooth skating yet not all that fast Swede drafted in the 1st round who can't score for sh*t. Nailed it.

You came here just to post that? Wow.

I fear he'll never be able to repeat that glorious 2014-2015 season when he put up 14 points in 58 games. His career looks like a model for Nylander based on evidence to date. Except the part about being a good 4th line grinder and shootout specialist because I don't think Alex is either of those.

https://www.stateofithaca.org/event/1609042-rodriguez-ithaca/ He's playing in Ithaca this Friday if anyone is interested. I'd love to go but the concert calendar is already full.

So, when a team is in contention and wants to acquire a short term high talent level player why would they send back an equivalent player? The whole point is they are willing to sacrifice future assets for current value. I guess if you can find someone willing to trade you an injured veteran who you are counting on to come back the next year that might work. Sort of like how Buffalo got Kane in the first place. But those are rare. If you are a seller you are selling the present to buy the future to some extent. I hate that the team has been in this mode so many years in a row but it is what it is. As for Sam's draft, a cursory glance says right now I'd take at least 7 guys over Kane at any point in his career: Pasternak (25th overall), Draisatl, Arvidsson (4th round), Nylander, Ehlers, Ekblad, and Point (3rd round). Then there's a bunch of guys that will likely end up being better than Kane over their career (Montour (2nd round), Kempe, Fiala, and maybe Sam himself) to name a few. I'm sure I missed some. I sure wish JBot had gotten more for Kane. But it's not like he was subjected to highway robbery for 6 frickin' weeks plus playoffs of a streaky, low assist, high penalty minute power forward.

In a parallel universe Kane is traded in November for a late first, a fourth, and a 3rd liner with two years on his contract and Sabrespace howls that JBot got robbed as he should have waited until the deadline to maximize value amongst the throng of buyers.

Sure, some random yahoos said this. We don't know what Kane actually thinks or exactly how he was perceived, or Botteril's assessment of it. Kane was always very complimentary of the city and the team, for what that's worth. And if he is a "cancer" (I am not saying he is) the Sharks only signed up for 6 weeks of the regular season and the playoffs. Not enough time to metastasize in their locker room. Whereas signing to a long term deal is another story. And none of that changes that he was an UFA and the chances of re-signing him within the context of the Sabres salary cap situation were probably close to zero. So he was traded at the deadline.