Trettioåtta

They calculate the total number of points the bottom 14 teams missed out the playoffs by (e.g. if the 8th seed has 50 points and team A has 40, that is 10 points, team B has 43, that is 7 points etc.). You work this out for the last 5 years for all non playoff teams (so if you have a good season and get into the playoffs that is a negative season to the points). The teams chances are then worked out by working out what percentage of the points they contributed. So if this season you finished last and over the last 5 years you miss the playoffs by 100 points (say 20 points a season). And it total, the bottom 14 teams all missed the playoffs by 700 points over the last 5 years. Then you get a 14.2% chance of winning. That is over 10% less than it currently is. Not only does this change, but they will also use this to determine the top 3 or top 5 picks. Thus you could finish last but only get the 6th pick. I quite like it. But I think you could also end up with a system where a team that has two atrocious years but then a few good ones could get a high pick when they were a bubble team. But maybe that isn't a bad thing. It forces teams to always be competitive. The Pittsburgh model isn't a guaranteed turn around

Sorry, I should have been clearer - by successful, I meant capable of holding down a job in the NHL. Deslauriers hasn't proven anything yet, plus he was never a great D-man to begin with.

I'll say it again for those who weren't listening when someone asked this about Myers. Burns was drafted as an RW/D. He had played both positions before and frequently. There is a reason most players stay within the unit they were drafted (psst - it's because the NHL is so unforgiving you don;t have time or space to make the errors you would do in a new position). The only successful move I can think of is Ericksson - Detroit drafted him as a centre and instantly moved him to D

The scouts didn't like the McNabb trade it appears

My expectation is honestly that the Oilers win the lottery but draft Ekblad. I still think I want Bennet over Reinhart. Islanders keep their pick this year. Next year they finish 6th, but win the lottery.

Yes. But if they are going to be good defensively then they need to hit at least 200 times a season. And I see that the good offensive players are often a little taller so I really wouldn't want anyone below 6'4'. Thus it is settled. We shall have 11 6'4', 30+ goal scoring forwards who are good defensively through their physicality. And Hodgson.

Tell that to your body! Those damn bigoted cells

I would say Pysyk is already top 4. Bizarrely, his development is somehow very minorly effected by this team sucking

Meh. Every team has down games

Man this tank is getting embarrassing. We are so far behind 29th. I would be seriously shocked if we got the Isles pick this year. That said, don't just look at it by numbers. If the Isles think that they could draft a better prospect at number 10 next year compared to number 3/4 this year, they might do it. In other news, I just discovered that Brendan Perlini was born like 30 mins from where I live. So I now hope we get him as well :P

2.32 to be exact (using shots against for the 4 goalies that have played for us this season) :)

He still doesn't have a shutout though. Mediocre goalie much?

Out of interest. Who thinks the Sabres will draft first overall? I would be shocked if they did. I am genuinely expecting us to be 2nd overall on the podium, as that is 3 times as likely. I also want Sam Bennnet over Reinhart

Weird. I never see hockey players spontaneously congratulate the opposition after a hard fought game. But apparently boxers are known to (citing Drain - I have my doubts about this). Wonder which sport these guys should be doing? I am just hoping for the day when two players are racing for the puck and the forward gets there first and scores. Then I hope the defeceman hugs him, thus showing appreciation for the hard won skating race

If an event precipitated it then it is even more useless. Lucic runs Miller, Goose fights Lucic immediately. They both swap blows. Goose and Lucic high five and hug...really sent a message there. Player A runs player B. Player B takes exception to that challenges player A. They swap blows. Both players high five and hug....really sent a message there There is no situation where this makes sense, bar it being a staged fight. Staged fights suck. Don't get me wrong I love fights that occur from emotions bubbling over or someone facing up against their rule bending. But I would rather watch hockey than two men on skates hold each other and wrestle If fighting wanted to allow staged fights between women in lingerie, I could change my stance. It would serve no purpose still, but I would enjoy it more. If something is going to be a spectacle, you might as well go all out

That ending is why fighting should be banned. That fight served no purpose. It was literally just a spectacle that interrupted the game. Nothing came of that fight, the fighters congratulated the way the other person fought. I can not even fathom the point of it

I believe they do get the lower wild card. Could be more of a problem in the West. Say Anaheim get the Predators. That's a lot of travel for a supposedly easy schedule

Why? That video has been analyzed to death. There is nothing interesting about it. Coaches will tell players how to improve...it's kinda their job

So stuff is all booked now. I fly into Toronto on the 27th Jul, collect the car from Rochester on the 31st Jul, drive to Orlando and drop the car off on the 27th Aug. Is there an easy way to get from a) Toronto - Rochester or b) Buffalo - Rochester, which does not involve a car? Basically I am staying with my friends gf's parents and I am not sure they will drive us to Rochester, so it would be great if I knew another easy way. I need to collect the car at 11am

I hope GODD replies with advanced analytics showing Roy's footspeed has not faltered :P

I agree. 50-60 point scorers are just not needed on a cup team

Emergency don't count. I thought?

And when the Sabres get the third round pick? Which player is the bloated over-eaten feeling post-turkey. You know, the one that makes you think your previous actions were a bad idea and have not been good for you...

Something to do with rebuilding Neuvirth's confidence and showing he is accepted and important? Personally I think Miller's number should be on the don't-use list for a while. At least until someone starts playing well enough they can 'inherit' it

I see your points. However, firstly I think there is a bit of love for these deals "because Darcy wouldn't do them" - just because something is different doesn't make it better. DR's issue was that he was good at acquiring decent assets but could never work out how to put the jigsaw puzzle together. He kept getting edge pieces (joke about lack of centres :P). This team has nothing at the moment, so we can kind of build from anywhere so I do like acquiring assets. Moreover, people on this board were so paranoid about our historic lack of centres that few seemed to realise we literally had no wingers that could possibly make the NHL outside Armia. So again, I like the filling in the holes. The Sabres D is a bit unusual last 2 years as we have, probably because of 06, had an obscene log-jam of defenceman. McNabb couldn't make the team because we had 8 veterans above him, all of whom were harder to send down than he (who is on a 2-way contract). He was a victim of circumstance as much as anything. Listening to Murray's press conferences has given me a bit of confidence, however, I think he is also trying to pick players who have dropped in their drafts, so in theory should have been higher picks, and thus we can potentially get a great player for an average price. But at the same time this means rather than trade for a Rattie or a Toffolli and forgoing some extra picks he is playing a riskier game. It could work out, which is great. But if it doesn't, the rebuild is getting extended by another year. I also want veterans on this team. By that I mean guys like Ott or Ehrhoff, not D'Agostini. Guys who can be trusted to carry the wright a little, even if ineffectual, so that the young guys are not smothered. I think trying to make a team of 60% under 25 is not a good method. As I said, it isn't like Murray was atrocious today, but he got seemingly average prospects/players/cast offs at average prices(at best). If I am going to pay the asking price I think I would rather have one or two grade A NHL ready players, than 4 C grade, but with potential of A grade 3 years off the NHL-players