#freejame

Under what pretext?

I think you mean Simpler Times, right?

Premier Gourmet sells it for $12 a bottle. I bought two, drank one and am aging one. It was pretty solid, very boozy, but that's expected at around 17%.

Edmonton with the 4-1 loss!

I'd be more than happy with that line-up to start the year. Weber on defense would be the only thing that bothered me, but I guess that's where TP money comes into play. That third line would be a dominate defensive zone group who can matchup well against anyone and I think with CoHo getting time on that second line he would be right back to where he was before.

I didn't know if there was something I didn't know about either that was making him the better choice.

Why is it that anytime someone has ROR coming to Buffalo, they have Zemgus centering him? O'Reilly has a much higher FO% and isn't a righty so it isn't any more advantageous to put him in the RW over Girgs

Starting Tommy Maddox was pretty equal to hitting an easy popup right to us. Sometimes though, it's the easiest fly balls that get lost in the sun...

Let me preface this by saying Cody Hodgson has had a bad year, however, I think it would be stupid to let him go. When looking at his metrics and numbers, it's pretty clear things just aren't going his way when he's playing his normal game (which isn't a defensive one). He's shooting an abysmal 4.3%, when his career average is 10.5%. If he were shooting his average, we're looking at an increase of seven goals getting him to 12 on the year. I know that doesn't seem like much, but once you look at his ATOI, you'll see it's down almost 2.5 minutes per game from his career average and nearly 5.5 minutes compared to last year. In fact, this season's shots total and total TOI numbers are almost even to the 48 game lock-out season. When looking for more usage differences, you'll see that he's starting more shifts in the defensive zone than ever before in his career, which for an offensive player makes little sense. I can't find the PP TOI numbers, but he is averaging 6 PPG per season compared to 0 this year. I was also unable to find a detailed line history for both this season and the last few, though I remember him playing well for a stretch of games with Moulson and Ennis. Again, by no means am I trying to make excuses for his play this season, but I do think it's an anomaly. The argument can be made for improper usage by Nolan, but for a Gary Roberts trained athlete, he should be used to the hard work mantra. If Nolan said ice is earned, then Hodgson deserves the season he's having. But that doesn't mean it's clearly an off year.

Out of curiosity, who has GMTM, or Darcy for that matter, traded away that you still wish were here?

3rd line in the sense that he'll match up against the opposition's top line. Isn't that where you want your two way forwards? That's also why I'm in favor of ROR, he's another two way guy, has a much higher FO% than Zemgus, and has great possession numbers. You should want your third line defensively sound so your players with higher offensive talent get better match ups. Not to mention the fact that I'd rather not have someone play center who only wins 45% of the draws.

We better win the lottery this year, Eichel isn't even the best college player in New England... http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/729460

Does anyone here play performax summer league? I sent in my player info hoping to get on a team and sent them an email as well and haven't heard anything.

Any chance there is a Silfverberg/GMTM connection from Ottawa?

I think it's safe to assume that if Mike Smith is wearing one, it's a puck going through a coyote.

Drove to Erie to see him in person tonight. I've gotta say, he really makes playing hockey look effortless. I'm not saying anything everyone here doesn't know already, but the way he cycles through the zone when he doesn't have the puck is mesmerizing. The other big thing that really stood out was how incredibly patient he was when he had the puck and aware of his surroundings. His forecheck was good all game, but his backcheck really seemed like the stronger of the two. It was a great game to see, especially considering how well Baptise did. Though he should have had another goal and McDavid should have had another assist, but what can you do?

I would really like to get Mike Green. Though he's not the strongest defensively anymore and he's on a decline, he's still a force to be reckoned with on the powerplay. With how awful our special teams are, I think he would be worth the six million he'll command. He'll also be a good tutor for our youngsters when it comes to being an offensive-defenseman. I agree with whoever said earlier that this year's RW options are pretty lame, and I don't think St. Louis is the answer for our problems. As far as Kaleta goes, I'd love him on the fourth line next year, but I really hope he isn't. The dude has had way too many injuries and is really risking some serious damage each time he gets out there. A goalie is obviously going to be a high concern as well and if Murray thinks he has the answer in the system, we may see a stopgap for a few years. If he doesn't think we have what we need, Niemi is obviously the best backstop available and considering his age (32 to start next season), he's probably going to be looking for something to retire off of. On a semi-unrelated note, I see a lot of posters putting Zemgus in 1C/2C slots and I don't really understand it. If you're putting him there as a placeholder, it makes some sense, but he seems like an ideal shutdown line kind of guy.

If you need any advice, I'm your man. I'm an expert when it comes to the long game.

Happened to Tampa Bay in '98/'99. That looks to be the only occurrence. http://www2.tsn.ca/draftcentre/feature/?id=18342

Not to ruin your dream, but considering this years draft, there would be no way that the conditions weren't "2015 first if Boston makes playoffs; 2016 if Boston misses." As you have it now, it seems like if Boston misses the playoffs this season, we would have their 2015 lottery pick. Maybe that's what makes it a dream though.

Is that not the usual, prescribed amount of time? Maybe I'm doing my dating life all wrong too...

Well, I was on the "Stop Winning For McKinnon" bandwagon during the lockout year, so as disheartening as the tank is, I'm pulling for it. As for Tank, he's always been a favorite of mine.

Thank you! I'm on here most of the day it seems and have been lurking since probably around '09 or so. The Vanek trade poll finally got me to sign up for an account and for whatever the reason, today I've decided to do a little posting. We'll see if it lasts!

LINE ONE: KANE/REINHART/STEWART LINE TWO: MOULSON/EICHEL/HODGSON LINE THREE: GIRGENSONS/O'REILLY/GIONTA LINE FOUR: DESLAURIES/FLYNN/FOLIGNO DEFENSE BOGOSIAN/ RISTOLAINEN GORGES/ GREEN ZADOROV/ PYSYK Here's my thoughts on it. In this situation, I thought something along the lines of trading Ennis, Grigorenko, and a 2nd to the Avalanche for ROR. As for Mike Green, right now he's definitely on a slight decline, but he's a RHD and can anchor our powerplay. He makes six million right now and I would guess would want something in that price range over 4-5 years, which we can afford. Lastly, a trade and sign with Stewart in the offseason. Aside from those two, the rest of the roster consists of current/hopeful Sabres. The top two lines, in my opinion, can go either way. I'd like to keep CoHo and see how he does playing more minutes with smarter linemates who play his style of game. He had some success last season on the MEH line, hopefully it'll carry over to an updated one. Having Stewart and Kane play with Reinhart should give him room to play his game and gives him two players who can finish. The third line is a true third that can match up with the oppositions number one. ROR is 52% in face-offs right now, which is 7% higher than Girgs, so he gets the middle. Because I think GMTM likes Foligno's game, I wouldn't be surprised to see him and Gionta switch lines as well. Obviously, all of this would depend on the firing of Ted Nolan, which is hopefully inevitable as soon as the season is over.