deluca67

Outstanding response. :thumbsup:

You hear some stories and you have to wonder if they are true. I would not believe this if my wife had not been there. If you are eating, please do not continue reading. My wife ordered a dress from a popular women's store in the North-towns. I drove her to pick up the dress this evening. She walked into the store and in a matter of moments she left the store with what can best be described as a look of horror. Apparently a female customer had taken it upon herself to relieve herself on the floor in front of the cash register. My wife did not witness the act it's self, only the gruesome after math. I am going to be 48 years old this year and I have never heard of anything so horrific. What in the hell is wrong with people? Why would anyone even consider doing something like this. My poor wife is now in what seemingly appears to be a permanent state of nausea. We were heading out to dinner after and those plans went out the door. Seriously! What is wrong with people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Sharp trade is a horrible trade for the Stars. Giving up assets and paying $5 mil a year for a declining player like Sharp is not the way to continue building on what they have started there in Dallas. I have to guess that they were desperate to make some kind of move and Sharp was all that was left. Sharp days of being considered "fire power" are behind him. Likely a 15-20 goal scorer going forward, the days of hitting 30 are gone.

Girgensons is being wasted by centering McGinn and Gionta. I know there are a lot of shiny new toys for us fans to fawn over. We can't forget what Girgensons brings to this team. I would rather Girgensons play wing on the top two lines than center the third. Kane - O'Reilly - Girgensons with Eichel & Ennis on the second line. Moulson looks to be the default winger on that second line. I would like to see the Sabres move Moulson out and upgrade on the wing. IMO, there is a big drop off after the top six guys, Kane. O'Reilly, Eichel, Ennis, Girgensons and Reinhart, and the rest of the roster. I am very interested in what additional moves Murray will be making as the season progresses. As fun as this off-season has been, there is still a ton of work to be done on this roster for his team to move closer to the ultimate goal.

If Cody McCormick is on the opening night roster than this team has depth issues. He's a decent player to have when the roster was getting torn down. No need for that level of player during the building process.

Isn't the system we created and now live under the idea that enough is never enough?

IMO, education should be free for anyone who wishes to put in the work. Instead of investing trillions in guns and bombs, we should be investing in people, which is our greatest weapon. Knowledge has, and always will, conquer all.

Thanks. As I get older I find myself appreciating the Beatles a lot more.

I'm seeing a lot of names listed, I have serious concerns about the quality.

I looking for some suggestions on albums to listen to. I've been frustrated with the music being released these days so I have been looking to the 50's, 60's & 70's for music. I've been listening to Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, the Beatles, early Steve Miller Band, Cat Stevens, Marvin Gaye, John Coltrane & early Led Zeppelin. Right now I have a rotation of Stevie Wonder's 'Songs in the Key of Life', Cream's 'Disraeli Gears' and the Yardbird's 'Roger the Engineer' on the iPod. Any and all suggestions would be welcome.

You have to keep in mind what is available. Stewart is unsigned still for a reason. I look over the remaining fee agents and don't much as far as alternative options. Stewart should be cheap, had for a short term deal and is familiar with the franchise. IMO, the dreams of Stewart being a top six power forward are gone. That said, I think many are underestimating his game, especially compared to some of the names currently on the Sabers roster or thought to be on the roster at the start of the upcoming season. If not Stewart, who? Am I the only one looking at this bottom six and thinking this won't be good enough to make the playoffs with?

Where you see "good" I see "not good enough" and I don't want to see any of the "emergency call-ups" in a Sabres uniform this season. That would be a disaster. I look at the pool of 3rd and 4th liners and see a need to add talent there. Gionta and Legwand are older players and not likely to give you full seasons, McGinn is on the NHL bubble, Reinhart and Larson are question marks and McCormick and Delauriers are true fourth-liners. The only player you listed I see playing top six minutes is Foligno. The Sabres will need more than that to make the playoffs. I agree the Sabres have a much better pool of forwards than have had in years. It's time to look to this season and look at these forwards and gauge how far they can take the Sabres. As I said, the roster looks good on July 4th, as soon as players start to drop the lack of quality depth will be apparent.

Do you think the Sabres are deep enough? Here on July 4th when everyone is healthy the roster looks fine, it may look a lot different once the season rolls around.

I'd like to say in response that a major responsibility of our Government is to protect the people. "Protect" means more than military force. in 1776 the major threats were foreign nations and Native Americans. In 2015 the major threats are terrorists and Corporations. You can't fight Corporations with the military, no matter how much joy the thought brings to me. You brought up the Affordable Care Act. This is law that only became a necessity due to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries being out of control. Price gauging, unethical practices and the profit at the at any cost and at the expense of the health of the American people made this one of the most important pieces of legislation in my lifetime. You also brought up Orwell's 1984, IMO, the constant use of our military to impose our values in in other nations is in more of the spirit of 1984 than many of the protections we have in place today. I also would like to say Happy 4th of July to everyone. I am saying it here because I am going to add a political addendum to it. With 4th of July celebrations the focus is usually on the military and since 9/11 first responders. I would like to acknowledge people I feel are every bit as important as those in uniform. I want to thank all of those that have dedicated themselves to helping people. Without people we have no country. I want to say Happy 4th of July to all the wonderful people who volunteer at your local soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters. I want to say Happy 4th of July to all those who fight for our rights, be it in the streets protesting or in the court rooms fighting for equality. Today is a holiday for all Americans, if you wear a uniform or not, may whichever god you pray to bless you.

He looked the part until it got difficult and he needed more than just his natural ability.

IMO, he improves the overall quality of the bottom six. Much like the top six, just because we have numbers and players we can feel comfortable with it doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement or a need for additional depth. I am looking for the Sabres to be a playoff team this season, I would hate for the Sabres to be caught shorthanded. There are also some serious questions to be answered. Does Reinhart make the Sabres out of training camp? At 34, does Legwand even make the final roster. The same can be said for Jamie McGinn and McCormick, do they even make the roster. Gionta is 36, how many games can we reasonably expect him to play? 82? 69? 50? Less? There are also injuries and the specter of a trade for a d-man that may have to include a forward off the roster. For these reasons, I can't get behind the idea of there not being room for Chris Stewart on this roster, especially if the commitment needed is a reasonable price for a short term. Which, IMO, is possible.

Everyday that goes by that "command" gets a little less. I can easily see Stewart signing a one year deal for less than $3 mil. I'd take Stewart over McGinn, Legwand and McCormick every time.

I see Chris Stewart is still unsigned. I would love to see him added back into the mix here with the Sabres. As a big body to add to the mix of the bottom six, IMO, there is great value there.

I waited to comment on the extension until I took some time to really think about. I wanted to give time for my initial reaction to subside. My initial reaction was about the player compared to the value of the contract. I'm glad I did. I needed time to get over that learned perception that dollars equal goals and assists. We have been programmed over the years to that way of thinking. Going over it in my mind I landed on the Michael Peca contract situation that led to the infamous Peca trade and possibly cost the Sabres another shot at the Stanley Cup. Myself and many others crucified the Sabres and Darcy Regier for not giving proper value to Peca's complete game and not valuing all the "intangibles", remember that word, brought to the rink. Fast forward to 2015 and here we have Ryan O'Reilly, the closest to a Michael Peca type we have had in 15 years. Knowing that, how can I, as a fan, criticize Tim Murray for paying out and giving respect and value to those "intangibles" I had been so angry about 15 years ago. I can't do it. I'm going to rely in my faith of Tim Murray being the man to lead this franchise to the promised land. History will be Murray's harshest critic on this contract. I am going to wait until history chimes in and maybe then i will revisit how I feel about this contract.

Come playoff time scoring would be nice as an extra benefit but Brouwer brings a lot more to the rink, a lot of the little selfless things that go unnoticed yet are crucial for success. To be accurate Oshie had 55 points last season and Brouwer had 43 points, not quite the 20 point gap you stated and oddly Brouwer did have more goals, 21-19. I'll give that Oshie is the better play maker. I'll give up assists for a few more goals and a greater physical presence especially when I have a team thought to be a Cup contender. Brouwer gives the Blues a lot more of what they need to get out of the first round. The Caps may score a few more goals overall, as a playoff team going into a series the Caps have taken a serious hit. I am my own greatest critic. One criticism I don't have is not spending enough time looking closer at teams and players. But, you knew that already.

I doubt you have even watched many of Kassian's games so I'll any opinion you have of him with a grain of salt. If you did you would know that Kassian has played real minutes with the Canucks top lines. Consistency and then injuries have slowed his progress. Not sure exactly why you are so confused by this. It's not really difficult to understand. Kassian has the tools to be a much better player than he has shown thus far. It's funny that he has been traded from Brandon Prust. That is career that Kassian can find himself to have. A gritty physical winger like Prust with a much greater offensive upside. That's a pretty nice career. Where you are wrong, yet again, it's not about Tropp and Adam, it's about a player player that has a lot of value in this league and another player in Hodgson with one skate out the door. Sometimes posters are so caught up in whatever it is they do here that they forget this is all about teams and the players that play this game we all love. Maybe concentrating on the players a bit more the "concept" of what is real value would more clear.

"Practically nothing?" The Caps gave up the better player. Oshie is so overrated it's not funny. Brouwer is bigger, grittier and just as offensively productive as Oshie. The is a horrible deal for the Caps and a great trade for the Blues. Come playoff time I want Troy Brouwer on my wing before TJ Oshie any day & every day. I know exactly which Kassian I am looking. He has a lot of work to do to stay healthy and be consistent. Even with the flaws he is the better player and better prospect which is the heart of the argument and it's not even close.

Just as I thought.

Who said that? Do you have the quote? Bleeding? Let me guess, you judge boxing as your day job?

Sabres aside, teams like Calgary and Columbus have done a great job improving themselves. Hamilton and Saad are the steals of the off-season so far. With the Sabres, there are a group of young teams like Columbus, Calagary and possibly the Oliers that look to be a couple of years away from being the next Chicago, LA, Boston & Pittsburgh at the top of the NHL. We are right at the cusp of major shift power shift in the NHL. Chicago will still be elite, Pittsburgh & LA are gearing up for final runs at the Cup and Boston, well, after the Hamilton trade I have know idea what's going on there. You can really feel the NHL landscape about to change