Curt

Then Risto’s skyrocketed when Karlsson signed, haha.

I think this is essentially correct. Like world soccer for example.

We have been talking about JT Miller. Miller has about the same career stats and is about the same age as Kevin Hayes. Hayes just signed for 7 years, $7.14M AAV. Miller is signed for 4 more years at $5.25M AAV.

Sort of. We pay pro athletes by buying tickets, merchandise, and media. We pay musicians by buying tickets, merchandise, and media. Yet musicians are free to go work wherever they please. Work with whatever companies they please. NHL players can not.. The pro sports leagues were set up for the teams to have nearly complete professional control over the players. We are left with the crumbling remnants of that system.

Medical residencies have a matching process in which the resident is matched with a program. They do not have full control over which program they get matched into. This match happens in April and residencies begin in June. They then have to stay with that program for 3+ years (can vary), to complete their residency. Without completing this residency they can not practice as a fully licensed physician. If Trouba’s fiancé matched into a program in the NYC area, then that’s just where she is going to be for a few years. She doesn’t have much choice. She could just not become a practicing physician and toss away the 100’s of thousands of $$$ and years of her life that she spent getting to this point, but that doesn’t seem realistic. I feel like Trouba stayed with the Jets as long as he was reasonably able to and in the end the Jets did right by him. I swear, pro sports is the only profession where we place blame on individuals for trying to work in the location of their choice.

Damn! Well, I didn’t grow a bit after my 17th birthday. I was and still am about 5’11.5”. Maybe we both are projecting our personal experiences onto Zegras. Just curious, how tall did you end up?

I like him as a fit for what Buffalo needs right now. Can be an ok 2nd line C. If Mitts pushes him down, he would be a very good 3rd C. If there is someone else to play 3rd C, he could also play wing on any of the top 3 lines, LW or RW. A very versatile player. Signed for 4 more seasons, ages 26-29. In his 4 full NHL seasons, he has 43, 56, 58, 47 points and 22, 22, 23, 13 goals. He didn’t have 5 straight 20 goal seasons, just 3 (his first 3 full NHL seasons) but I agree with everything else. Bring him in!

Yes, 6’0.25” I believe, and thin, 173lbs. He will gain weight and be an about average size NHL player. Maybe he grows a bit and ends up 6’1”, but the number of young men who grow over an inch after age 18 is quite small. I would say the majority of people don’t grow at all after that age, though I’m just guessing.

Any chance that they trade #10 overall? Beyond that Jett Woo is very interesting.

Yes, that's what I was suggesting. I think it likely that teams contemplating a trade have looked pretty deeply into whether Trouba would like to sign with them, considering his long standing unwillingness to sign long term with the Jets.

Tampa has Hedman, Sergachev, Cernak, McDonough, Coburn, Rutta and top prospect Foote all signed for 2019-20 already. So if they add Risto to that group, you are telling me that Hunwick will also appeal to them because they need him for another body to fill out their lineup? No, that makes zero sense to me. They are not going to want a cap dump.

Tampa doesn’t want Hunwick. They are trying to shed as much salary as possible.

From the looks of it, yes, Risto and 31 probably would have been better for Winnipeg, but it Trouba had zero interest in being in Buffalo then it wouldn’t have been a very good deal for the Sabres.

Since they just signed Karlsson for 11.5, I think it’s less likely than ever that they bring Donskoi back.

Yes, something like this. Fast, good shot, big, physical, intense, but lacking playmaking skill and probably not as good hockey IQ as most top-10 picks.

Personally, I don’t think a Podkolzin is risky from a pure talent standpoint. If anything he is sort of safer with a lower upside compared to some other guys in the top-10. By this I mean that I have some questions about his hockey IQ, but even if that doesn’t come along his physicality, skating, and relentless hustle/intensity mean that he can probably be a 3rd liner at worst.

Wanting to sign McCabe long term is fine, though I think 6 years would be a bit excessive. The strange thing would be giving him $4M. His last contract was only for $1.6M, he has never surpassed 20 points, and has had some injury issues. I don’t think he will get over $2.5M and definitely no more than $3M.

I think with Kadri, he isn’t actually mean. He is just dirty and prone to poor judgment.

Dahlin made mistakes, some of them very bad. However, they were not specifically defensive mistakes and were not actually that frequent. They occurred in all 3 zones. They were mostly normal rookie mistakes that should clean up with experience. The mistakes stood out because he was made while actually trying to make plays. Over time he’ll figure out what he can and cannot do. By the end of the season, he was the best defenseman on the team and that is going to be the case for quite some time.

My perfect Sabres Jersey is classic-ish royal blue, with a royal blue goat head as the 3rd.

It’s the best looking color the Sabres have ever worn and we want it back!

I think people don't fully understand what goalie coaches do sometimes. It's not only working with the goalies on technical aspects of their game. They help coordinate between goalie and defense about how to play certain situations. They help the team to see tendencies in how the opposition's goalies/defense play certain situations. They help to keep the goaltenders in the right frame of mind, dealing with the very unique mental stresses of the position. There is a lot more there than giving tips on how to make a save. The goaltender is the single most important player on any team. I believe that the coach you bring in to be an expert in that position can make a big difference to the team. Bales is an important hire.

Maybe in 2020-21 for the start of the next 50 years.

Is there a 2019-20 trade rumor or speculation involving O’Reilly and Buffalo?! No? It was a lopsided trade and he is a very good player, but my goodness am I sick of seeing his name. I’ve been done with discussing him for months!

For me, it has to be a #2/3 C, no doubt.