Marvin

I think he is trying to drive a wedge in NATO between the US and our allies who have every reason to be terrified if Putin escalates. Aside: I have been listening to a lot of Russia analysts for the past several years. Putin has 2 geopolitical goals: getting NATO to dissolve and reconstituting the "natural" Russian empire. My view is based on their facts and analyses.

Putin re-iterated it this morning. It was on Russia Today.

Honestly, I thought that there might have been retaliation against the US for the invasion of Iraq. The one difference that may mean something is that Saddam Hussein had demonstrably committed war crimes against Iran and the Kurds. Zelensky and Ukraine have done nothing to no one.

Good places to start.

Just to reiterate: goaltending, talent, depth, injuries, and veteran leadership. All of those are lacking. The one which will have the most immediate impact is goaltending.

Welcome to the board. And thanks for information.

Welcome to the board. I think that's a bit pessimistic -- if we can get the right guys. Goaltender is #1. Veteran RHD is another. Quality depth around the roster so that we can ice a full NHL squad even with an injury at every position. I hope you are wrong.

Putin has said that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest disaster of the 20th century. (I personally would have put the Holocaust up there.) His conditions for "peace" included a complete withdrawal of NATO arms, advisors, etc. from former Eastern Bloc countries, including NATO members like Poland. That means you are correct. Sadly.

I assumed that the invasion was so traumatic for him that he has a few strong memories of 1968. For instance, I was 3 in 1968, but I still remember the Sikh guy in the "Hey Jude" video that was on "The Smothers Brothers" because he was the first Sikh I saw who was not in some way connected with my Dad. (About the 4:00 mark in the video on YouTube.) I definitely remember my first day at nursery school. I remember my first day in Buffalo at 2.5. Soviet tanks rolling down the street and an invading army with "shoot to kill" orders for curfew breakers would probably be really strong memories. You are correct. I recall a heroes' welcome for the team in Prague after the Olympics.

NOTE: I strongly support Ukraine and its people against this flagrant violation of their territorial sovereignty and freedom. To paraphrase former VP Dick Cheney, the three most important things to remember about Vladimir Putin are K, G, and B. I can understand Hasek's sentiment given what he saw and experienced as a child. But I don't think that it is something one can do in America, even if a player were to speak out in favour of Putin and his actions. When the American Nazi Party went to protest in a Jewish enclave in Skokie, Illinois (showing my age here...), they had an absolute right to do so, no matter how repulsive and provocative I though they were being. Sometimes, our freedoms are inconvenient when they allow for speech we find disgusting or which is factually incorrect. As someone who has often had to bring up uncomfortable and/or inconvenient facts, opinions, or points of view, I cherish this freedom, even when I and the majority don't like it.

Caggiula, Hinostroza, Girgensons, and Quinn being out does not help.

What has me flummoxed is Binnington being a lesser version of Aaron Dell. He was a big part of St. Louis's Cup run.

Count me as one who thinks we don't have a core yet.

Just don't find a Kane and Bogosian to undermine him.

Good for him.

Where is Girgensons? He's still signed. You obviously get some veteran RHD, who can be pricey. You can get a good top-6 RW, which is in the Tuch range of pricing. You get a good defencive bottom-6 centre and roll the newest iteration of the LOG line. This pushes Asplund to the 13th forward. If you are not sure Peterka's ready, you get a good top-LW too, again in the Tuch range. You can get a good goaltender, which can be very pricey.

This. I finally feel OK about the overall direction of the team; Tuch and Krebs are a big part of that. I have no animosity towards Eichel. He's not a dirty player, so I have no problem with his success. I consider hating him an unproductive use of my time. Do I wish the Sabres had had success with him, Reinhart, O'Reilly, etc.? Of course. It's too late now. @Cage Welcome to the board.

No. I would have thought it was a high stick and interference, hence a dumb play.

Dave's a mess.

I would definitely have screamed, "keep your ****ing stick down." I wish the league would consistently crack down on slashes, high-sticks, butt-ends, spears, knees, and slew-foots because people can get badly hurt by them.

I checked the highlights from the NHL. The incident isn't on it. 🤬

For Olofsson, I think that short term, 2-3 years, at mid-range, say $4M, is OK. I expect him to be a 3rd liner on this team on merit as soon as next year with either Krebs or Mittlestadt as his centre. That would be admirable depth and would put him at an advantage over other bottom 6ers in the league.

That would be nice.

I know. I was thinking more of the team in Housley's second season. Having him on that team helps immensely. The defence had improved; some of the over-the-hill players like Moulson were gone; Kane wasn't here (an under-rated subtraction); and the LOG line became a force. Think about it. Casey Mittlestadt is not 2C. No Vladimir Sobotka. So instead of two lines getting caved in every shift, at most one does.

OK. I was wrong. He can top out as a 2C. He has been taking all the tough match-ups on the road and steadily improving. I still think it was a bad, bad trade for the Sabres. That trade set the team back 3 years. If we had had Eichel-Reinhart and Skinner-O'Reilly as top line pairs, then other teams have to shut down 2 lines. Add the LOG line and you actually have 3 NHL-quality lines. That is far better than what we had at the time.