Marvin

That makes a LOT of sense.

If Tkachuk has to be flipped, that's the part that's holding up the deal.

In Ye Olden Days, "loaned to" your farm team was either to get you back up to game speed after an injury or a "conditioning assignment" for those who are useful on the big club but needed some playing time.

Hard to argue with this computation. Well played.

Could someone go over the cap numbers for the framework as is? Also, does this create holes in Las Vegas's line-up which they need to account for?

This was spectacular.

I think that Kyle Beach's initial complaint was with the previous regime at the NHLPA.

Am I correct in inferring that Pegula is unlikely to allow retention on Eichel is because they would still be partially on the hook if the surgery goes wrong?

That's two straight games with a 2nd period lead where they seemed to lose focus after giving up the first goal.

"Mental" as in "mindset". This team tends to push forward and create opportunities for themselves, be it on offence or defence. Under XHCDB and XHCRK in particular, they were undeniably passive in mindset, whereas now they are more active in every phase of the game. Also different is that this team plays with greater precision because good passing and positioning are emphasised in practise. This carries over to games. Lastly, this is the first time since 2012-3 that there are 4 lines and 3 defencive pairs of actual, honest-to-God NHL players. We don't have regular shifts where the forwards, defence, or both are getting caved in.

I understand this is a worst case scenario. I also understand that my legal knowledge is limited, so some of this could be wrong. Let us suppose the Pegulas are legally coerced into allowing the operation. Eichel gets it. The Sabres trade him. Then Eichel gets permanent spinal damage at the location of the ADR or the ADR is determined to be a contributor to the injury. Because he got the operation while employed by the Sabres, Pegula could be held liable for Eichel for the rest of his life, even though he was required to allow it by some legal decision. That is why I agree with the Pegulas not to allow ADR. It is unproven in this scenario.

Given what we have seen here over the past decade, God Help us, shouldn't we just treat this start as "just another hot streak" until proven otherwise?

I agree with @PromoTheRobot. I remember people here having torches and pitchforks ready if GMKA had traded Eichel for returns the vast majority of posters today would find acceptable. But by not caving, he can't increase Eichel's value. GMKA must juggle several factors, some of which work against each other. He can't allow Eichel to get the ADR surgery because the Pegulas would be legally on the hook for Eichel's health for the rest of his life -- even after trading him. Thus, ADR is not on the table barring something negative happening, whence Eichel's value cannot be increased that way. Hence, we are at the current impasse.

"Predictions are very difficult, particularly when they are about the future. Therefore, he who lives by the crystal ball soon learns to eat ground glass."

Just musing: are we looking at a scenario where conditional picks go one way if Eichel returns to form but they go the other way if he does not? Two-way conditional picks depending on the quality of the pieces coming to Buffalo and Eichel's play seems like a way to mitigate the risk for both sides.

The NHLPA has a duty to protect its members. I just read that Don Fehr was told about the accusation. I don't care that Kyle Beach was in the minors -- Fehr had a duty to report to the authorities what might have been going on. Disgusting.

I remember RJ doing games alone on the radio on the West Coast.

My $2*10**-2: I like DeLuca 0.500 for "average". That's what I think of for the old 80 points in 80 games seasons. Because of statistical variances, scheduling differences, OTL, and the fact that the league splits the playoffs into 4 groups of 4 instead of the top 16, we can expect 1-2 teams a year who meet this standard but miss the playoffs like the 1985-6 Sabres -- except that it is very unlikely that a DeLuca 0.500 team would miss the playoffs yet be better than 1/3 of the teams which did make them and including an entire division... I look at a "good" team as having 0.550 by the DeLuca standard (88 points in 80 games, which was the historic minimum for most Stanley Cup winners in a best-of-7 Final), or about 0.600 points percentage nowadays (98.4 points). If the Sabres get to 80 points this year, I will probably be OK unless it is because of a long swoon. If they are DeLuca 0.500 at the end of the season, I will be overjoyed.

You may just have a more generous outlook than @Taro T and I have. I rolled my eyes and then thought next season, for the 50th anniversary of The Summit Series, they would resurrect *that* jersey as an alternate.

I suspect that the Sabres will have a much better record at home than on the road. The inability to line-match some on the road was obvious in both games. The Sabres lost a lot of face-offs last night and chased all night. The overall lack of talent showed itself in the inability to exit the zone with possession. Also, now that there is film on us, teams will adjust their game plans to counter our system. This is the next test for the players and the coaches: adjusting to greater and more specific preparation.

My idea of a "now" piece would be like the James Patrick signing: they help the youth grow up and can be around for several years. That is a "now" piece which helps the future too. One of those in an Eichel trade will help Dahlin, Power, and Samuelsson.

That is an interesting thought to ponder. If, unfortunately, Eichel is still here after Christmas and the team is playing consistently well and entrenched in 3rd place or higher, maybe they take, say, a pricier RHD in a deal. I personally would consider it -- it would tell the team that I believe in them.

Wow. That puts them in their 20's when they got The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.

I'm almost 57. I will have this on the radio when I go to sleep. Kind of like I used to do as a child -- except that Ted and Rick were so far out of Dunleavy's league as announcers that he might put me to sleep. Heck, when Nixon had the wage and price freeze due to OPEC's oil embargo (speed limits cut to 50 nationwide before being upped to 55; year-around daylight savings time, etc.), there was a game in Vancouver which started at midnight. I was up for even that one. (OK, I set my alarm clock to go off at 12. I fell back asleep about 3am.) My parents were not amused at how sleepy I was the next morning.

Good man. Preserve your sanity.