Marvin

You are remembering correctly. Some of that almost certainly was puck luck. However, they were much less passive in the offencive zone and, if memory serves me right, got more shots, clearer shots, and shots from higher danger areas. All of that helps improve puck luck because you have more and better chances to get lucky.

Hey, I will take any false hope I can get that they can convince them both to stay for a few years.

From your keyboard to God's Eyes.

Welcome to the board.

"Blockbuster" refers to bombs which, well, could destroy a city block. So it would be appropriate.

Yes, it is. But that does accurately express how I feel. It also reflects how I feel about being condescended to by the more negative people on this board. I am not even debating that you are wrong on the substance (indeed, overall substance, I would say most are fairly accurate and I agree wholeheartedly), just on degree -- but that is not enough for some. Addendum: This is the thread that really set me off. I was saying that yes, Pegula shooting his mouth off is less a thumb on the scale and more like a slab of lead. However, we do have evidence that he has let the GMs pick their own guy -- and in two of the cases, he's been right and the GM wrong (Chychrun over Nylander, Mahomes over whoever the Bills took). But that was denigrated as me being some kind of apologist and written off as irrelevant. Some respect from others, yourself included, would have prevented me from showing similar disrepsect with the straw man. I am not even asking that you agree. Just acknowledge that the other person has a fair point from their point of view. And @PromoTheRobot takes a lot more on the chin than I do. I can only wonder what he thinks sometimes. @Radar saying he was swearing off the board was the last straw. Also, because people stuck their neck out for me to their own detriment when I was a child, I stick up for people whom I think have been mistreated, even if I don't agree with them. It's another part of who I am.

Thank you for your point of view. That is very helpful. I never believed the contracts for Skinner and Eichel did not have TP's input. I knew he had to be involved; I just never knew how much. I inferred that XGMJB got his job with the Kraken because the league essentially absolves him of whatever goofiness happened in Buffalo; that in turn points at the owners. I just pointed out how he tended to hire newbies as an indication that this was normal for him and that any expectation that he would hire someone experienced was pretty forlorn. Your first paragraph was something I have suspected. My info on his GM hires matches your description exactly. Take whatever I say with a grain if salt. I mostly work on inference and likelihood. I just am not a doom-and-gloom type even though I am a born pessimist.

In case you haven't seen me say it: Terry Pegula became a billionaire in part because he looks for up-and-comers who have fewer external biases and fresh vision compared to his competitors. He, as a general rule, seems to view experienced people who are available on the open market as retreads. LaFontaine, Murray, Botterill, Housley, Adams, Granato, Beane, and McDermott are all in this mold. Krueger was miles out of the box, which would have appealed to TP. Ryan and Bylsma are notable exceptions -- from his point of view, they are probably examples of why you don't hire retreads.

I wouldn't say, "want." I would say, "have resigned themselves to and have made the psychological adjustment to hoping for the best."

Are you trying to argue against the prevailing opinion with genuine evidence and reasoned thought? Learn from the mistakes @Radar, @PromoTheRobot, and I have made. Repeat after me: "Anything which fails to portray TP and KP in the worst light is ipso facto wrong." I hope this helps you keep your sanity. I try to be fair and honest, but my views are insufficiently derogatory for virtually everyone here.

@PASabreFan can replace Dunleavy? Please?

Does this make your ideal pick low wattage? Which one? Force*Velocity or Voltage*Current? To quote Arte Johnson, "very interesting."

We know he meddles to at least some extent. The place where I and others differ is in degree. IMHO, if you think it would be sane to expect the Pegulas not to have opinions about a property and occasionally voice them, I cannot strongly recommend enough that you get fitted for a manilla, burlap jacket with long arms which tie in the back. We expect that everyone here has opinions, so why wouldn't they? For God's sake, they are fans like we are! I understand the downsides. Yes, everything that comes out of their mouths is putting a thumb on the scale (or maybe even slab of lead). Calling them ignorant of hockey team building would be both insulting and accurate. Their mercurial behaviour has set the franchise back for a decade. Even so, just because Terry shoots off his mouth in a bout of verbal diarrhea does not mean that he's a tyrant about it. We know that the Bills' management could ignore the Pegulas, or else Patrick Mahomes would be the Bills' QB instead of Josh Allen. And they weren't canned for doing so. I expect Adams and Karmanos to act similarly if they don't want Power -- and I expect the Pegulas to accede to their decision too. You can feel differently, but please don't act as if those of us who are not a fearful as you are either toadies or fools.

Obviously. Because it appears to be the only way to make any fans happy, we had better not draft Power. GMKA's own birth pales in comparison to showing his independence from Terry by ensuring that Pegula didn't get what he wanted, no matter what the scouts think. I think this board has broken me.

I saw that. I knew that looked far too familiar. As an aside, what if the Sabres drafted Eklund 1st and, say, Beniers 3rd? If Terry were the tyrant you claim, then the Bills would have Patrick Mahomes instead of Josh Allen.

Welcome back to the board.

I should have this somewhere for copy-paste It starts with goaltending. We need to add a couple of sage veteran defencemen to help Dahlin and Jokiharu with their games. We need to add checking/two-way centres and maybe some veterans coming back from any trades to form some lines to insulate the youngsters so that they can learn both parts of their game better. You will note that I am focusing on the defencive part. This is not to inhibit the youth; it is because it is easier to find good checkers who can help do the heavy lifting so that the younger players can grow into their eventual responsibilities.

Welcome to the board. Speaking of God, I hope to God you are right.

Given how terrible the Sabres have been drafting. you could have fooled me.

The underlined reads like a plot of a bad romantic comedy.

4'33' by John Cage

Good for him.

Is that anything like "Marklar"?

Maybe we can keep Reinhart with $7M? That's where I am absolutely willing to go.