Marvin

From what I heard, Terry did not want to risk Skinner signing with Pittsburgh, Toronto, or even Detroit. That was silly because no one else had cap space. They could have got him for a fair amount less.

I heard this too from two distinct sources who are very reliable.

If the Sabres keep Granato, we need goaltending to cover whatever mistakes he has on the learning curve like Hasek did for the first half of 1997-8.

I would be thrilled if that's how our offseason went.

I think we are seeing a team with promising youth which needs to grow up a bit more. We have clear flaws which I think we agree on: 1. Inconsistent goaltending. 2. Inconsistent defencive awareness. 3. Lack of forward depth into the top end of Rochester. The next few are more debatable: A. Inability to handle extended physical play by the forwards. B. Leadership on defence, in part because we are playing 5 guys under 22. C. Too many players who play the same kind of game. This is the kind of line-up I thought we should have had 5 years ago. If it were, I would advocate staying the course with minimal changes aside from adding goaltenders. But it is year 10 of The Tank. Instead, we need to make some hockey trades to fill some holes. This means useful pieces for useful pieces. I personally believe in the cliche that, all other things being equal, a little more will beats a little more skill. We have a lot of higher skill guys, but we need to move them for slightly more rugged ones or they need to learn how to deal with more physical teams. So we might see players whom we like moved.

Mucho wings

I did. 🙂 I figured another interpretation might be fun for the other Beatles fans here.

And 3:11 later, it sounds like someone pulled the plug on your stereo? Or is it "Heavy. She's so heavy (heavy (heavy))."

Vanek and Pominville are two I know of. Pominville was quasi-willing, Vanek was not. I think the same thing happened with Miller once The Tank was official policy. On the other hand, Stu Barnes was willing to stay with the team through the bankruptcy, but Darcy wanted to rebuild. The Sabres also considered trying to get Barnes and Peca back after 7/1/7.

Whisky Tango Foxtrot. Moisture Wet. (it's raining outside.)

After Hasek, Miller suffered around town by the comparisons. He is one of a long line of very good goaltenders the Sabres have had.

Not one of their goalies?

What I would be curious about is if someone is collecting data on checks finished, take-aways via physical engagement, board battles won, etc. IMHO, this would be useful, albeit hard to quantify. We would be able to determine how much a Wayne Simmonds helps or hurts different teams. One thing that no one seems to remember is that, at the time and before the playoffs, the 2005-6 Sabres were nicknamed things like "the pond-hockey pansies" on several well-regarded major media sites. They were considered soft like "cotton fluff" and "tough as shattered glass". They were seen to be undermining "traditional hockey." No one here remembers that because we have seen games with them playing a demonstrably tougher style in the playoffs. In the playoffs, everyone can see for themselves how that team turned into a much physically tougher team. A team need not play a tough game in the regular season yet still be tough as a $1/lb steak in the playoffs.

You can only do it with one player when he has "stature." Chris Drury had the stature -- and the support of Jay McKee, Danny Briere, J. P. DuMont, and Jochen Hecht. Who in today's game has that kind of stature but is young enough to make a difference?

Life. Don't talk to me about life. Me with this terrible pain in all the diodes down my left side.

NOTE: I am assuming that Seattle will choose Zemgus Girgensons because they will need guys who can slot all over the line-up. Should we think about rolling 4 lines? Go Eichel-Reinhart-Cozens-Mittlstadt? Something like the following with whom we have now. (That changes in the off-season.) Bjork-Eichel-Ruotsalainen Skinner-Reinhart-Olofsson Asplund-Mittlstadt-Thompson Caggiula-Cozens-Okposo

I married someone I met otherwise who did not meet their income and social status requirements. Aside: There was one woman whom they pushed really hard on. At my wedding reception, she asked if my parents had pushed harder than her parents had for us to get married. This happens a lot in many eastern communities. I just feel lucky that our parents didn't believe in honour killing.

This reads like the typical entry in the matrimonial want-ads of certain national publications. The only significant difference is that instead of an age check, they ask for astrological information and income requirements. No, I am not kidding. My parents tried to arrange a marriage for me for 20 years.

I personally think that Jack having Skinner on his wing is mutually beneficial. Jack and the other winger can shoot more (I especially want this if it is Reinhart) and he has a nose for the voids in the defencive zone coverage to cash in the garbage.

Malcontented Wallowing

I remember the same thing you do.

This is a good point. Lindy Ruff is considered the best coach on strategic adjustments and tactical changes within a game and from game-to-game in a playoff series. (As said by none other than Peter Laviolette, Ken Hitchcock and Mike Babcock when discussing coaching for Team Canada.) If what we are seeing is not just the usual jolt from a new coach but some actual adjustments, then that is a point in Don Granato's favour.

9-2-2 to start 2019-20. The 10 game win streak in 2018-9 was under Housley.

After I looked at the other players likely to be protected, it is clear that they are prioritising #3C over any other position in a 7-3-1 scenario. There are numerous defencemen whom I would prefer to have over Ristolainen from the viewpoint of analytics. Therefore: 1. I would protect Asplund, Mittlestadt, and Bjork over Thompson because there are numerous better wings available. 2. I would protect Dahlin, Borgen, and Jokiharu over Ristolainen because there are numerous better defencemen who are cheaper. 3. Given whom we will be exposing, if I were the Kraken GM, I would take Girgensons because he gives me a lot of flexibility. If I am scared off by his injury, then probably I would take Colin Miller.