Marvin

I just saw on HFBoards that LeBrun thinks that Aho really wants to stay in Carolina. His initial ask is $9.5M. https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/teams-contacting-ahos-camp-only-interested-in-signing-with-carolina-initial-ask-is-9-5m.2661881/ Also, it looks like Carolina added Eric Haula for the equivalent of Remi Elie.

In view of the above, please tell me I am interpreting this interview wrong: https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/06-26-paul-hamilton-howard-and-jeremy-0 1:20-3:41 1:20 - Girgensons and Larsson get QO. 1:35-50 - PHam puts Girgensons, Larsson, and Sobotka into the same bucket for value to the team and that at most 1 of them should stay. 2:48-3:03 - Q and A where PHam asserts that, unless Sobotka voluntarily leaves, that he will be on the 2019-20 roster. 3:10-25 - PHam says that "they" (the Sabres' management) don't think Sobokta is as bad as we do. 5:05 - PHam seems to assert that Tage Thompson will be on the 2019-20 roster. If I am interpreting this properly and PHam has the pulse of management, that means that we can look forward to another season with the two worst players in the league being gifted roster spots. Me with this terrible pain in all the diodes down my left side.

It was hard to describe even back then. I definitely remember that his explanation for the drills made a lot more sense than Floyd Smith's. The practises were smoother and seemed to flow from one skill to the next very naturally. They also made a kind of thematic sense. You could tell he was a greater student of the game. I saw some interviews many years later where Al Arbour and Emile Francis said that Fred Shero was the first to really understand why the Soviets' training methods were done how they were and what results they were trying to get. He was able to take thugs like Dave Schultz, Don Saleski, Orest Kindrachuck, and Gary Dornhoefer and turn them in to useful players in that they could kill time and not get scored on with alacrity. (Unlike the Sabres' Michel Deziel, Morris Titanic, Larry Mickey, and Norm Gratton from that same season.) On Bowman, I think that he did not really know how to be a good GM until he reflected on his mistakes here.

For the preseason, I don't know why there isn't more of this in the NHL. The Sabres would have, say, 40 or so players to use, so splitting the squads to get everyone 4 games of preseason out of 6 before the last couple of games to determine final cuts and roster spots would be really useful. For instance, every year, we could have parts of the Big Club play in Cincinnati, Rochester, and State College; other games could rotate between, say, Cleveland, Erie, Syracuse, Utica, Albany, Glens Falls, Binghamton, Traxler, erm, Wilkes-Barrie, Hershey, Allentown, and Hamilton. Heck, when the options exist, make them full hockey days with the affiliates playing early and the pro teams playing later.

True Story on why I put way more importance on coaching and the GM than most: I went to a hockey camp at Holiday Twin Rinks after the 1974-5 season for the last 2 weeks. The penultimate week, Floyd Smith ran drills and such for the kids; I can't recall what other weeks he did. During the last week, Fred Shero came in; he only did a few days, if memory serves me right. After the first day with Shero, I was in tears when my parents picked me up. After I got into the car, my mom asked me what was wrong. I recall my answer clearly. "The Sabres are never going to win a Cup with Floyd Smith." I then went on to elaborate what I preferred about Shero. IMHO, although Bernie Parent vs. Gerry Desjardins was the deciding factor in that series, coaching made the Sabres permanent underdogs among the top teams. To this day, I believe that coaching was also the Sabres' ultimate problem with Montreal, Boston, Philadelphia, and the Islanders in subsequent years.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/06/iran-hawks-owe-americans-some-answers/592390/ Some food for thought about some of the people in the Administration. What intrigues me is that Trump campaigned in part on not getting involved, yet many of his advisors want to do nation-building as a hobby.

Nah. I imagine that's just a back-up plan in case SJ drag their feet.

Among others, my brother's friends in the NHL corporate offices, a friend in Vancouver from my days in Doctor Who fandom, a couple of hockey writers who have written books on the NHL. Remember that their stuff is predicated upon their opinions, so the information is at best second-hand when I get it. Their impression is that it is that JBot is trying as fiercely to trade Ristolainen. My brother's friend in the NHL offices kind of ruefully said that, and I quote, "JBot may have learned his lesson with O'Reilly. We Sabres fans have to hope so." That quote bothers me, and I can't quite put my finger on why.

Sadly, I think there are an awful lot of people who would agree with you.

The consensus from the people I know is that the Sabres are not "trying to trade" Ristolainen; it is that they are willing to trade him and openly discuss packages with other teams. Allegedly, this is not as aggressive as the O'Reilly situation last year.

Not me. I expect the playoffs this year. Nothing less will satisfy me unless we get to 100 points and somehow still miss the playoffs. At least in that case, we will have won a majority of our games and the year would have been entertaining.

Agreed on Welcome, WWTG. Also, you can't follow up tanking for multiple years by compounding the offence by trading all of your picks away.

He had better start next year in Rochester. As a straight, objective definition for the somewhat ethereal word of "prospect", I can get behind this.

He also wants Ristolainen out badly. He got flat out depressed when Botterill spoke about Ristolainen.

It's because Botterill talked him up as "still developing". He seemed to think that the GM should just tell everyone what he really thinks of the player in a press conference.

I can hear the Ballad of Sir Robin in my head shortly before your first line...

People think we have depth? We iced a line of Elie-Sobotka-Thompson last year. Matt Hunwick appears on fan depth charts.

I think that part of the issue is not so much how many trades he has screwed up on; it is more on how badly he botched it. (Berglund I can forgive; Sobotka, no way.)

I go by negative inference: if it is true that the Sabres are trying to get Vesey, then I do not trust Botterill to have seen these data. If he has, then I do not trust him to recognize their meaning.

Maybe. But when I got juicy rumours in my years of SF fandom, I often did things like that. It certainly biases my interpretation of it. I still think that's what he is saying.

Reread it: I read "My understanding is that would likely be the trade. At least last week it was being discussed as a 1 for 1." following-up "Every time I see it I dislike this Vesey for McCabe trade idea even more https://twitter.com/thechargingbuf/status/1141908971869167617 …", I think that is exactly what he is saying without fully leaking. YMMV

I don't have twitter. Go to post #731 at https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/2019-20-roster-speculation-pt-2.2657483/page-30

HellOh According to Chad Dominicis: McCabe+ for Vesey will be announced today.

According to HFBoards, Dreger said: Sabres really interested in Vesey Nylander could be moved 31 is apparently set to be traded.

In case anyone missed it, McKenzie was on WGR earlier and said that most people around the NHL believe that Ristolainen's problems are 100% of the Sabres making. The belief is that someone will find him the right partner and he will become what everyone is hoping for.