JohnC

Irrational behavior happened today in the Oval Office. A looney female conspiracy whack job talked to Trump at the WH and told him some national security staff were not loyal to him. It resulted in the firing of three members in that office.

I don't have streaks in my pants when I watch him play; I have loads in my pants that weigh me down. The people around me have given me a nick name: Stinky!

Normally, the advice you give about stocks in a down market is sound advice. However, the president's irrational and peculiar fascination with tariffs can cause a severe recession once the retaliation comes in from other countries. What makes this tariff issue more unnerving is that much of it is targeted at our allies. Buffalo is located on the border next to Canada. It is going to have a negative effect for western NY because fewer Canadians will cross the border to shop and do other activities. If this course continues there will be fewer Canadians coming to the arena to watch hockey.

What this agent did is what all agents do. I'll also add that organizations also have "informal" nondisclosure conversations with agents to see what the agent is thinking in regard to his client/s. Purity is theoretical and not regularly practiced in the real world of sports and business.

The agent is doing what agents do: trying to get his client the best contract he can get with his team and/or from the market. The agent represents his client, not the team he currently plays with. How is this tampering when he is pointing out the options that the player and organization have?

It appears that you have become a member of the curmudgeon club. I have been a member for a long time. Welcome to "my bones are aching and I got to pee club. 😀 A while back, an old lady politely asked if she could cross through my line to get to another line. I said sure, no problem. She proceeded to get in front of me in the line. I got hustled by an old crafty "bit***h. I ended up laughing at how absurd she was. I pity anyone who had to live with that old shyster woman.

As you point out, and has often been noted by many, there is a need to add a quality rugged defensive blueliner to get a better mix on that unit. Does that mean that Byram should be moved? Not necessarily, but I'm open to it. As far as moving Power, I'm adamantly opposed to dealing him off. End of the discussion! Can enough roster adjustment being made this offseason to put this team back into the relevancy category? Maybe. My hesitancy is based on what I believe to be the caliber of our GM. Sad to say.

I have said it numerous times that I'm not going to over-interpret what our recent good record means. However, that doesn't mean that these games aren't meaningful for the opposing teams. During this short positive segment we have beaten upper echelon teams and teams vying for a playoff spot. So let's not suggest that other teams are folding because they are playing an out of contention team. The point is often made that the Sabres are winning primarily because of the recent good of Reimer. Well hallelujah, that's exactly what I and others have pointed out. Getting good goalie play uplifts for the team. That's what I and other have noted needs to be addressed in the offseason i.e. the goalie position.

What I'm seeing is not matching up with the analytics that many here are citing. As an example, I do see an uptick in Quinn's recent play since the benching due to being late for a team meeting. Some posters here are suggesting otherwise, most notably @mjd1001. And it should be noted that in the recent games many of them/victories were against good teams and teams vying for playoff spots. While I'm not going to over interpret the recent preponderance of wins, I will draw some cautious encouragement from this end of season play.

Ovie scored tonight against Carolina. Three goals away from passing Wayne G. https://www.nhl.com/news/alex-ovechkin-scores-goal-892-now-3-from-breaking-nhl-record

There is no question that Adams made some premature assumptions about his players entering the season, mostly young players, that didn't materialize. That's why this season didn't come close to meeting our expectations. Given that disappointment, that doesn't mean that Quinn/Benso/Kulich/JJP/Power shouldn't be better players next year. I expect that to happen but also not assuming it. As far as Zucker and McLeod producing like 2nd lines, from a production standpoint I can't say definitely. However, what I can say about both player is that both of them will provide experience, adequate production and good examples to the younger players. I'm not going to complain if they become solid third line players. With respect to the injury factor for injury prone players such as Greenway and Norris that's an unavoidable fact of life in sports for all teams. No team is immune from that issue. It seems to me that this team is starting to build up with more depth on the roster and within the system. There are no guarantees and never will be. It's the nature of the physical business. The Sabres wil not be a serious Cup contending team next year. I'm not delusional. But my expectation is that they should be a playoff qualifying team if our GM responds more wisely in his tasks than he has done in the past. (As you should well know, I'm not a fan of KA.) The owner has the say here. So you deal with what you got and go on whether you like it or not.

I'm not advocating for all the highlighted players to be on the top two lines. Benson may be more suitable as a third line player. Also, there is nothing wrong with having a high functioning third line with the ability of those players to move up the lines when the inevitable injuries happen. I have also advocated for the need to add another established second-line player to this roster.

I would certainly take the bet on young players such as Quinn, Benson, Kulich, JJP and Powers. Do I know for sure that all these players will become good players? I do think so but am smart enough to say that I'm not sure. I'm willing to be more patient than most here. If you ask me if I'm willing to place a bet on UPL, my response would be a no. My position on him is that I'm willing to be a bit more patient but I want an acceptable option in place because I'm not fully counting on him.

The Capitals's front office has decisively outperformed our piddling front office. Over the past two to three years they have reconstituted their lineup and invigorated it by adding a number of complementary pieces. The most impactful action that their front office made was adding two goaltenders, Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren, for a miniscule price. Based on performance, our GM is a pigmy compared to their GM.

I'm more upbeat on Quinn than you are. Sometimes you have to accept who the player is instead of trying to fit him in the mold you prefer him to be in. I agree with you that he is not the type of player who excels at generating his own shots. He's more of the type of player who needs to be set up. His main asset is his shot. And that is not an attribute that I'm going to lightly dismiss. He's another young player that we have to be a little more patient with and see how things unfold. As long as he is willing to put effort on the other side of the game, I'm more willing to be more patient with him. Without getting too entangled with the analytics, which sometimes doesn't give you an accurate picture, my eyes tell me that his recent play has improved. While I'm not saying your assessment is wrong, I am saying that based on his recent play he deserves more time before drawing a hardened conclusion.