Iron Crotch

Nothing says 'muricah like eating 60 something hot dogs in 12 minutes.

....and a belated Happy Canada Day, eh!

If playing almost 1000 NHL games with the club that drafted you is a "bust" then I certainly hope Reinhart is a "bust." ;) Leggy is big, fast, hits, fights, and he plays in all situations. Good power play guy, good penalty killer. More of a passer than a shooter. Not an 80 point guy, but definitely a difference maker. I've watched the guy play in person the last 5 years so I have a very good idea of what Leggy brings to the ice. That said, he will probably end up in Ottawa, Toronto, or Edmonton. Doesn't sound like the Sabres are really in the mix.

Good analysis. I've been a Preds season ticket holder for the last 5 years and I'm probably less optimistic about this year's Preds team than in any prior year. I think the departed Barry Trotz is a better coach than Peter Laviolette. And, the team hasn't done a lot other than trade Hornqvist and Spaling for James Neal. Hornqvist is a really underrated player who is likely to score more goals than Neal did in Pittsburgh. Horny plays a "go to the net and get tips and rebounds" sort of game. Not unlike what Moulson does. The one thing that could save the Preds this year is the return of Pekka Rinne in net (he was out pretty much all last year). Probably the only worse team than the Preds in the (loaded) central division is Winnipeg. I think they have a shot at finishing dead last. The central is so loaded (Blues, Stars, Wild, Hawks, Avs) that the Preds and Jets will lose a lot of divisional games due to strength of competition.

If the Sabres and the Isles finish with the two worst records in the league... and we win the lottery.... we get both McDavid and Eichel! :P

Situational irony: trash your predecessor for rushing his draftees into the league... and then do the same with your first draftee. ...Hopefully Samson is as good out of the gate as Murray expects him to be.

I was wondering when someone was going to post this!

I just keep thinking that when Pat/Murray/Nolan took over, they basically trashed Darcy for trying to rush a bunch of kids to the NHL who weren't ready. First order of business was to send Grigo and Zadorov back to juniors, send Risto and Pysyk to Rochester, etc. So, I find it ironic that most here are immediately penciling an 18-year old kid into next year's lineup. I think it may be best to send him to juniors for another year unless he shows something truly special in camp. Otherwise it could be a repeat of the Grigorenko situation. If so, then having another veteran forward around would make a ton of sense. (all pure conjecture on my part, as always!)

Nothing super substantial. Newer stuff... AllSenators ‏@AllSenators 1h Sens, Sabres and Leafs are all going after FA David Legwand NHL EXPERT PICKS ‏@NHLexpertpicks 1h #Leafs have made an offer to Legwand, but are unwilling to spend more than $4M. #Sens #Sabres, among others, are interested as well. Dreger this AM: "word on the street is that Ottawa is interested and perhaps the Sabres are interested in Legwand as well"

Stewart's story is pretty interesting. Grew up dirt poor with basically nothing. He is a guy who is easy to root for: http://espn.go.com/e...t-their-way-out

Every year there are a couple of teams who make huge upward/downward swings in the standings. The rest finish more-or-less in the same place (+/- a few spots). Personally, I don't see how enough has changed on the Island to view them as "substantially improved." Halak is good, but not great. And, he has no defense in front of him. They lost 1st line left wing scoring in Moulson/Vanek, but added some scoring depth with Grabovsky and Kulemin. Strome should get better with experience. I'll assume Tavares has no lingering injury issues and he scores a ton... otherwise, why should they be a lot better? ...I don't think they'll be dead last, but they stand a good chance of being a lottery team.

To condescend, I think. ;)

Rumor is we're still in the running with David Legwand. He'd be such a perfect pickup for this team. I just might soil myself if we sign Leggy. Maybe Ott is the next guy down the line after Leggy?

The Isles were one of the worst defensive teams last year (let in the third most goals per game - only Florida and Edmonton were worse). I don't see how these pickups do anything to address that. Teams that can't defend very often end up at the bottom of the standings... I still think the Isles will be in the running for worst overall.

I'm almost certain that is the 4th line that Murray/Nolan have in mind. All three can skate, all will hit you, and all are reasonably good defensive players. Top 3 lines should be some combination of: 1. Moulson, Ennis, Stewart 2. CoHo, Girgs, Stafford 3. Foligno, Reinhart, Gionta Flynn and Mitchell are the "utility guys" who will step in when the inevitable injuries hit. Both can play center or wing. Larsson is versatile too and is probably the first guy called up from Rochester if needed.

:angry: :thumbdown: David Poille needs to go.

The word "buttocks" is trending on twitter in Ottawa. :P

...I just keep thinking about how, for 17 years, we had to listen to Darcy drone about about how hard trades are to make in the NHL. Murray on the other hand gets a call from the Habs who ask if he wants Gorges. Murray says "sure," ships them a 2nd, and the whole thing is done (presumably) in a matter of an hour or two. :D

The aggressive approach of Murray is just so NOT like Darcy. With Darcy we'd all know we were done and the team was set. With Murray we're all waiting for the next move to be made!

Interesting. (there is a random Loverboy reference in here somewhere)

Good point. Maybe I'm wrong, but putting Zemgus at Center and CoHo at wing toward the end of last year must have been done for defensive reasons. CoHo may be a better fit at center elsewhere in a different system (?).

I think we'll be using Hodgson at left wing in the future, in part because he is suspect defensively. With Moulson, CoHo, Ennis (was at left wing before moving to center), Foligno, Deslauriers, Larsson all primarily suited to the left side, we are pretty full there. I think this is one reason why we haven't brought back Ott (also best suited to play the left side). Moving CoHo might open up a spot for Ott, although we'd lose some scoring in the short term.

This. Three rookie defensemen with rookies behind them (McCabe, Rudy) is too many. Anyone who hasn't spent at least a season in Rochester is not likely to be given a full-time NHL spot, IMHO. So, I think Zadorov goes back to juniors and Pysyk and Risto form a Sabres defensive pairing next year. Weber, Myers, Gorges, and Meszaros are the other full-time defensemen. I think we'll sign a veteran 7th defenseman (could even be Hank if he'll play for a reasonable salary on a short-term contract).

I actually don't want to see Sam on the roster this year unless he absolutely lights it up in camp. I'm a believer that all but a select few elite talents (e.g. MacKinnon) need time in the AHL to learn the pro game before making the jump to the NHL. On that note, I think Grigo will be just fine. A year in Rochester and he hopefully plays for Buffalo next year.

Looking at CapGeek, I still think we could be in the market for one more veteran defenseman with a short-term reasonable contract (I assume Risto & Pysyk are on the Sabres next year, but we'll need a non-rookie 7th defenseman). I also think we could use one more center option if Reinhart isn't ready for the NHL immediately. If we've learned anything from Darcy it is not to rush kids who aren't ready into the lineup. So, I still think we'll make another move or two and it need not be via free agency. A trade with a team that needs cap space might be an option.