Iron Crotch

I can't argue with this logic. We've been awful for almost a decade. Other than lucking into Dahlin, we're making moves (thus far) that don't exactly fire up the fan base.

Moves like this are fine since they're on the cheap... role player for a low cost... but this signing looks much better if coupled with a "splashy" impact signing/trade or two. Hopefully that comes later.

I actually don't think Lehner is terrible - he just has a couple of killer weaknesses. He doesn't consistently cover the sort side post (leaks in bad goals against) and he can't stop a penalty shot to save his life. He needed to move on, but I don't think signing Hutton is and "impact signing" by any means. I think playing in Mike Yeo's uber-defensive system last season is why he put up a career high save percentage. All that said, we know there is a strong effort this off season to change the locker room chemistry. Removing Lehner and adding Hutton (an all-around great guy) certainly helps with that.

I was at that game! :D

I've seen Hutton play far too many times (as a STH in Nashville) to think this move will make much difference for the Sabres. I guess we need another body in goal and we achieved that. The AAV ($2.75) is good. To me, best case sceniaro is Ulmark takes the starting spot and runs with it. Linus is not a young kid. He's about to turn 25.

I don't like shootouts in hockey and I don't like 'em in soccer. But Spain spent over an hour passing the ball back-and-forth between their defenders. They were too passive and it got them in the end.

For some reason this made me LOL :D

I don't think an offhand political comment here or there should be any big deal on this forum. And, I never had a problem with the OT thread that was about politics on this forum. I just didn't post in or read that thread much. Not a big deal. We have a lot of OT threads here and I post in those that are relevant to my interests and ignore those that are not. The OT threads are great for when things are slow (e.g., off-season). But, hockey-related threads should probably be mostly about hockey. A political comment/joke here or there isn't a huge deal IMHO, but too much of that contaminates a hockey-related thread.

I thought I saw somewhere (twitter?) that he was the first goalie taken. If so, I like it.

I'm going to leave this one for Ink. ;) ...as long as the term and dollars are right, I can be okay with Hutton. 2-3 years at a reasonable salary, hopefully.

Maybe you missed the first contingency, which was trading O'Reilly for Colton Parayko. That'd give us two defensemen better than Risto assuming Dahlin lives up to the hype. But by trading O'Reilly we'd have a hole at 2nd line center (Mittlestadt probably isn't ready for that just yet as a rookie). Risto would have a ton of value as a tradeable asset and could bring us back a better scoring forward than just about any other player on our roster. The logic is you have to give up something good to get something good. It's not that Risto is terrible, it's just that he could bring a good return.

I'm as excited about Mittelstadt as anyone, but most guys take a couple years to develop. I wouldn't count on him for second line minutes this season. We'd probably need to bring someone in to replace ROR.

Been saying on this board for years that I think Risto is overrated. In my opinion, he isn't that great in his own zone and never was. That and Housley doesn't like that he is the last one on the ice and first off of it at practice. IMHO, he's one of the few assets we have that could fetch a considerable return. And, if we're looking to shake up team chemistry, moving Risto would certainly do so.

Seems that an O'Reilly trade is likely to happen after July 1st when his $7.5 million bonus payment hits (no team wants to trade for him until that happens). The rumor out of St. Louis was/is Colton Parayko and the Blues' 1st round pick last year Robert Thomas for O'Reilly and a defenseman (https://bleedinblue.com/2018/06/28/st-louis-blues-trading-colton-parayko-create-holes/). I think if we were to get a guy like Pareyko on the right side that'd make Risto expendable. And, he could be traded for a scoring forward.

If we're planning on moving O'Reilly as is heavily rumored, then making a run at Paul Stastny makes sense. Mittelstadt is just a kid and we need scoring depth. The problem is most veteran free agents want to win now and we can't offer that... so we probably have to overpay a little bit to lure a free agent who has many other offers/options.

Spent hours preparing for a Skype call this morning... then realized the call isn't until next week. I'm an idiot. :angry:

A bit like Exhorder down here in New Orleans. They put out two fantastic riff-heavy albums in the late 80's / early 90's then just recently got back together. When Pantera changed from a hair band to a much angrier sound back in the early 90's, the main influence was Exhorder (specifically on Phil's vocals). The New Orleans metal scene is one of the best IMHO and I'd be lying if I said that wasn't one of the reasons I moved down here. Crowbar (my favorite band of all-time), Down, Goatwhore, Eyehategod, Superjoint, Soilent Green, Exhorder, Arson Anthem, Acid Bath (now defunct), Graveyard Rodeo, etc. Many of the same musicians in these bands. There are a few newer bands brining back the old school thrash sound. Power Trip, Iron Reagan, Lazarus AD, Havok, etc. Good stuff. Here's some old Exhorder from, like, 30 years ago. The sound quality is crap, but they were way ahead of their time...

Not a fan of Hutton's game since I watched him play in person many times in Nashville. But, he is definitely as good a guy as you'll ever want to meet. Very likeable. He used to do interviews every game that he didn't start (as Pekka's backup) during the local Preds broadcasts. He's got a career as a broadcaster after he is done playing. Smart and extremely well-spoken.

Beaulieu and Tennyson are in the mix as well. We have about 10 guys pending trades. The one bad contract is Bogo with a $5.1million cap hit. No one will take that contract though.

Obviously we have to see these guys on the ice in Buffalo, but IMHO when a top organization gives away two players for basically nothing it must be because they believe the team is better off without them and their salaries. Hunwick is a journeyman. Buffalo will be his 6th team. And, Sheary was demoted to the 4th line last year (4 goals in his final 44 games). Again, I like the move since we're awful and we gave up basically nothing. But, we are adding salary and contracts and I personally don't see it as making much of a difference next year one way or the other.

Based on his one 20 goal season on a team with far more talent than we have? I hope I'm proven wrong, but I'll take the "under" on Sheary scoring 20 with our lineup. He was demoted to the 4th line late last year by the Pens (after a poor second half of the season).

A good move since we gave up just about nothing for them and we need forward scoring depth in the worst way. In general though, I don't like it when a GM is fixated on obtaining players from their former organization. We see it with the Bills where we're picking up former Panthers left-and-right. Tim Murray wanted his former Ottawa guy Lehner in net. And, JBotts is adding former Pens left-and-right (e.g., Wilson). I get that they know these players, but I find it a bit myopic.

Saw the Rebirth Brass Band at the Maple Leaf bar in uptown New Orleans this evening. Rebirth on a Tuesday at the Leaf is just something you have to do down here.

Good stuff! Got an old school thrash sound (which I've been listening to since the mid-80's). I've never heard of this band and can't find much on them online.

He was a 40 point, 20 goal guy his first few years in the league. But, he got a fair number of those points on the power play and has never been a great 5-on-5 guy (presumably due to his size). His shooting percentage the past 3 seasons was just abysmal. I wonder if the wear and tear on his body just caught up to him? I agree that he may be done at this point, but he'll get one more shot somewhere I think... but not at a $4.6 million cap hit.