Doohicksie

The takeaway is that not everyone on Sabrespace agrees on these issues. So what? I think Skinner scores 35-40 this year regardless of where he plays.

This statement is so self-contradictory.

So basically both parties haven't said anything indicating that he will be bought out. Unless Kevyn is purposely leaking information or there is a mole in the Sabres org, any talk of a Skinner buyout is straight up speculation.

Do the teams handle that stuff? Or is it the league? When the Cup is in the building, does the league also bring the paraphernalia?

I think there are roster moves where Kevyn did well and others that he mishandled. The two big ones, at least early in Kevyn's tenure, are the Eichel and Reino trades. Eichel trade: Eichel wanted out because he didn't want to be part of another rebuild. His nagging neck injury progressed to the point where he couldn't play. Under the circumstances I think Kevyn got a marvelous return in Tuch, a team leader, Krebs, a roster player (possibly transitional), 2022 first-round pick (Noah Östlund) and 2023 second-round pick (Riley Heidt). Obviously Östlund and Heidt are for the future, but Tuch and Krebs were pretty good return in themselves for a player that was damaged goods and wanted out. It made the team better in the short run (considering Eichel was injured) and possibly the long run, depending on how the picks pan out. I would give this trade an A. Reino trade: This one is a bit murkier. I think it started out with the 2020 bridge contract Adams gave Reino, sending a clear message to Samson that he was not part of the Sabres future and indicating that Kevyn was looking to rebuild the roster. In that context, Reinhart had to go. The return, Devon Levi and the late 1st round pick that became Jiri Kulich, were both futures. There was no present value in the return. I think Kevyn got something he wanted- a very good goalie prospect, but on the other hand he forced himself into having to do it by signing Reino to a short term contract. If he had locked Reinhart up for 7 years like other forwards, he wouldn't have been backed into a corner. I would give this trade an Incomplete grade. It hinges on the prospects returned becoming significant contributors to the team. (But this is what the trade was on the surface anyway: Present Value for Future Value) But with those two trades I can see what Kevyn was doing. He restarted the timeline on building the team and got some valuable pieces for the future. The next big move is Mitts trade. Again, Adams painted himself into a corner by not even starting contract talks with Mitts (if Casey's camp is to be believed), for a player that seemed to want to stay in Buffalo. By neglecting to even see what Casey might want, he imposed urgency on himself to move Mittelstadt. I think Kevyn mishandled the Mittelstadt contract situation and that put him into a position of having to trade Casey, and getting whatever he could for him. When he moved Mitts he created a significant hole in the top nine: Casey is very versatile and capable of playing anywhere in the top nine. When he stepped in for an injured Tage on the top line in the spring of 2023, the line didn't miss a beat, and he even allowed Donny to play Tage at wing when he first returned from injury. As a 2C or 3C he was very good. He could also play wing. The Sabres had developed him and just as the investment was beginning to pay off, they moved him. The Sabres got Byram in return. In contrast to the Reino and Eichel trades where those players were moved to transform the roster and set it up for the future, the Mitts trade was more of a Present Value for Present Value kind of trade. But there wasn't an obvious hole on defense that Byram filled while the deletion of Mitts from the forward ranks created a hole that still hasn't been filled. I give this trade a C-. So on the big trades, Kevyn is a mixed bag at best. And while he was pretty good early on at acquiring futures, I don't see him as very good at refining the roster to fill areas of need. Hopefully Lindy can help determine the roster moves Kevyn makes this offseason to get the build back on track.

In a vacuum I think buying out Skinner makes the Sabres worse. Just like trading Mitts made the team worse. If Kevyn made the complementary moves everyone on this forum thinks they need, then yes it could make the team better, but simply removing Skinner from the roster will not make the Sabres better without him. Just like they were not better with Byram instead of Mitts. When he traded Reino you could see the return and it is apparent Kevyn sees Levi as the goalie of the future. When he traded Eichel he got Tuch (who has proven to be a team leader) plus another roster player (Krebs) plus 2022 first-round pick (Noah Östlund) and 2023 second-round pick (Riley Heidt- who?) When he traded Mitts he got Byram back in a one-for-one. Maybe Byram will prove me wrong, but I just didn't see the need to bring in yet another young Dman and I don't think he fills an obviously need while losing Mitts created a big hole. When you look at what Adams gave up versus what he got back in the Eichel and Reino trades, you could see the value proposition and how it benefited the Sabres. Also, those trades where transformational in terms of changing the direction of team and the way the roster is constructed. Trading Mitts created a hole that still needs to be filled, and losing Skinner would create yet another hole on offense, at a time when "transformation" should be done and the team should be competitive.

fify

Is this "Diane Campbell M" one of your "neighbors all teachers making 100k"? Otherwise, why are you yammering on about all these teacher friends making 100k when the best you can do is find one who makes.... LESS THAN 100k? Stop blowing ***** outta your ass about things you know nothing about. No, I don't think you do. Because the best "public record" you could find was someone making less than 100k.

Well *****.

You mean, like, someone with a Swiss passport for instance?

He'll interview at least 10 people for the HC job because that's what NHL GMs do. 🤨

If you had 6 months of 90+ blast furnace sun, you wouldn't mind the clouds so much.

I live in Tornado Alley. Again, it's literally like one-in-a-million chance to get hit by a tornado, even in Tornado Alley.

You're full of sh!t. Don't lie about stuff that's easily disproved.

Actually IEPs and special ed services are federally mandated; some states are more enthusiastic than others. To be honest we got better services for my son in Texas than we did in Michigan.

Detroit suburbs are fine. The city never really recovered from the race riots of the 1960s.

My son is a counter argument: He was speech delayed and on the autistic spectrum and got everything he needed here in Texas at the public schools. He's now a teacher with a master's degree and working on another degree in data analytics.

And yet every person I know down here in Texas who travels to WNY marvels at how nice it is, how beautiful it is.

Yeah, no. Only a handful of homes in Texas are damaged by tornadoes in any given year. The closest I've ever been to a tornado was when I lived in Detroit and one rolled through in 1997 a few miles from my house. I've lived in Texas 30 years and never had tornado damage to my home. I had one roof replaced due to hail damage.

The reason I moved from Los Angeles to Fort Worth in the 1980s was cost of housing. I could never buy a house in Los Angeles, period. Fort Worth used to be a pretty affordable market, and relatively speaking I suppose it still is. In the study the 60 Minutes report was based on, It comes in at Number 35, although it's lumped in with Dallas. It would be interesting to see where it would fall by itself. Houses here aren't "cheap" anymore, but they were for a long time. It's only the last 5-10 years that home prices started to jump locally (like, just when I bought my current home 6 years ago).

1997 Western Conference Finals:

If he's sick and it's affecting his performance, especially for a championship series, GET SOMEONE ELSE.

I think it was about $140 per ticket for those mezzanine seats.

The Fort Worth NLL team (Panther City Lacrosse Club) plays there.