QCity

He dominated tonight. Starting to see why TM gave up that 1st.

No.

"We're in better shape than Cleveland"

I agree the difference between 8-8 and 10-6 and a playoff spot is very small. So if your main goal is to get into the playoffs and then get spanked Houston-style, then yeah, it could be considered a good move. Although if you are trying to build a legitimate contender and desire continued success year after year, that is the completely wrong approach. This isn't just my opinion, we've learned this from watching other front offices throughout the free agency era. We're operating under the early 2000's Dallas Cowboys philosophy, and it just doesn't work. I will strongly disagree with the notion that the guys they signed last year are Super Bowl caliber (aside from Dareus), the money was simply not spent wisely (from a football standpoint, it certainly generated ticket sales). The fans are grossly exaggerating the amount of talent we have. Our roster is paper-thin and lacks any depth -- an injury at nearly any position leaves the team in trouble. This is an important and often overlooked consideration, because when you sign older free agents, you are certainly going to have a higher injury rate than normal.

No, my point was they should have never went on that FA spending spree in the first place. I guess people forget the team was 8-8 last year (against a cupcake schedule). If you were talking about retaining a Superbowl caliber roster, it would be a decent strategy.

All we need is a GM that understands this concept and we'll be set.

He was too slow to figure out what was going on. He still may be standing there in the club.

The Sabres have $24M in cap space next year, and the only "absolutely must sign" player up next year is Risto (and he's restiricted FA). That's based off this year's cap number, which will likely rise another $3M, so figure $27M. This isn't like the Bills, the Sabres are in great financial shape. Moulson is the huge wart on the books. Almost impossible to move him before the deadline, and a buyout would probably exceed $9M. Ouch.

Handing out $91M in guaranteed contracts in the offseason is great for selling tickets, but that's about it.

OK, not what I was expecting...

It's funny, Harrington doesn't think it's a tank, just a "rebuild." He's actually praising them for it.

John Clayton was on saying he'll likely get 6 games. It's the new baseline suspension for anything involving assault or battery.

"It's not the alignment, it's the assignment." Stop getting hung up on "scheme." Mario was asked to play a lot of 5-tech with 2-gap responsibilities. That was not a priority of Pettine's or Wade's philosophies. Rex is hell-bent on stopping the run, and he was essentially asking the DL to stay home. That is clearly not the strength of our DL. I don't know if you noticed, but the rest of the DL was pretty much invisible all season (aside from Hughes' flags). Kyle Williams did absolutely nothing in the 6 games he was healthy, aside from occasionally lining up 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage and getting a running start (WTF was that Rex?). Dareus did a great job of plugging his gaps on the line, but that's not what you paid him $90M dollars to do. You're right that the entire defense shouldn't be built around him and what he wants. It should be built around what they do best -- and it certainly wasn't. Rex just took the best pass rushing DL in the entire league and effectively neutered it.

"Continuity!"

"Only one year away from resetting this mess"

He's at a bar???

#BlameMario2015 looks like it's in full swing. Save some of your vitriol for when he's cut, guys.

No, they couldn't. Right now, in early February, the Sabres are 2 wins or 6 points off their season total from last year. If you don't see that as an improvement, then you are either blind or purposely acting obtuse. I'd be willing to bet that by the end of the year, they are no more than 10 points away from the 8-spot. That isn't some monumental hill to climb. Nobody had them pegged as playoff-bound this year. The team is being built correctly from the center-out. They are the youngest team in the league, and have the 4th lowest payroll.

Wow.

Leafs freed up another $21M. Looks like Stamkos is coming home this summer.

Yeah that call was horses**t, even more so considering McGinn didn't get a PS about 15 minutes earlier. But what the heck is Risto doing giving that puck away like that? Both goals were the result of absolutely moronic giveaways. On the bright side, got to love Lehner losing his mind at the end. It's great to have players that get p*ssed off and don't meekly tolerate losing. That's how to start a culture change.

Hmm, no Jeanneret?

No. He's on a prove-it contract which is becoming standard for QBs that show potential. The $61M is only GTD for injury. He's just starting to get into the big money years, no idea why he would want out of that.

Definitely one of the more memorable All-Star games. Great moment for Scott.