JohnC

Thanks. I'll check out the link. From all reports a number of teams are targeting Knight. He should be gone before we make our second first round pick. I'm not sweating out who the Sabres will pick with their first selection. We'll be getting a good prospect regardless who is left on the board. ?

I always liked Baker. He is good at concisely describing a prospect's strengths, weaknesses and attributes. He used to be on WGR fairly regularly. I haven't heard him on the station in quite a while. Is he on another station or doing his own podcast?

These are players who recently participated in the playoffs.

Add this list to the disgusting brawling adults. https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/19/us/parents-brawl-little-league-baseball-trnd/index.html

The below attached WGR link is a 21 minute segment with Paul Hamilton. There is a lot of musing about trades. Paul was at the Vegas NHL ceremony and talked about Lehner and ROR. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/06-20-paul-hamilton-howard-and-jeremy

There was a personal backstory as to why Trouba was not going to sign and stay with the Jets. His fiancée has aspirations in the medical field that playing in Winnipeg couldn't fulfill. Both Pittsburg and NY offer opportunities in that field that the Canadian city couldn't. I see him signing a long-term contract with NY. https://thehockeywriters.com/jacob-trouba-fiance-role-new-york-rangers-trade/ There are plenty of reports that there is a lot of interest in Risto in the market. The defenseman that the GM is dangling out there is McCabe. And there are stories that Vancouver might be interested in Bogo. My widely speculative guess is that Risto stays and one of the other defensemen gets moved.

I'm not into thuggish hockey. But your team has to have a certain level of physical play to its game in order to compete and protect the finesse guys . He is one of the few players that has that aspect to his game. Bogo in his physical prime had that ability to play a muscular game but because of his accumulating injuries it has taken a toll on him. He will have to adjust his game to a more finesse and puck moving style of play in order to survive a little longer. Just because Bogo might be built like a guerrilla that doesn't mean he is as durable as one.

The below link is an 11 minute segment with Nick Kypreos on WGR. He was talking about trades. The first part of the segment dealt with the Risto trade issue. I'm leaning toward keeping him. I would love to see how the new coach can have an influence on him upping his game. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/06-19-sportsnets-nick-kypreos-howard-and-jeremy

Gronk made a significant donation to a western NY medical facility. Instead of being dismissive one should be appreciative of it. Now you and others are describing it as a trivial contribution. What you don't consider and mention is that this contribution isn't the only contribution he makes to charities. You don't think that the focus of his charitable contributions is focused where he has played for a long time? Gronk has been involved in a number of charitable events for a variety of causes. I find the criticizing of this player for the amount of his contribution (which I consider to be generous) to be small-minded, ungracious and churlish.

As was stated by Gug Gronk did not have a history of dirty play. Instead, he was usually the victim of dirty play throughout his career. He lost his composure and could have seriously hurt White on the play. Fortunately, White did not get seriously injured. He was ultimately suspended for that reckless play. The disciplinary system worked as it was supposed to. I'm not giving Gronk a pass on that play. But it isn't fair to allow that one play to represent how he usually played the game. In addition, I'm not going to sneer, as others have done, at his generous donation.

I agree with you. I don't see any blockbuster deals materializing that will result in a near future max or close to a max contract. It also has to be noted that the organization signed a bridge deal with Reinhart where he was challenged to show what he is capable of. So far he has met the test and has put himself in a good position to get a rich contract. On the other hand I wouldn't be surprised if there were deals made that added a second line player and brought in players who could strengthen the third and fourth lines.

Rex regularly gets his feet massaged and toes polished. Other than his mouth they are his biggest asset.

If I recall correctly there were reports a few years back that Edmonton was willing to trade Hall to Buffalo for Risto. Supposedly, Murray declined that proposal. Jersey ended up trading Hall to Jersey for D Larsson. I know that Edmonton was desperate for blue line help but that was a foolish deal for Edmonton.

How about throwing the dice and trading Risto for Taylor Hall? On the Risto issue I am torn. I just don't know. It was reported than all the coaching candidates were asked what would they do to get Risto back on track? The below link is a WGR link. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/skinner-trade-was-success-lets-do-it-again

Dareus has lost his aggression since he hustled the Bills for the grand contract. So if Marrone doesn't want to be a b***tch or a butch Dareus doesn't have the muscle to make him into one of his playmates.

I doubt it's going happen because Marrone is not the cuddly type of guy.

Soothing, so soothing. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=music+peaches+and+herb&view=detail&mid=2F034BA71585DEC2ECA72F034BA71585DEC2ECA7&FORM=VIRE

There are players who have failed drug tests yet still put in the preparation and give effort. While jogging one time I witnessed a girl's track team easily scoot by me wearing T-shirts that said Effort is a Talent. Dareus didn't have that attribute that was ascribed on the T-shirts of girls giving it their all. He's not a bad guy but he is a bum.

Rex Ryan was a bad hire. That is indisputable. But Dareius's demise was due to no one else but himself. No question that his previous play earned him a gargantuan contract. But that doesn't alter the fact that once he had the signed contract he didn't live up to it because of his own dereliction and laziness. McDermott wasn't automatically biased against Dareus. He tried to work with him and help him get back on track. However, Dareus wasn't receptive to the counseling. The trade was all on him and no one else.

When your most talented and highly paid players are held to account the coach's message about teamwork and responsibility gains currency and reverberates throughout the team and organization. Talking about standards and commitment is easy to do. Acting on those standards is not so easy to do. I remember when Randy Moss after a winning game talked about how he was underpaid. Belichick wasn't going to put up with that public foolishness. He quickly kicked him off the team. Afterwards when time went by Randy talked about that incident and how he regretted his behavior. His loss. It was too late.

I disagree. When Dareus was playing for his contract he was one of the most domineering interior linemen in the league. He made the other lineman more effective because he was very often double teamed. After he got his contract he became slothful. McDermott would have loved to have the motivated Dareus on his defense. His effort vanished and "I don't care" attitude was on display for everyone to see. The boss acted like a boss in control and shipped his jiggly arssse out of town. I salute the coach.

You clearly and succinctly pointed out what the Dareus issue was all about. The staff didn't just talk----they acted. Not only was the message sent to Dareus--- it also was sent to the rest of the team that talent not combined with effort was not acceptable. Dareus simply didn't measure up. So he was dispatched. This wasn't a complicated issue that required a great deal of analysis.

This is a 12 minute link from WGR. Dave Maloney talks about Vesey and comments on other players who might be good fits for the Sabres. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/06-18-dave-maloney-msg-howard-and-jeremy

Don't feel bad because I very often miss points not only after drinking my morning coffee but after the caffeine has kicked in. From all the commentary I have heard about this draft we should come away at the seven spot with a good player. In addition, all the commentary about this second grouping is that the selected players will be at least two years away. That's okay by me. ?

If you are a Sabre fan because of our historical futility and where we typically draft the draft does have more meaning for us than it does for the middle and upper echelon teams. The difference in hockey compared to some sports is that unless you are drafting at the very top the players you are picking will require more development time. That's another aspect of the draft that I find interesting (others don't) is in the player development. It might bore others but watching Mitts or Nylander or Pilot or Olaffsson or Borgen or Reinhart develop or not is an aspect of hockey that I appreciate very much. Because of the cap structure unless you have this youthful feeder system the team is not going to succeed. Big trades get a lot of publicity but the development of young players is the heart and soul for sustained success.