JR Ewing

I don't think it should have been as major, but I also don't think the call blew the Golden Knights season. They did that themselves.

Vigneault has always favoured an up-tempo game, and with how fast the league is now, I think that sitting back is just about the worst thing you can do. Teams that lollygag and piss around, especially in their own, get absolutely taken apart there. I don't see how passivity can be remotely connected with winning in today's game. I think is just a really good hire by the Flyers.

To paraphrase a Seinfeld line: "He's real, and he's magnificent."

I've seen coaches, at the NHL level, who don't look for those advantages remotely as often do other coaches, and I'm talking about guys with .600 winning percentages. Vigneault looks to hammer other teams with what he perceives as his advantage. When he identified Manny Malholtra's 4th line as being excellent at defensive zone faceoffs and coverage, he absolutely wore out the opposition with it.

I like Vigneault as a coach, and always hoped the Oilers could land him. He identifies a player's abilities and tries to use those talents to put them in a position to succeed: -He does his best to create line mis-matches on the ice, and doesn't roll 4 lines in order. -Offensive players will get a lot of offensive zone starts. -Defensive players will get a LOT of defensive zone starts.

I think the Kings hang up immediately.

$5M/yr for 5 years. Good for him.

He might want to, if the other things work out in a way that he likes. The issue would be money, and I think that Buffalo management needs to be careful about how much they pay Eichel's wingers. This won't be the last guy to have a career year on his wing.

-Bob McKenzie saying that McLellan is Buffalo's leading candidate. -Eric Duhatschek says Sabres and McLellan close to a deal. -Jeff Skinner will nope out if true.

The Sabres could have had Scotty Bowman and the ghosts of Dick Irvin and Jack Adams behind the bench, and the team wouldn't have made the playoffs. As ever, though, sh|t rolls downhill. The GM doesn't get the coach enough good players, so the coach pays the price.

Was the first name that came into my mind.

There's no irony in THAT post...

No, this isn't what happened at all. He didn't want to leave St Louis, and was unhappy about being traded to Buffalo: "I want to say that I'm really sorry about leaving and letting Buffalo down as a team," Berglund said in the interview. "The players were wonderful, and I wish the players and the organization nothing but the best in the future. The have not done anything wrong." "Berglund added that the NHL and its players' association helped him following his abrupt exit. Shortly after the suspension was announced, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported that Berglund had been upset since arriving in Buffalo because he failed to turn in his list of approved trade destinations to the Blues on time. In the recent interview, Berglund said outwardly he tried to act as if he was content with the move. However, he struggled with the transition, which forced him to leave Sweden earlier than usual to arrange a move to Buffalo." The situation with Berglund just isn't Phil Housley's fault.

The team improved, though. They cut their goal differential in half despite trading a stud two-way centre and bringing in a guy who can't spell defense, let alone play it. Perhaps YOU saw the playoffs as a reasonable goal, but if the Sabres did, then I think they were kidding themselves. I'd be surprised if they're greatly upset with Housley, so long as he didn't ignore direct orders from management. This is what it can be like when you tank in an effort to get the 1st overall pick. If you spend years losing on purpose, you're much more likely to continue losing for just as long after you begin to rebuild. Trust me, I know it very very well.

I dun goofed.