The defensive awareness and toughness up and down the roster was improved after Surly came on, that much is undeniable.
But oddly enough the goaltending sagged (with improvement in the garbage time games). I still think that could be traced back to the injury in the February Canucks game.
The NHLPA is already involved. They agree to the list of medical experts and surgeons that the players get to pick from. They agreed that if a player is to go outside that list that it would then have to be agreed upon by the team who owns the rights to that player.
I would like to point out that the Sabres doctor is not some GP with no idea what he's talking about. This is an expert in his field of spinal surgery.
Dr. Andrew Cappuccino received his undergraduate education in biomedical and material science engineering at Johns Hopkins University, and medical schooling at the University of Buffalo, Dr. Cappuccino completed a residency in Orthopedic Surgery. He became Board Certified in Orthopedics, and then returned to Johns Hopkins to complete specialty training in spine surgery. Dr. Cappuccino is one of the first surgeons in the country to be certified by the American Board of Spine Surgery, and is a inaugural member of this board.
Dr. Cappuccino has also served on the medical staff of the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres for more than 25 years, and in this capacity has returned professional athletes with spine injuries, back to the field. As the attending surgeon who operated on paralyzed Buffalo Bill Kevin Everett and who then coordinated his care, he was nationally recognized for Mr. Everett’s recovery.
Dr. Cappuccino has been a principle investigator on international teams of doctors who have developed artificial disc replacements for the neck and back.
Dr. Cappuccino has performed more disc replacements than any other surgeon in the USA. He is internationally in demand to teach spine surgery techniques and, through his research, is dedicated to improving spinal surgery outcomes and technologies.
For those who don't know the Kevin Everett story, here it is.
The hit that left him as a quadriplegic:
The road to recovery.
This guy made it possible for Everett to walk again. This guy knows what's he's talking about. He's the guy the surgeons go to when they need surgery.
This guy is so good they named a cup of coffee after him!
In all seriousness, Dr. Cappuccino's credentials are at the top of his field. He's examined Eichel many times and has worked with him to come up with a plan to address his injury. I know he's not doing the podcast circuit, but I would put my trust in this guy.
I'm sure this guy is good and I'm sure the guy who Eichel's gone with is good as well. It's not a situation where Buffalo has an expert and Eichel is listening to some chiropractor at the mall who says he can heal him using gems and back adjustments.
And yes - the NHLPA completely screwed the pooch in the CBA on this issue.
Buffalo's interest is in getting Eichel through his NHL career (well it was before this all happened). Eichel has the rest of his life post NHL career to consider.
And yes - the NHLPA completely screwed the pooch in the CBA on this issue.
The NHLPA followed all of the other associations in establishing the ground rules. This agreement is consistent with all the professional leagues in North America, so there was no screwing of the pooch. The NHL, just like the NFL, MLB, and NBA, have access to the best doctors and medical facilities in the world.
I think its time to start realizing that Eichel is not coming to Calgary, just about everything lately has him linked to NYR including multiple NYR beat writers as of late.
So as much as you think we could put together a better package etc.. its clear Brad isn't willing to throw in the items some of you are using.
Sounds like were going into this season with the same core (Sans Gio) and rolling the dice yet again.
Not a fan of it myself, but its the harsh reality I think we've all got to come to grips with.
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I think its time to start realizing that Eichel is not coming to Calgary, just about everything lately has him linked to NYR including multiple NYR beat writers as of late.
So as much as you think we could put together a better package etc.. its clear Brad isn't willing to throw in the items some of you are using.
Sounds like were going into this season with the same core (Sans Gio) and rolling the dice yet again.
Not a fan of it myself, but its the harsh reality I think we've all got to come to grips with.
In the trade rumour thread there was a tweet that suggested Zibanejad will be used to acquire Eichel. Another poster speculated that there will be a 3rd team that flips Eichel to NYR.
It has been long speculated that Buffalo really prefers to trade Eichel to a western conference team. If that is us I'd be happy getting Zibanejad.
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I think its time to start realizing that Eichel is not coming to Calgary, just about everything lately has him linked to NYR including multiple NYR beat writers as of late.
So as much as you think we could put together a better package etc.. its clear Brad isn't willing to throw in the items some of you are using.
Sounds like were going into this season with the same core (Sans Gio) and rolling the dice yet again.
Not a fan of it myself, but its the harsh reality I think we've all got to come to grips with.
If this is the case it may be a blessing in disguise. Team can either put it together or we can start a quick and hopefully not to punishing rebuild.
If the Sabres receive Zibs in an Eichel deal, Tre should be all over the Sabres trying to get him. He'd be a great fit here in 'Little Sweden'
I definitely have felt in order to have an Eichel deal make sense it is going to require more than a single team making the deal.
I don’t see any way the Sabres take and keep Zibenijad on the roster as he serves no purpose there. There is also the fact he has a NMC in his deal and likely not interested in waiving for the lowly Sabres.
I could totally see the Flames being a team that tries to bring in Zibenijad but he likely only waives if he gets a fat extension. He will be significantly cheaper than Eichel but also not really nearly as good and likely wants 9x8 and the guy is 29 when the new deal kicks in
In the trade rumour thread there was a tweet that suggested Zibanejad will be used to acquire Eichel. Another poster speculated that there will be a 3rd team that flips Eichel to NYR.
It has been long speculated that Buffalo really prefers to trade Eichel to a western conference team. If that is us I'd be happy getting Zibanejad.
I would be really excited to get Zibanejad, wouldn't gut our core/prospects as much as an Eichel acquisition and he is a really good player. May even lend us a little more assets to get a more offensive dman. Now with that, I am very sure it is probably not us in the fold.
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The NHLPA followed all of the other associations in establishing the ground rules. This agreement is consistent with all the professional leagues in North America, so there was no screwing of the pooch. The NHL, just like the NFL, MLB, and NBA, have access to the best doctors and medical facilities in the world.
Yes, but you are trying to make it out to be an exhaustive list, which it is not, and simply cannot be.
If I'm Buffalo, I wait until just before the season to trade Eichel, because that increases the chances that the acquiring team will be missing 1 to 2 NHL players off their roster for at least half of the season thereby increasing the chances this team misses the playoffs and the 2022 1st round pick becomes a lottery pick.
Could the Flames make the playoffs without one of Tkachuk or Monahan and a smaller NHL piece like Valimaki and Dube AND not have Eichel until the 40 game mark?
I bet the Sabres make sure the 2022 1st round pick will be condition free. Maybe the 2023 1st round pick, if included, might have conditions.
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Calgary Flames, PLEASE GO TO THE NET! AND SHOOT THE PUCK! GENERATING OFFENSE IS NOT DIFFICULT! SKATE HARD, SHOOT HARD, CRASH THE NET HARD!