[Sabretip]

Nice to wake up to more "pearls of wisdom" from Bucky's vault:

The price to acquire him will be high along with the contract needed to keep him.

The total cost for Stastny, 26, will be less.

So, he's worried about the likely $5M - 6M contract that a 23 year old center with size and better defensive skills may get but has no problem paying a smaller, older and less defensively-aware player the same contract?

Thank goodness. Hecht should have been gone years ago, which you might have read somewhere

Keep beating that senseless drum, Bucky

I liked Leino last year, too, as a left winger making $3 million per season. They paid him $4.5 million and tried turning him into a center. I still think he can help.

Regier has become too attached, too smitten with his own people, to see what changes are necessary. It's a good thing you have me.

My problem with Miller is his contract. His reputation as one of the NHL's top goaltenders is only warranted when he's right. He won the Vezina Trophy in 2010 and led the Sabres' charge last season. But in recent years, he hasn't been consistent enough to justify his $6.25 million salary.

But by adding Malone, my new coach could consider these possible line combinations: Thomas Vanek-Stastny-Jason Pominville; Marcus Foligno-Tyler Ennis-Drew Stafford; Ville Leino-Cody Hodgson-Malone; Nathan Gerbe-Cody McCormick-Patrick Kaleta. Not bad.

Yet another hypocritical, contradictory argument - he's unhappy with Miller's salary relative to performance yet is willing to trade for a 32-year old winger with 3 more years of a $4.5M cap hit who's been injury prone the past 4 years, only to insert him onto the 3rd line? Maybe Bucky craves a thematic "underachiever line" by pairing Malone with Leino.

I would rather have proven players, such as Stastny and Malone, for them than take the risk of the unknown.

Sending Miller and offering the other first-round pick for Malone and the 6-foot-6 Lindback is intriguing to say the least

Plus, you never know which goalies will emerge. Jonathan Quick was superb all year en route to the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe trophies while making $1.8 million. Mike Smith had a great year in Phoenix and made $2 million. Brian Elliott was terrific while making $600,000 and sharing the net with Jaroslav Halak in St. Louis.

He says he wants "proven players" yet then lobbies to bring in any of the goalies listed that more or less have just one season of brilliance to show for their abilities? And Lindback doesn't even have that yet. Bucky is willing to adopt the risk that Yzerman is presently taking by anointing him as the Sabres' starter? Adding insult to injury, throwing away a first pick on top of it is even more illogical.

If I'm wrong, Pegula can fire me. Hopefully, they'll hire me back at The News.

Don't worry, Bucky - I'm sure that you could find a job working alongside Larry Brooks at the NY Post, Bruce Garrioch at the Ottawa Sun or on Eklund's website, writing this kind of inane, irrational nonsense. They'll worship your words as genius!