Sabres next move

by David Oleksy on Jul 9, 2008 7:00 AM EDT

The Buffalo Sabres made a couple of interesting moves this weekend when they traded Steve Bernier to Vancouver on Friday and than almost immediately acquired Craig Rivet from the San Jose Sharks. I've already weighed in with my thoughts on the acquisition of Rivet, today we have another matter to discuss. The question at hand is, what will be Darcy's next move?

Is it unfathomable that they stand pat and don't make another move? I don't think it is but they already stated they would like to be at around $50 million when the season starts and based on my calculations the Sabres are over that mark. I have the Sabres salary currently at $50.2 million and they have not yet signed Daniel Paille or Clarke MacArthur.

The Sabres are probably still exploring their options regarding Max Afinogenov and whether or not they have any takers. All indications are that the Sabres are putting more value on a soon to be 29 year-old underachieving forward than the rest of the league is. The Sabres are going to have to make a move of some sort because they could still use another D-man and they have no money to do it with.

Afinogenov is not the Sabres only option to allow some salary cap room. They have a couple of other players that could be canidates to move elsewhere in the off-season. Tim Connolly and Ales Kotalik are both unrestricted after next season and could be attractive to another team. Kotalik is a solid power play performer and Tim Connolly has plenty of offensive capabilities. Both players have a downside as well but they could get some attention if offered to a team in need of offensive help.

The Sabres roster is in need of a change because of salary but don't expect Darcy Regier to be forced into a trade. He is known for being extremely patient and I would expect that this situation will be the same.

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ya know

I am not one to jump on band wagons or discredit people for doing thier job…but all i have to say is

BUCKY GLEASON IS EITHER A TURD SANDWICH OR A GIANT DOUCHE

seriously…he writes an article praising the sabres about acquireing Rivet and then bashes them in the end saying that they aren’t willing to spend the money to get the right players in this town

I for one am some what proud of that…I really believe building from with in and I like the old sports teams where a guy got drafted and played with his team until he retired, now I know that free agency has since soiled that tradition but I like the sabres mentality that they don’t need to buy the big name just to be competative…I mean for god sake we had a down year last season and we still got 92 points…to me that is awesome and gets me excited for the future b/c these kids are only going to get better…yeah it kinda sucks that they have to look at the bottom line all the time but considering what this club went through with ownership and bankruptcy they are doing a supurb job

keep it up Darcy and Lindy and I look forward to next season

by Lion Alum on Jul 9, 2008 10:39 AM EDT reply actions

Standing Pat

DO, I think you’re right in expecting no further movement from the Sabres beyond resigning Paille and Macarthur. Though, your cap number is a bit off, they have a current cap hit of $46.2 million. That’s without Paille, Macarthur or a 7th defenseman (whether it is Weber, Teppo, Pratt, or someone else).

The real dilemma is looking at the Sabres cap situation if they are able to resign Miller and Pominville. Assuming Paille gets around $1.5 million and Miller and Pominville get something like $11 million combined, that would put the Sabres at $41 million in 2009-10 before they even deal with having to replace Spacek, Kotalik, Afinogenov, and Connolly; and, it’s without extensions for Sekera and Stafford. Looking at this scenario, it’s pretty easy to figure out why the Sabres weren’t going to throw $7 million per at Campbell, beyond not being worth it.

http://sportingcontrarian.wordpress.com/

by BeastMode on Jul 10, 2008 9:19 PM EDT reply actions

You're right

I should have been more clear in the post, I was referring to the actual salaries the Sabres will pay this season. Darcy regier stated that the team will spend around $50 million this season in salary, regardless of what the salary cap number is. I think the Sabres are going to make a move but they may have their hands tied if nobody wants Afinogenov.

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com

by David Oleksy on Jul 11, 2008 12:07 AM EDT up reply actions