Regier Plotting Strategy

by David Oleksy on Mar 3, 2009 9:34 AM EST

A couple of weeks ago I did a post that chronicled the trade deadline history of Darcy Regier. In the past he has managed some of the best trades in Sabres history but this year is very much different. Regier is in a starnge situation that is unlike any other he has seen before. He has plenty of unrestricted free agents that other teams may want to have but he is also in a situation where the Sabres are in ninth place and desperately need to make the playoffs. Sure it would be a PR nightmare for the Sabres to miss the playoffs but more importantly...they need the money.

Most of the focus has been on Tim Connolly and rightfully so, he is the Sabres most talented player and would get the most in return. There are other players that could be traded today or tomorrow as well. There are probably only three or four players on the Sabres that are untouchable and that list is probably Thomas Vanek, Ryan Miller and Derek Roy.

Could be Traded

Tim Connolly

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Tim Connolly	29	11	15	26	2	8	2	1	3	0	81	13.6

Connolly is just about a point per game player. The Sabres would love to keep him but with his impending free agency, the risk might be to great. He would definitely command something in return and would allow the Sabres to get a player that could help now.

Maxim Afinogenov

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Maxim Afinogenov	34	2	10	12	-14	12	0	0	0	0	64	3.1

The Sabres can't get rid of him soon enough. He will probably be gone by tomorrow but there is another scenario that could play out. Nobody is willing to give up more than a sixth or seventh rounder so the Sabres decided to keep him...could happen.

Ales Kotalik

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Ales Kotalik	56	13	19	32	-7	28	8	0	1	0	153	8.5

I would be very surprised if he is traded before the deadline. Kotalik is a career underachiever and would not get much back in return. he does have value for the Sabres as they head down the stretch. Every point is important and he is a shootout specialist. He may single handedly get the Sabres an extra two or three points.

If the Sabres do make the playoffs, we all know what Kotalik can do on the power play. The best scenario would be to bury him on the third or fourth line with less minutes and use him as a power play specialist.

Jaro Spacek

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Jaroslav Spacek	61	6	23	29	-2	20	4	0	0	0	96	6.3

With the emergence of Chris Butler and Andrej Sekera, it is unlikely that Spacek will be signed in the off-season. With that being said, he deserves to be on this list. Spacek is a veteran player and has proven skills that are a commodity at this time of year. This will only happen if the price is right and the Sabres would have to get a defenseman from somewhere to make this trade.

Teppo Numminen

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Teppo Numminen	53	2	13	15	-5	22	1	0	1	0	31	6.5

Teppo is another guy that will be unrestricted at the end of the season. The Sabres currently have eight defensemen on the roster and could get something in return for Numminen. It looks like age is finally catching up with Numminen and he has looked much slower on the ice than he has in previous seasons.

Drew Stafford

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Drew Stafford	60	17	22	39	8	22	7	0	0	2	153	11.1

I know this sounds crazy but it may come to fruition. Stafford is a restricted free agent at the end of the season and he may have played his way out of Buffalo. Stafford is having the best season of his career and will probably get paid in the range of $2.5-$3.5 million next season. That is a lot of money on a team that is already paying large salaries to Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy, Ryan Miller, Jochen Hecht and Jason Pominville.

This is a list I compiled of potential targets for other teams. keep in mind that I listed only three players as untouchables for the Sabres and just about anyone could be dealt.

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Comments

What about Pommers?

Why is nobody talking about Pominville?

I’d never even put Stafford on the table.

Can’t we package up Pommers & Max (maybe Teppo/prospect or draft pick) and make a splash for once?

by DragTheLake on Mar 3, 2009 11:10 AM EST reply actions

how about – Hecht, Teppo, Max for a good pick or player – sounds about good to me

Oh. Uh, will you hold my wallet for me while I take the test, please? There's a thousand dollars in there... or maybe there isn't. Know what I mean?

by J2 on Mar 3, 2009 11:17 AM EST up reply actions

Pommers should NOT be going anywhere. The guy is a talented 2 way player who is have an admittedly off season. I doubt we can get back anything that will serve us well talent/capwise for him for it to make sense. This team has been consistently inconsistent all year and its not all his fault. He is a quality guy to have on the team as they make their run a year or two from now (when the young guys mature). Also, a quality center would make a world of difference for him as well.

The population of Pominville keeps rising!

by Blackcapricorn on Mar 3, 2009 11:32 AM EST up reply actions

That is a lot of money on a team that is already paying large salaries to Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy, Ryan Miller, Jochen Hecht and Jason Pominville

Cut the junk (Hecht/Pominville) and keep Stafford.

I really hope they don’t keep two guys who are barely even visible and trade Stafford. He’d be very tough to let go and hopefully management realizes that.

Oh. Uh, will you hold my wallet for me while I take the test, please? There's a thousand dollars in there... or maybe there isn't. Know what I mean?

by J2 on Mar 3, 2009 11:17 AM EST reply actions

I Second That!

On all three players you mention. Pominville & Hecht – too unproductive (along with others); Stafford has more promise.

by ccthemovieman on Mar 3, 2009 11:23 AM EST up reply actions

Keep in Mind...

Pominville is going to make 5 million/year for the next five years. Hecht’s contract is between 3.5 and 4 million for the next couple years. There is probably no one out there that wants them at that price.

The Sabres may have no choice but to get rid of Stafford. Last summer we had to trade Bernier because he was going to make too much money. He ended up making over 2 million and Stafford is better then Bernier.

Stafford could make over 3 million next year. The Sabres may not have the money to keep him.

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere

by David Oleksy on Mar 3, 2009 12:55 PM EST reply actions

they can also just cut hecht

Oh. Uh, will you hold my wallet for me while I take the test, please? There's a thousand dollars in there... or maybe there isn't. Know what I mean?

by J2 on Mar 3, 2009 3:33 PM EST up reply actions

Point taken

The problem with cutting him is that they still have to pay him. The Sabres salary cap is a self-imposed cap of $50 million. A financially strapped team cannot justify paying someone $3.5-$4 million to play in Portland.

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere

by David Oleksy on Mar 3, 2009 4:09 PM EST up reply actions

The fact that you indicated we should trade Spacek before making no mention of Lydman proves to me that there is something fundamentally wrong here.

Toni Turnover is this year’s Dimitri Kalinin. He is too risky anymore. He rarely hits, instead he provides coverage suitable for the NBA, not the NHL. Jaro is a solid defenseman for the Sabes, he is bigger, hits a decent amount (relative to the rest of this team,) and he can pass and score on the power-play, and 4 on 4.

We need more like him to improve the defense. We actually really need more defensemen beyond him in the department of hitting and just wrecking people’s shit in general. We have none of it. Rivet, and sometimes Butler? Weber was pretty good at it but we rarely get to see him. We have plenty of goal scoring talent (although it seems absent as of late,) we need solid defense to contend for the cup.

by chemxcore on Mar 3, 2009 6:40 PM EST reply actions

correction

I mean power play and 5 on 5, not 4 on 4, sorry.

by chemxcore on Mar 3, 2009 6:44 PM EST up reply actions

Good Points

I agree with a lot of what you are saying. I didn’t list the players that I thought should be traded but rather the players that could be traded. All the players above are in a contract year and Lydman is not…he is signed. Does that mean that he can’t be traded? No but it does mean that it is not likely.

Toni Turnover is this year’s Dimitri Kalinin. He is too risky anymore.

Toni Turnover is a fitting name for Lydman. I have been very critical of his turnovers in the past and I will continue to be critical in the future.

He rarely hits, instead he provides coverage suitable for the NBA, not the NHL.

This is way of base. Lydman leads the Sabres in hits and blocked shots. I’m not sure that he does enough to counter the turnovers but he is positionally the Sabres best defenseman. Everyone notices the turnovers from Lydman (and rightfully so) and everyone notices that Spacek occasionally blows someone up…they don’t notice that night in and night out Lydman is blocking shots and taking the body the way he is supposed to.

With the puck: Lydman = worst defenseman on the team
Without the puck: Lydman = best defenseman on the team.

I’m not arguing that Lydman should or shouldn’t be on this team after tomorrow but the facts needed to be corrected.

Stats

Lydman: 125 hits – 137 blocked shots
Spacek: 56 hits – 90 blocked shots

For the record…I don’t think that Spacek will be traded but since he unrestricted and probably too expensive to sign next year, he could be.

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere

by David Oleksy on Mar 3, 2009 8:05 PM EST up reply actions