Stafford and MacArthur Deserve a Chance

by David Oleksy on Jul 30, 2009 8:50 PM EDT

Over the last couple of weeks Drew Stafford and Clarke MacArthur have been in the spotlight because of their free agency status. MacArthur signed a one year contract last week and Drew Stafford remains unsigned at this point. I'm confident that the Sabres will work out a deal and Stafford will be a member of the Sabres next season.

This post came about because of the comments that people have been making about both players. There has been a negative sentiment for both players and especially for MacArthur even after he signed a cap-friendly $1.4 million contract.

My goal is to try to convince why both players deserve an opportunity to stay with the Sabres and why letting them leave would be a huge mistake. Both players are still very young in their development and are not even close to reaching their potential.

Everyone in Buffalo is always talking about the two players that management let get away. Yes, I'm bringing up Chris Drury and Danny Briere. It's difficult to compare anyone to Drury because he has been a steady player since he joined the league in 1998. Drury scored at least 20 goals in every season of his career with the exception of 03-04 when he scored 18 in his first season with the Sabres.

With Drury out of the equation that leaves Briere and bot players match up well with Briere early in his career. Stafford and MacArthur are both entering their fourth professional season, the same season that Briere broke out as a goal scorer in the NHL.

Here is a look at Stafford, MacArthur and Briere in their first three professional seasons...

	Age	GP	G	A	PTS	Plus/minus	ESG	PPG	SHG	TOI/Game
2006 - Drew Stafford	21	41	13	14	27	5	10	3	0	13:08
2007 - Drew Stafford	22	64	16	22	38	3	15	1	0	13:32
2008 - Drew Stafford	23	79	20	25	45	3	11	9	0	15:38
Total		184	49	61	110	11	36	13	0

	Age	GP	G	A	PTS	Plus/minus	ESG	PPG	SHG	TOI/Game
2006 - Clarke MacArthur	21	19	3	4	7	4	3	0	0	8:54
2007 - Clarke MacArthur	22	37	8	7	15	3	8	0	0	14:34
2008 - Clarke MacArthur	23	71	17	14	31	-4	12	5	0	13:50
Total		127	28	25	53	3	23	5	0

	Age	GP	G	A	PTS	Plus/minus	ESG	PPG	SHG	TOI/Game
1998 - Danny Briere	21	64	8	14	22	-3	6	2	0	11:13
1999 - Danny Briere	22	13	1	1	2	E	1	0	0	7:41
2000 - Danny Briere	23	30	11	4	15	-2	2	9	0	10:50
Total		107	20	19	39	-5	9	11	0

As I mentioned above, it was at age 24 that the career of Danny Briere started to take off. He scored 32 goals in 2001 and he was eventually traded to the Sabres in 2003. He didn't become a superstar player for a couple of years after that. I have broken up his career in three year segments for you to see.

	Age	GP	G	A	PTS	Plus/minus	ESG	PPG	SHG	TOI/Game
2001 - Danny Briere	24	78	32	28	60	6	20	12	0	15:44
2002 - Danny Briere	25	82	24	34	58	-20	15	9	0	17:10
2003 - Danny Briere	26	82	28	37	65	-7	17	11	0	18:20
Total		242	84	99	183	-21	52	32	0


	Age	GP	G	A	PTS	Plus/minus	ESG	PPG	SHG	TOI/Game
2005 - Danny Briere	28	48	25	33	58	3	14	11	0	19:04
2006 - Danny Briere	29	81	32	63	95	17	23	9	0	19:19
2007 - Danny Briere	30	79	31	41	72	-22	17	14	0	18:52
Total		208	88	137	225	-2	54	34	0

The numbers increased considerably in years 4-6 for Briere and remained relatively steady throughout his career. It took three seasons for Briere to adjust to life as a professional hockey player before he really hit his stride. Since breaking through as a 24 year-old, Briere has consistently been a great offensive player with Buffalo and Philadelphia. This past season was a forgettable one for him because injuries kept him out of the lineup most of the year.

I can't say that Stafford or MacArthur will ever become the same offensive threat that Briere became. I can say that they both are young and have the potential to become great players in the NHL. It would be a mistake to give up on either player at this point in their careers. There are some players that make an immediate impact in the league but their are also plenty of guys that follow the same career path as Briere.

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Very insightful and I agree that both of these kids will start really taking off this year.

Delightfully Ignoring The Truth since 1995.

by NeverendingOptimism on Jul 30, 2009 9:33 PM EDT reply actions

Good comparison. I would’ve never thought to compare Briere and Stafford because of the size difference. I hope Stafford Roy and Vanek turn out to be one of the elite NHL lines, like Getzlaf Perry and Ryan.

by sween on Jul 30, 2009 10:46 PM EDT reply actions

I get the feeling they will both be here this season as well. Both are young, and both have some offensive talent. But I think the comparisons should end there.

MacArthur is like a million guys in the NHL. Average size, average speed, nice shot. That’s about it. I don’t trust him defensively (and it is a defensive league again), an dhe shows no grit whatsoever. He’s young, and he could still grow into a heck of a player, but I tend to doubt that it happens. I think he’s at best a poor man’s version of Pominville, and I’m not to high on him either. Mac’s contract I think really reflects his value.

Stafford is a puzzle to me. Words like “prototypical” and “power forward” get thrown around with him. I think power forwards take longer to develop, which is the only reason I give him some slack. But he needs to start showing off some of the skills he was touted for. He needs more consistency, and needs to play like someone pissed in his cornflakes a little more. If he can do that, he’s a real keeper.

by krytime on Jul 30, 2009 11:25 PM EDT reply actions

I admit that neither player plays the same style as Briere plays but I feel they both have talent. You could be right that neither player will amount to much but they both have decent numbers for their age. I will continue to cut them some slack as long as they seem to progress and get better each season.

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

by David Oleksy on Jul 30, 2009 11:41 PM EDT reply actions

MacArthur and Stafford

I agree that they both deserve a chance to improve with the Sabres. Whether either become the player that Biere was with the Sabres I think will depend on their chemistry with the other players. Without that chemistry with your line mates, even the most talented players will only be average. By the end of the coming season we will know if they are going to continue to improve or fizzle like Pommiville.

by Geolover on Jul 31, 2009 3:24 PM EDT reply actions

We got to stop hating on Pomminville. He had good consistent numbers. Great numbers? not really. If I remember correctly the year after Vanek became the 10 million dollar Austrian, he disappeared and lost that two way play that made him 47 for the year with 43 goals and 41 assists. He dropped 20 points and 52 plus/minus points in the next season. Did everyone call for his head? He rebounded a bit last season and probably would have finished the season with 45 goals if he wasn’t out those 10 games. Pommer dropped 14 points and 20 plus/minus after he signed his big deal. He will rebound.

Delightfully Ignoring The Truth since 1995.

by NeverendingOptimism on Jul 31, 2009 5:04 PM EDT up reply actions