Patience From Regier Paying Off
by Dave Davis on Jan 20, 2010 8:01 AM EST
41 comments
If you ask passionate long time Buffalo Sabres fans to describe GM Darcy Regier in one word, you might want to avoid having young children around when doing so. Even in the midst of a great season he is considered by many fans and writers to be the problem and not the solution.
Well, if you want a good answer to such a question, like him or hate him, you could probably do much worse than this one: Survivor.
Through years of coaching, captain and franchise goaltender controversies, criminal ownership, team bankruptcies, broken fax machines, superstar departures, and various other dramas unthinkable to even the most vivid imagination - it's 13 years later - and he's STILL here.
This despite the fact that over the years he has never caved in and followed the brilliant advice coming from all of us geniuses in Sabres Nation. Bring back Ted Nolan. Pay Michael Peca whatever he wants. Heck, we're all so much smarter than him that we even know how he should run his scouting department.
It's unusual for GM's, team presidents, and owners to get a lot of positive attention when things go well. It's the nature of the sports talk universe. Players get the credit for winning and management gets the blame for losing.
We're making an exception to that philosophy today - and giving credit where credit is way overdue.
Carefully and methodically, Regier has put together a pretty darned good hockey team that is battling for the Eastern Conference lead and has folks wondering how far into May or June this season could last.
When the Montreal Canadiens were committing $90 million to Scott Gomez, Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta, Regier was looking to add value by putting Steve Montador on the blue line and spending his other dollars on his long list of home grown talent. The Canadiens are now a top-heavy club with little depth and are a 50/50 pick at best to make the playoffs.
When the New York Rangers were courting Marian Gaborik with $37.5 million in their hands, Regier was pondering what bringing Mike Grier back would do to enhance the penalty kill and the chemistry of the Buffalo locker room. While Gaborik has been great for the Rangers, his cap-strapped team is 26th in the NHL in goal scoring and fighting for its playoff life.
And while we're on the subject of the Rangers, that great player Regier failed to bring back a few seasons ago, Chris Drury, might as well be the subject of a fan-funded billboard in Times Square. Blueshirt fans and media can't wish him out of Manhattan fast enough.
This season marks a fitting anniversary for Regier. It was 30 years ago that he won the "Iron Man Award" as a defenseman for the Indianapolis Checkers of the Central Hockey League.
Now he's an iron man among NHL executives, being the 3rd longest tenured active NHL GM, outlasted only by Jim Rutherford (Carolina) and Hall of Famer Lou Lamoriello (New Jersey).
That isn't a result of listening to fans and media, or going gaga over every big name free agent that becomes available.
It's funny and ironic, really, how Regier has never been accepted in Buffalo - even when the team has been good enough to contend for the Stanley Cup. Much of it probably dates back to the circumstances under which he was hired.
But in reality he is the epitome of the Buffalo sports mentality - rooting for the underdog grinder and shunning the overpaid superstar who is about the individual and not the team.
Which reminds me, I heard a rumor that Ilya Kovalchuk might be available...
Twitter.com/DaveDavisHockey
1 recs |
41 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
Oh and you forgot Danny Briere … or Ales Kotalik … or Spacek … though I think Jaro is having a decent season.
Spock would have looked good on that defense this year, but not at the price he was capable of getting. The other guys all needed to go. Let’s not forget his letting Zhitnik, Satan and Kalinin walk as well. Regier is patient to a fault and loyal to those players he’s sunk time/money into. His MO has been to build a system with continuity and an organizational identity. He’s done that. The question still remains whether that system/identity is capable of winning a Cup.
I’m more than willing to let him continue tweaking them until they do.
Ta,
Space Cakes.
As much as I love Space Cakes, he simply wasn’t worth what he was asking.
I miss him every day (simply for how awesome he is at life as much as for his hockey talents), but if we paid what MTL paid for him, It would have been a big mistake.
Ibid
I think one only has to look as far as Orchard Park to see the how fortunate we are to have such stability in the front office.
Very good read. He nailed it.
"Be a wuss at home! Be a man on Rumblings!" - Kurupt
by bflo on Jan 20, 2010 1:43 PM EST via mobile reply actions
i loved this piece, i was having a talk with my uncle about reiger, he thinks him an lindy are not the solution. im not a very argumentative person, but this really gives me support when i battle my uncle again lol, GO SABRES!
I don't understand how people can argue with 2 conference finals out of 4 years since the lockout.
Yeah they missed the playoffs the other two but with up the upheaval and then last year’s injuries that’s not all that stunning. I’ll miss the playoffs 5 years for one Cup. And you can’t fault them for the years leading up to the lockout with the ownership situation.
And yet the masses drink the Bills koolaid year in and year out.
by twoeightnine on Jan 20, 2010 3:15 PM EST up reply actions
289, (and I know you know this, I’m just feeling particularly pedantic today)
Most people:
1) Don’t follow their team nearly as closely as many of us do, or as closely as they’ll ever admit to. They tune in and out as it suits their fancy and b/c they are human see that which they choose to see and form an opinion based on that.
2) Project their own dissatisfaction in their own lives onto the safest of targets… namely the GM. They want their life to change…. so, “Dammit, Regier, make my life better by trading away the world for Kovalchuk!” That’s not what is said, of course, what comes out is what we hear on the WGR Whiner Line.
3) Once they form an opinion, no matter how ill-informed, will defend it to the end of the earth, b/c, well, see point #2.
Lather, rinse, repeat their arguments until the ultimate position is taken, “NOTHING LESS THAN A CUP WILL DO! Regier hasn’t made my life complete by bringing me a Cup, so he sucks and needs to be fired.”
That is, truly, the depth of most people’s analytic ability. 1
When confronted with this I just stop and ask a simple question, “Ok, granted, your goal is a Cup. I agree it’s a good goal. You’ve specified the problem. Now, how do you go about doing that?” Uh.. uh… uh… Specification vs. Implementation. Theory vs. Practice. If we were all half as smart as we think we are about our sports teams, we’d all be passing each other in the hallway outside of the offices of every Team President looking for a new GM.
To quote the title from a Riddler episode of the old Batman Animated Series, “If you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich?”
That we aren’t should be clue enough to what our opinions are worth, metaphorically speaking, of course.
Ta,
1 – Hence why we’re continually ruled by atavistic thieves and congenital morons.
by Tom Luongo on Jan 20, 2010 3:35 PM EST up reply actions 3 recs
Great piece
As an Isles fan, I’m not totally stuck in the past, but I can’t help thinking, once again: What could have been if not for Milbury.
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
Yes, that’s guaranteed to help, right?
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
wow….
"The three important elements of hockey are: forecheck, backcheck and paycheck." - Gil Perreault
by FloridaBuffalo on Jan 20, 2010 8:56 PM EST up reply actions
One thing we need to look at...
…is how many of the players the Sabres “let go” have become better players afterwards. The list isn’t long: JP Dumont and Afinogenov (who is greatly assisted by the scheme in Atlanta) are the only names that immediately come to mind. Is Biron better now than he was when he was here? Is Briere? Is Drury? Is Holzinger? Is McKee? Is Campbell? Is Kotalik?
What Niles seems to be exceptionally good at with very few exceptions is determining how valuable a player will be in the future and whether or not a younger player in the system can fill that role at a lower cost than the free agent rate for a mostly burned-out vet.
"I could have conquered Europe, all of it, but I had women in my life." - King Henry II of England
JP: Yes
Max: Depends on “better” and when you’re comparing him too. His last two years he was awful but the two years before that he was a point per game player. He’s not quite back to that. Still a major defensive liability. (Somehow he was a +19 in 2006 though)
Biron: Not at all. As a matter of fact he is atrocious this year. Hasn’t won a game in 2 months, two of his last five or six games he let in six goals.
Briere: Couldn’t stay on the ice last year. The year before was a -22 a year removed from being a +17 and was on a team of hired guns. This year he looks to be back to his pre-2006-2007 form though is still a negative and definitely isn’t worth his contract. Could end up being the poster child for the “contract year.” He’s never going to get back to 95 points.
Drury: Hahaha. Fans are trying to run him out of town. Will never be worth the pay, or see the power play.
Holzinger: Couldn’t stay on the ice before he retired. Never matched 96/97. Only matched the rest of his output here once.
McKee: Struggled with injuries and then had his contract bought out.
Campbell: Not even close to worth his contract but he’s playing about the same.
Kotalik: Putting up points at about the same rate but has gone from a -5 or so to a -17. As bad as we’ve been in the shootout I wouldn’t waste the roster spot.
Drury is still a character player. Wouldn’t mind adding him in March for a playoff run, especially if the Sabres hit a run of injuries.
Speaking of injuries, a big reason the Sabres are doing so well is that players have remained remarkably healthy this year. Look at teams that win championships, it’s a common thread. It makes any coach and GM look good.
You do realize that buy adding him in March for a playoff run
you’re adding him for 2 more years at $7.1m a year right? C’mon now, stop living in the past.
And why would we want a “character guy” who already turned his back on the city once?
by twoeightnine on Jan 21, 2010 11:28 AM EST up reply actions
Good call on the salary part of Capt Intangibles ...
We’ve got our character guys in Grier, Montador, and Rivet anyway …
Lindy Ruff has said a few times he’s been paying special attention to keeping players rested and spreading ice time out to prevent injury. (except Miller, but he’s one of those goalies that its tough to tell to sit, even when your backup is good[as much as veteran backups can be])
I wonder if many other coaches are doing this or if they are just complaining about the injuries instead.
Good article! I, for one, have never been a Regier hater. I applauded when he made no offer to Danny What’s His Name and Drury walked. I wouldn’t want Drury back under any circumstances; the Rangers deserve him, and I’m enjoying watching their fans twist in the wind. He is their Captain afterall even if he plays on the fourth line. LOL
Back to Regier. For the most part, he built the team from within the organization adding a smattering of key players, such as, Gaustard and Connolly from other teams. He has avoided over spending for high-priced free agents who almost invariably don’t produce commensurate with their inflated salaries. He has made a few mistakes, such as, acquiring Domink Dunn last year in a futile attempt to make the playoffs. Also, he should have dumped Satin after the 1999 playoffs when it became obvious he wasn’t up to the task of producing when the team most needed him to do so.
Overall, I give Regier a B+ grade.
Gaustad was drafted by the Sabres.
Mair wasn’t. And it was Dominic Moore.
by twoeightnine on Jan 21, 2010 8:36 PM EST up reply actions
I thought Gaustad was undrafted? I know he was originally signed by the Sabres but I didn’t think it was through a draft… maybe I’m wrong, too lazy to look it up.
SABRES
Who cares about the past, we’re in the now and the SABRES have become a top 5 team in the NHL. Kudos to REGIER and RUFF for being a stabilizing force here in BUFFALO, and to MR. WILSON and the BILLS; this is how it is done. Regier has built a team predicated upon TEAM work, and that has never been more clear than now. And I have not heard any one mention KALETAand CONNOLLY and 4?weeks(VANEK) missed last year that dropped us out of the playoffs, with them in the line-up who knows. A true fan stays loyal regardless of what we think about management or players, and to all those who have, this year will be that much sweeter. WIN the CUP boys, and to everyone else: PEACE
by SABRES R LAST HOPE on Jan 22, 2010 10:55 AM EST reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Community Guidelines
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Latest Puck Daddy - NHL from Yahoo! Sports
- Exclusive: Kovalchuk on the end of NHL contract controversy
- NHL 2010-11 Season Preview: Wrestling with Calgary Flames
- Video: Goal with soccer-style header looks cool, probably illegal
- Leonsis calls out Toronto columnist for Ovechkin contract slam
- NHL 2010-11 Season Preview: Wrestling with Buffalo Sabres
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
