It's not who they brought in...it's who they haven't shipped out
by powerslave on Aug 11, 2010 10:13 PM EDT
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PrintThis is going to very long, because I have a lot to say. So, I apologize in advance.
I have to admit, I have a helpless feeling in my stomach when I think about the upcoming season for the Buffalo Sabres. No, they won't suck. They'll make the playoffs. They may even challenge for the division. But they will not win the Stanley Cup. What they have and haven't done this summer pretty much cemented that all up.
I never expected the team to win the division last year, but about 1/2 of the way through the season, I had a feeling that the team was for real. Not "go all the way" type of real, but a feeling that this team could actually do some damage in the playoffs. I fully expected them to beat the Bruins (though I admit that facing Tuukka Rask gave me some nightmares). My best friend, who is a lifelong, die-hard Bruins fan, felt that the Sabres were a better team and that they would handle the Bruins, "no problem". Boy, were we wrong. The shortcomings were obvious. The frustrations were plenty and, once we were put out of our misery by a bigger, grittier, dirtier team who clearly WANTED IT MORE THAN 90% of our players, Mr. Quinn and Mr. Regier, through gritted teeth and bloodshot eyes, said the changes were coming. Boy, did THEY EVER STRETCH THE TRUTH ON THAT. But that's what we get when we're dealing with Larry Quinn. False hope, lies and arrogance.
Yes, they brought in some players that bring with them a ton of leadership, good skating and a lead-by-example work ethic:
A) Rob Niedermayer. A gritty, honest 3rd or 4th line grinder with size who still has some wheels and will kill penalties with the best of them. Rob, who can play both the wing and center, has a cup ring and 109 games of playoff experience, and gives an honest effort every night.
B) Jordan Leopold. A skilled puck mover that will help on the power play and shouldn't hurt the Sabres in their own end. A solid signing. He brings with him 54 games of playoff experience, half of which came on that great run the Flames had in 2004. If Lindy goes for defensive pairings that utilize one puck mover and one stay-at-home type, I would pair him with Rivet or Montador.
C) Shaone (shawn) Morrisonn. Think a tad nastier Jay Mckee. I had this guy pegged before July 1st as a guy who was perfect for what the Sabres needed. While he will NEVER be an offensive threat, he has good wheels, great size at 6'4" and fantastic shot blocking ability. According to Craig Laughlin (Capitals color man), Shaone makes a great first pass and, besides one quick playoff exit in 2008 with the Caps, has never been a minus player in his career. Would be an imposing presence paired with Myers.
BUT, it's the players that are still here, ones Darcy could have traded, that is the major problem I have with this team. It's one thing to bring in players. It's another to not ship any out, or to ship the wrong ones out (Tim Kennedy).
A) Tim Connolly. Darcy Regier recently stated that the Sabres had 2 of the top 20 centers in the league.
I ALMOST DROVE OFF THE FREEWAY.
(Getzlaf,Savard,Krejci,Toews,Stastny,Duchene,Brad Richards,Ribiero,Zetterberg,Datsyuk,Kopitar,Backes,Mikko Koivu,Thornton,Marleau,Pavelski,Sedin,Kesler,Backstrom,Lecavalier,Stamkos,Crosby,Malkin,Jordan Staal,Eric Staal,Mike Richards,Carter,Drury,Gomez,Spezza,Zajak) That's 31, but who's counting. There is room for debate. So maybe the Sabres have 2 of the top 35 centers in the NHL. Well, Darcy never WAS good with numbers, was he?
It would probably take more pressure off Derek Roy if the Sabres would just go out and get that #1 center that we all know they need (Marc Savard-imagine him setting up Vanek all night long), or at least go out and get a #2 center with skills AND A SET OF STONES (Jordan Staal, David Backes). But, first you have to BELIEVE that we need a #1 center. All of us fans know that we do, but obviously Darcy has different opinions. Well, he's wrong.
Tim Connolly is not a bad player by any stretch of the imagination. His last four years, he's been almost a point per game player. Over a full, healthy season, he would be a 20 goal, 50 assist guy every year. His puck skills are SICK. He could stickhandle through spaghetti...standing in a phone booth. He has a cannon...when he chooses to shoot the puck, that is. A friend of mine who knows a Sabres employee said that he was told "what you see Tim do on the ice during a game isn't even the half of it!" Yikes!
The problem is, he's not a big game player and, in no way, shape or form is he A WINNER. If I have to have a Derek Roy on this team, then I do not have room for a Tim Connolly. Essentially they are both #2 centermen of the same ilk. Skilled and soft. If our top 2 centers have to be skilled AND SOFT, then I want Marc Savard on this team, not Tim Connolly.
B) Drew Stafford. This guy is the 2nd coming of Michal Grosek. Million dollar size and skills, ten-cent aspirations and drive. Michal Grosek could have been a perennial 25 goal scorer in the league. At 6'2", 216 lbs., Michal was a solid chunk of player, built like a giant V. His shoulders were so wide, he probably entered every doorway sideways. He had good skating ability, underrated puck skills and could drive to the net with the best of 'em. Problem was, he NEVER WANTED to drive to the net. Heck, he never wanted much of anything after his one and only 20 goal season with the Sabres in 1998-99. He came of age during the playoff run of '98, scoring 6 goals, 10 points and adding 28 PIM in 15 games. The following season he popped in 20g, 30a and 102 PIM. He was 24 years old and power forward elite-ness was his for the taking. But he thought it would come easily for him. It didn't. He bounced around the NHL and AHL on 4 teams for parts of 6 more seasons before he was gone... for good. What a waste.
Drew, this is your fate. A total waste, unless you put down the guitar and start playing like the 13th overall pick you were in your draft year.
Is it possible that, with the 13th pick, we overrated Drew? NO. I see the skills that kid has. He has the best puck skills on the team next to Tim Connolly. Some of the things he can do with the puck can bring you out of your seat. His physical game, when it's there, is phenomenal. But, just like Grosek and another waste of size and skill, Ales Kotalik, IT HAS GOT TO BE PRESENT every shift, every game in order for him to be successful. Finish your checks...EVERY TIME. Not when you feel like it. EVERY F-IN TIME! When you finish your checks, you are INVOLVED in the game. And it's when you are involved in the game that you create havoc, and shine, and score and play like the Drew we all know you can be. This is the last year of your contract. You have 2.3 million reasons, and tens of thousands of Sabres fans all over this country, to play like we know and, more importantly, YOU know you can. Or you will just be another in a long line of "could-have-beens" that the Sabres have had in their 40 years.
It's not all doom and gloom, though. I love the look of the defense (here's hoping that Weber can make push...and push Butler onto the unemployment line) and we have a future Norris trophy winner in Myers. Ennis is a potential Calder trophy candidate and a much better version of Max Afinogenov. We still have the best goalie in the game, and the Sabres are a bigger, grittier team that should have more accountability on and off the ice.
My point is this. Players were brought in, and I am in agreement with those moves. 75% of the returning players are fine in my book, too. It's the players that are still here that should have been shipped out, that I have issue with. Is it possible that Sabres management believes that the Niedermayers and Morrisonns will help out the Griers, Montadors and Rivets when it comes to motivating the Staffords,Butlers, Sekeras and Connollys? Or does Darcy have one more, pre-training camp move up his sleeve to rid himself, and us, of a few of these overpriced slugs? I can only wish.
Hey, supposedly they're dumping the slug jersey. Why not send a couple of these slugs on skates outta here too!
As always, Go Sabres.
This is a fanpost written by a member of the community, it doesn't necessarily express the views or opinions of Die by the Blade
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nice read
I would take any one of those centers on that list for both Roy and Connolly.
Rookies are like teabags...you don't know what you're gonna get until you put them in hot water. -Harry Neale
Here's the thing
Show me how any one of those centers are actually attainable for this team, and then you can describe how we should get rid of Tim Connolly. You need to realize that it is not always possible to upgrade the position. And don’t say, “well Savard is on the trade market” like somehow Darcy can waive the magic wand and make a trade appear out of mid-air.
Secondly, I don’t see a ton of grit out of all of those centers you listed. Getzlaf, Zetterberg, Koivu, Thornton, Pavelski, Kesler, the Staal bros, Mike Richards, Carter, Zajak and Drury are the only guys on that list I see adding any sort of physical game over Connolly at this point. Not to mention that not all of those guys are also the #1 and #2 PK centers on the team as Roy and Connolly are to our team. I also don’t agree that that entire list of centers is an upgrade over Roy or Connolly, and the stats back me up on that. By the way, we’re crying about paying Connolly $4.5M, how would you like to pay Paul Stastny $6.6M for less points? I see that you are unhappy with Connolly over the way that last season ended. If you are goint to say he isn’t a winner, or that he isn’t a big game player, then you have to say that most of those players on your list are not either. In fact, only 12 out of your 31 “better” centers than Connolly have won the Cup, many of which for the same team (so one could argue that maybe only one of them are winners, and the other was just riding their and other’s coat-tails).
On the other hand, I could not agree with you more about Drew Stafford. He is the second coming of Ales Kotalik, and like the day that Kotalik was finally traded, I will rejoice this coming March when Stafford is unloaded for a 2nd round pick at the deadline. He is a bum in an all-star’s body. He could be dominant, but instead he chooses to play softer than anyone I have ever seen.
Fear the Grier!!!!
The list had nothing to do with grit. It was centers who are, imo, as good as or better than the 2 we have. My statement before the list was Regier recently said that the Sabres have 2 of the top 20 centers in the NHL. I was merely listing centermen who should be thought of as better than the 2 we have.
You have to overpay for one of those centers in a trade, that’s how. It’s like chess. You ship out a Roy,Kassian,Sekera & a #1 pick for one of those centers. Then you go out and sign one of the 14,000 free agents that are still available (and there are still some good ones) to fill whatever remaining holes you have. Or you trade a Roy to Toronto for Kaberle and flip Kaberle & a #1 for whatever #1 center you may be able to pick up. Wheel and Deal baby!
Sounds easy on paper but unfortunately it isn’t
Fear the Grier!!!!
by willgarr15 on Aug 14, 2010 11:45 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Sure it is
I did the same thing in NHL 2009, so I’m sure anyone could do it.
Jens! doesn’t have a shadow because he dropped it repeatedly until it retired, climbing into the CSC team car and claiming a stomach ailment.
by dees ees en drama on Aug 31, 2010 12:10 AM EDT up reply actions
Why not throw in a Bass Proshop
and a Niagara Falls too! You forget that trades are a two way street AND everything has to work under the salary cap.
by twoeightnine on Aug 21, 2010 10:27 PM EDT up reply actions
In defense of Darcy
I don’t know if I agree with all of those centers, and i certainly don’t agree with all of them at their current price tags. Also, as has been pointed out, Roy and TC were both top 25 in scoring among NHL centers.
And while I would like to see Stafford out the door, if Darcy really is handicapped by his budget, then I think we might be better off keeping him for the year. If Darcy had the room to give Stafford away and bring in a better physical top 6 RW then I would be angry at him for failing to so. I honestly think that a RW for Vanek and Roy, not a top center, was one of our two biggest needs this offseason (defencemen were the other top need)
Price tags
Excellent point my friend. A lot of those centers who failed to outscore Roy and Connolly are making more money than both of them
Fear the Grier!!!!
chicago almost lost to nashville in game 7 of the 1st round. people are making too big of a deal of the boston series. people are acting like a 3 seed has never lost to a 6 seed before. remember only one team gets to win the stanley cup each year.
sabres team looks good this year. kennedy’s abitrator awarded contract handcuffed the sabres because it was a one way deal. what if Ennis tears up the preseason but because we signed TK he has to play another year in the minors, how happy would you be with DR then?
Stafford had a bad season. i remember when everyone wanted to kill Hect because of 1 bad season. i think stafford is good for what we pay him. i agree we need a legit top RW but it wasn’t gonna happen in the UFA market this season.
time to ring that championship bell
Stafford is good for his price, but not for his job. He is a top line winger, he doesn’t play well enough to deserve that job on this team. And in my opinion, Stafford has not had one good season per those standards.
Fear the Grier!!!!
But he's only had 3 full seasons of NHL experience.
If this was the start of last season everyone would still be pumped about Stafford. Two years ago he was good and was poised to break out last year. He didn’t and everyone is ready to jump ship. If he doesn’t start off well this season ship his ass out but what if this year turns out to be what last year was supposed to be?
by twoeightnine on Aug 21, 2010 10:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Well count me out as someone who was apparently pumped about Stafford last year. I was hoping they didnt even tender him last off-season. To me, it’s not the production, it’s the apparent lack of effort. It’s ok if you look lazy but produce, it’s another if you appear lazy and don’t do shit either, and as a result, it seems your line cannot get shit together either. Everyone is all over Roy and Vanek for disappearing, but if Stafford could create once in awhile, they wouldn’t be prone to long scoring droughts.
Fear the Grier!!!!
did anyone else hear about kaleta tossing kane at mickyrats? kane went to buy a round of shots, and bought 1 for everyone at the bar but kaleta. then toasted to the fact that he makes waaaayy more money than kaleta. so kaleta tossed him. this is funny if true and is a typical kane move.
time to ring that championship bell
i hope kaleta did
kane is so anti south buffalo it makes me sick. his 20 cents saving ass could be worshiped here but he is such a tool it won’t ever happen… sad really
Rookies are like teabags...you don't know what you're gonna get until you put them in hot water. -Harry Neale
I hope Roy, Connolly, and Stafford prove you wrong this year. Butler and Sekera too for that matter. Roy and Connolly make up for their lack of physicality with defensive responsibility (something a center needs to have in today’s NHL). Stafford is entering a contract year, so even if you are right about his motives, he will perform better this season. Lastly, to blame Darcy for not trading 2 or 3 of his top 6 forwards is absurd given the scarcity of improvements available. Also, why should he have gotten rid of two promising young defensemen (Sekera and Butler) after losing two of his top defensemen to free agency? It makes no sense to be this upset over this offseason’s activities. I’d love to see the Sabres make a run at one more top-6 FA winger (Stempniak or Neal), but in the end I can’t complain about the composition of this team given the cap constraints (esp. with the ridiculous Vanek contract).
Bang for Buck
@$4.5 Million and $3.5 Million a year for Connolly and Roy you can certainly argue that they are top 20, maybe even 10, for what you’re getting.
A quick glance of NHL centers and their 2009 salaries in that range (+/- $1M):
Franzen, Johan Detroit Red Wings $ 5,500,000
Nylander, Michael Washington Capitals $ 5,500,000
Jokinen, Olli New York Rangers $ 5,500,000
McDonald, Andy St. Louis Blues $ 5,200,000
Getzlaf, Ryan Anaheim Ducks $ 5,125,000
Carter, Jeff Philadelphia Flyers $ 5,000,000
Ribeiro, Mike Dallas Stars $ 5,000,000
Savard, Marc Boston Bruins $ 5,000,000
Bergeron, Patrice Boston Bruins $ 5,000,000
Legwand, David Nashville Predators $ 5,000,000
Arnott, Jason Nashville Predators $ 4,500,000
Connolly, Tim Buffalo Sabres $ 4,500,000
Kessel, Phil Toronto Maple Leafs $ 4,500,000
Langkow, Daymond Calgary Flames $ 4,250,000
Handzus, Michal Los Angeles Kings $ 4,000,000
Fisher, Mike Ottawa Senators $ 4,000,000
Antropov, Nikolai Atlanta Thrashers $ 3,500,000
Stoll, Jarret Los Angeles Kings $ 3,500,000
Horton, Nathan Florida Panthers $ 3,500,000
Staal, Jordan Pittsburgh Penguins $ 3,500,000
Roy, Derek Buffalo Sabres $ 3,500,000
Umberger, R.J. Columbus Blue Jackets $ 3,500,000
Krejci, David Boston Bruins $ 3,500,000
Zubrus, Dainius New Jersey Devils $ 3,400,000
Bolland, David Chicago Blackhawks $ 3,375,000
Koivu, Mikko Minnesota Wild $ 3,300,000
Koivu, Saku Anaheim Ducks $ 3,250,000
Brind’Amour, Rod Carolina Hurricanes $ 3,000,000
Vermette, Antoine Columbus Blue Jackets $ 3,000,000
Weiss, Stephen Florida Panthers $ 3,000,000
Out of that bunch I’d venture that only Staal, Getzlaf, Koivu (Mikko), Kessel, Bergeron, Franzen, and Carter are better players. And a few of those are still on their 1st real contracts.
So yes we have no real #1 center, but if it’s ANY consolation we have two of the best #2’s!!!! A little sarcasm, sorry
The sad song I always sing on these boards is that we too often missed on our first round picks (especially centers) and have failed to adequately replace those failures. Zagrapan and Notovtny were supposed to be our top pivots right now. Heck even Rasmussen @ pick #7 in should be hitting his 10th year if the world was perfect…that’s sad.
by killabstingz on Aug 12, 2010 2:34 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Zubrus and Horton aren’t Centers, and your list is missing Zajac and his $2.75m.
Playing Devils' advocate since 1982.
wow the Sabres payroll was only $28m in 05-06. They’re going to be double that this year.
"The three important elements of hockey are: forecheck, backcheck and paycheck." - Gil Perreault
by FloridaBuffalo on Aug 15, 2010 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Same old...Same old...
First off I would like to congratulate myself for breaking the Dave Leggio signing in Portland like…2 months ago.
Second, these posts are getting ridiculous. We can not. Can. Not. acquire a #1 or #2 center without sacrificing a promising prospect and a draft pick…or multiple draft picks. Would you rather have Phil Kessel…but give up Tyler Seguin, Nathan Horton, and 2 first round picks in next years draft?? You sit here and complain about the now….‘we need a #1 NOWNOWNOW’…but i’d much rather trade a roy or connolly for a 1st round draft pick. Problem is…do either warrant a 1st round draft pick?? And as a fan, if we’re going to blow up the roster to rebuild…I’d like to do it under a different regime. With the tenure they’ve had it’s long passed the time to utter the phrase ‘we need to rebuild’. So as long as Darcy is making moves and Lindy is behind the bench…I want to see this team push for the Cup every year. Even with a ‘two #2 centers’.
I don't want to enter rebuilding mode
I think the argument is that unloading Roy or Connolly for picks then allows us to go out and make a move to bring in another top 6 forward with the money we’ve freed up from the trade. I can go into why this may be unlikely, but that doesn’t matter.
My argument is that we should have, if money allowed, gotten a top line RW and dumped Stafford for whatever we could get. And while yes, prices are high for top 6 players, if it made us a serious contender instead of the “if we get lucky” contender we are right now, I would be willing to part with two firsts. If Staff, Kassian, and a first next year could get us Neal or Ryan (and we had room for him) I think I’d pull the trigger. For Ryan I’d be willing to go higher than that.
Third, CHRIST ALMIGHTY LEARN WHEN HYPERBOLE IS UNNECESSARY! I thought you were going to make a coherent point about how much Kessel cost and then you go and exaggerate an already bad deal, thus demeaning the actual point you wanted to make.
by Hopefulcynic on Aug 13, 2010 12:37 PM EDT up reply actions
Interesting
Coherent argument? My goodness I don’t understand why you wrote your first paragraph. If it’s ‘unlikely and doesn’t matter’ why would you write about it in the first place.
But writing style criticisms aside, Neal and Ryan ARE the FOUNDATION of the future in which organizations look to build around. I ask you this, what would you deal for Tyler Myers? Take that and you have your market value for these two guys. I doubt you’d take Kassian, Stafford and a 1st (which with the addition of one of these two I would assume the 23-30 pick in the draft).
I thought Nathan Horton would’ve been a nice addition…but Boston had the luxury of having 2 first round draft picks.
Ennis played center throughout juniors in the AHL. In last years preseason he skated center between Vanek and Stafford and did well in both the faceoff circle and with defensive responsibilty. My idea: have Ennis center hecht and pominville (or play left wing and let hecht center if you’re going to argue that you like ennis on the wing..) and put a line of Roy-Connolly and Vanek together for a season.
I brushed off that argument because it wasn’t my own; it was my attempt clarify what I took to be the OP’s argument.
Organizations also build around guys like Hossa and Kovalchuk (or Campbell, for that matter), but they get moved when the organization sees the writing on the wall. The Ryan argument is based on the idea that we can send an offersheet that Anaheim would be loath to match due to it’s term. With that stick on the table, the carrot looks a lot more tempting. Would it work? Maybe not, but it’s an interesting idea. IIRC, Boston didn’t exactly overpay for Horton.
I wouldn’t mind seeing that line. Out of curiosity, how do you envision the bottom 6 shaping up?
by Hopefulcynic on Aug 16, 2010 8:51 PM EDT up reply actions
I really like the sound of those lines, actually.
Vanek-Roy-Connolly
Pomminville-Ennis-Hecht/Stafford
Gerbe-Niedermayer-Grier
McCormick-Gaustad-Kaleta
There would be plenty of flexibility for injuries, since 7 of those 13 players are centers and can thus move into any forward role (not to mention call-ups like Mancari).
Weren’t Vanek, Hecht, and Pomminville tearing it up this year?
He who controls the puck controls the buck.
by sabresfan96 on Aug 21, 2010 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m with you on the point about how hard it is to acquire a #1 center. There’s no point to trading either of OUR #1 centers either if you can’t adequately replace them. Kind of reiterates my point that we haven’t drafted centers particularly well the last 10 years and this is why we are where we are.
This team relies on efficient drafting and prudent FA signings. When either of those falters the team suffers.
by killabstingz on Aug 13, 2010 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions
oh well, I tried!
Glad for all the comments back. Thanks. One thing I will say, is that Buffalo hockey fans are the most passionate. Secondly, your opinions do count, and I read them all. BUT… for anyone who is either afraid of parting with either of our “supposed” #1 centers, or is of the thought process that these are the guys that are going to get it done for us long suffering Buffalo sports fans, you are delusional and, just like our general manager, afraid to go for broke and ACTUALLY TRY TO WIN THIS THING FOR ONCE! Good Lord. How do we acquire a #1 center? YOU OVERPAY IN A TRADE. You grow a set of stones, and go for it. Why are we so afraid to trade a top prospect. Who’s the guy afraid to trade Sekera or Butler? What?!?!?! For every Sekera out there in junior hockey, there is another Butler to take his place. Screw the draft for a year and actually show me you want to win it. Look at Chicago. They knew they’d pay dearly, but they won it. I’d rather have to ship out 1/4 of my team the year after, as long as I can hear people call us “Stanley Cup champion Buffalo Sabres”. Gerbe? Trade bait. Sekera & Butler. Trade bait. Kassian. Hell yes, trade bait. Does Roy, Kassian, Sekera & a #1 get us a Ryan Getzlaf? If so, then I’m pulling the trigger. You have to spend $$$ to make $$$. And I’m not afraid to do it. And I can’t believe after all these years without even of sniff of Lord Stanley’s cup, that a lot of you guys are afraid to take a chance.
by powerslave on Aug 13, 2010 6:04 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
thank you (rec'd)
The other pieces are there, pull the trigger!! I agree we have good centers in Tim and Derek but not real winners who do all they can to win. How doesn’t Drury rub off on you?? Anyway these guys have had ample opportunity to prove themselves and haven’t period. Take a hit to improve your club
where you need it most and fill in the rest with the supposedly great supporting cast in your system.
Rookies are like teabags...you don't know what you're gonna get until you put them in hot water. -Harry Neale
Yes, pull a trigger on a deal that may get you to win the Stanley Cup for one year but kill your team for the next five. The playoffs are completely uncertain, if you guessed that the Philadelphia Flyers were going to make the Finals this season, then your lying to yourself and to us. The Blackhawks was this close to being out in the first round as well.
I’m sorry, I’m nor ready to mortgage the future for a shot at the Cup because you could do all of that and still not make the playoffs. This team has pieces to make a run this year and only has 11 players under contract next year so the team can make some moves whether the team is good or not at the trade deadline.
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by Zachary Zielonka on Aug 15, 2010 8:40 AM EDT up reply actions
Do you remember the first two years after the lockout?
Those were great times to be a Sabre fan. Not good, great. I want that feeling back. Mortgaging the future isn’t as bad as some people make it out to be. With efficient management, which i think Darcy could provide, it means a year or two of bad teams before a return to the playoffs. Or it mean being like Chicago and, to paraphrase DGB, a year after WINNING THE STANLEY CUP only being able to field the likes of Toews, Kane, Hossa, Sharp, Campbell, Keith, and Seabrook.
Is it risky? yes. Could we walk away with nothing to show for it but heartache and pain? Yes. Is the risk considerably less than what some have said they would give to see this team win a Stanley Cup? Yes.
While it’s true that few saw the Flyers going that far, many saw the Blackhawks having a legitimate shot to win it all.
Finally, I leave you with this. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Kassian is the next Peca, maybe our first round pick next year will be the reincarnation of Stevie Y or Bobby Orr or Wayne Gretzky.. Maybe we’ll win with this group, or with the group Darcy puts together next year without making any significant moves. But I don’t think so. I think that we’re close enough that it is worth it to trade two high draft picks (two! not our entire draft class, but two picks) if that would bring us a serious shot at the cup. I think that this year and next year we have a window, if we push for it. I’d like to see us make that push. I haven’t wanted big moves before, but now I see a serious chance and I don’t want to see it pass us by,
by Hopefulcynic on Aug 15, 2010 12:46 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
(two! not our entire draft class, but two picks)
That argument doesn’t work at all. Trading your #1 and #2 picks doesn’t leave you with worlds of players with mounds of talent left in the later rounds. You might as well give up your entire draft class if you’re trading top draft picks for one player who might help for one year.
Is it hockey season yet?
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by UZ on Aug 23, 2010 1:42 PM EDT up reply actions
My original intent was actually two two first rounders, but a first and a second in the same year works too.
That aside, I disagree. Ennis, Myers, Vanek, and probably Ballard are our only good first round picks this past decade. Especially if the guy we acquire helps, the picks would be late in the round and thus less likely to hit anyway. Does it stress our system? Yes, a bit, but there’s still the chance to hit with a late round guy (Miller, Goose, and at least in the talent department, if not the realm of physicality, Gerbe) and under your plan the hit is only taken to one draft class. It creates a problem, but not an unsolvable one. It doesn’t doom the franchise for years to come; it just hurts for a year or two, pain which is hopefully alleviated by a winning team, a good development system in Portland (which we have) and smart management of young players (which, like all teams, we sometimes do well and sometimes don’t). With good development and management, the hit can be minimized. Of course there’s a risk, but for a true shot at the cup, the risk that maybe we’ll get rid of a guy who two or three years later might become a star can be worth it.
Let me put it this way. Our best player, and right now only legitimate star, was a fifth round pick. But putting that aside, I would trade Vanek and Myers (neither picked in the spot of a team that made the playoffs, but definitely our two best first round picks this decade) for a Stanley Cup victory with neither hesitation nor regret. I would trade Marek Zagrapan and Dennis Persson for a bucket of pucks (minus the pucks) with no regrets. The only way we lose if the draft choices become good players and the guy we add doesn’t push us far in the playoffs. If we get the best of the good and the worst of the bad, we win. If we get the worst of the good and the best of the bad, we still haven’t lost anything. we need multiple things to go wrong to not come out of it having benefited. It is possible, but it isn’t likely.
by Hopefulcynic on Aug 25, 2010 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions
One thing that always bothers me is that the Sabres often refer to their young players as assets. Their not assets unless you use them. If you wait to unload any of them until they have no use to you, well…..this is what happens.
by bluecollarbuffalo on Aug 14, 2010 8:12 AM EDT reply actions
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