Daily Links for Friday June 10th

by Zachary Zielonka on Jun 10, 2011 6:41 AM EDT in Daily Links

With the announcement of Chris Drury being released by the New York Rangers within in the next week or so, some Sabres fans are drooling over what was with Drury and the Sabres and whether he would come back to Buffalo. Me, not so much.

Love Don’t Live Here No More | THE BEST OF NICK MENDOLA . . .LIVE
WECK's Nick Mendola takes a look at why Chris Drury wouldn't think about coming back to Buffalo after being bought out by the Rangers.

Return of the Captain? " Hockey Heaven

Matt Stewart takes a look at Chris Drury's history and whether he would really make a comeback to Buffalo.

Bruins in line to score as product pitchmen - BostonHerald.com
One unintended consequence of the Bruins making the Stanley Cup Finals, more regional endorsement deals.

I Don't Hate Roberto Luongo - Nucks Misconduct
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Winnipeg's arena meets most NHL standards: Daly - NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2011 - CBC Sports

The MTS Centre in Winnipeg is almost ready to host NHL games save for changing the glass to meet new regulations.

Bill Daly denies rumors that NHL is rebuilding bridge with Jim Balsillie | ProHockeyTalk

If the NHL is mending the fences with Jam Balsillie, they're not admitting to as much publicly.

Leafs goalie Reimer gets new deal - NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2011 - CBC Sports

The Toronto Maple Leafs may have finally found their top goaltender in James Reimer as they have inked him to a new two-year deal.

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Comments

Drury should not be back in Buffalo

We should be looking forward to younger and better players

by Winnie33 on Jun 10, 2011 9:03 AM EDT reply actions

QFT

This. All this.

by JSCoope on Jun 10, 2011 11:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Bring in Drury cause he’s cap friendly and leadership ability alone is worth it for this young team. That would free up space to go after Bieksa! I dont want a 7.5 mil bum! Richards is a point machine but personal opinion…i dont like the guy. o well i just want to win and the free agent market is small this year so i dont want to just settle for the one descent guy.

Got some work to do before being a playoff team let alone a contender again!

by thenewhockeytown on Jun 10, 2011 9:19 AM EDT reply actions

Bieksa, only at the right price. The guy is SERIOUSLY overrated. His stats are inflated because he plays for a great team. Look at his +/- before this season.

He is NOT the steadying influence on defense that people think he is.

by powerslave on Jun 10, 2011 6:01 PM EDT up reply actions

I like Bieksa

But you’re right, he IS overrated. I like him but he will command too much money for the reasons you mentioned. With all of that said i’d prefer Erhoff anyway.

by JSCoope on Jun 10, 2011 7:31 PM EDT up reply actions

No Ehrhoff

Ehrhoff is horrible!

by anthj99 on Jun 11, 2011 8:17 PM EDT up reply actions

I wouldn’t go THAT far.

by powerslave on Jun 11, 2011 11:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Go watch the games where Couver lost half the blue line. He’s pretty terrible…Good offenseive talents though.

"Thank you very much fans and let’s go for the next game together!"

— Lubomir Visnovsky

I rec’d that shit.

by Steven Hida on Jun 12, 2011 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions

He hasn’t been the same since he was injured in the WCF. Before that, he was clicking along pretty nicely in the playoffs. Anyhow, to say he is defensively worse than Kevin Bieksa is ridiculous. Bieksa’s numbers aren’t just improved by the Canucks’ excellent season, but also by playing with Nashville-trained Dan Hamuis much of the season. Otherwise, the only contest Bieksa wins is physicality. That’s not nothing, but that’s not big-bucks #2 defenseman either.

by Katemc on Jun 12, 2011 9:38 PM EDT up reply actions

I was a Huge Drury fan when he was in Buffalo. Love the Grit, Hardwork, leadership, and in the clutch it was always “Who else but CHRIS DRURY!”

I’m kinda mixed on bringing him back. He’s 34, but looked and played like he was 64. He had a lot of time off last year and maybe he can return to form with the rest. I’d like to bring him back on a incentive based or a 3rd or 4th line veteran type contract. I think he’d be an upgrade for Nieds and Grier.

"If we needed any more motivation to win a Cup sooner than later, we've got one now," Black said. "I really want to listen to the game that RJ calls when he finally gets to shout out, 'Buffalo wins the Stanley Cup.'"

by FloridaBuffalo on Jun 10, 2011 9:27 AM EDT reply actions

@ $850, 000 and no more. Do not overpay for a player with a bum knee who scored 1 (ONE!) goal last year.

Marty Reasoner is a much better option.

by powerslave on Jun 10, 2011 6:02 PM EDT up reply actions

Drury's not quite done yet

But I agree with Winnie. I don’t see what good can come of having him back on the third line. Not sure he really liked it in Buffalo that much anyhow.

by Philaster on Jun 10, 2011 11:02 AM EDT reply actions

Chris Drury is dead to me

In most cases, when Sabres I’ve loved leave the team I wish them only the best as long as it’s not against us – even when Marty went for the trifecta of unappealing Atlantic coast teams. Drury was different – he went from our fearless leader to “hmm, think I can do better & screw you” the second he heard from the Rangers and destroyed our lockerroom and our negotiations with Briere at the same time. He had a degree of success with the Rangers but overall that contract was a misery-inducing bust. He’d have been better off if he’d stayed a Sabre.

The Rangers are clearing him out not just for the cap space but also so they can cultivate a new, younger leader. (Probably Callahan. I mean, it’s definitely Callahan, right?) That’s what we should be doing too. Setting up Drury as a leader for the Sabres (letter or no) would be a huge step back for guy who’ve matured in the post-Drury era.

by Katemc on Jun 10, 2011 11:27 AM EDT reply actions

How would he have been better off if he remained a Sabre? He would have made less money, not played for the team he loved watching growing up and in all likelihood would still have a bad knee.

Blaming Drury for Brier or even his own leaving is nonsense. Nobody but the front office/owners were responsible for those failures.

by clownfat on Jun 11, 2011 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Better off = a better player

Forget how much money he’d have made or where his wife wants to shop. His tenure with the Rangers was fated to disappoint between the ridiculous contract and the impossible expectations. I’ll admit that the Rangers of 10-11 were a grittier, less-selfish team than that of the past few years. You could credit that to Drury, but what did he play this season, 30 games? When Drury left Buffalo, a good young team collapsed in on itself just like pulling the backbone out of a structure. But when the same spine was inserted into the core of the Rangers, they still imploded, every year.

by Katemc on Jun 12, 2011 9:26 PM EDT up reply actions

I would venture to say that when he went to New York, he wasn’t an established part of the backbone. I think if he truly had control of that locker room, things might have been different.

I truly don’t want him as a Sabre next season for a myriad of different reasons, starting with he fact that he’s been ineffective the last season or two.

Die By The Blade - Where we've even turned ourselves around since January 1st.

by Zachary Zielonka on Jun 13, 2011 12:32 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

While I thought signing Drury could be good...

Reading the comments and the stories, I have been convinced that he probably isn’t an answer to any of our needs. The Hockey Heaven link on Drury puts it greatly:

Imagine this: I tell you, I’ve got a player that you can have for a million and a half or so. He’s older, sure. But he’s got a Stanley Cup. He’s about one-third as productive as Tim Connolly, and he’ll be great in the locker room.

His name is Chris Drury.

His name is also Rob Niedermayer.

Guess what? You’ve had them both, and you’ve won Stanley Cups with neither.

In less we get Drury 06-07 next season, he would not be any more productive of a player then Nieds was this year. If that is the case, I would rather see Adam play here to get NHL experience.

"We’re gonna win the Stanley Cup. Then, you know what, we’re gonna win it again,"
-Terry Pegula

by bgred105 on Jun 10, 2011 1:16 PM EDT reply actions

Take a risk

I posted something similar in the fanpost about Drury. I think it’s worthwhile to take a shot. He is old and coming off of injuries, but he’s got talent, heart, and experience. Old guys sometimes do make an impact, and he could be one of them. Really though, I’m in favor of it because I don’t see a better option. If we want a defenceman (and oh how I want a defenceman) than we can’t spend big on forwards. What else are we going to do? Maybe trade for Carter and then be right up at the cap with no defenceman? Bring back Connolly? Bring up Adam? Drury is a risk, but he has the potential to be very good. If he plays as well as he’s capable of, even now in his old age, him plus a defenceman could push this team into serious contender territory.

by Hopefulcynic on Jun 11, 2011 3:46 AM EDT reply actions

He's not that old

He’s 34.
That is exactly why I want no part of him. For his skills to have deteriorated that quickly by the time he’s 34 is frightening (actually, they’d already deteriorated by the time he was 33). Yeah, he had some major injuries which is what led to his lack of production and declining skills, and that’s another reason why we shouldn’t go near him. Major injuries don’t just repair himself, he’s never going to sniff the talent level he showed in his first stint in Buffalo. There is a big reason why he is being bought out. The ONLY way I could see Drury being brought in would be as a face-off man and penalty killer playing like 12 mins a game at around 850,000 per year. And there is NO WAY he takes that kind of money to play for anybody other than the Wings or Pens or somebody.

by JSCoope on Jun 11, 2011 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions

August

Drury is somebody I think we should think about in August, when filling out the final spots on the roster.

by BobDH on Jun 11, 2011 9:05 AM EDT reply actions

just maybe

Sabre fans are enjoying the thought of the pleasant past in dread of the inevitable mediocrity we will see from Mr Fudd in July. More money from Terry P means a greater volume of mediocrity from Darcy, that is all I expect.
A B-level D-man and a lot of “develop from within” blather about Luke Adam at Center is all we can hope for.
Oh and reupping Tim “Top 20” Connolly as well ,while assembling $$ for the adoption papers for Tyler Myers…The team we ended the season with is about all we’ll have next year,sadly…

by boonies191 on Jun 11, 2011 9:18 AM EDT reply actions

Hockey Heaven

That piece on Chris Drury nails it head on. Sums up exactly how I feel. I long for the days of Chris Drury and the President’s Trophy team, but this is a different Sabres team, and as Thomas Wolfe said, you can’t go home again. This team has new leadership now, and bringing back Drury would only inhibit the growth of Vanek et al as leaders of this team. I’m not against bringing in a similar player, but not Drury. His ship has sailed here and there is no going back.

"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula

by willgarr15 on Jun 12, 2011 1:44 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Thank you!

You said exactly what I was trying to say, but more articulately and less meanly ;)

by Katemc on Jun 12, 2011 9:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Hey all, Ranger fan here

Thought some of you would enjoy this…

Drury suffered an injury riddled season, and came back from a knee injury for the last game of the season. He did not score one goal in 23 games that season.

The season was on the line, and we needed a game 82 win, in addition to the Lightning beating the Canes.

Chris Drury scores a goal on his first shift, to tie the game at one in Chris Drury fashion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42BYUYfik1o

by The Blue Seats on Jun 13, 2011 11:03 AM EDT reply actions

Oh, and please take him off our hands.

by The Blue Seats on Jun 13, 2011 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Please don't

When I watch Chris Drury be the Chris Drury of old, it makes me want him back, when I know it is a bad idea. Like in the Olympics last year, I was like, “man, Drury is playing unreal, I’m glad he’s American, and I wish he never left” but then the dust settles and the emotions go away and you realize that it isn’t meant to be again.

"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula

by willgarr15 on Jun 13, 2011 6:40 PM EDT up reply actions