Lowe: Sabres being 'juvenile'

Oilers GM Kevin Lowe shouldn't expect a Christmas card from Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn this winter.

After the Oilers' unsuccessful bid to snag winger Thomas Vanek with a seven-year, $50 million offer sheet days after the wounded Sabres lost co-captains Daniel Briere and Chris Drury, Quinn was livid that Lowe drove up the price on the team's top goal scorer.

"We always had an attitude here that we don't do these things," Quinn said at this afternoon's news conference in HSBC Arena. "When it comes to the Edmonton Oilers, if there's an opportunity to put an offer sheet on a player as long as we're alive, we'll be comfortable doing that. They can expect it if it's in our best interest."

Lowe wasn't impressed.

"It's quite a bold statement by that organization," the seven-time NHL All-Star said. "I think it's rather juvenile on their part.

"Fellas, it's a business. Take the personal out of it. It was the right offer for the Oilers, and apparently it was right for the Sabres."

Lowe has a point. He's doing whatever it takes to make the Oilers a better club and clearly Vanek was worth the price or else the Sabres wouldn't have matched.

I wonder how the fans in Edmonton respond to such swashbuckling moves. Can Buffalo fans even fathom such a thing?

---Tim Graham

Comments

[Joel]

Can somebody please explain to me what Kevin Lowe's credentials are to be a NHL GM? This is a guy who is really making a negative impact on player salaries and creating a bad precident. I know that the CBA rules say players can be obtained in the manner Lowe is attempting. However, I think that he is exploiting the rule and at the same time skewing salary data for future players to receive larger awards. He directly affected Vanek and Penner's inflated contacts and Roy is the first of the indirect effects.

Some people work for years (from the bottom up), get college degrees, CPAs, MBAs, Law Degrees, Promotions, move around the country, just to have a shot at getting a position in a company or starting a business where they can make big business decisions.

I can't find Lowe's resume but his experience appears to be as a great player and then some coaching. Then somebody thought that he could be a GM. He probably can scout talent.

What are his qualifications to be put in a position where he has the power to inflate player salaries league wide? He is unqualified, not business savy, and irresponsible. The RFA concept is bull if a GM like Lowe is going to exploit it.

Say what you want about Darcy. His actual negotiating methods and communication skills with players need a lot of improvement but at least he makes an attempt to do his homework, is fiscally responsible, and tries to look out for the league as a whole product. I don't think that somebody like Lowe even realizes the impact he is having.

[frank]

Message to Mr. Golisano. Get rid of Darcy and Quinn before it's too late. Thomas Vanek is probably the worst skater on the team. He can go north and south and that's about it.He has no heart. He is often a lazy player. He can't stick handle in traffic. He is opportunistic. He is not a leader. This signing was made out of desperation. He deserves maybe half the money he gets.The guy is half the player that either Drury or Briere is. Get ready for a looonnnnnnggggg season!

[kevin]

It's amazing the lack of foresight by Quinn. They obviously didn't treat Drury during the year like they cared about him. It's typical of the Sabres dealings- they are reactive and not proactive. Although I'm a Sabre's fan, Lowe w/ Edmonton had every right to do what he did. Quinn is childish. Unless they acquire some new talent, the team is done in 1st round this coming year. Larry, treat your employees well and you'll reap the benefits.

[Frank]

Don't forget about Vanek's agent. He doesn't care where Vanek plays, and truthfully shouldn't. He is in it to get the most money for his client and, in turn, for himself. Why not talk to a team interested in his client (Edmonton) and drive the price up a bit? His agent knew the Sabres HAD to match an offer to Vanek, so he jumped along for the ride. He drove up the asking price and had $50 million guaranteed regardless of which team signed him. With the Sabres calling Lowe and telling him that they would match ANY offer, that played right into the game. Lowe makes the offer, which makes him appealing to other free agents looking to make more than they are worth, Vanek gets the cash, and his agent is known for negotiating brilliance. Vanek's agent came out and said that they wanted to field an offer before signing with Buffalo and they did. Hate it or love it the new CBA allows for situations like this to happen.

[gary s]

my thoughts are simple on the vanek deal:lowe is just as his name sugjuests,hes a low down scoundral,hicking the amount of vanek was very dispickable in my mind,but it also shows at what length any team will go to just to get a decent player,sure they need some help in edmonton,but,i think its in the gm area not a forward.
i also have to give credit in the same respect too,althought it seems contrary to what i alreday wrote,im glad he did it,on the face it was unrealistic for a gm to do that,but in the same sence,it locked the sabres blundering management to lock at least one decent player up for 7 years,and who knows the added incentive to him will help elevate his game,afterall he does have to earn his dough too.and a healthy connely will fill breiers skates in my thinking.i have confidence in the team,unlike the management.unlike alot of others who are crying abvout the loss of the 2 players,who cares they didnt do much but score alot,and the defence is what wins,for every goal they tried to produce they went forward and left to many odd man rushes,and they gave away the puck thinking they could outrace,instead of outmuscle for the puck.sure speed is good,but defence and puck control is just as if not more important.thats my take on it,o, and lets go sabres.we may prove all the fair weather fans wrong and i hope i can quote this next spring

[Dave C]

Heather:

My comments weren't meant as a "personal attack" - they are the reality of the demographic that comprise the most ardent Sabre supporters. Namely, twentysomethings who view the games as a "social event", and hold the players up as rock stars, bombarding them with incessant autograph requests even at lunch. It's a far cry from say, the fan base in Montreal, New York, Ottawa, and Detroit, where an older core of longtime hockey "enthusiasts" dominate - not like Sabres FAN-ATICS who view Pominville, Max, Miller etc as pop star idols. So in the end, the Mighty Quinn can totally ruin this teams talent base (which he has already done,,) but he knows the youngsters will keep coming back for more (see Allen Wilson's article on the topic...it's right on..) These are the same fans that revolted when the new logo/jerseys were unveiled---but in the end, they bought more Sabres merchandise than anyplace else in North America! Again, no wonder we've never won anything here. "Gullible Buffalo" back for another season!!

[Heather B.]

Dave, I'm glad that instead of commenting on what was being said, you decided to attack on the personal level. But for the record:

- 29 years old
- happily married for 8 years, living in Hamburg
- Sabres fan since I started waching hockey 9 years ago
- thinks Miller is a good goalie but quite goofy looking and Pominville resembles a poodle
- own a Tallinder jersey

But nice try! Interesting that my comments atleast had some hockey related subject matter while yours did not.

[Johnny Sac]

"Dave C" your rebuttal to "Heather" was priceless! Great one dude!
The points that Quinn/Regier= Dumb and Dumber were right on and its so sad that people like Heather and that other nitwit who ripped him are just plain out to lunch on the NHL and its ways.
The 2 of them should replace Quinn and Regier for sure, I bet theyd bring alot of new insight to the team etc.
Some people just shouldnt make comments about subjects they have no clue about.
Go take Muffie for a walk now Heather. Ha!

[FrenchConnection]

Wow! I love hockey, but it's treading on thin ice! How can a league with a low rent TV contract be throwing around $ like they all have the last name of Steinbrenner. The NFL, which has Billion $ contracts with CBS, Fox, ESPN & NBC along with it's own network has a projected $109M cap next year for it's 53 man rosters. The NHL has a $50M cap next year for it's 24 man rosters. The average NHL player makes more than the average NFL player! AMAZING!

While I agree Sabres Mgmt got caught with their pants down on this Vanek signing and they need to have much better foresight, they may be playing a game that no one can win. I thought the lockout was supposed to prevent/better manage the escalating salaries compared to the other major sports. Last year's SuperBowl MVP Peyton Manning's 2007 cap figure is $8M. Vanek will be making $10M. Whether it was the Oilers or the Sabres, someone would have been paying him that $ next year. You can thank Bettman in a few years when we're sitting in our $100 nosebleed seats, drinking $20 watered-down beers, watching Vanek and a bunch of AHL'ers play Briere and a bunch of AHL'ers. Ultimately, the NHL is not in a place where it can afford to throw around NFL, NBA or MLB type contracts. The game will suffer which means the fans will suffer.

[Ted]

Is it my imagination or do players seem to have a career year heading towards free agency.And didn't it seem that the Sabres were too small and unaggressive to win in the playoffs.And wasn't the Briere-led power play abysmal this year,especially in the playoffs.As fun as it to watch the sabres this year it is time for a little tweaking.Lets replace Briere and Drury with a couple of big
nasty forwards ala Anaheim

[Scoop77]

Tim, check out the tsn.ca message board and you'll see that most Edmonton fans were overjoyed about the Vanek offer. Those who weren't happy didn't like the idea of giving up 4 first round draft picks.

[Barry]

Ian. It was a pretty entertaining post. A little bit of light humor mixed in with the doom and gloom is refreshing. There are guys like you, (hard working, intelligent, passionate about your teams) but there are also guys just like BlogProfiler mentioned that just always want to stir the pot and complain about everything. Can't we all get along? LOL. I think most bloggers here want the same thing in our lifetime. A championship for all of our beloved Buffalo sports teams. Heck the Red Sox did it in baseball so anything is possible.

[Ian]

Then again Blogprofiler their are guys like me who work full time to pay all the bills, and still manage to Study for my masters who designate value time betweeen the months of Septmember and May to watch our beloved Sabres!!!

[BlogProfiler]

While we're profiling fans here, let's not forget the over 21 male crowd still living at home with mommy and daddy and working at Tops or Taco Bell. (Heck I know guys in their 30's, 40's and 50's still living at home. Now there's a subject that should be analyzed). But hey we can't overlook their important contributions to blogs and sports radio while yelling up to Mom from the basement that they are busy when it's time to do some chores or come upstairs for dinner. ("Mom, you're bugging me, I'm busy down here doing something important. I need to continue to dissect the hockey and football seasons that ended months ago and come up with brilliant solutions to save Buffalo sports fans from this curse. Then I have to split some atoms and cure cancer"). I'm sure there are a few of these fans in here. Ya think. Let's not forget the ones that urinate and puke in the sinks or along the walls at The Ralph either. There might even be a few of those class acts in here too.

[Dave C]

Thanks for the clarification Britney.....

and sorry about MUFFY......I guess you and your "palz" are really looking forward to those Sabre games next year - assuming you're not in rehab......

[britney speeerz]

dave c, ur silly, being britney spears i just want you to know that derek roys not all that great, unless you think he is. do you?

btw my dogz name is muffy with a y, stupid

[O.J. Simpson]

I would have cut all of them!!!

[Ian]

Larry and Moe had Briere at the negotiation table last June. If the organization is going to maintain a no negotiation policy until the end of the playoffs, then signing Briere to a one year deal meant that they intentionally allowed their two captains to become unrestricted free agents at the same time. If in fact Drury and the organization agreed to a new deal then why was the contract never given to Drury to sign? If Larry and Moe are ever going to be successful at "working" the salary cap, then surely they must realize that you start negotiating with your top players as soon as possible, and build around them. If you don't believe me, ask the New England Patriots, or the Indianapolis Colts were they would be today without the likes of a Tom Brady, or a Payton Manning.

[Dave C]

What a shock that "Heather B" offered a stirring defense of The Mighty Quinn and Niles Crane.

She is likely the new "core" Sabres fan:

- female, between 17 - 23 years of age
- lives in Clarence/East Amherst with her brother Skippy and her dog Muffie
- has two autographed Jason Pominville and Derek Roy jerseys

Yup, thats the "Sabres Nation" as it now exists!!

[C. Robinson]

Not only "juvenile" but incredibly stupid on Quinn's and Regier's part. What kind of businessman tells his competition that no matter what offer is made for a commodity, the owner will match it? Quinn and Regier set themselves up to be taken to the cleaners by the other NHL teams. Why wouldn't another team take advantage of such a dumb offer? What a chance to make the Sabres spend more money than they wanted to under the salary cap, thereby restricting their ability to afford other players? Jeez! I'm not in the least surprised that Larry Quinn is also screwing up the Cobblestone District project by trying to move Bass Pro in even though Buffalo already had an approved plan. He's a lousy businessman and a worse sportsman.

Mr Golisano, please wake up and fire Larry Quinn! Get a guy who isn't afraid to sign a player when the opportunity presents itself instead of waiting for some amorphous future time that always is too late one way or another.

[JB]

I want to thank the Buffalo media and fans for their complete and total meltdown regarding the Sabres after this season. These blogs and this tabloid are far more entertaining than any game I have ever attended in the last 37 years. Keep up the great work. By the way when the Sabres and Bills finally move out of Buffalo like so many of us have, because it's economically sound, I have no idea what you folks will be doing to keep busy over there. The hours devoted by the arm chair QBs and coaches boggles the mind.

[Angry fan]

There are reports that Vanek would have accepted a lower amount from Buffalo if they offered it. He said that he doesn't like Buffalo that much but he likes Edmonton less after his fiance spoke with a couple other wives. What a slap in the face!

[Ron Link]

I have to say, Dumb & Dumber, in defense of the Sabres, I do believe the policy of not negotiating contracts during the season served the pourpose of not showing favoratism or otherwise ditracting the players from the task at hand. Playing games in the regular season. No harm done there. It is simply the team's policy. Period. I cannot say whether the team would have then gone ahead and singed Drury or Briere for "less money" during the regular season if it was never their policy to begin with to seriously negotiate during the regular season! This is sour grapes! And we all know that hindsight is 20-20. So we cannot blame them for that. To do this is unfair.
I believe that AS SOON AS THE SEASON ENDED it was incumbent on the management to begin negotiating in good faith with Drury and Briere ASAP. But they stalled. This was a mistake. And it's the money $$$$. The team is fiscally conservative. As time goes by, the free agent player is very likely to become tempted to go ahead and "test" the free agent market. The closer Danny and Chris moved to the July 1st deadline, the more likely it became that the Sabres had made a mistake in their failure to negotiate sooner because the players know there is an interest and the players know their in for a big payday.
The deal with Vanek is similar in that certainly it was naive for both Larry and Darcy to believe that a team with a genuine interest in Thomas Vanek would not make a very serious offer. Moreover, one would be inclined to believe that such an offer would have to be "on the high end" in order to make it difficult to match. The Oilers were taking a big risk. Four first rounders is a steep price to pay once you've doled out a 7-year, $50 million dollar offer to one player. But Edmonton did it.
So again Darcy and Larry and naive and in this way very mistaken about what free agency is all about. Let's hope they learn from these mistakes.
Either that or Tom Galisano can fire Larry Quinn.

[Heather B.]

Dumb and Dumber, I have no interest in applying for the position of GM because, unlike some people, I understand that there's much more to the job than I, as a fan, can and will ever understand. I do know that Drury's camp has told us that the Sabres did have contract talks with them during the season so you can quit banging on the "they don't negotiate during the season" drum. Again, Bartlett made it quite clear that he knew where the market for Vanek was going in the off-season. If you believe a camp that happily signed a 7 million dollar offer sheet from another team would've accepted far less from the Sabres in January, I'm not sure you should be here lecturing other people on how things work.

[Ron Link]

I could understand the Sabres waiting until the season ended before negotiating with Drury & Briere...this is the team's "policy." Do not negotiate contracts in season.
But they goofed up because the team's brass underestimated the open market value of both Drury & Briere and they waited TOO LONG before doing anything at all to even show an interest in keeping either player. So they lost both.
And then they did...nothing.
I wanted the team to get Nylander. But the Sabres did nothing.
Now the team's brass acts surprised and offended that the Oilers made a rich contract offer to Thomas Vanek. Why? Vanek is a damn good player. Once again Larry and Darcy underestimated the value that Vanek would have to another team, a team that obviously wanted him badly.
Well that's too bad for them.
If Larry Quinn keeps making these kinds of errors in judgment, the team will be mediocre very quickly. The team will lose all of its good and VALUABLE players to all the other franchises in the league.
Larry Quinn should be fired.

[Dumb and Dumber= Quinn/Regier]

Hey "Doug" I will match you hockey knowledge for hockey knowledge or better yet "common sense" something you evidently have none of any day of the week. The problem w/ignorant people like yourself is you live in glass houses but then throw stones. Tell me youre not happy about the way the Sabres management has royally screwed things up? But then sound of on me because Im saying precisely what youre not? Evidently youre part of the Sabres management team and think Bucky Gleason is a clueless idiot but fail to see the real picture. The Sabres management couldve had Vanek locked up awhile ago and they sat on their hands thinking noone would come calling for him. Coincidentally Vaneks one of my favorite players on the squad, saw him win the NCAA Frozen 4 championship in Buffalo so Id hardly think hes lazy. He wasnt +47 for nothing you moron! Or cant you grasp the +/- concept or how it works?
Its people like you who make the city and the fans look like the ignorant buffoons they canbe at times. I love my team and my city and I can sound off when I feel both are being jerked around or are not open to that either?
And your suggestions for the debacle the past few days are what? I saw nothing offered in your rant besides personal attacks on me because youre uninformed and couldnt state anything w/merit to stand on. Typical, uninformed idiot who spouts off and complains but offers nothing. I guess youre happy w/the team for next season and think Quinn and Regier are doing a swell job. Well youre living on mars apparently too...Bring facts next time to back up your jibberish or dont bring anything! You must be Heathers boyfriend I bet too.

[JJ]

While the Sabres might have been ahead of the curve in identifying the types of players who would succeed in the new NHL, the past week has certainly revealed that the organization is not quite up to speed with the business side of the new CBA. Their policy of not negotiating contracts during the season has bitten them in a big way, and I hope that Quinn and Regier have learned their lesson. Only time will tell.

With respect to Vanek, did the Sabres pay too much? Probably so. But just think what would have happened had the organization let him slip away to Edmonton. The Sabres would have joined the Predators in the race to the bottom, and it would have sent a pretty clear message to Derek Roy, Ryan Miller, and the rest of the players in the NHL that the Sabres weren't serious about competing. It also probably would have made it much more difficult for Buffalo to lure free agents to the city in the future and to retain its current players. When you combine that with the likely impact that Vanek's departure would have had on an already nervous fan base, maybe the Sabres weren't so much paying for Vanek but paying to bring a sense of stability back to the franchise. Could all of this been avoided? Probably so. But all the team can do now is learn from its mistakes and move on. The Sabres have always played their best when no one expected anything from them, so let's hope they can continue that trend next year.

[Doug]

Dumb and Dumber = Quinn/Regier,

You are an extremely poor excuse for a Buffalo sports fan who has no idea what he's talking about. Do you even have a grasp on what you are angry about??? or are you just in the corner massaging Bucky Gleason's shoulders for his next round of making himself look like a jerk? It's idiotic people like you that have the rest of the NHL fanbase thinking Buffalo is full of idiots.

I bet you think Vanek is "lazy" too, huh?

Get a clue, homer.

-Doug

[Dumb and Dumber= Quinn/Regier]

Hey "Heather B" heres a tip for your buddy Darcy Regier and his buddy Larry Quinn, why not toss out this outdated concept of non-contract negotiations within season and get it done? Just think of all the headaches that could be avoided a team ready to defend the Presidents Trophy and hopefully taking the next step to the Cup instead of now seeing a high scoring, fun team that was embraced by the community, gutted essentially? Once you figure that out maybe I will suggest you apply for the GM job; God knows you wouldnt be any worse than those idiots there now- the 2-headed ostrich, Quinn/Regier...time to bury its head in the sand.

[Dumb and Dumber= Quinn/Regier]

Anyone on here who is blasting Kevin Lowe for offering said RFA contract is totally clueless and shouldnt be blaming him! Wake-up crybabies and look at the morons in the Sabres front office who couldnt be proactive if Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemiuex and Steve Yzerman, in their primes wanted to play for Buffalo on a $1 contract.
Quinn is the one to blame. He gives the marching orders to Regier. He's the one whom told the scouting dept to pack their bags and hit the bricks. He's the one who gave us the worst emblem in pro sports- the BuffaSlug. He's the one who let Jay McKee, Mike Grier, Daniel Briere and Chris Drury exit stage left and hes the one who told Regier to go back to sleep and not worry about the pending RFA offers to Thomas Vanek.
Kevin Lowe, say what you want, and the fact hes in a small-market city like Buffalo but at least the guy has a "set" to try to improve his team; something Quinn and Regier know nothing about, unless you consider adding old farts like Teppo Numminen and Joceyly Thibault to the roster. Awful!
Now I know why in a survey of NHL players last year, Buffalo came in #1 as the city LEAST desirable to go to. Again, dont blame Lowe, hes working within the parameters of the new CBA and if Quinn and Regier dont know what that is or they think its time to play nice, then we have as Sabres fans have lost already.
Think about it, whom do you want running your team? Someone who is forward thinking, can interpret the new CBA, is PROACTIVE in improving the team/solidifying its core; essentially does what it takes to help the team WIN. Or someone who whines about the arbitration process, whines about RFA contract offer sheets, bungles contract offers to star players, alienates other good players who lead their team in points and outwardly declare they want to play in Buffalo, takes the fans for ignorant boobs, resigns 39 yr old d-man way past their prime, adds a journeyman goalie, declares the team will no longer be "competitive" or compares the team to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates of the NHL and is generally clueless when it comes to improving the team? Give me Kevin Lowe any day of the week in this lifetime or the next.

[Heather B.]

When exactly did you guys want the Sabres to negotiate with Vanek? Last season? Why would a team sign a rookie - a player whose rights they have for two or three more years - to a long-term contract? I don't think anyone anticipated the poaching of RFAs back then and once it was clear that might happen, the Sabres made attempts. Vanek's agent has been very upfront about the fact that he had Vanek hold off on any negotiations until they saw what kind of offer sheets were going to come down the pike. I'm not sure what else you wanted management to do in this situation. It's pretty easy to GM with those 20/20 hindsight goggles on.

[Ian]

Once again, if management had the foresight to negotiate contracts in mid-season rather then wait to the players became free agents, Drury and Briere would still be here. Vanek will make more next season, then Miller will make for the life of his three year deal. Can anyone say HOLDOUT.

[Doug]

Now I'm not the biggest fan of Larry Quinn, but I don't think calling for Regier's head makes any sense. I think alot of fans around here are a little too "what have you done for me lately" and lose sight of the big picture frequently.

Darcy Regier is one of the better GM's in professional sports. He has put together 4 conference final appearences in the last 9 years - with 2 drastically different teams. This man knows how to build a winner.

One thing I think many overlook is Regier's unique way that he goes about doing his job. You see, the common tenure for an NHL GM is around 3-5 years, so many act accordingly - signing huge lengthy contracts without worrying about the long term rammifications. That's where Darcy is different. Every move he makes is truly in the best interest of the franchise.

As for the Vanek signing, we didn't have a choice. Steve Bartlett was using the offer sheet as leverage for a longer and bigger deal - and it worked. I'm not too thrilled with the Oilers, but they did play within the rules...and they're in terrible shape, so I don't blame them. I believe that this situation brings up a bigger issue. Having young players go through restricted free agency was originally intended to benefit their respective teams. Now, we've got agents seeking big money offer sheets from desperate teams so their 23 year old 2 year player can make money that they don't deserve.

My chief concern about this whole week is this - Is the new CBA working? How can the salary cap go up 6 million dollars in a league where attendance is poor? Will promising young players hit a big payday way before they should?

Ultimately, I'm hoping that these problems will fix themselves in a few years when some of these big money/long contract players bomb and the rest of the owners wise up to the dangers of operating this way. Otherwise, this league is in a heap load of trouble again.

As for Darcy - keep up the good work.

[Mike K]

The Oilers were in their rights to do this. It's Sabres management that failed to get a deal done earlier. The Sabres powers that be are really being a great mirror of the city, a bunch of complainers.

[roland hayes]

Could have kept Briere for teh same money. Then Drury would have wanted to stay. And we could have gotten draft picks for VAnek. At least we resigned Regier and Lindy!

[Dee]

"I wonder how the fans in Edmonton respond to such swashbuckling moves. Can Buffalo fans even fathom such a thing?"

We spent some time yesterday reading the Oilers' fans messages on their web site, and they were absolutely thrilled with the prospect of gaining Vanek. Their disappointment at the Sabres matching the offer was just as great. They too are a small market team and while many blast Lowe for the maneuver (me included), it was an attempt to better his team. Let's just be glad we retained the rights to this young man and build around his talents.

[LarryQuinn]

I am not Juvenile!!! Na na na na, WE SIGNED VANNNNN -ECK!! and youuuuu who didn't... : P Sticks and stones may break my bones, but calling me names , blundering Sabres contracts, failing to bring bass pro and tumbling scoreboards WILL NEVERRR HURT ME!! (GIVING MY SMUG ARROGANT I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING, HOW DARE YOU QUESTION ME POSE WITH ARMS CROSSED AND HANDS TIED. )

[Mike Naylon]

i swam in the ocean today

[Bill]

The focus of this article is on Lowe and his viscious attempt to screw the Sabres some more! I dont blame Regeir and Quinn for being mad! Lowe is an idiot and the worst GM in the league! Why make a ridiculous offer to Vanek for no reason, just to let NJ and Anaheim know they better sign those guys soon! Come on ... we arent idiots! I hope the Sabres pillage the Oilers ... They are much worse off in Edmonton then Buffalo, thats for sure!
I wouldnt be suprised if Buffalo went after a RFA. Listen, Clarke did it, now Lowe is doing it, its just a matter of time before this becomes mainstream! The old saying is kick or be kicked, well the Oilers had their foot heading towards the sabres arse, its time for Buffalo to start kicking back ...
PS. Derek Morris is on his way to Buffalo, not a bad guy for the blue line! Slowly but surely, the team will get back to at least a playoff team

[Rick Jeneret]

What a Joke Quinn is. You really think the rest of the teams in the NHL are shaking in their boots because they're afraid Larry Quinn and his management team of cheapskates can ever sign any big star for big bucks? Give me a break. Vanek notwithstanding the Sabres are a in small market and are lucky to even exist. Yeah they have been really fun to watch the last few years no thanks to Mr. Quinn. The credit belongs to the talented scouting staff. The Buffalo Sabres are the Montreal Expos of hockey. They will develop the talent, but other teams will end up with that talent because Buffalo can't afford them. We all know where the Expos are now.

NOW DO YOU BELIEVE, NOW DO YOU BELIEVE!!!!?

[William Kyriakakos]

Losing Briere and Drury is a great loss, but not a loss we can't recover from. I am assuming of course that Tim Connelly steps up and becomes the hockey player the Sabres believe he is going to be. You think the Sabres would pay 2.5 million a year for a guy spending the year at clinics if they didn't think he is a special player? And if you are thinking that the Sabres need to sign a 35 goal scorer via free agency, think again. We will still have enough scoring but I believe the Sabres brass wants to go in the direction of the Anaheim Ducks and sign a stud defencemen or a great forchecking winger. This is the paradigm for a Stanley Cup champion come the playoffs when the shooting lanes become much smaller and the scoring goes down.

[GregK]

My isn't it fashionable to complain about everything the SAbres manangent do. Can we all please stop acting like negotiating a contract is a one-way street.

The Sabres could not have signed TV yesterday for 5mil because his agent wasn't negotiating with the Sabres. He was out soliciting an offer sheet. TV's agent has been telling him all year to wait it out and let the market show your value. Despite all of your protestations, there was no way the Sabres could have signed TV during the year.

and by the way, for all you that are ignorant of the rules, you cannot renogiate or extend a player's contract unless it is in the final year. The problem is, that once you get to the final year the player is less motivated to sign because of the pot of gold he can see at the end of the year.

[Mark]

Drury was a mistake, Briere was not. The economics of the NHL are stupid right now and maybe Quinn has screwed it up, his track record from before still follows him. In concept the cap was designed to pay 1 to 3 players star money, and fill in with the rest. Vanek has potential but right now is at best a five or six player. Given that, it suggests that a team should commit 30 million to its top five or six, using 20 million for the rest, which will not work, so the lockout didn't work. As an aside, we have to remember in the history of the Sabres pure goal scorers dont come up often, and they are Rick Martin, Danny Gare, Ray Sheppard(Bowman wanted him to check), Mogilny and now Vanek. Robert is in the mix as well, but the key has been a gifted center, we have that in Connelly.

And Vanek wants to be in Buffalo and be a Sabre!

[Tom]

I'm all for ripping the media, but the Buffalo News Sports Staff had been very pro-management this entire past season. This may be why they have been so critical the past few weeks. This entire scene is almost a direct playback of the Donahoe/Mularkey debacle. The curtain has been pulled, and the Wizard exposed.

[LongDays]

I just heard about todays press conference. Sorry I live out of town so I'm behind a little. It must have been a riot to listen to. If anyone has a link to it, please post. I need to hear how the news boys would run the team. LOL.

[TwoWayStreet]

Tim. Maybe you should ask Mr. Sullivan to refrain as well from obscenities when returning emails. I understand where you coming from, but it should be a 2 way street. At least my posts have asterisks in them, unlike some emails I have received. The ripping here of you guys is also just as justified as the ripping you guys give the players and teams.

[TimGraham]

Thanks FOR reading. It's been a long day.

[TimGraham]

Hello, everybody. I'm all for dissenting opinion and I'm thick-skinned enough to handle a sharpened insult, but if you want your comments to be kept on the board you need to refrain from the obscenities.

We have staffers whose job is to delete those posts whether you're patting us on the back or ripping us, so please don't think we're eliminating critical posts. We're just trying to keep it clean, and that includes the obvious usage of asterisks and abbreviations.

Thanks reading.

[terriblejournalism]

Heh. Bucky Gleason made a fool of himself today!

[Rich]

I don't mind spending money on a kid who put up the numbers he did and played as hard as he did in the playoffs. His production was off a bit in the playoffs but most of it due to some amazing saves by Ricky D of the Islanders and Emery. FInding guys at the trade deadline that can add the leadership Drury provided will be the challenge. Good signing! The kid is no fluke. I say go after Stempniak!