Sabres Draft
So the Sabres drafted a bunch of big, tough kids. I'm resisting the urge to climb up on my office chair -- arthritic hip and all -- and dance in celebration. Gee, does this mean they finally figured out what it takes to compete seriously for a Stanley Cup? It's a little surprising, though. Didn't Larry Quinn point out that the Red Wings won the Cup a year ago with a small roster?
Maybe the new kids will be ready to create havoc in the corners two years from now. What exactly has management done to win right now? Is there some huge free-agent signing in the works, a gesture to the fans to show they mean business? Of course, there hasn't been any real reaction from ticket-buying fans to the last two seasons -- mulligans, if you will. So it's understandable if Tom Golisano and Co. are content with business as usual.
Henrik Tallinder and Jochen Hecht are still on the team. What does that tell you? Once again, Regier held onto diminishing assets until they lost worth in the trade market. And hey, what is Max Afinogenov up to lately?
One other item: Fans seem up in arms about the Sabres not re-signing Jaro Spacek to a new contract. Reading the Sabres blog, you'd think Spacek was some Mark Messier type leader in the dressing room. He's a stand-up guy, but come on. If Spacek represents the leadership on that team, you know they're hurting. Plus, Spacek is a free agent. UFAs almost always go out on the free market and find out what they're worth. It's very rare when a team outbids the free-agent market before a player even gets to test the waters -- as they did when they overpaid Tim Connolly on trade deadline day.
Jer, one more thing - I don't appreciate you posting images of me on facebook. I did appreciate your gentle touch though.
Posted by: Morris Titanic | July 04, 2009 at 03:44 PM
I'm surprised the Sabres have not signed a big name yet. Almost as surprised as I was last night when Jerry fondled me at Checkers on Hertel. I was at the bar eating a burger and he put his hands over my eyes, said guess who?, and started groping me. I admit I was a little curious and even let him give me a foot massage. I love you Jer-Bear.
Posted by: Morris Titanic | July 04, 2009 at 03:41 PM
Sully, I'm no hockey fan, especially in the summer so here's a "heads up" for you; There is a great article in this month's Basketball Times on Randy Smith and the old Buffalo Braves explaining how Paul Snyder and Paul Y. screwed the Buffalo fans and franchise leading to the never-ending purgatory the franchise has been in since.
Posted by: Larry | June 30, 2009 at 10:53 PM
Sullivan's off the golf circuit, and back on his relentless carping about what the Sabres have and haven't done. He needs a new script.
Posted by: Don H | June 30, 2009 at 10:16 AM
The Sens are having a hard time moving Dany Heatley, but Regier should have no problem moving Hecht and Tallinder.
Ummmm, OK......
Posted by: James | June 30, 2009 at 09:57 AM
I'll reserve judgement until training camp opens up.
Seriously, with UFA starting tomorrow, no teams have completely made over their roster yet.
And as we learned last year when Regier couldn't GIVE AWAY Max, other GMs aren't falling all over themselves to take the Sabres bad contracts off their hands.
I will be disappointed if Hecht and Tallinder are back and the only additions to the lineup are Tyler Myers and guys like Weber, Kennedy, and Gerbe up from Portland.
But, I think it is waaaaaaaay too early to pass judgement on the front office's approach to the off season.
Now if a month from now it's still status quo with the only news to report is that the UFAs have left and RFAs have been re-signed.........
Posted by: James | June 30, 2009 at 09:55 AM
Hard to argue with any of Sully's comments. The Sabres gave away the franchise over the past several years. Any one of any value, both scoring and leadership. Have happily been grabbed up by other teams only too happy to pay salaries that were more than what they would have accepted from the Sabres.Gollisano, Quinn, Darcey, etc. They are full of it.
When Tom came by and "saved the franchise" from financial doom and yes, possibly moving out of Buffalo. He was hailed a hero. Once again, it has proven to be a good money move for him. He has dismantled a team that was almost there and put them near the bottom of the pile, only to continue to reap the financial rewards from down in Florida! What a great Western New Yorker! What a great American! What a great Billionaire!
Posted by: Rick in Boise | June 29, 2009 at 07:50 PM
The draft does not get me excited either. Too long before we see results and under great conditions two maybe three of these players will ever play a game for Buffalo. That's reality. Buffalo does a great job of drafting "good" players. They're truly great at that.
Ever since the team passed up Mike Bossy to draft Ric Seiling, the team has been cursed with drafting "safe" players. I applaud them taking a chance on a guy like Tyler Ennis last year who many draftniks tabbed as the most offensively talented player in the draft. But those moves are few and far between.
Spacek... unless they can sign him for less than $2mill why bother? He's 35 years old.
Drury/Briere... really miss those guys but what impact have they had on their new teams? Hindsight 20/20 I'm sure the Rangers and the Flyers each would have passed or severly dropped their offers. True free agency is killing the NHL. If Buffalo had closed the deal on these two for $20mill to $25 mill contracts Drury and Briere would be paid real money and Buffalo would still be competitive.
Certainly not whining about the situation but the economics of the new NHL really don't make sense. Again the rich get richer - until they are strangled by their stupidity with the cap.
Posted by: Oldtymehockey | June 29, 2009 at 07:36 PM
The Sabres' dirty little secret is, their goaltending is average at best. Miller lets in too many softies, I have said it for 3 years and seen nothing to convince me otherwise. As for Spacek, their defense was nothing special with him, so screw it, bring in someone else or save some money. Doesn't matter much because this team has bigger problems beyond one slot on D.
Posted by: Matt | June 29, 2009 at 05:52 PM
They need to fashion a roster that can win right now. We are approaching July 1, 2009, the 2-year anniversary of the Drury-Briere departures. This current group has not been nearly as good since that day. Since that day, this organization has felt what they have left is good enough. And it has not. As for the draft, I cannot get excited about players I have not seen play a minute of hockey. I don't know these guys from a hole in the wall. Maybe Kassian can be of help in a couple of years. I don't care about a couple of years from now. The Sabres shouldn't either.
Posted by: abdul | June 29, 2009 at 04:08 PM