SDS Posted April 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 Those 2 are proven playoff performers I dont they brought them in for what they accomplish during the reg. season but what they bring at crunch time.....Just my opinion so you think the game plan was to scratch and claw and hope they dive under the wire with a half-dozen other teams and yield home ice to others throughout the playoffs? :unsure: I don't think so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 so you think the game plan was to scratch and claw and hope they dive under the wire with a half-dozen other teams and yield home ice to others throughout the playoffs? :unsure: I don't think so. No one said those guys are horrible in the regular season, just that they are proven playoff performers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 so you think the game plan was to scratch and claw and hope they dive under the wire with a half-dozen other teams and yield home ice to others throughout the playoffs? :unsure: I don't think so. They have pretty much replaced Rachunek, Cullen, and Nylander with Staal, Gomez, and Drury. We'll see if those three have another gear. Jagr stepped up in an amazing way last year as well - We'll see what him an Shanahan have left in the tank. The wild card is really Dubinsky, who I really like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stenbaro Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 so you think the game plan was to scratch and claw and hope they dive under the wire with a half-dozen other teams and yield home ice to others throughout the playoffs? :unsure: I don't think so. You think you just add players and they jell right away.LOL...Time will tell..I would take their spot over ours right now any day... They will win there share in the playoffs.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 x2 Thumbs up!! So true! I give the Sabres credit for not wanting to be financially hamstrung for a long time. One thing (and it is a silly sports team too boot) that the area is doing right and people slack them! Again... Maybe in thiings that actually matter, people can take note! Go figure! Find comfort where you can. We won't be in the playoffs but our checkbook will balance. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stenbaro Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 Find comfort where you can. We won't be in the playoffs but our checkbook will balance. PTR We have that goin for us..BIG time center and a def can we go after now that we will plenty of cap room to spend as long as all accounts of the cap going way up... :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 Find comfort where you can. We won't be in the playoffs but our checkbook will balance. PTR And I would take my balanced account ANYDAY... Isn't that what historically has been the doom to WNY? They do well, get crazy and spend... Now look at the place. At least the Sabres are putting the proper priorities first... Of course the bandwagon fans will fall off and hurt sales... But, they will come back. Blip in the road to a sound financial endeavor. Winning will come again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SabreNod Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 Added Scott Gomez... Added Mr. Intangibles Chris Drury... plus a bunch of other FA pickups... 2006/2007: 94 points in 82 games 2007/2008: 93 points in 79 games You know, that is a hell of a lot of money/big name pickups to essentially tread water... Maybe the reason why people say the Stanley Cup is the hardest in sports is because errr..... it isn't easy. Just a thought. Great point! It's also important to note that the Sabres are top 5 in scoring again despite losing those two. Too many soft goals against this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 Great point! It's also important to note that the Sabres are top 5 in scoring again despite losing those two. Too many soft goals against this year. Or too many blowout wins for the Sabres to inflate the stats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwolf21 Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 Or too many blowout wins for the Sabres to inflate the stats. Shush. It's obvious that the offense was fantastic all year, but the defense and soft/mediocre/weak goaltending killed this team. <_< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SabresFan526 Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 I see two kind of separate lines of thinking in this thread, and I'll respond to both. 1. The Rangers are in the playoffs and the Sabres are not in the playoffs. Plain and simple. Once you're in, anything can happen like a 7th seeded Edmonton going all the way to Game 7 of the Cup Finals, like a 6th seeded Calgary going all the way to Game 7 of the Cup Finals. The Rangers have showed a commitment to winning and are in the playoffs and can take the next step. The Sabres this year cannot. Second point along these lines is, I don't think anyone is saying that the Sabres should be as free wheeling and free spending as the Rangers. But, they should take a prudent approach like Calgary and San Jose have which is identify their core players and lock them up to long term contracts well in advance before the market gets set for their own players by other teams. If the Sabres had signed Drury to the 4 year $21.5 million contract, then the Rangers would not have signed him for $35 million in the first place. It's the same guy and same player, but his market value clearly changed over the course of 9 months. When you are a small market team and cannot afford to pay the big salaries as the big markets, or so you claim in the salary cap era, then you need to do a better job of identifying your core players and proactively signing them before the market takes a ridiculous uptick on the open market. 2. The Sabres will be financially sound this year is not necessarily a certainty. The Sabres sold out 39 home games. They got some decent revenue from merchandise. They will get revenue sharing. But here's the biggest thing that hurts their profitability: They will get zero playoff gates this year. The Sabres turned a profit the last two years and that was in large part due to their deep playoff runs and playoff gates. Additionally, since players no longer receive paychecks for playoff performance, playoff revenues can substantially turn the tide and be the difference between a profitable hockey team and one that is not profitable. I would not say that it is guaranteed that the checkbook is balanced and that the Sabres did not lose money this year, especially after not selling out 2 games. And, let's also not forget that payroll this year was about the exact same as last year if not $1 million more. So, it's not 100% guaranteed that the Sabres even turned a profit. So what's the lesson? Well, I think there are two big lessons. One, you have to identify your core players and sign them to extensions before the open market takes over and dictates what their prices are like it did for Briere, Drury, and Vanek. Second, it takes some money to make money in the NHL. I'm not saying that every team should be free wheeling, but it means for the Buffalo Sabres, they need to spend their money responsibly. The Sabres spent almost the same in payroll this year, but may not turn a profit because they didn't make the playoffs. Should they have spent a bit more so that they could make the playoffs and turn a profit? Maybe. But, more than that, I think they should have spent responsibly. They spent their money irresponsibly this year on guys like Max, Kotalik, Connolly, Kalinin, Lydman, etc. For a team like the Sabres, they absolutely have to spend their money wisely in order to even turn a profit i.e. making the playoffs. Being cheap is one thing, but the Sabres proved they were not as they were pretty much in the middle of the spending for the NHL. The Sabres spent their money irresponsibly, and that is what cost them this year, and potentially what will cost them financially as well. The front office must identify core players, and proactively sign them before the prices are dictated by the open market. And, they have got to spend their money responsibly and not overspend on the wrong guys and underspend on the right guys. That was the biggest problem for the Sabres as I see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpandean Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 So what's the lesson? Well, I think there are two big lessons. One, you have to identify your core players and sign them to extensions before the open market takes over and dictates what their prices are like it did for Briere, Drury, and Vanek. Second, it takes some money to make money in the NHL. I'm not saying that every team should be free wheeling, but it means for the Buffalo Sabres, they need to spend their money responsibly. The Sabres spent almost the same in payroll this year, but may not turn a profit because they didn't make the playoffs. Should they have spent a bit more so that they could make the playoffs and turn a profit? Maybe. But, more than that, I think they should have spent responsibly. They spent their money irresponsibly this year on guys like Max, Kotalik, Connolly, Kalinin, Lydman, etc. For a team like the Sabres, they absolutely have to spend their money wisely in order to even turn a profit i.e. making the playoffs. Being cheap is one thing, but the Sabres proved they were not as they were pretty much in the middle of the spending for the NHL. The Sabres spent their money irresponsibly, and that is what cost them this year, and potentially what will cost them financially as well. The front office must identify core players, and proactively sign them before the prices are dictated by the open market. And, they have got to spend their money responsibly and not overspend on the wrong guys and underspend on the right guys. That was the biggest problem for the Sabres as I see it. I agree with both of these. As for signing core players, the trend has begun. We have Roy for five more seasons (yes!) and Hecht for four more. Yes, Vanek had a poor year (still, only 33 goals), but he is/was considered core to our future and we have him for six more years. If they sign Pominville and Miller this summer, then they will definitely show that they are locking up the core. I'm not 100% convinced that they have learned their lesson, but those moves have and would continue to show progress. As for spending wisely, those players have turned out to be disappointing and the remainders of their contracts have definitely hurt this team. Max seemed like a great choice despite the give aways (he actually lead the team in points-per-game last year), but his upside completely fell apart this year, leaving just his downside. Connolly was a gamble, given his concussions, but it's actually been other injuries that have kept him out. He has skills to be a great setup center, but his body may not be able to keep him in. Kalinin had a lot of potential but never panned out. Lydman has regressed and, despite some nice moments, has become one of biggest give-away and stand-around-and-watch artists. Their money was mostly wasted this year and the team needs to find ways to shop them out (except Kalinin, who they just need to do nothing). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffalOhio Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 Great point! It's also important to note that the Sabres are top 5 in scoring again despite losing those two. Too many soft goals against this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom webster Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 Great point! It's also important to note that the Sabres are top 5 in scoring again despite losing those two. Too many soft goals against this year. There you go, its all on Miller. TG, LQ, DR they would all be genius if Miller would have stood on his head. Please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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