frisky Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 According to Mike Harrington, it sounds like Teppo is close to re-signing for another year. I think we can use all the veteren help on the back end as we can get to tutor the younger guys. Besides, how many weeks in the season are all the d-men healthy. We need the extra bodies. I think he'll actually contribute a fair amount back there. Blog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two or less Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Solid. He should do just fine with Sekera. Only worry is, why nobody else was after him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Solid. He should do just fine with Sekera. Only worry is, why nobody else was after him? I'd say its a pretty safe bet that he's at a place in his life where he doesn't want to be moving all over the place. Its Buffalo or retirement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristian Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Truth be told, with the complete collapse of our so-called "defense" last season, I'll take Teppo back in a heartbeat, even if he only plays 50% of the season. As to why nobody else is after him? Why would anyone sign a 40 year old D-man who just missed an entire season with heart issues? Only a team with a defense as crappy as the Sabres would consider this, and like I said - At this stage, I'd welcome him back in a heartbeat. No pun intended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkman Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Solid. He should do just fine with Sekera. That might be the softest D pair in the history of the NHL, next to Tallydman of course. Only worry is, why nobody else was after him? I hear the Sabres cornered the market on 40 something's with heart trouble... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Solid. He should do just fine with Sekera.Only worry is, why nobody else was after him? We don't know that. His agent said they have talked to other teams but I think Teppo wants to play here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 If the Sabres are seriously interested in Teppo they must feel confident that Weber or Butler will to be on the roster on opening night. Ideally the Sabres could sign Teppo and Pratt on two-way contracts and have them in Portland at the start of the year. The Sabres are already set to pay Max and Connolly NHL salaries to sit in the press box. No need to add Teppo to that party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom webster Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 If the Sabres are seriously interested in Teppo they must feel confident that Weber or Butler will to be on the roster on opening night. Ideally the Sabres could sign Teppo and Pratt on two-way contracts and have them in Portland at the start of the year. The Sabres are already set to pay Max and Connolly NHL salaries to sit in the press box. No need to add Teppo to that party. You know there is no way Teppo signs a two way contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 If the Sabres are seriously interested in Teppo they must feel confident that Weber or Butler will to be on the roster on opening night. Ideally the Sabres could sign Teppo and Pratt on two-way contracts and have them in Portland at the start of the year. The Sabres are already set to pay Max and Connolly NHL salaries to sit in the press box. No need to add Teppo to that party. If they sign Teppo, I'm guessing Weber is No.7 to start the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 You know there is no way Teppo signs a two way contract. Then whatever the contract will be worth they are over paying him. The last thing the Sabres need is yet another part time player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Wings Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 If they sign Teppo, I'm guessing Weber is No.7 to start the year. I'd think Paetsch is more likely #7 and Weber is more likely to start the year in Portland. Rivet Spacek Tallinder Lydman Teppo Sekera Paetsch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 I'd think Paetsch is more likely #7 and Weber is more likely to start the year in Portland. Rivet Spacek Tallinder Lydman Teppo Sekera Paetsch Forgot about Paetsch. Not a big fan of his. Like Weber better but you're right. Weber starts in Portland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregkash Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 I think a lot of you underestimate the positive effect Teppo has had on this team when he's played. A lot of people point to the loss of Briere and Drury last year, as they should, but hardly anyone stops to notice that Teppo was out last year and that is a major reason why our transition game was frazzled. He's the calmest player on the ice at any given point, and I said this before, go look at videos throughout 05-06, and 06-07, there's one just of the sabres last comebacks on youtube, and you'll see one thing in common throughout all those videos. Teppo is on the ice. I really wish I could remember who said it, but on TV one night they were talking about him and the opposing coach said that his effect is transcendent on the team. He's so calm and he always makes the right play it's a calming influence for a young team. We need that in my opinion, and I'm more than willing to have Teppo here, as a leader, a player and role model for our young D and the team. It sounds like if you guys had your choice you'd choose to field a squad of people who could hit and do nothing else. This is from the article in the BUffalo News today::: “He’s one of these players league-wide that even with the recognition he’s gotten, he’s underappreciated. We got to experience some of that ‘underappreciation’ last year.” Coaches and players around the league often pointed out last season how much they felt the Sabres missed Numminen, who just turned 40 on July 3. Former Ottawa coach John Paddock, who coached Numminen when they were in Winnipeg, said he felt the loss of the veteran defenseman actually damaged the Sabres more than the losses of Daniel Briere and Chris Drury to free agency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 I think a lot of you underestimate the positive effect Teppo has had on this team when he's played. I don't. The year before last I thought he was our best D-man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Teppo is an instant upgrade. Age and heart problems aside, he's a steadying force and a very solid defensive defenceman. He will compliment sekera very well and he will play a solid, unspectacular defensive game that should jump the transition game for the forwards. I'd take teppo back yesterday if i were the GM. Hell, sign him for 2 years at a modest rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 If the Sabres are seriously interested in Teppo they must feel confident that Weber or Butler will to be on the roster on opening night. Ideally the Sabres could sign Teppo and Pratt on two-way contracts and have them in Portland at the start of the year. The Sabres are already set to pay Max and Connolly NHL salaries to sit in the press box. No need to add Teppo to that party. You know there is no way Teppo signs a two way contract. Then whatever the contract will be worth they are over paying him. The last thing the Sabres need is yet another part time player. I wouldn't mind stashing Pratt in Portland, but he will almost certainly hold out for a one-way deal somewhere else. To think that Teppo would be in the AHL is crazy. And he did play 75 and 79 games the previous 2 seasons before this one. DeLuca, I know you're unhappy with this offseason, but I think you're way off here. Ken Hitchcock may be a portly SOB, but he's a really good coach, and he (along with that loser that Ottawa fired) raves about Teppo. He's going to be in our top 6 this year and play about 17 minutes just about every night, and our defense is going to be substantially better because of it (as well as Rivet). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Wings Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 I really wish I could remember who said it, but on TV one night they were talking about him and the opposing coach said that his effect is transcendent on the team. He's so calm and he always makes the right play it's a calming influence for a young team. We need that in my opinion, and I'm more than willing to have Teppo here, as a leader, a player and role model for our young D and the team. You might be referring to Ken Hitchcock when he coached the Flyers in 05-06. During their first round series, Teppo missed games 3 & 4, which the Sabres lost. Upon his return, they calmly smacked the Flyers out of the playoffs. Hitchcock said that the return of Teppo had almost everything to do with the Sabres winning games 5 & 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darksabre Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Pratt and Teppo start. Weber and Paetsch waiting in the wings. Weber will get called up before Paetsch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 I wouldn't mind stashing Pratt in Portland, but he will almost certainly hold out for a one-way deal somewhere else. To think that Teppo would be in the AHL is crazy. And he did play 75 and 79 games the previous 2 seasons before this one. DeLuca, I know you're unhappy with this offseason, but I think you're way off here. Ken Hitchcock may be a portly SOB, but he's a really good coach, and he (along with that loser that Ottawa fired) raves about Teppo. He's going to be in our top 6 this year and play about 17 minutes just about every night, and our defense is going to be substantially better because of it (as well as Rivet). He raves about him so much yet he doesn't bother to offer him a contract? It's easy to spout accolades on a player that isn't on your roster or eating up your cap space. If Teppo were that valuable why would he be sitting at home on July 23rd without a contract? Even if Teppo didn't have heart surgery he is still a 40 year old who has been out of the game for over a year. The 5th & 6th defensive spots are best utilized with two of the younger kids Sekera, Weber or Butler. If Teppo gets significant ice time it will be because one of the top four has been injured or is playing themself off the roster or the young kids have greatly disappointed. Either way Teppo is a worse case scenario option. As far as all of the "transcendencies" Teppo brings to the rink I have to ask. Isn't that why James Patrick is here? I thought James Patrick was the guy that the locker room loves and he really helps the development of the younger players. It appears that since many feel the Sabres are lacking in that area that Mr. Patrick isn't doing his job and maybe a change in the coaching staff is in order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Teppo is an instant upgrade. Age and heart problems aside, he's a steadying force and a very solid defensive defenceman. He will compliment sekera very well and he will play a solid, unspectacular defensive game that should jump the transition game for the forwards. I'd take teppo back yesterday if i were the GM. Hell, sign him for 2 years at a modest rate. The thing that Teppo does that they missed last year is that he moves the puck out so well. When you have a guy that can regularly get the puck out of the zone in two touches - that is a lot less energy spent in the defensive zone for everybody. Teppo = higher fuel economy. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 I wouldn't mind stashing Pratt in Portland, but he will almost certainly hold out for a one-way deal somewhere else. Remember, this is a guy who just a year ago didn't even have a job at the start of the season. Pratt has very little, if any leverage anywhere around the league at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frisky Posted July 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 According to this mornings article in the BN (who I used to deliver papers for at like $1 an hour...bitterness, yes), says other teams are interested in Teppo. I'd be surprised if he signs with another club if he doesn't sign with us. Could be wrong of course. I like Nummy so I hope he comes back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 He raves about him so much yet he doesn't bother to offer him a contract? It's easy to spout accolades on a player that isn't on your roster or eating up your cap space. If Teppo were that valuable why would he be sitting at home on July 23rd without a contract? Even if Teppo didn't have heart surgery he is still a 40 year old who has been out of the game for over a year. The 5th & 6th defensive spots are best utilized with two of the younger kids Sekera, Weber or Butler. If Teppo gets significant ice time it will be because one of the top four has been injured or is playing themself off the roster or the young kids have greatly disappointed. Either way Teppo is a worse case scenario option. As far as all of the "transcendencies" Teppo brings to the rink I have to ask. Isn't that why James Patrick is here? I thought James Patrick was the guy that the locker room loves and he really helps the development of the younger players. It appears that since many feel the Sabres are lacking in that area that Mr. Patrick isn't doing his job and maybe a change in the coaching staff is in order. If you were Teppo, would you have any interest at all in pulling up stakes and moving to play for one of the very few teams (or more accurately, the only team) never to make the playoffs? (Atlanta's the other team to never win a playoff game, but they did technically make them.) '05-'06 should have taught us that a team definitely needs more than 7 D-men that they are comfortable with in the organization. Without Teppo they have 7 tops, and the jury is still out on Paetsch and Weber. They need at least 1 more veteran on this team for leadership reasons alone. While I would have preferred to see Nordstrom or Smith, neither is an option, and Teppo fills the leadership role very well. You will see plenty of Weber this year as he will be the 1st injury callup and will likely get into games before Paetsch. Butler will probably only get a couple of games as Lindy definitely doesn't like to rush young D-men into the lineup. I like the idea of playing Sekera w/ Teppo. (I'd actually probably prefer having Lydman paired up w/ Teppo as he seems to have more brain farts than Sekera did (at least after Sekera got out of the deer in the headlights routine in his initial callup).) There are things that a veteran player brings to the table that a coach can't. You need both. 1 final thing to consider in all this is it is very likely that Teppo would get an incentive laden contract so if his body does finally start to show age like most everyone else, he'd only end up w/ a bit over $1MM. And if he's healthy he'd probably get close to what he'd have gotten had he played last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnabov Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Being an old D man, I think Lindy likes having someone around with a ton of experience to mentor the younger ones. I liken Teppo's ongoing tenure to the extended run that James Patrick had. There might have been better younger guys available for comparable dollars but a Teppo/Jeep type makes the other guys better with their presence which provides an overall upgrade to the entire D corp as opposed to just one other good player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpandean Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Being an old D man, I think Lindy likes having someone around with a ton of experience to mentor the younger ones. I liken Teppo's ongoing tenure to the extended run that James Patrick had. There might have been better younger guys available for comparable dollars but a Teppo/Jeep type makes the other guys better with their presence which provides an overall upgrade to the entire D corp as opposed to just one other good player. Well said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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