deluca67 Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I'm going with Connolly because if they sign him and he gets injured again it will set the Sabres back. The Bills could fire Jouron at any time and the financial impact would be nonexistent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 what a great idea for a poll! May I suggest that you specify a hypothetical extension (e.g. 2 yrs x $2MM, 3 yrs x $3MM, 4 yrs x $4MM, or otherwise) for TC so we know exactly what we're voting on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpandean Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I'm going with Connolly because if they sign him and he gets injured again it will set the Sabres back. The Bills could fire Jouron at any time and the financial impact would be nonexistent. No sure what you mean about that last part. As I understand it, if the Bills fire Jauron, they still are on the hook for his salary (based on multiple radio talk shows, so take it for what it is worth.) They'd have to pay him and his replacement. Next year, when we will likely again be limited by cash (i.e., an internal budget), not cap, it would be the same with Connolly. We'd have the cap space to bring in someone else, but it would mean paying both Timmy and his replacement, which we know that they won't do. The year after (assuming that they sign him to a multi-year deal), if the cap falls, there may be a bigger (cap) problem. Basically, my stance is this: if he's willing to take third-line winger money ($1-1.5 million), I might offer him a one-year extension right now, then would trade off (or not re-sign) an additional young left-winger and focus getting another center. In other words, don't treat Timmy like he is a center, treat him like he is a third-line player (we have to have a couple of those.) Otherwise, if he manages to stay completely healthy through the rest of the season (a 42-game stretch) and, hopefully, any playoff games. I'd have to think hard about giving him more. I still wouldn't go long term. It would also depend a bit on what I (as a hypothetical Sabres GM) am seeing on the trade market or in free agency (yeah right.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcolour Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Considering i'm not a Bills fan, and I figured it was a bad idea to sign him as coach when they announced it i'm going to stick with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sauve28 Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 What is this??? This is not a poll. This is a character attack on poor Timmy Connolly. It's a smear of a great America. You'll be sorry when he's gone. That's all I gotta say. You'll be sorry! :censored: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpandean Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 You'll be sorry when he's gone. That's all I gotta say. You'll be sorry! :censored: You're probably right ... I've been sorry when he's been gone for most of the last year and a half. :nana: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderbread Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Man I say its dick by a long shot. Timmy he's just one player but Dick...he's the man holding the red flag. The guy calling the shots. He's either cool as a cucumber or dead. I'm just not sure which one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sauve28 Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Man I say its dick by a long shot. Timmy he's just one player but Dick...he's the man holding the red flag. The guy calling the shots. He's either cool as a cucumber or dead. I'm just not sure which one. What's wonderbread's opinion on signing Connolly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderbread Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 What's wonderbread's opinion on signing Connolly? I say sign him longterm. 7 or 8 years at 4 million a season. Eff it. "IF" he would sign at 2 years 3.5 to 4 total I would take it with DR. We have no centers and I don't think Zags is hooked up with A-Roid's boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpandean Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 He's either cool as a cucumber or dead. Well, he certainly looks the latter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpandean Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 "IF" he would sign at 2 years 3.5 to 4 total I would take it with DR. You would take that now, after just 14 healthy games, or at the end of the season, if he stays healthy? The latter is still a stretch for me, much less the former. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sauve28 Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 I say sign him longterm. 7 or 8 years at 4 million a season. Eff it. "IF" he would sign at 2 years 3.5 to 4 total I would take it with DR. We have no centers and I don't think Zags is hooked up with A-Roid's boy. Hurrah! :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderbread Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 You would take that now, after just 14 healthy games, or at the end of the season, if he stays healthy? The latter is still a stretch for me, much less the former. Whats the difference Carp its not like DR is gonna bring in a #1/#2 money center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted February 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 No sure what you mean about that last part. As I understand it, if the Bills fire Jauron, they still are on the hook for his salary (based on multiple radio talk shows, so take it for what it is worth.) They'd have to pay him and his replacement. Next year, when we will likely again be limited by cash (i.e., an internal budget), not cap, it would be the same with Connolly. We'd have the cap space to bring in someone else, but it would mean paying both Timmy and his replacement, which we know that they won't do. The year after (assuming that they sign him to a multi-year deal), if the cap falls, there may be a bigger (cap) problem. Basically, my stance is this: if he's willing to take third-line winger money ($1-1.5 million), I might offer him a one-year extension right now, then would trade off (or not re-sign) an additional young left-winger and focus getting another center. In other words, don't treat Timmy like he is a center, treat him like he is a third-line player (we have to have a couple of those.) Otherwise, if he manages to stay completely healthy through the rest of the season (a 42-game stretch) and, hopefully, any playoff games. I'd have to think hard about giving him more. I still wouldn't go long term. It would also depend a bit on what I (as a hypothetical Sabres GM) am seeing on the trade market or in free agency (yeah right.) A coaches salary for the Bills is nothing. I could take the Sabres re-signing Connolly as long as his money doesn't prevent them from doing other things. $1-$1.5 million sounds fair. It will interesting to see in Connolly can stay healthy the rest of the year. Reminds of the talk earlier in the year regarding Connolly managing to get healthy right around contract time. I'm sure it's just a coincidence. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sauve28 Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 A coaches salary for the Bills is nothing. I could take the Sabres re-signing Connolly as long as his money doesn't prevent them from doing other things. $1-$1.5 million sounds fair. It will interesting to see in Connolly can stay healthy the rest of the year. Reminds of the talk earlier in the year regarding Connolly managing to get healthy right around contract time. I'm sure it's just a coincidence. :rolleyes: Timmy wouldn't be stupid enough to sign a contract for that much. Jesus Christ, can't you see how good of a player he is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darksabre Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Timmy wouldn't be stupid enough to sign a contract for that much. Jesus Christ, can't you see how good of a player he is? Who else would honestly pay him more? He might be good, but it does no one any good if he's hurt half of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted February 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Timmy wouldn't be stupid enough to sign a contract for that much. Jesus Christ, can't you see how good of a player he is? Stupid would be spending big money because of a 14 game stretch. All BS aside he is still a player with a single season high for goals of 16 and points of 55. He's played a grand total of 132 games over the past four seasons. Your gushing over Connolly is the same as the Bills with Jouron when they were 5-1. Look where it got the Bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted February 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Who else would honestly pay him more? He might be good, but it does no one any good if he's hurt half of the time. It truly is a phenomenon. The less he plays the better he gets. Hell, if he misses any more games this year some posters will have in the Hall Of Fame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SabresFan526 Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 If the Sabres acquire a center either through trade or free agency, then I say there's no point in keeping Connolly. But, knowing the Sabres and knowing how much it will cost them to acquire a center in free agency and how much they would have to give up in prospects and picks for a trade, it seems like acquiring a center externally becomes prohibitively expensive. So, that leaves a bunch of questions for me. First, can the Sabres replace Connolly from within the system? If so, who can replace him? Zagrapan? If not Zagrapan, then is it Ennis? If so, how long should we expect for it to take Ennis to develop before he is NHL ready, if at all he ever becomes NHL ready, much like how Zagrapan does not seem like he will ever become NHL ready? If we assume the worst case and say 2-3 years for Ennis to develop, then the Sabres pretty much do not have a second line, skilled/scoring centerman from within the organization for at least another three years if you don't replace Connolly externally. So, given the situation, the Sabres are almost forced to re-up with Connolly given the lack of depth at center internally and the prohibitive expense for acquiring a guy externally. Darcy's definitely found some diamond in the rough guys who became stars in Buffalo like Briere and Drury (although I would argue Drury was a star before he got to Buffalo), so I would not put it past him to be able to pull off a trade, but the likelihood of that happening is remote and certainly a gamble that may not pay off just like extending Connolly would be. Given the situation both internally and externally, and while I hate the fact that they are in this situation, I am in favor of re-signing Connolly to a 1 year, $2.5 million or 2 year $5 million contract (cap hit of $2.5 million/year). Sadly, I'm not sure the Sabres have much other choice, and the fact that this is the position they are in bothers me even though Connolly has been stupendous of late, but given his injury history, he's a huge gamble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpandean Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Whats the difference Carp its not like DR is gonna bring in a #1/#2 money center. First, I'm not as convinced as some that DR wouldn't trade for a #2 center (probably not a #1) if he decided not to re-sign Connolly. Second, I would have much more faith that he can stay healthy after 42+ games than I have after just 14. In fact, I don't see much point on throwing him money before this summer. Sure, it may cost more then, but I'd rather spend more on something that is more certain. If DR wants to give him the option of a one-year, $1-$1.5 million deal now just to see if he goes for it, fine. If he takes it and gets hurt, then we might be in a position to afford a replacement (assuming we can find one.) If he stays healthy, then they could go into the next year with stronger evidence that he can stay healthy. Really, though, I don't think that the Sabres should offer him what I suspect he would want in order to sign right now. It would be in everyone's best interest to just wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkman Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 I wish this thread was soley dedicated to Connolly but I'll treat it as such. I'd offer Connolly 2 years, $6 million (3 per year). It's a huge risk but it's a large reward as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bflobarry Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Some of you folks kill me: "...trade for a #1 center". Oh sure, lots of teams giving those away...."Sign Connolly for $1-1.5 mil, maybe". Yea, for sure he'll do that. Connolly is a bona fide #1 center, and will command major $ when he hits the market. He missed 3 games in his first 4 years in the league. Of course he has been injured A LOT recently, and of course everybody is frustrated by that. And, despite De Luca's as usual rediculous assertion that he's "getting healthy 'cuz it's contract time", he IS finally healthy, and makes this team FAR better when he's in the lineup. He will get at least $5 mil per season from somebody, and prolly more (remember- Drury, Briere, Vanek and Scott-friggin-Gomez all make $7 mil). Broduer has missed all of this season- does that make him worth less $ when he returns? Let's assume for a second that his injuries are behind him. Wouldn't you want him on your team? SOMEBODY will take a chance on Connolly, and he won't be signing for less than #1 center money. I hope he's playing here next year, 'cuz he is an extremely talented player; one who makes those around him better (see Mair's goal the other night). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 "IF" he would sign at 2 years 3.5 to 4 total I would take it with DR. We have no centers and I don't think Zags is hooked up with A-Roid's boy. IF he can stay healthy the rest of this year, I'd offer him 1 year 3 mil or 2 years 5 mil and hope that the injury bug is behind him. If he can stay healthy during this time, we will then still be young enough to hit the jackpot in FA. Yes it is a risk, but this is much less than it would cost for a top 2 line scoring center in FA or via trade. I do find it to be a bit of a coincidence that he is not only in the lineup down the stretch, but playing some of the best hockey of his career as he approaches UFA status. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkman Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 rediculous...prolly...cuz Just for you Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Some of you folks kill me: "...trade for a #1 center". Oh sure, lots of teams giving those away...."Sign Connolly for $1-1.5 mil, maybe". Yea, for sure he'll do that. Connolly is a bona fide #1 center, and will command major $ when he hits the market. He missed 3 games in his first 4 years in the league. Of course he has been injured A LOT recently, and of course everybody is frustrated by that. And, despite De Luca's as usual rediculous assertion that he's "getting healthy 'cuz it's contract time", he IS finally healthy, and makes this team FAR better when he's in the lineup. He will get at least $5 mil per season from somebody, and prolly more (remember- Drury, Briere, Vanek and Scott-friggin-Gomez all make $7 mil). Broduer has missed all of this season- does that make him worth less $ when he returns? Let's assume for a second that his injuries are behind him. Wouldn't you want him on your team? SOMEBODY will take a chance on Connolly, and he won't be signing for less than #1 center money. I hope he's playing here next year, 'cuz he is an extremely talented player; one who makes those around him better (see Mair's goal the other night). IMO no way Connolly gets 5 mil per year at this point in his career...not for 1 year, 3 years or 8 years. Now if can stay healthy this year, sign a 1 year deal, stay healthy next season and put up a 75-80 point season, then you can talk about 5 mil per year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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