nobody Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I'm hoping someone else was taking notes - or we will have to wait for GR to put the conversation on their site for details. But all I got out of it was that nothing is going to change. He is expecting the current players to get better next season (thinks the team is on the upswing) and if Miller stays healthy he thinks the team makes the playoffs last year. He didn't mention Hecht; but one of the comments sounded like he will of course still be on the team and the team expects him to get back to better production. Said he spoke with Spacek's agent last week and expects to speak with him this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I'm hoping someone else was taking notes - or we will have to wait for GR to put the conversation on their site for details. But all I got out of it was that nothing is going to change. He is expecting the current players to get better next season (thinks the team is on the upswing) and if Miller stays healthy he thinks the team makes the playoffs last year. He didn't mention Hechtl; but one of the comments sounded like he will of course still be on the team and the team expects him to get back to better production. Said he spoke with Spacek's agent last week and expects to speak with him this week. But... again... what are we as fans owed? Pure honesty? Does Darcy need to tip his hand to the rest of the league? Cut himself and put the blood in the water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wjag Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Well let's just hope it's an exciting 89 points then.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Well let's just hope it's an exciting 89 points then.. ouch. but it does have the ring of truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I realize DR isn't going to tip his hand on WGR, but if they go into next season with the same roster except for a couple of AHL call ups, their goal is not to win the Stanley Cup next year or any time in the near future. Based on the great number of lifeless performances over the last two years, this team has much greater problems than lack of experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderbread Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I realize DR isn't going to tip his hand on WGR, but if they go into next season with the same roster except for a couple of AHL call ups, their goal is not to win the Stanley Cup next year or any time in the near future. Based on the great number of lifeless performances over the last two years, this team has much greater problems than lack of experience. Maybe lack of sack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Darcy had a mini press conference today. See sabres.com. Not sure if this is what you heard, nobody, or if Darcy was also interviewed on the station. But, yeah, the vibe is pretty negative. If Darce goes on to significantly make-over this team, I'll say this: never play poker with the guy. He discounted going the route of FA. He said it is "an expensive and regretful way of doing business." He said the UFA market is small, and some teams have cleared cap space to make some moves in it. He said it, to me, in an odd way, as if he were an observer to the league and not a member of it. As if he couldn't clear cap space and do the same. Whatever, he doesn't play that game on July 1. He said some interesting things could happen in the trade market, and at the draft, where he said there will be a lot of possibilities. As for the team, he thinks it's in a "growth stage," and he singled out kids like Miller and Gaustad and Connolly as candidates for maturing. Miller's almost 30, but never mind! He said his team was no longer young, but not yet old. He's challenging the status quo to not look outside the room for change, but to change themselves. Where have we heard that before? Regier hinted that the draft could be one source of help. Doesn't make a lot of sense, but that's what he said. And the trade market. And kids like Kennedy and Gogula to fill the holes at center. You just want to cut yourself listening to the guy. He said when Tyler Myers was drafted, he would have given him practically a zero percent chance of being on the team this year. Must make Myers feel good. Regier did say that with the kid's development, "We HAVE to give him a look" at camp. It was almost grudging. And the dull razor blade slides over the wrist. And cuts. But not enough to bleed out, of course. Who'd want to miss the 09-10 Buffalo Sabres? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sven233 Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 I'm hoping someone else was taking notes - or we will have to wait for GR to put the conversation on their site for details. But all I got out of it was that nothing is going to change. He is expecting the current players to get better next season (thinks the team is on the upswing) and if Miller stays healthy he thinks the team makes the playoffs last year. He didn't mention Hecht; but one of the comments sounded like he will of course still be on the team and the team expects him to get back to better production. Said he spoke with Spacek's agent last week and expects to speak with him this week. Yeah....heard the interview and he is already making excuses. They will barely be different at all. He made the comment that the Sabres payroll for this season will be about the same as last season ($50 MILL). If you take a look at the post I made the other day (The Truth About Our Roster), I broke down the salaries of the players under contract and guys like Stafford who will be re-signed. Basically, after all the math was done, they already have about $47-$48 Mill under contract! So, unless they plan on dumping a lot of salary (Tallinder, Hecht, etc.), there is no room to sign anyone. Maybe a marginal player, but that's it. So, I would definitely expect 95% of the same team back next season. Sure, Myers will be different, but we still need another IMPACT player on defense and offense to be contenders. Unfortunately, with the players under contract, it is going to be very difficult. The only positive that came out of that interview was that when Darcy was asked about the option of trading assets under contract with higher salaries for less in return (late round picks) and he said that may be an option. He also ruled out buying contracts out. So, while it sound like they may be willing to try and dump some guys, I would expect MOST, IF NOT ALL, of them back this season. Hoping it is a smokescreen, but the facts is that the salaries under contract (or that will be....) just don't allow for change. Too much money tied up in the wrong guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sauve28 Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Can Hecht return to his prime? Can Connelly last a full season? Will Sekera be a more mature player? Will Pomminstein do better? Stafford? Will Roy keep producing? Will Vanek become clutch? Will Paille become the checker we hope? I suppose if half those things happen this team will do better. Darcy is just hoping they get better. It could happen, I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Can Hecht return to his prime? Connolly last a full season? Will Sekera be a more mature player? Will Pomminstein do better? Stafford? Will Roy keep producing? Will Vanek become clutch? Will Paille become the checker we hope? I suppose if half those things happen this team will do better. Darcy is just hoping they get better. It could happen, I suppose. Can Hecht return to his prime? NO. Appears to be the classic case of a guy in his prime who gets complacent when the big contract arrived. Can Connolly last a full season? NO. Will Sekera be a more mature player? Not sure what his top end potential is? Very hard player to get a read on. Will Pomminstein do better? YES. Stafford? Will continue to improve, but will it be a slight jump or a major one? Will Roy keep producing? YES, but will he mature from his sausage grabbing phase? Will Vanek become clutch? WYSIWYG Will Paille become the checker we hope? Only if he can find a way to stay out of Lindy's doghouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 I just watched the interview and I agree that the Sabres won't be going after Hossa or Bouwmeester. But we already knew that. It did sound like Darcy feels that good players may be available in trade, so I wouldn't be surprised if he brings in a pretty decent player that way. But there's no major roster makeover in the hopper. Other points: - they made an offer to Spacek and would like to keep him, but they expect him to go to July 1 and see what's out there (which tells me the offer wasn't too rich). - sounds like he expects Kennedy and possibly Gerbe to be up with the Sabres next year. - depending quite a bit on Connolly. Uh-oh. - Lalime will be back. - focused on long-term health of franchise, not just short term. Flame away, but I still like Darcy. Go Sabres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VansTheMans Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 If the Sabres fails to make the playoffs again, he's out. If I was in his position, I wouldn't put such faith in a group of players that failed to make the playoffs two years in a row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamBam Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Did DR really speak today or did they simply roll the highlight film of his pressers from the last several years? There is no change...no imagination...no sense of urgency. It sounds like the team is still very reactive to the market and for whatever the reason fails to jump ahead of the times and be proactive. No wonder we have a leadership problem on the ice. The front office is a bunch of followers that act out of desperation. You mean to tell me that LQ and DR have been conducting their offseason major review of the franchise and thats all they came up yesterday? Wow... Talk about playing the fans. I'd normally be mad at this time, but I'm used to it now. How many years do we need to hear DR say "We'll have one more year of expierence heading into next season". Meaning... Don't expect any changes. It appears that the Front Office will just continue to play the shell game with the fans for as long as it can, while trying to distract us by holding up what they consider a bright/shinny object (Kids in Portland) and saying "Look over here". Whats the saying..."you can put lipstick on a pig but its still a pig". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristian Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Well, that's the confirmation that I was looking for - Darcy effectively saying "Nothing will change". At least now I won't be getting my hopes up. But what really hurts me isn't the losing, it's the lack of pride. Guess it's pretty easy to see where these guys are getting their inspirationm, though. Darcy Regier - Sir, how you can still hold a job as a General Manager should be beyond comprehension for any hockey interested person, outside the Sabres organisation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 But... again... what are we as fans owed? Pure honesty? Does Darcy need to tip his hand to the rest of the league? Cut himself and put the blood in the water? Tip his hand? He's not even in the game. At some point a decision needs to be made down at the offices of the HSBC to have he Sabres re-join the NHL. To continually refuse to explore all the possible avenues, free agency and buyouts included, this team is not using all the resources available to them. I am sick of : Wait and see what the free agency market is at. Wait and see when trade conversations start. Wait and see 16 other teams make the playoffs next season. While this team sits back and "waits and sees", the other teams in the division and conference will be initiating changes not waiting and seeing who falls to them. And really, what was the point of the interview and press conference? Were the Sabres concerned that some hope and optimism may spring up and they wanted to nip it in the bud? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 I'll tell you what really bugs me...On a day when I turn over $700 for season tickets and in an offseason where nothing has been said except for Quinny saying R&R will be back(despite only being 5% done with his exhaustive end of season review <_< ), I hear DR spew this crap. I'll probably feel different when push comes to shove, but right now I'd say that if the Sabres end up missing the playoffs for a 3rd year in a row and 6TH SEASON OUT OF THE LAST 8, I will bail on my tickets. :angry: Here is the current state of the Sabres... 1. An owner who is more infatuated with a former tennis star young enough to be his daughter than he is with the hockey team he owns. 2. A managing partner who splits his time meddling in the hockey side of the business and contributing to the turtle like development of the inner harbor. 3. A coach who the players have been tuning out for two years 4. A bunch of players who are too busy being enamored with life outside of hockey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 It appears that the Front Office will just continue to play the shell game with the fans for as long as it can, while trying to distract us by holding up what they consider a bright/shinny object (Kids in Portland) and saying "Look over here". No, the shiny object being held up is the Cup -- ya know, when LQ says the goal is to win it. It's becoming quite a laughable statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 I'll tell you what really bugs me...On a day when I turn over $700 for season tickets and in an offseason where nothing has been said except for Quinny saying R&R will be back(despite only being 5% done with his exhaustive end of season review <_< ), I hear DR spew this crap. I'll probably feel different when push comes to shove, but right now I'd say that if the Sabres end up missing the playoffs for a 3rd year in a row and 6TH SEASON OUT OF THE LAST 8, I will bail on my tickets. :angry: Here is the current state of the Sabres... 1. An owner who is more infatuated with a former tennis star young enough to be his daughter than he is with the hockey team he owns. 2. A managing partner who splits his time meddling in the hockey side of the business and contributing to the turtle like development of the inner harbor. 3. A coach who the players have been tuning out for two years 4. A bunch of players who are too busy being enamored with life outside of hockey. To add to point #1. An owner who has no problem meddling with the State Senate when he doesn't get the results he wants after a few months. The same owner has no problem letting his NHL franchise rot for 2 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobody Posted June 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 No, the shiny object being held up is the Cup -- ya know, when LQ says the goal is to win it. It's becoming quite a laughable statement. My goal is to win the lotto. Now we all know that is a very difficult thing to do. It's even more difficult for me since I don't buy any tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 To add to point #1. An owner who has no problem meddling with the State Senate when he doesn't get the results he wants after a few months. The same owner has no problem letting his NHL franchise rot for 2 years. So the gigantic increase in the value of the franchise wasn't the result he wanted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamBam Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 I liken yesterday's presser to going to McDonalds drive thur...them forgetting your fries and telling you to pull up and they'll bring them out. Only...The employees just sit there inside and see how long you'll continue to sit out there before bringing you out your fries. "Dam..He's still out there" In essence... The Sabres Organization made DR "Available" to the media yesterday. Like thats supposed to be some incredible gesture on their part. There was no post season wrap-up as in years past. Instead we had LQ tell us that there would be a complete review of the franchise from top to bottom unlike any time in Sabres History. Meanwhile....The fans are still out front waiting for their fries. Not to steal a line from Denny Green, but in reference to the Front Office...."They are who we thought they are....and we let'em off the hook" But at the end of the day...TG, LQ, and DR are who we thought they were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderbread Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 So the gigantic increase in the value of the franchise wasn't the result he wanted? Great point!!! Golly's machine has gotten the expected return. The franchise is worth a considerable amount more than when he bought it. What does he care if they win. He is still making grenn. All i want is them to spend to the frigging cap enough of this self imposed cap shitt. Imagine what that extra $$ would bring back this way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 To add to point #1. An owner who has no problem meddling with the State Senate when he doesn't get the results he wants after a few months. The same owner has no problem letting his NHL franchise rot for 2 years. I assume you don't think the State Senate was a smoothly-functioning, ethical, highly effective unit until TG went on a deranged rampage and turned it upside down for no reason? As for letting the team "rot" -- IMHO, TG knows he royally screwed up the team by vetoing the bigger/long-term contracts in 2006-07 that we needed to keep the team together, so last year he decided to give LQ & Darcy a budget and let them call the shots. This is why we saw the big extensions last summer for Miller, Pommer and Hecht. I'm sure TG isn't happy with not making the playoffs last year, but he saw enough improvement, after a single offseason with Darcy calling the shots, to give Darcy and Lindy another shot this year. If there are no playoffs this year I'd guess both will be gone. I think we'll see at least one and possibly two solid additions from outside the organization this summer. I also think the Sabres will be back in the playoffs, and closer to the #4-5 slot than to #7-8. I even think DeLuca will jump back on the bandwagon. But I'm an optimist. Go Sabres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderbread Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 I assume you don't think the State Senate was a smoothly-functioning, ethical, highly effective unit until TG went on a deranged rampage and turned it upside down for no reason? As for letting the team "rot" -- IMHO, TG knows he royally screwed up the team by vetoing the bigger/long-term contracts in 2006-07 that we needed to keep the team together, so last year he decided to give LQ & Darcy a budget and let them call the shots. This is why we saw the big extensions last summer for Miller, Pommer and Hecht. I'm sure TG isn't happy with not making the playoffs last year, but he saw enough improvement, after a single offseason with Darcy calling the shots, to give Darcy and Lindy another shot this year. If there are no playoffs this year I'd guess both will be gone. I think we'll see at least one and possibly two solid additions from outside the organization this summer. I also think the Sabres will be back in the playoffs, and closer to the #4-5 slot than to #7-8. I even think DeLuca will jump back on the bandwagon. But I'm an optimist. Go Sabres. I like your moxy boy. I just wish I had your optimism. I am tired of the DR rhetoric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbossy Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Are we sure this was Darcy? Sounds like a Loch Ness monster sighting to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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