Even Briere is rooting for Pegula

[bob_sauve28]

I worked with a good friend of Briere and his wife, who was also one of his neighbors.

 

Simple put: his wife and family did NOT want to leave. They LOVED it here. Danny did NOT want to leave. It broke Danny's heart to leave the Sabres and Buffalo. This I KNOW 100%.

 

The Sabres chose Drury thinking they could only re-sign one of the two, and they totally botched it. It's not Danny's fault that the Sabres sent over an insulting offer at the last second that was half of his market value.

 

Why even defend Quinn? He will soon be an ex-Sabre as well, so there's really no reason to defend his total INCOMPETENCE. He single-handedly ruined a Stanley Cup contender in ONE DAY. Nice work, Larry. I don't support when it gets personal, but he deserves ALL the criticism he takes for somehow ruining the most exciting team in Buffalo sports since the 90's Bills. And it all happened in a single DAY! That takes some doing.

 

One thing I will say for Regier: he was EXTREMELY unhappy that Quinn/Tommy G would not go along with paying Briere/Drury. That was NOT his decision, but you would NEVER hear him say so because he is as loyal of a man as they come, even when it hurts his own image.

 

If you can stomach it, go back and watch that press conference again. Regier is CLEARLY doing all he can to say "this was NOT MY CALL."

<_<

[carpandean]

Can't win on the ice, so win in the courtroom.....got it.

If they had a legitimate reason to believe that the Flyers violated rules against negotiating with other teams' players prior to free agency (and I don't know if they did or did not), then yes, they should have reported their knowledge to the league. If they were right, then the ruling might have helped them win on the ice. A competitor violates a significant rule that directly affected you, then you report it; it's not that strange of a concept.

 

Be careful driving home. If you are doing 56 in that 55....it would be the right thing for an officer to pull you over and make sure he collects that municipal revenue from you to support the hard working taxpayers. I would hate to see a scoundrel as yourself get away with breaking the law, and it is in my best interest to see that you are properly fined.

56 is in a 55 would be an extremely minor infraction; in terms of how the league operates, negotiating with another team's player prior to FA would not be. However, if I were pulled over for 56 in a 55 and the technology were actual reliable enough to prove such a small difference reliably (a big reason why they don't pull people over for less than 5 over), then I would accept that I was at fault.

 

And since you are proven to be a lawbreaker, I think a warrant is in order to search your house and interview your family to make sure no other unlawful activities are taking place under your watch. It would be the right thing to do afterall. ;)

Again, was it the Sabres' investigators or the league's? Also, they weren't interviewing them to make sure that Danny and the Flyers hadn't done any other unlawful (in this case, against league rules) activities; they were interviewing to see if they had done a very specific unlawful activity. This is very common in criminal investigations. You have reason to suspect an individual, then you talk to their neighbors about that crime. I don't know who sent them to Danny's neighbors and I don't know how they presented themselves (the investigators could have been at fault if they were threatening), but it would seem perfectly reasonable for the league to have somebody ask Danny's neighbors if he or his wife had said anything to them about moving to Philly prior July 1.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

Carp...you are well within your rights to say what you are.....but it's a common sense and sour grapes issue. It's like an ex-girlfriend calling the cable company after she breaks up with you to tell them you are running a line from next door.

 

It's petty BS and a personal issue.

 

At least we don't have to worry about Darcy tampering. He just waits for the rest of the league to make big-boy moves, then he orders his Shirley Temple.

[PASabreFan]

You'd also have to believe Drury's deal with the Rangers was all but a done deal before July 1. I will never forget, or forgive, Drury saying during that playoff series how his boyhood dream was to play at MSG. As if he had never played there before answering that question.

 

Drury University? Really? http://www.drury.edu/

[shrader]

You'd also have to believe Drury's deal with the Rangers was all but a done deal before July 1. I will never forget, or forgive, Drury saying during that playoff series how his boyhood dream was to play at MSG. As if he had never played there before answering that question.

 

Drury University? Really? http://www.drury.edu/

 

You could always stay at a Drury Hotel if you ever get the chance.

[blugold43]

those quotes made me miss briere more than anyone this team is missing currently.

agree... he's awesome, and he's truly pulled of the impossible by softening my hatred for the flyers. i still hate them worse than anyone, but not as much as i did.

 

boy that was a nice team they pissed away.

[deluca67]

I don't disagree, here. But I do think that Briere's 2006 arbitration was a clue about his postures about discounts.

How is this possible? Three pages of Briere hatred and not a single most by me?

 

X. hit the nail right on the head. Briere's time with the Sabres unofficially ended the day he decided to go to arbitration. The Sabres took that move as a lack of respect. They were the organization that gave him a chance to resurrect a career that was spiraling downward. The put him in a situation that allowed him to succeed. They felt that he turned his back on them and they repaid him a year later by turning their backs on him.

 

Someone mentioned Peca earlier in the thread. There is a strong case that the two situations are eerily similar. Two top players that stood up to the front office and their perception of player value. Peca wasn't a UFA so he had to sit a year. Look over Regier's tenor and you can see a definite pattern. You can add Dumont and Kennedy to the same discussion but on a smaller scale.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

How is this possible? Three pages of Briere hatred and not a single most by me?

 

X. hit the nail right on the head. Briere's time with the Sabres unofficially ended the day he decided to go to arbitration. The Sabres took that move as a lack of respect. They were the organization that gave him a chance to resurrect a career that was spiraling downward. The put him in a situation that allowed him to succeed. They felt that he turned his back on them and they repaid him a year later by turning their backs on him.

 

Someone mentioned Peca earlier in the thread. There is a strong case that the two situations are eerily similar. Two top players that stood up to the front office and their perception of player value. Peca wasn't a UFA so he had to sit a year. Look over Regier's tenor and you can see a definite pattern. You can add Dumont and Kennedy to the same discussion but on a smaller scale.

 

Briere and Dumont proved correct in their stance as they both cashed in at well above the money offered in 2-3 years. Meanwhile the crew Darcy scrambled to get under contract by avoiding arbitration at inflated prices, (Afinogenov, Kotalik, Hecht, Kalinin, Tallinder, Lydman, anyone else?), for the most part turned out to be a joke.

 

Penny-wise......Pound-foolish

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

PS

 

It was great watching Peca in the booth and Connolly making $4.5 million to drool on the ice while Iginla will be skating in the all-star game for the umpteenth time.

 

It was a reported fact that Darcy turned down Iginla for Peca at the time.

[Fire Lindy Ruff NOW]

Briere and Dumont proved correct in their stance as they both cashed in at well above the money offered in 2-3 years. Meanwhile the crew Darcy scrambled to get under contract by avoiding arbitration at inflated prices, (Afinogenov, Kotalik, Hecht, Kalinin, Tallinder, Lydman, anyone else?), for the most part turned out to be a joke.

 

Penny-wise......Pound-foolish

its easy to say all this now. but kotalik and afinogenov were still young and were on the upsides of their career, thats why regier kept them. dumont was getting old and was injured alot.

[deluca67]

its easy to say all this now. but kotalik and afinogenov were still young and were on the upsides of their career, thats why regier kept them. dumont was getting old and was injured alot.

Was Max "young" at that time? He was like 26-27 and going into his 7th season with the Sabers. They should have known what they had.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

its easy to say all this now. but kotalik and afinogenov were still young and were on the upsides of their career, thats why regier kept them. dumont was getting old and was injured alot.

 

I liked Kotalik and Kalinin. Darcy likes the euro boys, but Lindy doesn't like the euro boys who have a personality and think they know how to play hockey. You don't know how to play hockey unless you play Lindy Ruff systemic hockey. Lindy loves Hecht because he is a robot. Tallinder and Sekera are timid and follow. Lydman and Kalinin were solid all-around guys. But Kotalik, Vanek, Afinogenov, Grosek......uh oh! Talent and confidence don't jive in THE SYSTEM!!!!!!

 

 

Dumont was not old. He was in his prime and is the exact example of the type of player that has not been on this team for 5 years. Talented, can score 25-30 goals, is gritty and will work the boards and stand his ground out front. He is also the nicest guy in the world. The definition of an asset.

[Fire Lindy Ruff NOW]

I liked Kotalik and Kalinin. Darcy likes the euro boys, but Lindy doesn't like the euro boys who have a personality and think they know how to play hockey. You don't know how to play hockey unless you play Lindy Ruff systemic hockey. Lindy loves Hecht because he is a robot. Tallinder and Sekera are timid and follow. Lydman and Kalinin were solid all-around guys. But Kotalik, Vanek, Afinogenov, Grosek......uh oh! Talent and confidence don't jive in THE SYSTEM!!!!!!

 

 

Dumont was not old. He was in his prime and is the exact example of the type of player that has not been on this team for 5 years. Talented, can score 25-30 goals, is gritty and will work the boards and stand his ground out front. He is also the nicest guy in the world. The definition of an asset.

hm i guess your right, i thought he was injury prone too, but it was only in 05 06. yeah being a gm is probly the hardest job ever i would guess though.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

hm i guess your right, i thought he was injury prone too, but it was only in 05 06. yeah being a gm is probly the hardest job ever i would guess though.

 

What you need to be a GM is decisiveness, confidence in your opinion whether it ends up turning out to be true or not, the ability to be fluid in your decision making, evaluating talent and being able to price said talent, communication and co-operation with other members of your staff, and passion to succeed.

 

If you have the personality trait and eye to match, it is an "easy" job because your passion blurs the line between business and pleasure when it comes to hard work. I've been lucky enough to have a similar job, not in hockey, and it is great....if you are a risk taker that is willing to live with the profit/failure.

 

When I look at Darcy, he isn't a risk taker. He isn't decisive in making moves that matter. He does have confidence in his opinion, can find talent at times, and co-operates well within.....but he also lacks fluidity and seems intimidated by the "marketplace". I can't say he doesn't have passion, because in his mind he probably does....and maybe he does indeed.

 

I can see many of the better GM's having respect for Darcy as a person, but maybe not so much in the realm of his body of work.

[Bmwolf21]

You could always stay at a Drury Hotel if you ever get the chance.

I've stayed at a Drury Hotel in Columbus, OH. Nice place. Free hot breakfast bar and free "kick back" hours with appetizers, bar-type food, stuff like that around dinner time.