Ghost of Dwight Drane Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Fast fact: Tpegs has spent more in the last week than Golisano did to buy the whole franchise. Fast fact: Ted Black prefers showtunes on his Ipod as opposed to Irish Tenors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesportsbuff Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Well I've been quiet all day but I'll say it now: I'm pretty disappointed with the way things went down today. Obviously we were all really excited Brad Richards -- to hear that they essentially gave up on him, and cancelled plans to go and meet with him, bothers me. Maybe it was a smart move in the sense that it allowed us to get Leino instead of NOTHING if Richards signed elsewhere, but Leino is no #1 center (regardless of where Darcy thinks he can play, a dude with only one decent year under his belt, and as a winger, is not a #1 center) yet we offer half of our remaining cap to lock him up-- a guy who's only played one full season and put up Connolly-like numbers is now making Connolly money + three times the term. This is a VERY scary signing to me and is hard to be excited about. And before someone says it -- well I already saw the Pegula girl saying something about it on twitter -- "DO YOU WANT US TO SPEND MONEY OR DONT YOU?? WHICH IS IT??" As we all know there is a difference between spending money smartly and spending money... stupidly, or irresponsibly I guess. I don't think Leino is worth that money... I would be okay with overpaying with him if he filled a specific need, like Ehrhoff, but instead we break the bank for another makeshift center with ONE decent year under his belt. Furthermore, Darcy says the team is probably done in terms of movement... so a team already in need of a #1 center loses another center in Tim Connolly, and adds not two centers... not one center... but a winger Darcy hopes can play center. Sorry if I sound overly critical. Our defense is 100x better than it was two weeks ago. That I'm very happy about. But we still failed to address our #1 need... and it sounds like it's because they panicked. They must have felt very strongly that Richards wasn't going to sign in Buffalo, I guess.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom webster Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Rob Ray confirmed today what I have thought about Lindy for a while. He says Lindy needs to be in charge, no questions asked. The subject of Drury came about and Ray said Drury is the type of guy who likes to talk with the coach as an equal and is in constant communication with him while he expects his fellow players to constantly be on the ball and think of ways to improve. He said a player like Drury rubs on Lindy's nerves over time because Drury suggests when the guys need a break or how to do something. Lindy wants it to be his show. I think that is why you see a lack of leadership on this team. These young kids you have that instinctive grit and character slowly lose their will and get tamed. Vanek was a net crasher in college and Lindy whipped him for years. Stafford fought Chris Neil on instinct...now he says he doesn't need to worry about fighting. The point about Vancouver fits. Pyatt was "Quiet" here, and he would be leading the Sabres in hits the past 3 years total. Paille and MacArthur were also-rans. It's the old guys, the career Sabres/Amerks like Max, Kotalik, Kalinin..who fizzle out when leaving for the most part. A lot of young guys seem to find new life. You and I must have different definitions of a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 This signing has "Lindy" written all over it. I imagine he fancies Leino as a more talented version of Jochen Hecht. Right now we've got Roy, Leino, Hecht, Gaustad as our centers. I was hoping for better. Given that we are into the 10% cap overage area I think best case is a trade for a #3 center that pushes Hecht back to LW. Not the best case I was hoping for. Still, as long as Leino doesn't pull a Boyes when moved to center he's probably an overall upgrade over Connolly, which at least has us moving in the right direction even if it isn't at the pace I'd hoped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robviously Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Rob Ray confirmed today what I have thought about Lindy for a while. He says Lindy needs to be in charge, no questions asked. The subject of Drury came about and Ray said Drury is the type of guy who likes to talk with the coach as an equal and is in constant communication with him while he expects his fellow players to constantly be on the ball and think of ways to improve. He said a player like Drury rubs on Lindy's nerves over time because Drury suggests when the guys need a break or how to do something. Lindy wants it to be his show. I think that is why you see a lack of leadership on this team. These young kids you have that instinctive grit and character slowly lose their will and get tamed. Vanek was a net crasher in college and Lindy whipped him for years. Stafford fought Chris Neil on instinct...now he says he doesn't need to worry about fighting. The point about Vancouver fits. Pyatt was "Quiet" here, and he would be leading the Sabres in hits the past 3 years total. Paille and MacArthur were also-rans. It's the old guys, the career Sabres/Amerks like Max, Kotalik, Kalinin..who fizzle out when leaving for the most part. A lot of young guys seem to find new life. This actually reflects really poorly on Ruff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Buffalo Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 This actually reflects really poorly on Ruff. Well now it is time for Ruff to put up or get out of town. Doubt Tpeg will put up with it for long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clancynut Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Fast fact: Tpegs has spent more in the last week than Golisano did to buy the whole franchise. That is a scary thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKnowPhysics Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Well, while it would've been crazy to land Richards or Stamkos, I'm satisfied with today's events in the context of Sabres free agency history. There's been years where we've gotten hurt pretty badly on July 1 (Drury/Briere; Tallinder/Lydman) and failed to take any corrective action. This year we were able to identify areas that needed improvement and take measures to address them. We wanted to improve our defense. Done. (and done well) We wanted to acquire a top-six centerman. Done. (the company line is that he's got upside, I'll express cautious optimism and trust that) I trust that July 2 will be the same as every other day in the new era: we'll keep looking for ways to improve. After what I consider to be a successful draft and a successful July 1 outing, we are a good team that just got better and we will be better for a long time. Time to celebrate. :beer: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chileanseabass Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 I'm kind of glad they didn't land Richards, and while I think they definitely overpaid for Leino, it's to be expected. That's how things go on July 1st, and it's been that way for the past few years. If Leino says he's a center, and prefers center, then give him a shot. I like his skill set and think he'll fit in nicely with the current squad, especially if he can show he is capable of playing the middle. What that gives the Sabres is a great bargaining chip to land a true #1 center via trade - Derek Roy. Put a package together with Roy, some prospects, and a #1 pick, and I would imagine you could land someone like Stastny, Thornton, Spezza, etc. Unless a great deal is offered to them before the start of the season, I bet they head to camp with the roster as it stands now, see how things shape up with Roy and Leino as 1A/1B centers, and if it's more like 2A/2B, then Roy becomes trade bait. And if Leino can't hack it at center, then you can move some other pieces to try to land a center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LastPommerFan Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 While not the ideal defensive "centerman" I was thinking of, I like his game and the way he plays. Unfortunately this means the sabres have now accomplished EXACTLY what i asked for two months ago: So if we don't win the cup next year, my abilities as a GM will be questioned... Darcy wasn't thinking like you were. At least not as his first choice. Leino is his fallback signing. You are gonna break your arm patting yourself on the back over a fallback signing. Did you listen to Darcy's presser? Leino was plan B when they realized that it was long-ish odds to get Richards and they still needed to work on getting a different forward in to play center. Regier knows we need a #1 center, he went this route because a #1 c isn't available right now. T'was a strategic retreat, it wasn't their first choice. I think you've misread me. Not my first choice either. But the three players we signed meet my requirements. So either we win, or I'm wrong. Those are facts. But I have accomplished nothing other than being strangely prophetic. I was trying to say that to sabresfan. My requirements were: Ehrhoff, Vet Shutdown D-Man, Replace Connolly. I believe we've done that, so now I get the benefit of seeing my idea on ice. Time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Dwight Drane Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 This actually reflects really poorly on Ruff. I guess it depends on who you ask. Ray seemed to like that idea better than a guy like Muckler who gave preference to crafty vets and let his superstars off easy when it came to practice, etc. To me it just verifyed what I had expected. It seems Ruff thinks of himself as a teacher or drill sgt. most of the time. The problem is, when the actual war is going on...the leaders in the field know they have to trust the guys out there to get it done and can't be micromanaging everything or getting in their own guys' heads. The chaos of war needs to be fought on instinct. Sure, be disciplined and prepared, but if you are thinking and second guessing yourself out there....you are dead. Maybe it's just my personality, but I always have had the Drury approach in dealing with jobs/life...albeit with more of a sense of humor. You have to be honest with the coach/boss if you truly want things to go as well as possible. That means not being scared to approach him, and even telling him he is wrong if you think he is off base. I will respect you for it, work harder for you, and get my guys to go through a wall for you because they trust me. I never thought Ruff was a bad coach, I just think some of his flaws limit the overall potential of the team. And the funny thing is, I've seen him in action away from the rink. He is a smart, easy-going, funny guy. I would think more of that would translate at the rink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braedon Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Well I've been quiet all day but I'll say it now: I'm pretty disappointed with the way things went down today. Obviously we were all really excited Brad Richards -- to hear that they essentially gave up on him, and cancelled plans to go and meet with him, bothers me. Maybe it was a smart move in the sense that it allowed us to get Leino instead of NOTHING if Richards signed elsewhere, but Leino is no #1 center (regardless of where Darcy thinks he can play, a dude with only one decent year under his belt, and as a winger, is not a #1 center) yet we offer half of our remaining cap to lock him up-- a guy who's only played one full season and put up Connolly-like numbers is now making Connolly money + three times the term. This is a VERY scary signing to me and is hard to be excited about. And before someone says it -- well I already saw the Pegula girl saying something about it on twitter -- "DO YOU WANT US TO SPEND MONEY OR DONT YOU?? WHICH IS IT??" As we all know there is a difference between spending money smartly and spending money... stupidly, or irresponsibly I guess. I don't think Leino is worth that money... I would be okay with overpaying with him if he filled a specific need, like Ehrhoff, but instead we break the bank for another makeshift center with ONE decent year under his belt. Furthermore, Darcy says the team is probably done in terms of movement... so a team already in need of a #1 center loses another center in Tim Connolly, and adds not two centers... not one center... but a winger Darcy hopes can play center. Sorry if I sound overly critical. Our defense is 100x better than it was two weeks ago. That I'm very happy about. But we still failed to address our #1 need... and it sounds like it's because they panicked. They must have felt very strongly that Richards wasn't going to sign in Buffalo, I guess.. You bring up some very valid concerns. However could it be as simple as they were positive BR wasn't coming here and they really wanted Leino in the top 6 moving forward? That's my perception, which is helped along by me loving Leino's game. If post season is where it matters, this guy has been clutch. 21 points in 19 games during their SC run last year? That eclipses everyone on our roster. That said, you can't get past it being a gamble for that kind of money, and the only snapshot we have is with him on the wing. Either he sticks, or we have egg on our face. As for the whole kid pegula twittering, my gut tells me that the FO will kibosh once made aware of today's occurrences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunomatic Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Well I've been quiet all day but I'll say it now: I'm pretty disappointed with the way things went down today. Obviously we were all really excited Brad Richards -- to hear that they essentially gave up on him, and cancelled plans to go and meet with him, bothers me. Maybe it was a smart move in the sense that it allowed us to get Leino instead of NOTHING if Richards signed elsewhere, but Leino is no #1 center (regardless of where Darcy thinks he can play, a dude with only one decent year under his belt, and as a winger, is not a #1 center) yet we offer half of our remaining cap to lock him up-- a guy who's only played one full season and put up Connolly-like numbers is now making Connolly money + three times the term. This is a VERY scary signing to me and is hard to be excited about. And before someone says it -- well I already saw the Pegula girl saying something about it on twitter -- "DO YOU WANT US TO SPEND MONEY OR DONT YOU?? WHICH IS IT??" As we all know there is a difference between spending money smartly and spending money... stupidly, or irresponsibly I guess. I don't think Leino is worth that money... I would be okay with overpaying with him if he filled a specific need, like Ehrhoff, but instead we break the bank for another makeshift center with ONE decent year under his belt. Furthermore, Darcy says the team is probably done in terms of movement... so a team already in need of a #1 center loses another center in Tim Connolly, and adds not two centers... not one center... but a winger Darcy hopes can play center. Sorry if I sound overly critical. Our defense is 100x better than it was two weeks ago. That I'm very happy about. But we still failed to address our #1 need... and it sounds like it's because they panicked. They must have felt very strongly that Richards wasn't going to sign in Buffalo, I guess.. Leino isn't a winger who Darcy hopes can play centre,he's a centre naturally who the Flyers had playing wing. He actually prefers centre as thats been the position he played as he developed as a hockey player. Give him a chance. Darcy has been real good in the past at identifying players on the verge of breaking out and many of the hockey people in the know around the league are saying the same thing. That its a good signing. Sure we over payed some for him but believe me, Richards contract will be a huge over payment for whoever signs him as well. They always are on July 1st. I'm real happy we never landed Richards and quite confident that Pegs and Regier will identify and trade for a #1 in the first half of the season if not before. Have faith man. We're livin in Pegulaville and its heaven baby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braedon Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Leino isn't a winger who Darcy hopes can play centre,he's a centre naturally who the Flyers had playing wing. He actually prefers centre as thats been the position he played as he developed as a hockey player. Give him a chance. Darcy has been real good in the past at identifying players on the verge of breaking out and many of the hockey people in the know around the league are saying the same thing. That its a good signing. Sure we over payed some for him but believe me, Richards contract will be a huge over payment for whoever signs him as well. They always are on July 1st. I'm real happy we never landed Richards and quite confident that Pegs and Regier will identify and trade for a #1 in the first half of the season if not before. Have faith man. We're livin in Pegulaville and its heaven baby! Although I'm cautiously optimistic that he'll be a good center and align with your thinking, his best two years in the league have been with him on the wing. The truth is no one really knows if he'll progress or regress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Dwight Drane Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 You and I must have different definitions of a lot. Judging by the amount of empty space you just added to the post. I agree. So what are the terms of the Mancari bet you want? 20 games in 2 years? I'm assuming total in the NHL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesportsbuff Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 You bring up some very valid concerns. However could it be as simple as they were positive BR wasn't coming here and they really wanted Leino in the top 6 moving forward? That's my perception, which is helped along by me loving Leino's game. If post season is where it matters, this guy has been clutch. 21 points in 19 games during their SC run last year? That eclipses everyone on our roster. That said, you can't get past it being a gamble for that kind of money, and the only snapshot we have is with him on the wing. Either he sticks, or we have egg on our face. As for the whole kid pegula twittering, my gut tells me that the FO will kibosh once made aware of today's occurrences. I got banned from this board once for suggesting that it reflected poorly on the organization to have Pegula's daughters tweeting about the team he owns. So be careful with your words :) Anyway, I suppose they may have known that Richards definitely wasn't coming here. But if that were the case, they should have said that. "Brad Richards expressed that he had no interest in playing for the Sabres, so we moved on to plan b." That sounds a heck of a lot better than "We really got into a time pressure situation where we had to make a decision." IE: We panicked. It's my own fault for hyping up my expectations, but I almost think I would have been less disappointed had the Sabres went and made their best offer to Richards, been turned down, AND missed out on signing Leino.. than to hear that they pulled out of pursuing Richards to sign Leino. The prospect of getting a center for nothing but cash was exciting. Now if we want a real #1 center we can count on losing an Ennis, a Gerbe, or a Kassian, and who knows what else? Leino isn't a winger who Darcy hopes can play centre,he's a centre naturally who the Flyers had playing wing. He actually prefers centre as thats been the position he played as he developed as a hockey player. Give him a chance. Darcy has been real good in the past at identifying players on the verge of breaking out and many of the hockey people in the know around the league are saying the same thing. That its a good signing. Sure we over payed some for him but believe me, Richards contract will be a huge over payment for whoever signs him as well. They always are on July 1st. I'm real happy we never landed Richards and quite confident that Pegs and Regier will identify and trade for a #1 in the first half of the season if not before. Have faith man. We're livin in Pegulaville and its heaven baby! I'm trying to be optimistic, but I can't lie -- my heart sank a little bit when it was confirmed that Buffalo wasn't going after Richards. I'm not mad at Pegula or anything, but I don't see many moves being made, especially when we already have a slew of unmoveable contracts. What if Leino craps out and is just another Boyes (another guy who everyone said could play center)? Well, we're stuck with him for 6 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 I got banned from this board once for suggesting that it reflected poorly on the organization to have Pegula's daughters tweeting about the team he owns. So be careful with your words :) Anyway, I suppose they may have known that Richards definitely wasn't coming here. But if that were the case, they should have said that. "Brad Richards expressed that he had no interest in playing for the Sabres, so we moved on to plan b." That sounds a heck of a lot better than "We really got into a time pressure situation where we had to make a decision." IE: We panicked. It's my own fault for hyping up my expectations, but I almost think I would have been less disappointed had the Sabres went and made their best offer to Richards, been turned down, AND missed out on signing Leino.. than to hear that they pulled out of pursuing Richards to sign Leino. The prospect of getting a center for nothing but cash was exciting. Now if we want a real #1 center we can count on losing an Ennis, a Gerbe, or a Kassian, and who knows what else? I'm trying to be optimistic, but I can't lie -- my heart sank a little bit when it was confirmed that Buffalo wasn't going after Richards. I'm not mad at Pegula or anything, but I don't see many moves being made, especially when we already have a slew of unmoveable contracts. What if Leino craps out and is just another Boyes (another guy who everyone said could play center)? Well, we're stuck with him for 6 years. The more I hear the more it seems like Leino was a panic signing and they actually didn't have a "plan B." They went from targeting the premiere free agent center to signing Hecht-lite? They would have been better off not signing anyone today. Now they are in a Cap position that seems completely unnecessary. Here they are over the Cap and they have only one center (Roy) on the roster of any quality. The Sabres would be in a better position with that $4+ mil off the books and available if a actual center becomes available. This may be the worst free agent signing Regier has ever made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 The more I hear the more it seems like Leino was a panic signing and they actually didn't have a "plan B." They went from targeting the premiere free agent center to signing Hecht-lite? They would have been better off not signing anyone today. Now they are in a Cap position that seems completely unnecessary. Here they are over the Cap and they have only one center (Roy) on the roster of any quality. The Sabres would be in a better position with that $4+ mil off the books and available if a actual center becomes available. This may be the worst free agent signing Regier has ever made. Where are you hearing that? Because while I'm not thrilled with this signing, what you wrote is in complete conflict with everything reported. E.g., http://blogs.buffalonews.com/sabres/2011/07/regier-sabres-planned-to-meet-richards-but-couldnt-let-leino-slip-away.html Is what you're "hearing" another voice inside your head? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LastPommerFan Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Where are you hearing that? Because while I'm not thrilled with this signing, what you wrote is in complete conflict with everything reported. E.g., http://blogs.buffalonews.com/sabres/2011/07/regier-sabres-planned-to-meet-richards-but-couldnt-let-leino-slip-away.html Is what you're "hearing" another voice inside your head? so Leino was the target all along? but everyone said it was plan b. Now I'm confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FogBat Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 That is a scary good thought. Fixed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesportsbuff Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 1: There's no way Leino was the "#1 Target" above Brad Richards. And if he was, that's a MAJOR miscalculation by the front office. Like, a MAJOR, MAJOR, MAJOR miscalculation... impressive playoff stats? Sure. But ONE decent season as a winger doesn't translate into being our #1 target above BR. 2: I agree with DeLuca for one of the few times I can remember. This was an absolute panic signing. The length and money for an unproven player screams it. Overpaying Ehrhoff was necessary because it plugged a huge hole on our defense and gives us the PP QB we've lacked for several years. But how can you overpay someone who isn't even a natural center.. to be our center? Did he play center in Detroit? Has he EVER played center in the NHL? Or is he just another guy who played center when he was 15 or 18 or 21? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Crotch Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Where are you hearing that? Because while I'm not thrilled with this signing, what you wrote is in complete conflict with everything reported. E.g., http://blogs.buffalonews.com/sabres/2011/07/regier-sabres-planned-to-meet-richards-but-couldnt-let-leino-slip-away.html Is what you're "hearing" another voice inside your head? Good old fashioned risk aversion. If you wait for Richards to decide, Leino is gone and you very well could end up with nothing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesportsbuff Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Good old fashioned risk aversion. If you wait for Richards to decide, Leino is gone and you very well could end up with nothing... But at least you can hold your head high and tell your fans you gave it your best shot to attain the best UFA out there... instead of telling them you panicked and settled for Leino just so you could walk away with something. Even if we missed out on Leino and Richards said no, we'd be in the same position we are now: needing to trade if we want to acquire a #1 center. At least if we had met with Richards we had a shot at getting one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Where are you hearing that? Because while I'm not thrilled with this signing, what you wrote is in complete conflict with everything reported. E.g., http://blogs.buffalonews.com/sabres/2011/07/regier-sabres-planned-to-meet-richards-but-couldnt-let-leino-slip-away.html Is what you're "hearing" another voice inside your head? That link doesn't read the same way to me as it apparently reads to you. What I get out of it is essentially,"we could go up to Mississauga and put all our eggs in one basket that has alot of teams making a grab for it, or we could concentrate on plan B because it is more of a sure thing and we are less likely to end up with nothing". I read it as there was too much risk in walking away with nothing if we concentrate on Richards so we are changing focus to Leino, our best plan B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FogBat Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Good old fashioned risk aversion. If you wait for Richards to decide, Leino is gone and you very well could end up with nothing... This. Man, October can't get here fast enough. Hopefully, by that time, Leino will play well enough to silence his critics on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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