BuffaloSoldier2010 Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Darcy alluded to Lindy having more D options this year (both pairings and opponent matchups) and that he expects the increased flexibilty will mean a greater chance of success for Sekera, and the defense as a whole. We now have an obvious top 3 (Myers, Regher, Erhoff) and Leopold and Weber are both capable of stepping into the #4 role. Sekera facing 3rd and 4th line talent should work in his favor, both offensively and defensively. Add MAG as a sub and I think the D unit looks improved on paper. We may have only added two defensemen to the team but I think it is going to operate like a more complete overhaul now. I absolutely agree with this. Buffalo may have the best defensive core in the league by leaps and bounds if the pairings end up gelling. This goes even farther if Miller does in fact have a rebound year due to the superior defensive squad, along with my hopes that Enroth takes about a fifth or so of the game load off of his shoulders. (I also expect Enroth to be very very good) I think what we've seen with Ruff's system is that the defense is a very important catalyst in generating offense, and this may be one of the top defensive squads on paper in sabres history. On another note, my two cents on leino: He's exactly what this team needed. We have scoring depth, we don't need any bonafide top guns like stammer or malkin or stastny (although it'd be nice) Leino can hang on to the puck like it's his job (coincidentally, it is) and he, along with the defense, will make entries much easier. The only thing left to do (after signing MAG and Enroth) is see who has the best chemistry with who. if we can figure that out, this team will be firing on all cylinders, and i think our chances are great. Ladies and gentlemen, The Buffalo Sabres have arrived. And i couldn't be more excited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Reggie is capable of stepping into the #4 slot too, but I agree 100% with the rest of this post. I would just add that I feel quite sure the D is improved not only on paper but on the ice, and by quite a bit. I agree. If I heard and remembered correctly Darcy specifically talked about Sekera playing against 3rd and 4th liners now and expecting him too excel against them. This leads me to believe that the organization considers Sekera more of a 3rd pairing guy right now. At least until he develops further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveAndWarrener Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I remember well enough Rory Fitzpatrick caught holding his johnson while he should have had a line on the puck. It cost the team one of its best chances at the Cup. This, because we didn't have enough defensive depth. I'd rather that never happened again. That said, if the Sabres can parlay some of that depth into an impact rental when the time is right, I won't mind that, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I agree. If I heard and remembered correctly Darcy specifically talked about Sekera playing against 3rd and 4th liners now and expecting him too excel against them. This leads me to believe that the organization considers Sekera more of a 3rd pairing guy right now. At least until he develops further. That does sound appealing to me, a guy you think is far more than a 3rd pairing guy skating in the 3rd pairing. Depth is a wonderful thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Dwight Drane Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Exact same cap hit as Steve Montador. Thanks for pointing that out. Steve Montador has more class in his pinkie than Sekera does in his whole body. Sekera has no liver left and has the social responsibility of a bipolar 16 year old girl raised without a father....who was Lorenzo Lamas. This contract sickens me. Maybe he'll pull a Marshawn on Chippewa and get deported. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGR4GM Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 no offense and i have a pretty good idea whos doing it but, the +/- rating is a joke... im - who the F!@k cares at this point and its actually pretty awesome that I pissed off somebody enough that they ritualistically go through and -1 all my stuff! Winning! Now the more I look the sekera contract the more i am curious about Myers forthcoming deal as it should be about 50-70% higher than sekera's so im still going with the 4mil range for 4-6 years and also, sekeras contract looks designed to be tradable at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RazielSabre Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 This has forced our hand to move someone, now whether it's Sekera or not I don't know. My money is on them moving Sekera or Weber, more like Sekera due to his pricetag. I also suspect we will get fishing for prospects and picks, not any more forwards unless they trade a few players for one high skill player, or trade players away to sign one of the remaining UFAs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 no offense and i have a pretty good idea whos doing it but, the +/- rating is a joke... im - who the F!@k cares at this point and its actually pretty awesome that I pissed off somebody enough that they ritualistically go through and -1 all my stuff! Winning! Now the more I look the sekera contract the more i am curious about Myers forthcoming deal as it should be about 50-70% higher than sekera's so im still going with the 4mil range for 4-6 years and also, sekeras contract looks designed to be tradable at some point. Piece of advice. the more you mention +/-, the more they'll ding you. Someone is looking for reaction from you and they are getting it. Classic case of ignore it and it'll go away. Oh, and it'll be interesting to see what Myers commands. I would imagine you can start with Shea Weber and Drew Doughty numbers and go up from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samothyev Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Piece of advice. the more you mention +/-, the more they'll ding you. Someone is looking for reaction from you and they are getting it. Classic case of ignore it and it'll go away. Oh, and it'll be interesting to see what Myers commands. I would imagine you can start with Shea Weber and Drew Doughty numbers and go up from there. I bet it'll be a bit different with TP being here now than it would if it were still TG/LQ. Meaning with all the changes this team has seen it may end up he takes a homer discount just to stay here because it's the best hockey team to play for now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FolignosJock Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Piece of advice. the more you mention +/-, the more they'll ding you. Someone is looking for reaction from you and they are getting it. Classic case of ignore it and it'll go away. Oh, and it'll be interesting to see what Myers commands. I would imagine you can start with Shea Weber and Drew Doughty numbers and go up from there. I cant see the pricetag being that high right now. If they wait til next year to do it though I bet it skyrockets. I wish they had the cap space to get it done right now but I bet after this season his price goes up by about 1.5 million. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetweenThePipes00 Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I cant see the pricetag being that high right now. If they wait til next year to do it though I bet it skyrockets. I wish they had the cap space to get it done right now but I bet after this season his price goes up by about 1.5 million. They can do it right now without it affecting this year's cap number ... but both sides might want to wait to see and see if the CBA situation clears up a bit before doing anything. As for the number, Doughty's deal will be a better comparison than Weber, who is going t be 26 and hitting his UFA years much sooner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetweenThePipes00 Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 This has forced our hand to move someone, now whether it's Sekera or not I don't know. My money is on them moving Sekera or Weber, more like Sekera due to his pricetag. I also suspect we will get fishing for prospects and picks, not any more forwards unless they trade a few players for one high skill player, or trade players away to sign one of the remaining UFAs. I hope they stick with what they have on defense unless it is part of a huge deal for a big-time center ... I agree it seems very crowded at first glance with 7 guys (plus Morrisonn), but someone is always hurt, so you need 7 at the very least, IMO. And I have to wonder if we are all jumping the gun on Gragnani. As far as I am concerned, he still has a lot to prove ... he was good in the playoffs, but with Ehrhoff around there is not such a need for a PP specialist, and there are still going to be growing pains with his overall game. As good as he was, he didn't do anything that Nathan Paetsch didn't do a couple times in his career for a couple weeks at a time. He is by far the the least experienced and being the 7th d-man is probably about right for him at this point in his career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I thought anything under 3 would be a good deal. He would have gotten that in Arby, IMO. I like the term. Why I like the deal. - Sekera is tough to match in speed. - He's still improving. - As a 2nd and 3rd pairing guy - this will open a lot of ice from the backend - he's flexible in terms of pairings. - This is a very moveable deal - half the teams in the league need the puck-moving backender - Basically it looked like a nod to Steve Montador's contract in Chicago. - I expect that some nights he will lead the team in ice-time again. - For a 15 game stretch, in the playoff chase around March, he was the Sabres best player. Hands-down. -If he can stay in the line-up I expect 100 SOG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Aud Smell Posted July 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I think if you look at Montador's contract in Chicago....4 years 11 M total. Sekera is probably looking for comparable numbers. dude - woah. i had first envisioned $7M/3, and later, after reading what others were saying, $8M/3 -- so $11M/4 (paying a small premium for 2 (?) UFA years) is just fine by me. i like the deal a lot. i predict that sekera as a 4/5 guy will flourish and make this deal look like tremendous value. i also love the fact that pegula went ahead and front-loaded the thing, which IMO, accomplishes at least two things: (i) continues to build the hockey heaven culture and (ii) makes the contract supremely moveable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cereal Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 And then there were two. Jhonas and MAG. Both still important to take care of, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetweenThePipes00 Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 - I expect that some nights he will lead the team in ice-time again. - For a 15 game stretch, in the playoff chase around March, he was the Sabres best player. Hands-down. I am not sure about the first thing above, but the second is absolutely true. He had a rough stretch that led to him sitting a couple games, but there were MANY times during the season that I thought he was their best defenseman. He does need to be more consistent, but as I said before, let's not overreact to 7 games from Gragnani. Sekera is an important piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LastPommerFan Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I hope they stick with what they have on defense unless it is part of a huge deal for a big-time center ... I agree it seems very crowded at first glance with 7 guys (plus Morrisonn), but someone is always hurt, so you need 7 at the very least, IMO. And I have to wonder if we are all jumping the gun on Gragnani. As far as I am concerned, he still has a lot to prove ... he was good in the playoffs, but with Ehrhoff around there is not such a need for a PP specialist, and there are still going to be growing pains with his overall game. As good as he was, he didn't do anything that Nathan Paetsch didn't do a couple times in his career for a couple weeks at a time. He is by far the the least experienced and being the 7th d-man is probably about right for him at this point in his career. One great advantage of having Shoane in Rochester is that should he be needed in the playoffs, he could be called up with no cap implecations. This could be critical should a disaster ala 2006 happen again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 One great advantage of having Shoane in Rochester is that should he be needed in the playoffs, he could be called up with no cap implecations. This could be critical should a disaster ala 2006 happen again. There are the recall waivers though. Someone could easily pick him up just to screw us over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I am not sure about the first thing above, but the second is absolutely true. He had a rough stretch that led to him sitting a couple games, but there were MANY times during the season that I thought he was their best defenseman. He does need to be more consistent, but as I said before, let's not overreact to 7 games from Gragnani. Sekera is an important piece. The nights I think Sekera will lead the team in ice time is to do mostly to his wheels - When Sabres get a lead against a dump and chase team.....Lindy will say.....Reggie, go get it. Basically it is like trying to beat a border collie to a tennis ball, with Reg as the border collie. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wjag Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I am not sure about the first thing above, but the second is absolutely true. He had a rough stretch that led to him sitting a couple games, but there were MANY times during the season that I thought he was their best defenseman. He does need to be more consistent, but as I said before, let's not overreact to 7 games from Gragnani. Sekera is an important piece. ... but overreacting is what we do best ... My expectations for this guy have certainly been elevated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 ... but overreacting is what we do best ... My expectations for this guy have certainly been elevated. You have to love the poise he showed in the playoffs and the Worlds. The kid has some very good vision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LastPommerFan Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 There are the recall waivers though. Someone could easily pick him up just to screw us over. He would only be needed if a couple guys were hurt an would count as an emergency call, thus exempting him from waivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braedon Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I'm ok with the terms based on the cap hit and him foregoing 2 UFA years. Looking at Soupy's contract/production over the last 2 years makes me feel really good about it. Sekera has no liver left and has the social responsibility of a bipolar 16 year old girl raised without a father....who was Lorenzo Lamas. I need my coffee. I read this and thought Reggie killed Lorenzo Lamas in a DWI accident. Curse you GoDD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetweenThePipes00 Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 The nights I think Sekera will lead the team in ice time is to do mostly to his wheels - When Sabres get a lead against a dump and chase team.....Lindy will say.....Reggie, go get it. Basically it is like trying to beat a border collie to a tennis ball, with Reg as the border collie. :D Yeah and it looks so effortless that I think it is taken for granted ... there are fans who flat out can't stand Sekera, and I think it's because when he screws up it is obvious (like any defenseman) but when he skates the puck out of trouble on a play where Morrisonn or Montador would have coughed it up or dumped it off the glass, it's greeted with a shrug and a "Well, that's what he's SUPPOSED to do!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGR4GM Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Piece of advice. the more you mention +/-, the more they'll ding you. Someone is looking for reaction from you and they are getting it. Classic case of ignore it and it'll go away. Oh, and it'll be interesting to see what Myers commands. I would imagine you can start with Shea Weber and Drew Doughty numbers and go up from there. actually at this point my rating is so bad that it no longer matters... so :beer: Dont forget Scheistal is in Rochester and he wants to be on the team as well, we have about 8-9 defenders who could make an NHL squad and that means 2-3 will be in rochester or the press box which is a very good thing. Of course if you can package Sekera or any defender except myers for a center you do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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