LabattBlue Posted September 2, 2011 Report Share Posted September 2, 2011 A thread for the old timers here... Seeing McNab's name in the earlier question about favorite #22's made me look at his career stats. He was great for Boston for 7 years where he scored no less than 74 points each year. Then I started wondering who the Sabres got for him, which led me to this find... Prior to the 1976-77 season, he was sent to the Boston Bruins as compensation for the Sabres' signing of free agent Andre Savard. While Savard had some decent years here, the Sabres came out on the short end of the stick in that transaction. McNab stats... http://hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=3621 Savard stats... http://hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=4788 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted September 2, 2011 Report Share Posted September 2, 2011 Damn Darcy gettin' fleeced all the time. Wait... what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
korab rules Posted September 2, 2011 Report Share Posted September 2, 2011 Damn Darcy gettin' fleeced all the time. Wait... what? Ralph is cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom webster Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 While Savard wasn't the offensive player McNabb was, he was a much better all around player and was precisely what Buffalo was looking for at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pullup Champ Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 While Savard wasn't the offensive player McNabb was, he was a much better all around player and was precisely what Buffalo was looking for at the time. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwksndmonster Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 Ralph is cheap. Sell the team. They don't even wanna win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 While Savard wasn't the offensive player McNabb was, he was a much better all around player and was precisely what Buffalo was looking for at the time. True, but I don't know that they'd've signed him had they realized McNabb was the cost of the signing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom webster Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 True, but I don't know that they'd've signed him had they realized McNabb was the cost of the signing. Are you sure that's how it went down? I may be wrong but I thought they knew that that was going to be the compensation when they decided to sign him. No matter what I think its safe to say they wouldn't have wanted to part with him had they known how he would develop. Just found this. Don't know how reliable it is but read last line. http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1972/72085.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 Are you sure that's how it went down? I may be wrong but I thought they knew that that was going to be the compensation when they decided to sign him. No matter what I think its safe to say they wouldn't have wanted to part with him had they known how he would develop. The Sabres knew. It was actually more of a straight swap of signing rights. The Sabres got the player they thought they were getting, they had no idea how much they were giving up at the time though. I think McNabb had 20 goals in 20 games that season. I don't think anybody did that again until Gretzky. I'm fuzzy on the 20 in 20 but, I think it's right. I think I had it on a hockey card. :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 Found this: NY TIMES JUNE 12 1976 "Buffalo Sabres trade free agent Peter McNab to Boston Bruins for free agent Andre Savard. Both players technically could have signed with any club after June 1,'76, expiration of contracts, but Bruins signed McNab immediately after trade and Buffalo gen manager Punch Imlach repotedly hopes to sign Savard shortly. " Interesting that you could trade a free agent..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 Just checked McNab's stats. He had 22 and 24 goals in his only 2 full years with the Sabres, then 38, 41, 35, 40, 37, and 36 for the Bruins before he slowed down. Sheeesh. Savard was a nice player (maybe an earlier-era version of Hecht), but the Sabres really got hosed on that exchange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mphs mike Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 The Sabres got what they needed. Although McNabb didn't put up the offensive numbers here he did as a Bruin, we had PLENTY of scoring at the time. Savard was an integral addition as the Sabres tried to develop into a team that could win games without scoring 6 or 7 goals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReneRobert Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 The Sabres got what they needed. Although McNabb didn't put up the offensive numbers here he did as a Bruin, we had PLENTY of scoring at the time. Savard was an integral addition as the Sabres tried to develop into a team that could win games without scoring 6 or 7 goals. That's my memory too. McNab was a good young player for the Sabres, but was down the depth chart so to speak on a team loaded with scoring forwards. After the 1976 collapse against the Islanders in the playoffs, Imlach felt that the team needed a more well-rounded lineup, and he spent his last couple of years trying to tinker with the team in search of one or two players who would put them over the top. Ironically, "his" team had its last blaze of glory after he left, when Scotty Bowman too them to the semis in 1979-1980. [bowman's one big deal that year was to trade my namesake for John van Boxmeer... not a bad trade, even if I was sorry to see RR go.] Then Bowman, determined to build his own team and show what a genius GM he was, dismantled that team so expertly that they ended up missing the playoffs in 1986 and 1987. I still shake my head at the failure of Scotty Bowman in Buffalo. A strong historical parallel is Tom Donahoe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 Are you sure that's how it went down? I may be wrong but I thought they knew that that was going to be the compensation when they decided to sign him. No matter what I think its safe to say they wouldn't have wanted to part with him had they known how he would develop. Just found this. Don't know how reliable it is but read last line. http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1972/72085.html That'll teach me to be posting at 2AM. I do believe you are correct on the bolded. The Sabres knew. It was actually more of a straight swap of signing rights. The Sabres got the player they thought they were getting, they had no idea how much they were giving up at the time though. I think McNabb had 20 goals in 20 games that season. I don't think anybody did that again until Gretzky. I'm fuzzy on the 20 in 20 but, I think it's right. I think I had it on a hockey card. :lol: Found this: NY TIMES JUNE 12 1976 "Buffalo Sabres trade free agent Peter McNab to Boston Bruins for free agent Andre Savard. Both players technically could have signed with any club after June 1,'76, expiration of contracts, but Bruins signed McNab immediately after trade and Buffalo gen manager Punch Imlach repotedly hopes to sign Savard shortly. " Interesting that you could trade a free agent..... Both transactions did occur on the 11th. McNab was compensation for the Sabres signing Savard. Interestingly, although the Bruins sued the Black Hawks for compensation after the Hawks signed Bobby Orr later that summer, I couldn't find any confirmation of them receiving any for him in a cursory search. (Although one source stated that it was rumored that the compensation was Sports Systems (now Delaware North's Sports Service) would get the Chicago Stadium concessions contract.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 I still shake my head at the failure of Scotty Bowman in Buffalo. Read Jean Beliveau's book "My Life In Hockey". He had some negative opinions of Scotty when he was the coach in Montreal (and Sam Pollock was the GM). He said that Bowman wanted to trade players because of personality conflicts almost daily, but that Sam would calm him down before anything happened. That's why Scotty didn't get the GM job in Montreal after Pollock left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReneRobert Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 Read Jean Beliveau's book "My Life In Hockey". He had some negative opinions of Scotty when he was the coach in Montreal (and Sam Pollock was the GM). He said that Bowman wanted to trade players because of personality conflicts almost daily, but that Sam would calm him down before anything happened. That's why Scotty didn't get the GM job in Montreal after Pollock left. Thanks for the tip. That has always been my feeling, that Bowman wanted to be a GM the way actors say they want to direct, but his real skill lay in game tactics and strategy, not building a team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Both transactions did occur on the 11th. McNab was compensation for the Sabres signing Savard. Interestingly, although the Bruins sued the Black Hawks for compensation after the Hawks signed Bobby Orr later that summer, I couldn't find any confirmation of them receiving any for him in a cursory search. (Although one source stated that it was rumored that the compensation was Sports Systems (now Delaware North's Sports Service) would get the Chicago Stadium concessions contract.) It really was a strange transaction. I don't doubt your recollections, but I do wonder if the league could have acted on something like that so quickly. The chicago thing is wacky. The NHL has come a long way since trading players for bus parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 It really was a strange transaction. I don't doubt your recollections, but I do wonder if the league could have acted on something like that so quickly. The chicago thing is wacky. The NHL has come a long way since trading players for bus parts. Can the Sabs trade a used carburetor for Iginla? Didn't think so. But maybe I'll start a Calgary trade idea thread for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted September 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 I knew you guys would come through with some great discussion on this. Carry on! :worthy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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