I know it's the wrong time but Darcy has made some good picks

[Sabres Fan in NS]

When Thomas Vanek wins a cup, singlehandledly takes out a Vezina goalie only to watch that goalie have a nervous breakdown and send the entire organization into a week of one on one and closed door meetings, and causes an entire city to question the very fiber of their souls........then we'll talk about who is more valuable.

 

Mr. Next GM ... I'm on the phone with Mr. Black right now ... what time can you meet tomorrow ... I'm flying in.

[nfreeman]

When Thomas Vanek wins a cup, singlehandledly takes out a Vezina goalie only to watch that goalie have a nervous breakdown and send the entire organization into a week of one on one and closed door meetings, and causes an entire city to question the very fiber of their souls........then we'll talk about who is more valuable.

 

Hockey boards make for strange bedfellows.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

 

 

To the bolded sorry about getting frustrated with him but it is hard not to...

 

 

 

 

WHAT?

 

 

so we rent him for a cup run, get rid of a 40 goal scorer, try to trade him? possibly lose him?, and then we dont have our 40 goal scorer locked up long term, we dont have the guy we traded for him and we possibly have what we got for him in a trade in which I am sure we wont get what he was worth because we will be handcuffed by free agency. That sounds like the worst decision a GM could ever make.

 

First bolded part ... no worries.

 

Second bolded part ... do we want the cup, or not?

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

Hockey boards make for strange bedfellows.

 

So does losing multiple engines at 25,000 feet.....

[Robviously]

When Thomas Vanek wins a cup

By this logic, Rob Johnson is the best QB the Buffalo Bills ever had. But back in the real world, it matters what team you're on.

 

 

 

singlehandledly takes out a Vezina goalie only to watch that goalie have a nervous breakdown and send the entire organization into a week of one on one and closed door meetings, and causes an entire city to question the very fiber of their souls........then we'll talk about who is more valuable.

Anyone could have run Ryan Miller. The fact that the rest of the backed down and Miller spazzed out has more to do with the Sabres than anything Milan Lucic did.

[Weave]

Anyone could have run Ryan Miller. The fact that the rest of the backed down and Miller spazzed out has more to do with the Sabres than anything Milan Lucic did.

 

I don't fully buy this. Lucic didn't get handled after that incident because noone wanted to try to handle Lucic. It was very much fear generated IMO. If it was Dan Carcillo or some other wet sack that ran Miller I'm pretty sure Paul Gaustad would not have needed to go visit the Wizard to find his courage.

 

And Miller spazzing about it is what Miller always did.

[drnkirishone]

Lucic is good and he is a player I would love on the sabres but he is not worth Vanek. I would be unwilling to trade alot of players on this roster for him. IMO Lucic is a piece of the puzzle and not a huge piece of it either

[deluca67]

Weren't we all pleased when Darcy drilled a test well in the Kassian Shale? Sorry, I just can't...

 

You gotta give it a rest. It looks like Darcy has changed his stripes. You have to give him more than a third of a season. Did you really think Pegula was going to come in here and we were going to win the cup this year. We have no idea what this team really looks like. All we know about his picks is that they are easily injured. Which as it turns out is a blessing in disguise. Let the young kids get some ice time and see what we have, while getting out from under some of these contracts.

 

I'm still more pissed off that last year was a throw away season for OSP, because he knew he was going to sell the team, than I am at the way this season is turning out.

From what I have been told Larry Quinn was the General Manager of the team then.

 

The product Regier has provided this season is stale and uninspiring. Despite the millions of dollars he was able to spend he has produced the same product as in seasons past.

 

It is amazing to see how the dynamic is working. Some fans are holding on to Regeir and Ruff in hopes that they finally find success. It is much like how Regier and Ruff are holding onto "The Core" hoping that it finally comes together. This is where a some outside perspective could really help. Imo, more important than any trade or free agent signing is the hiring of an outside party to over look the hockey operations. A true "hockey guy" above Regier to make the decisions that, IMO, Terry Pegula is incapable of making. Hire a hockey guru to be the bad guy and Pegula can continue to be everybody's friend.

 

Lucic is good and he is a player I would love on the sabres but he is not worth Vanek. I would be unwilling to trade alot of players on this roster for him. IMO Lucic is a piece of the puzzle and not a huge piece of it either

You couldn't get Lucic for Vanek. The Sabres would have to give up more. For the Record I am a Vanek fan. Lucic is a 30 goal scorer whose physical game is off the charts. That outweighs and out-values the offensive advantage Vanek may have. There are similar players to Vanek throughout the NHL. Not many, if any, compare to Lucic.

[carpandean]

A "for fun" question: would you rather have the Bruins with Vanek instead of Lucic or the Sabres with Lucic instead of Vanek?

(Assume opening day rosters ... though a follow-up question might be how would the recent call-ups affect your answer?)

 

 

 

I'm just guessing that both sides of the Vanek for Lucic question would answer the same here, which would be really telling about how close we are or are not.

[Weave]

A straight up Looch for Vanek deal would be closer than most think, at least points-wise. Lucic's last 2 full seasons had 62 and 42 points. The same seasons Vanek had 73 and 64 points. Is 10-20 points worth the toughness and grit Looch would bring? I think you can make a valid argument for it. Imagine how much more fearless a Jason Pominville or Derek Roy becomes with Looch on the ice with them.

 

Personally, I don't think I would make a Looch for Vanek deal, but I'd be mighty damned tempted. I would trade any other two of my top 6 for Looch. Including Oh Captain, My Captain. I doubt Boston would be interested in any other two of our top 6 though. Can't say I'd blame them.

 

A "for fun" question: would you rather have the Bruins with Vanek instead of Lucic or the Sabres with Lucic instead of Vanek?

(Assume opening day rosters ... though a follow-up question might be how would the recent call-ups affect your answer?)

 

 

 

I'm just guessing that both sides of the Vanek for Lucic question would answer the same here, which would be really telling about how close we are or are not.

 

Yeah. We're not a Lucic away from being better than a Lucic-less Boston.

[deluca67]

A "for fun" question: would you rather have the Bruins with Vanek instead of Lucic or the Sabres with Lucic instead of Vanek?

(Assume opening day rosters ... though a follow-up question might be how would the recent call-ups affect your answer?)

 

 

 

I'm just guessing that both sides of the Vanek for Lucic question would answer the same here, which would be really telling about how close we are or are not.

I would take Vanek with the Bruins. Ruff would coach all the qualities I like about Lucic right out of his game.

[SwampD]

From what I have been told Larry Quinn was the General Manager of the team then.

 

The product Regier has provided this season is stale and uninspiring. Despite the millions of dollars he was able to spend he has produced the same product as in seasons past.

 

It is amazing to see how the dynamic is working. Some fans are holding on to Regeir and Ruff in hopes that they finally find success. It is much like how Regier and Ruff are holding onto "The Core" hoping that it finally comes together. This is where a some outside perspective could really help. Imo, more important than any trade or free agent signing is the hiring of an outside party to over look the hockey operations. A true "hockey guy" above Regier to make the decisions that, IMO, Terry Pegula is incapable of making. Hire a hockey guru to be the bad guy and Pegula can continue to be everybody's friend.

You can't have it both ways. Either Darcy made those picks and you have to give him credit or Quinn was the real GM and you have to give Darcy time not under his rule.

[deluca67]

You can't have it both ways. Either Darcy made those picks and you have to give him credit or Quinn was the real GM and you have to give Darcy time not under his rule.

Actually, I can. It's either Regier was the GM all along and the many mistakes were indeed all his fault or he was a weak minded GM that let others in the organization walk all over him. Either way, your choice, there is no need to allow this farce known as Status Quo to continue.

[SwampD]

Actually, I can. It's either Regier was the GM all along and the many mistakes were indeed all his fault or he was a weak minded GM that let others in the organization walk all over him. Either way, your choice, there is no need to allow this farce known as Status Quo to continue.

I knew when I wrote that that you'd find some way to have it both ways. I wish that I was a contrarian. Life would be so much easier because I'd always be right, wait, no, life would be so much easier because everyone else would always be wrong.

[nfreeman]

You couldn't get Lucic for Vanek. The Sabres would have to give up more. For the Record I am a Vanek fan. Lucic is a 30 goal scorer whose physical game is off the charts. That outweighs and out-values the offensive advantage Vanek may have. There are similar players to Vanek throughout the NHL. Not many, if any, compare to Lucic.

 

Well said.

 

A straight up Looch for Vanek deal would be closer than most think, at least points-wise. Lucic's last 2 full seasons had 62 and 42 points. The same seasons Vanek had 73 and 64 points. Is 10-20 points worth the toughness and grit Looch would bring? I think you can make a valid argument for it. Imagine how much more fearless a Jason Pominville or Derek Roy becomes with Looch on the ice with them.

 

Personally, I don't think I would make a Looch for Vanek deal, but I'd be mighty damned tempted. I would trade any other two of my top 6 for Looch. Including Oh Captain, My Captain. I doubt Boston would be interested in any other two of our top 6 though. Can't say I'd blame them.

 

Yeah. We're not a Lucic away from being better than a Lucic-less Boston.

 

Also a good post. I will say though that with Miller and Myers playing well the Sabres will be closer to the Bruins than seems possible right now. And if Stafford would ever get his act together, well...

[Robviously]

I don't fully buy this. Lucic didn't get handled after that incident because noone wanted to try to handle Lucic. It was very much fear generated IMO. If it was Dan Carcillo or some other wet sack that ran Miller I'm pretty sure Paul Gaustad would not have needed to go visit the Wizard to find his courage.

 

And Miller spazzing about it is what Miller always did.

Paul Gaustad had to go visit the Wizard to find his courage because he's Paul Gaustad. Again, Lucic is super tough but we make him out to be Superman because we're used to having a team of total candy-######. Check out some of Lucic's fights on YouTube. Sure, he never loses but plenty of guys go toe to toe with him and come out just fine. The same way Paul Gaustad eventually did after he had two weeks of fans and the media reminding him that he's supposed to be a grown man with a spine.

 

A straight up Looch for Vanek deal would be closer than most think, at least points-wise. Lucic's last 2 full seasons had 62 and 42 points. The same seasons Vanek had 73 and 64 points. Is 10-20 points worth the toughness and grit Looch would bring? I think you can make a valid argument for it. Imagine how much more fearless a Jason Pominville or Derek Roy becomes with Looch on the ice with them.

 

Personally, I don't think I would make a Looch for Vanek deal, but I'd be mighty damned tempted. I would trade any other two of my top 6 for Looch. Including Oh Captain, My Captain. I doubt Boston would be interested in any other two of our top 6 though. Can't say I'd blame them.

 

Yeah. We're not a Lucic away from being better than a Lucic-less Boston.

How many points does Lucic score if he's the top offensive player on a team and the guy that teams gameplan for? Because that's what Vanek has had to deal with for years now. Lucic benefits from being on a stacked team that just won the Cup.

 

The real reason Boston wouldn't trade Lucic for Vanek is that they have no reason to. They just won the Cup. What they're doing is working. If Montreal had won Game 7 in the playoffs last year, they'd definitely consider it.

[beerme1]

The real reason Boston wouldn't trade Lucic for Vanek is that they have no reason to. They just won the Cup.

 

I said that already. Move along.

[...]

The same way Paul Gaustad eventually did after he had two weeks of fans and the media reminding him that he's supposed to be a grown man with a spine.

 

Sorry, but Goose eventually didn't do jack. Lucic relunctantly allowed Gaustad to parley with him for a minute.

[Robviously]

Sorry, but Goose eventually didn't do jack. Lucic relunctantly allowed Gaustad to parley with him for a minute.

There's that. He eventually found the courage to kinda sorta act like he wanted to fight Lucic, and pretended to do so for a whole minute. But, again, that's Paul Gaustad. He's not big and he's not tough; he's just tall.

[deluca67]

I knew when I wrote that that you'd find some way to have it both ways. I wish that I was a contrarian. Life would be so much easier because I'd always be right, wait, no, life would be so much easier because everyone else would always be wrong.

The defense mechanism kicks in, <_<

 

The problem posters that want to defend Regier and Ruff have is that there is 14 years of ammo to use against them. Trying to convince fans that they deserve more time is a difficult sell.

 

It's time for a fresh new start. A start with new management and a new core. A fresh set of eyes to come in and give honest evaluations of the product on the ice and the management from top to bottom. With a new start comes new hope and maybe a re-energized fan base.

[waldo]

Lucic is good and he is a player I would love on the sabres but he is not worth Vanek. I would be unwilling to trade alot of players on this roster for him. IMO Lucic is a piece of the puzzle and not a huge piece of it either

 

 

There is no place here for reason. Either start drinking and consuming large quanities of illegal narcotics OR stop posting .

 

I am sure we could have won last night if we just had Lucic. He would have handled all that doubling in the offensive zone so much better than Vanek did.

[Sabre fan]

If I may weigh in here, I truly think Darcy has been more then adequate, and in fact pretty darn good drafting over the years. We have definately added some great assets through the draft, while most other teams cannot come close to his success rate. But the core has remained the same for far too long, and the team needs to change the core to see a real change in this team as a whole. Adding players such as Erhoff and Regier and Leino was great, but they cannot undo what's already established here...I think Darcy should be made head of scouting, and bring in a new GM who can decide Lindy's fate. Maybe it;s time for the team to go in a different direction. I have been big Lindy and Darcy supporters, but enough is enough. They keep saying that "it takes time to gel", or that "the new guys are still fitting in", yet other teams add new players and they fit in right away. We have heard the same excuses about Roy, Stafford, Pominville, etc., and it never changes fro year to year. I watch every game, and cheer this team on, but the truth is they are very predictable every year, because nothing really changes.

[spndnchz]

I think Pysyk is still there.

 

Pysyk makes the Canadian team. Nice job Mark!

[Robviously]

Pysyk makes the Canadian team. Nice job Mark!

Here's the story from SabresProspeccts.com

http://www.sabresprospects.com/2011/12/pysyk-to-play-for-canada.html

 

The Sabres will also be represented by their 2011 1st round pick, Joel Armia (Finland).

[Weave]

There is no place here for reason. Either start drinking and consuming large quanities of illegal narcotics OR stop posting .

 

 

Can you please stop doing this? There is no need to ratchet up the animosity further. It drags the quality of the conversation down.