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Sabres announce Ryan Johnson signs 2 year ELC (Finally)


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21 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

I also remember this:

 

Boston Bruins’ Ullmark Can’t Resist Taking Dig At Buffalo

The Boston Bruins just finished a five-game road trip last week that took them through Detroit, Chicago, Winnipeg, Minnesota and Buffalo, and Ullmark didn’t sound like he did any sightseeing tours at one of those wintry destinations after stopping 40 shots in a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden on Tuesday night.

“It’s the same thing. We had a long road trip and we didn’t go through the best places on Earth,” said a smirking Ullmark to NESN during some postgame comments. 

https://bostonhockeynow.com/2023/03/21/boston-bruins-ullmark-cant-help-taking-dig-at-buffalo/

 

He just might not have enjoyed his time in Buffalo and was looking to go to a somewhat larger/what-he-considered-nicer city to play/live in.

Whether you agree with him or not (some will say Chicago and certainly Minneapolis are nice cities), it doesn't matter our opinion, HIS opinion matters and it sure sounds like he likes the living conditions/lifestyle in Boston vs those other cities listed, of course including Buffalo where he spent a few years. 

Ullmark isn't a guy who only came to Buffalo with another team and saw the airport, the 33 and the Arena, he lived here, and if this area isn't his favorite, getting him back here and happy to be here is just not likely to happen.

As if his native Sweden is a tropical winter vacation destination. 

I wouldn’t take Ullmark back in a million years after he showed himself for the money grubbing goalie ***** that he is. 

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1 hour ago, Taro T said:

It certainly seems that Ullmark then told the Bruins that he'd sign THAT deal provided nobody else beat it.  And he apparently went back to the Sabres and told them that if they'd beat the Bruins deal he would go back to the original plan of signing with the Sabres provided nobody topped THAT new deal.

That right there is 123% speculation on your part.

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7 minutes ago, K-9 said:

I wouldn’t take Ullmark back in a million years after he showed himself for the money grubbing goalie ***** that he is. 

l wouldn't want him back at this point, but I have nothing against him getting the best deal for him, and playing on a top contender was part of the package he chose.  You can't really blame him can you?

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26 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

l wouldn't want him back at this point, but I have nothing against him getting the best deal for him, and playing on a top contender was part of the package he chose.  You can't really blame him can you?

I don’t blame him in the least. But when a player says the ONLY way he will play for you is for more money when you’ve already offered the SAME amount he’s agreed to play for elsewhere, then he can go pound sand. It HAS to he about more than just the money AFAIC. 

And I don’t blame other whores for simply trying to make a living, either. 

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44 minutes ago, K-9 said:

I don’t blame him in the least. But when a player says the ONLY way he will play for you is for more money when you’ve already offered the SAME amount he’s agreed to play for elsewhere, then he can go pound sand. It HAS to he about more than just the money AFAIC. 

And I don’t blame other whores for simply trying to make a living, either. 

Did you read my post?  It was about more than just the money.  It was about playing on a contender.  Remember also that when he left the team they had just finished last in the Covid-spawned Division of Doom as well as dead last in the league.

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27 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Did you read my post?  It was about more than just the money.  It was about playing on a contender.  Remember also that when he left the team they had just finished last in the Covid-spawned Division of Doom as well as dead last in the league.

If it really was about playing for a contender, then why would Ullmark have agreed to come back if KA gave him more than the Bruins?

I’m really not interested in re-hashing all the reasons players had for wanting to leave a crap situation. We all know the history. 

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12 minutes ago, triumph_communes said:

Guy who spent four years in college wanted to spend another month to graduate. Total non story. Sabres all the way. 

I'm the first person on my mom's side of the family to go to and graduate college. I never really felt it, but to a lot of my relatives it was a really big deal. I don't know it has anything to do with this, but there are reasons the guy may have wanted to finish it out. Another is if he washes out he has a college degree, and not "a bunch of credits and a semester of incomplete classes".

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9 hours ago, JohnC said:

Of course the GM wanted to sign Ullmark. Whose disputing that point? However, both points can be true that Ullmark preferred not to sign here and that the GM and organization weren't going to sign him beyond the contract boundaries they established for the player. There were reports that Ullmark would have signed back with the Sabres but only at a higher price than what he signed with Boston. The GM on WGR said that he wasn't willing to sign him at the unspecified price. Do I believe the GM? Yes. 

Ullmark negotiated with the team for a long time before Boston ever entered the fray. I don’t really buy the idea he wasn’t, at any point, open to staying. As you mentioned, KA wasn’t willing to match Boston’s offer

Edited by Thorny
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24 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Ullmark negotiated with the team for a long time before Boston ever entered the fray. I don’t really buy the idea he wasn’t, at any point, open to staying. As you mentioned, KA wasn’t willing to match Boston’s offer

As I said on prior posts on this topic KA was asked on WGR's Howard Simon Show about why the organization didn't sign the goalie. He said on the show that I listened to that he wasn't willing to go beyond the parameters of a contract that he and his staff established for him. He pointed out that under him the hockey operation was going to conduct itself with discipline even when it was difficult to do so. 

I have no problem or animosity toward Ullmark. He acted in his own best interest. There is no question that moving on to Boston turned out to be a good decision for him. As you well know pro sports is a business. And it goes both ways for players and management i.e. acting in one's best interest. 

Let me also add to this issue that if I were in KA's position, I would have signed him assuming it was (reasonably) outside of the financial boundaries that he and his staff established. The Sabres had the cap room and the positional need was obvious. However, although I disagreed with him at the time, I understood his reasoning and stance. 

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Meanwhile, regarding Johnson...

“There’s something special here with the staff and the culture this team has,” said Johnson, who was drafted by the team’s previous regime. “It’s definitely trending on the upward, it’s noticeable. And also it’s cool even what’s happened in the city. Buffalo, I know it’s a major sports city and it’s cool seeing that they rallied behind Damar Hamlin, seeing the support of all the fan base.

“I definitely want to be a part of something like that where’s it’s bigger than the game.”

 

This is from Hoppe's article which is linked on the front page.

 

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17 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Meanwhile, regarding Johnson...

“There’s something special here with the staff and the culture this team has,” said Johnson, who was drafted by the team’s previous regime. “It’s definitely trending on the upward, it’s noticeable. And also it’s cool even what’s happened in the city. Buffalo, I know it’s a major sports city and it’s cool seeing that they rallied behind Damar Hamlin, seeing the support of all the fan base.

“I definitely want to be a part of something like that where’s it’s bigger than the game.”

 

This is from Hoppe's article which is linked on the front page.

 

Adam's has always said he wants guys that want to be here. Call me crazy, but since the Adams-Granato team took control, the Sabres organization overall has been trending in the right direction. I'm glad a young player coming in recognizes that, I believe many others do to.

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Johnson is saying all the right things. Felt it in my heart. Love the team and what they have here. Yada yada yada. 

Welcome aboard kid. Disregard what all the negative nancys had to say earlier in this thread. Feelings don’t matter now. You’re a Sabre. We got work to do. Now get out there and win a cup.

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9 hours ago, Doohickie said:

That right there is 123% speculation on your part.

No.  There were reports to that effect back when Ullmark signed with the B's.  Buffalo and Ullmark had a deal worked out that he'd sign provided nobody beat it.  The Bruins beat it.  There were reports that Adams offered to match but that at that point Ullmark said the  Sabres would need to beat that offer.

And that's the source of all the speculation that Ullmark never wanted to be in Buffalo anyway.

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4 minutes ago, Eleven said:

I know @SDS hates "all about ________" threads, and old threads, but this is why they are necessary.  I'd bet that over 50% of the content in this thread has nothing to do with Johnson.

50% of Inkmans content has everything to do with Johnson’s.  So there’s that.  

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10 minutes ago, Taro T said:

There were speculative reports that Adams offered to match but that at that point Ullmark said the  Sabres would need to beat that offer.

fify

There were also reports that Eichel was about to be traded to Calgary before VGK pulled the trigger.  You hear all kinds of "reports" that aren't true, even if the people reporting them think they are.

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7 hours ago, triumph_communes said:

Guy who spent four years in college wanted to spend another month to graduate. Total non story. Sabres all the way. 

You can still stay to finish the semester after signing. He didn’t have to join either Buffalo or Rochester immediately. 

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3 minutes ago, shrader said:

You can still stay to finish the semester after signing. He didn’t have to join either Buffalo or Rochester immediately. 

Yeah there’s a puzzle piece that we’re not privy to. It could be as mundane as Johnson simply taking GMKA’s words about focusing on finishing the school year and enjoying himself to heart and GMKA knew he’d sign at the end of the semester so it was a non-issue. It could be something more worrisome like his dad/agent (both?) suggesting to him that he might not get a contract offer from a team for anything beyond an AHL horizon and Buffalo is his last/best bet. Not sure I believe either of those.

Hell, it could just be the dude had a hot girlfriend who was a Leafs fan and he needed to dump her first. 

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