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Can we get Pronger from the Oil?


PromoTheRobot

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Pronger makes over SIX MILLION a season -- twice Drury's salary -- and we likely can't afford to re-sign McKee. Only time we'll see Pronger at HSBC is when the Leafs come to town (they'll be "smart" enough to spend 15% of their cap on him)

 

Now that Luongo's gone, Florida needs a #1 goalie, and Detroit is looking for Plan B, as in Biron. Hopefully we can nab a top 4 defenseman from one of those teams...or from Calgary, who has a surplus of blueliners and needs some offensive punch....I'd be open to Leopold for Afinogenov, or Kotalik/Pyatt for Warrener...

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To continue the baseless trade speculation game, I was looking over the rosters of some teams that are in need of a goalie upgrade, and other than Florida and Detroit, L.A. seems to fit the bill:

 

1) Garon & Labarbera are not playoff-caliber goalies

2) The Ducks are stealing all the So.Cal hockey spotlight (assuming anyone cares out there)

3) They have 3 defensemen who all make over $2mm/year

4) Darcy prefers to trade with Western conf. teams

 

Based on the above, I could see Biron and a young forward (Pyatt/Kotalik) going to the Kings for Miller, either Sopel or Norstrom, and Garon.

 

We'd have to take Miller off their hands - he makes 2 million and is injury prone -- but at least he's from WNY

Garon makes 1/2 of Marty's salary and would be a decent backup

Sopel or Norstrom would give us that top 4 defenseman that we sorely need

 

We'd be taking on approx. $6 MM in salary and giving up approx. $3MM -- so this would certainly fit within our budget.

 

Any takers?

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SDS... 20% of last season's payroll. You're not accounting for what could be as much as a $6 million increase (according to Darcy) for next season. You are also not factoring in the payroll we would give up in a theoretical and highly unlikely trade such as this.

 

By the way, is it written somewhere in stone that Chris Drury has to be our highest paid player? I heard people say, "Well, yeah, but then so and so would make more than Chris Drury!" Would lightning bolts emerge from the sky, and smote us? Chris is a very nice player, but at some point, if this franchise is going to the promised land, someone is going to have to come along and be a true franchise player, with matching franchise dollars. And that someone might very well be on the team right now, who knows. Would Drury just up and run home, crying? No. That's why I never bought the "chemistry" excuse for not making a trade at the deadline. These guys are pros. Anything to improve the team and its chances of winning the Cup shouldn't hurt anyone's feelings.

 

So... yes. Put Chris Pronger in a Buffalo uniform! Now!

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To continue the baseless trade speculation game, I was looking over the rosters of some teams that are in need of a goalie upgrade, and other than Florida and Detroit, L.A. seems to fit the bill:

 

1) Garon & Labarbera are not playoff-caliber goalies

2) The Ducks are stealing all the So.Cal hockey spotlight (assuming anyone cares out there)

3) They have 3 defensemen who all make over $2mm/year

4) Darcy prefers to trade with Western conf. teams

 

Based on the above, I could see Biron and a young forward (Pyatt/Kotalik) going to the Kings for Miller, either Sopel or Norstrom, and Garon.

 

We'd have to take Miller off their hands - he makes 2 million and is injury prone -- but at least he's from WNY

Garon makes 1/2 of Marty's salary and would be a decent backup

Sopel or Norstrom would give us that top 4 defenseman that we sorely need

 

We'd be taking on approx. $6 MM in salary and giving up approx. $3MM -- so this would certainly fit within our budget.

 

Any takers?

Like when he traded for Warrener, Gratton, Barnes, Connolly & Pyatt, Audette, and traded away Lafontaine?

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I think everyone prefers to trade out of conference, if possible, but Darcy has shown that he isn't afraid to pull the trigger within the East if he feels he's getting the best value.

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I'll keep this short and to the point

 

1. anyone who thinks we are going to trade for a $6 million per year defenseman is on drugs.

 

2. I could however see Marty being traded for a $1.5 - $2 million per year defenseman per Rayzor's suggestion.

 

3. Max is not going to be traded.

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Like when he traded for Warrener, Gratton, Barnes, Connolly & Pyatt, Audette, and traded away Lafontaine?

 

 

key word is PREFERS...Darcy has traded within the conference before, and will likely do it again, but he is on record saying that he prefers to move our players out West if possible, so the deal doesn't bite him in the ass...it would really suck having to play against Biron 4 times a season + potentially in the playoffs - imagine the ridicule and second guessing if Marty was to become a playoff-caliber goalie and knock us out in the first round next season...

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I'll keep this short and to the point

 

1. anyone who thinks we are going to trade for a $6 million per year defenseman is on drugs.

 

 

3. Max is not going to be traded.

 

I agree with these 2 points....heck i think I'm even dreaming when it comes to Kubina! :P

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We have little chance.

 

Pronger cost $$$ and we probably won't even attempt to match offers to our UFA's while low balling our own RFA's. McKee should be signed before Pronger and we will probably watch McKee walk. If we only give our RFA's 1 year deals the time is going ot come when there all fed up and just can't wait to jump ship. One year deals do not do much for ones loyalty.

 

Unfortunately the Sabres still can not compete finacially with the big market teams even with a salary cap. We're a piss poor team who will always be shipping off proven vets for inexpensive youth with upside.

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The speculation in the stories about Jay McKee yesterday was that he "could" double his salary from last year, to about $3 million a year. Now, that would put McKee about on par with Chris Drury, which does not seem out of wack. Veteran leaders who have proven they have what it takes to win a Cup. Jay McKee should not walk for that kind of money. I'm sorry, maybe some of you sophisticated folks on this board will applaud it and understand it and justify it, but among the fan base at large, losing McKee will hurt a lot. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money, and the investment in McKee will not only pay off on the ice, it will be a signal to the paying customers that this owner is interested in keeping the team together and winning, and a signal to the younger players that Buffalo can be a place to stay and make a nice living.

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The speculation in the stories about Jay McKee yesterday was that he "could" double his salary from last year, to about $3 million a year. Now, that would put McKee about on par with Chris Drury, which does not seem out of wack. Veteran leaders who have proven they have what it takes to win a Cup. Jay McKee should not walk for that kind of money. I'm sorry, maybe some of you sophisticated folks on this board will applaud it and understand it and justify it, but among the fan base at large, losing McKee will hurt a lot. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money, and the investment in McKee will not only pay off on the ice, it will be a signal to the paying customers that this owner is interested in keeping the team together and winning, and a signal to the younger players that Buffalo can be a place to stay and make a nice living.

 

If you pay McKee $3 million, what does Tallinder make, since he is the #1 d-man and is also due for a raise? $3.5 or 4 million? And if you sign both those guys to those contracts, can you keep Briere at $3 million? Probably not.

 

No doubt losing McKee will hurt, and Regier's strategy of signing players to one year deals is coming back to haunt him. But that's the boat the Sabres are in right now, and it's going to cost them McKee.

 

I'd rather that they lose McKee than start paying salaries that aren't commenserate with the players position on the team.

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The speculation in the stories about Jay McKee yesterday was that he "could" double his salary from last year, to about $3 million a year. Now, that would put McKee about on par with Chris Drury, which does not seem out of wack. Veteran leaders who have proven they have what it takes to win a Cup. Jay McKee should not walk for that kind of money. I'm sorry, maybe some of you sophisticated folks on this board will applaud it and understand it and justify it, but among the fan base at large, losing McKee will hurt a lot. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money, and the investment in McKee will not only pay off on the ice, it will be a signal to the paying customers that this owner is interested in keeping the team together and winning, and a signal to the younger players that Buffalo can be a place to stay and make a nice living.

 

 

If you pay McKee $3 million, what does Tallinder make, since he is the #1 d-man and is also due for a raise? $3.5 or 4 million? And if you sign both those guys to those contracts, can you keep Briere at $3 million? Probably not.

 

No doubt losing McKee will hurt, and Regier's strategy of signing players to one year deals is coming back to haunt him. But that's the boat the Sabres are in right now, and it's going to cost them McKee.

 

I'd rather that they lose McKee than start paying salaries that aren't commenserate with the players position on the team.

 

 

You both make good points, and I am really torn here. I originally was going to side with jad, but now I don't know. First, I have to say that PASabresFan, in a perfect world, McKee wouldn't walk from a $3 million deal. But as jad mentioned, Jay isn't even our No. 1 D-Man, so if McKee is worth $3M, where does that put Henrik & Toni? What about Campbell, who really stepped up in the playoffs as the injuries mounted? And eventually Kalinin is going to figure it all out, and put together a complete season with no mental lapses - what will he cost us then? My point is, would you rather keep Jay long-term, who plays a style that is detrimental to long-term health, and have to say goodbye to Dmitri or Campbell in a couple years? I think I'd stay around $2 - $2.25M for Jay, and say "no hard feelings" if he wants to move on and get big bucks somewhere else.

 

On the other hand, keeping Jay (at a reasonable cost) signals to the fans and to other FA's (both Sabres FA's and others throughout the league) that the team is willing to pony up (somewhat) for veteran leadership, is a good place to play & live, and that the management isn't the same group that "ran" Peca and Hasek out of town. (I know, there was more to the story, but the way management handled their situations probably created a negative image of our franchise among players throughout the league.) To be fair, generating that sort of positive image could be created by locking up guys like Briere, Miller, Henrik, etc., and changing out role players when they get too expensive.

 

If the team lets Jay walk, and he signs for some exorbinant amount, I'll say great - no way we could do that. I'd hate to lose half of our young players b/c of some Bobby Clarke/Jay Feaster school of capology - let's overpay for a big name the fans wnat, at the expense of the rest of the roster. Now if the team lets Jay walk and he signs somewhere for $2 - $3M, then I might have to wonder how smart that move was.

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Well, you could start rooting for the Canes...they could use more fans. :rolleyes:

 

 

I'd stop watching hockey all together if the Sabres didn't exist. I want my team to win it all, and more then once, in dominating, no doubting who's the champ, style.

 

 

But you have to agree we are still unable to compete finacially with the big market teams, and that where the some of our FA's will go to and where many FA's will sign cause that where the money is.

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I'd stop watching hockey all together if the Sabres didn't exist. I want my team to win it all, and more then once, in dominating, no doubting who's the champ, style.

But you have to agree we are still unable to compete finacially with the big market teams, and that where the some of our FA's will go to and where many FA's will sign cause that where the money is.

 

Agreed, I think I just believe that their current formula will produce success.

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Too much risk with having a guy who logs 30 minutes a game. Injury and then what? I like the Sabres balanced plan. If 4 guys don't get injured on D this year, they win the cup.

 

Besides, his wife is calling the shots. Do you think a chick from St.Louis will want to move to Buffalo? I don't know, I'm just asking. The biggest shopping mall in the world wasn't enough to keep her happy...

 

You know, the older I get, the more I think women cramp a guys style. I love them, don't get me wrong, but how much would that piss you off. You get 6 mil a year, you're on a Stanley Cup contender, you enjoy the team you're on and work environment and then the wife decides you need to move elsewhere. Was she scared of the roudies on Whyte Avenue? Canadian schooling not good enough for your kids sister?

 

The guy makes 6 mil a year, and I feel sorry for him. I'd be like," You don't like it here? Take the kids and go home. Or leave the kids with me and go home. And don't worry honey, I promise not to screw around with all the young hard-bodied honeys hoping to land a hockey player. You know, the kind of honeys like you once were."

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